MARKETING DOS AND DON'TS

Throughout the business world, companies are never content with the extent of their progress. Constant growth is a given in any business venture, which is why many-a businessman gives himself a hard time, constantly assessing what he can add to, or improve upon, within his business strategy.

Price, image, function, content, these are all common factors when it comes to plotting out marketing, but what are the frequent mistakes and misjudgments made by establishments in all forms?

Consumer loyalty can be hard to maintain. Making your company a personable brand that your clients can trust is key. Why? Because with so many companies now available across the web we, as customers, will flock to whichever we trust the most. Incorporating your brand personality into current trends will make you appear current, knowledgeable and much more trustworthy.

Having said that, this exercise is often easier said than done. Businesses use many marketing tactics, from reducing the price of products, to dedicating resources to extensive market research, which they commonly mistaken for the best quick-win options.

In fact, the use of such tactics are often owed to businessmen making wrong assumptions – of what is worthwhile in the long-term and what will actually deliver a good ROI.

So, how many of the following marketing misconceptions have you fallen for?

Price drops are the most effective way to bring in customers

Whilst fantastic for catching the gaze of clients who are finding the current economic climate as difficult as you are, reducing the price of your services is not a sustainable option. Unless you are planning to keep prices at that level there is no real point in reducing them.

It’s a case of the old ‘quality not quantity’ declaration – companies do not gain the loyalty of customers because of their price tag, it is owed to the quality of their service. And at the end of the day loyalty is far more valuable than a quick sale.

This is why offering the consumer an improved service, a fairer contractual agreement, a longer time to pay, or a loyalty incentive, generates better long-term results rather than a small, temporary influx of customers looking to save the pennies.

Social Media is best used for product promotion

Rather than take to blogs and social networks simply to promote your new product or service, why not use them the way Mark Zuckerberg intended: give people your latest news, updates and interact with customers.

This way you can build up and maintain a steady audience – an audience ready to propagate news of any new product or service as and when it’s announced. You can also use social media to assess the needs of your target market without the need of without the need for resource-draining research methods such as surveys and focus groups.

People respond to interactivity via social media sites, so adopt a personal and friendly online presence rather than simply addressing clients in a corporate voice. Today’s generation hold a far shorter attention-span, but frequently engaging them with videos, blogs and other media technologies will gain you an active audience and brand ambassadors as well as simply consumers.

Ignore the Trends

Trends can be quite unavoidable and it is not always as simplistic as waiting for them to pass. This is why successful blogs adopt the lingo by utilising popular phrases or keywords that are gaining attention across the World Wide Web. In fact, social media marketing monitors can be indispensable for analysing the changing interests of your target audience and will keep you current and responsive.

As you may hear all too often, social media is now a fundamental part of both business and social life, so the two were inevitably going to overlap. As cultural interests are mapped by social media monitoring, just as much as brand awareness and business trends are, it is important for businesses who are ready and willing to flourish alongside future trends and technologies to get involved.

Are you unsure about how to measure trends and use social media to a business advantage? Then do not hesitate to contact us today for professional advice. At Thread, we know that companies perform better when they know what trends are around the corner.