There are many common marketing mistakes that can be costly for your organization. Ignoring these mistakes and making them repeatedly can be detrimental to your bottom line and negatively affect your organization’s messaging and branding across the board. If you're not iteratively working to correct these oversights as they appear, you'll only continue to have issues.
Ignoring Automation
Automation has become quite the life force for digital marketing. According to an Aberdeen Group Study, marketing automation can increase your sales conversion rate by about 25%.
Twenty-five percent is a statistically significant number that should not be shrugged off. Curiously in light of this data, many organizations still have not prioritized using automation software like Account Engagement (Pardot). Automation can assist with your conversions as well as stretch your budget, making sure you’re operating at your full potential.
Focusing on One Channel
Getting lost in the pursuit of a singular focus is another common mistake. Don’t invest all of your resources into one avenue just because that's where you’re seeing the most engagement.
Instead, all of your marketing channels (social media, emails, landing pages, blog posts, etc) should work together to harmoniously assist and uplift one another. That way if you’re seeing success in one stream, you can use that to grow success in another.
Pro-Tip: This same concept applies when you're looking to engage clients. Don't just focus on getting new customers, make sure you're also keeping current clients happy (or vice versa). Your goal should be to have a balanced marketing environment across the board.
Not Planning Ahead
Not doing any marketing planning at all can cause chaos and disjointedness. A marketing calendar is a powerful tool to help you plan ahead. At a minimum, your marketing plan should include strategy and content for at least a month in advance.
Ideally, try to plan your marketing materials out for each quarter, allowing for some flexibility. Be sure to share your marketing calendar with relevant team members to ensure that they’re also working with the most up-to-date info and timeline.
Being Impatient with Strategies
If you aren't getting immediate results for a campaign, don’t be too quick to abandon your strategy. Let it run its course. Then, if the ROI is not as successful as you might have hoped, you’ll at least be able to analyze the data and discover why. Make it a learning point and turn it into useful data that can be applied to future campaigns.
