Is your marketing game a proven winner in the Canadian market?

By Kate Supino
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A well-executed marketing campaign can increase your revenue by unlimited amounts.

Meantime, a poorly executed marketing campaign on the other hand can cause a reputation nose dive that can be difficult to pull out of.

Here are just some of the worst marketing mistakes you can make:

1. Being vague about your identity

As with face to face contact, we all like to know who we're dealing with. If you're vague about your corporate identity, people won't trust you, they won't recognize your brand, and they won't buy from you.

One Canadian company that understands the importance of brand identity is The Avenue Gallery of British Columbia.

Their emails are always branded with their company logo clearly visible whenever anyone opens their marketing materials.

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2. Being vague about what you want

As the following article looks at, of the 5 worst marketing mistakes to avoid in your marketing campaign, this is perhaps worst.

If you are unclear about what you want your customers to do with the information you've just given them, several negative things result.

First, you've just wasted your money. You might as well have just thrown all that marketing money down the drain if you don't have a clear call to action.

Second, you've wasted your time.

Why spend time creating a marketing campaign that will have no measurable results?

Third, you've wasted your customers' time and attention, which is the most egregious of sins. You'll be lucky if they give you the time of day after making them read through your marketing materials with no result.

The Wine Station, of Ottawa, Ontario, only contacts customers when they have something to offer, such as a limited time discount coupon.

Customers understand that they are being offered the chance to get a good deal on wine products, which presents a clear and valuable call to action.

In addition, the Wine Station can easily measure the results of their marketing campaign by keeping track of how many of those coupons are used.

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3. Being Out of Sync

Irrelevant marketing messages or ones that are off-time are more examples of wasting your marketing money and your customers' time.

Sending Mother's Day shopping gift ideas a day before the holiday doesn't add value to your customers' lives. Neither do newsletters filled with tips on how to get a great tan help seniors who have mobility issues.

Make sure you are in sync with your customers' needs and interests, and don't bother your recipients with offers that arrive too late for them to do anything meaningful with them.

Island Natural Markets in Nanaimo, British Columbia sends out timely holiday marketing materials in a timeframe that allows their customers' to plan ahead and take advantage of their special holiday pricing.

With newsletters filled with recipes, inspirational photos and coupons, they make sure their marketing materials add value.

For all the money your company spends on marketing, don't you want your dollars to get you the best ROI possible?

Avoid these costly mistakes in your next marketing campaign.

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About the Author: Kate Supino writes extensively about best business practices.

 

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