Home topics small-business-resources sales-and-marketing Marketing Marketing 10 common marketing mistakes to avoid Tony Eades August 28, 2008 Avoiding marketing mistakes isn’t easy in today’s business marketplace; which is at times a terrifying jungle where your competitors are hungry predators and your customers are the food source that’s a challenge to catch. To survive you can’t afford to make many marketing mistakes . So here are some common marketing mistakes you should look out for. 1. Poor positioning Firstly your food source or your customer—how well do you really know them? Most businesses today believe that their target market is anyone and everyone, which is fine if you have the marketing budget of Coca-Cola. Most soft drink companies define their core demographic (a little jargon meaning your ‘most probable customers’) as 14-to-18 year olds, which is why their advertising campaigns target teenagers with a theme of fun and first love. So mistake number one is not defining your core customer. Research your customers and see who is more likely to buy from you, then define them by sex, age and even status, eg. working mother, business owner etc. 2. A bland brand Your brand is the backbone of your business and your logo is the pivot point that all your marketing will hang from. Mistake number two is having a poor, unmemorable brand. You’ve heard the saying ‘a picture says a thousand words’ so what is your logo saying to your customers about your business? A logo should be colourful yet