4 Biggest Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them

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Guest Post!

Marketing your business is an essential part of finding customers. A strong campaign will help connect you with the right people who will get a buzz going about your business. However, not all marketing is created equally. It’s important that you put the right kind of marketing efforts forward if you hope to reap the benefits. 

Above all, it’s important that you avoid some of the most damaging mistakes. Take a look at some of the most important errors that you should steer clear of when marketing your business. 

Lack Of Research 

A critical part of marketing is knowing exactly who you’re trying to market to. Research and testing don’t just save you money in the long run but also time. You should have a basic understanding of how your products will perform based on your research. Research helps you have an idea of how much you should be investing in your marketing campaign and how the public will respond. 

No Focus 

Focus is important anytime that you’re trying to stand out from your competitors. Having a clear understanding of your brand helps you stay focused and catch the attention of your audience. A lot of companies miss the mark when it comes to developing a strategy for their brand. 

As a result, they have to start over each time that they start a new campaign.  You can avoid this mistake by staying focused on how you plan to pitch your product to customers. Everything that you do should relate back to your one single focus. 

Not Focusing On Current Customers 

A lot of companies are so focused on trying to acquire new customers that they forget to focus on the ones they already have. Unfortunately, statistics show that a repeat customer is worth significantly more money than a new one. The more that a customer buys from you, the more that they are likely to keep coming back. Make sure that your strategies are directed not only at bringing in new people but also keeping your current customers happy and loyal. 

Not Listening To Customer Feedback 

A lot of businesses forget along the way that the customer is always right. They assume that they know best and forget to listen to their customers’ feedback. However, there is nothing more valuable than what your customers want. In order to understand what they need, you need to take their feedback to heart. Ask for their feedback regularly and implement their suggestions into your business plan. 

When customers feel listened to, they become much more loyal to your brand. Fulfill your customers’ needs better than anyone else can, and you’ll have people lining up out the door. 

email vs linkedin inmail

LinkedIn InMail vs. Email for Recruiting and Staffing

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Since we’ve been working with email marketing, especially in the recruiting and staffing space, we’ve heard a number of people say they use LinkedInⓇ InMail to find new candidates. And some of those that are recruiting/staffing companies also use LinkedInⓇ InMail to find new clients.

We also hear their complaints about LinkedInⓇ, and their lack of results. Frankly, it makes sense to us that they aren’t getting the results they want on LinkedInⓇ. And I say this as someone LinkedInⓇ has endorsed and who wrote a book on LinkedInⓇ for business development. I’ve tested LinkedInⓇ extensively against other platforms and strategies. More surprising to me are the people who sound happy with LinkedInⓇ, but their results are not that impressive.

What is LinkedIn InMail?

InMail is a service from LinkedInⓇ where you can directly contact other LinkedInⓇ members. If you have a free account, you can only contact those you are connected to. With a premium account, you can use InMail to contact any LinkedInⓇ member, as long as their preferences are set to receive InMail.

LinkedInⓇ InMail has some serious obstacles and deficiencies that make it hard for you to succeed.

The biggest problems with LinkedInⓇ are…

LinkedIn InMail vs email
  1. People don’t read InMail… because it is so spammed up by business development people. Most of the messages are low-quality cold messages with no personalization. If you are in certain job functions or are in leadership, you probably get a ton of this InMail spam. Because of that, your message doesn’t get seen by the people you’re sending to, and they feel no compunction to respond.
  2. People who DO read InMail may not check it for days. And when they do check it, your message is buried in an avalanche of amateur cold spam InMails. So, InMail doesn’t result in quick responses, and possibly no response if people “turn off” to it because of all the spam.
  3. People do read email, many times per day. Spam has less effect here, because it’s usually filtered automatically by the servers. But if you can get into their inbox with your cold email, your message is received and read.
  4. InMail is one at a time, very slow and time-consuming. Email can be sent to thousands of potential clients and candidates at once, or in just a few days.
  5. LinkedIn™ Recruiter Tools can be cheap, but you get what you pay for.
  6. LinkedIn™ Recruiter doesn’t give you emails or phone numbers. You’re stuck in the limited LinkedIn ecosystem.
  7. You need valid up-to-date contacts with emails and phone numbers to have a chance to be seen and get responses from more clients and candidates.

You can see why, done right, outgoing sales emails can have a greater impact on your results than LinkedInⓇ InMail. If you’re not doing it, I highly recommend you look into it!

Advertising Trends, April 2020: Now Is The Best Time to Advertise

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What are we finding with digital advertising during these weird and difficult times?

Now is the most affordable time to advertise in 5-10 years. We’re seeing unheard of low CPMs.

If you’re open for business and can afford it, you should advertise!

Some recent findings looking at the last week of data compared to the past:

  • Facebook CPM’s (cost per 1000 impressions) are up to 82% more affordable than they were this time last year.
  • Facebook video Thruplays (viewing a video for at least 15 seconds) are up to 69% more affordable .
  • Google CPC (cost per click) is up to 10% more affordable, but sometimes slightly higher than last year. Google CPM, however is 36% more affordable .
  • Amazon ACOS (ad cost of sale) is still good for many items. Industry average is 30% and we’re seeing items with as low as 19% ACOS.
  • YouTube cost per views (at least 30 seconds) are up to 40% more affordable .

Recommendations:

Advertising spend tends to correlate with increases in business, and return business. Businesses that cut advertising tend to see decreases in business. If you’re open for business, we recommend you advertise.

We recommend Facebook, YouTube and Amazon because they’re the same or more affordable right now. Google may be good for reach, but Google search ads may be slightly more expensive.

This is a very affordable time to reach customers with branding, awareness, or general messaging.

We are seeing purchases of both essential goods and discretionary ones (especially those that relieve boredom or entertain or educate children). 

Leading with a coronavirus message may not lead to great CTR (advertising) or open rates (email). The worst email open rate we’ve seen recently came from the subject line, “Dealing with Coronavirus.” Better results come from focusing on short-term pains, problems and goals. When alluding to the virus, say something softer like, “in this crisis,” or “in these times.” 

We’re seeing success with clients who create new offers and discounts, and running a larger variety to discover what customers want most right now.