Only brands that come up with creative ways to introduce an omnichannel strategy will manage to win over their customers and flourish well into the future
By Shiraz Khan
Whether you are a start-up or an established brand, marketing is one of the most important tools you can leverage to elevate your brand. In fact, with a little creativity and the right resources, you can build some genuine interest in your brand that can lead to more visibility, increased traffic, higher conversions, and better revenue.
While a lot of business owners covet such results, they often commit some mistakes when it comes to marketing. And these mistakes are easily avoidable. Let’s take a look at the five common mistakes businesses can’t afford to make in 2022 if the goal is to rise above the competitors and become an authority in your industry.
#1 Being insensitive in your brand communications
The COVID-19 pandemic has made consumers painfully sensitive towards genuine and responsible brands versus opportunistic behavior. And when times are challenging, the last thing customers expect is to hear a sales pitch. As Walter Landor once said, “Products are made in the factory. But brands are created in the mind.” In sensitive times, it is important for both marketers and business owners to continue to communicate and interact with customers. But what is even more important is to ensure that the messaging is altered to situational reality. Here’s where several brands fail to keep a human touch and instead focus too heavily on promoting “how useful their product or service is” in such times. Your brand communication should be authentic, empathetic, and relevant – centered on what your customers are experiencing. It could be something as simple as “we are there for you”.
Brands that maintain sensitivity in communication are certain to reap the rewards of customer goodwill in the distant future.
#2 Curbing digital spends
Online is the new vogue and brands that are not taking advantage of the digital space to improve their presence and awareness are likely to fall behind the times. So, just because an online campaign did not prove to be fruitful, it does mean that the brand should divert its digital budget towards another activity. This is why it is crucial to evaluate past results, halt digital efforts that are not producing a tangible outcome, and pump money into strategies that will help garner what exactly your brand needs at the moment. List out the online marketing activities that contributed to your bottom line (and even those that didn’t). Choose whether to continue with the existing budget or add more, instead of locking it entirely. Brands should also decide whether to eliminate unviable strategies completely or continue by modifying them to generate better results. The key is to reset and adjust your digital budget according to the results and arrive at a conclusion by staying flexible.
#3 Underrating the importance of visibility
The popular saying, “out of sight, out of mind” holds true when businesses fail to invest in quality branding, which does more harm than good to your visibility. Instead of waiting for your customers to come knocking at your door, it would be best if you are the one engaging them. From creating a professional website and brand logo to establishing a presence on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, the options and opportunities are endless for building your presence. But many brands rely on only one or two platforms rather than expanding their presence across different sources simultaneously, especially where their target audience is. If your aim is to create credibility, attract new customers, drive traffic to your site, and increase your ROI, strike to maintain consistent visibility both online and offline.
#4 Not evolving with the new normal
So, your brand’s first pre-pandemic marketing campaign was a hit and you feel you can execute the same approach. Wrong again! If you cling on to the ‘old routine’ without shaping your strategies to the new reality, you are failing to promote your brand name any further. If a plan worked out well before, there are no guarantees it will do well this time too. That’s because your earlier campaign did grab the attention of your target audience, but they are likely to lose interest in your brand if you don’t have anything new to offer to them. Look for new marketing strategies, latest trends, and different content ideas to keep evolving as per changing consumer behavior and preferences and adapting to the new normal. Another must is to keep altering your brand message so that your communication always has a fresh ‘punch’ to it.
#5 Neglecting omnichannel approach to sell
Modern consumers expect a seamless omnichannel journey, personalised communication, and 24/7 customer service. A recent report showed that omnichannel consumers spend 10% more online as compared to single-channel consumers. It’s clear, though, that leading brands aren’t as focused on this area as others. But brands that fail to fulfill these expectations are likely to get left behind. For the consumers, another brand is just a click away. This means that brands that aren’t opting for multichannel engagement are offering a substandard experience for these customers and devoiding themselves from reaching new customer segments, increasing operational efficiency, improving customer lifetime value, and higher sales. Only brands that come up with creative ways to introduce an omnichannel strategy will manage to win over their customers and flourish well into the future.
Make no new marketing mistakes and set your brand up for success in 2022
Marketing is tricky. It takes years to build a brand and seconds to destroy. For many, this process is filled with trial and error, which, if not properly navigated, can spell major disaster, causing your brand valuable customers, money, and loss of internal support. Luckily, these mistakes can be avoided by analysing and learning from others’ experiences.
The author is founder/director of Spicetree Design Agency
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