This is a guest post courtesy of Nick.
We all make mistakes. It’s simply human to err at times.
Mistakes in your marketing however can not only cost you money, but cost you your rep as well if you aren’t careful.
They do say knowledge is power though, this post is intended to address some of the mistakes you very well “could” be making right now, without even realizing it’s doing you harm.
Then when you know where potential pitfalls lie… you can step right on around those suckers! And the first mistake Nick says you could be making right now is:
Not Testing Your Market
The purpose of testing your marketing efforts is to develop better performance and maximize results for future marketing efforts.
Failing to test is a mistake because you don’t have the ability to determine what the market place wants from your product or services. You need to account for the how’s and why’s your consumers react to your ads, and good metrics are the only way.
There is no room for guesswork because that’s when your programs can get expensively ineffective. However, if you look at your endeavors separately, you’ll notice that one approach outperforms others with a marked difference in margins.
Testing your marketplace is one of the most important things you can do for your business, so don’t just leave it up to your competition.
Lack of Direct Response Marketing
Telling consumers how great your company is won’t work, especially since they know you are paying for the advertisement.
Instead of telling consumers how great your business is, you should try to give consumers a reason to favor your business instead of the competition.
Make a compelling case for the product or service being sold through things like social media marketing services. Don’t just point out the qualities of the company.
If all you ever do is talk about your company, consumers will think you’re selfish, and they will go somewhere else to do business with someone who actually cares about their needs.
Not Differentiating the Sales Proposition
You may have the highest quality product on the market. You may have the best prices on the market. You may have the best customer service on the market.
However, if your consumers don’t understand that from your ads, they will never begin the purchase process. Most marketers make the mistake of trying to be the best at everything, but fail to deliver consistently because they are spread thin.
Consumers need to know that they can rely on you for your unique sales proposition, and with some hard work, they will soon begin to identify you as the best company to meet their needs. Again, this is something social media marketing works well for.
Not Converting New Customers to Return Customers
Spending $1000 on marketing to gain $1000 dollars in sales equals exactly a zero return on your time and investment.
However, using the back-end to invite those new customers back and spend the same average amount again within a month can create a situation where you double your profits.
Most advertisers think that the profitability of an ad ends with the conversion of a new customer. Not so.
The real profits begin when your customers return again to purchase something else. New customers are expensive, but returning customers are already satisfied and happy with your product or service, and they are willing to spend more money with you plus invite their friends to do business with you too.
You can entice return customers with logical product extensions, or create continuous sales commitments with interesting recurring revenue streams.
Just always remember it’s much less costly to keep an old customer than convert a new one, and brainstorm ways you can do that.
Asking for Too Much Too Soon
Most brands get the gumption to advertise to their consumers when they have a product with a large profit margin. They run ads with the goal to sell the high priced items or services and make massive profits.
However, when consumers don’t respond, companies begin to wonder why.
What the business fails to realize is that this is a high risk situation for your consumers, because the deal entails that they will need to spend a lot of money with a company that they may barely know, and may have never done business with before.
The way to avoid this risky request is to create a small ticket item to sell to new customers first, so they don’t feel threatened.
Having a lot of new customers spend a small sum of money helps create a scenario in which they come back later for higher priced items, because you have already established some trust.
They will feel good about coming back and recommending you to their friends because they enjoyed the experience, and developed a positive relationship with your brand.
Moral of the story? Don’t be greedy.
Over to You
Are there any marketing mistakes you’ve made in your biz efforts? What were they and how did you resolve them? I’d love your thoughts in the comments below.