It’s not me, it’s you – well, your marketing. The problem is that people just don’t get it. It being what you do, why it is interesting to me and why I should even bother to read on.
Top 10 Worst Marketing Mistakes EVER!
#1: Too Vague – Um? If your target audience doesn’t get it right away, they move on. Often we assume our target audience knows and understands what we are talking about. Be specific even if you are marketing to friends and family.
#2: Too Much about YOU – People don’t buy because you won awards, or because you do good deeds or that your grandfather started the company back in 1863. People buy because of them and what they need (that you happen to solve). Focus your marketing on them and their needs because that’s what they care about.
#3: Features, not Benefits – Quite simply a feature is the technical whatever the thingie-ma-jig does what it does what it was designed to do. A benefit is what the thingie-ma-jig does FOR them. Skip the what and focus on the how it makes life easier, better, simpler.
#4: Just Plain TOO MUCH Information – Whoa Nelly – slow down there on the marketing! It’s a fine line between giving enough details and overloading your prospects with too much information. Tie your marketing to your sales process and give enough information for them to take the next step and that’s it!
#5: Relying on a GLIB Tagline – Like wind through the willows so goes my understanding of what the heck you are talking about. Skip the artful turns of phrase and poetry and stick with plain and simple language.
#6: Too Cutesy – It’s just super that you are using a superhero theme to leap over the competition in a single bound – just don’t overdo it or your marketing hero will become a villain.
#7: Dull and Boring – Get creative with ways to make your content interesting and relevant to your readers. Even the most technical topic can be jazzed up with interesting factoids put in relevant terms (think measurements to the moon).
#8: Too Pushy – Don’t try to jump to the close before you build the relationship in your marketing. Walk your potential customers through your marketing before asking them to take the plunge.
#9: Unclear Call to Action – What do you want your prospects to do next? Click to buy? Call to book a free consultation? Be specific and clear exactly what you want them to do next and how to do it.
#10: No Contact Information – Follow the golden rule – if you want people to contact you, you need to give them your contact information.
1 Comment
I love #4 because it is SO true that many marketers give so much information that the busy mom in me just walks away. Buh-bye! When there is too much information, the tendency is to want to come back later (which may never happen) or just move on. So, keeping things simple and to the point definitely works (which is why I am not a big fan of the million mile long sales letter – despite the fact that it may get a higher conversion rate). I wonder what the conversion rate is for MOMS on those long form sales letters? Anyone have any stats? Or can we take a poll here? 😉