Digital Marketing Plan for Your Business Growth Post Pandemic
While every business faces challenges on a regular basis, the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown situation posed unprecedented challenges for everyone. Every industry was – and is still – facing production slack, challenges in operations, and disrupted supply chains to name just a few. The worst affected were arguably the small businesses which comprise a large section of the Indian economy. But their small size – and consequent adaptability – also spells good news for the SME and MSME sectors. Because of their small size they are easily able to leverage new marketing channels like digital marketing.
Why go Digital?
In today’s world of keen competition with me-too’s cropping up almost every day, reaching, engaging and retaining customers is arguably the biggest challenge for businesses – and the Coronavirus lockdown worsened the situation as those who were earlier hesitating now jumped online. Moreover, with the onset of the pandemic everything else including socialization and networking moved online as well. These two facts are reason enough for you to create or enhance your digital footprint. You can enhance your consumer engagement through strategic social media management – which is where you are most likely to find your customers these days. Through online events and live sessions, paid ads and influencers, businesses are leveraging the social media platform.
How can Digital Marketing help small businesses grow?
Even before the pandemic, the millennial consumer spent a significant portion of his time online. After the pandemic, they began spending even more time in cyberspace. There can be now two opinions that cyberspace is where you will find your consumer and the best way to reach out to them is through digital marketing.
Some ways in which digital marketing can help your business grow your customer base and retain them include –
- Testimonials from satisfied customers – Leverage these through multiple channels like social media, website, content, guest posting and so on.
- Personalized reach – you can offer your customer a personalized experience that adds value – something that no pamphlet or even letter can do.
- Constant ongoing communication keeps your consumer aware of your brand at all times.
- Upselling through social media and email marketing.
The only question then is how to reach these consumers and the short answer to that is through digital marketing agencies.
Why hire a digital marketing company?
If you are wondering why you should be paying for digital marketing services even as you struggle to survive on shoe-string budgets, think of what digital marketing involves – the elements of digital marketing – and consider if you can do all of that single handed and still focus on your core competencies. Wondering what the elements are? Here’s a list –
Strategy – before you even contemplate the various elements, you should think about strategy. You should see your goal with laser sharp focus and then decide upon how you are going to go about achieving it. That’s just the first step.
Communicating Value – Try penning down the satisfaction you get from munching on a MacD or slurping through your favourite shake. That’s exactly what you need to explain to your consumer when you talk about your product. The message must go out consistently through all channels.
Buyer Persona – Putting a name to your consumer is easy. Adding character is a tad more complex. Describing just who your consumer is, is an important part of digital marketing because it is all about personalization.
Website – There’s no two opinions that your business needs a website. Building one can be as simple as jumping onto WordPress and creating a low-cost website or hiring a web developer for a customized design.
Content Marketing – Another important element of digital marketing – content marketing is not static but ongoing and this is something you should think about as a long term recurring expense. You can keep your consumer constantly engaged through interesting content.
Email Marketing – There’s no better way to personalize your consumers’ experience and upsell – or cross – sell than email marketing. And if you are not doing any of these, simply letting him know that you are thinking about him will keep your brand alive in his heart.
Social Media – Undoubtedly the largest element of digital marketing – social media marketing is the best way to reach out to your consumers – be they individuals or other businesses – simply because everyone is online today.
Paid Marketing – Online of course – there are many online platforms for you to advertise your product and you should make good use of these. From Google AdWords to cross-platform marketing your brand should leverage every opportunity.
Live Content – Call them online videos, YouTube, Podcasts or Webinars, putting a face to your brand is as important as communicating your message.
SEO – Who hasn’t heard the term yet? From getting your website to rank on SERP to making your posts viral on social media – everything that is online requires SEO. It is the undercurrent to your digital marketing strategy.
CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) – That’s the ratio of your reach to the number of consumers who actually made a purchase. Keeping this ratio low is possible by focusing on your existing reach rather than expanding further in hope of conversion. A lower ratio means better ROI on your content.
Enabling Sales – Your offline sales team has a limited reach but you can equip them with leads you find online and the resources they need to convert the lead into a sale.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) – CRM is possible not only through social media but through other digital channels as well – such as mobile apps, paid ads, and website. A dedicated resource to manage your customer relationships is an important part of your digital marketing efforts.
Analytics – Whew! Quite a long list! Keeping track of all that is what analytics is all about. While one individual may work for your CRM you’ll need a whole team for analytics and measuring ROI from each resource.
Automation – Yes a lot of your digital marketing – such as social media or email marketing – can be automated. But you still need to manage the data that this generates and wave the magic wand of analytics on it.
With the aid of digital marketing, small businesses can expand their audience and reach. Taking the help of digital marketing agencies makes the task easier and the goal reachable.
Litmus Branding a digital branding company in Ahmedabad offers branding & digital marketing services in India and overseas. Contact us now if you want to enhance your digital footprint.
