5 Marketing Mistakes You Could be Making and How…
Here are 5 marketing mistakes you could be making and how to avoid them:-
#1. Talking about your product or service too much –
This is one of the biggest marketing mistakes businesses could be making. How many of us like being bombarded with emails every day about some promotion or the other? I am sure very few if any at all. In the same way, before talking about or promoting your product too much, it is very necessary to step into the shoes of the customer.
Most of the businesses get so carried away selling their product that their focus shifts from the customer’s interests or their needs. They remain in the illusion that marketing on Social Media is only about promoting products or services. However, that is far from the truth. Even marketing on Social Media platforms requires a perfect balance of posting about your products and also at the same time, building trust with your customers about why they should be working with you.
Ways to market your business and expertise subtly without just focusing on your products/services alone:-
A. Encourage your customers to leave feedback –
By showing your customers that you care about what they think of your product or service, you can develop a relationship with them beyond that of just being a buyer and seller. Encouraging as well as respecting opinions and accepting feedback from your clients or customers can make them feel better associated with your brand and its products. Moreover, reading reviews and experiences of your present customers can make many potential consumers interested in your product. This way you will have reviews by actual consumers who have used your product or service and can vouch for its quality.
B. Tell your customers more about yourself –
In the quest to effectively sell a brand, most marketers forget to talk about what their brand’s missions, goals, and visions are. To do this – Share more information about the brand and snippets of the behind-the-scenes actions of their business. Let customers engage with your employees and tell them about the monthly programs, training, or events that you hold. Try and transform your business from just being a profit-making entity to something people can relate to at a more personal level. People will remember you if they need your products or services to solve their problems or fulfill their needs but they remember you better when they can relate to your identity, or how you function. In a competitive market, being remembered better than the rest can be one of the biggest marketing game-changers.
#2. Highlighting features/benefits but not targeting the problem it solves –
Humans want solutions. Products and services are just mediums that provide these solutions. Most business marketers make an error in understanding this. They talk a lot about their products but not much about the problem it promises to solve.
Catering to the problems and needs of customers is the first step of a successful business marketing model and, highlighting only the features or benefits of the products does not effectively do that. Customers want to know how effectively your product solves their problem, the ease with which it can be used, and how using it would make their life better. They want the desired result.
For example, let us say that you sell shoes that have a special inner sole to provide extra cushioning and comfort for those with heel pain as well as it improves their medical condition in the long run. But while marketing your product on Social channels and otherwise, you only talk about how your shoe design is different or that you have a super-comfy inner sole. You forget to mention how it solves a big problem for a large segment of people who suffer from heel pain and cannot wear normal shoes for a long duration as well as how wearing your product can make them feel more comfortable and benefit them in the long run. To omit to talk about this problem-solution duo can become a big marketing flaw.
Ways by which you can focus not just on benefits but also on the problem your products solve –
A. Marketing to a Problem –
Marketing to a specific problem could present you to a very niche market looking for a solution to that particular problem. Using taglines for your products that highlight the problem they solve can grab the attention of potential consumers who face the same issues and would be happy to use the same to get rid of those problems. If the taglines you use are well-crafted, interesting, and catchy enough, you save a lot of your marketing time and effort.
B. Research your Industry –
Research the industry you belong to and see what benefits other businesses in the same industry as you, are offering. Many of those benefits and features will be similar. That will give you an idea of the gaps that exist in the industry and the possible problems the consumers face that has not yet been addressed by others. You can focus your products to solve those particular problems and advertise it to a particular segment of people who needs solutions to that problem.
#3. Marketing a problem but not the right one is also a marketing mistake –
Now, this is a tricky one. As a marketer, you have understood the need to address and market a problem that your product solves. But if you fail to market the right problem, you are yet again making a mistake.
Many businesses solve multiple problems like creating a product that is easy to use, consumes less time, etc. but what they forget to question is the root cause of the problem their customer is facing. What is the purpose they want a product that does not consume too much time or is easy to use?
Ways to solve this issue –
A. Go deep into how customers feel –
Many of your competitors will provide the customers with generic solutions to problems like the one stated above. But only a few will question the innate need for customers wanting that solution. It might be possible that out of 5 businesses, 4 of them will market their products saying it is easy to use. But only 1 will market it talking about how saving time to use that product will enable them to do what they weren’t being able to with other products. Therefore, going deep into how customers feel can provide you with answers that help in your marketing strategy.
#4. Focussing on the traditional and big marketing methods –
Marketing is an art and you must get it right to successfully advertise and promote your business. But most marketers fall into the continuous loop of the traditional marketing methods and never come out of it.
While focusing on the big and traditional methods of marketing are important, realizing the need to revamp and continuously innovate your marketing techniques is equally necessary. With practically the whole world going digital, marketers can no longer afford to have a narrow focus for their marketing approach. Being virtually present and active has become a necessity for every type of business and it no longer can remain only an option.
How to consider all aspects of marketing and not stay focused on just one –
A. Being digitally present –
In the current times, marketing aggressively outside of the Internet and not being present in the digital world is a risk no business should ever take. If businesses do not exist in the virtual world, they are non-existent for most people. Marketers must keep themselves regularly updated about the new ways of being socially active and keeping in touch with their clients and customers. Email Marketing is a tried and tested way of maintaining continuous contact with existing customers and can provide marketers direct ways to promote a product or service based on the customer’s interests, likes, and browsing history.
B. Blogging & Newsletters –
This gives businesses a huge opportunity to constantly share and interact with customers and get their response on it. So many businesses find their next big product idea from the suggestions provided by their own customers. It also gives an outside perspective to businesses, that can help them break away from the conviction that their product is the best and give them a chance to play with some creativity and add more innovative ideas to enhance the products or services. On the other hand, the public remains aware of the latest development and research that the business is doing by subscribing to their blogs or monthly newsletters.
#5. Avoiding negative feedback and not responding to it –
It is human nature to not want to listen to anything negative about the things we love and most businesses can’t do the same. Business owners become so sure that their products or services are the best that they cannot take any negative criticism or opinions in their stride.
Confidence in your product and service is a pre-requisite for successful marketing and execution, but closing the doors to any feedback and customer opinion or ignoring the same can be extremely detrimental for any business in the long run. Customer feedback whether positive or negative can provide vital information to businesses and also act as a reliable source of information for other customers.
Why taking criticism positively is important to avoid a big marketing mistake and how to do it –
A. Turn negative experiences into positive ones –
Feedback from a customer opens your doors to various types of information and the reason it is important is that based on those experiences and feedback, you can redesign or improve your products or services to ensure a better customer satisfaction experience for the future. Moreover, responding to customer feedback and assuring them that they won’t be dissatisfied again can make them feel valued and can increase the percentage of customer retention for any business. Finding a solution to fix the issue that led to the negative feedback will ensure that you gain a loyal customer and their devotion to your brand will always be higher than a customer who was not dissatisfied with your product or service at all.
B. Concentrate on how you respond to the Feedback –
The best way to respond to feedback, especially the negative ones would be to first detect, inspect, and examine the cause of such dissatisfaction and find ways to fix that problem. Taking time out to notify that customer about the issue being resolved is the next step which can successfully turn an unhappy customer into a happy one. Being patient and adopting an open, welcoming approach to customer problems, opinions, experiences, and feedback can help businesses market their products or service in a far more personalized manner and on a grass-root level.
Conclusion –
To sum it all up, successful business marketing can be done in the simplest of ways. The most important thing to remember is to step into the shoes of the customer and picture how they would like to be treated and what better experiences would they want to expect from your product.
The best way to avoid the marketing mistakes you could be making include being active on various social platforms, providing consistent valuable content about your business and its products or services, responding to customer feedback, being Search Engine Optimized, creating newsletters and writing regular blogs. Also, finding the exact problems your customers face and marketing your products or services on the lines of those problems and their respective solutions are all different ways by which you can step up your marketing game.
None of these marketing techniques are mutually exclusive and a perfect balance of all these can ensure businesses market their products constructively and convincingly.
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