How to create a winning digital marketing strategy for your company

Digital marketing is essential to any business, big or small. By crafting a smart, strategic approach to digital marketing, you’ll be best positioned to engage prospective buyers, customers and clients, driving more sales in the short- and long-term.

To get started it’s essential to understand your customer and your competition so you can craft a well-articulated, well-positioned digital strategy that gets the job done. Contact Cobblestone Media Group to learn more and to start building your strategy now.

To create an effective digital marketing strategy you, first, need to know who’s out there -- specifically, who you’re competing with for customers and sales. If you’re the only game in town, great -- when your neighbor’s pipe bursts in the middle of the night, she won’t have to think twice about who to call. But, if you’re in a saturated market with tons of individuals and businesses competing for that job, marketing strategy becomes that much more important.

If you aren’t familiar with your competition, spend some time researching. A quick Google search will no doubt turn up competitive brands and businesses in your immediate market -- simply search your service and your market -- i.e. “contractors in Des Moines” or “snow removal in Somerville.” Spend a little time reviewing their websites, social media presence and general positioning, services and messaging. Can’t get a sense from a basic online search? Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and do a little investigative work over the phone.

Once you know who you’re competing with it’s important to dig into your customer base -- who they are, where they are and what they want from a business or service provider like you. By understanding your customer, you’ll be better positioned to create messaging that resonates -- in other words, ads, emails and outreach that speaks to them and makes them want to engage with your business.

This step will also help you understand where your customers are so you can engage them on their preferred platforms. For example, if your target is college students, Instagram, Snapchat or text might be an ideal want to engage. If your target is older, Facebook, email or retargeting may make the most sense.

Understanding your customer is also essential to the next step -- being a problem-solver. If you know who your customer is you can back into the kinds of problems you can solve for them.

It sounds simple but this approach is very powerful. By positioning yourself as a problem-solver -- someone who can solve their biggest challenge right now -- you’ll better engage prospective customers and drive them to take action. For example:

• If you’re a plumber, you’re solving their plumbing issues -- burst pipes, clogged drains and other household headaches
• If you’re a contractor, you’re solving their construction issues -- turning their house into their dream home, adding that much-needed addition or helping them reimagine their space
• If you’re a retailer, you’re providing what they need, when they need it, be it apparel, gifts, household supplies or, literally, anything else

When considering your problem/solution positioning, be sure you focus on the key benefits to not just your offerings but to working with YOU specifically. Remember, you have competition out there -- we dug into that in the first step. By positioning your business as a solution and ensuring the customer sees why you’re the best choice, you’ll drive more engagement, more calls and more sales.

Every sale happens in a “funnel.” Think about it…

[INSERT FUNNEL VISUAL -- copy immediately below]

The Customer…

Researches solutions

Learns about your business 

Considers purchasing

Purchases 

Becomes a loyal advocate 

Depending on where your customer is in the purchase process they may hit all or some of the steps in this funnel. Also, it’s important to note there’s a step after purchase, when your customer becomes a loyal advocate for your business. 

This is very important -- word of mouth and referrals drive the majority of sales and purchases. In other words, by creating a positive customer experience you’ll help buyers and clients progress to this final stage -- a stage where not only will they continue to buy from you but, at the same time, they’ll drive their friends, family and neighbors to your business. 

Ready to create your winning digital marketing strategy? Get in touch with Cobblestone Media Group to learn more and connect with our expert digital marketing strategists.