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Top Marketing Mistakes
 You can have the best product in the world, but it isn't going to sell itself. Even if your product is something that everyone needs, and it fills a real niche in the marketplace, how can people pay you for it if they aren't even aware that it exists?
Marketing is more than just a luxury for big time corporations, it's an absolute necessity for any business. Unfortunately, it's also a very subtle art that can backfire on you if you don't know what you're doing.
To that end, we've compiled a list of the top ten marketing mistakes that people in business tend to make. Maybe you're on the verge of making a few yourself?
1. Death by Hype
Ever have the experience of having a product or event hyped so much that the real thing could never live up to your expectation of it?
In the end, were you inevitably disappointed? Most of us have been at one point or another. So why repeat this horrible mistake in your marketing scheme?
While it's a given that most marketing tactics will contain at least some element of “spin”, it's vital that you retain a strong degree of honesty. Sell your product for what it is, and what it can really do. If you overdo it, you'll just breed disappointment no matter how good your product actually is.
2. Poor Timing
You should definitely try to coordinate your marketing with the most exciting periods of your business as much as you can. Think about it, and it only makes sense.
Why waste effort on marketing unless it's intended to accomplish something specific, such as the boost of a new product, or the re-launch of an old one, or to support the re-branding of your business? Even the most unique and effective marketing strategy can be totally derailed if it's not unleashed at just the right moment, so keep this in mind.
3. Not Going After the Repeat Business
It's easy to attract a new customer. What's difficult, but infinitely more valuable, is getting them to come back a second time.
In fact, it's these repeat customers who represent the real value of a business, its loyal customer base. Therefore, you should focus your marketing not just on attracting new customers, but also on bringing back the ones you already have. Promotional deals that inspire your customers to return, such as rewards programs, are useful in this regard.
4. Marketing a Product that No One Wants
Just as an excellent product isn't going to sell itself, a lousy product will NEVER sell, no matter how great the marketing is.
Therefore, it's one of the most fundamental errors in marketing to waste time and resources on promotions for products that people simply don't want. It's vital that you pay attention to the effect that your marketing is having on the sales of your products.
If you've tried a variety of approaches and nothing seems to raise sales significantly, the problem might not be in your approach, but in the product itself!
See Also:
Creating A Product or Service
5. Not Tracking Return on Investment
Many people are content simply to put their marketing out there and leave it at that, but this is far from the best approach. While marketing is definitely a creative endeavor in some ways, it's also an investment first and foremost.
It comes from your operations budget, and as such, it should be accounted for just as closely and with as much scrutiny as any other expenditure your company makes.
How can you do this? You need to develop a sound system for tracking and monitoring the return on investment that you get from each marketing initiative that you put forth.
If a certain approach isn't working, it will reflect in the numbers and you'll know for certain that you need to try a different way.
Conversely, if an approach is working, you'll know by looking at the numbers that you need to run with. The main point is, don't simply release your marketing and then wash your hands of it. You have to keep an eye on it just as you would an employee, to make sure that it performs up to expectations.
6. Not Realizing That Marketing is Interactive!
Too many people think of marketing as just a one sided kind of deal. They think that they can just put out advertisements and leave it at that. In reality, people in today's market tend to disfavor this kind of one-sided approach to marketing.
Instead, they prefer an interactive type of marketing that they can really get involved with and feel as if they're carrying on a dialogue of some sort. Therefore, effective marketing should incorporate a call to action. Think about the caps on soda bottles that we've seen over the last few years.
Each one contains a code number that might win a prize if you enter it at the company's website. This not only exposes the consumer to the further advertising on the website, but it gets them actively engaged in the product and they feel that it's more a part of their lives.
7. Conflating Profit and Volume
There's a real difference between attracting people and attracting profit. This is one of the main reasons that it's critically important to always track your return on investment in any marketing strategy that you employ.
On the surface, it might appear that a marketing strategy is successful because suddenly everyone's talking about your ad and there are people lined up around the block to get into your place of business. But what happens if all they're doing is talking?
If your customers only get excited, but aren't moved to actually buy anything, then your marketing is still ultimately a failure. Always remember to measure profits generated by marketing, not just volume.
8. Making Assumptions About the Market
Another major mistake committed by marketing departments is that they tend to take for granted the market that they're working in. They draw assumptions about the nature of that market based on  past performance, and all too often they come up short of expectations.
Usually, they can't understand why this has happened, and just hang their heads in bewilderment. The reality is that markets are like living entities, because they are COMPOSED of living entities. They grow and change with the times, and what worked yesterday may not work today.
Therefore, if you're going to be an effective marketer, you absolutely must do thorough research into the current state of the market before you invest time and money into any marketing strategy.
9. Misidentifying Your Real Customers
If often occurs that a business' real demographic is not what they expected it would be. For instance, imagine someone who opened a health supplement business in a local strip mall.
They had originally intended to market themselves to weight lifters and athletic types, so their stock focused on weight gain tools and protein supplements, with regular vitamins and health aids being only a secondary concern. Then, the owner came to realize that he had set up shop near a large cluster of housing for the elderly.
His stock of health aids might start flying off the shelves, totally outperforming his athletics oriented stock. If the owner shifted his focus, he would be successfully marketing to his real customers. If he or she continued with their original plan, however, they would miss out on a vital market share.
10. A Message That Fails to Sync With Your Values
Lastly, you need to keep in mind what your marketing says about you. Marketing sends a message about the identity of your brand and company as a whole.
Therefore, don't use your marketing to espouse values that you do not actually hold, or your company will suffer for it in the long run. For example, if you're a family business with an emphasis on tradition, what good will it do you to market yourself as a trendy company always on the cutting edge of the latest fad?
If you did so, and you actually managed to attract a new demographic, you would have to radically change your business in order to keep them. You'd also probably feel some sense of personal dissatisfaction at having to compromise your values. Is it really worth it when honest marketing that is in sync with your goals and identity as a company can be done just as effectively?
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