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DataCaptive » Promote » 10 B2B Marketing Mistakes That Should Be Avoided In 2018

10 B2B Marketing Mistakes That Should Be Avoided In 2018

10 B2B Marketing mistakes that should be avoided

Let’s check out a small scenario before going deep about marketing mistakes. Imagine having one of the most brilliant products in the world that’s perfect for a particular target segment of society. A great chance to make a lot of money, right? Now, let’s say your marketing manager did a mistake which resulted in the target audience not knowing the launch of the product & to make things worse the wrong audience gets notified. Disastrous, right?

 

Well, marketing mistakes happen at some point or another even to the best of us. Primarily because we marketers are humans & as humans, we’re going to make mistakes. Incidents of marketing mistakes are not new, whether it’s B2B or B2C industry. The world of business has changed a lot in the past 15 – 20 years than it has ever before. And this change has caused marketing to be trickier than ever before resulting in more marketing mistakes.

It should be ensured that marketers must learn to embrace success & overcome failures when executing strategies. But it’s not easy as today’s marketers have more choices than ever with the introduction of digital channels.

 

Marketing teams of B2B companies who used to rely on print, outdoor & of course television have started exploring the options of digital marketing which comes with its own challenges resulting in more marketing mistakes. But with watchful eyes & experience, practitioners can avoid the marketing mistakes that jeopardize campaigns.

Marketing mistakes that can be disastrous to your performance

The ultimate goal of each & every B2B marketing strategy is about closing the deal in the best way possible. But in today’s world winning over your prospect is only possible if you are familiar with what strategy to apply & what marketing mistakes to avoid.

 

By keeping that in mind, let’s check out some common marketing mistakes that B2B marketers have to avoid to ensure that the marketing efforts are on the right track.

1. Not changing the strategy from personalization to individualization

Personalization in marketing is something that all B2B marketers talk about but struggle to achieve quality customer experiences with it. This is because it isn’t just about personalizing your marketing messages by doing mass-level personalization by just inserting the customer’s first name but also by taking individualized insights into account. Only a very limited amount of B2B marketers have a single customer view across all online & offline channels & this is clearly because they know that not identifying the difference between personalization to individualization is one of the gravest marketing mistakes.

2. Not documenting the content marketing strategy results

Content marketing is considered the soul of the marketing processes of today by marketers of all genres. It’s no surprise that 93% of B2B companies employ content marketing strategies. But it’s easy for B2B marketers to get carried away when strategies are applied to get executed successfully or lose enthusiasm when things end up badly. But it’s necessary for documenting for both scenarios. This is because documenting enables the marketers to become prepared for the marketing mistakes that were made earlier or to improve on the ideas that already worked out.

 

Bonus: IS YOUR CONTENT MARKETING EFFECTIVE? 5 WAYS TO KNOW

3. Favoring quantity over quality

A few years back, digital marketing was just about posting as much content possible, that too anywhere possible. This was primarily because of the algorithm patterns that were followed by search engines in those times which is opposite to the current structure which focuses more on quality than quantity.

 

What’s surprising is that many marketers, especially in the B2B segment still create more content than needed by not understanding that prospects have less time today which makes them more selective about what they spend their time on. But this doesn’t mean that more quality content shouldn’t be crafted by B2B marketers because that falls under a different league of marketing mistakes.

4. Thinking social media is only for promotions

Approaching social media in the wrong way is one of the major marketing mistakes that many B2B marketers make. Yea, social media is a channel that is more than just for distributing marketing content. It can be used for customer support, product & competitor research, product feedback & more. But what marketers have to understand is that marketing isn’t just about distributing content & attaining leads but about the whole customer experience.

 

What should be done is that marketers should extensively use the tools of social media marketing to monitor & communicate with prospects in new ways. One great thing about using tools along with the social media channels is that it becomes easier to identify the nature of your prospects without even getting them to even fill in a form.

5. Not effectively using data

Not having a proper Data Management Plan in place was one of the main marketing mistakes that a huge number of B2B marketers made in the past year. From Data Appending to Data Validation, it is essential to a detailed plan for Data Management this year that covers all aspects of success.

 

Marketers, especially of the B2B sector should also try to stop doing everything in-house primarily because it isn’t just feasible. Finding a trusted Data Vendor like DataCaptive is an excellent way in the current market. This will ensure that your database quality is put first without spreading out resources too thin & letting the database suffer as a result.

6. Forgetting the power of SEO

Many B2B marketers think that having a website is enough. This is one of the major marketing mistakes that marketers in the B2B segment make because search engines are more likely to rank the website higher on the search result pages on relevant queries if the right SEO strategies are applied. This will include inserting keywords into titles, descriptions, meta descriptions & title tags while delivering well-written & useful content.

 

Bonus: MYSTERIOUS WAYS OF HOW SEO STRATEGIES HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS

7. Not using different channels

Not using various marketing channels for promotion can be added to the list of marketing mistakes that were made last year. While there are B2B marketers who completely ignore the power of SEO, there’s another bunch who rely on them exclusively. Marketers should identify which channel will be most suitable for each kind of promotion.

 

For example, the press release is a very effective way of increasing brand recognition but it is one of the most overlooked ones. Potential customers can become familiar with your brand & increase the chance of making sales by just even a single press release distribution. Many of the traditional marketing channels are also making a huge comeback with upgrades that can be used to increase your brand reach when applied wisely.

8. Being a copycat

It’s important for marketers to identify the competitors & know their behaviors. Marketers can only grow by analyzing what strategies work & what do not in similar industries. Using other’s strategies as inspiration is followed not just by marketers but individuals from various segments & paths of life. But what should not be forgotten is that path to success is paved with own creativity, especially in marketing. Don’t just follow the crowd while choosing the strategy for execution.

 

Research options & select the platforms that will be most suitable for your sector. Ensure that the platform chosen has all the necessary tools & plugins for the most effective techniques. Being a copycat isn’t just harmful in being one of the top marketing mistakes but can at times also reflect badly in your reputation.

9. Not engaging with influencers

Marketing has reached a stage in which prospects have attained the freedom to choose to ignore the advertisements that they do not want to view by methods of ad-blockers. Marketers must consider methods that will work best especially influencer marketing. This technique is the new word of mouth marketing that works in the online world.

 

Prospects will always trust the right recommendations more than trust advertisements. Find the right influencers in your niche sector & generate better ROI than paid ads. Not trying to attain the aid of influencers is one of the major marketing mistakes that marketers can avoid with the right strategy.

 

Bonus: 10 MUST FOLLOW B2B SALES INFLUENCERS OF OUR TIME & 6 MUST FOLLOW B2B CONTENT MARKETING INFLUENCERS

10. Blindly following marketing automation

Marketing automation is being hyped as the newest friend that marketers should have on their friend list as they are the possible solution to a range of marketing challenges. Even though applying automation is good, if not handled carefully it can turn your marketing cold & inhuman if you are not careful about it. Incorrect usage of these marketing automation technologies will deter interaction in the most disastrous manner. At the same time not following marketing automation also comes under marketing mistakes that should be avoided by B2B marketers of today.

 

Bonus: 9 SUPERB MARKETING AUTOMATION FEATURES TO FOCUS ON

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Final thoughts on marketing mistakes

Making any one of these marketing mistakes can be costly. But most of the time it’s easy enough to recover. Meet with your marketing team, brainstorm, stay up-to-date, learn from mistakes, and recalibrate your strategy & market better to ensure that you avoid marketing mistakes in your strategy.

 

Also, read on: TOP PROSPECTING CHALLENGES SALESPEOPLE FACE IN 2018

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