10 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2016

Ever wanted a heads up on the mistakes your business is about to make? C3 Marketing have armed us with an insight ahead of the coming year.

This year your business is going to make mistakes, but like the great Albert Einstein once said "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." If you're making mistakes it's likely that you're doing something right. Obviously, being able to see potential pitfalls before you end up at the bottom of them could save you a chunk of money. So think of this list as a public service.

Here are 10 marketing mistakes you're going to avoid this year...

Not having a plan

When you get busy it’s easy to let your marketing slip and as a result, you then get quieter. Now you’re quieter, you can focus on your marketing again, then you will get busy and this cycle will repeat itself until you realize you aren’t making any steady progress. Having a well thought out marketing plan that diarizes daily marketing activities can help avoid this ebb and flow.

Not taking branding seriously

Good branding can go a long way. Building brand equity can increase the perceived value and quality of your product or service. Clear and consistent branding will get you noticed, and more importantly remembered by your target audience.

Waiting too long

When building something you are passionate about, be it a product or a service, it’s easy to get carried away. Some of the things you spend time building aren’t crucial to the success of your business and are therefore a waste of time. Have a clear understanding of what you are going to achieve from the outset and don’t let yourself get side-tracked.

Guarding your idea

At the start your idea is worthless. You can rest assured that it's been thought of by someone else before. What makes an idea into a business is the execution. The reason Mark Zuckerberg is a multi-billionaire and the Winklevoss twins got a settlement, isn’t because Mark stole their idea. It’s because he was better at executing it than they were.

Not being patient

Being patient is key. If you’re not seeing sizable results in the first 6 months and are thinking of giving up… “Are you nuts?” This is a business that you want to be building for the rest of your life. Make sure you stay motivated, work hard and be patient.

Not listening to your customers

Your customers are the people you need to please. Whether you have 1 customer or 10,000 customers, getting their honest feedback will help you grow your business. Instead of spending time and money on Facebook ads, why not pay someone to ring up your customers and find out what they like and dislike about you. Product development is marketing too.

Faking it

Never pretend to be something you are not. Your customers are becoming savvier when it comes to marketing, and no amount of branding will be able to hide you if you’re faking it.

Thinking you can do everything yourself

When starting a business there are going to be hundreds of tasks that need to be completed. It’s understandable to think that no one else will give these tasks as much attention to detail as the business owner. However, the mind-set that you will be able to do everything is impractical. It’s a sure way to burn out. Letting go and delegating tasks will free up your time so you can spend it on the more important tasks.

Not measuring and analyzing results

At the start you might see an influx of interest in your business because your company/product is new. Don’t just be content with this. Collect data from your customers, analyze the information and then use it to your advantage.

Forgetting about offline

It’s easy to get caught up with the mentality that going digital is the ‘be all and end all’ of modern marketing. However, not everybody’s attention is there 100% of the time. People still watch TV and read magazines. A good marketing plan will include both online and offline activities. The more places your potential customers see your brand, the more likely they will come to you when they need your service.