How do I avoid making common marketing mistakes?

Your organization is amazing; it is revolutionary, it is exciting, and it is going to change the way people do this one specific thing forever. Except nobody knows it even exists… You have had almost zero traction on your website or your social media accounts, and you are just not getting noticed!

Or maybe you work for an organization that has lost a lot of market share over the last couple of years, and you just cannot figure out why. You keep using all the tried and tested techniques that you have been using for years to get the word out, but the word is falling on deaf ears.

You may have missed something though: marketing is continuously evolving. The techniques you once used might not work in today’s mmarketplace

 

1. Make sure you’re talking to the right people

So you have an amazing organization, but if you are sharing it with the wrong people (or audience) about it, they simply just won’t remember it or care about it like you do.

Get to know who your real audience is and who your customers will be. These are the people who might actually use or recommend your organization, product or services. When you understand them better – their tastes, the marketing channels they engage on, the type of content they enjoy, then you can start tailoring your marketing to them. Just remember to check-in on your marketing strategy every six months or so, because things change…fast (especially on social media)!

 

2. Use relevant marketing channels

How does your audience like to receive their information? Do they like it online, print (flyers, brochures, and newspapers), video, etc? Understanding this about your market and your audience will help you to choose the best marketing channels to use in order to become “known” and “top of mind.”

Yes, social media is popular and websites are a must these days, but really there are thousands of ways to selling your product or service, and definitely not all of them happen online. Some traditional marketing has been labeled as “old-fashioned”, but the fact is, any technique will work if it is being used for the right audience.

 

3. Stand out!

You know your organization, product or service is awesome and that it is going to make a difference in people’s lives. But somehow, you are failing to convince people of this. It could be that you are not emphasizing what makes your product or service unique. Ask yourself: what exactly makes it so different?

Just telling people that something is “faster, better, stronger” does not really cut it. You need to differentiate your product or service, show how it is superior to its competitors, or if it’s something new, why people need it when they have lived without it all this time. This is known as the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), and it is what will make people choose you over your competition.

 

4. Build your brand

What is a brand, anyway? Is it just the logo on everything? Is it the way you speak in commercials? Is it your language style? Your brand can be influenced by all these things. Overall, building your brand is about making an emotional connection to your audience. It is the specific emotions that are triggered when people think, speak, or hear about your company.

You can use your marketing techniques, your social media engagement, your website, everything that you use to communicate with customers and potential clients, to create this desirable emotional response. Build your brand around this emotional response!

 

Marketing techniques are going to continue to evolve and change, but if you make sure you are still speaking the same language as your audience (or clients), you will be successful in your marketing efforts!

 

Louise Frost is the Marketing Coordinator at RLB Chartered Professional Accountants. Louise oversees the branding, events, sponsorships and marketing efforts at RLB. Feel free to share your comments or wisdom below on your organization’s marketing efforts!