Steer clear of these costly marketing mistakes

Every business has a product or service worth promoting, but a prolific marketing presence should not be your main goal.

A thoughtfully planned and well-executed campaign can easily outperform lazy, mass-media ad buys.

To save money, time, and headaches eager entrepreneurs eager need to be wary of poorly-executed campaigns and advertisements done in bad taste that can cause more harm than good.

Examples such as Groupon’s 2011 Super Bowl commercial, Sony’s white PSP ads and Molson Coors’ college drinking campaign earned each organization widespread public backlash and will forever haunt these brands. To be more effective at marketing, businesses must be mindful of embarrassing themselves and offending customers. Ultimately, bad marketing can be ruinous for customer loyalty and sales.

1. False promises negatively impact brand affinity.

Companies like Allstate Insurance, Avis Car Rental and RadioShack have alluring taglines, but offer poor service.