Your marketing efforts are supposed to provide big dividends. We know this to be true because we've seen the results of great marketing when it comes to promoting our free inventory management system. Every promotion, advertisement or event is designed to either generate sales, attract new customers or grow your business in some other way. The last thing that you want is to invest your time and money into a marketing campaign that actually drives your customers, and potential customers, away. To help you avoid this scenario, here are five marketing mistakes you should avoid at all costs.
- Advertising a Product You Can’t Provide - Whether it’s producing an ad promoting the wrong product or simply not having enough of the sale item on hand, not being able to deliver what you advertised is going to cause you problems. Check and doublecheck all marketing materials BEFORE they’re printed. Don’t let a flyer promoting blue widgets go out if you really have the green ones on sale. It might seem like a small difference, but it can be huge to the customer who only wanted blue widgets. Likewise, if someone makes a special trip to your store to purchase a sale item, they don’t want to be offered a similar substitute. They want the advertised product. There'd be nothing worse than advertising a free inventory management system and when you show up it's actually a CRM. Talk about disappointment, right!
- Too Many Restrictions - We’re all familiar with promotions that specify things such as “Buy One - Get One Free” or “offer valid on large size only” and as consumers we’re generally okay with restrictions like these. Be careful not to get carried away with your stipulations and end up annoying your customers. If it’s a one day only sale be sure that information is boldly printed in multiple places. People will be frustrated to learn that they can’t get the offer because they came on the wrong day and they will be unlikely to return again. Avoid very specific clauses such as “coupon valid from 6-9 PM only.” This will annoy your customers on multiple levels. Not only can they not shop at their convenience but they are all but guaranteed that your store will be busy and the checkout lines will be long during the limited time the coupon is valid.
- Creating Campaigns With Your Company in Mind, Not Your Customers - Of course you want your marketing campaigns to benefit your company. You have a goal that you’re trying to reach and the campaign is just another way to get there. The best campaigns, however, are customer focused so that your customers feel as though the promotion is all about them. You would never tell your customers “this widget is on sale because we have 2,500 of them cluttering up the back room and need to get rid of them,” if you want to sell widgets you need to convince your customers that they need widgets. Suddenly you are “helping” your customers by providing something they need at a discounted price.
- Targeting the Wrong Customers - Any campaign has the potential to be a bull’s eye, provided that it is well targeted. Aim a sale and the wrong part of your customer base and you won’t end up anywhere close to the target. If you’re using a CRM system, you know your customers. You have data on what they like and what brings them back time after time. Use that information when crafting new promotions. By creating campaigns that “fit” your customers you’ll increase goodwill and sales. We knew small business was our target so all of the marketing we put behind our free inventory management system is geared towards small businesses. It really is that simple, but easy to overlook when planning a campaign.
- Ignoring Social Media - Just because you’re not tech savvy, doesn’t mean your business can afford to not be. Your customers are on social media and you should be too. Having a great website isn’t enough these days. You need to be on Facebook, Twitter and whatever the next big thing turns out to be. If you’re not comfortable creating accounts and posting updates, find someone who is. You need to be positively promoted via every available avenue.
Growing your small business and keeping it successful is a big job. Hopefully these tips will help you avoid some marketing pitfalls that make that job harder than it has to be. Need help managing your inventory? Get Stockpile. Our FREE inventory management system will handle your toughest inventory challenges so you can focus on other aspects of your business. We can’t market your business for you, but we can help you find the time you need to market it.
