The start of a new decade seems, more than just the start of a new year, like the perfect time to do things differently than before. As we enter into the 2020s (it even sounds cool) it feels like the right time to reinvent, to innovate, to reinvigorate. You’re shaking up your fitness routine, you’re trying things you’ve never dared try before, you’re ordering those purple velvet moon boots you’ve been eyeing since 2017. We’re getting pumped up just writing about the possibilities.
When it comes to your business, it seems like the turn of the calendar year is a perfect time to evaluate what worked and what didn’t in the year prior. Did your marketing efforts reach the right people, or did they fall flat? Did your rebrand resonate with your clients, or zoom over their heads? No matter where your business lands on the 2019 success spectrum, now is the perfect time to look back and resolve to make changes—or keep what works—in the year ahead.
Here’s a list of common marketing mistakes practice owners make—and our fool-proof solutions for future success.
1. You didn’t utilize personalization tools in your email marketing.
Solution: Everyone loves receiving mail with their name on it. It feels special, personal, like someone is speaking directly to you rather than just shouting into a crowd. Something as simple as customizing your marketing emails to open with “Hey, Sarah!” or including someone’s name in the subject line can draw more eyes to your efforts.
2. You didn’t test email content before deploying.
Solution: Test, test, test your content. If you have the luxury of a focus group at your disposal, utilize their feedback to improve your subject line or email verbiage before sending to a wider demographic. Don’t strategize in a vacuum! If you can get just one other set of eyes on your marketing emails before sending, a second opinion can make the difference between a dud and a winner.
3. You didn’t take full advantage of your original content.
Solution: Share blogs, articles, product features, and customer reviews in as many places as you can. This broadens the potential audience that can read about how great your business is. A blog can be shared not only on your website, but plugged on all your social media accounts, printed in your office newsletter, and included in the next email blast to your subscribers. Get as much mileage out of the content you or your team has worked so hard to create before moving on to the next news bite.
4. You didn’t ask for referrals or reviews.
Solution: Ask. There’s no shame in it! Invite, nay, encourage customers and clients to review you on your website, social media, comment cards—wherever they can attest to your performance. Incentives are a great way to garner feedback, because everyone loves prizes! If you’re concerned about increasing your client base in the coming year, use your most valuable asset to make that happen: your existing clients. Who knows, one of them might just come up with something you could improve upon in 2021…
So think back on 2019 mistakes not with regret, but with hope for the future. Learn from the things that didn’t quite work out, and you’ll be all the wiser for it. And if you get stuck and aren’t sure what the next step is, we’re here to help you out!