Ahhh marketing…

Some view it as a necessary evil, and others realize it’s your way of communicating with your target customer and meeting their legitimate needs.

But what you don’t want to do is make a devastating marketing mistake. A simple blunder unleashes a slew of awful PR that takes months or years to cover from.

So please don’t make these marketing mistakes – they really could hurt your business:

1. An Old Website Design

Beauty and functionality make for the perfect website. If yours is just functional, it looks out of date. And when visitors see an old website, they think you’re no longer in business.

You can still sell.

But you attract low-quality customers, or none at all.

2. Not Taking a Stance

You can’t make your business appeal to every human being alive. No business ever will. Apple’s an awesome example of marketing. But plenty of people still buy the Samsung Galaxy.

It’s much easier to market and sell if you know exactly who you want to market to and what they’re willing to buy.

3. Hiring an Expert and Telling Them What to Do

Some of your suggestions will work and help – that’s for certain. Experts know a lot, but not everything. But at some point, you can cross the line and essentially become their “boss.”

You may have a high need for control, but trust the person you hire. If you have any doubts, keep looking for someone else and hire them.

4. Not Tracking Your Marketing Results

You can’t fully track every last detail. And often times you don’t know which marketing tactic generated business. Was it the blog post that got the sale? Was it your e-mail newsletter?

It’s hard to say.

But you’ve got to measure everything as accurately as possible so you know what’s happening and how to make good marketing decisions.

5. You’re Not Human Enough

The internet gives you more direct access to your customers than ever before. As a result, they now expect personal interactions with you, and not interactions with a nameless, faceless business.

Be honest and dependable.

Tell it like it is.

Don’t “spin” things. Modern consumers easily detect baloney.

6. Inconsistency 

Humans begin to believe things if they just hear them enough times. If you disappear and reappear in their lives, they forget who you are and then have to learn if they like and trust you all over again.

It’s just like losing weight at your gym. Stop working out for a while and it piles right back on. Keep running and weightlifting for months and years at a time, and that weight stays off.

Which of those mistakes do you think you’re guilty of? And what can you do to get your marketing in better shape today?