Have you ever done something embarrassing? Fallen in front of someone? Snorted when you laughed? Tripped on your own feet?
Sure you have. And chances are that when you did something goofy, you were in front of someone else. If you embarrassed yourself really good, you probably have a hard living down the story even today. You have a reputation.
This happens in the business world, too. However, instead of getting embarrassed in the privacy of a personal circle, businesses that make foolish mistakes find themselves with very public and very negative labels. Although we can’t avoid getting tripped up physically, we can help keep our businesses and organizations from getting tripped up financially and publically by avoiding these costly mistakes:
Not following through on promises. Whether you make promises with your slogan, with customer service policies, or with claims you make in your marketing about a product or service, failing to follow through with them or to fulfill expectations will leave your customers or donors dissatisfied and looking elsewhere. The lesson? Don’t write what you think your market wants to hear; write what your organization believes and can carry out.
Not optimizing online efforts for mobile devices. According to Smart Insights, a company designed to help marketers and businesses get more from digital marketing, Americans spend an average of 87 hours a month browsing on their smart phones and just 34 hours browsing on desktops. If you’re not in tune with the way your customers, members, and donors think and do research, you’re going to frustrate them with your website and possibly lose them to the inconvenience. Make sure your online efforts translate well in all outlets.
Not focusing on the customer enough. Your marketing materials need to sell your organization, but more importantly, they need to sell your solutions. Spending too much time fluffing your feathers, so to speak, and not enough time addressing your market’s problems, concerns, and the solutions your products or services offer will hinder sales and your reputation. Luckily, this mistake has an easy fix: rewrite your copy to give it a more customer-centric focus.