Avoid These Marketing Mishaps: Top 10 Errors to Correct for Better Results

It is critical for business growth, but there are things that can go wrong with it. And even when it is done by senior marketers these mistakes can be made, and things can be derailed from the intended campaign objectives. Knowing these top 10 marketing mistakes will make you be in a position to adjust the courses and experience better outcome. 

1. Not Defining Goals and KPIs

The first common marketing sin is a lack of goal setting and identification of necessary KPIs before the campaigns are launched. Having no concrete goal and measures towards expected achievements means you cannot even measure effectiveness or efficiency of the activities being conducted. Map goals and its related metric to business objective from the very start.

2. Emphasising on product quality over customer satisfaction  

This is an important point because, for a long time now, most marketers have dwelled on the outputs without ever bothering to consider the outcomes. Traffic to a page, the total number of Twitter or Face book fans, and e-mail click-through rate are examples of outputs. The real targets of marketing, on the other hand, are results such as more revenue, the ability to buy customers at a cheaper price, and the ability to derive more value from those customers. Set behaviourally anchored outcome-oriented goals and link output measures to the goals to be achieved.   

3. Relying on Assumptions

Target customers and target markets suggest easy assumptions about customer needs or behavior or nature of the message that would work best or the channels that should be utilized etc. But assumptions aren't facts. They include market research, analytics, survey, interviews and testing but more importance should be placed on real customer insights in strategies.  

4. Ignoring the Buyer's Journey   

Each customer category passes through a process to complete a purchase. If content only targets middle and lower funnel stages when the prospect is already engrossed in a buying decision, then there are high chances you are not reaching out to encouraging high-consideration purchase audiences. Figure 5 – Map product/solution and/ or message to the consumer at the appropriate awareness, consideration, decision stage.   

5. Not Integrating Efforts   

This is where the organisation ends up with unrelated and perhaps competing teams, campaigns, and initiatives, which breaks up the flow of marketing. This leaves the customers confused, reduces the effectiveness of the message and makes it hard to optimize. Make a strategic map for the implementation of messages, modes, and actions with reference to a single purpose.  

6. Avoiding Experimentation    

Marketers who are strategic in their day to day business operation will always conduct test and optimization according to the performance data results. However, people avoid risks in experimentation for they do not know what to expect in their outcome. Begin with testing one or two variants for the email subject or an image on the social media page. Decide based on data not assumptions or opinions; where the more effective option is trial and error..   

7. Failing To Manage Key Performance Indicators    

Within marketing the Pareto principle dictates that 20 percent of activities contribute to 80 percent of overall outcomes. Integrated analysis of historical data with testing knowledge to identify influential performance aspects. Then reinvest in success areas while cutting losses in fields that do not have as much of an effect. 

8. Overlooking Lifetime Value   

This was a great read: The moment a lead is secured, then the real sales begins! Moving from pure promotional ‘making the first sale’ type of copy to conversion and loyalty-specific content based on the Life Time Value segments. This leads to revisits and word of mouth, the two that amplify the lifetime value of customers.   

9. Limiting Ownership of Goals   

Marketing controls messaging and campaign, however many goals will require integration with other teams. Sales should close the leads whereas Customer Service must focus on customer loyalty. Leverage goals to address the goal alignment for integrated experiences throughout the various stages required for effective product development.  

10. Not Continually Optimizing     

Marketing is normally a four step cycle of research, implementation, assessment as well as improvement. Do not run isolated campaigns and promotions and not look at the results after testing and not to adapt approach based on those. Next maneuver for improved results. Fine tune elements in a gradual manner while repositioning the core components, which form the organization’s market offering in the eyes of its customers.

While it is no surprise that marketing evaluations often reflect trying rather than doing, by recognizing these pitfalls, marketing professionals can identify, remedy or avoid ailing campaigns and get more from marketing activities. And don’t fall into the trap of typical vanity metrics, assumptions, and outputs. However, it is customers, coordinated processes, proven techniques, usable findings, key measures, and lifelong customerconnections leading to outbound business objectives. Regular assessment of performance and take corrections with reference to findings. Holding this form of management accountable for its operations to deliver on sustainable growth based on its strengths and methodology deepens its benefits many folds.