6 Key Issues that Can Impact Marketing Strategies

Thanks to technology and the accessibility of the internet, it is easier than ever to attract new customers to a business which is, in part, what makes the competition between different businesses so fierce. This is precisely why having the right growth marketing strategy is important. There is a great deal of pressure on marketers to stay on the very top of their game despite the challenges that they face. There are a few mistakes that need to be avoided at all costs, which is why we have put together the following information, so let’s take a look.

Failing to Secure Top Talent

The first mistake or lethal problem to avoid is simply failing to secure the top talent. Any growth marketing strategy implemented by a lesser marketer is often doomed to fail from the outset. The job market is competitive for both candidates and employers too, finding and securing the best candidate is often tricky. Remember to think about the needs of your business, analyse where it might currently be lacking as well as refine your recruitment process. Referrals can be beneficial. You should also ensure that you are being totally honest about the role and what it entails whilst remembering to highlight the perks and benefits package. 

Not Developing a Solid Go-To-Market Tactic

The success of your products, the reception that they have, and the rate that they sell directly affect the rate of growth you can expect from your business. This is why, if you want to ensure that your growth strategies are going to be successful, you need to ensure that your go-to-market tactics are solid. The process for developing the tactics will change depending on the industry within which your business operates and the products or services that your business sells too. A lot of businesses find it invaluable to assess their existing marketing strategies as well as the price of the products and the complexity of the development and creation process in order to create their go-to-market strategies. 

Marketing strategy. Sheets of paper with notes.

Not Embracing Technology and Tools

Traditionally, marketing involved a lot of administration, all of which needed doing by hand. However, today, there have been so many advancements in technology that failing to utilise these new tools can put you at a disadvantage. There are a number of systems that can help to facilitate marketing strategies and even automate growth too. Implementing these tools is likely to look different for different businesses. A lot of businesses will need to invest time and energy into researching and building a system which helps them to compile more information about their consumers and what they want while also measuring the efficacy of their other marketing strategies. Having access to these insights on demand can help to produce growth. 

Not Understanding Sustainable Marketing

In today’s marketing landscape, it is crucial for modern businesses to have more of an idea of sustainable marketing. Not embracing sustainable marketing could set back businesses. There are plenty of different ways a business leader could look to learn more and develop their key skills. For example, the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership has a number of online courses which can prove pivotal for business owners, marketers and the like. This could allow them to learn more on sustainability marketing. It is important for business leaders and marketers to have more of an understanding on sustainability marketing going forward.

Ignoring the Whole Picture

The marketing funnel is incredibly important, but unfortunately, many growth marketers get caught up focusing on certain elements, and they end up with a more myopic view. Any growth marketing strategy that hasn’t accounted for the whole marketing funnel, as well as the bigger picture for the business too, is unlikely to be as successful as a strategy that has taken these things into account. When developing the strategies, marketers will need to look over the funnel to ensure that their strategies address each element to help them capitalise on growth. There are six elements to the marketing funnel: exposure, awareness, credibility, consideration, advocacy and relationships. A successful marketing strategy should be developed with each element in mind. 

Failing to Keep Up with Industry Advancements & Marketing Trends

In recent years, the marketing game has seen several profound changes which have necessitated pivots from marketers when developing marketing and growth strategies. Technological advancements, as touched on above, have led to huge transformations in how a number of businesses operate. Failing to keep up with industry-specific or sector-specific news can mean that the marketing strategy or even the business itself becomes obsolete as it simply cannot keep up anymore. The solution here is obviously pretty simple; you need to ensure that the relevant parties have enough time to keep up-to-date. Trends will also need to be taken into account when developing marketing strategies and other business approaches. 

Tips to Help Your Business to Facilitate Growth

Growth is an incredibly common goal for a lot of businesses; however, that doesn’t mean that it is easy to achieve. In addition to having an awareness of the common pitfalls as listed above and the ways to avoid them, there are a few other things that you can do to help your business to grow. Obviously, the specifics will be largely dependent on your business and your target audience. 

First things first, depending on the size of the business, you will need to ensure that all relevant parties are sufficiently qualified for their job roles, this is already likely to be the case for bigger businesses, but for smaller businesses, there are often limited members of staff who end up having to wear multiple hats. 

The way in which your team conducts themselves will also speak to the rate of growth for the business too. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. You should start by conducting a skills gap analysis to identify any areas of weakness within your team. Investing in yourself and your team simply makes good business sense

Working harder to develop and maintain relationships both with other business contacts and your customer base is also paramount to the growth and success of your business. In doing so, you are likely to discover that there are more opportunities for the business as a whole. You increase your chance of repeat business from consumers as well as increasing your chances of securing partnerships too. Think about how you can improve your relationships with your business network. 

In order to ensure that your business is going to grow, you need to secure sales, and to do this, you need to continually appeal to your consumers. To do this effectively, you need to have a solid understanding of your target audience. Conducting a thorough analysis of your target market as well as creating buyer personas are often part and parcel of a business’s marketing approach. Diving into the demographics can really help you  when it comes to developing marketing strategies that allow you to reach your market as directly and as effectively as possible. 

The Bottom Line

There are more ways than ever before to reach your consumers and secure a sale for your business. That being said, there is also lots of competition, all vying for the same customers, and this makes growing as a business tricky. There are also several things that can mean that any existing growth strategies that you have are doomed to fail from the outset. Obviously, there are solutions to these issues, and simply having an awareness of the pitfalls can help to ensure that your business doesn’t fall into them. In addition to this, there are also several other strategies, tips and tricks to help encourage growth within your business. Patience is key; your business is not going to grow overnight.