Guest Post by John Anderson
Marketing is a subtle and ever changing art. Formulating strategies can be a daunting task, as it requires you to become adaptable to any changes in the environment that your enterprise belongs to. Yes, small changes can influence the entirety of a business, and with the changes in the marketing field happening fast, most of us should do some rethinking in our approaches. Most of the strategies that marketers use today seem to be obsolete, and what’s worse? They have no idea that it doesn’t work. Now, let us explore these marketing strategies that are only deemed good on paper, and not so much in practice.
Marketing to Everyone
Most marketers fall for this one: they believe that the product and services that they are trying to sell is ideal for everyone. Unless your product or service is a thing of general necessity, then that would be a good thing to do. Otherwise, that would be a complete waste of time. Certain products and services have their target niche to focus upon and common sense dictates that you should not expend your time and money for audiences that are not likely to bat an eye for your product. Marketing on the internet is a tricky one; it pays to know who your customers are and focus on their needs. That way, they themselves will attract new customers for you.
Commercials
A decade ago, TV commercials are the way to go if you aim to reach a wide range of audiences in a small span of time. But if you apply the same principle in internet marketing (*cough*Youtube pre-video ads*cough*), the result can be annoying. The thing with commercial advertisements on the internet is that they are invasive and they get in the way where users have the most control over what they see or hear. What you can do instead is to interact with your audience. That way, you can reassure them that you value their presence, at the same time become less invasive and annoying.
Prioritizing Specs over Experience
Most of the time, marketers are too focused on the features of what their product could do. This leads them to forget one thing: that most customers are in it for the experience. Customers want to see the vision that you want to impart with the use of your product. Most of them are not actually focused on the stats of your product. Make them feel good with your product; share the experience, and you are guaranteed to sell more.
Focusing on Sales Alone
Most marketers also fall for this one. This is because most marketers are only bent on making sales, not on creating relationships. Now as a leader of a business, it is up to you to teach your men the right approach for marketing your product. Make them realize that this is more than just sales, but also about building relationships with your customers. Improving knowledge work for teams can be a great way for you as a leader to see what your customers really like. That way, you can establish brand loyalty among customers.
Prioritizing Promotion over the Quality of Product or Service Provided
With the proliferation of internet access even to mobile devices, it will be easy for your audience to see whether your wild claims are true or not. People of today are harder to trick than they were decades ago, so fancy and flowery promotions will not fool anyone anymore. Moreover, people value integrity; and once they see through your deceptions, you are toast. Instead of focusing on how to trick your customers, why not focus on how you can improve your product or service to better serve your loyal customers. After all, the best form of advertising is telling the truth.
These outdated marketing strategies need to be thrown away. You have no need for them, and you are better off without them. Like any good marketing leader should do, it is best that you keep moving forward and be abreast with the ever changing trends in the field of marketing.
Share your ideas or thoughts!