When bad publicity is bad for business!
Thanks to the phrase “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” many businesses are ignoring the basic need to check and double check their marketing and communications from every angle. Over the years I’ve witnessed some classic marketing blunders including:
- spelling and grammar mistakes
- use of inappropriate names, words or phrases
- wrong choice of image or video
- misleading facts, information or inflated promises
- incorrect pricing
- layout confusion
- confused messaging
- blatant racism, sexism and a raft of other “isms”
And now with that all important customer journey starting from a mobile device, rather than more traditional channels, you need to ensure that your brand stands up to increasing scrutiny.
However, as a marketer I’m not immune from making mistakes either but with my top five tips below you won’t ever need to make one again!
- Take your time to make sure that names, words, images and channels are suitable for your target audience
- Get lots of people, some of whom who are not directly involved in marketing, to proof read and check everything including spelling and grammar
- Keep it simple (and easy to understand) to avoid confusing, insulting or alienating your audience and ensure you remain consistent across all channels
- Make sure all your staff are informed about what to say and what not to say about the business and/or brand
- Be honest, genuine and authentic – basically never say anything that you can’t prove
For marketing help and support so that your brand and/or business stacks up – contact Vicky at Fuel on 07766 566690 or email vicky@fuelmarketing.co.uk