As a technology marketing executive and now as the owner of a technology marketing firm, I get to work with many tech companies which have varying challenges. In my nearly two decades in the world of technology, there are some common patterns that I see regarding marketing mistakes that tech companies make. Here are some of the most common ones:
1. Poor marketing messaging.
As companies expand their product offerings, enter new markets and acquire other companies their marketing messaging can become inconsistent and complex. Many tech companies, moreover, do a poor job communicating the value they bring to their potential customers. It is important to understand who your prospective buyers are and build your marketing messages around their needs.
As companies expand their product offerings, enter new markets and acquire other companies their marketing messaging can become inconsistent and complex. Many tech companies, moreover, do a poor job communicating the value they bring to their potential customers. It is important to understand who your prospective buyers are and build your marketing messages around their needs.
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2. Ineffective lead generation. You may have to kiss many frogs until you find your prince or princess for that matter, and that is no lie when it comes to lead generation and customer conversions. There is a constant push and pull between sales and marketing. Marketing is working on generating high lead volume to feed the sales pipeline and sales frequently thinks these leads are not as qualified as they would like them to be. Both marketing and sales have a common goal to contribute to revenue and company growth. Close collaboration between the two teams is important for fruitful lead generation. Definitions of what constitutes a lead should be agreed upon, marketing campaigns should be aligned to company objectives, marketing materials to support sales at different stages of the buying cycle should be made available, and a regular dialogue between the two teams should be routine.Moreover, with the evolution of marketing automation platforms and focused marketing tactics, savvy marketers have the tools to nurture prospective customers until they are ready to engage with the company, improving as a result, the quality of leads which are passed on to sales. 3. Not leveraging marketing automation and analytics. Deploying tools that boost marketing productivity and effectiveness in your organization is critical but often not enough. Many tech companies invest in marketing automation platforms and CRM systems only to leverage a small percent of their capability. |
With marketing automation you can introduce sophisticated programs which, when done well, can help your company accelerate its sales cycle and win new customers much faster. It is also important to regularly look at the right metrics to assess the performance of your marketing initiatives as you can’t improve what you don’t measure.
4. Losing touch with the market.
Too many marketers spend too much time in the office designing and working on programs and campaigns without having a first-hand experience of what is happening in the outside world. Encourage your marketing team to visit and talk to customers, attend calls with prospective customers so they can bring some of that know-how back to your organization to improve marketing.
5. Lack of strategic direction from senior management.
Without strategic direction on where the company is heading marketing moves like a ship without a captain. In order for a company to work effectively it must have a course that comes from top management. When a company has a well-defined business strategy then marketing objectives become aligned to the corporate goals and organizations function more effectively.
6. Lack of content and content strategy.
Publishing insightful content can help your company build credibility and authority in your space. A well-thought out content strategy tied to your business objectives will serve as your guidepost during the content development process.
7. Spending budget without having a marketing strategy in place.
Your marketing budget is precious, spend it wisely. It is best to have a plan and an execution strategy in place aligned to company objectives. Also, be sure to allocate some of your marketing budget to test new programs and campaigns before you invest a bigger chunk of it on them.
4. Losing touch with the market.
Too many marketers spend too much time in the office designing and working on programs and campaigns without having a first-hand experience of what is happening in the outside world. Encourage your marketing team to visit and talk to customers, attend calls with prospective customers so they can bring some of that know-how back to your organization to improve marketing.
5. Lack of strategic direction from senior management.
Without strategic direction on where the company is heading marketing moves like a ship without a captain. In order for a company to work effectively it must have a course that comes from top management. When a company has a well-defined business strategy then marketing objectives become aligned to the corporate goals and organizations function more effectively.
6. Lack of content and content strategy.
Publishing insightful content can help your company build credibility and authority in your space. A well-thought out content strategy tied to your business objectives will serve as your guidepost during the content development process.
7. Spending budget without having a marketing strategy in place.
Your marketing budget is precious, spend it wisely. It is best to have a plan and an execution strategy in place aligned to company objectives. Also, be sure to allocate some of your marketing budget to test new programs and campaigns before you invest a bigger chunk of it on them.
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