It's always easy to make a list of the top 3 points about anything, but that's the most difficult to implement because it means saying no to all the other distractions and things less important even if they may seem urgent at the time. So, coming to the point, what are the 3 most important deliverables of digital marketing especially in the B2B and E-commerce domains? The three critical parameters are:
Customer Acquisition
Customer Retention
Customer Relationship
If your marketing program is focused on anything else, there's a good chance it is not very fruitful and neither will be in the long term. It is bound to limit your sales with a less-than-adequate marketing strategy.
1. Customer acquisition
This must begin with a thorough understanding of the market as well the customer. If you had just 1 prospect, who would that be - this level of focus and drilling down leads to effective prospecting and then various digital marketing strategies and tools help to engage with the prospects out there and help them discover the unique merits of your product / service. This includes a variety of targeted communications and lead generating strategies like Email, List building, Blogs, Videos, Landing Pages, Smart forms and more. Businesses that neglect new lead generation will see their funnels dry up over time, irrespective how well they may be doing today.
2. Customer retention
Customer loyalty in the current times is very fickle because of the easy and abundant availability of information at a few clicks. However this may be a myth because there is still many other factors including basic human psychology that triggers comfort for the known. Therefore the thing here is that any Marketing strategy must stay connected with existing customers to up-sell / cross-sell and keep adding value without always being in a sell-sell mode. Depending on your industry, this could include service reminders, feedback requests, explainer videos, usage suggestions and more.
3. Customer Relationship
That's where most businesses lose their customers - when they are no longer in buying mode and therefore not engaged with us anymore. That's when the competition gets the chance to approach them, win them and they just drift away without us even knowing. Keeping past customers on the radar and engaged with updates, new offerings, updates about the brand they bought from, why it was a great choice and how their loved brand is growing.. through content creation and sharing mostly through various social media platforms, constitutes a robust customer relationship strategy, enabling reference selling, testimonials and long term business growth.
Conclusion
The ultimate digital marketing program must include all the three components above and focus on continuity to build long term growth as well as maximise ROI in the short term.
Contact us today to discuss your digital marketing goals, and ask about our niche B2B and E-commerce focused marketing services.