Digital marketing and elite sport are two areas that are not frequently compared. But they do share one striking similarity. Getting marginal gains over an opponent or competitor is key to success.
If you’re running a race and have trained harder, eaten better and invested more time in your preparation than your competitors have, the chances are that you’ll triumph.
In the digital marketing space, the same principle applies. Those who look to do what their competitors are not doing stand to benefit. Those who don’t move with the times are likely to be left behind.
But pinning down exactly what can help your business can be tough. We’ve identified five considerations and opportunities for your business that may help you move ahead of others in the race.
Get Strategic
You’ve likely heard the phrase ‘fail to prepare – prepare to fail’. When it comes to your approach to marketing, this certainly rings true.
Putting aside time to consider all options is a great way to avoid the ‘headless chicken’ approach.
We believe companies should look to spend 20% of their time on marketing strategy and selecting the right marketing mix to boost their sales. The other 80% should be dedicated to action and implementing the plan that’s been created.
Don’t run before you can walk. Take the time to select the best course for you. It could make or break your success.
Get to Know your Customers
Any successful marketing strategy is dependent on your relevance to the customers you’re looking to serve or acquire.
If you select a marketing approach full of new fangled ideas and experimentation, but fail to reach your customers on the required level, that’s no good.
Be sure to have a clear, concise view of your customers and make your marketing decisions accordingly. This ties closely with the above marketing strategy, so again, make sure you have a plan with the best chance of success in place before investing your time and resources.
Don’t Underestimate Content
Content marketing is a big enabler in the digital marketing space. Delivering information, insight and promoting the work you do or the services you offer is a great way to showcase why customers should be shopping with you and not your competitors.
According to TechClient, websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages, and companies who have a blog enjoy 97% more inbound links.
There’s also a direct correlation between how frequently you blog and your traffic, according to HubSpot. Those companies with at least 16 blogs a month get nearly 4 times as much traffic as those who blog 4 times or fewer.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that blogs and content aren’t right for your business. Get this right and you could see big benefits.
Promote Properly
PR has come a long way since the days of sending out press releases to anybody and everybody and hoping for the best.
Digital PR is reshaping how companies promote what they do and the way they engage with customers. Beyond blogs and content, there are also things like social media, SEO and email marketing that allow you to raise brand awareness, appear in the right places online and help you stand out from the crowd.
Be Aware of New Possibilities
Digital marketing is no different to most other industries when it comes to new possibilities presenting themselves.
IoT has major potential in the marketing and ecommerce spaces, as does voice search, artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
These concepts and technologies should not be ignored. They’re likely to become more ingrained in the world of digital marketing moving forward, so don’t see these terms and think ‘it’s not for us’. The sooner you embrace new possibilities in the market, the sooner you stand to benefit.
Make the Right Call
The fundamental elements of successful digital marketing campaigns centre on two factors – preparation and execution. Both are vital, and one will not work well without the other.
Be sure to consider your options, identify ways and means to get those ‘marginal gains’, and start to move ahead of the pack sooner rather than later.
Williams Commerce is a digital agency with an expert team of marketing professionals. Get in touch today and find out how we can help your business.
