As a business consultancy that helps growing companies, we have seen numerous marketing traps business owners are susceptible to. We have listed the top six to avoid below:

1. Undefined Target Market
A start-up company looking to attract its first clients or customers may be tempted to serve whoever comes its way. As your business grows, it is impossible to attract your ideal demographic without knowing your target. An undefined target market leads to mixed marketing messages, confusing all stakeholders.

2. Non-Strategic Marketing
Through trial and error, we may form our own conclusions as to which marketing tactics work. What seems to be a fool-proof marketing plan, however, can sometimes be non-strategic. In addition, maintaining too many tactics that do not support each other is expensive and can result in insufficient frequency of deployment.

3. No Tracking System
After investing in marketing, many business owners forget the importance of tracking their Return-on-Investment (ROI), making it difficult to determine which tactics succeeded. It is like putting money in the bank without asking for a return!

4. Outdated Marketing Plan
Your internal and external business environments evolve constantly. Last year’s successful marketing tactics may not work this year. It is crucial to assess your market and resources annually before committing to marketing.

5. Lack of Feedback
Many business owners focus on pushing marketing information to the world without establishing communication channels for their customers or stakeholders to provide feedback. The rise of social media makes marketing a two-way street.

6. Relaxing or stopping marketing
Some business owners believe they no longer need marketing when their businesses thrive. Present competitors try to outgrow you constantly; new ones come onto the scene every day. Without proactive and consistent marketing, business owners risk becoming irrelevant.