16 Marketing Mistakes You Probably Don’t Realize You’re Making

We all make mistakes, that’s just part of being human. But if you’re making these marketing mistakes, you might be doing your company more harm than you are good. The good news is, fixing these mistakes is pretty easy and will yield incredible results when remedied! Let’s get you and your company on track to obtaining short wins and conquering your long-term goals.

16 Marketing Mistakes You May Be Making

1. Forgetting About Mobile Users

You may think that no one is viewing your website on their mobile phone, and you may be right - if we were having this conversation prior to 2000! Since the release of SmartPhones, mobile website viewership has steadily increased year to year. Almost every year since 2010 has been the “Year of Mobile” which means you could be turning potential customers off your company and services just from the lack of mobile optimization.

People on average spend almost 5 hours of their day (every day) on their phones: 90% of that time is spent on apps and 10% is spent using internet browsers. You might be thinking, “Taylor, that’s only 30 minutes in a day that they might happen across my site. Why should I spend the extra time and money to optimize my site to be mobile-friendly?” 

Well, I’m going to throw out two statistics that might scare you if your site isn’t mobile-friendly:

• 50% of people reported they would use a company less often if they did not have a mobile-friendly site - even if they liked the brand!
• 48% think companies don’t care about their business if the website isn’t optimized for mobile users.

If you are using Social Media platforms to promote your services or company, more mobile users are likely to come across your site and use those 30 minutes (or less) to determine if your company is worth their time and money. If you aren’t using Social Media to promote your business… Oh Lordy, keep reading, please!

2. Avoiding Social Media

People spend over 2 and half hours a day visiting Social Media apps! Why are you avoiding this vital resource for the growth of your company?? Your business needs to be on Social Media. 

It’s cheap and it allows you to personally connect with your customers and potential clients. Creating a profile is free, the costs associated with Social Media profiles come when you buy advertisements and decide to pay someone to run the site for you - which is worth the investment when you understand the benefits of Social Media.

Social Media can provide the following abilities:

• Continue to build your brand.
• Interact directly with customers where they normally live online.
• Generate buzz around services and products.
• Utilize customer insights and data.
• Enhance your marketing effectiveness.
• Broaden your reach to potential customers.

There are 2.41 billion - yes billion, with a B - Facebook profiles alone. In the United States, 81% of people have a Social Media profile. That means 266,810,835 are spending 2.5 hours a day on Social Media every day, imagine how many potential clients you are missing out on just because you aren’t on Social Media. Scary, huh?

Pro-Tip: don’t purchase followers. You might think it will increase your chances of gaining more followers quickly, but people these days value authenticity. Buying followers wastes your money and doesn’t increase engagement. Instead, focus your time and money on those real followers that genuinely like and value your company.

3. Not Having a Blog

I mean… the proof is in the pudding on this one. I got you to hop on to Sauce Agency’s site by writing a blog post about some mistakes you might be making, did I not? 

Now you might be saying, “Taylor, that’s because I follow you personally on Social Media.” Well, that just proves point number two even more. But let me give you some insight on why blogs are also highly important from both a Social Media and SEO standpoint.

Above all, blogs drive traffic. Businesses that have blogs - and post regularly - see 97% more inbound links than those without a blog page. Search engines view blogs as credibility builders and will promote your site more because the algorithm is slanted towards credible sites. 

Most people use search engines rather than books these days in order to conduct research or find solutions to problems. Answering your potential clients’ questions before they specifically ask them is so important. When they need to learn about a specific topic related to your services or company, a blog will answer their query and put them in touch with a company they trust - yours!

Oftentimes, people don't realize they even need to be asking a specific question. Posting your blog to your Social Media is not only content for your feed but a perfect way to get existing and potential clients to ask the question you pose. People love giving feedback online as well, so don’t forget to check your blog and Social Media posts regularly for comments and follow-up questions regarding your blog content. More on responding to comments later.

4. Never Offering Discounts or Promotions

We all love a good deal.

Rewarding your loyal customers is the best thing you can do for your business. Offering discounts to potential clients is one of the easiest ways to convert a lead into a closed sale. Loyal customers and soon-to-be customers are more willing to purchase a product if they get a deal on the service or good.

Coupons help build a stronger relationship with your clients. Ninety-one percent of people say they will visit a retailer again after they redeem a coupon. Loyal customers are harder to lose, but if another company offers them a better deal than you, you might start to see less frequent return sales from these clients.

You might be thinking that if you offer a promotion, you will lose out on profits. Discounts and promotions increase traffic to your site and help increase your sales at the same time. Discounts are a great way to acquire new customers and retain your current clientele.

Regardless of the customer redeeming the coupon, discounts encourage buying and promote customer retention because a happy customer is the best and most loyal customer.

5. Not Responding to Comments

Engaging with your Social Media followers and website users benefit your brand well.  Not only does your company seem down-to-earth but you can also continue to foster those relationships and keep people coming back for more.

Be natural yet informative and always stay true to the brand. Responding to comments establishes credibility and showcases your specific area of expertise. If someone leaves a negative comment, don’t forget that you are representing the company and maintain a level head. Some of my favorite comments to read are from crazy customers on Yelp; when the owner responds professionally it makes me actually enticed to visit the establishment for myself.

Did you know that replying to comments on your blog actually increases your SEO ranking? Search engines love words! With added comments and responses, your original blog can be ranked higher the more people comment on your posts. 

6. Targeting EVERYONE

Have you ever seen an ad on the internet that just makes you think, “Why am I seeing this?” Did you end up visiting the site? Of course not, you kept scrolling past it because it didn’t pertain to your interests or needs.

If you are using ad promotions on Social Media or other sites, are you targeting anyone on the page or are you only targeting a niche market specific to your brand? 

You might think that targeting everyone and their mother will generate the most traffic to your site, let me be the bearer of bad news - you are solely wasting money and marketing efforts. Consider the demographics of your current clients and the ones you hope to attract, these are the types of people you need to be targeting.

You can use analytical tools on HubSpot, Facebook and Google to really dive deep into your customer demographics. You might even be surprised by certain demographics you didn’t realize you had buying what you’re selling.

Once you discover your niche market and demographics, you will no longer be wasting marketing time and money - as we so elegantly like to say - “spraying and praying”. You will garner more leads, convert more potential customers and be as effective as possible.

7. Forgetting to Use Videos

Did you know: “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles was the first music video ever broadcast on MTV? Surprise, surprise, video is still a prominent tool in marketing 40 years later.

Video quickly and succinctly tells the narrative of your brand and gives an insight to potential clients into who you truly are. Plus, video is one of the easiest ways for potential clients to get a great overview of how your product or service can solve their problems.

Still not convinced on video’s power to kill more than just the radio star? Here are some more stats that might convince you otherwise:

• 51% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI.
• 64% of consumers make a purchase after watching branded social videos.
• Social video generates 12 times more shares than text and images combined.
• Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.

8. Having a Slow Loading Website

Apparently, humans’ attention span has been on the decrease due to the increased accessibility of screens - it’s lower than a goldfish (which has a memory length of only 7 seconds).

Customers will jump ship quickly if your website takes too long to load. At only 4 seconds, 25% of users will abandon your website. Literally, every second counts in the race to obtain clients. If your website is running slowly, you need to fix it and like yesterday. 

Find a reliable web host because your page load time is very important in order to keep and obtain customers. This needs to be a top priority.

9. Not Converting Web Traffic to Customers

We all want more and more traffic to our sites, that’s one of the reasons why you’re reading this blog post today. But if you aren’t converting this new web traffic to sales then your marketing efforts are going to waste.

One of the biggest reasons why website visitors leave your page is because they can’t find what they’re looking for - your site isn’t easy to navigate. Customers want to find information or products as quickly as possible. Confusing layouts and slow loading websites drive potential customers away faster than you may realize. 

10. Not Using SEO

Most traffic to your site outside of paid ads and social media posts come from organic searches on search engines. Here are some statistics for you on the importance of SEO:

• 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
• 75% of users never scroll to page 2.
• 70-80% of users ignore the paid ads and focus on organic search results.

Don’t focus your marketing budget towards paid searches. Instead focus on adding keywords and phrases that people are searching for and relate to your company and products.

11. Overlooking Email Marketing

Almost everyone has a Social Media account, and almost everyone has two email accounts. 

Email marketing can give you a higher ROI compared to other marketing techniques because the costs are low. The key is to send marketing emails that actually generate a response. 

One of the best things you can do for your email marketing is to optimize your emails for mobile. Sound familiar? Over half of all emails are opened from mobile phones. And many emails will be sent to the trash box if it isn’t mobile optimized.

Sending emails allow you to engage personally with customers and help convert potential clients that are on the fence into loyal clients.

12. Not Using a Call-To-Action

Call-to-Actions tell your users what type of action they should do next, it's a suggestion that keeps them on your site longer or drives them to contact or leave contact information to help continue the relationship.

When you create a marketing campaign, determine what reaction you want out of your customers. Your advertising could be phenomenal but without a Call-to-Action, it’s virtually worthless. Entice customers with a reason to visit your site and set a deadline where applicable. 

13. Focusing on Acquisition and Not Retention

Retaining happy customers is less expensive than acquiring new ones. That’s not to say don’t try to gain new customers, gaining more customers is how your company continues to grow. 

Once you get a customer, your goal should be making them a customer for life. One way you ensure this is by offering amazing customer service. Make sure that you align your customer service team with your marketing goals. When customers have a problem or inquiries, your customer service team can respond in a way that reflects your marketing goals.

Putting focus on retention and customer service is highly important because existing customers are 60-70% more likely to positively respond to your selling efforts. Existing clients are more likely to shop your site more frequently and spend more money on each transaction as well.

On average, it costs 6-7 times more to acquire new customers as compared to retaining current ones. This is why it’s important to put most of your marketing budget towards new customers, but make sure a portion of those funds are put towards retaining your existing clients.

14. Poor Budgeting

If you are not spending any money on marketing, that’s your first mistake. Just like with customer acquisition, you don’t want to focus all your money on new clients - this idea is similar when thinking about your marketing budget. Don’t spend all your money on paid Social Media promotions. Instead spread the wealth.

One of the most important aspects after creating a marketing campaign is to track your traction. Why continue to spend money on an ineffective marketing strategy? Make sure you are measuring your ROI and seeing the results you were expecting for the price you are paying.

Diversify your marketing tactics by spending money on multiple avenues and campaigns. This will allow you to hedge your bets in case certain promotions don’t work as well as you predict.

Here are some media channels to allocate your time and effort for the best results:

• Website and Content Development
• Traditional and Online Advertising
• Social Media
• Mobile Ads and Apps
• Email and Direct Mail
• Events and Conferences 

15. Not Setting Realistic Goals

Setting goals is crucial. Short-and Long-term goals help you and your team plan what you want to accomplish and how to get there. Make sure you are setting SMART goals that are attainable and regularly reviewed. Attach a date for important goals - goals without a date are just dreams. Communicate your goals, dates and expectations with your marketing team. 

16. Trying to Do It All Alone

As you can see, there is a lot that goes into marketing and having the right team is crucial for the success and growth of your company. You don’t have to hire 20 people in order to accomplish all your marketing goals. Make sure your team is well rounded, delegated tasks properly and work collaboratively.

So, like we tell our clients here in Memphis, TN: grow smarter! Focus your marketing strategy and efforts in a way that will drive results and create long-term, beloved clients while obtaining the coveted new ones too. Of course, if you need someone to do the heavy lifting for you then schedule a call with us and let’s talk about what your short and long term growth goals are and how we can help you accomplish them.