Your marketing tactics from a few years ago could cost you sales rather than boost them. What worked well even just last year might come off as tone-deaf or clueless if we don’t take post-Covid-19 market shifts into account. Herewith, then, is a listing of the Top 10 Sins of Marketing.
1. Failing to Understand Target Audience
Oftentimes, you’re not going to be marketing to the same demographic that you fit into. You’re likely going to be marketing to different demographics and psychographics that you don’t fully understand. Why? You aren’t in them.
Marketers that fail are marketers that forget to appeal to the life stage of their target audience.
Audiences want to feel like the marketer truly understands them. They will know immediately whether or not this is the case. That’s why doing the research on your target audience before all else is so incredibly necessary…and will pay off in the end.
2. Ignoring New Technology
Today, so many marketers are being left in the dust. Why? They do not adapt to new technologies.
Ten years ago, for instance, a marketer trying to appeal to college kids would have no issues marketing to them on Facebook. Today, however, a marketer trying to appeal to Generation Z is absolutely going to fail if they do it on Facebook instead of TikTok or Instagram. Generation Z only uses Facebook to stay up to date with their grandparents. They don’t want to buy clothing or the latest gadget off of Facebook.
With so many online platforms that have so many intricate levels, it’s important that marketers stay informed and updated about what audiences are using right now.
3. Chasing Competitors
Being a copycat or knock-off version of your competitors is the last thing any marketer wants.
Trying to be just like another brand is likely going to turn customers off. It can seem desperate or inauthentic. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but flattery doesn’t get you success, and it definitely doesn’t make you look good in the eyes of the consumer.
Consumers want new and different, they don’t want the same old marketing they already have. There is always an angle or a perspective that has yet to be uncovered and which can be marketed. A marketer that digs deeper than its competitors in an honest, authentic way is one that will appeal to consumers.
4. Not Learning from Competitors and Mentors
Although being a second-hand version of your competitors is an immense marketing sin, being naive about your competition is also detrimental.
The first step to avoid this is to stay informed about who your competitors are. The smartest marketers are the ones that know their competitors — their style, their strategies, their brand, and they use this knowledge to improve themselves. As a result, they come off better and stronger than their competition. A smart marketer will also find different marketing mentors to help guide them as they consume this information and execute on the best strategy.
5. Losing Sight of Customers
One of the biggest challenges in marketing is that consumers don’t really care about you, as the marketer.
In fact, consumers often find advertisements annoying. They just want to get back to their lives. The only way a consumer will be interested in your campaign is if it relates to their life in some way.
That’s why, in order to avoid losing sight of customers, marketers must figure out how the truth of their brand fits in with the truth of the customer’s life.
6. Overloading Audiences with Information
In today’s world of constant social media intake, no one has the time or the patience to sit through an advertisement with too much information.
For whatever it is you’re trying to market and to whomever you’re trying to market, simplicity and conciseness are key.
7. Leaving Out the Emotion
Similarly to losing sight of customers, marketers often forget the role emotion plays in the consumer’s purchase decisions.
If the marketer fails to figure out how the consumer really feels, or how they want to feel, the consumer will not be interested. In order to avoid this sin, marketers must be willing to take risks and tackle new perspectives in order to evoke strong emotions from audiences.
8. Creating Unintegrated Content
Creating random, one-time pieces of content is a waste of time, resources, and energy for marketers, and it is ineffective.
Audiences won’t remember an obscure content marketing piece that has nothing to do with the bigger idea of your brand. They will remember it, however, if it is a part of a bigger concept, an entire campaign even.
The best way to avoid this marketing sin is to create content that’s designed to be shared and posted about multiple times in multiple different places. That way, your resources are being spent on content that is more likely to really stand out to audiences.
9. Forgetting the Visuals
No matter how good the thing you’re selling is or how strong your marketing strategy may be, it will most likely fail if you do not have strong visuals.
Poor visuals in this day and age constitute a huge marketing sin. No one wants to look at something dull and drab that has an overload of copy. People want eye-catching marketing that makes them feel fresh and excited.
The visual elements of your marketing — whether that be for video marketing, print marketing, package design, etc. — could be the make-or-break factor in your marketing success.
10. Accepting Too Many Jobs
The temptation to take on every opportunity that comes your way is a strong one. However, avoiding it will pay off in the long run.
When you’re stretched too thin, it decreases the quality of your work. As a result, this makes clients less likely to come back to you in the future. Saying no to certain jobs allows you more time and energy to create the best possible content for the jobs to which you do say yes.
