Forbes Business Council, Newsweek Expert Forum and Rolling Stone Culture Council member Merilee Kern, MBA, is founder, executive editor and producer of “The Luxe List,” as well as host of both the “Savvy Living” lifestyle and travel and “Savvy Ventures” business TV shows. Connect with her at TheLuxeList.com, SavvyLiving.tv and @LuxeListReports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as @MerileeKern on LinkedIn.

With the digital marketing industry predicted to reach $807 billion by 2026, it has become a crucial aspect of modern business strategies due to its far-reaching impact and numerous advantages. In essence, digital marketing offers unparalleled opportunities for businesses to connect, engage and convert customers in ways that were not possible with traditional marketing methods. Its dynamic nature and ability to adapt to evolving trends make it an essential component of a successful modern business strategy.

“Unfortunately, digital marketing mistakes are relatively common across various industries and business sizes,” notes serial entrepreneur and digital marketing authority Philip F. Smith, a five-time Inc. 5000 award honoree, author and consultant. “While some companies have well-structured and effective digital marketing strategies, others may struggle due to various reasons. Some may not even be aware that they are falling far short, resulting in avoidable opportunity loss.”

According to Smith, there are six costly yet avoidable digital marketing mistakes that are all too common:

1) Funnel Fails

If a company does not concentrate on the entire marketing funnel and only worries about things like driving traffic to the website, email marketing content or sales conversions, then the funnel will not be optimized and not be as efficient as it could be. Or, worse, it could fail altogether and not generate any revenue, while having squandered both fiscal and human resources.

We all know that revenue generation solves most problems, but many business owners erroneously believe that all they need to do is “generate leads” and — if fruitful on that front — that everything else in the sales process will fall in line. For a funnel to work, every facet needs to be optimized to maximize conversions and improve the efficiency. Some key considerations to keep in mind when optimizing your sales funnel include things like ensuring that your value proposition is clear and compelling right from the beginning. Visitors should immediately understand how your product or service can solve their problems or fulfill their needs. Other considerations include streamlined landing pages, effective call to actions, social proof and testimonials, responsive design and exit intent popups, among others.

2) Poorly Monetized Leads

At first this could seem odd. Promoting other ancillary products or services to your leads or established customers? But even the largest companies do this — and with good reason. Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart all monetize their traffic and boost revenue by leveraging other products or services from other companies. Every consumer has multiple needs and this is a great way to capitalize on that captured attention.  There are many ways to strategically promote other related products or services that make contextual sense.

A company can also send out emails or texts to databased leads to promote other such services. It doesn’t have to be someone they are speaking to directly. Many lead generation companies do so for a specific product or service, and they promote other services right away via multiple monetization strategies. This can also be accomplished using a dynamic lead form. Depending on the answer to a question prompt, other differing questions will continue to appear to help filter and qualify the lead for other products or services. That lead will then be placed into a specific email or SMS sequence promoting other products or services. This is a powerful automated way to monetize leads from a 360-degree point of view.

3) Ignoring Target Audience Segmentation

Failing to properly identify and segment your target audience can lead to wasted resources and ineffective marketing campaigns. Understanding your audience’s demographics, preferences and behaviors helps you tailor your marketing messages and strategies to resonate with them. Investing time in thorough audience research and creating buyer personas can help you avoid this mistake.

4) Neglecting Mobile Optimization

With the increasing use of mobile devices for online browsing and shopping, neglecting mobile optimization can be a significant mistake. If your website and marketing materials are not mobile-friendly, you risk losing potential customers who have a poor user experience. Ensure that your website is responsive and that your emails, ads and content are easily accessible and readable on mobile devices.

5) Not Tracking and Analyzing Data

Failing to track and analyze your digital marketing efforts can result in wasted resources and missed opportunities for improvement. Without data-driven insights, you won’t know which strategies are effective, where your audience is coming from or how they engage with your content. Set up proper analytics tools, track key performance indicators (KPIs) and regularly review the data to make informed decisions and optimize your campaigns.

6) Staffing Stumbles

All too often, companies hire the wrong employees for the highly specialized field of digital marketing. When it comes to the trade, most people know just a few marketing strategies. They might be good at Facebook ads, SEO, Google, YouTube or email marketing, but the company mistakenly thinks that is all they need to know to make a digital marketing endeavor work. Such thinking is a huge mistake, as all facets of the digital marketing-driven sales funnel need to work together for any digital marketing campaign to succeed — and certainly to maximize possible outcomes. From driving traffic to a landing page, to conversion optimization, to sales videos, to email and SMS, to long-term marketing strategies and everything in between, all elements must work in concert as a well-oiled machine. And beyond the systemic aspect, the content needs to be aptly strategized, written and displayed. The problem is, it’s hard to find one person that knows how to execute all aspects of an entire marketing funnel.

Surprisingly, many marketing agencies also fall into this category of only concentrating on a handful of marketing strategies, convincing business owners that it’s sufficient to achieve goals. Generating and maximizing digital marketing revenue demands a holistic and comprehensive approach from properly trained tacticians.

According to Smith, here are a few other factors that contribute to the prevalence of digital marketing mistakes:

• Rapidly Changing Landscape: Digital marketing is a dynamic field with ever-evolving platforms, algorithms and trends. Keeping up with these changes can be challenging, leading to mistakes when strategies become outdated
• Lack of Expertise: Not all businesses have dedicated digital marketing experts on their teams. This can lead to mistakes in areas such as ad targeting, content creation, SEO and social media management
• Limited Resources: Small businesses and startups often have limited budgets and resources for marketing. As a result, they might make mistakes due to lack of investment in proper tools, training and research
• Misunderstanding Audience: If businesses fail to understand their target audience’s preferences, behaviors and needs, they can create ineffective campaigns that don’t resonate with potential customers
• Overlooking Analytics: Neglecting data analytics and not monitoring key performance indicators can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities for optimization
• Rushing Campaigns: Hasty execution without proper planning and testing can result in errors and subpar outcomes
• Ignoring User Experience: Poor website design, slow loading times and lack of mobile optimization can drive away potential customers
• Inconsistent Branding: A lack of coherence in messaging and branding across different digital channels can confuse customers and weaken brand identity
• Misallocation of Budget: Allocating resources to ineffective channels, or overspending on one channel while neglecting others, can lead to inefficient spending
• Copying Competitors: Trying to replicate competitors’ strategies without considering your own unique value proposition can lead to lackluster results

While many of these mistakes are prevalent, it’s important to note that businesses can learn from their errors and continuously improve their digital marketing strategies. Regularly reviewing campaigns, staying updated on industry trends, investing in education and seeking professional advice and campaign oversight can help minimize mistakes and enhance the overall effectiveness of digital marketing efforts. | AC&F |