In case you were not sure, digital marketing covers all advertising and marketing efforts delivered through digital channels. As you can probably figure, your business should be leveraging digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and other websites to maintain customer relationships and connect to prospective customers. "Great!" you say, already feeling overwhelmed, "...but that sounds like a lot of work, with a lot of moving parts -- and just how do all those moving parts fit together?"
What Marketing is All About
Marketing is really about turning strangers into customers and ideally super-fans. In marketing we see this process as a journey and refer to it as the customer journey. Put simply, everyone goes through the same process as they discover your brand, build a relationship with you, become buyers and then a fan. People can get distracted along the way, retrace their steps, etc., but they all follow the same process. A coordinated digital marketing approach will guide people along their individual customer journey to happy loyal customers who promote your business.
The Customer Journey
At the beginning of the journey the prospective customer has a desire, need, or demand for a product or service. Marketing at this point is about creating awareness — whether it is creating awareness of a problem that has a solution, or that your business has the solution. The next step in the journey for (or goal in marketing to) our prospective customer is findability — when they search for your product, service or business, can they find you? Once they have found you they need reassurance — does your business' reputation give them the assurance that you will deliver what you promise? The next step in the journey is where all business owners get excited, because when they hear conversion they imagine potential dollars coming in. The goal at this stage is to make sure the correct information is available and the processes for contacting you or buying are smooth and without a hitch. Many business owners think that the customer journey is over once they have the money and the customer goes on with their day. If you are clever you will will recognize that advocacy is the last step of the journey. If your business has met or exceeded the customer's expectations this is where you want your customers to recommend you to others.
Do people know about your business?
Facebook and Google Business Profile are often the first touchpoint a customer has with your business: over 50% of customers say they use social media to research and discover new products. Easily engage with your current customers and make connections with new followers by frequent social posting.
See Marketing Centre tools:
Advertising Intelligence
Social Marketing