10 Old Sales Tactics Marketers No Longer Do – Part 2

In the previous article, we tackled 5 of 10 sales tactics that we stopped doing. Here are 5 more outdated things in marketing:

6. Disregarding relationships

You can be as impersonal as you want. After all, it’s just business. You don’t seem to see the need to get to know your customers more. However, in this age of social media, where everyone seeks deeper connections, it makes sense to invest more time in interacting with your audience. Making and nurturing connections are important whether you’re making business with customers or with other business entities. Your job doesn’t end once deals are closed.

7. Stopping at having social media channels

Being social in the digital age is crucial to the success of your business. But it’s not enough to have social networks online. Social media marketing is so much more than creating pages on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. It also means posting content regularly, interacting with your audience, monitoring the effectiveness of your strategies, and watching the trend.

8. Not investing enough in marketing

Small businesses struggle with appropriating budget for marketing. The general rule is to allocate 5% of your revenue on marketing. We’re not necessarily saying you follow that rule, though. Nevertheless, if you’re not investing in marketing, you’re stealing from your future the chance for optimal growth.

Of course, when we say invest in marketing, we don’t only mean monetary investment. It also means your time and human power. At some point, you will need to farm out the task to a staff or a team.

On the contrary, the other problem could be overspending on marketing, which is equally detrimental to your business.

9. Thinking you can do it alone

Even if you have a huge budget and are tech savvy, you can only do so much. The worst thing you can do when it comes to selling your brand is doing everything alone. That means you’re spreading yourself too thinly on a number of activities crucial to the health of your business. You’re probably a resourceful entrepreneur. Maybe you think you can do it alone. But there really comes a point in your life as a business person when you need a team while you diversify your brand.

10. Forgetting you have a life

We’ve all been there. We’re familiar with that excitement during the first few months into starting a business. You’re all over the place. You want to oversee everything. You’re chronically sleep deprived. You’ll probably make it, see customers, see profit by the end of the year — or not. And you’re overworked. Tired. Uninspired. Either way, it’s bad. What’s the point in overworking today to only be burnt out.

You have to give yourself a break every once in a while. A vacation actually helps clear your mind of clutter. You need that. Everyone does. You can get back to business after your break with a fresh perspective.