Top 5 Marketing Mistakes You Might be Making And How to Avoid Them
Starting a new business or keeping the existing one running is not an easy task even for huge corporations that have been on the market for years. Modern marketing is driven by digital transformation and you have to keep your fingers on the pulse. Trends tend to change rapidly, so you should be able to adjust quickly and not be afraid to experiment.
A great idea for an enterprise is only a part of the whole process. There always should be a good strategy to promote your products or services. Nowadays there is a great number of resources that you can use and learn from the experience of the other companies. But the method of trial and error has not been canceled, as you have to know what works best for your ideas and company.
Still, there are several common mistakes that young entrepreneurs tend to make when trying to run an enterprise.
1. No Plan
It’s a big mistake to start a company with no clear plan or goals. Quite often a great idea cannot survive the competition just because its creators did not try to write a plan. There is no point to start an organization without a plan and strategy. Yes, there are examples that some brands just become viral, but history shows that only regular work pays off.
So, the first thing you should do is to have a detailed plan. Gather your team or make it yourself (if you are working alone) and think of the goals you want to reach, what steps you need to take, and what you will do if your enterprise starts to grow. Write everything down, make sure everyone in your team knows the final goal, and is assigned to do a particular job.
“It’s better to write a plan collectively as people have different opinions and see some things from a different angle,” adds Adam Simon, digital marketer and writer at Stressays. “Even if you just have an Instagram account to sell products, it is essential to have plans for the upcoming weeks, next month, and even a year. Having a clearly defined goal will keep you moving to reach it.”
But, do not forget to stay flexible and learn how to adjust to new trends in marketing.
2. No Data Analysis
Companies have audiences where their customers come from. Nowadays almost every organization has its website that collects important data about the customers, but a lot of entrepreneurs miss on its analysis.
Data analysis is one of the tools that can be useful in enterprise development. It brings information about the most popular products, ads, audience preferences, etc. All these data should be properly analyzed if you lack skills in this field it would be better to hire someone who knows how to make use of the collected information. Business Facebook has been created for this purpose and this is a thing that everyone is capable of understanding. Eventually, all of the time spent on data analysis pays off, as you reach the right audience and get bigger sales of your goods.
3. No Consistency
By “no consistency” we mean that organization and entrepreneurs fail to:
Every work requires regular input. If you miss a day or two, it becomes harder to reach top positions, and customers can fall for another brand.
For instance, if you run a business through an Instagram/Facebook account, it is important to have regular publications. Create individual everyday plans for every platform you run, don’t forget to take into account that different platforms have their specific features. When Instagram users usually tend to watch posted stories, the Facebook audience is more likely to react to a published post.
Consistent content publishing takes a lot of time and nowadays there are such types of jobs as “a story-maker”, a person who creates only Instagram stories for your account, as they have to be interesting and engaging. So, you feel that it is too much for you and you start to miss on other important parts of your business, find the right person who can easily manage the task.
4. No Value
It is a known fact that firms are more successful when their customers find value in it. If you offer teaching or consultancy services, make sure to give your customer relevant and useful information that can be helpful for them. Value wins the customer’s loyalty to the brand or services. It also means offering high-quality services and products. There is no need to put attention to the quantity, quality is what matters the most.
So, if you want to create a new product or service, think about whether it is useful for your customer, whether there is value in it, and analyze its quality before the release.
5. No Brand Match
And last but not least, quite often brands tend to forget the image of their products or try to occupy the niche that is not their specialty. Make sure that your brand has its personal logo, colores, and motto. This is how you get recognition. Do not tend to change it, as customers will not recognize your product and might just miss it.
The second part of this mistake is that companies that started in one niche, try to occupy another one. They start to produce new products, but usually, it is a way to failure. For instance, you started as a company that produces vacuum cleaners, and later you decide to sell sneakers. You will lose the trust and loyalty of your customers that can dramatically influence the whole business. If you think of producing new products, try to make it in the most similar niche to the one you are working in at the moment.
We have discussed the 5 most common mistakes in marketing and ways to avoid them. Keep this information in mind and make the most use of it for the sake of your company. Review your ways and find weak spots that should be fixed in order to make your enterprise grow.
A great idea for an enterprise is only a part of the whole process. There always should be a good strategy to promote your products or services. Nowadays there is a great number of resources that you can use and learn from the experience of the other companies. But the method of trial and error has not been canceled, as you have to know what works best for your ideas and company.
Still, there are several common mistakes that young entrepreneurs tend to make when trying to run an enterprise.
1. No Plan
It’s a big mistake to start a company with no clear plan or goals. Quite often a great idea cannot survive the competition just because its creators did not try to write a plan. There is no point to start an organization without a plan and strategy. Yes, there are examples that some brands just become viral, but history shows that only regular work pays off.
So, the first thing you should do is to have a detailed plan. Gather your team or make it yourself (if you are working alone) and think of the goals you want to reach, what steps you need to take, and what you will do if your enterprise starts to grow. Write everything down, make sure everyone in your team knows the final goal, and is assigned to do a particular job.
“It’s better to write a plan collectively as people have different opinions and see some things from a different angle,” adds Adam Simon, digital marketer and writer at Stressays. “Even if you just have an Instagram account to sell products, it is essential to have plans for the upcoming weeks, next month, and even a year. Having a clearly defined goal will keep you moving to reach it.”
But, do not forget to stay flexible and learn how to adjust to new trends in marketing.
2. No Data Analysis
Companies have audiences where their customers come from. Nowadays almost every organization has its website that collects important data about the customers, but a lot of entrepreneurs miss on its analysis.
Data analysis is one of the tools that can be useful in enterprise development. It brings information about the most popular products, ads, audience preferences, etc. All these data should be properly analyzed if you lack skills in this field it would be better to hire someone who knows how to make use of the collected information. Business Facebook has been created for this purpose and this is a thing that everyone is capable of understanding. Eventually, all of the time spent on data analysis pays off, as you reach the right audience and get bigger sales of your goods.
3. No Consistency
By “no consistency” we mean that organization and entrepreneurs fail to:
- constantly communicate with their audience/customers;
- regularly post content on their social media account/websites, etc.;
- promote their products/services.
Every work requires regular input. If you miss a day or two, it becomes harder to reach top positions, and customers can fall for another brand.
For instance, if you run a business through an Instagram/Facebook account, it is important to have regular publications. Create individual everyday plans for every platform you run, don’t forget to take into account that different platforms have their specific features. When Instagram users usually tend to watch posted stories, the Facebook audience is more likely to react to a published post.
Consistent content publishing takes a lot of time and nowadays there are such types of jobs as “a story-maker”, a person who creates only Instagram stories for your account, as they have to be interesting and engaging. So, you feel that it is too much for you and you start to miss on other important parts of your business, find the right person who can easily manage the task.
4. No Value
It is a known fact that firms are more successful when their customers find value in it. If you offer teaching or consultancy services, make sure to give your customer relevant and useful information that can be helpful for them. Value wins the customer’s loyalty to the brand or services. It also means offering high-quality services and products. There is no need to put attention to the quantity, quality is what matters the most.
So, if you want to create a new product or service, think about whether it is useful for your customer, whether there is value in it, and analyze its quality before the release.
5. No Brand Match
And last but not least, quite often brands tend to forget the image of their products or try to occupy the niche that is not their specialty. Make sure that your brand has its personal logo, colores, and motto. This is how you get recognition. Do not tend to change it, as customers will not recognize your product and might just miss it.
The second part of this mistake is that companies that started in one niche, try to occupy another one. They start to produce new products, but usually, it is a way to failure. For instance, you started as a company that produces vacuum cleaners, and later you decide to sell sneakers. You will lose the trust and loyalty of your customers that can dramatically influence the whole business. If you think of producing new products, try to make it in the most similar niche to the one you are working in at the moment.
We have discussed the 5 most common mistakes in marketing and ways to avoid them. Keep this information in mind and make the most use of it for the sake of your company. Review your ways and find weak spots that should be fixed in order to make your enterprise grow.
