Misspelling a URL in a PPC campaign. A flyer printed on a $99 printer carelessly folded and distributed to meeting attendees. A business card with grainy, low-resolution vendor logos. Broken website links (404 page not found). The pain! It happens. It’s painful. We all make mistakes, and here are the top five sources of marketing mistakes:
Negligence (carelessness, apathy, and forgetfulness): The most common include external distractions, shortcuts to meet unrealistic deadlines, and unfortunate life events that consume our minds.
Lack of experience (little knowledge of industry best practices, standards and norms) – We’ve all been here and paid our proverbial dues.
Lack of skills (not understanding proper grammar, poor eye for design, minimal knowledge of technology) – this is typical when people are placed or even expected to fill roles they are not yet ready to take on.
Incompetent or minimally trained coach (transmitting bad habits, lack of clarity): Unfortunately, many companies do not prioritize training due to time and cost. But as we all know, correcting mistakes, even small ones, takes more time and costs more.
Without guilt (poor communication, lack of processes, lack of standards) – People don’t know what they don’t know. Errors are not 100% avoidable. However, with the right structures and systems, errors in the marketing function can be significantly reduced.
The marketing project summary
This is a crucial document that serves multiple purposes, one of which is to act as a quality management tool within marketing departments. It ensures that all details of projects are covered to provide clarity and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. With a solid and comprehensive marketing report, your projects will stay on target and on budget.
Project management tools
Project management tools are cloud-based systems designed to help marketing teams plan, manage, and execute their projects efficiently and effectively. From overseeing new product launches to managing marketing campaigns and projects, PMTs ensure that the marketing function runs smoothly, without any bumps, roadblocks, or hiccups. Even though PMTs have been around for quite a few years, many people still rely on email to manage their projects. The fact is that email was never designed or intended to be a marketing PMT. The worst flaw is that it takes enormous amounts of time to search for emails that contain critical information, and even when the information is obtained, it is impossible to verify that it is the most recent information.
Proofreading
As tempting as it may be, relying solely on Grammarly.com or other AI-powered proofreading and editing tools can be disastrous. In my experience, these tools don’t always offer correct suggestions, mainly because AI doesn’t yet understand context. My recommendation is to use a trusted proofreading service like bulletproofonline.com. Also, keep in mind that proofreading isn’t limited to texts, but also applies to many other components of a project.
Brand standards
Every company needs a brand standards manual. A brand standards manual, also known as a brand guide, style guide, or brand book, is a comprehensive document that specifies how an organization’s brand will be communicated across various media.
Restrict access to logins
How many people have usernames and passwords to access your website, social media accounts, email server, and software or productivity accounts? And how many have administrative access? And my final question: how many are ex-employees, employees of former marketing agencies, consultants, etc.? The more people with access, the more vulnerable your company is to irreversible damage and malicious activity.
Now what?
What is your most pressing need? Where is the biggest weakness in your marketing function? Start there. Then, seriously consider launching a quality initiative in your marketing department and replicating it in other areas of your organization. Once you’re on track, you’ll start to notice immediate improvements not only in quality, but also in collaboration, teamwork, and efficiency.
