If your business isn’t up-to-date with the newest innovation in order to maximize digital marketing potential, then you are likely living too far back in terms of advertising. Marketing is very different from where it was ten years ago.
Technology has rapidly evolved and with it a change in consumer behavior. This makes it important for businesses to make sure they are up-to-date with the new digital age.
Let’s have a look at 10 ways you can ensure your company is up-to-date with its marketing strategies in the digital age:
Marketing And Sales Combined
A mixture of both sales and marketing rolled into one. You will achieve optimal performance by using this technique. Yes, this works, many businesses are now using Smarketing to optimize their performance from their marketing efforts.
Long gone are the days when a consumer will pursue a printed advert and then make a purchase on an organized shopping trip. Instead, digital ads are a quick and easy way to make online sales in the present moment. Even using tools such as custom USB drives is a more effective and relevant way to reach the digital age. Marketing and sales happen in one fell swoop, in the same time and place, just at the click of a mouse.
If a potential customer wants to learn more about a product or service, that can also happen in the same place by using tools such as chat features or faqs. If you aren’t combining marketing and sales you are missing out.
Experiencing It For Yourself
If you want to reach digital customers, you need to walk in their shoes and become a customer yourself. Have you expereince online shopping? Have you tried it on your site? Have you tried to find out information on the web? Have you followed your adverts to end up exactly where you need to be to make a purchase? Did it take you where you need to be? What about processing the order? Was it simple, pleasant, and quick? Was it secure?
If you haven’t experienced these things yourself, how can you possibly know if the process is efficient for your customers? This is one of the easiest and best ways you can find improvements to better your customer expereince.
Playing Field Dynamics
Not all digital marketing challenges can be solved by throwing more money at them. Back in the day, playing the field belonged to the companies who could afford the biggest printed as or a prime-time tv or radio slot for their adverts.
Digital advertising has certainly leveled the playing field. All you have to think about is when a Youtube advert goes viral. Smaller businesses can now compete as they don’t need to spend more than a competitor to solve marketing issues.
Engagement Is Essential
Having a digital presence alone is not enough. So, you’ve set up your company with every possible social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook, and a blog, but you are yet to see an impact on your sales. What’s wrong? Well, creating a digital presence is only the first step towards your marketing strategy, engagement is next and continuous.
You need to make sure there is focused, genuine, a regular engagement. This includes creating great content using calls to action, asking viewers their opinions, connecting with them, offering them something valuable, take surveys, offer discounts, you name it. As long as it stimulates engagement between your company and your customers you are on to a winning marketing strategy.
Communication with your customers is one of the key focus points, so it’s worth investing time into engagement, even if it means employing someone to monitor it or using outsourcing services.
Look Closely At The Data
You need to make sure you are making good use of any data and allow it to drive and decision-making. You are flying blind if data isn’t behind every decision you make. One of the best things about digital marketing is that a single action can be measured.
Did the change in colors lead to more traffic? You made a good decision. Or a drop in traffic? Then it’s a bad decision. Data can show you what is working and what isn’t even down to how long someone is staying on your site, how many people leave leaving something in their basket, and how many visits lead to sales.
You must allow data to steer you in the right direction. If something you have changed shows a drop in figures, don’t leave it too long to revert to the original or make another improvement.
Offer Value
This doesn’t relate to offering a great price. Although that can help too, there is more to value than a good product at a good price. The information and content that you share, needs to have value to your customers.
You ideally want to be known as a premier authority in your industry, so people want to come to your first. It’s simple to use Google for an answer, but an answer for an integral source is the value that will bring your customers back again and again.
Personalized Automation
Never lose the personal touch. Receiving automated notifications and emails aren’t personal in the slightest, it’s something that puts customers off. However, many businesses still use automated tools, but now in a more personal way.
It’s now possible to send birthday greetings, anniversary vouchers, reminders of the items in their basket, and more. So, you can reach out to your customers making it personal to them. Their history of purchases can also make it easier to make suggestions of interesting products and provide your customers with the personal touch they are looking for.
Get Out And About
Your customers don’t remain in the same place all the time, so neither should you. Back in the day, sales executives had to get out and mingle to bring in more customers. It’s exactly the same in the digital age, but with your content.
This is often referred to as a multi-channel digital marketing strategy.
Digital Agility
There are many different technical terms used to explain things such as digital agility. But, the main thing you need to remember is that things can change, and they can change quickly. You need to be ready for a change in all sorts of areas including new trends and updates to your website.
Instead of being in despair when your website isn’t pulling in the figures it should be or used to, be agile instead. And make the right changes. Using the digital world for marketing and sales means that you have much more flexibility compared to a brick-and-mortar store. If something is a flop, you can change it quickly and effectively.
Online Talk Matters
Both good and bad business practices will catch up with you one day. Your company brand needs to have and uphold a brilliant online reputation. This means being accountable if something has gone wrong. Reviews and feedback matter, especially when it can be seen all over social media, online chat goes far and travels far.
If you get a bad review, react and respond as quickly as you can to resolve the matter. This makes it essential to have any online social media account monitored on a daily basis. Remember that your response can mean more to a customer than the actual fault.
Having a good digital marketing plan is essential for business nowadays, so make sure your company stays up-to-date and quick off the mark in this department. Do you have any other tips that could help? Please share them in the comments below.
