5 Marketing Missteps - Universal

Despite the long hours, money and effort spent on developing a marketing plan, it is shocking to see how many companies’ attempts go down the drain. Whether you’re one of those companies or are interested in investing in a marketing plan but fear the fallout, there are strategies you can follow to make sure your marketing endeavor is successful. Here are 5 examples of ineffective marketing to show you where most companies fail, so you can make sure you don’t make the same mistakes.

1. Only Focusing on Bringing in Customers

Yes, bringing in new customers is great. But every day companies are losing customers just as fast as they are gaining them. This is because all of their marketing efforts are focused on seeking out new customers and selling as much as possible to them. They don’t realize that putting just as much time and attention toward their current customers can help maintain those customers, as well as get free marketing for their business! By focusing on customer satisfaction and providing excellent customer service, your clients are likely to let others know about your considerate, service-oriented business.

2. Old-Fashioned Marketing

With the advancement of technology, it only makes sense that marketing should follow. Technology is an amazing tool for businesses because it gives them more platforms to sell their services. A hundred years ago, the internet was a thing of the future, making print ads a primary form of advertisement. While most companies use the internet in some shape or form today for their advertising, they are progressing at a much slower rate than the technology itself. The power millennials have in decision-making is growing and companies need to think up ways to connect with them. According to a recent Google study, “nearly all B2B researchers are millennials.” That is a powerful number of people you could potentially be marketing your efforts toward. Focus less on old-school marketing techniques and recognize the power of social media, blogging, artificial intelligence and more!

3. Ignoring Outcomes of Marketing Campaigns

The tools available currently are so powerful, yet so many companies fail to use them. Instead of taking the time to measure the results of marketing campaigns, companies invest in marketing efforts, only to stop if they notice a drop in sales. Or, sometimes, they even continue anyway! This is a waste of money when there are available tools that can show companies more than just how many sales were generated from a campaign, but how many individuals the campaign had actually reached, how many shares were made on a social media post, how many people opened your emails, etc. To easily track your marketing accomplishments and failures, set up an account with Google Analytics and turn on goal tracking. Tracking will help you when making future marketing decisions.

4. Addressing the Wrong Audience

The internet is filled with a wide expanse of individuals – all with immensely different earnings, career paths, expenses, vehicles (if any), and family size. And the best part is that there are algorithms that create accessible tools for you to market specifically to someone who could be a potential customer. Yet, many companies go wrong by not using the tools available to them. Without a direct approach, companies end up wasting money on marketing toward individuals that are definitely not in their market. As a commercial laundry service, you are looking to reach business owners and those with purchasing responsibilities in an organization, not a low-income college student whose major is undecided.

5. Employing Individuals Not Suited for the Job

While you may see the value in a marketing investment, you need to put in just as much value in the person who is going to take the lead on this endeavor. You could try handling the marketing yourself but realistically, this job requires a lot of dedicated time – at least 20 hours a week. The alternative is to train current employees on marketing and source among your team, or hire a new individual. The problem with the first is that an effective marketing effort requires individuals with years of marketing experience and the second is simply expensive for the company. You need to pay at least $60,000 a year* for an experienced new hire. Therefore, it may seem the most logical to invest in a marketing company who can handle these initiatives for you. But laundries tend to fail here as well in the selection of a marketing company. You can’t simply outsource to a company who used great sales tactics to get you on board. It is essential to find one that yields real payoff. Do your research and speak to others in the commercial linen and uniform industry to find a quality agency.
These ineffective marketing tactics should help you make changes to your current marketing strategy or to your marketing plan development. Make your current customers happy, target your efforts to the individuals you know you can work with, use the tools available to you and work with experienced marketing professionals. If you follow these steps, you will be well on your way to increased business productivity.

Mitchell Holt,
Director of Operations,
Infinite Laundry | Linen Finder
(888) 557-0262
mholt@infinitelaundry.com