Outdated Marketing Practices are Limiting Your Company

Source: Carolina Ponce

Outdated business practices are dangerously limiting the success of your business. I know this is a very hyperbolic statement, but in the brave new world of technological operations and connectivity there is no current, only what’s on the horizon. Much in the same way an iPhone can be outdated within a year, so can a business practice that goes against the grain of what‘s designated useful or engaging by the consumer.

The biggest offender in this regard is marketing. Many marketing professionals forget that their practice should be about engagement, and if most people already know what your company does then they are not going to be interested in standardised scheduled advertising alerts; they want an insight into your entire operation. Many businesses set up Facebook or Twitter accounts and fail to maintain them, and this is the equivalent of having a beautiful home but leaving the front garden a complete mess.

One of the most off-putting aspects of a poor marketing strategy is the emphasis on selling over engaging content. An overtly apparent attitude of sales first does more harm than good, and in a culture of privacy protection many view these forthright selling tactics as a gateway to never ending cold calls.

Many crucial aspects of running a business are being held back by these outdated schools of thought. The recruitment process is also a main offender here, with companies regularly using pointless hiring exercises that, in my view, have no relation to the position in which they are applying for. Practices such as these are much more likely to cause animosity between candidates and companies as opposed to dispelling it.

One of the problems with many marketing professionals’ approaches is the constant refusal to adopt tailored software solutions. A large number of professionals in many other industries have turned to software, whether online or cloud based to complete generally difficult work. Procurement professionals are adopting eProcurement software, whilst accountants are making the switch to cloud accounting software, and very soon all our work could be managed via advanced business management software.

Social media has blown the traditional view of 9 to 5 operations out of the water, heralding an era in which consumers want to hear from their favourite brands in the evening and during the weekends. Many marketers are failing to fill this empty space left by others with anything at all, therefore missing out on key customer communication time. Some might suggest that consumers don’t want to hear from businesses on the weekend, and I would definitely agree, but social media has become one of the most unobtrusive forms of marketing you could possibly hope for, in which consumers make a conscious choice of which businesses and brands they would like to hear from. The consumer has a choice; if they don’t like it, they can keep on scrolling.

This makes me wonder whether or not our contemporary marketing techniques will be perceived in a similar way to cold calling, in which intrusive social media and marketing practices outgrow their digital ‘walled garden’. We already use ad-blocking software, now pop-ups and banner ads seem like a thing of the past. What happens when the consumer outgrows our traditional social media platforms? If this is likely to happen in the next few years then marketing professionals must develop their practises to match this growth.

Poor marketing is doing the opposite of its intended purpose, creating obstacles for consumers instead of bringing them down. If there is no incentive for customers to buy from you, marketing should be the opportunity to create one. If a strategy lacks personality and follows the clinical steps of traditional marketing practices, it is doomed to fail.