The recent release of the Environmental Working Group’s 2024 Dirty Dozen caused Jigsaw to imagine a marketer’s equivalent. And with that we offer up The Dirty Dozen of Marketing: 12 Digital Marketing Mistakes to Avoid.
1. Lacking a solid digital marketing strategy
A comprehensive digital strategy encompasses all touchpoints, both inputs such as customer data and outputs like content. Without it, you can’t measure the efficacy of each element, leading to inefficient spending, inability to optimize, and potential loss of key performance insights. Don’t push tactics before strategy. And make sure that your content strategy is strong.
2. Neglecting SEO
By overlooking SEO, brands risk their website’s visibility and searchability, ceding ground to competitors, and missing out on the foundation of digital presence that drives long-term organic growth.
3. Not adjusting your campaign based on in-market data
Ignoring analytics leads to uninformed decision-making. Regular review and adjustments based on data prevent stagnation and empower dynamic campaign management for real-time relevance and resonance with the target audience.
4. Not understanding your customer journey
Failing to comprehend the customer’s purchasing path results in misaligned marketing efforts, poorly timed interactions, and lost conversion opportunities, directly impacting revenue and customer experience.
5. Not A/B testing creative and messaging
Without A/B testing, brands forfeit the chance to refine their messaging and visual approach based on actual customer preferences, hindering engagement and conversion rates optimization.
6. Not prioritizing the mobile user experience
In a mobile-first world, neglecting mobile users alienates a vast segment of the audience, potentially diminishing user experience and hurting conversion rates as consumer habits increasingly shift to on-the-go interactions.
7. Not defining what happens after the form fill, purchase, or conversion
A lack of post-conversion strategy risks customer drop-off and fails to capitalize on the opportunity to build loyalty, encourage repeat purchases, and turn new customers into brand advocates.
8. Poor targeting
Incorrect or broad targeting squanders advertising spend on uninterested audiences and can lead to off-brand messaging, reducing the potential for conversions and damaging brand reputation through irrelevant or unwelcome interactions. Building audience targets through buyer personas is the solution.
9. Creating a single type of media for all channels
Using one content type across channels disregards the unique user expectations and platform strengths, resulting in suboptimal engagement and a generic brand experience that fails to capture the nuance of channel-specific strategies.
10. Not uniquely tagging each piece of media in the market for tracking
Lack of unique tracking tags means missed insights into the performance of specific campaign elements, crucial for understanding effectiveness, measuring ROI, and guiding future marketing decisions.
11. Poor website accessibility and design
Website accessibility and proper design are paramount for success. Lack of accessibility and awkward design can immediately deter users, increase bounce rates, and negatively impact conversions, leading to a direct loss in potential revenue and damaging the brand’s online reputation.
12. Ignoring comments and feedback
Not engaging with user feedback can damage customer relationships and brand image. Constructive responses are crucial for reputation management and can provide valuable insights for improving products and services.
Do a Brand Marketing Audit
Think about your brand and the work your agency of record is doing for your brand. Are you engaging in any of these practices? Is your brand exposed to the marketing residue of this Dirty Dozen set of practices? Maybe you think you’re not. But are you sure? And are you sure you’re sure?
Are You Ready to Get Clean?
You don’t have to engage in any of these unproductive practices for your brand to succeed. In fact, your brand will almost certainly be better off if you steer clear of them entirely. If you would like some help breaking free from the Dirty Dozen of Marketing, reach out to us and we’ll help your brand get healthy with our version of the modern marketing Clean 12.
