5 Costly Marketing Habits to Break in 2021

New year, new successes. It’s probably safe to say that’s an overarching goal for most marketers and business owners in 2021. But in any industry, those same people must first adapt and break old marketing habits to truly thrive. We’re here to help you do just that.

It’s no secret we don’t succeed unless our partners do, which is why we’re always looking to provide helpful advice for marketing effectively in today’s evolving climate.

In this brief article, the Asen team provides valuable insight and information you need to finally free your business of a few hard-to-break marketing habits that probably aren’t doing it much good.

Bad habit #1:

Focusing your content on what you offer.

Theodore Roosevelt said it best: “nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” 

One of the biggest mistakes marketers and business owners make these days is focusing their content on their brand, versus their customer. While it’s important to tell your audience who you are and what you have to offer, it’s even more important to articulate how you plan to solve their biggest problems (which is where market research can help).

Amanda, Copy & Project Manager: 

“Evaluating your content’s perspective to ensure it leads with information the customer will benefit from is critical to successful messaging today, and successful messaging is a big part of creating effective campaigns. It’s 2021, and consumers are noticeably less interested in being ‘sold’ and much more likely to purchase from brands that are authentic and direct with them from the start.

In other words, don’t make your customers read paragraphs of copy about your business before getting to the content they want. If you do, you run the risk of increasing your bounce rate or losing their business altogether.”

Bad habit #2:

Prioritizing the sales process over the customer relationship.

It’s easy to get tied up in the sales funnel, especially if it’s working. But just because you land new business, doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to keep it.

When taking on new business, you and your team need to have readily available resources to serve those customers to their highest standards. Product, staff, space—having enough of these things is vital to a business’s success. With a winning sales process in place, it can be easier than you might think to take in new customers without pausing to evaluate how you plan to accommodate their needs. Remember, if your brand experience suffers, your sales eventually will, too.

Not sure if your business is approaching overflow or if there’s still room to grow? Here are a few signs to look for that could mean you’re reaching capacity…

• You don’t have enough product or time to serve your existing customer base
• Current customers have expressed being dissatisfied with the service
• Your team is regularly putting in overtime (which could cause burnout)
• Your employee turnover rate is up
• Revenue has spiked, but your overhead stayed the same

Bad habit #3:

Using social media to feed your ego, not your stomach.

Not everyone likes social media, but most everyone will agree it’s important for a brand to have an active presence on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

One reason marketers and business owners may not value social media is because they don’t see the potential that can come from using today’s most popular platforms to generate conversions (i.e. more money!) over followers.

Chris, Digital Media Strategist:

“It’s not 2012 anymore when loads of followers would see your content. Now, unless your page already gets a ton of engagement or is news-driven, brands are lucky to reach 1/4 of their fans every quarter.

Generating conversions is what we all want in the end, and platforms like Facebook can be a powerful tool for that. Things like page likes are merely vanity metrics, meaning it’s something that feeds your ego, but not your stomach. Sometimes it’s important to feed the ego, but in order to do right by your business, you’ve got to focus on the things that generate conversions.” 

Here’s an example: An owner of a local restaurant has their heart set on getting to 10,000 Instagram followers. That would definitely feed their ego, but it’s probably not much more valuable to their business than doing a few short-term partnerships with local industry influencers who already have 100,000+ followers.

Bad habit #4:

Underestimating the value of video.

Video marketing is one of the best ways to establish a real, lasting connection with your customers through emotion. Simply put, it’s today’s #1 tool for converting leads… and it’s responsible for more than 80% of online traffic.

With attention spans decreasing as more and more short-form content becomes available, brands in any industry should consider the long-term value of high-quality video marketing.

Brookney, Creative & Account Director:

“Everyone’s familiar with commercial videos, but there’s so much more you can do with video today. Testimonials, product demos, training videos, animated explainers—every video can be a unique way to differentiate your brand from the competition. But it’s a lot of work to produce a video that’s strategic and effective for your brand.

Your script needs to be compelling and relevant to your audience. The visuals and music need to evoke the right emotions. You need to secure talent, location, props. Then there’s managing the schedule on shoot day and editing the content post-production. This is where a full-service marketing partner like Asen comes in. Experienced strategists can streamline the entire process for you, while ensuring you receive video content that does your brand justice in the end. I can’t think of any industry or brand that shouldn’t invest in video marketing today.”

Bad habit #5:

Stand-alone marketing tactics.

Unfortunately, not all business owners and brand leaders understand the value of a comprehensive marketing campaign. Yes, marketing is an investment. There’s just no way around that. But when done right, it’s sole purpose is to drive growth and produce a significant return on that investment.

Those “one off” projects may save you a pretty penny right now, but in the long run, your best chance at increasing revenue and achieving your goals is with a complete, dynamic marketing plan. That means reaching your audience frequently by being on multiple platforms in multiple formats.

At the end of the day, if you’re not willing to invest in your brand’s potential, how can you expect your customers to?