As the CEO of your company, you wear many hats. You’re the visionary, the strategist, the motivator- and, in many cases, the face of the company. With so much on your plate, it’s easy to let other aspects of the business fall by the wayside- including marketing.
But make no mistake: marketing is essential to the success of your business. A well-executed marketing campaign can help you acquire new customers, build brand awareness, and boost sales. Conversely, a poorly executed marketing campaign can do serious damage to your bottom line.
So, what are some of the biggest mistakes CEOs make when it comes to marketing? Read on to find out- and how to avoid them.
1. Not Defining Your Target Market
One of the most common mistakes CEOs make is failing to define their target market. Without a clear understanding of who your target market is, it will be difficult to create an effective marketing campaign. After all, how can you craft a message that resonates with your audience if you don’t even know who they are?
For example, let’s say you own a women’s clothing store. Your target market could be working women aged 35-45. But it could also be stay-at-home moms aged 25-35 or retired women aged 55+. See how specific demographics can have a big impact on your marketing strategy? It’s important to take the time to really understand who your target market is so you can create a campaign that speaks directly to them.
2. Failing to Set realistic Goals
Another common mistake CEOs make is setting unrealistic goals for their marketing campaigns. It’s important to have ambitious goals for your marketing campaigns, but those goals should also be achievable. For example, if your goal is to “triple sales within 6 months” that might be too ambitious (and difficult to measure). A more realistic goal might be “acquire 500 new customers within 6 months.”
It’s also important to have specific goals so you can measure whether or not your campaign was successful. Once again, this goes back to knowing your target market. If you want to acquire 500 new customers within 6 months and you acquire 600 new customers within that timeframe, then you can say with certainty that your campaign was successful in achieving its goal. Having measurable goals helps you fine tune your marketing strategy and produces better results over time.
3. Not Budgeting for Your Campaign
Another frequent mistake CEOs make is failing to budget for their marketing campaigns. Marketing campaigns can be costly, and if you don’t plan ahead you could find yourself in financial hot water. Make sure to set aside adequate funds for your campaign well in advance so you don’t have to scramble at the last minute. This will give you peace of mind and allow you focus on executing a successful campaign. According To Forbes, “the average company spends between 5% and 10% of its gross revenue on marketing.” This may seem like a lot, but keep in mind that an effective marketing campaign has the potential generate significant revenue for your business.
Campaigns without defined goals, objectives or audience parameters are set up for failure from the start. Before embarking on any type of CEO should ensure they have taken these three key steps: devoting time initially to understand WHO their ideal customer is, WHAT realistic objectives could look like for their company, and HOW much money realistically needs set aside for their efforts. Without taking these measures, a CEO risks watching their marketing dollars go down drain with little opportunity increase ROI. However, by preparing themselves and taking necessary precautions upfront they set themselves –and their teams– up succeed.