Advertising can be a potent tool for growing your business. It can raise brand awareness, influence consumer behavior, and drive sales. But here’s the catch—if done wrong, advertising can quickly become a money pit, draining your budget without delivering meaningful returns.

So, what’s the most common mistake? Trying to change people’s long-established habits. Sound familiar? Let’s explain why this is such a costly error and what you can do instead to avoid wasting your marketing budget.

Why Changing Consumer Habits Is a Losing Game

Marketing experts will tell you this: human behavior is largely driven by habit. And habits are tough to break. People don’t change what they’ve been doing for years overnight, no matter how clever or expensive your marketing campaign might be. One of the most common marketing pitfalls is trying to shift deeply ingrained behaviors.

Imagine you’re trying to convince the coffee-loving people of Italy to switch from their beloved espresso to tea. Sure, it’s possible. But how much will it cost? A lot. You’re not just selling tea here; you’re trying to sell an entirely new lifestyle, and that’s a tough sell with a huge price tag.

The Cost of Consumer Inertia

Consumer inertia—people’s natural resistance to change—is powerful. Trying to overcome it requires money, time, and energy. Rather than pushing consumers to adopt new behaviors, tapping into their desires is often much more effective. In other words, don’t force a change—ride the wave of what’s already working.

Real-World Examples of Marketing Gone Wrong

Want proof that trying to change habits is a costly mistake? Let’s dive into a few real-world examples where companies spent big money and failed to get the results they were hoping for.

Case Study 1: The Dental Floss Fiasco

Consider the case of a dental floss company that invested heavily in educating people about the importance of flossing. Seems like a worthy cause, right? But here’s the problem: their advertising campaigns mostly reached people who already flossed regularly. They spent an enormous amount on customer acquisition, reportedly up to $30 per new customer. And what did they get in return? Not much.

This is a classic example of misaligned targeting. The marketing message was sound but not aimed at the right audience. Instead of focusing on people who already cared about dental hygiene but didn’t yet floss, the company tried to convince non-flossers to change their habits. As a result, they spent a fortune with little to show for it.

Marketing Principle: Target the Right Audience

What can we learn from this? Effective marketing hinges on reaching the right audience. If you’re spending big money trying to convince people to start doing something they’ve never done before, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Instead, focus on customers who are already interested in your product and are more likely to make the shift you’re hoping for.

Case Study 2: The Spice That Wasn’t So Nice

Another company tried to increase demand for a relatively unknown spice by launching an educational marketing campaign. Their goal? Teach consumers how to use the spice and create new demand for it. Sounds like a smart strategy.

Well, here’s the twist. After spending millions of dollars educating consumers, they soon realized that their efforts were backfiring. Competitors who also sold the spice were benefiting just as much, if not more, from the increased awareness. The original company had spent time educating the market, only to see competitors enjoy the rewards.

This is a perfect example of the first-mover disadvantage—the company that does all the hard work doesn’t always reap the rewards.

Marketing Principle: Own the Market

Before investing heavily in educating a market, make sure you’re in a position to own the space you’re creating. If competitors can easily step in and take advantage of the demand you’re building, your advertising dollars may end up helping them more than you.

Tapping Into Existing Desires: The Smart Approach

Instead of spending your marketing budget trying to change consumer habits, a far more effective approach is to tap into desires that already exist. When gluten-free foods became trendy, brands that focused their advertising on consumers already interested in health-conscious products saw massive success. They didn’t try to convince people to become gluten-free; they capitalized on the trend that was already gaining momentum.

Marketing Principle: Leverage Consumer Trends

Align your marketing strategy with existing trends. If there’s already a growing interest in something, your job becomes much easier. You don’t have to educate or convince consumers to care—you need to show them that your product fits within their already established interests.

The Hidden Costs of Low-Frequency Purchases

Another area where companies often waste their marketing dollars is on low-frequency products—items that consumers don’t buy very often. Imagine spending $5 to acquire each new customer for a kitchen disinfectant that lasts for years. Sure, you’ve made the sale, but what happens next? The customer won’t need to buy from you again for a long time, meaning your customer acquisition cost is effectively wasted.

Marketing Principle: Focus on High-Frequency Products

When deciding where to spend your marketing budget, focus on high-frequency or repeat purchase products. These offer a better return on investment because you can continue selling to the same customers over time, improving their lifetime value.

Case Study 3: The Soap That Missed the Mark

In yet another example, a soap brand heavily promoted their product as a way to prevent acne. They spent millions highlighting its health benefits, but guess what? Consumers didn’t care about prevention—they cared about beauty. They wanted to know how the soap could make their skin look better. As a result, the campaign flopped.

Marketing Principle: Speak to Consumer Desires

One of the most important principles in marketing is to focus on what your customers actually care about, not what you think they should care about. If your audience is more interested in looking good than being healthy, tailor your message to address their vanity, not their health.

The Bottom Line: Target Existing Desires, Don’t Create New Ones

The lesson here is simple: The most successful marketing doesn’t try to force consumers to change their habits. Instead, it aligns with what people already want. By focusing on existing desires, behaviors, and trends, you can reduce wasted marketing spend and see a much higher return on investment.

Rather than swimming upstream and trying to shift deeply ingrained consumer habits, savvy marketers work with the current. They understand what their audience wants and find ways to meet those desires.