A popular definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Financial and professional services marketers clearly haven’t heard it.

If they had, they wouldn’t keep making the same marketing mistakes — time and time again.

Here are some of the most common ones and how to avoid repeating them.

Spend money. Get no results. Picture it: You purchase something online and it never gets delivered. You do it again. Same result. That’s no different than spending money on marketing and getting no measurable return. It’s so easy to view digital marketing metrics in real time. Why not do it to ensure you’re generating the results you’re paying to achieve? If you’re not getting results, it’s time to update your campaign.

The disconnected customer experience. Many marketing departments are charged with attracting prospective clients to their businesses, and their responsibilities end there. The prospects then deal with sales and customer service teams that aren’t connected with the firm’s marketers. For clients, it can seem like a shock, moving from the promises made in advertising to going through an unrelated sales process — to finally experiencing something different as a customer.

It doesn’t take a lot to make your overall client experience more cohesive, seamless and consistent. You don’t have to go through a corporate restructuring. Instead, regular meetings between marketing, sales and service teams can help align them so sales and service people actually pay off on the promises made by marketers.

The social post that isn’t social. If your company isn’t getting the results you expect from your social media efforts, it could be because you’re being anti-social. Are you asking your followers to engage with your firm through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms? Or are you just broadcasting messages and content and shutting down opportunities for meaningful dialogue?

As social media has matured, so have its users. They’re no longer wallflowers who are hanging back waiting for you to serve up content to them. They’ve matured into active participants that want to interact with your firm online.

Irrational messaging. Step back and pretend you’re an outsider. Look at the messages your firm shares in social media, on its website and blog, in its sales support materials and through its customer service reps. Do they seem to come from the same company? Are they delivered in a similar tone and voice? Do they tell a coherent story?

If your marketing and communication executions seem disconnected, it could be time to develop a company-wide strategy. It should include a series of clear and compelling messages that support your marketing efforts and can also be integrated into your sales and customer service processes.

Once and done. Many marketers are too quick to admit failure. They attempt a marketing campaign and give up when it doesn’t work the first time. With all the data available today, a failure should be considered a learning opportunity. It’s a chance to see where the user experience trails off and make changes to improve and take it to the next level.

Need a fresh perspective on your marketing efforts? Contact Carpenter Group. Our experienced people are great sounding boards. They can help you see what you do and how you do it through fresh eyes, and share opportunities for improvement.