We love working with marketing managers, in fact, we have a lot of them as clients.
But there are a few strategic marketing mistakes that we have come across in the past few years when liaising with them. Can you identify with any of these mistakes made by marketing managers?
1. Biting off more than you can chew and not delegating tasks.
Dwindling budgets often mean that marketing managers have to wear many hats. But having a bit of knowledge in Photoshop, SEO or coding can only take you so far. In fact the more hats you try to wear the harder it can get to juggle multiple projects.
Delegating the required work whether it’s graphic design, SEO, Social media or web design to the relevant agencies or experts can save you a lot of headache. It can free up time for you to concentrate on your strengths, rather than trying to learn different techniques and specialisms.
In the long run, this can save valuable time and money, which can then be channeled into other resources, instead of spreading yourself too thin.
2. Partnering with the wrong agencies or ‘experts’.
Carrying on from the last point, being thorough in your vetting process when you are outsourcing is extremely important. The last thing you want is a ‘cowboy’ agency to take your money but not provide you with the correct services you asked for.
A simple Google search can highlight many things. Have a look at testimonials from other clients, maybe even ask to speak to some. Any reputable agency/partner will not have an issue with this, after all, what do they have to hide?
Remember, a good agency partner can be an extension of your business, however, a bad partner can tarnish your brand’s reputation. Agencies that have a good reputation for the work they do should be your priority. They may charge a bit more, but with them, you’ll be making an investment rather than incurring a cost.
Once you do find a reputable agency, be sure to take a back seat and not interfere too much, after all, they are the experts in what they do so let them get on with it.
3. Looking for shortcuts or quick wins.
Agencies promoting quick results should be approached with caution. In most cases what they are actually offering are results-driven by black-hat, unethical techniques that can damage your business or brand.
Don’t fall for them, effective marketing strategies take time to deliver good solid results; the same goes with social media or ad campaigns, so give it time.
Re-frame your mindset to focus on long-term results. You can do this by forming solid relationships to get true social media engagement and followers, building genuine links back to your business, and many other ‘clean’ techniques.
These may not be quick but will give you results that actually help you build the business sustainably, with your reputation intact. The last thing you want is to get hit by Google, or picked up by spambots and blacklisted as a business. It’s just not worth it.
4. Not tracking analytics and KPI’s (or the relevant KPI’s).
As a marketing manager, you may already know what KPI’s are, but are you tracking the correct ones?
Selecting the correct KPI’s for the business will largely depend on the industry you are in and the objective you would like to achieve. But too often marketing managers can get sucked into measuring statistics that don’t really hold any bearing on the key objectives outlined in the marketing strategy.
Keeping on top of your key analytics and KPI’s can help you pivot your marketing efforts in accordance with the results you would like to achieve.
5. Not keeping up to date.
The marketing landscape is ever-changing, new trends and ways of doing things are introduced all the time. One of the biggest mistakes we see marketing managers make is to not focus on continued professional development.
They use conventional wisdom and out-dated techniques to tackle marketing problems in a world where new advancements are taking place daily.
By updating their knowledge with the changes and trends in marketing, managers can stay ahead and even communicate better with their collaborative partners or agencies. Staying up to date can mean you are always at the cutting edge with your methods.
In an evolving marketing landscape, it’s even more important that you keep up to date with the latest trends and shifts in the industry. Hopefully, this blog will help you see the areas that need improvement and which areas you’re already excelling at.
It can be difficult to know where to start when writing your marketing strategy. Our free marketing strategy template on creating a plan that gets results can help. Download now.
