6 steps to creating a great digital marketing plan for success

Digital marketing is often overlooked by many small business, however it's a strategy that can significantly influence whether you’ll be a struggling business, or a successful one.

Faster and more effective than any other marketing promotional strategy, digital marketing can create awareness of your business and offerings to global audiences, it can influence sales and customer growth with minimal effort, and it can build credibility and establish trust as well as create loyal customers for life. Importantly, a digital marketing plan can help you set goals, guide your promotional and sales activities, and provide a foundation by which you can measure success. 

So how do you go about creating a great digital marketing plan? Here are our 6 essential steps.

1. Research your market

Think you know your market? The business environment is constantly evolving! New products and services are being introduced at a faster pace than ever before so what’s ‘in’ today may be redundant tomorrow. Technology and promotional tools are also changing rapidly which requires you to stay up-to-date with the latest marketing trends and social media channels.

It’s well worth the effort to seek out research on your industry and local market from industry bodies, small business councils or the ABS. It’s a good idea to also consider any financial or political trends that could impact what you offer, think recessions or stock market crash. In addition, you can undertake market research yourself. Surveys to your existing customers is a good place to start. 

Just remember, knowing your market isn’t only about what you sell, it includes supply and demand, availability of products and resources, production and delivery costs, and changing technology.

2. Profile your customers

Who buys your product? How old are they? Why do they buy your product? How often do they buy? Where are they from or where do they live? What are their goals or aspirations? 

Creating buyer profiles and understanding who your customers are, allows you to customise your message directly to them, it influences where and how you advertise, what imagery you use, and it can even help you refine or expand your product or service offering so that it has broader appeal.

Remember, consumers are bombarded with advertising on a daily basis so the more relevant and targeted your message is, the more successful your advertising activities are likely to be. 

3. Conduct a SWOT

Have you identified what you do better than your competitors, and what you can improve on? Are there any potential opportunities in the market you haven’t considered before, and what threats does your business face or could face in the future?

Undertaking a SWOT analysis is a very effective process to better understand your business and what steps you can take to optimise your strengths, address your weakness, optimising any market opportunities that may present, and being prepared for potential threats. 

4. Set achievable goals

Very few small business set goals when starting off, but it’s a crucial step that can help guide your marketing efforts and determine whether your strategies are working or not. The best approach is to set both small and big goals, but be realistic. And most importantly, make sure your goals are measurable. You can measure; growth in sales, increased conversion rates, reduction in delivery time, or even higher client satisfaction rates. Measurable goals are also known as SMART goals, which can be defined as: 

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Timely

Setting goals can keep you on track for meeting your targets and achieving success. 

5. Define your digital marketing strategy

Choosing the right combination of digital marketing methods for your business can be the most effective way of reaching your target audience and achieving your goals. Some digital marketing methods include:

• SEO enabling your website
• Content marketing which creates engaging and compelling content, stories, blogs and offers that will drive traffic to your website and ultimately convert to sales 
• Social Media marketing where you can use all relevant platforms to showcase your business and products
• Pay per click advertising such as GoogleAds and FaceBook as well as others 
• Email marketing to existing clients and prospects that have provided you permission to do so.

You should explore all the methods that are relevant to your audience and within your budget. What you can’t do yourself can always be outsourced to an expert.

6. Measure results

Why measure what you’re doing? Your digital marketing plan will ideally include a number of strategies, campaigns and activities that utilise different promotional methods, across various platforms over time, and potentially to different audiences. To know what works and what doesn’t is critical to your planning and being able to meet your business goals.

If you aren’t meeting your goals and targets, then you need to change your strategy. The benefit of digital marketing is that you can make changes almost immediately. Just make sure that you constantly, monitor, adapt, and adopt! 

To find out how JMARC Consulting can help you develop a strong digital marketing plan for success, email us at info@jmarcconsulting.com.