In today’s fast-paced, high-tech world, it’s a wonder that there are any companies left who don’t really understand digital marketing. The truth is they won’t be around much longer. The last hold-outs are usually industries with an older target demographic who haven’t embraced digital channels. But with each year, that older generation is growing more tech savvy and soon, even these industries won’t last without a good digital marketing strategy. Here are five mistakes that many companies are still making in regards to digital marketing.

No digital marketing

Okay, so the obvious mistake is not doing digital marketing at all. These companies are relying on billboards and print ads and mailers to drive sales and stay in contact with customers. Here’s why that’s a problem. More than half of all transactions are done beginning to end online with zero vendor interaction. The average transaction will look something like this: customer realizes a need for product, customer opens up a browser and runs a search for that product, customer finds it at a good price and reads some reviews, the customer finally enters credit card data and shipping address and completes transaction. No talking on the phone, no visiting a store or talking to a salesperson. This is the new buyer’s journey and brands that don’t understand it and can’t adapt are losing out on a lot of business.

No social media

At the very least, your business needs a Facebook page and perhaps some other social media profiles depending on your target audience. You can bet your customers are on social media even if you’re not and they will do a lot of the work for you by liking, commenting on, and sharing the content you post there.

No SMS

Short message service, (SMS, or texting as it’s more commonly known) should be the foundation for any mobile strategy since it’s one of the least expensive and most effective. Your customers’ preferred method of communication is texting so come to them instead of trying to make them come to you.

No mobile-friendly web design

Since more than half of all web traffic originates from mobile devices, more than half of all potential customers will find your website on a smartphone or tablet. If the website is displaying as it would on a desktop, they’ll barely be able to read anything and will probably give up in frustration long before they can find what they came looking for.

Too much self-promotion

Strategies that work on other channels can’t just be brought over to mobile since mobile consumers behave differently and typically have less patience. The messages you’re sending can’t always be gratuitous self-promotion. If every text or social media post or blog article is an attempt to push products on customers, they’ll tire of it quickly. Use digital marketing channels to build rapport and interact, not just make sales.