5 Mistakes That Will Crush your marketing strategy (and how to avoid them)

1. Forgetting to look at current positioning

Many brands fail to take a snapshot of where their company, product, and competition is currently positioned. They don’t know how well they are or aren’t delivering on their promise or benefit.

A few weeks ago we talked about taking inventory of the present. This exercise is crucial to determine the current positioning of your brand or product.

2. Creating a marketing strategy that’s too vague

Broad and loose strategies often leave too much room for interpretation. Vague strategies produce ideas and tactics that don’t contribute to company objectives.

Precision wins. When a strategy is explicit, you give freedom to your tactics and campaigns. As long as the strategy is fulfilled, almost any ideas will work.

3. Having a strategy that’s too tight

Precision doesn’t mean being overly specific. Without any flexibility you can’t move with enough agility to execute relevant and timely marketing.

Think about Goldilocks. Find the place that’s just right to satisfy the strategy and tactics to reach your customer. When you find this sweet spot, your marketing becomes invisible and functions at its most effective.

4. Lacking inspiration

I’m sorry, but if your marketing is boring and uninspired, no one will care. Your audiences’ attention is assaulted on all fronts, constantly.

Take a creative leap. Be risky. Playing it safe is almost a certain recipe for being ignored.

5. Making it complicated

Marketing strategies that look like charts for mapping Higgs Boson are confusing. People think about the big picture. There doesn’t need to be 23 benefits to describe your brand.

Think about your customer. What is the one emotion or adjective they feel from interacting with your brand. Make your marketing strategy simple and memorable.

Ok, your turn. How are you going to avoid making these mistakes?