Before you finalise your marketing strategy for 2013, consider whether you are guilty of these 10 Marketing Blunders:
1. Failing to define your target market
If you are not specific about who you are marketing to, how will you know where to find them, what they are looking for, what problem they need to solve and what you need to do to appeal to them?
2. Forgetting to focus on repeat business
It costs less to retain a client than to develop a new one, plain and simple. And repeat clients are a valuable source of reference and recommendation.
3. Blindly repeating what you’ve always done
To quote Einstein, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. If you want to grow your business in 2013, you might need a new approach.
4. Tinkering with inconsistent messages
Be consistent in everything you say and do - your values, your promise, your tone of voice, your corporate colours and identity - and develop a strong and clearly identifiable brand.
5. Failing to market your brand
Marketing shouldn’t be a desperate effort to save your business, but an essential element of your business plan that is executed consistently and measured on a regular basis. And since repetition builds response, a sustained campaign will build a better response.
6. Trusting in a vague message
Even Coke is more direct now than previously. While their brand promise is certainly emotional, “Open Happiness” is far more explicit than the “Brrrrrr” line they used in the past. And since most brands don’t have quite the same brand equity as Coke (never mind their advertising budget), it makes sense that your message is even more specific. Be single-minded and don’t complicate your communication with unnecessary detail.
7. Refusing to advertise because you can’t outspend the competition
There is no question that frequency matters, and that the more your target sees your ad, the more likely he is to remember you. But you can still differentiate yourself from your opposition even if they have a bigger advertising budget.
8. Squandering your entire budget on one ad
If you can only afford to run your ad once or twice, you need to look for alternative marketing channels. And there are plenty of options. Repetition is critical and a hit and run approach is unlikely to grow your brand.
9. Overlooking Social Media
552 million people use Facebook every day. 500 million have an active Twitter account. The average Facebook user reportedly has 234 friends and the average Twitter user has 126 followers. So a single message about your brand by just one person reaches 126 people on Twitter and 234 people on Facebook.
10. Hiring the biggest ad agency (when you are the smallest client)
Bigger is not necessarily better, and smaller companies can get lost in big agencies. Major ad agencies tend to focus on big-budget clients and may not view your investment in the same light as you do.
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