The Three Biggest Digital Marketing Mistakes Overheard in New Customer Meetings

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on marketing meetings with businesses that range from start-ups to mom and pop operations to Fortune 500 companies.  While some business owners and managers really do indeed “get it”, many are caught up in the day-to-day operations and can’t see the forest for the trees.  Below you’ll find the top cringe-worthy comments overheard at marketing meetings and actionable steps for a course of correction.

#3 – “All I know is that we probably need a new website…”

Huh… if that is all you know then we’re certainly not getting off to a good start.  The businesses we meet with that are growing exponentially know their numbers.  They know how many hits they’re getting to their website, they know their top entrance pages, and they know the main source of where their traffic is coming from.  Even more important, and what I’ve built my business on, is them knowing their customer conversion rate.  Their conversion rate equates to how many people searched for the product or service they’re offering, landed on their website, and either requested more information, picked up the phone to call, or purchased a product online. 

Having a conversion rate of 5% or higher tells a business owner they are attracting the right customer, their message is spot on, and they’re making it as easy as possible for their potential customer to get on board with them.  Before you go into your next digital marketing meeting, be sure to have the right numbers sitting in front of you so you can make intelligent and informed decisions for your business.  And for crying out loud… if you’re not already collecting those numbers, stop reading this and request to have proper analytics tools set up today!

#2 – “Yeah, we already tried that and it didn’t work…”

I get it, sometimes marketing can be frustrating because you feel as though you’ve tried everything under the sun but your audience isn’t responding the way you’d like.  Just yesterday I had a client call looking for tips on conducting an online giveaway for a pretty substantial prize after they became frustrated with the lack of response. At other times I’ve been in consultation meetings with clients who are wondering why no one has responded to their AdWords campaign that has been running for months with no optimization.  Einstein himself once famously said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

When it comes to your digital marketing you need to think outside the box and think across a wide variety of channels to come up with a creative and cost effective solution.  Digital marketing is simple in that you want to be omnipresent in all channels and right in front of your audience with just the right message when they’re ready to buy or request more information about your offerings.  All the working parts of your campaign to get you to that goal is where the complexity comes into play and where experience reigns king.  Just because you ran a campaign or had a website designed that didn’t produce the return on investment you were expecting, doesn’t mean your idea was executed properly from the get-go.  Give it another try with a fresh set of eyes and a fresh set of ideas.

#1 – “My USP?  Is that some sort of new delivery service?”

For those living under a rock your USP is an acronym for your “Unique Selling Proposition”.  It is basically your elevator pitch as to what separates what you do and how you do it from that of your competition.  For instance, our USP at Blue Pixel Studios is “Attract. Convince. Convert. – Your Formula for Results Driven Digital Marketing”.  Some other more famous USP’s you may recognize are (see if you can identify the brand):

•   “The nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine.”
•   “Expect More. Pay Less.”
•   “15 Minutes Could Save You 15 Percent or More on Car Insurance.”

One excellent method of coming up with your unique USP, made popular by Dane Maxwell, is the following formula:

Formula = End Result Customer Wants + Specific Period of Time + Address the Objections

For a furnace repair business this would translate to “A more efficient furnace in one hour or less without any upsells or add-ons”.  Take a minute and think about what your USP is and question whether you are conveying this message effectively to your customers.

Arm Yourself with Knowledge Before Your Next Marketing Meeting

The most important takeaway is to know your business and know your numbers.  Arming yourself with this knowledge is perhaps the most simple and most powerful tool you will have in your decision making process.