Digital marketing can be a complicated affair with its network of strategies and tactics such as SEO (search engine optimization), pay-per-click advertising, and content marketing. It’s easy to make mistakes, especially if you’re a novice. That being said, there are marketing blunders you should try to avoid at all costs to keep your dealership on track for successful digital marketing campaigns.
Not Having A Purpose
“Let’s just update our social media status and see how many likes we get” is something you should never say, let alone act upon. Why? Because it is purposeless. What is the goal here? To increase brand exposure, win new customers, sell a product, promote an event, or some other goal? Every digital marketing activity you pursue should have a purpose and a desired outcome. So before you publish or hit the ‘post’ button, consider what you are trying to achieve and whether you are using the best approach.
Not Knowing Your Audience
People are strange, and we all have our quirks and preferences. So trying to market to everyone is most likely going to result in failure. Many businesses want to appeal to a general consumer audience, but few actually do. Everyone is not a potential customer. Instead of selling to everyone, you need to understand who your target audience is and hone in on them. The sooner you realize who your ideal customers are, the better it will be for your business.
Not Having A Plan
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Without a plan, a road map to get your products and services into your customers’ hands, how can you know where you are going? How can you measure success? The plan doesn’t have to be elaborate; a simple outline of how you will achieve your goals through marketing is sufficient. Among the benefits of a written digital marketing plan are that it helps coordination and communication between departments and allows for transparent decision-making.
Not Measuring Results
If you don’t measure results, how will you know what works and what doesn’t work? If you don’t track your marketing mistakes or what’s not yielding results, you’ll end up making the same blunders time and again. Fortunately, measuring results doesn’t have to be arduous as there is a range of online tools (some of them free) that let you measure website users, conversion rates, organic traffic, social media engagements, and other criteria.
Not Keeping An Eye On The Competition
Ignore your competitors at your peril. You can get a lot of information about your competitors online, so use that to develop marketing campaigns that ensure you stand apart. You’re going after the same target audience, so give them a reason to choose you over your competition.
Not Investing Enough
Hoping and wishing won’t get you anywhere. You will need to dedicate the proper resources to your digital marketing efforts, which means some good hard cash. A general rule of thumb in the marketing world is that you should spend 2-5% of your sales revenue on marketing.
Wrap Up
Online marketing offers a world of opportunities to reach a wider audience. Adhering to what works and avoiding these marketing blunders can set your dealership up for success. If you need assistance maximizing your dealership’s marketing efforts online, contact Evolved Office today!