We all make mistakes (we’re all human!), but some marketing mishaps are unforgettable. In the spirit of Halloween, I asked the Launch Marketing team about the “scariest” marketing mistake they’ve seen made by marketers who have turned into zombies. From PPC to email marketing, these errors are horrific.
“A company sent out their monthly newsletter and the whole first section had:
Main header goes here
Sub-header goes here
Brief description goes here and links to full article on website
I couldn’t believe my eyes – it was frightening.”
—Christa Tuttle, President
“The scariest things I see in marketing are the underbellies of marketing automation solutions and CRMs. There is often so much data and so many custom fields in partial use that the information becomes extremely tedious to pick apart. This makes it difficult to segment, understand the database, and analyze it — which is likely why all of those fields were created in the first place! Don’t let your data get scary!”
—Alicia Folwarski, Junior Account Manager
“Many harvest moons ago, I witnessed a marketer managing an email campaign. The campaign was sent to a small group of recipients. The goal was to re-engage with some MQLs that had previously worked with the sales team. The emails were short, direct and personalized from the sales person. The key piece that was missing was the ability to unsubscribe. People felt like they were getting spammed, and the only way to opt out of the emails was for the recipient to reach out directly to the sales person and ask to be removed. While they did get responses from the prospects, it wasn’t really what they were hoping for. Always, always include an escape route for your email recipients who wish to opt out!
—Corinne Price, Senior Account Manager
“The worst marketing mishap I’ve seen is when a company or group continues to implement marketing campaigns that have a history of not performing. The campaign is already dead. If a campaign is not performing, it’s a waste of resources: time, money and marketing efforts.”
—Shawna Boyce, Account Director
“Advertising regulations don’t seem to have much clout in Mexico – Mexico is where I really get to see the creepy stuff. When I was in downtown Monterrey this summer, I saw a slew of banners picturing mega-famous celebrities promoting businesses like hair salons and computer repair shops. Someone should relay the message to these DIY marketers that slapping Jennifer Lopez on an advertisement for weight loss pills is not going to magically increase sales. Not to mention, that’s unethical without permission. It seems they believe the winning formula is: hot chick + neon colors + superlatives in marketing claim = revenue. I guess you can dress almost anything up in a costume to try to be convincing.”
—Leslie Gloria, Online Marketing Specialist
“Google Adwords offers a ton of tools for success, but sometimes their support can make you wonder: ‘Is this a trick or a treat?’ Beware of the list they offer of ‘Suggested Keywords.’ Go through the list and select the keywords that are actually applicable to your specific campaign, otherwise you might find that you are generating clicks for sewing machines, when your product is a B2B software solution.”
—Somer Klepper, Junior Account Manager
Do any of these marketing mishaps sound eerily familiar? If you’re worried you might make this list next year, contact us! We’d love to partner with your business and help bring your campaigns back to life. You can also stalk us for great marketing tips on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.
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