The Biggest Mistake Beginning Marketers Make

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I have a clear view of a HUGE mistake I see beginning marketers make.  (Frankly, I see plenty of so-called "experienced" people make this mistake, too.)

I am in a unique position to notice things that people who are new to marketing do not see clearly...because it was not that long ago that I was making this same mistake.

As a Math major in college, I did not "grow up" with a marketing mindset.  In fact, I had no interest in business; therefore, I had no concept of business, much less marketing.

It was not until later in life that I basically tripped over marketing.  I took a class to improve my computer skills, but instead, I learned that I am a better fit with marketing that I ever imagined.

However, that does not mean that I knew everything about marketing.  In fact, I see several years later how little I knew.  (Several years from now, I suspect I will blush when I realize how little I know today...compared with then, anyway.)

So...What's this big marketing mistake that beginning marketers make?



It will seem obvious, but I see MANY marketers apply all sorts of techniques they learn from reading articles, watching videos, or even hearing other people tell them.  The newbies will apply these new, trendy techniques:

Facebook Posting
Facebook Ads
Twitter Promotion
LinkedIn Ads
Search Engine Optimization (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.)
Google AdWords
Email Marketing
...and whatever else.

...but they will forget ONE major thing!

These marketers START the game, but they do not finish it.  In fact, they do not even KNOW where they are going.

They forget to ask themselves...
(a) What marketing objective I want to accomplish by using this method?
(b) How will this help me achieve that marketing objective?

 To shorten things, the biggest marketing mistake I see beginners make is that they simply forget to keep their eyes on the marketing goal.

How I do I know this?

Because I talk with them; I see them, and I used to be one of them (for far longer than I care to admit).

What are examples of end marketing goals?

There are several possible outcomes your marketing can drive, but here are the most common ones:
Registering a Sale
Getting  Someone to Leave Contact Info
Prompting Someone to Call
Having Someone Sign to Receive a Newsletter
Persuading Someone to Vote
Encouraging Someone to Like, Follow, or do some other online social gesture
Incite Curiosity to Watch a Video
Have Someone Leave a Comment
Earning a Referral of Your Service or Product
Prompt Someone to Visit Your Website

What do you want your person to do in response to your marketing?  Are you trying to get that person to do everything in just one step, or is this just part of a multi-step sales process (getting them to enter your sales funnel)?

Key Questions:
What do you want a person to do?
How are you going to get them to do that?

If a marketer applies marketing techniques but does not try to answer these questions, they are making one of the biggest marketing mistakes.

If you would like for me to walk through a few examples of multi-step marketing process--walking them through the sales funnel--let me know, and it might prompt a future blog post about it.

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