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Avoid the Common Marketing Mistakes
We are all so familiar with the saying “We are only humans; everyone makes their own mistakes”. That’s true. I could not initiate further debate on that. But in business, I have to firmly say that mistakes are unacceptable. I am not closing doors to the fact that mistakes are always there to happen. However, I think that if there is room for mistakes in business, it is harder to rise up and start again. In business, where success is primarily dependent on the kind of marketing moves, you have to stay in a win-win situation. If not, then most probably your business only has one way to go: down.
The best thing to deal with mistakes is avoidance a.k.a. “prevention is the best cure”. By learning the common mistakes of most entrepreneurs, then you have a high percentage of doing your business smoothly.
Read. Listen. Understand. Learn.
Me, Myself, and I
As selfish as this one sounds, yes, this “attitude” happens a lot more than you think. Most companies are focused into the improvement and development of their own company. Halt yourselves. Remember that your company is here for people you aim to give service to. Falling from this category are:
· Placing the emphasis on your company, not your customer
· Selling features, not customer benefits
· Starting your marketing with a focus on your credentials, products and services instead of on client problems
· Not finding out your customer’s needs
· Wasting time on pushing information about yourself out to prospects instead of pulling them in with ideas they are interested in.
· Using a label to describe what you do instead of a “meme” or value positioning statement that tells prospects which problems you solve in a sentence or less.
Be Bold and Take Risks
Businessmen take risks. Yes, true. However, risks without “thinking” does not help at all. Do not be so literal to just take the risk and gamble. What were you thinking? Getting suicide? The common mistake that falls in this category is:
· Breaking the common rules in marketing (Not all rules should be broken, there are rules that manage its way to success)
Stick to the Present
No one is to be blamed when business is only focused at present. With the many things to deal with at present, there is no time at all to do other things. But remember that good marketing is also looking back to the things done and looking forward to the next step. You’ll be surprised that once this has become a habit, marketing becomes much easier. Common mistakes for this category are:
· Not testing headlines, price points, packages, pitches to determine what’s selling and what isn’t
· Overlooking testing and research
· Forgetting to regularly follow up with prospects
Think BIG
Sometimes thinking big in business can be overwhelming that businessmen realized the tasks are too large for them to handle. Common mistakes here are:
· Tackling many types of prospects in a limited budget
· Focusing on getting many customers as possible leaves the older customers behind
Establishing a Tight Budget
Budgeting is good, however a company’s budget could sometimes be strangling that sometimes becomes a major hindrance in strategic marketing plan. Here are some mistakes of this kind:
· Underspending in marketing, which is insufficient enough to meet annual sales objective
· Limited budget for everything—advertising, PR, etc.—ends up in a tiny outcome
About the Author: Mary Ann Carolyn "Mean" Dalangin-Tordecilla has a natural passion for writing. Since childhood, she spent most of her quiet times writing poetry and short novels. This hobby led her to pursue a writing course in college. During her university years, she has been a Dean’s Lister and has reaped several special awards. These awards include: Best Student Advocacy Award of the Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) of 2003 in the student-group-made commercial titled Beinte Cinco; and Top Ten Notable Thesis in Journalism in her thesis work titled, A Study on the Violence in Disney's Film Adaptations of the Grimms' Tales and its Effect on the Anxiety Level of Children. She also became an active member in various university groups, specifically the media and politics. By 2005, she graduated at the University of Santo Tomas with a degree of AB Journalism.
Aside from being a full-time writer, she also loves beauty and the arts. She appreciates the works of the Impressionist artist Monet and loves to paint landscapes and seascapes. She also loves to do photography of people, where the theme centers on the spirit of realism. Aside from that she simply enjoys life and hangs out mostly on the dance floor or by the beach.
Check out her Online PR and Marketing blog.
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