Prudent people always invest in their self-development and education, our Marketing Competency Mastery Course is in demand among people who are interested in marketing and factual competence in it. Wise people learn from the mistakes made by the others. This is one of the basic rules one has to follow both in life and in business. However, some mistakes occur too often – these are the ones we are going to discuss in the article. One has to take them into account when creating a marketing plan aimed at being truly successful.
Blooper #1 – Making suppositions
One of the primary mistakes made by entrepreneurs, be it in the UAE or some other country, is making suppositions as to what your customers like or don’t like. The competition is too high to risk making a wrong assumption. Secondly, what is the point of making assumptions if you can elicit feedback from your customers? Numerous tools can help you do this. Just make it a part of your marketing strategy. Listening to what your clients have got to say is absolutely vital. It can be done with the help of social media, surveys, and reviews. Make the questioning for individual opinions to be the part of your marketing plan. This will help you to detect trends and make forecasts as to what has to be changed.
Blooper #2 – Neglecting complaints
Social media is an invaluable source of feedback. On the other, they are also the platform for customers sharing bad experiences. Unhappy customers can write about your bad service, and a large number of other people will read it. You don’t want that kind of publicity. Consumers trust peer assessment – they are more likely to listen to a Google review than your advertisement. And their number is constantly growing. It means that your marketing management has to be directed towards addressing every complaint. Try to react immediately, talk to unsatisfied customers and turn their anger into happiness. They will become your most loyal friends.
Blooper #3 – Falsifying your popularity
Good marketing management requires thorough market research. One of the most common bloopers made by companies is falsifying information about your popularity. There are too many tempting offers – services on Twitter or Instagram suggest selling “followers.” However, this is far from being the best thing to do. According to business standards, this behavior is inadmissible. You’d better be honest with your audience. This is a basic rule of e-marketing.
Blooper #4 – Applying erroneous data in your marketing strategy
Imagine that you’ve been a customer of a brand for a long time and you’ve just heard about a great offer they’ve got. You feel thrilled about it when suddenly you lean that it is only for new clients. You feel disappointed, and this is the fault of the brand. After all, they were not clear enough. Using offers, discounts and promotions is an essential part of all marketing strategies and one of the greatest marketing tools. But you have to be fair and straightforward with your customers. Make sure that your data management systems are working just right. It will secure the success of your marketing campaign.
Blooper #5 – Making price the cornerstone of everything you do
All in all, competing on price is a good marketing strategy. However, they work best when your goal is to induce a first-time trial. There is little point in keeping your prices low all of the time. Why? Because customers get used to thinking of you as of a budget brand. Further on, it will limit you a lot. You will find it very difficult to raise the price afterward. Please take this into account when planning your marketing campaign. Reducing prices does not always bring the results you’ve imagined. Brand value comes first in any case.
Blooper #6 – Bad positioning
Marketing just for company image is wrong. If you conduct proper market research, you’ll see that it is much better to create marketing that motivates to an immediate request. It will be the right solution to position your brand this way.
Blooper #7– Forgetting that all buying decisions are emotion-driven
Direct marketing is your way of communicating directly with the customers. Remembering that people’s choices are emotion-driven is one of the basic principles of marketing. We are guided by our unconscious minds. We react to the change of dopamine and oxytocin levels in our blood. If you integrate emotional drivers into your marketing plan, you will most certainly achieve the desired result. It is your way of influencing consumer behavior and one of the most powerful marketing tools.
Blooper #8– Failing to edit in direct marketing
Direct marketing encompasses email, messaging, online adverts, outdoor advertising, etc. If there is a spelling or a grammar mistake in the text of your advertisement, it will affect the customer’s impression of your brand. It will make them doubt – does your company pay attention to detail? Why has this thing been ignored? Customers appreciate thoroughness when it comes to services and products. So please edit with great caution, proofread and make sure that no such thing occurs. Your reputation is above all.
Blooper #9 – Offering no unique sales proposition
E-marketing is a multifaceted and complicated thing. However, your marketing strategies can fail if you don’t have a unique sales proposition. Integrate it into every part of your content and marketing material. USP is your main message, the fundament your company relies on and work on.
Blooper #10 – Advertising something you can’t deliver
Losing your customers trust is very easy. Never risk it because winning it back is extremely hard. Study your target market - be it Dubai or any other place - and implement the main principles of marketing. Not fulfilling your promises ruins your reputation. This will inevitably end in bad customer experience. It will be extremely difficult for you to win the trust of your clients back as soon as you lose it. Do not let them go to your competitor because of such a silly mistake.
Blooper #11 – Being too distant and impersonal in your e-marketing campaign
Your target market implies breaking market into pieces and focusing on the clients who need or want your products and services. Therefore, treating your customers in an impersonal way is another big mistake. What is your marketing concept? What philosophy stands behind your brand? Such tiny little things as addressing customers by their names make a big change. Try to look at things from your client’s perspective. You can even use a bit of guerilla marketing. Guerilla marketing is aimed at promoting a product in a non-traditional way. It works particularly well if you have little budget.
Blooper #12 – Saying that your customer is guilty
What is marketing? Do you know that? If you do, you also know that your customers are the core of everything you do. Always let them be right, no matter what happens. Your marketing concept should be in accord with this basic principle of serving a client. Of course, this does not mean that you should let people use you to their advantage. Just listen, be involved and helpful. Offer solutions and show your genuine care. If you ask yourself “What is marketing?” and answer this question sincerely and honestly you’ll probably come up with an answer that tells you that marketing is stating your customer's needs with the further goal of satisfying them. Do your best to achieve this ultimate goal.