10 Common Problems in Marketing - and How to Avoid Them

If you’re not seeing the results you want to see in your business, it could be that you are facing a common marketing problem.

As experts in the online world, we often spot everyday mistakes in brand communications - from corporations to small businesses.

While they might be common errors, it’s important to make sure you don’t fall into one of these marketing traps. They can negatively affect your like know trust factor, authority, and thought leadership status - as well as your clients and profits.

Here we share the biggest issues in marketing and how you can fix them.

Understanding your audience goes beyond their demographics, locations, and product likes. To truly connect with your consumers, you need to dive deeper.

Find out what they truly need and are truly looking for. What is their biggest excitement in life? What keeps them up at night? By doing this you will be able to better market your brand.

Hanging out with your audience is the best way to define this information. Join groups and online spaces where they participate. Observe the questions they ask to establish common themes that you can address.

This is a common problem seen within larger corporations or with those who feel the need to present highly detailed data. Whilst analytics will always be important, you can’t lose sight of the overall picture.

Marketing is a large system with various channels and platforms that all intersect. Just because one campaign looks like it’s not performing as you hoped doesn’t mean it isn’t benefiting you elsewhere.

For example, Facebook Ads are normally used to generate brand awareness. However, if your conversions aren’t high or your click-through rate isn’t optimum, this doesn’t mean they aren’t working for you. People could be searching for reviews or your products after seeing ads - therefore they could be helping your SEO.

On the other hand, Google Ad campaigns might look stellar, but they also might be cannibalizing your free organic traffic.

You can’t close successful deals without connecting with your audience first. Even if a sale is made, poor consumer experience means they could leave negative reviews and won’t return to repurchase.

If you’re too focused on the selling side of your business then you need to broaden your marketing. Look at other aspects including nurturing your customer relationships.

In the last 12 months, we’ve seen how important it is to pivot. To stay nimble and try new things. To not get stuck in old ways that whilst, yes, may have garnered your success in the past, are not evergreen strategies.

With the new paradigm in business, you need to make sure you keep your sights on new opportunities. For example, Facebook Ads used to be a cheap form of advertising. Now they have grown in cost, resulting in skepticism towards their success.

Instead, look to methods that could increase the connection factor without the hefty price tag. Blogging is one way to get your name out there - without selling, or spending money.

One of the biggest marketing problems we see are brands that don’t get authentic and real with their consumers.

Sharing your life, your stories, and what you care about is the number one way to build a connection. At the end of the day, consumers are human and want a human brand. They don’t seek true perfection or surface-level interaction. A deeper insight and sense of vulnerability are what builds a meaningful relationship.

Offering free content is a great way to begin an ongoing connection. Make sure you respond to people, to their views and comments, no matter how small.

On the other hand, there are those who connect too much with their audience, never remembering to close the sale.

You might lead a Facebook Group and love telling stories. Yes, people will like you, but they’re not thinking about purchasing, or they might not even know how.

Building a connection is a fine line and you want to make sure you stay perfectly balanced to be successful.

Your brand vibe goes beyond your story. This is a general and broader approach to what you represent. Are you about visibility? About freedom? It could be fun, adventure, knowledge, or safety. No matter your vibe, you must stick to it and infuse it into every piece of marketing material you create.

From your newsletters to your social media, each point in the customer journey must be consistent. Imagery, colors, and copy should exude your vibe across every platform and campaign.

Each of your customers will be at a different step in the purchasing journey - and your messaging needs to reflect this. Awareness campaigns for a new audience will require a completely different tone of voice to warm leads and current consumers.

As well as the correct messaging, each campaign needs the right call-to-action. You can’t hit the hard sell to those in the awareness stage. This group of people has pain points that you must address to get their attention.

It might sound cliche, but having fun is of the utmost importance. People give off energy in everything they do. Therefore our audiences can tell when we’re having fun - or when we’d rather be somewhere else.

If you talk about your brand with genuine passion and love, your audience will be much more engaged and inclined to trust you.

So the next time you go live, write copy or record a video, ensure to get into the vibe of having fun and loving your brand.

Make sure you hone in on your marketing and close up any holes that might be leaking money.

Rising Ranks Digital are experts in scaling brands to increase their visibility. Find out more about how we can help you connect with your audience and boost your digital marketing.