Topic: Common Marketing Mistakes Business Keep Making
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of any business. If you don’t market your brand, you don’t make money and the business fails. So, not to seem too self-centered, marketing is critical, and too many businesses are guilty of these common marketing mistakes that cost them money, potentially damage their reputation, and lead to failure.
One of the biggest marketing mistakes is thinking about marketing in terms of tools, tactics, and strategies, rather than in terms of goals then strategies for reaching your goals. I love this Whiteboard Friday graphic from Moz that outlines these common marketing mistakes.
I once sat in on a client pitch meeting where ad agency execs were spitballing strategies to sell a new client. One of the less experienced agents started by suggesting actors to feature in the commercial. This demonstrates why this is one of the common marketing mistakes I see all the time.
What is marketing?
Before we can discuss the common marketing mistakes businesses make, we first need to understand what marketing is and what it isn’t. In fact, the very definition (and using a definition that’s too restrictive) is one of the most common marketing mistakes I see. You see, the definition of marketing varies for some folks. Some think marketing involves only advertising and sales. However, the truth is that marketing is a whole lot more than that. Sure, marketing involves advertising and sales, but it also involves producing a superior product that solves a prevalent consumer problem, pricing the product to provide value to buyers, and distributing the product so it’s available at the right place at the right time.
So, yes writing a blog post or appearing on a TV show (commonly called product placement) is considered marketing but you can’t stop there.
In today’s post, we’ll share some of the most common marketing mistakes businesses keep making that costs them time, money, and, ultimately, their business.
Not spending enough on marketing
Again, we’re not talking here about just advertising and sales. We’re talking about everything from product development and USP (unique selling proposition), value creation, market research, branding, and analytics. Here’s what the average business spends (or should spend) on advertising depending on the type of business and their overall budget.
Topic Discussed: Common Marketing Mistakes Business Keep Making