Marketing co
mes in many shapes and sizes; websites, advertisements, commercials, networking, presentations, branding, etc. and it can become confusing which tactics would work best for your business without a strategy. Understanding common marketing misconception will help you learn how to market more effectively for your business success.
Misconception 1: Your logo is your brand
Not exactly, your logo is a small visual representation of the foundation your brand created. Your brand consists of your company’s essence and personality, core values and value statements, target market and insight, advertising tagline and unique selling proposition. Without all these identified pillars, your brand isn’t complete, often unauthentic and can’t stand the test of time.
Misconception 2: Your marketing budget should be a set formula spent on print advertising, website and collateral pieces.
If your target market finds their trusted information on a LinkedIn Group and nowhere else, why would you invest in print advertising? If your business is focused on online sales with a shopping cart, wouldn’t you spend more money on your website and Google Pay Per Click campaigns rather than collateral pieces? Spend your marketing dollars where your clients find valuable information and you can clearly express your core differentiation.
Misconception 3: All marketers are the same and one person can create strategy along with all the tactical projects included in the plan
Would you have your family physician perform your facial plastic surgery? Of course not! The same philosophy applies to marketing, which encompasses so many different aspects of communicating with prospects and clients that it is inconceivable that one person could actually perform all the marketing functions a successful marketing plan requires. A marketing strategist isn’t a graphic artist, a web designer isn’t a PR maven, and a package designer isn’t a SEO guru. Hire experts within each area.
Have you run across marketing misconceptions? Share them! We want to hear from you.
Want to learn more on how to market effectively for your business? Download Stand Out Results’ John Jantsch authored Duct Tape Marketing FREE eBook, 7 Steps to Marketing Strategy Success.
About Vicki James
Stand Out Results collaborates with their clients in the small to medium size professional industries to stand out from their competition by creating strategic, systemize marketing processes for more qualified lead generation resulting in higher sales and profits. Vicki M James, Growth and Accountability Partner at Stand Out Results, is an expert in internal and external branding, strategic marketing and customer experience. Working for local and national companies ranging from family owned to corporations for over twenty years she has developed an unique collaborative consulting style guiding her clients through a cohesive marketing system that results in clear messages and higher sales. When she's not sharing her knowledge about marketing, Vicki is sharing her passion of being socially conscious serving on the YWCA Empowering Women Luncheon Committee and the Rochester Women's Network (RWN) Executive Board where she represents the Marketing Committee as the VP and Chair.
