Digital marketing is still new. Part of this is because it changes so much. There are new trends, services, and concepts every week, and it seems to be staying that way for a while.
Every social network offers advertising options and introduces new features and techniques, while “experts” continue to appear and endorse various tactics. Next year, or next month, a slew of new experts, tactics, and networks will rise up.
So where does that leave us?
With a massive burden. Ever try to keep up with digital marketing? It’s impossible. If your job is to know the ins-and-outs of digital marketing and you love doing so, then you might get by.
Everyone else has no chance. This is particularly true for the business owners and executives with enough to handle between work and personal life. There are many challenges and simply too much noise to always know what fad carries weight, or will pass by with the rest when the hype dies down.
Don’t get me wrong – digital marketers have it tough still. Despite living in the marketing world, making sense of it all is a full-time focus. If you don’t have a system to link all the tactics into, it becomes a huge headache.
That’s why we tested different concepts and mindsets when approaching digital marketing, leaving us with one central theory.
The Two Elements Needed to Create a Digital Strategy: a Digital Sales Funnel and a Strategic Process.
We need two core components for a digital strategy: a process to follow and a framework to plan our activities within.
Even with this theory, we still need to invest endless hours into discovering and testing the latest tools and tactics. But when we know that the tools and tactics have to fit into a funnel and strategy, we begin to understand how the whole machine works. The premise of this theory is that it simplifies our thinking to fit within this system, our marketing machine.
This understanding changes digital marketing from a business expense to a business investment.
With this discovery, the desire to continue learning grows. There’s excitement in seeing how an individual tactic fits into the big picture, or doesn’t, allowing you to shift attention to what matters most.
The Funnel and the Strategy Process
The digital strategy funnel is explained in-depth in Getting Digital Marketing Right, a book published by our managing director, David Bradley.
There are six stages to the Digital Sales Funnel:
- Stage 1: Generate Demand
- Stage 2: Capture Quality Leads
- Stage 3: Nurture Leads
- Stage 4: Convert Leads into Customers
- Stage 5: Close, Deliver, & Satisfy
- Stage 6: Referrals and Follow Up
Properly addressing each stage is vital for the most impactful digital experience for your customers. Having this framework allows you to see where techniques fit in, where holes exist in your online experience today, and where to focus your efforts.
The strategic process is explained in Getting Digital Marketing Right as well, but shared in deeper detail in Bradley’s following book, Digital Marketing MBA.
This book walks you through a three phase process to ensure your digital strategy is comprehensive, data-driven, and sustainable:
- Market Intelligence
- Strategy Development
- Guided Implementation
Combining the strategy process with the digital sales funnel framework, you’re able to objectively develop a plan and align your activities and thinking to form a cohesive customer experience.
This is vital for business owners and executives seeking to build their business online. For the technical work and creative projects, you can hire help. Even if cash-strapped, the internet commoditized most skilled work, making previously expensive initiatives affordable for the solopreneur.
The Candid Truth About Marketing Solutions
Developing effective digital strategies has become vital to driving marketing and sales. With what was shared here, you can forget about the nonsense trends and focus on developing a approach unique to your business. Marketing should be unique to your business, not an out-of-the-box “solution”.
There are two other things that are important to us than what we discussed. The common reasons to invest in digital: strategic objectives and return-on-investment. Both are possible with a thoughtful approach.
There are many of us who want to continue searching for “the best strategy” that delivers perfect results. That silver bullet… and some “experts” will tell you that they know it.
Candidly, that’s wishful thinking. It would be wonderful to deliver that to you. It would be legendary, helping millions improve their business so easily. That doesn’t exist; and never will. Every business is simply too unique for that to happen.
The Point is to Have a Clear Plan Forward
You have to create your strategy from beginning to end. You have a general framework to work within now.
Although there is no out-of-the-box guaranteed success strategy, you can find success if you follow a marketing strategy process. The first time may not be perfect, but focus on maximizing results with a thoughtful approach. Don’t be passive.
In life and business, we need to ebb-and-flow with our environment, take risks, and get creative. Eventually, we end up at our destination. Fortunately, you’ll have some choice over the environment, risks, and creativity. Even more important, you’ll be the one to decide what your destination is.
Keep Yourself Honest and Humble
Digital is important to business today. As we consult and coach business owners and professionals, we find that people typically fall into one of three main categories:
- Some understand the importance of digital marketing;
- Many don’t yet realize the potential of digital marketing; and
- No one has the time to become an expert in digital marketing.
Digital can be daunting. Like with lawyers, accountants, and financial advisors, an intense focus on this specialized area is what keeps digital experts relevant and desired. If you have a digital expert in-house, invest in them. They are a valuable resource if utilized and supported properly.
Action Step: Keep Yourself Honest and Humble
Digital is important to business today. As we consult and coach business owners and professionals, we find that people typically fall into one of three main categories:
- Some understand the importance of digital marketing;
- Many don’t yet realize the potential of digital marketing; and
- No one has the time to become an expert in digital marketing.
Understand where you fit. Be honest with yourself. Digital can be daunting.
There are reasons people hire lawyers, accountants, and financial advisors. An intense focus on the specialized area of digital marketing is similar. There should be a high level of understanding of that subject-matter and how it affects other indirectly related areas of an organization.
Set a plan for how you will invest your energy and resources into developing digital. Look at the digital sales funnel and attempt to make note, in bullet-point form, of how you address each stage. If you find that some stages are empty, you have initial direction.
If you have a digital expert in-house, invest in them. They are a valuable resource if utilized and supported properly. Provide them (or yourself) with all tools and trust to effectively move forward.
