As a small business owner here in Northampton, you’re probably enjoying the favourable business climate in one of the UK’s top areas for growth. But as more people have come to town over the past few years and started doing business, you’ll be facing increased competition as well. You may find it essential to ask the question: are your marketing efforts truly effective at increasing your exposure and creating a good return on investment?
Have a look at these three common marketing mistakes you might have made, and consider working with digital marketing services experts in Northampton to straighten things out.
Lacking in-depth analysis
Marketing efforts can have a significant cost; to be worthwhile, you need to know exactly where the value is coming from, and how much it’s netting. This is where a lack of in-depth analysis can hurt you. Data analysis shouldn’t end with tools such as Google Analytics; those should be the starting point.
Raw numbers such as conversion rate should be measured against the revenue increase and method of acquisition to give you a better understanding of how much value is being added per customer. Consider A/B testing to learn more about the actual keys to success for your established business and how to optimize them further.
Failing to target the correct audience
Most businesses do try to get this part right but tend to lose themselves somewhere along the path to growth. Knowing your customer is essential to success for any business, but especially for small enterprises. Yet sometimes flawed research or a desire to ride the wave of the latest trends can divert your attention from your target audience.
Suppose you’re reading the latest Town Centre survey results to gauge what customers want — seeing the recent demand for a lunchtime restaurant chain may entice you to promote your restaurant’s lunchtime menu through email, social media, and paid ads. But if your main premise is to cater to higher-end, special occasion dinners, even a discounted lunch menu may not bring in enough customers to justify the marketing expense, as most lunch hour customers tend to be office employees who don’t have much time.
This isn’t to discourage innovation or taking note of audience trends; you just have to be selective and align your efforts with your ideal customer base.
Inconsistent customer experience
You may know how important it is to establish an online presence for your business. Whether it’s through today’s leading channels – Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram and the like – or something more niche, it’s a good idea for your marketing team to be familiar with all the major platforms and then some.
Maintaining all these accounts for your business can present a challenge in terms of consistency. Sure, if you have more exposure, it often leads to more followers and conversions. But you have to make sure that relevant content is posted across these networks, and that your accounts and links stay updated. Broken links and a lack of updates convey a sense of confusion and neglect – it may be better to deactivate an account if you’re not able to maintain it.
There are many other pitfalls your business can face in marketing, but with the growing economy in Northampton, you should see them as opportunities to improve and refocus on your core competencies and continue building on your success.