You’ll hear a lot about creativity when you start dealing with marketing agencies. They’ll tell you about creative thinking, creative presentation, and creative copy that gets customer’s attention. But creativity shouldn’t be the only result you get. After all, you’re investing a substantial amount of money, and getting “creativity” wasn’t the main reason why you took the plunge!

Sure, creativity is important, but only if it translates into a return on your investment.

That’s right! We’re talking an increased volume of sales enquiries and ultimately, more sales for your business. Here’s what your digital real-estate should be doing for you.

1. Creating Awareness  

Awareness is the first step towards making a sale. Quite simply, people need to know that your business exists, and they need to know what problem it can solve for them. Awareness isn’t (yet) money in your pocket, but without it, you won’t get customers. As we so often say: “You can’t sell a secret!”

To get awareness, you need to get prominent exposure. Organic methods can work for you, but they take longer to have an impact. Invariably, raising awareness will involve at least some paid advertising. It doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg these days, but every cent counts, so whatever the method, it must be effective in generating awareness and, more importantly, leads.

But awareness is only the first stage of the buyer’s journey, and leads are useless unless you do something with them, so your marketing efforts shouldn’t stop there.

2. Promoting Consideration  

Just knowing a business is out there and offers X service or Y products isn’t enough. Before people reach into their pockets, they’ll consider their needs and evaluate their options. That doesn’t mean your business has to be cheapest, but if it isn’t, it must have a competitive edge that makes it stand head-and-shoulders above comparable offerings.

Once again, it’s your marketing that conveys the message on your behalf, and although creativity gets the attention you need, it’s content coupled with your business’s reputation that wins over people who are considering spending their money on what you offer.

A great reputation is the result of your hard work, and the place it is recorded for all to see is in your online reviews. Good marketing takes this into account, and although few digital agencies cover this area, YDMA does. Let’s get this straight though, we aren’t looking at faking it. But what we are looking at is helping you make it, by encouraging satisfied customers to share their experiences. How do we do it? Talk to us to find out!

3. Achieving a Decision in Your Favour  

Now that you’re on everybody’s radar and they’re considering whether they need what you offer, the next step involves prompting a decision. At this point, you’re still up against your competitors. Thank goodness everyone already knows about your great reputation. Or do they?

This might be the time when they need a case history or a customer testimonial to swing the balance in your favour. Extras like lead-generating promotions that won you contact details and allowed you to stay in touch could be the deciding factor. However, it’s a balancing act.. Bombard their inboxes and feeds with showers of reminders and you’re risking alienation. Fail to stay in touch, and they might just forget who you are! Clinch the deal the smart way.

Marketing is ALWAYS an Investment: Make it Work for You  

Whether you choose professionals to do the job for you or undertake it yourself, marketing will always be an investment. As an expert in your field, you’ll know that DIY seldom achieves what you can do as a professional. The same goes for marketing.

The skills that go into getting your business's message across through the three steps of the buyer’s journey aren’t learned in a day, or even a year. And there are so many of them too! There are people who devote their careers to website design, graphic design, the development of functionality, automation, and gaining an understanding of buyer behaviour.

So, the question you have to ask yourself is not: “Can I afford a marketing agency?” Instead, it’s a matter of asking yourself whether you can afford to go without one. And the question you need to ask of your marketing agency is not “How creative are you?” It’s “Can you generate returns on my investment?”

We have those answers, and we have the track-record to prove it. Creativity? Sure, we do that. ROI? That’s our specialty! Want to find out how? Let’s talk! Book your consultation now. 

We usually think about marketing as a means to get more clients. That's true enough, but there are many more benefits to marketing promotions than just that. Before we begin, let's remember that promotion is only one part of the marketing mix. The whole package consists of Product, Price, Packaging, Place, and Promotion.

In this article, we'll look at promotion and how to get to know your customers better through the promotional campaigns that you run.

 1. Analytics Help You to Understand Your Customers 

Most of us think we know our customers: who they are, what they want, and what triggers them to buy from us. However, they might just have a few surprises in store. Digital marketing offers a low-cost way to get to know how your customers think and what they want. Trying to persuade them that they ought to want something that doesn't really resonate with them will be hard work, so it makes sense to cater to their current needs, wants, and value perceptions.

To find out what these are, monitor your website and social media analytics closely. Try presenting the same information in different ways, or try matching your business to different aspects of need-fulfilment. Find out what works for your customers, and your next marketing campaign will be so much more effective!

 2. Reputation Management and Marketing isn't Just About Looking Good 

A lot of people think that reputation management is about putting out fires. Up to a point, it is. After all, you don't want angry customers telling all their friends about a less-than-pleasant experience with your business, but there's more.

By keeping a close eye on what people say about your business, you can identify issues of which you may not previously have been aware. Once you know what customers like and don't like about your business, you can do more of the former, and address the latter.

 3. Your CRM Software Receives Information. Use It.  

Customer Relations Management (CRM) software helps you to track buyer behaviour. There are many ways to use that knowledge - whether its in segmenting your customer base demographically, or determining where they are on their journey as your client.

This allows you to target clients to receive specific information and offers that seem relevant to them. It also allows you to gauge their response. Sometimes you'll hit the mark, and sometimes you won't. While the former is a success, the latter is a learning opportunity. Either way, you win.

 4. Get Them Talking 

Getting information directly from clients through surveys and questionnaires isn't always easy, but you can sugar-coat the "pill" to get valuable input. If you can find an engaging way of presenting your questions to clients, they might even respond without an incentive. Alternatively, you can run a competition or provide a special offer.

Let's suppose you're thinking about carrying a new product range but aren't sure whether it will be well-received. Conventional market research is very costly, but digital marketing methods can give you a clear indication of client preferences for a fraction of the cost.

You can gauge the risk and decide whether to invest in expanding your offering. In the process, you might even win new or repeat business. That's just one example of how getting people talking can help you. Now, imagine all the other scenarios where getting a grip on market opinions and sentiments can make a difference to your business. The possibilities are practically endless!

 Why Many Businesses Don't Make the Most of The Opportunity 

There are many reasons why businesses fail to make the most of the learning opportunities inherent in digital marketing. We could write a book on them, but here's a top five.

Many businesses don't put any of this into practice because:

1. They have brick-and-mortar businesses and don't think that online marketing is particularly important. Unfortunately for them, it is!

2. They think digital promotion is about talking to prospective clients and forget the importance of listening.

3. They don't have the know-how. They may not know how to read and interpret analytics - or they don't know how to improve them.

4. They don't have the tools. For example, you can't leverage a CRM if you don't have one!

5. They simply don't have the time. The business day is full of tasks to complete, and although they'd like to spend more time on digital marketing, it doesn't fit into their schedules.

If any of these points describes your business, you aren't alone! But if your competitors have addressed them and you haven't, you might be in trouble. The internet is where your customers are, and if you aren't using it to get in touch and learn more about them, you're losing out.

Need help? Maybe it's time you hired a digital marketing agency. While you focus on your business, we'll focus on your marketing, and we'll feed through the valuable information you need to help you understand your customers better while boosting your repeat business and getting you fresh leads every month. Are you ready to get started? Let's see if we're a good fit! Book a consultation now.