Planning season is upon us. It is time to evaluate, review, research, align, and brainstorm as you prepare to build a new digital Marketing plan that will take you through the coming year. If you are feeling overwhelmed with all the changes to the marketing landscape and the increased use of digital marketing and new technology solutions, you are not alone.
Marketing is changing. More than ever before, marketing is based on data and science vs. imagination and creativity. While there is certainly a need for both, the former is new and different for many marketing professionals. The transition takes time to acknowledge and to learn and adopt to these new approaches. See below for a few examples that can really drive change throughout an organization.
Business Intelligence (BI) tools are one major influencer on the way marketing gets done today. You can learn valuable information about your customers that enables you to communicate with them more effectively. For example, you may want to know which products sell best in the western region, or what type of marketing tactics work best for customers in the insurance industry. Business Intelligence is a fantastic tool that enables marketers to make better informed decisions based on a deeper level of information on both customers and prospects.
Account Based Marketing puts the focus on key accounts by tailoring programs specifically to those hand-picked customers that your company has selected as its most profitable. Use this approach to further strengthen your relationship with them and grow their revenues. You can use BI to help identify the customers on which to focus. Perhaps, you want to run an account based marketing program targeted at customers with revenues over $10 million in the SE region because a competitor in that region had a poor review in the news recently. With a defined group of customers and a clear goal to further solidify and grow your customer base in the region, you can create a personalized message and an intentional series of tactics to generate a high response rate.
Omnichannel marketing is about continuity. It means providing customers with a seamless experience no matter where they are or what device they are using. Most customers today start in one channel and move to another as they research their solution and progress through the buying cycle. Ensure that your message is consistent between your website, social media accounts, email messaging and paid search. It is equally important to represent your business consistently with similar branding and creative across all digital marketing channels and to ensure it is responsive and appears properly on phones, tablets, and monitors. Having a consistent presence across all digital media is essential.
As you are building your 2018 marketing plan and Digital Marketing Budget, account for these new marketing techniques but ensure that you are not committing to projects without adequate funding. If you are including new tactics, do your research to allocate appropriately. Also, remember to always account for those pop-up projects that inevitably arise throughout the year.
For more information on creating your digital marketing budget, download KEO Marketing’s latest guide “5 Critical Steps for Planning Your 2018 Marketing Budget”, or contact us for a complimentary marketing audit to help you to prepare for a successful 2018.
