By STEPHANIE WOODCOCK
I recently purchased a Peloton bike. I was doubtful at first. Will this become an expensive clothes hanger? Will I feel like going to my basement to literally spin my wheels?
After setting up my subscription service with customer care, they said, “Welcome to the Peloton family.” Oh wow. We’re family now? Okay? I didn’t quite get it.
Then I took a ride. The virtual live class takes over the screen and you become part of this enthusiastic community. You’re swept away by the vibrance of this brightly dressed and animated instructor telling you that you are the best. You are a warrior. Royalty. And how great you will feel after this climb interval. As a first-time skeptic, it was exhilarating.
The bike itself didn’t motivate me, however pretty it looks in my laundry room. But the live classes with upbeat music did. The unique, on-demand classes and celebrity-like instructors made all the difference in my desire to use the bike.
In many ways, our marketing is like this bike. If it stays dormant and unused, it’s just an expensive piece of equipment that cost you a lot of money with little to no results.
We’ve got to spin it to win it.
Are you winning in your marketing plan, or are you spinning your wheels?
Following are my top 10 major marketing mistakes that cost you money:
#1 Your website is static, out-of-date, not mobile friendly or too detailed with industry terms.
User experience matters. In this virtual environment, your website is a good investment. Since 2011, smartphone usage has increased from 35 percent to more than 80 percent. People buy, look up contact information, products and services on their smartphones. Gain momentum by capitalizing on this here-to-stay trend. Think of your site as a catalog or phone book in the palm of your client’s hand.
#2 Your marketing content is not visually appealing.
The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than plain text. About 90 percent of all information transmitted into and through the brain is visual. Too many people think they can do their own marketing content, yet they fail. Do not make your human resources department tackle marketing or attempt to do graphic design. Would you let a random person cut your hair? No. Image matters. Graphic design is a science as well as an art. Best to leave it to the experts.
#3 You neglect your company’s online presence.
Like it or not, social media is here to stay. You need to be connecting with your audience, customer base, influencers, employees and peripheral base. LinkedIn is a good place to start. This is the place to share, network, see and be seen. If you don’t even go to the party, you’ll never be seen. And your website will remain in static Internet purgatory.
#4 You’re not clearly stating what makes your company different.
Messaging is even more important now in our virtual age. Using industry jargon or feel-good statements does no one any favors, and we all come to a screeching halt. Try not to be too technical or vague in describing what makes you different.
#5 You have no story that connects with the audience.
Draw in your client with a question that opens a story loop in the mind. For A/E/C companies, this is usually a problem that you can help solve. Instead of telling people what they need, open a story loop and compel them to want answers.
#6 You are not properly executing public relations campaigns.
This is KEY for our A/E/C industry. Promoting your company’s achievements through consistent PR campaigns helps further your brand. Highlight project completions, newsworthy events, award wins and nominations, industry news and employee promotions.
#7 You are not maximizing association involvement.
Even in this virtual age, membership involvement is key. Host a webinar. Sponsor digital events, websites and events, when they come back. If you are going to sponsor a big association event, have enough of a presence with people and support material.
#8 You’re building a Cadillac website but have no one to drive it.
Companies too often make a sizable investment in a new website but have no marketing plan so that it gets noticed. “If you build it, they will come” does not apply in this case. Increase engagement and drive traffic to the site with social media, electronic marketing, SEO and SEM.
#9 You are focusing solely on customer acquisition.
Success rates of selling to a new customer fall somewhere between 5 percent to 20 percent while the success rate for retaining existing customers is 60 percent to 70 percent. Spending the majority of your budget on customer acquisition versus customer retention is yet another costly mistake many businesses make.
#10 Your marketing does not connect to a real sales plan.
The two go hand in hand. A marketing plan without sales engagement is like a bike without wheels. You may have a great seat and all the right tools for the ride, but you won’t go anywhere. Marketing should warm up cold leads and gather new ones.
Just like with any workout, consistency, planning and execution is key. 2021 is the time to get back in the saddle. These are just the basics. We have to plan the ride before we start it. And in the words of Peloton instructor Denis Morton, “Start Now. If you wait until the time’s right, you’ll wait forever.”
Stephanie Woodcock is president of Seal the Deal Too, a St. Louis-based marketing, creative & communications firm. She can be reached at stephanie@sealthedealtoo.com.