Ways to Tell if your Marketing Strategy is Outdated
In order to remain competitive in the ever-changing marketplace, it takes more than merely attempting digital marketing. In today’s hyper-competitive online arena, you need to ensure your business is implementing fresh, new, and effective marketing strategies on a regular basis in order to reach your target market. Marketing is complex, and with what seems like endless techniques available, it can be difficult to figure out how to reach out to and resonate with your target market.
If your marketing strategy is not shifting and adjusting with the times, there is a good chance it is not producing the results you need. This could cause you to lose your competitive edge, as well as potential new customers. That has the potential to negatively impact your bottom line.
So, how do you know if you are working with an outdated marketing strategy? There are signs, or indicators, that should signal to you that your marketing strategy is not performing the way it should.
Here are 15 ways that should let you know that your marketing strategy is outdated.
Focus is on Clicks Instead of Conversion Rates
If you want to ensure your business remains relevant and is reaching your targeted demographics, then you need to manage marketing strategies and related budgets based on conversion rates. It is no longer adequate to tout your followers on social media and be satisfied with 80 people clicking on your blog.
It all comes down to the profit margin, which is strengthened by your conversion rates. Success in digital marketing is defined by how many website visitors are converted into new customers.
You Have No Idea Who is Visiting Your Website
Today’s consumers demand relevant and personalized content on business websites. If your website is developed correctly, it should tell you who these people are who are visiting your site. You should be able to know what pages visitors are flocking to and what links they are clicking.
What’s more, your website should also automatically generate email campaigns based on that information. The reason for this is that businesses that implement marketing automation realize at least four times more sales opportunities as companies that do not do this.
You Have One-Size-Fits-All Email Campaigns
If you are sending the same email campaign to all the people on your email list, then you have an outdated marketing strategy. Today’s consumers are overwhelmed with marketing pitches and that includes receiving myriad emails on a daily basis. You need to make sure your emails are opened and that you have a high ratio of click-throughs.
The goal is to have your emails stand out from the crowd and to resonate on a personal level with your email subscribers. If you are not utilizing conditional content and personalization in your email campaigns, then you have an outdated marketing strategy, and you’re leaving money on the table.
Sending Unsegmented Email Campaigns
Marketing industry studies reveal that 10 percent or fewer of in-house marketers and agencies are extensively utilizing personalization. This translates into the vast majority of marketers sending out unsegmented or targeted emails. This is an outdated marketing strategy.
The better practice is becoming intimately acquainted with your Leads by examining the analytics and contact profiles. Look at their tendencies and behaviors. What blogs are they reading? Did they request a free trial of one of your products? You need to create and target content that is based on their preferences, in addition to demographic and psychographic information.
Your Photos and Graphics Look Dated
It is easy for consumers to spot photos and graphics on your site that look like they are from a generation ago. You can believe that visitors to your website will know if the quality is subpar with your photos.
It is no different with graphics. For example, your site should never have rotating GIFs or be very image heavy, which was the case many years ago. Also avoid the use of rounded corners and gradients.
Your Events Listing is Out of Date
One way to help ensure a sound marketing strategy is to have the events listing on your site be current and up to date. If you do have an older event posted, perhaps you can use that space to tell visitors to check back and offer them information about the annual events that you have.
Your “Newest Products” Have Been Available for a Long Period of Time
You know you have an outdated marketing strategy if you are touting a product as “new” when it’s been out for a year. You need to always be updating you products list and provide fresh information when it comes to features and benefits to consumers.
If your new product has been out for quite a while, then retitle it “Featured Product.” Also, utilize recent testimonials to extol the virtues of your new product to consumers.
Leaning Toward Quantity Instead of Quality
Instead of being focused on pushing out pages within a certain time schedule, you might think about generating quality pieces. Make an effort to produce quality pieces that have depth and don’t contain superficial information. By generating truly quality material, it will likely still be relevant and engaging many months or a year from now.
Having Separate Digital Marketing and Marketing Team Members
If you want your marketing strategy to truly be effective, then you need to focus on integration of your marketing teams and resources. For example, your marketing initiatives should cross the span of your company’s public image.
You should strive for a marketing team that is all working together and cohesively. Everyone should understand all facets of modern marketing, including blogging, SEO, and social media. You will find that your business is coming up short as it pertains to promoting your brand if some of your marketers do not fully comprehend the inter-workings and importance of these various types of marketing initiatives.
Your Latest News or Blog Post is Months Old
It makes for a sound marketing strategy to have a news feed or blog posted on your site. But it undermines its effectiveness if the latest news or blog post is six months or a year old. It is natural for visitors to your site to wonder if you are out of business if the latest news is, in fact, old news, and your most recent blog was posted months ago. They might think you are apathetic about your business website. That is the wrong message to send to prospective new customers.
That is why you need to make it a priority to post updated information on your site and add a new blog post at least monthly to adequately engage viewers and convince them that you are relevant in the ever-competitive marketplace.
Black Hat SEO
If you are practicing Black Hat SEO, that is an outdated marketing strategy.
The term “Black Hat” refers to taking purposeful actions that are meant to trick search engine bots so that your website can achieve better rankings. They are dishonest and deceitful and should never be a part of your marketing strategy.
Be sure your marketing strategy is always current and meeting the needs of your existing and potential new customers. By avoiding these 15 mistakes, you will be able to optimize the effectiveness of your marketing strategies and strengthen your bottom line.
Inadequate Promotion of Tradeshows
You never want to begin promoting a tradeshow your company is sponsoring a day or two before it is to take place. You need to engage attendees well before and then after the trade show. Utilize a combination of automated lead nurturing and lead scoring. If you do this, you will generate good quality leads. Then your sales team can follow up with these leads.
Companies that make use of these tools enjoy a 30 percent or higher lead-to-sales conversion rate, according to ActiveConversion.com.
Neglecting Video Marketing
If you aren’t leveraging video marketing, then that critical omission is contributing to an outdated marketing strategy. More and more companies are staffing their marketing teams with professional video production teams that are producing polished and compelling videos.
You should be delivering engaging videos to your existing and potential new customers on a weekly or at least monthly basis. Marketing studies have shown that visitors to your website are four times more likely to watch your video than read your content.
Buying Email Lists
The objective with email marketing is to build your email list with people who want to be contacted, also known as Leads. Your marketing strategy should not include renting or purchasing a list of email recipients to simply obtain more names faster. That action will backfire.
The result of buying email lists will be recipients putting your emails into their SPAM folder. Conversely, building an email database in house is a very effective marketing strategy. Do it right and you will reap the rewards in the form of high-quality leads for your business.
“Coming Soon” Product Never Comes
It can be frustrating for visitors to your website to read that a much-anticipated new product is coming soon but it seems to never come to fruition. This “tease” irritates consumers and may incline them to not return if your business doesn’t make good on the release of this “Coming Soon” product.
It is better to take notices like “Coming Soon” down so you are not leading on visitors by giving them hope and then disappointing them. For a page that you do have a plan for, be sure to include a basic timeline of when the content will actually arrive, along with contact information and links that connect visitors to other pages on the website.
This gives you more credibility and enables visitors to connect with you for more information and they can also view other resources, as well.
Spotted Fox Digital Marketing — Building Brands with Purpose and Passion
At Spotted Fox Digital Marketing, we partner with businesses like yours to provide a full range of in-house digital marketing services. Spotted Fox Digital is a top-rated Tri-Cities Marketing Agency that believes in relationships, transparency, and trust! We are a results-driven top-ranked marketing company that uses responsive, creatively designed websites, targeted advertising, social media management, video, SEO, and more!
Our work is backed by data, providing your brand with the marketing insights needed to scale! Spotted Fox Digital marketing experts help businesses understand, reach & engage with their audiences through our digital marketing services.
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