Make Digital Marketing Work

We have written before about how the word strategy is abused within the world of digital marketing and the temptation to rely on tactics, but one of the biggest casualties is often the Marketing Process.  To explain it I need to define terms.

• A marketing strategy is the big picture plan that looks at the resources available to you.  That can include the budget, available channels, your skill set, the prevailing market conditions, distribution, your customers themselves and of course all of the 4 Ps from the marketing Mix.  Collectively these  form a battle plan of how to create customer satisfaction, product sales, and secure revenue for the organisation.
• A Marketing process is the application of this strategy as a turnkey solution.  It consists of a series of tactics.  Imagine a machine that you turn the handle and it produces results out the other end, so that whenever the process is activated, you can predict the results of what will happen each time.

As an example, a process could consist of writing a blog post about your products and then promoting the blog post on Twitter and Facebook.  Each time you do that, you can expect a number of people to click on the promotional links and read your blog post.

This is definitely a process, but it isn’t a strategy and nor is it strategic because it only gets people reading your blog post.  It delivers nothing in product sales and it can’t legitimately claim to have secured any profit for the organisation.  If it has a bill attached to the activity it has in fact cost you money.  The best you can say is that a few people have now heard of you.

That kind of process can only be considered tactical and the sad fact is that tactics are what an awful lot of digital agencies offer to clients.  The results can be hugely disappointing.  As a strategic digital agency, we appreciates the need for bottom line results  and work across the various digital channels such as Search, Social Media, User experience, Web Design, Email, eCRM, analytics, and advertising.  Because of this we have a different proposition to make to clients than traditional tactical digital agencies.  That can be a little difficult to appreciate because the focus for us is on customers and the bottom line rather than technical disciplines.

An awful lot of online activity results in a lot of noise that ultimately achieves very little.  To avoid this. your online marketing strategy must place a focus on the commercial needs of the organisation and engages prospects, It should also plan the route through to a point where customers are created nurtured and retained.  That is why an online marketing strategy should be the basis for online marketing processes, and should also be a priority for all organisations.

We have been approached a lot of times by potential clients who do not have very much budget and our policy is to help wherever we can, and to be honest about where we can’t.  One of the biggest misconceptions that seems to come up is that you can perform parts of the overall mix and expect it to work.  You can’t, or at least you shouldn’t.  The interactive Mix works because it deals with a cause and effect basis that engages with consumers may not be aware of your products and services but are open to finding out more about them.  It does so using techniques that have been proven to work but which are never quite the same for each client but which rely on careful measurement and analysis throughout each stage to ensure that the results are kept optimum.  We can work across a number of budgets but the ROI we deliver is in terms of actual sales and revenue which we create demand for through the process

It isn’t enough to simply build up the database, it is what you then do with the database that makes our techniques deliver.  We build up trust and begin to test offers whilst segmenting the data based on a series of criteria.  Its all about building relationships between clients and customers, and to build on this through to first sale, repeat and regular sale and then referral.

When we have created the process you will then be able to see it working for you as an overall marketing process, so that for an agreed spend you will already have an idea of how much money you are going to make.

We do pride ourselves in being different and offering up a joined up digital marketing solution because we don’t actually see too many other agencies doing that.  At the same time there is an argument raging about whether digital agencies are grown up enough to act as lead agency for clients.  We think that the reason many digital agencies are not able to offer this is because they are still focused on providing tactical solutions rather than looking at the strategic marketing process that is needed for each client and offering a joined up solution to meet it.  I’ve been having a lot of discussions online about this very subject and the longer the conversations go on the more I am convinced that the solution is to look at all digital media as a strategic toolbox, and not focus on providing individual disciplines.

A lot of this isn’t necessarily the fault of the industry because most agencies started out as tactical suppliers of the shiny new thing, whether it was web design fifteen years ago, or display advertising twelve years ago, or search ten years ago, or email eight years ago, or analytics seven years ago  or social media five years ago.

That made a lot of sense then because the accepted sensible way to do things was get in bed with an offline brand or advertising agency and become the digital guys for them whilst getting introduced to a great client list and charging whatever the market would pay.   Digital Agencies were the remora fish to a bunch of sharks, cleaning off whatever needed to be done and some have grown extremely large doing it.  That symbiotic relationship now though is challenged because clients have heard that this digital media lark is cheaper and works better than the offline stuff.  Of course Ad and brand agencies are still telling the world not to panic and that they are still the top of the food chain.  More over they are still looking at the world in terms of the way that they have always done things, and therein lays the problem.  The world isn’t like that that anymore and it won’t work.

Clients want it and digital agencies have to stop thinking tactically if they are going to provide it.  Its taking the strategic approach that will give digital the showcase it deserves and deliver the benefits to clients.

There have been a couple of examples recently about how desperate some organisations are getting in these troubled financial times.  The pressure is definitely on to sell more and get more pie in a shrinking dish, but I would argue that  consumers are more attuned to look for false claims and snake oil selling tactics in rough times.  I would also argue that employing these tactics now is a worse idea than at any other time.  The resultant damage to your brand and loss of trust could take years to put right during a recovery when other brands sneak an advantage.

The sales process begins with you stating you case.  Create a story that satisfies your needs and engages with the consumer.  After that it’s time to deal with objections with a FAQ. The first thing to be aware of is that you should help your FAQ as much as possible by not making outlandish and plainly untrue claims on your site about your products.  The court of Social Media will be in session in no time and it will find you guilty.  This is a tough one for a lot of established brands to get as their ’snake oil’ selling tactics have worked for years, although going back to the point above consumers are more likely to dig during lean times and so the threat of being found out is very real and probably very likely of finding you out.

Think of your FAQ in terms of the 4 marketing Ps as this will highlight a lot of objections to you.

Price - Is it too expensive for my target audience, how can I make it more affordable and how can I help people appreciate its value better.  Can I add volume and seasonal discounts, bundling, spread payment, early payment?  Do I give a money back guarantee?

Product – What makes my product better than the other products, does it have a clear advantage I haven’t mentioned yet.  What are the reasons why someone should buy my product and not my competitor? Is it better made?  Is it more functional?  Does it fulfil a niche? Does it last longer? Do I offer after sales service, does this product make it easier and more cost effective for people to accomplish tasks?  People never buy a product they buy a solution to a need.  Your product should therefore focus on how it solves that need.

Placement – Where can I buy it?  Can I only buy it here? How soon can I get it?  Buying it today and getting it tomorrow is a powerful tool as that produces an effective solution with little effort to a customer need.

Promotion – Where else is the product being used effectively?  Who else has got it?  How long have they had it.  What has it achieved for them and how much has it saved/earned for them.  Is it exactly what they needed and will they give you a testimonial.   Does a promotion entitle me to receiving more if I buy it now?

Testimonials are the stories that enable a consumer to see your product working in their world.  It is a powerful and persuasive tool that is capable of clinching the deal.

By giving reasonable and accurate information about your product and then dealing with the objections you will start to build a relationship with consumers on a one to one basis and from there you will build trust.  If you follow that up with testimonials from other consumers, you will make it more likely for a consumer to convert to a customer.

ust some useful reading about business and marketing that we recommend people read.  They informed a lot of our opinions and strategies and helped us develop the Interactive Mix model.

Survival is not enough, Shift Happens by Seth Godin

Permission Marketing by Seth Godin

The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott

Purple Cow by Seth Godin

The big Moo by Seth Godin

Search Engine Optimisation An Hour a day by Jennifer Grappone and Gradiva Couzin

Winning Results with Google Adwords by Andrew Goodman

The Big Red Fez, How to make any website bettr by Seth Godin

All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin

The Dip.  What Winners know about Quitting by Seth Godin

Social Media Marketing for Dummies by Shiv Singh