Online marketing is widely known as the primary bread and butter of any business, especially now that the world is dependent on the internet more than ever. With online companies cropping up every single day, the competition in the corporate world has become immense. That has called for businesses to be more dependent on the internet because that is the most convenient platform to find audiences on a global scale.

However, as convenient as it has proven to be, online marketing has also sometimes appeared as a double-edged sword when handled without care. The main idea of online marketing is to spread the word, but “the word” as mentioned, has to be generated from inside the business itself. It has to be the business that brings out the rightly worded content for the internet to spread. Therefore, if the company messed up with its advertisements, that is when online marketing turns against the company.

History of marketing blunders

One must have read numerous stories about big brands like Coca-cola and Pepsi mess up in their trial to promote their company or expand their businesses through advertising. We are talking about times when the internet was not such a huge thing among people, and it was when the world was just getting to know about the use of the web. Back then, companies used traditional media such as television advertisements or print to promote their products or services. Even at a time when an omnipresent entity did not connect the entire world, huge companies managed to mess up big time, losing out of vast numbers of customers and incurring massive losses. One can only imagine how severe the damage would be now that one single mistake would be broadcasted to the entire world.

Microsoft’s big blunder

This incident occurred in 2016 when a recruiter sent out invitations for recruitment that were targeting the millennial. While that can be called a bold and modern approach, the way this was implemented can hardly be called so in the proper sense of the terms. Sending out “hella noms, lots of dranks, the best beats” might not have been the best way to approach it. Even now, there has not been a single collective group of millennial who has found the terms used in the email even remotely relative. It became a huge spectacle of ridicule which only affected the credibility of the company. If they had toned down the “hipness” of it, the damage would still have been less.

Lesson learned

The lesson that one can learn from this mistake is that it never hurts to peruse the database of the company. The database will invariably consist of the likes and dislikes of the clientele as well as the target audience. With a little bit of research, one can point out the attributes that most suit the more significant percentage of the target audience.

A few other examples of horrid online marketing advertisements

Twin Towers

A mattress company in San Antonio posted a video that promoted a “twin tower” mattress sale. That is the perfect example of what not to do while advertising your product. The Twin Tower incident had left the whole world in shock, and the outrage was on such a large scale that even friends do not joke about it amongst themselves. Then there comes a company that not only uses the term but also uses it to advertise a sale. It was received with much shock and distaste among the customers.

“White makes you win.”

As we know, one of the most prominent discriminations in the world even today is racism. The fight because of skin color has gone on long enough, and there still exist people in the world who would go as far as to move away if someone of a different race were to as much as sit next to them. In a world such as that, proclaiming that it is only a fair skin that can make you win might be the object of quite a lot of strong distaste. Therefore, when you are trying to sell a skin lightening cosmetic, undermining your target customers might not be the best idea.

Oprah Winfrey or Whoopi Goldberg

Confusing between two of the biggest icons of America might not send out the best message about whoever makes that mistake. While it might be acceptable and chalked up to ignorance in case of an individual, when an entire credited page makes that mistake, it becomes quite the news.

Damage Control and prevention process

So far, the only way that these big shots have survived these colossal mess-ups is by swift damage control. The primary idea is to make sure that one learns the lesson and moves on to fix the problem and never repeat it. In this context, it is necessary to mention that the prevention process involves being in touch with the database of the clientele. Every company stays up to date with the database of the services they provide or have provided, but keeping a tab on the database of the clientele works wonders in not only the prevention of these blunders but also substantial growth. Of course, companies that have made these mistakes always have these instances to look back upon to remind themselves to be smarter the next time.

Conclusion

It will almost be surprising at how much information a well-managed database can provide any given company. Sure, it might tend to be a tedious task, and it might even take a long time, but in the end, retaining the already available audience is what one should work for the most. Target acquisition is essential for business growth. However, target retention is what keeps the engine revving. It is the already existing database that is the most significant source of profit for any given company. Therefore, it is not only crucial to keep detailed information about the clientele, but it is also necessary to stay up to date with them.

Author bio:

Sujain Thomas is a database consultant with years of experience in the field. She has worked with reputed companies and helped them select the best database solutions for their needs.