What Marketing Opportunities Are You Missing?

There are many marketing opportunities missed every day, mainly because we don’t see them, or because of the old saying “we’ve always done it this way” so we don’t think to change anything. I’m not sure which one is the biggest mistake. With this thought in mind as I went about my day, I picked up on some easy opportunities going begging and as two of them motivated me to do something about them for my own business, I wanted to share them with you

Example 1

I passed a store at 9.55am this morning while walking down the main High Street. It was closed, in darkness with the shutters rolled down. Have they gone out of business I wondered, strange not to be open at this time? I went into the store next door and asked them if they knew. “Oh, they quite often open at 10am on a Thursday. They may be training or having a meeting.”

Shame they didn’t put a sign on the door to say so. Not only does it look bad they were shut, possibly for good, but there is an opportunity here. How about if they put a sign on the door saying something like: “We take pride in our customer service and invest in staff training each week so we have to open a little later to do so. Please call back at 10am and we’ll be ready to help you.”

Tip: Highlight you are investing time in your team and not just being sloppy because you haven’t opened up yet. Make sure the sign speaks your language not corporate babble. People don't talk that way so why should your sign?

Example 2

Will you be interacting with someone via an online conferencing platform or similar such as Zoom? What you type in the set up box needn’t be a stuffy message. The other person can see it when they join the meeting so show your personality, your culture or your wit without being a joker.

A chap in Australia set up a video interview with me last week and when I came to join in, the message said “recording interview with the lovely Linda Coles.” I thought it was cute, friendly and not in anyway weird, and it made me smile which was his goal. Was the typo intended?

Tip: Keep it light, natural but again show your personality. If you’re excited about who you’ve planned to conference with, why not show it? Now he’s stuck in my head.

Example 3

We all get email newsletters, some better than others and today I got one that made me change the way I do things too. At the footer, there was the usual unsubscribe and contact address but Spike went one stage further. They used the space to clearly add their contact details but also what it is they actually do in very simple terms. No waffle, it’s easy to understand and so much better than ‘email marketing solutions’ or some such.

Tip: If someone is reading right to the bottom, you’ve done a great job holding their attention thus far so why not wave your own flag a little? They may just become a customer.

These are just three examples of having my marketing antennae up and looking for those missed opportunities or great ideas that others are doing. Think about a humorous error message on your 404 page, something different in your out of office message, your mobile voicemail, and anywhere else you currently interact with a person no matter how small that may be. People buy from people, so it makes sense to be a real live one and let your personality shine through.

Look at everything you do today through clear eyes and find the opportunities you could be wasting. There will be some.

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I am the author of three books (Wiley) on social media marketing and building relationships and you can find them all here. I am also an Extended DISC accredited consultant. You might like to subscribe to me for more useful updates and if you are looking for a speaker or trainer for your next event, do get in touch.