5 Mistakes That Are Killing Your Marketing – Part 3

So here we are at the middle of this series on deadly marketing mistakes and how to avoid them.  So far, we’ve covered the need to know who you’re talking to and knowing – specifically – what you them to do.  That means it’s time for…

Mistake #3 – You Don’t Ask Them To Do It

OK, I know.  This one is, or at least it should be, a no-brainer.  After all, if you’ve taken the time to identify the ideal prospect you want to address and you’ve decided the action you want them to take to engage with you, doesn’t it only make sense that you’d ask them to do it?  Of course it does!  Then again, just because something makes sense doesn’t mean it gets done (like American Idol not getting Elton John to replace Simon…talk about a no-brainer!).

In fact, I’d venture to guess that this is one of the items that’s most often forgotten in a marketing campaign.  In the rush to create the perfectly crafted message, we sometimes forget that the message will be forgotten within minutes if the prospect doesn’t also take some kind of immediate action.  It doesn’t have to be anything huge; just a small action that demonstrates to you, the marketer, that they might have an interest in spending some more time talking with you.

If you forget to ask, you waste your one (and probably only) good chance of getting the response you want.  Prospects don’t have time to work out what you want them to do; spell it out for them.  The simpler and more direct, the better.  Just ask; your ideal prospects will do it.

And, since we’re on the topic of asking, here’s what I’d love for you to do: based on the first three posts in this series, leave a comment about a well-known marketing effort that you think has avoided these  campaign killers.  Come on…you know you want to!