First and foremost, do you have a digital marketing strategy? Most don’t have one.
Many businesses and digital marketing agencies that I have consulted or worked with in the past 8-10 years had problems with their digital marketing processes. The major cause was, they had started off with quick-win tactics, copycat competition activities and for short term gains. And realized, in couple of months that their processes weren’t delivering results.
I emphasize on and recommend every client on having the right strategy in place before initiating and digital marketing campaigns. Here’s why.
Digital Marketing Strategy & Plan
They cannot be blamed. Since the dawn of advertising age, for years together, small businesses have been juggling with multiple demands on their resources. So some of them blindly replicated what their next-door-competitor did, while others explored traditional media pitches. All said and done, everyone has been obsessed about marketing and branding.
So when came a search engine optimization (SEO) pitch from their web development agency, some jumped into the waters. Seeing less than expected results, they started seeking solace in other digital marketing activities, bumping into social media marketing pitches from different agencies and trying their luck in PPC and bulk email marketing on the way.
But, if you remember, M-A-R-K-E-T-I-N-G is not doing different things with different agencies and in different parts to solicit huge response. It is making different pieces fit together in a well structured plan that meets the businesses objectives and making it work.
I’ve researched and analyzed hundreds of case studies on this subject for a long time. And how, some businesses, who were small when they started, grew faster and much taller than their contemporaries.
Why 81% Clients Felt Their Agencies Didn’t Add Value
In his book, One-Trick Ponies Get Shot, Ian Lurie illustrates how his survey of about 280 select audiences comprising of clients, in-house marketers, agencies and consultants resulted in interesting findings.
“Average client tenure in our industry is about 18 months and turnover is normal.
That at least 81% of clients feel their marketers didn’t bring enough value.
And that 75% said they let their in-house marketer or agency go because they didn’t deliver, weren’t strategic enough in their thinking, or just couldn’t agree on anything.”
Reason: Missing Digital Marketing Strategy
Invest some time on a long term strategy that meets your overall business objectives. Take cues from your competitors and customer demand patterns. Get all the elements of traditional marketing at your disposal on your table, they are important. And equally important are activities like seo, smo, ppc, email automation and content development. Analyze your historical data and forge ahead in charting your strategy roadmap.
Need expert help to define your digital marketing strategy? I offer independent consulting services to help businesses explore new marketing strategies and build long term road-maps. Feel free to contact me with your requirements.