Marketing is a multifaceted ever-changing industry that needs multiple components working harmoniously together in order to drive great results for clients. This hard-to-tame beast of an occupation can result in some common mistakes.

1. “The client doesn’t know what they’re talking about.” This one may seem obvious to any marketing company, that is why it’s more so aimed at graphic designers who work for a marketing agency. Sometimes its hard for creatives to detach themselves from what they think would look best so they refuse to listen to what the customer wants. Without customers a marketing agency would cease to exist so it is vital for success that there is the policy “the customer is always right” even when you think they’re wrong. Sure it’s fine to make friendly suggestions, but overall the customer understands their business best and their opinion is what matters most.
2. “I don’t need social media, I have word of mouth.” Sure word of mouth marketing is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to gathering business, but why limit yourself? Social media marketing is basically word of mouth marketing with infinite opportunities; you can easily connect with customers, you have the ability to reach customers in other areas and you can be much more creative with it. Social media can be intimidating for a company that has been around long before it ever came into play, but once a business gets its feet wet in the social media pool they are sure to boost clientele and sales.
3. “I don’t need word of mouth marketing, I have social media and print ads.” Similarly to the above, these people underestimate the power of the word of mouth. However, think of how many people are in the average American extended family. For example take Joe; he has a wife, two kids, 2 siblings who are both married with families of their own. Joe enjoys your restaurant so much that at a big family gathering he tells all his brothers and sisters about it. The next day, Joe’s sister, Jill brings her family to your restaurant. You just earned a customer by doing nothing. So while word of mouth marketing happens without your knowledge it is still important to acknowledge that it exists and is a major reason why you should be providing excellent services to your customers.
4. “My company doesn’t need to look at competitors, we’re doing great already.” Sure your marketing company could be doing a great job already, but there’s always someone out there doing better. So while you’ll want to differentiate yourself from competitors and not copy what they’re doing, there is no shame in scoping them out. Learning from their mistakes and learning what they’re doing that you’re not.

At Idea Stream Marketing we believe in learning from our mistakes so that we don’t make them again. If your business is searching for an experienced marketing company that will not make these mistakes on your company’s behalf then email [email protected]