When it comes to promoting a brand, a business will have to spend time creating and actioning a marketing plan. Depending on what they are trying to push, a company will usually adopt some targeted campaign strategies to reach their desired marketing goals. As you can appreciate, there are a plethora of ways to market brands, products, and services both online and outside of the Internet.
The thing is; many firms have the wrong approach when it comes to marketing. As a result, they end up wasting a lot of time and money for no real return on their investments! Does that sound like something that is happening to you and your business? If so, don’t worry because it’s all fixable! Take a look at these common marketing mistakes companies make, and how to avoid them:
No situation analysis got carried out
Before embarking on any new marketing campaigns, it is vital that a “situation analysis” gets done. In a nutshell, this is where you define what you’re selling and how you’re better than your competitors. To succeed at this crucial step, you must know your market like the back of your hand!
There’s no point trying to sell a product or service to a niche market if you don’t understand why or even how they would use them. Believe it or not, some businesses fail at carrying out an effective analysis of their current situation and marketing goals.
Adopting a one-size-fits-all approach
It’s likely that you sell your products and services to a broad range of verticals. Are you simply recycling old marketing campaigns to use on new niches that you wish to attract? If so, there’s one thing you may not have realized: that approach doesn’t always work!
When you’re trying to attract a new audience, your marketing strategies MUST appeal to that market. That often means tailoring advertisements or marketing channels to target those potential customers.
The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert on marketing to all vertical markets! It’s easily possible to develop some strategies with some third-party help, either from marketing agencies or through online tutorials.
For example, are you targeting the educational sector, for instance, but have only previously sold to other businesses? If so, check this page on the K12 Marketing website for some inspiration. And if you’re trying to sell to the public sector, take a look at the gsa.gov website to learn more about selling to government customers.
No competition research
Have you ever noticed that any marketing guides or tutorials online always talk about determining your USP or Unique Selling Proposition? Your USP is the thing that will differentiate you from your immediate competitors.
For instance, let’s say that you sell a branded product, and so does many of your industry competitors. Your USP might be that you offer an extended no-hassle warranty for free, or you may provide a trade-in service to upgrade from an older version of your product.
In essence, you have to do some spy work on your competitors! Find out why people are buying from them so that you can create a unique selling proposition to attract those customers to your brand instead.
Good luck with your future marketing campaigns!
