Aydin
Marketing strategies are an integral part of a business’ backbone. Without a constant or consistent stream of marketing, a company may experience a drastic downfall in sales which can eventually lead to every business owner’s nightmare – bankruptcy. Most companies admittedly believe that it’s not just how good your products are but how effective your marketing team is in winning the heart of consumers that makes their business prosper.
So what happens if you have good products but bad marketing?
Because each of the company’s departments work hand in hand, it’s not only the marketing team that gets affected but all of them. From the operations to finance and all the way to sales, bad marketing can equally create disadvantages to these departments, making it more difficult to regain functions. If the marketing is poor, chances are these good products will not be able to be converted into good profit. That said, the company will have to come up with the best ideas to gain credibility from the consumers. Otherwise, your business will go through the following unfavourable circumstances:
Budget Issues
Marketing basically has a budget plan and the money allocated for promotional purposes will determine what particular strategies can be applied. If a company happens to place ads on a random platform without having a concrete objective for the target audience, then it may cause a clear compromise on the budget.
One specific example is when too much money is allocated for the task. Product marketing always comes with a risk of whether to or not gain customers. While it’s a trial and error process for some, it is still not a recommendable way of creating a marketing plan for your business. Having to overpay for this area will never guarantee a significant increase in sales. Instead, you will just be having some unnecessary expenditures, which can actually be allocated to other needs. That said, having an efficient marketing strategy will save your company from financial insufficiencies.
Low Customer Volume
Good products will no doubt be patronized by consumers. However, if the marketing is bad, a company may not be able to reach its target client volume. In this case, the company will fail to have fast-moving products, resulting in slow growth in sales. Returning customers are great but it may not be enough if a company has only a small number of them because a wider audience is still needed to at least get a good chance in meeting the set goal.
Low customer volume can also greatly affect the interest of other consumers in purchasing a company’s products or services. If they see that a particular item does not become a trend for buyers then it becomes harder to convince them to buy as well even if the product is in fact good. It can be a big question for them that if the product is really good, then why not so many people are buying it in the first place?
Wasted Time and Effort
When promoting a new campaign, the marketing team might put in a considerable amount of overtime to meet deadlines. This typically happens when there is a lot of back and forth on approvals for mockups, drafts or budget plans. A failed campaign can damage egos, lower morale and even put jobs on the line.
Marketing teams will then have to modify their strategies or some may even have to start all over again and see where they went wrong. With this kind of move, the business will experience a setback in the process of increasing revenue.
Management Have “Good” Ideas
We’ve all had those bosses who think they know better. From the famous examples of Kodak executives deciding against pursuing digital photography R&D despite being the first to invent it, to Blockbuster execs clinging to tapes and DVDs when they had the opportunity to buy Netflix. Not many people know that British Telecom sold off their mobile phone division (becoming UK network O2), then playing catch-up ever since. Micro examples fill the treasure trove that is notalwaysright.com.
Sometimes a manager or head-honcho is to blame for a flop. In this perfectly named article from Gizmodo’s io9 “Did Stupid Marketing Kill “Jennifer’s Body”?” we learn that executives insisted on a marketing campaign targeting men, focusing on the sexiness of the female leads Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. In reality this was a horror movie, which means its built-in audience is already predominantly female. Statistics show that horror movie-goers are often over 60 percent women.. Is it any wonder that creative freedom and producer meddling (or success due to the lack thereof) is frequently discussed in the entertainment industry. Sometimes the boss wins, and we all pay.
Unrecognised Brands
When good products start to be introduced to the market, companies still need to have the customers feel the need or want for those products or else it will not gain long term recognition. In such cases, it is very important to know who the targeted audience for which particular product is. When bad marketing happens, a very common scenario of oversupply takes place. This is because customers tend to buy products that are more familiar to them. They usually go for the products of higher demand just because of the social acknowledgement and an overstocked or clearance item might appear like there is something wrong with it.
Business Closure
Bad marketing should never be underestimated in being criteria for bankruptcy. In most cases, the struggle of companies in attracting customers becomes the culprit of shutting down their business permanently. It is not enough that they have good products or services to offer. If consumers don’t give appropriate attention, then we can expect a negative outcome.
As companies close their businesses, it can be blamed for several factors such as poor location and management, inexperienced owners, etc. Details like these are crucial to the eyes of clients as the companies try to market their products to them. This is something every entrepreneur should be more aware of – the possible elements that could lead to an unfavourable impact on customers. Because of this, customers may have the tendency to show lack of support not just on the products being advertised to them but to the entire company as a whole, hence the closure.
How To Avoid Bad Marketing and Prevent Problems in the Future?
Customers nowadays can be easily reached because of the number of platforms available. Thanks to the advancement of technology. Unlike in the past when companies used to have limited venues to market their products, modern-day marketing teams can now make their products or services more accessible. Aside from printed ads that can be posted or distributed in the public, and commercials are seen on tv, a wider audience can now be reached through the use of social media. However, having a broader choice of advertising means does not always assure good marketing. We have listed a few tips for better, more effective strategies that can make your good products be the most sought after by everyone.
Know Your Audience
Good products may not mean that they will suit everyone’s needs or taste. This is the time when you will be looking for prospects. Prospects are the ones with the highest potential of needing or wanting your products. Say you’re trying to sell meat products. For obvious reasons, you won’t waste your time reaching out to devoted keto lovers and vegetarians.
Choose The Right Location
This is one of the main factors that determines the success or failure of a business. Whatever products are involved, it is very important to perform a thorough ocular survey before opening your business to the public. Wisely choose locations that are frequented by your target audience. Make sure that the place is accessible as well. In this way you are putting a high possibility of increasing the sales instead of having a plateau or declining graph.
When marketing through digital platforms, select the most appropriate medium or media by which your products can easily be acknowledged by the right crowd. Join groups that are mainly connected to your prospect clients instead of just randomly posting ads. This way can give you a more concentrated pool of customers, thus creating a good opportunity to persuade buyers.
Be Aware of Competition
When marketing your products, you don’t only focus on the promises that your products can deliver. It is also important to know what your competitors are doing for their own market tactics. Questions like why consumers should buy from you and not from them should be answered. If the competitors are applying particular moves, then it’s not a good idea to just imitate them and see what happens. Coming up with greater, unique ideas will help you gain more consumers.
Include Client Testimonials
Most consumers can be convinced if they know that there are people who actually have tried and tested the products being advertised to them. When making ads whether, on print or digital platforms, it is best to make raw and original reviews from clients be part of the ad content. Doing so can imply a more realistic campaign that consumers would preferably consider.
Emphasise Product Benefits
The whole marketing team can discuss and promote well every product’s best features and whatnot, but consumers don’t actually look at those factors, instead, they are more after what benefits they can personally get if they purchase that product. It is much easier to get clients if the marketing implies a direct way of addressing their needs.
Marketing strategies vary from one company to another. But take note that having a set of the same strategies may not always do the trick. There are cases when an old game plan cannot be applied anymore, depending on what’s most suitable for a specific product.
It will always be a plus if the marketing team comes up with a plan both beneficial to the customers and the company itself. (A win-win situation to be exact.) Good products can give a great reputation to the company, but bad marketing can easily do otherwise.
Again, it’s not how good the products are. It’s how people are able to see “that” goodness that will make them need and want, and eventually purchase these products.
