This is a contributor’s blogpost …
Marketing a business can often involve a lot of trial and error. A few failed marketing methods can help you to focus your marketing in the right direction. However, there may be some huge mistakes that you haven’t realised yet that could be costing you a lot of business. Here are just a few of the worst marketing mistakes you can make.
Staying offline
There’s no reason to not have web presence in this day and age. The Internet is the way in which most people are finding new business nowadays – no one is using a phonebook. Even handyman companies and retail outlets have found a boom in customers through converting to the web. You don’t have to be digitally savvy – there are many marketing companies out there that can do the work for you. Web page design is perhaps the most important thing you want to invest in as having a website is essentially like having a shopfront to the digital world. From here you can then look into other forms of online marketing such as ads, social media and SEO.
Staying exclusively online
On the flipside, it’s likely there are a lot of new generation business folks out there relying entirely on the web to market their brand. This can be just as limiting as staying off the web for some companies. Use offline advertising to strengthen your online presence. This could involve printing your website on a t-shirt or company vehicle, posting flyers through people’s doors with free online vouchers or hosting a stall at a trade fair which you can advertise on social media.
Avoiding feedback
Some people are so afraid of negative feedback that they’ll go to great lengths to avoid it such as staying off review sites and disabling comments on blogs and youtube videos related to them. However, hiding from feedback can make you look shady, not to mention preventing any positive criticism that you may be able to gleam. Open yourself up to feedback and use it to your advantage by promoting the positive over the negative. Use good reviews as testimonials and diffuse negative criticism by publicly responding to it (the likes of Trip Advisor allow you to reply to reviews left by clients).
Chasing competition
When a competitor is offering a better deal or service than you, the temptation can be to try to one-up them with a better deal. Whilst this can work in some cases, constantly trying to outdo competition could start to make it look like you’re simply playing catch-up. Instead, try to separate yourself from your competitors by offering something that they don’t. Rather than following the crowd, attract a new crowd by finding a niche.
Not knowing your niche
Of course, if you’re going to make a niche for yourself, you need to know this corner of the industry inside out. This means doing thorough research into your market. Surveys and analytics of web traffic are some of the best ways of doing this. You may be able to get a better idea of your demographic allowing you to focus your marketing better.
