“Where do we begin?”
We get this question all the time. When we first talk to a potential client there are many questions about marketing tools and market tactics. Should we be on social media? Which platform? What about digital advertising? Search engine optimization (SEO)? Videos? Email marketing? What about our website (which doesn’t produce many leads)?
In response to this question asked of us over many years, we have developed a proprietary marketing framework called the Endorphin® E-Business Roadmap to help illustrate the process we use to create, manage and improve campaigns over time for our clients. You can see this in image below:
5 Step Endorphin® E-Business Roadmap
1. Website: The website is the central hub of communications and information.
2. Optimization: Website optimization encompasses having the right and best information easily available along with getting found by the right people, at the right time.
3. Communications: Customers have alternatives and there is competition. This environment demands excellent, useful communications in different forms and channels. This includes websites, social media, email, video along with many forms of digital advertising.
4. Promotional Campaigns: You may offer the best product but if your customers don’t try it or know about it, you may find success elusive. Promotional campaigns capture new customers and engage (and educate) existing customers (for repeat purchases and cross-selling opportunities).
5. Analysis: Digital marketing leverages user data, detailed measurement and analysis. With detailed metrics and powerful tools, we can learn a tremendous amount about what is working and what is not with our website visitors.
After the analysis work in Step #5, we return to Step #1 (Website) and begin this process again to improve website, optimization, communications and promotional campaigns. Critically this is an iterative, ongoing process that will lead to better results and more accurate customer targeting over time.
Digital Marketing Strategies: Duration vs. Rate of Impact
When developing an overall digital marketing strategy, it is important to understand that some tactics/tools will have a quick impact while others will have an important impact but take longer to see the benefits. There are both types of tactics that are important.
In image above, marketing tactics/tools along X axis shows the duration of benefit, from temporary to longer term.
Marketing tactics/tools along Y axis shows the rate of impact, from quick to more slowly. This is essentially the time it takes to see benefit from use of a tactic/tool.
To summarize:
· Yellow box: Quick but short-lived impact.
· Blue box: Quick benefits with lasting impact.
· Green box: Great, durable benefits that take time to take effect. Important signals to search engines.
· Orange box: No/limited noticeable benefits.
The most important conclusion from this grid is that different marketing tactics/tools can deliver useful improvements to your overall marketing performance. However, some take more time to see the benefits (e.g. SEO, citations, inbound links) but these are equally important and valuable initiatives to pursue.
These “Green box” items (e.g. SEO, citations, inbound links) are the long-lasting tactics/tools essential for success in competitive markets and competing against strong competitors.
For those organizations hoping for real competitive advantage yet avoiding the complex tactics/tools such as our “Green box” items, there will be lost opportunities for growth.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
By utilizing a process like our 5 Step Endorphin® E-Business Roadmap and implementing a long-term digital marketing strategy that includes diverse initiatives, including SEO, citations and inbound links, you will enjoy success and a flow of interested visitors to your website and increasing leads and sales.