Education

Common Pitfalls of Marketing to Students

As you well know, marketing is a set of activities aimed at achieving business goals while shaping demand and meeting consumer demands. A failed marketing campaign and a lack of attention to common pitfalls can cost a company a decent amount of money because of the loss of budget and sales.

There are a lot of marketing pitfalls. You will experience them first-hand. Do not be scared of them because mistakes are the best teacher. However, we can assist you a bit and tell you about a few common marketing pitfalls.

Marketing Budget

If your budget is too small or too large, this is the reason to stop and think carefully. Promoting a product or service to a consumer should be efficient and pay off in the long-run. Too small budget means that you will need to omit some promoting services. Too large a budget poses a risk of not paying off.

Consumer analysis cannot be neglected. You need to determine the target audience and select the proper media tool as the primary source of budget expenditure. If the product suits everyone (like a toothbrush or basic hygiene products), most of the budget should go on such media tools as TV ads and billboards, and remnants should go on viral ads.

If there is an opportunity to analyze previous marketing budget expenses, then take it. See what was wrong and what should be done right this time.

If the budget is incorrectly allocated, the company will not receive the necessary product or service promotion and sales.

Main Trends

A modern consumer is a rather sophisticated person. Old marketing tricks won’t work at best, disgust at worst. It is rare to attract anyone with visual advertising in which a beautiful girl just holds a bottle of shampoo. Or just smiling, showing off white teeth, and advertising toothpaste.

Ignoring modern trends leads to the situation in which the target audience goes to a competitor who knows how to use what is popular. Storytelling is now popular in advertising. So, don’t neglect it. As well as short and capacious slogans and unusual, memorable visual techniques.

Going Overboard in Getting Attention

Sometimes, marketing is beyond the pale in the pursuit of consumer attention. Sometimes ads have to be provocative, but one should be very careful with exploited topics.

For example, check this ad. When you open it on your phone, it will seem like hair has fallen on the screen. You might want to swipe this hair off, but here’s a marketing trick: the picture contains a direct link to the seller’s website. The end goal is achieved because people visited the site. But it was so annoying that people started complaining.

Also, provocative marketing sometimes touches on the topic of violence, sexism, and racism. Sometimes it includes direct deception of buyers.

Thus, one should be very careful with provocation as a tool for attracting consumers’ attention.

Returned Customers

Of course, marketing focuses on attracting attention and promoting products or services. At the same time, the pitfall is forgetting that the consumer needs to be encouraged to return.

A consumer buys the benefit, not the product or service itself. If it is more profitable to buy from a competitor, they will use it. Thus, one should not neglect analyzing what profits a company can offer.

Attracting a new customer is always more expensive than retaining a regular one. Marketing should not neglect this pitfall and focus on additional services a company can suggest to regular customers.

An obvious benefit is regular customers telling their friends and relatives about a product or service from a particular company. Marketing from the people is a powerful tool.

Adapting

The simple truth is that everything in this world changes. Those who adapt and accept new conditions win. The same goes for marketing.

We understand the unwillingness to change some techniques and methods. After all, if it works, let it work. But it is not as simple as it can seem at first glance.

Return to the “Main Trends” section. Recall that outdated techniques don’t work properly.

Marketing must adapt and come up with bright ideas. Otherwise, a consumer doesn’t pay attention, and a company is at a loss.

Careless Mistakes

We know about careless mistakes while writing the essay. And these careless mistakes remain because there is no time or desire to spend a few minutes on proofreading. What is the result? Content is lost, and so does a good grade.

Careless mistakes in marketing may be as follows:

  • grammatical errors or misspelling words;
  • bad text ad content;
  • poor visual presentation (unreadable font or too bright colors);
  • inconsistency of the visual image with the advertised products or services;
  • stolen photos or other materials to be used in advertising;
  • ignoring copyright.

The consumer can turn the advertisement into a joke. The benefit of social networks allows the rapid spreading of this joke. And a company will pay a heavy price for this joke.

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