Marketing Icks

Most of our articles and blogs are very educational and topical, so I felt it was time we brought you some humorous yet educational content. Instead of your regular do’s and don’ts article, today I’m going to just speak about my personal “icks” in marketing because I think everyone needs a bit of a laugh on a Friday.

Warning: If you find that any of these points may relate to your business and how you’re currently running your marketing – you may need to consider a revamp on your strategy.

Let’s kickstart with a simple one that is a regular offender. My first ick is when people put a regular photo as their profile picture rather than their logo. Now, this may sound silly, but it irks me, and I can explain why. If your profile picture is an image of a cake or the outdoor seating area, it is much harder for someone to identify your business. Having your logo as your profile picture keeps it simple, recognisable and looks much more professional.

My second ick, using images that aren’t a true representation of what you are offering. Let me put this into context for you, we all use stock imagery from time to time but if you are using visuals that look absolutely nothing like your venue, your food or any of your offerings, then you are doing your customers an injustice. Now, I completely understand and respect that not everyone is a photographer or owns a camera, but with the right lighting and using some editing tools such as photoshop or even editing within Instagram you can get a good quality photo that will offer a true image of your business and its offerings. By using images that aren’t your own, you are leading your customers to believe what they see is what they will be receiving. There are two outcomes from this strategy– 1. they could be disappointed with what they receive as it is not the same as the photos they have seen, which could lead to back reviews or 2. The stock images might not be doing your business justice and you could be losing sales because of this. I believe that in the age of smartphones, all images advertising your business should be your own where possible.

Email marketing is brilliant when it’s done right, we are fortunate enough to have tools such as MailChimp, Squarespace and Canva which have made it possible for non-designers to create beautiful designs and email templates. Therefore, I do not understand why ick number 3 still exists! So, the question lies, why I am still receiving emails from businesses that make me question have I been scammed? From start to finish your customer’s experience reflects onto your business and its professionalism, its trustworthiness and how your business is perceived.

The fourth and final ick of this blog is one that truly breaks my heart when businesses have a severe lack of content on their socials. My examples here are mostly focused towards the hospitality sector but nonetheless, it is most certainly directed at all types of business. I respect businesses who have built a reputation for themselves and are succeeding on word of mouth with their local customers, but what about those choosing to go to your restaurant or hotel in a place they have never been before?

As someone who loves to travel and is a big foodie, it bothers me when there are old, bad quality photos of their menu or their spaces. I’m fully aware that I sound neurotic, but I need to see the quality of a place’s food and its overall vibe before I book it. Is it just me? Am I completely overanalysing it? If I can’t visualise what to expect I presume it’s not worth trying. This means a business that could be offering an exceptional experience to its customers could be missing out on growing their customer base because they’re not catching their attention through basic marketing.

I personally believe there is no excuse for not filling your profile grid with photos. If you have stunning space and wonderful food creations flowing out of your kitchen every day, why not simply stop and take a few pictures before you give them over to your customers? I understand quality control but if you hold that high standard in your visuals then dedicate a day to content creation with a professional. It is sometimes the most successful businesses that don’t invest time into their social media, and this is because they are doing well so they don’t believe they need to continue advertising, but as I have said before you should be investing in your social whilst you’re doing well to keep growing your business.

Ok, rant over.

As I see it is, marketing has a huge impact on your customer’s overall experience – so do it right and you will continue to succeed.

If you enjoyed today’s blog piece let us know in the comments below and I may have a part 2 up my sleeve.