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6 Most Common Marketing Mistakes

mistakes, marketing mistakes, mulligan management group

By De-de Mulligan

You have your budget set and allocations identified. You are ready to get after digital marketing. However, without proper planning and measurement of your efforts, much of your dollars and actions may be wasted.

Here are the six common marketing faux pas made by organizations and what to do about them.

 

Mistake #1: You Don’t Have Your Target Demographics Nailed Down

You must know the demographics of the decision-makers you are trying to attract. Here are seven questions that can help tighten up your scope:

  1. What industries are they in?
  2. What is their title?
  3. Where do they work?
  4. Are you marketing to males, females, or both?
  5. What is their age range?
  6. What are their hobbies or interests?
  7. What are the minimum and maximum size of the business?

Once you know the answers to these questions, your online messaging can be more relevant, focused, and successful.

 

Mistake #2: You Are Not Tracking the Available Metrics

On the digital side, there are metrics built into:

  • Google Analytics
  • Google AdWords
  • Social Media and
  • Email campaigns

The key is to pay attention to the metrics and change up your marketing efforts based on success. Best practices are to pull the reports monthly and have your staff or outside consultants decide what to do next based on trending data.

One other method is to ask this question whenever a new prospect calls you, “How did you learn about our business?” As long as this question is consistently asked, it can be a goldmine of information about which areas to increase spending and which ones should be decreased.
 

Mistake #3: You Are Not Tracking Your Competitor’s Marketing Efforts

If you understand your competitors, it is a good idea to track what they are doing; you can set up Google Alerts, follow them on social media, or sign up for their newsletter. While you don’t have to copycat what they are doing, you want to watch where they are spending their dollars.

 

Mistake #4: You Don’t Give It Enough Time

Most businesses pull out of campaigns right when they are on the cusp of being successful. Don’t expect immediate results with whatever you do; give it at least 12 months.

 

Mistake #5: You Do Not Have Effective Calls-to-Action (CTA)

Every digital marketing effort should lead to this one question:

“What do you want the reader to do next?”

Do you want them to:

  • Go to your website?
  • Call your office?
  • Read the company’s Whitepaper?
  • Donate to your cause?

Be direct and specific in your instructions. Most of all, make it super easy for the user to do what you want; it should be one click or one call.

CTAs go hand-in-hand with measurements. Without a compelling call-to-action, the reader will most likely not pursue the next step on their own.

 

Mistake #6: You Don’t Respond Promptly

You have developed dynamite CTAs, and now the emails, social messages, and phone calls are coming in. However, there isn’t a plan for a timely response.

In our “always-on” society, over 50% of individuals expect a response within an hour of posting a question, filing a complaint, or calling your establishment. And that is day and night!

Whatever your policy is for responses, be sure to keep it consistent. Let individuals know through auto-reply when they should expect an answer and then exceed their expectations!

 

Mulligan Management Group is Here to Help

As a women-led digital marketing agency based in Stow, Ohio, we help many clients avoid these marketing mistakes. We give them a fresh start or a Mulligan. If you are ready to get out of the woods, give us a call at 330-472-7673 or fill out our contact form. We will get back to you within four business hours.

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