It’s great to be excited about your business and want to tell the world about it. Marketing can indeed be a very effective way to generate new business, and if done right it can have people chanting your company’s name all over town.
You don’t just want to start throwing your product’s name around randomly, though. Marketing has distinct rules to it, and you should pay attention to these rules if you want to really get the attention of your target group.
Indeed, as with many aspects of starting a business, your marketing strategy should be well thought out from the beginning. Let’s take a look at some of the more common marketing mistakes that companies make, and some tips on how you can avoid making the same mistakes.
Not Knowing (or Straying From) Your Target Audience
If you’re an enthusiastic business owner, it’s very easy to fall in love with your product and just assume that everyone in the world should feel similarly. Unfortunately, this is not always true.
Even leading fast-food chains like McDonald’s have had challenges appealing to new customer groups. The Arch Deluxe burger, for example, targeted those who saw the sandwiches as a children’s place. But McDonald’s ultimately found that the special ingredients required for the sandwich resulted in a poor return on investment. The target group simply wasn’t interested enough to justify the costs involved. So in this case, the company’s attempt to diversify was more complicated than planned.
When you’re in the early stages of creating a marketing strategy, take the time to do research on your industry and your competitors. Look at your competitors’ social media and see who follows them. If you don’t see anyone over the age of 30, then perhaps you should direct your marketing towards people aged 18-29. There is a whole psychology to effective marketing, and you should research it as thoroughly as possible if you want to hit the right group.
These are general statements, of course, but in your research, you will discover a lot of subtleties that will help you refine your marketing approach even further.
Focusing on Impact Over Sensitivity in Marketing Campaigns
Creating an impactful marketing strategy can often be akin to walking a tightrope, aiming to resonate with your target audience while respecting the diverse perspectives of a broader public. The importance of this balance becomes evident when we consider the challenges many brands have faced due to misjudgments in past campaigns.
When crafting elements such as banners, logos, slogans, and overall branding, several key factors should be considered. Companies need to navigate carefully around politically charged issues, avoiding overt alignment with either end of the political spectrum so as not to unintentionally alienate segments of their audience.
For a historical reference, one might consider the marketing trajectory of the Starbucks brand. Known for its global appeal and widespread recognition, Starbucks has navigated the complexity of universal branding by focusing on the customer experience rather than diving into controversial topics. They emphasize the quality of their product and the inviting atmosphere of their stores, which resonate broadly without polarizing their audience. This strategy has allowed Starbucks to maintain its popularity and continue to grow its market presence, demonstrating that a neutral approach in marketing can be successful and impactful.
Relying Too Much on One Type of Marketing
Another thing to keep in mind is that there can be many effective channels for marketing. Although some channels might seem more popular than others, it’s a good idea to monitor all of the popular sources that your target group might be looking at, and also keep an eye on what your competitors are doing with these media.
There is both an art and a science to creating an effective marketing strategy. While you don’t want to rely solely upon old-school leaflets to reach your target audience, neither should you limit your efforts to forms so technologically advanced that you inadvertently exclude a large percentage of your target group.
Depending on your target audience, there are numerous different media and methods that you can employ to reach people. We won’t go into great detail here, but in most industries, it’s best to include a mixture of social media, email, and print sources in a company’s marketing efforts.
Going Overboard
While you want to get your name out as much as possible, you don’t want to advertise so often that they become immune to you (or, worse yet, start to start sending your messages to spam for sending them similar material too often). Another marketing mistake to avoid is overdoing it.
There is a fine art to the number and frequency of ads (emails, Tweets, etc) that you should be sending out to pique and maintain people’s interest. And again, getting this right is tricky and will likely involve a fair amount of trial and error. But reading up on accepted techniques, as well as other people’s successes and failures will give you an advantage.
Getting Images Wrong
Many companies invest heavily in their branding, including the creation of company logos and other images that visually depict their brands. This is an extremely important part of marketing as, consciously or not, images stick in people’s memories. And people come to associate these images with the companies they represent.
One example of a company that learned a lesson from an attempted logo change is The Gap. The Gap had long been a household name and one that many people associated with a particular logo. However, in an attempt to modernize, the company changed its logo in 2010 to something that the public neither found particularly inspiring nor associated with the clothes they loved. They quickly switched back to the original.
Marketing experts have developed distinct guidelines for the creation of logos and other aspects of company branding. They should be clear, simple, and appropriate to the product being branded.
Keep Doing Your Homework, & Keep Your Eye on The Ball
There are many common marketing mistakes that companies make in trying to effectively reach people. As a business owner, you will surely experience ups and downs in the course of running your various marketing campaigns. But if you’re really motivated to succeed, you will find ways to hit the sweet spots with your campaigns and continue drawing people in.
This requires innovation. You have to keep up to speed on changing trends and methods. But as long as you remain true to your vision and keep up with the times, you should stay on track and keep your company image in people’s minds.