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10 Most Common Marketing Mistakes Businesses Make & How to Avoid Them

Marketing mistakes can be extremely costly to businesses, costing them time, money and new customers. Sometimes, these oversights may even sabotage a businesses’ success, making it difficult – if not impossible – for companies to achieve or grow profits.

Whether you’re establishing or growing your business, being aware of these common marketing mistakes can help you avoid them so you can position your business for optimal success.

10 Common (& Avoidable) Business Marketing Mistakes

1. 1 No marketing plan – A detailed, well-written marketing plan can outline the budget, timeline and types of marketing campaigns necessary for your business. It can also describe the benefits and objectives of each investment and campaign. Without this plan, it’s far more likely that the marketing costs, timelines and campaigns will be mismanaged and that the goals won’t be achieved.
2. 2 Misconceptions about the target or ideal customer base – Failing to understand the ideal customer can mean that businesses’ marketing messages miss the mark or are delivered through the wrong channels. That can result in wasted efforts and little to no return on the marketing investment.
3. 3 No website or an out-of-date website – More than 50 percent of consumers research a business online before becoming a customer (and this number is expected to increase in the coming years). Consequently, businesses with no web presence can miss out on presenting themselves to online consumers who may be looking for them. Similarly, businesses with a dated website can misrepresent themselves, appearing out of touch and potentially losing credibility with potential customers.
4. 4 Inconsistent branding – Using different logos, different slogans and/or different tones across promotional messaging and branding channels can confuse customers, make your brand unmemorable or, worse yet, present your business as unprofessional or untrustworthy.
5. 5 No diversification – When businesses focus all of their marketing budget and efforts on one marketing channel or a limited few (like, for instance, only investing in mail flyers and billboards), they can lose out on accessing and engaging major segments of their target customer base (like, for example, target customers who are online). Taking an integrated approach to marketing can be the key to maximizing the return on investment and putting businesses out in front of wherever their ideal customers may be.

1. 6 Mistiming marketing campaigns – When businesses promote a sale or any event, the right timing for rolling out the related promotional campaigns can be essential to informing customers and maximizing engagement. For example, waiting a week before a sale to announce and promote it can be too late. Timing campaigns at least a month ahead of a big event tends to be more ideal because it provides enough time to roll out multiple promotions across multiple channels, maximizing exposure and impact.
2. 7 Failing to analyze results – Businesses that don’t track and evaluate the costs versus success of each marketing campaign will never know what works and what doesn’t. By carefully monitoring and analyzing the results of every campaign, businesses can gain insights as to how to continually improve future campaigns, enhancing success.
3. 8 Overlooking social media channels – A well-designed, user friendly website can be just one key component of a business’ online presence. In addition to websites, many consumers also look to businesses’ social media pages to learn more about how customers engage with them, rate them, etc. In fact, more than 2 in every 3 online consumers checks out a business’ social media pages when deciding whether to patronize that business. Consequently, businesses that are not active on social media can lose out to competitors who are.
4. 9 Not paying attention to online reviews & feedback – About 9 in 10 consumers check out online reviews before visiting a business, and more than 8 in 10 consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations. As a result, few and/or poor online reviews for a business can be strong signals to potential customers that they should not choose a certain business.
5. 10 Letting inexperienced staff manage marketing efforts – While it may initially be cost-effective to try to run marketing efforts in house, as businesses grow, letting less experienced in-house staff manage marketing campaigns can greatly stunt a business while consuming vital in-house resources. By outsourcing marketing needs to experienced professionals – like the team at GTG Plus, businesses can benefit from the expertise and insights of skilled marketing experts, empowering them to get the most out every dollar they invest in their marketing efforts.

Call (720) 498-3513 or Email to info@gtgplus.com

GTG Plus is a full-service marketing firm providing custom, innovative solutions for any type of business. Backed by extensive experience and proven results, our team of experts is highly skilled at devising and managing flexible, fully integrated marketing campaigns that can engage your target customers and deliver exceptional results.

From branding and logo design to print media, billboards and websites, we create state-of-the-art marketing materials that optimize brand exposure and visibility while positioning businesses for next-level success.