The goal of marketing is to get the word out about your company and the fantastic things it has to offer. If you do it the right way, people will want to be part of your brand. Do it the wrong way, however, and you will irritate consumers and drive potential customers away. To help you avoid this costly mistake, here are five overplayed marketing strategies to avoid:
Cheap Promotional Items that End Up as Landfill
Successful big and small businesses can attest to the fact that using promotional giveaways often results in more sales and better ROI.
Gone are the days where you can slap your company logo on any old thing and keep top of mind with customers. Some examples of out-of-date promotional items? Think paperweights, a CD with your company’s catalog on it, and cheap crappy pens that break on the second use.
Instead, choose corporate gifts that align with your brand and add value to your customer. Are you working for a tech company? A power bank or USB might be appropriate. Does your brand appeal to kids? Skip the bouncy balls that double as a choking hazard and try a frisbee or yoyo instead.
Annoying Pop-Up Ads
How frustrated do you get when you click on a website and you have to keep closing pop-ups to access the information you want? Pop-ups are more frustrating than they are effective when they aren’t relevant to the audience seeing them. This is especially true when they ask you to take action before you have any incentive to do so.
When are pop-ups appropriate? They can be fantastic when used to offer discounts on eCommerce sites or a valuable email subscription to regular visitors of your site. The trick is to use pop-ups only when they are genuinely providing value to the majority of people who will see them.
Endless Jargon
“Let’s circle back and disambiguate the content solution.” People are sick of jargon and overcomplicated explanations. Too often, we use big words in an attempt to convince our customers that we know a lot about a subject. However, there is real strength in being able to explain a complex topic in plain English, so people outside your industry would be able to understand how something works.
Humble-Bragging on Social Media
People don’t want to read endless posts about your company. They want to read interesting, educational, or entertaining content that adds value to their lives. Rather than posting about your business every day, think about the frequently asked questions from your customers. You should consider not just the pre-purchase queries but also how you can help customers get the best value out of your products or services. After all, a happy customer is more likely to recommend you to their friends!
Over-Automated
How many social media comments and emails have you received from bots this week? Their inane comments like “cool photo!” or “loving your content” aren’t fooling anyone. When poorly deployed, automation is annoying, with repetitive bots that know nothing about your needs. These kinds of messages are mass-produced garbage.
Automation is an incredibly useful tool that can greatly extend your reach and increase the effectiveness of your campaigns when used well. However, it needs to be managed delicately. For example, email marketing automation that sends out additional content on a specific topic when a customer has expressed interest in that area will be well received. Mass market messages with no thought or personalization will not.
Make sure you are spending your marketing budget wisely, with well-considered strategies that will add value to your customer’s lives. This approach will pay off in the long run.
