Related Posts
Everyone wants to be successful and make the most out of their marketing campaigns, but what if you’re just missing the mark because of a simple, easy to fix mistake?
As a business owner, you have a hand in so many areas of your business. It can be challenging to spot every little detail or misstep right away. Our recommendation is this: Learn about the common errors other companies are making and compare them to your own marketing strategy.
We’ve included a list of common mistakes business owners are making with their marketing, so you can avoid them when planning for a successful 2021.
Mistake #1: You don’t have clear marketing goals
Having goals is a great way to measure progress.
Goals help to guide your marketing efforts and drive you to pursue better results. If you don’t set goals for your business, how do you know you’re achieving what you could be? Without goals, measuring your progress becomes a baseless task.
Instead, define attainable, measurable marketing goals during your planning process. Be sure that these goals align with your company’s overall business plan. This way, when you later measure the progress of your campaigns, you will better understand their successes and failures. With this insight, you’ll be able to more efficiently evaluate the success of your marketing strategy.
Mistake #2: You haven’t done any audience research
How well do you know the people who purchase your products and services?
Basing your marketing on assumptions about your target audience can really hurt your campaign potential. The last thing you want to do is throw your money at people uninterested in your services (you might as well throw it down the drain).
Knowing your audience is one of the most important aspects of earning higher conversions and getting in front of qualified prospects. Unfortunately you can’t market to everyone, so use the demographics of your current best customers to narrow your target market and reach the right prospects.
Maybe you own a dental practice. After your patients come in for a cleaning, ask if you can send them a questionnaire to better get to know them and their experience.
If you own a gym or fitness center, regularly talk to your members to learn how working out at your gym fits into their lifestyle. There are so many great ways to connect with your audience and learn from what they have to say.
Mistake #3: Your website isn’t mobile-friendly
To understand why mobile-friendly websites are important, all you have to do is look at the numbers: more than half of all internet traffic is generated from mobile devices, while only about 46% comes from desktop use.
With more users accessing the web via mobile device, there should be more emphasis on having a mobile-friendly website. Becoming mobile-friendly has some great benefits:
- Improved user experiences
- Higher conversion rates
- Faster website loading speeds
- Increased time spent on site
- Competitive advantage
These will all lead to a better online reputation, which can maximize your potential profits.
Mistake #4: You’re not tracking marketing ROI
The top priority with any business is to generate sales and improve your bottom line. You have to know where your money is going, and whether or not you’re making a return on your investments. By calculating your marketing ROI, you can gain insight into where you should be spending your money and how you need to pivot your marketing strategy.
It can be easy to lose sight of your main goals when looking at pages upon pages of numbers and statistics. Narrow this down by choosing the most important metrics to track. Once you’ve chosen your KPIs, it will be much easier to measure the returns of your campaigns.
Pay close attention to areas that need improving. After all, you want to know if you’re getting your money’s worth —or if you should be allocating your marketing dollars elsewhere.
Making mistakes is just a part of life, and inevitably, a part of business. But in business, it could make or break your bank. There’s bound to be small oversights or mistakes that you don’t even realize you’re making, but our best practice is to identify and correct them as soon as possible.
If you’re looking to get an outsider’s perspective or expert advice, contact us today to get started on your free marketing assessment!
