Unfortunately, we have to conclude that young entrepreneurs often have too little time and financial resources to set up a real marketing plan. To overcome these shortcomings, here are five mistakes we often encounter in company marketing strategy that you can learn relevant lessons to reach your customers without too much detour.
Choosing inappropriate communication channels
The evolution of communication – especially the Internet – has created various tools that help small businesses with often limited budgets to increase their visibility. Social media, for example, is a suitable means of communication for those with limited financial resources.
However, being aligned with communication technologies should not be an end in itself, and it should certainly not detract from the goal of your business, which is to sell what you offer as a product or service. You must, therefore, continue to focus on your offer and judge whether it is attuned to the communication medium you choose. For example, if you open a retirement home, LinkedIn is not the best way to promote it.
To create a good strategy, you must ask yourself the right questions: What does your offer look like? Who is it for? What resources do I have? What are my sales objectives? On the site of 1819, you will find concrete prospecting methods, such as e-mail, telephone conversations, informal networks, posters, radio or television campaigns, etc. If you find an answer to these three questions, you will know which communication medium is most relevant to your project soon enough.
- Prospect anytime, anywhere
It is often more exciting to win new customers than to ensure the satisfaction of existing customers. However, it is easier and cheaper to increase sales thanks to customers that you have already acquired.
Experts argue that customer retention of 5% of our customers can increase the average profit per customer by 25 to 100%.
- Getting your message across incorrectly
Remember that your marketing campaigns aim to get consumers to buy. It is often helpful to start a dialogue with your customers to adapt your offer to their needs, but also to know what appeals to them, what they attach importance to in their daily lives, and what resonates with them. A mistake we often see arises when the message is redirected, sometimes even without considering the recipient.
For example, some companies tend to communicate about the objectives they have set. We all strive to provide our customers with the best solution and work optimally. Goals are indeed necessary to calculate your progress. Another fatal mistake is communicating about the competition. Responding to any potential attacks from a competitor or trying to outperform him on the message he is spreading is a waste of time. Worse, it can discredit you. Better focus your efforts on how you differentiate yourself from your competitors.
- Rushing and sometimes missing the boat
Perhaps not all of your marketing actions yield satisfactory results, and then you are often tempted to go in a different direction.
To avoid this shortcoming, why not test your communication campaigns with a limited audience beforehand? Again, focus on a direct dialogue with your customers.
Today, the most knowledgeable companies’ marketing strategies are based on their customers’ feedback rather than the features of their products. Think about how you can respond to that.
Note, by the way, that the speed of current means of communication makes it difficult to spread a coherent message. Be patient, take a global view,w and take a long-term picture of your marketing strategy rather than rushing it.
- Thinking that one action guarantees success
You could launch an advertising campaign in the right place at the right time and significantly expand your customer base. In reality, it is difficult for the consumer to be constantly inundated with information to make an immediate decision.
Be realistic! Your contact will likely be an opportunity to make the consumer think about your product or service. Creating as many contact points as possible through a maximum number of communication channels is essential. The idea is to maximize your access to potential customers so that you’re visible when they’re ready to decide.
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