IMAGE CREDIT: (c) Fable Photography
As marketing professionals we often put our heads in our hands when we see businesses making simple marketing mistakes that can easily be avoided or fixed. We get it, it’s not easy. You’re running a small business and suddenly you need to be an expert in everything: finance, HR, marketing, IT. You may choose to outsource these services to an expert or create a role inhouse within your team, but sometimes this isn’t possible and you therefore end up taking on the responsibility yourself.
Whilst no one wants to get something wrong, it is important to remember that in marketing it is especially important to get it right. Every piece of marketing activity that you do helps your audience build an impression of you. No matter where they are in the funnel, from first impressions at awareness stage to last impressions at the loyalty stage, creating the right portrayal could be the difference between customers choosing to buy from you or going elsewhere.
Here are some marketing mistakes we often see that could be costing your business:
1. Getting your messaging wrong
Every sentence that your audience reads helps to form their opinion of your business and build trust in you.
Whilst you may write something with good intentions, it may be interpreted in a different way by your audience.
Telling your customers you have had a difficult trading period and have lots of leftover stock may evoke sympathy, but it may also convey to your customer that your products aren’t worth buying. Instead, you could consider adding a ‘Last chance to buy’ label to certain products to make them sound popular and sought after rather than unwanted and defunct.
If you run a fresh juice bar and you want to be associated with a healthy and active lifestyle, you wouldn’t want to post pictures of your staff consuming fizzy drinks. Your content needs to reflect what your brand stands for.
2. Inconsistent formatting on printed collateral
You have decided to create a flyer and have written some fantastic copy. You just need a small snippet of housekeeping-type information at the end. For ease, you copy and paste this off your website but don’t realise that the font and formatting isn’t the same. The result, a beautiful flyer in Verdana font with a glaringly obvious paragraph in Times New Roman.
There are two ways of avoiding this issue: 1. Typing the copy out rather than copying and pasting it. 2. Copy and paste via a plain text editor tool such as Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Apple) which will remove all formatting.
3. Out of date information on your website
It’s surprising how many websites still display outdated Covid-19 update popup windows. If visitors land on a website that seemingly hasn’t been updated since 2020 they may leave immediately, questioning the accuracy of other information. An outdated site can also undermine your business’ credibility and professionalism.
When your website isn’t your top priority, it’s easy to overlook details like this. The simplest solution is to avoid posting content that can quickly go out of date. However, if that’s not possible, consider setting a diary reminder to remove or update the message at the appropriate time.
4. Not keeping your Google Business Profile up-to-date
From personal experience, I can tell you there is nothing more annoying than driving 15 minutes to a specialist food shop only to find it closed, despite its Google Business Profile saying it’s open.
If your Google Business Profile looks neglected or outdated, your audience may question whether you are still operating and could go elsewhere. Additionally, if you want to be seen as established in your industry, showing out of date information could undermine this impression.
5. Venting your gripes on social media
When you’ve had a bad experience with a customer it can be really tempting to vent via social media.
Maybe a customer has been rude to a staff member, but ask yourself: does it really need to be dealt with on social media?
Perhaps several clients said they wished you provided a certain service which, when you put into market, no one signed up to and you therefore decide to vent about it on your social media. However, your followers don’t need to hear your sob story or be made to feel responsible even though it is incredibly frustrating. Instead consider the reasons it didn’t fly; maybe the pricing was off, or it wasn’t promoted enough, or the timing wasn’t quite right. In a situation like this, our advice would be to try and turn it into a positive for example run a giveaway around this service which may pique some interest.
A post with a bit of conflict will probably get good engagement, it may also help build rapport with other customers who comment, but commonly it looks unprofessional and may make some people feel uncomfortable.
6. Not investing in your branding and logo or not following brand guidelines
When you first start out, it seems logical not to invest too much in your branding and logo until you know how successful the venture will be. However, your branding and logo will be the foundations of your company and most likely stay with you for years.
As a customer, when you see a logo which looks like it has been stretched or has been drawn on Clipart, what are your initial thoughts of a company? You probably aren’t going to think that it’s a market leader or expert in its field. The saying that a picture paints a thousand words is never truer than in the context of a logo design and usage.
What to do if you make a marketing mistake
Firstly, if you do make a mistake within your marketing, don’t panic. It is often easy to fix an error especially as many digital outputs such as social media and Google PPC ads allow you to edit or delete your content. Sometimes you can even turn a mistake into an opportunity. Businesses who send emails with the subject heading: ‘Oops, we made a mistake’ often find the open rate is higher than their standard emails.
If the mistake can’t easily be fixed, like in most aspects of life the best thing to do is be honest; though this depends on the situation.
How to avoid making simple marketing mistakes
If you’re not a marketer, the do’s and don’ts of marketing are not always glaringly obvious. If you are committed to getting your marketing right, the best solution is to either employ a marketing executive/ manager or outsource your marketing to a professional like you would outsource your finance to an accountant. As an expert, it is likely they will achieve the best outcomes for your business and probably be able to do it quicker making it more economical for you as well.
If you are unable to bring a marketing consultant into your business, some problems can be solved with a second pair of eyes. Someone to proofread something, to act as your sounding board or to simply give another perspective. Even better, rotate the people you use so you get a fresh pair of eyes each time.
If you don’t know where to start with your marketing or are feeling daunted by it, do get in touch to speak to a member of our team. We would love to help.