In my last blog, three problematical marketing mistakes were shown, as presented in an article for WhizBang! titled Are You Making These 7 Retail Marketing Mistakes? I’m sure that you’re wondering about the other four mistakes, so here they are:
#4 – You’re Unhappy If It’s Not A “Home Run”
So you marketing idea didn’t turn out the way you planned. Perhaps it was 80% effective rather than 100% effective. Is that a reason to stop trying? You can’t expect a total win each and every time, but 80% is not failure and it adds up over time. Not only that, but you can learn from each attempt and modify your plan for next time to make it more successful!
#5 – You Don’t Adapt Good Ideas
When you see a good idea that’s working for other retailers for attracting new customers, driving traffic, creating loyalty, or increasing sales, are you using your imagination to vision how those techniques might be adapted to help your business? If the plan worked for them, it can probably work for you with a little creativity on your part1
#6 – You Don’t Pay Close Attention to the Details
Sending out an email newsletter, for example, without an email link for customers to visit your website is a costly missed detail. Take time and pay attention to those details to avoid missing a golden opportunity to increase your sales.
#7 – Your marketing is Scattershot, Not Strategic
Having an overall strategic plan is more effective than trying a little bit of this, a little bit of that, hoping that sooner or later something will work. Repeating the techniques that worked in the past, while adding new ideas toward the plan, will provide better results in the long run.
So there you have it—some marketing guidelines to help you avoid mistakes and gain control.
In addition to the above, it would be worth your time to call CCS Retail Systems and ask about NCR’s Counterpoint CustomerConnect. This POS software feature is a great tool to help you track and target customers for your marketing efforts. Our number is 800/425-672-4806 or you can email us for more information.