Erm…you do!
Before I begin working with any new client, I first unpick exactly how much they understand the importance of digital marketing for their business growth, and what strategies they currently have in place.
9/10 it’s not a lot, which is completely normal. Most businesses start with good intentions, but as we all know, running a business can be draining and time consuming. Without the expertise and insight on hand, thinking about curating and developing a marketing strategy is daunting.
But sometimes, the businesses I engage with don’t really know whether they need a digital marketing strategy and they ask me, how do I know if my business needs a digital marketing strategy?
Well short answer, any businesses need a digital marketing strategy whether you have a bricks and mortar store or an e-Commerce business. 81% of retail shoppers conduct online research before buying so if you’re not present online, you’re already missing out on a huge portion of potential customers you could be converting in store or on your website.
But if that top stat doesn’t clarify the importance of a digital marketing strategy, here are some tell-tale signs that your business is in need of one:
1. You don’t have a clear pathway to attract sales:
If your sales have dried up and you and your team are over relying on cold calling or WOM, it’s a good sign that you’re lacking a solid digital marketing strategy.
With a clear and actionable digital marketing strategy, you can rely on those channels and tactics to do the heavy lifting and the pressure on you and your team will reduce, meaning more time spent on enjoying your business.
2. You can’t clearly define who your audience is and what they look like:
Building a digital marketing strategy involves understanding who your audience is and where they can be found. These insights can be unlocked by using digital tools and touch points and these findings should sit at the heart of your digital marketing strategy. This leads and informs most of the channels and tactics you deploy and will also ensure your marketing budget is spent more efficiently.
3. You’re spending a lot of money on traditional marketing channels with little return on investment:
Many businesses still rely on expensive and broad traditional marketing tactics to shout about their business (such as newspaper listings, business cards and leafleting). There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this to some extent, as broad reach marketing tactics are still important.
But that’s just one part of the marketing journey (and it might not be the right part for your audience), and as we have already established, most consumers will choose digital touch points during their buying journey. So just relying on traditional, broad reach channels as the only part of your marketing strategy just won’t work.
4. Your customers exist beyond your immediate store location:
Most businesses today will have some form of e-Commerce as part of their offering, and very few businesses only cater to the consumers on their immediate doorstep. Having a digital marketing strategy is therefore crucial to understanding how to engage with consumers beyond your front door and to attract the right audience with the right digital touch points.
To be honest, even if your business does just cater to locals, we’ve already established that most consumers will research online first, so it’s still important you exist beyond your bricks and mortar.
5. You use digital marketing channels, but you can’t explain how they all work together and what their strategic aim is:
Like any good strategy (sales, political, economic etc.) a multi-faceted approach is taken, and each part of that strategy must come together cohesively to work efficiently and effectively to achieve the overall goal.
Digital marketing is no different. Just using one channel in isolation or one tactic independently is not a strategy. And doing so will likely result in little to no impact on your business. So, take a look at the marketing channels you use and ask yourself, how do these work together cohesively to achieve my overall business growth objectives? If you can’t answer that question, you need a digital marketing strategy!
6. You have infrequently or occasionally tried using paid online advertising and you haven’t seen the results you wanted:
Digital advertising is not a tap you turn on which pours sales from its funnel. Digital marketing is used to help promote your business through online touchpoints, and advertising is one method in doing so. This method is also unfortunately, always seen as the go to tactic because you can measure the results and see immediately what your ROI is.
But paid advertising is usually a method that comes at the bottom of the consumer sales funnel and is supported with branding and awareness channels at the top that boost trust, recognition and consideration. Just using digital advertising on its own without a wider digital marketing strategy will likely not produce the results you are after.
7. You don’t understand how your digital advertising performed:
So, you spent a load of money on paid ads and then due to your lack of expertise or understanding (again, completely normal), you have no idea what the campaign did for your business growth. This is common because companies such as Meta and Google want your money, so they’ll tell you it’s simple and they’ll let you spend however much you want to spend, and they won’t actively reach out and assist you with measurement and performance support. They’ll give you a whole table of numbers and data and expect you to understand where to find insights and how to use that data to optimise.
This is why digital marketers and paid specialists exist. Because they understand how to navigate all that information and get the most for your budget. Having a digital marketing strategy also means having clear objectives and KPI’s for each of your digital tactics and channels and understanding how to measure whether these channels are working or not.
8. You don’t understand what your competitors are up to, OR your competitors are doing better than you but their offering is like yours:
When you create a digital marketing strategy, part of that development is understanding the marketplace landscape; including your top competitors. Keep your enemies close…
Understanding their USP’s and how your business compares will allow you to better tailor your digital marketing content including what goes on your website, your social media and across your advertising. You’ll have a clearer understanding of who you are and what you offer to keep ahead of your competitors and outperform them at each stage of the consumer journey.
9. You’re seeing fewer visitors on your website or they’re not converting once they’ve landed on it:
Having a drop off in traffic to your platform without a digital marketing strategy can make the task of recovery 10 x harder. With a digital marketing strategy, you can assess each tactic and channel to see where you can improve and adjust. Without it, you’re stumbling around in the dark trying to find the light switch. A digital marketing strategy will have outlined the channels to use, competitor landscape, audience insights etc. and going back through this strategy can help you pinpoint where something might have gone wrong, or where to focus your efforts if something has changed.
E.g. Let’s pretend your strategy was based on an older female audience who frequently used Facebook, but you’ve recently evolved your product line which attracts the younger demographic who use Pinterest and so, your strategy needs adjusting. Without having that information laid out, you will have had to remember all these strategic nuances and been able to figure out the point of failure off the top of your head.
10. Your website and/or social media channels don’t appear in google search results:
This is a digital channel specific problem, but it equally highlights the important of a digital marketing strategy. SEO is crucial for social media and website presence and without a good SEO strategy, your website won’t be visible. BUT having a good SEO strategy also means having a good digital marketing strategy.
Understanding your audience and how they behave will impact how they search online, and this informs the content that goes onto your website. Equally, understanding the landscape and competitor activity will inform you of what USP’s you need to push and what blogs/social media posts will be most valuable.
11. Your social media content isn’t performing, and your profile isn’t growing:
Without a clear digital marketing strategy you won’t understand what content will best resonate with your desired audience, and whether the channels you are using are even the right ones. Social media planning and delivery is also extremely time consuming, of which, is made more time consuming without a clear strategy to help you decide on content ideas ahead of time.
So, if you any of the above resonates with you, then it’s time you focus on securing your digital marketing strategy ASAP!
Get in touch if you’re not sure where to begin or would like us to build one for you!
