5 Reasons why Marketing campaigns fail

Marketing is a vital component to businesses and can help grow the business considerably. A poorly constructed and executed marketing campaign can, however, set a company back financially, damage the reputation and have a negative effect on the brand image.

Rather than dwell on the negatives though, it is a good idea to step back and evaluate a campaign as a whole. It is important to know what went according to plan and what went wrong. If you are not sure what happened, it’s very feasible that the marketing campaign fell victim to a number of common mistakes.

1. You misunderstood your target audience

Before launching any campaign, it is important to think about the audience you are trying to reach. How well do you really know them? One of the simplest ways to do this is research the market and product offering. This is vital for deciding which form of communication channel and which type of product to use in a marketing campaign. It is also important to have a decent level of understand of audience habits. This could prevent executing messages at the wrong time and in the wrong place. Information obtained through research will help determine the best ways to get customers to your business.

2. Your misdirected your campaign

A very common problem from a marketing campaign is when it is designed to please management and Directors rather than customers. Keeping the target market in mind at all times will undeniably improve results. Unsure how to do this? Put yourself in the customers’ shoes. Just because you understand the benefits of a product or service does not mean that they do. How would they benefit from what you are trying to offer them? Design and build a marketing campaign based on the customers’ needs and the process is bound to run much more smoothly.

3. You did not supply enough information to your creative team

Your creative team needs a clear picture of the campaign plan and what the message will be. Not only this, they will want the freedom to design the campaign visuals around that messages. It is crucial to simplify the campaign for them and tell them what you are hoping to achieve. If you do not do that then it is very likely something may have got lost in translation. Make sure a realistic timescale is given to the creative team also. There is nothing worse for a creative person than being given a project and told to do it now. Time is required for a creative team to think about ideas and get the imagination flowing. Creative teams are in place for a reason and allowing them to use their skills and experience to build a strong campaign can help deliver success.

4. Your message got lost

When putting together a marketing campaign, it is important to be precise when organising all the minor details. It is very easy to lose sight of what you are really trying to say in a campaign when, for example, thinking about product giveaways. The idea of including a pen or stress ball sounds good but if these end up being poor quality and break after 5 minutes use then this won’t reflect the message you’re trying to deliver. Another similar issue is trying to say too much. When a company tries to say too much in their campaign it loses focus and value. Consumers need to know the benefits but once that key message is delivered the rest can bombard and confuse the audience.

5. You did not follow up with your customers and target audience

One of the most common mistakes as part of a campaign. The sales team is the heart and soul of a marketing campaign and they must maintain open communication with potential customers. If the sales team is not following up with any potential customers then the marketing campaign efforts won’t matter.

Even if you make some, or all, of these mistakes don’t worry too much. A company can easily enough recover from a marketing campaign. Just take plenty of time to review the previous campaign and recognise where the room for improvements lie.