9 Silly Online Marketing Mistakes That Is Costing You Dollars

Marketing is a trial and error game. You can’t get it right always. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes we make mistakes that cost us money and time.

Hey, but it’s alright. Humans make mistakes of all types of sizes and marketing is no exception to it.

In fact, if you ask me, I will repeat Albert Einstein’s quote: “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

Marketing being a domain where the word ‘new’ has a shorter shelf life, we have to keep learning and reinventing on a regular basis.

Not setting clear cut goals

Marketing is not an archery contest. Still, you need goals that you can direct your entire physical, mental and financial resources towards. If you don’t set clear-cut goals, your marketing efforts will not go farther.

To help you get started, here are some marketing goals to give a shot.

• Raising brand awareness by 60%
• Acquiring 100 leads per month through organic traffic
• Doubling market share by next year
• Identifying 5 international markets
• And so on.

As a result, you might also end up spending too much or too little for deserving causes.

Over-investing or under-investing

Marketing is an investment. It gives returns if you take calculated risks and put in money at the right products, in the right places, in the right platforms. However, bear in mind to make data-driven investment decisions. Don’t invest too much or too little in something just because everybody else is doing so. It is necessary that you try out what is right for your business and figure out the exact marketing spend plan that will take you closer to your goals.

Not setting target audience

The preferences of a teenager and an adult business executive will be entirely different. They are two different target audiences each with their own share of personas and demographics. And marketing is always aimed towards meeting the wants of that specific personas and demographics of your target audience. If you don’t know who your target audience is and if you haven’t bothered to set your target audience personas, your marketing budget will see red.

Not measuring conversion

Most marketers are so obsessed with running campaigns and bringing in traffic that they tend to overlook a key metric of marketing – conversion. Your conversion rate has stories to tell about how your marketing efforts are panning out.

For example, if there is a high bounce rate in the checkout page, this means it lacks something that users are expecting. Perhaps it is not secure enough. In that case, try adding an EV SSL certificate to the website which would give the whole website and the checkout page related security signals like a green padlock, site seal, display green bar for business in the browser that helps to boost conversion ratio.

Betting too much on a single channel

There is a reason why online marketing is so diverse. Marketers cannot meet their goals with a single channel. They need multiple channels through which they can broadcast their message to a specific target audience.

Similarly, you must also find the various marketing channels through which you can convey your message. Relying on a single channel can be a terrible mistake.

Rolling out aimless offers

Offers – the most formidable weapon in the arsenal of a marketer. But, if not used wisely even the best offer will fail to drive results. There is a business logic behind providing offers. They are meant to attract new customers into trying the product or retain existing ones for a long period of time. There could be other underlying reasons to run offer campaigns. But, if you are going to roll out offers without any clear objective, it will only cost you money.

Being just another ‘brand’

Amidst a school of fish, the shark is a mighty animal. A powerful brand is like a shark. It commands attention, it inspires awe and it makes people want to know more. Your marketing should focus on making your business become a powerful brand. If you are being just another business that is trying to sell and earn money without the might of a brand, the show won’t last for long. So, don’t make the silly mistake of not growing a brand name.

Not having a brand tone

Just like a brand name, your business also needs a brand tone. The tone that you use to convey your marketing message to your target audience. The tone decides how approachable, how insightful, how empathetic your business is about customers and their wants. If your marketing efforts do not leave room to craft a neat and consistent brand tone, it will soon run into a slump.

Poor online presence

From posting real-time statuses to sharing life achievements, social media and online platforms have become an integral part of everybody’s life. And businesses are no exception to that. They need an online presence as well. And, it is the duty of marketing to ensure that the business is able to enjoy a steady online presence. The online presence should be spread strategically across the website, social media handles, online events and wherever else possible.

Nine lives for a cat, but not for a marketer

You don’t have nine lives to learn from every marketing mistake. All you have is a few years to make a difference to the business that you are marketing. If you are going to mistakes in doing that, it will cost you dearly.

Unfortunately, some of us do not know what mistakes we are making. Someone has to point out what is wrong and help you take the right path. This blog is all about that. Make a note of these online marketing mistakes. Steer clear of them. Plan wisely and your marketing efforts should bear fruit.