Mistake is such an unpleasant word. None of us like making them, especially if they can cost us (big) money. And that’s exactly what could happen if a marketing campaign experiences slip-ups, errors or oversights, whether at the very beginning or long into its run. Let’s take a look at three of the most common marketing mistakes and our tips how to prevent them.
This is NOT a “The chicken or the egg”-type conversation. Strategy always comes before execution. We can all agree that the right tactics are one of the keys to a successful marketing campaign. But they can’t be the starting point. At the initial, strategy stage of planning a campaign, it’s necessary to define its main objective, account segments, targeted personas and the compelling reason for prospects to engage. So, what about tactics? Don’t worry, their time will come. Concentrating on tactics too early leads to issues later on, e.g. when the emails, Inmails or invites are sent, but the response rate is drastically low because the content or compelling reason don’t resonate with your buyer personas since they weren’t properly defined from the beginning.
How to avoid: Start with a well-thought strategy, consider and add the right tactics once you have the basics (objective, segmentation, buyer personas, compelling reason, etc.) figured out.
Respect your buyer personas. They need to be taken on a journey, one that lasts longer than just a quarter. If you’re set on converting leads into sales within a couple of months, you’ll likely end up with a high burn rate. Too often I take part in strategy meetings where clients have already defined the budgets, timelines, tactics to be used and results they expect to get. All that without looking at the bigger picture and thinking what happens after the campaign ends, how the next steps in the client journey are going to look like. Remember, it’s called a client journey and not a client overnight trip for a reason. Just like a real expedition, it involves a certain amount of deliberation, planning and preparation to be satisfying.
How to avoid: Use your (and your prospects’) time wisely. In Q1-Q2 focus on building brand and solution awareness and positioning recall at both company and rep level. Concentrate on nurturing your leads, establish rapport, and when Q3 rolls around you’ll be well-equipped to convert them into sales. Q4 needs to be about taking them through your brand experience (events) and delighting them (Xmas parties).
Pushing products too hard is a great way… to burn clients. Not to be brutal here, but your clients know how to use Google to find and buy what they want. The feature-function-benefit methodology of creating marketing messages is not working anymore. Which is why your marketing approach should be not about not selling products but positioning yourself as at an expert, a problem-solver.
How to avoid: Whether creating marketing content or talking to your prospects, focus on the root of their needs or problems and how to address them. This means considering common challenges your clients face, coming up with ways to resolve them in the long-term perspective, designing a roadmap for growing their ROI, etc. If you do this consistently, you’ll be the person your prospects approach when they’re ready to learn more about your products/solutions or straight out buy them.
Some mistakes can’t be predicted or avoided, other you can identify and fix early on. Sometimes it can be more difficult to determine why an approach that seems work well for everybody else is not bringing the results you expected. No matter the reason, we’ve got you covered. Let’s have a look at your marketing plan and see which areas can be still improved to maximise its impact.
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