If you’re putting money toward lead generation and marketing services, you need your efforts to show a return on investment. Unfortunately, you could find yourself making common blunders that not only derail the success of your campaigns, but hurt your business in the process. Here are a few marketing mistakes you’ll want to avoid.
1. No Website
You’re a small business with limited capital. Maybe you can’t afford custom website design just yet. Neither can you afford to forego a website completely.
Online searches are quickly becoming the main way consumers find businesses to patronize, both online and in the real world. If you don’t have at least a modicum of an online presence via your business website, your marketing efforts, especially online, are likely to enjoy only limited success, if any.
2. Not Aligning Your Goals with Customers
What do your customers want? If you have yet to ask and answer this question, there’s a good chance your marketing efforts are going to fall flat.
Certainly you have your own goals, and you want your marketing efforts to help you accomplish those goals. However, marketing is designed to entice consumers.Your strategy must strive to address their wants and needs as well as your own.
3. Email Marketing Mistakes
Sigh – there are so many. Bombarding your contact list with emails. Failing to target local consumers. Thinking that a row of exclamation points in the subject line will excite readers instead of making them think you’re a rank amateur.
Believe it or not, email marketing is still a valid and potentially significant means of generating conversions, but you have to learn to use the medium appropriately. Alienating consumers with poor email etiquette is a great way to lose their interest, or worse, raise their ire.
4. Failure to Personalize Interactions
Social media marketing is a growing field that shows promising returns when utilized appropriately. However, if your approach is not personalized you’re grossly misusing the medium.
Social media, by its very nature, is meant to be social. Your business profiles allow you the opportunity to put a personal face on your business and interact with consumers in a more personal way. This can build trust, camaraderie, and long-term relationships.
5. Ignoring Branding
Every marketing effort should relate back to your brand strategy in order to create a clear image of your brand and convey your ideals. If you want to sway public opinion and control the message consumers receive, branding must always be on your mind where marketing efforts are concerned.
6. DIY
You use premium SEO services to increase visibility and raise search engine rankings, so why would you assume that the complex art of marketing is something you can tackle alone? If you want the best opportunity to realize significant returns through your marketing efforts, hiring professional help is imperative.