Digital Marketing: from Vision to Reality
You’ve got a vision, now what?
Your business idea is good-to go, or ticking along nicely. You know what your product or service is, who your perfect customer is, who your product appeals to, and what expanded audience you would like to target. You may even have your brand identity covered; logo, colour palette, tone of voice etc. You have invested in a high-flying all-singing-all-dancing website, it all looks great - but…
How do you start making the bigger vision for your business into a successful reality? Two words: Digital Marketing.
Digital Marketing has largely overtaken traditional marketing channels (ie. TV and radio adverts, or magazine advertising space) and there is one simple reason why. It allows you to use a range of platforms, to reach targeted audiences - in real time.
Simply put, digital marketing uses the internet to enable you to engage and interact with your customer, in a genuine, two-way relationship.
A successful business starts with the initial sales. But the reason for a business’ ongoing success is customer retention and endorsement. By growing loyalty via your digital marketing, you can create the power to have your customers speak for you. Aim to build an online relationship with your customers so they turn into advocates for your brand. You want them to speak highly about you, promote you in their own personal digital space, and recommend you to their family and friends.
There will be a number of marketing touch points (that’s the points of contact between your brand and your customer), from initial awareness of your product/services through to the point of sale, but I believe one of the most important touch points is directly after the sale. This is where your digital marketing strategy is invaluable for creating the holy grail of loyal, reliable and authentic relationships.
Digital Marketing is a direct path of communication between you and your customer, and can be achieved through social media platforms, mobile marketing, email campaigns, website SEO (search engine optimisation), and more. You get to find out what makes your customer tick, how you can solve their problems, what they love about you (and sadly what they don’t!), just to name a few. The analytics and data you can pull from the online relationship you have with your customer is priceless.
Once your online relationship is established with your customer, you are no longer just a business that they have made a single purchase from, you are now a partner that they will repeatedly buy from (and get their friends and family to buy from too!).
You have a vision for your business, but be prepared for this to change as you grow. Evolve and adapt your business to meet your customers’ needs. Don’t be afraid if you’re heading in a different direction than you first envisaged. Embrace the change and the unknown - it may lead to bigger success than your original vision!
Emily
Founder @ Evolve Chelsea