While it’s easy to find the best corporate gifts online, using those gifts as part of a successful marketing campaign is a bit more challenging. Even with all the marketing data and tools available today, it’s all too easy to fall victim to common mistakes that damage your brand.

Avoiding those costly errors requires careful planning, constant vigilance, and an awareness of the industry’s best practices. Safeguarding your marketing spend against preventable mistakes starts by clearly identifying what those mistakes are.

Below are our top seven to watch out for:

Mistake 1: Not defining your target audience

Unless you take a perverse pleasure in spending a lot of money on marketing without seeing anything in return, avoid vague appeals to “the masses.” By trying to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one.

Instead, clearly define a target market to focus on. Create buyer personas and tailor your marketing messages to foster an emotional connection with them. This will help turn lukewarm receptions into enthusiastic loyalty.

Mistake 2: Not utilizing brand style guides

When brands choose to work with freelance designers, writers, and advertisers, they enjoy the benefits of flexibility and affordability. However, if they aren’t careful in providing style guides, their brand can fall victim to inconsistency, diluting the effectiveness and profitability of what they’ve built over the years.

Luckily, there’s a relatively simple fix. Develop, update, and use brand style guides that outline your mission statement, logo, typography, color palettes, and much more. Be sure to include plenty of examples. 

Mistake 3: Not reading the fine print

Designing clever concepts and playing with creative possibilities is thrilling. Reviewing dry legal guidelines like disclosures and accessibility standards? Not so much. Unfortunately, failing to do so opens you up to lawsuits or fines that can take a huge chunk of enthusiasm out of your creative marketing efforts.

To avoid that, research relevant laws and draft an internal checklist that’s mandatory for everyone to follow. If you’re ever in doubt, consult a business lawyer to ensure you’re in line with your region’s legislation.

Mistake 4: Not making your assets future-proof

Updating your evergreen campaign assets on an annual basis might seem unnecessary, but it helps ensure the longevity of your brand. In today’s turbulent world, technology and algorithm shifts seem to happen overnight, and assets that aren’t updated can become obsolete before you know it.

It’s not enough to simply digitize old print ads or brochures. Instead, modernize your marketing assets by making them future-proof.

Mistake 5: Not preparing your landing page before launch

Choosing to go forward with paid campaigns and other marketing efforts before your landing page is ready does two things. First, it frustrates visitors. Second, it loses money. Since neither are helpful for growing a business, they’re best avoided.

To avoid these issues, test and retest your landing page before the launch date to ensure it’s simple to navigate and understand. Remember, nothing alienates audiences faster than a clunky and difficult-to-use site.

Mistake 6: Not tracking conversions

A snazzy campaign may impress internal execs, but their enthusiasm will fade fast if the campaign doesn’t drive growth. One simple way to ensure your campaign hits the mark is to measure conversions.

Whether that means tracking form fills, purchases, or email subscriptions, measuring your conversion metrics will let you know if the snazzy campaign led to a healthy ROI or not.

Review the common mistakes above with your team so you can identify and avoid them when launching campaigns. Doing so will keep the creativity flowing smoothly while optimizing your budget and making your marketing efforts far more effective.