A Winning Operating Model for Digital Strategy: Creating a Digital Strategy

Which aspects of digital strategy are the most important?

The term “digital strategy” is rather misleading because it does not take into account the offline components that need to be included in order to have a complete and comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

Let’s just call it what it really is, which is a digital marketing plan in its whole. It is important not to overlook offline elements such as customer service, traditional advertising strategies, and possibly even old-fashioned telephone communications, even though there are digital components such as the website, SEO, emails, social media, and online advertisements, among other things.

Your plan requires that all of the components, digital and otherwise, work together in an integrated manner.

When it comes to developing a plan for digital marketing, where should I begin?

The first step in developing a strategy for digital marketing is to determine where you will begin. It’s like the old saying goes: before a map can be of any use, you need to know where you are in order to find your way about.

You have to be aware of what you want to accomplish. What exactly are you working towards making happen here? What are we hoping to accomplish with this digital marketing strategy? The strategy may be a massive overall strategy for the company for the entirety of the year, or it may be a little column of micro-strategy for the launch of a new product.

Once you have an idea of where you are, the next step is to evaluate the resources at your disposal. Conduct an audit of the resources you have available, including persons, money, time, and experience. It is quite rare for a marketing manager to get all they desire in their job. There is virtually always a lack of resources in certain areas where they might use extra assistance. They are wishing they had more of it. Conducting a gap analysis and identifying the areas in which you want additional support in order to successfully implement your digital marketing plan will get you off to a strong start.

Consider what future state you would like to reach and plan accordingly. In contrast to the objective itself, which may represent a more comprehensive view of the situation, the future state must be particular. We are striving to do a lot of things, including but not limited to the following: move X number of units, enter a new territory, launch a new product, fend off a competitor threat, etc. In order to formulate the actual plan itself, you first need to determine how you will accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

Consider the following comparison to begin: These are all of the ingredients that we have stashed away in the pantry. What can we make out of this? Which dish should we put together for dinner?

The better off you are, as a marketer or as a marketing team, the more experience you have. It’s almost as though the more cooks or chefs you speak to, the more they draw on the experience that other cooks have had with these components. Find out what you can do, and know that it’s quite acceptable to say things like “We’re missing certain stuff that we have to go obtain.” once you’ve done that.

Invest time and effort into determining where to begin with your digital strategy.

Depending on the scale of your firm, the size of your department, or the size of the initiative, it may be challenging to determine where you stand. The position with the least amount of difficulty would be one that began with nothing. And yet, despite having nothing, this is the most difficult circumstance to be in.

In the majority of situations, there is already marketing that is in progress.

The most challenging situation is generally when the chief marketing officer or marketing manager moves into a new workplace. They may have been moved to a different department or may be new to the company; in either case, they will need to determine where they stand in the organization because they will be interacting with things that are already in motion. You are still responsible for conducting an inventory of the resources at your disposal. It is simply more difficult in that circumstance.

If you are already familiar with the inner workings of the business as well as its culture, then it should not be too difficult for you to figure out what resources are available to you because you are already making use of those resources.

What steps should you take once you have a general understanding of the situation?

This is the enjoyable part of it. Now that you have to come up with a solution that hasn’t been thought of before, you have the opportunity to be inspired. You have the option of looking at what others have done or consulting with the members of your team.

Going out and doing some genuine research is one of the things that we encourage to our readers on a regular basis. It is a very excellent idea, if you have a marketing objective or a business objective that has a marketing component to it, to acquire the input from the people who are going to be influenced by it, such as current customers or prospective customers. It is possible that the sales team, the customer success team, the customer support team, product marketing, or operations will be involved in this as well.

Because the goal of marketing is to get consumers to alter their behavior, any marketer who chooses to work alone and initiates the implementation of a strategy without first conducting research or seeking professional advice is either highly experienced, extremely fortunate, or extremely naive. Which triggers are going to be more effective as opposed to those that are going to be less successful? It is absolutely necessary to have a solid understanding of both the person whose behavior you are attempting to change and the means through which this can be accomplished.

There is no substitute for going straight to the source and asking the individuals whose opinions you are trying to influence or motivate about their thoughts and feelings. Despite the fact that it is one of the easiest steps to do, it is frequently skipped through.

Any marketer that works alone and attempts to implement a strategy without first conducting research or consulting with others is either very experienced, very lucky, or very dumb.

In the same way that salespeople constantly engage in conversation with potential clients, marketing professionals need to do the same. It is beneficial to get right in and get to know the audience, particularly when it is a new audience. You can take the word of the salespeople, but we see a lot of successful businesses where the marketer sits in on sales calls to get to know the personnel. This helps them better serve customers.

Research conducted by outside parties is also beneficial. It would be foolish not to take advantage of the abundant data that is available now more so than at any other time in history.

Put Yourself Into the Feedback Loop

While Marketing generates a significant number of leads, Sales is unable to convert them into customers. The sales department claims that all of these leads are garbage. The complaint from Sales is that we need more leads of a higher quality, but Marketing is not providing them. Marketing claims that they are generating a large number of leads, while Sales claims that they are not doing their job. Does this ring a bell?

It is imperative that you do everything in your power to minimize the tension that exists between these departments. Because, in the end, both Sales and Marketing are working toward the same goal, there is a need to combine the two departments into one. The marketing department needs to pay attention to what the sales department has to say, and the sales department needs to comprehend the aim and benefits of marketing.

There is a possibility that you will receive advanced warning via social media and other venues, but someone has to be listening.

If they don’t, good sales departments analyze the landscape of their competitors. If they don’t, they can’t call themselves good sales departments. The feedback loop must include sales, as they are an integral component of the process, and sales need to be included in developing the plan. If something is wrong, such as if the marketing message is not resonating with customers or if the price is incorrect, sales or customer service are typically the departments that are going to find out about it. You might receive an early warning from social media and other venues, but someone needs to be listening, and that input needs to get back to Marketing so that they can evaluate and adjust their strategies.

On the surface, this appears to be an uncomplicated matter; nevertheless, upon closer inspection, one will discover a great deal of nuance, which is where the tactical aspect comes into play.

What distinguishes a marketing plan from a digital marketing strategy, and how does one develop each?

The strategy for marketing, or digital marketing, is a strategy that operates on a higher level and encompasses all other strategies. The marketing plan provides a deeper dive into the specifics of what is going to take place in the future. In most cases, plans include specific strategies, as well as timetables and cost estimates. You can provide a rundown of everything that has to be done in Week 1, Week 2, etc., along with metrics and analysis.

Regarding the plan, you are free to make any necessary adjustments to your budget spend across all paid channels.

Because the marketing strategy is established in advance by design, it is intended to be aspirational; yet, in practice, it does end up altering and adjusting to reflect new circumstances. This is only a strategy, not the actual outcome.

Remember that there is a feedback loop. You need to get fresh data so that you can modify strategies inside the strategy, as well as the budget, the messaging, and other aspects. These are essential components of the overall plan. Every plan ought to be constantly adapting. To clarify, no one ever implements a single strategy and then declares, “That’s it. I hope it works!”.

When you launch a plan, you do so with the idea that you will learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can, and that you will subsequently modify and optimize it in the most nimble manner possible.

How can you determine if your approach has any holes in it?

It doesn’t take long for you to realize that your plan is wrong if someone points it out to you, which is why the feedback loop is so vital. As soon as the analytics begin to indicate that something is not resonating with the target audience or that something is incorrect, you will need to remedy the issue. In addition, you will realize that your plan is off the rails as soon as the data does not follow or trend in the way that you had anticipated it to do so. Examine the method of tactical execution to determine whether or not there is room for improvement, or whether the issue is elsewhere in the system.

It is possible for you to have an extremely ineffective creative for your social media retargeting campaign, and this will be much simpler to spot. On a level that is less specific, what happens if you make an incorrect assumption about where your audience is going to congregate? They will not answer on the social media channel that you anticipated because it is possible that they do not utilize that platform. It’s possible that the people in your target demographic don’t spend much time on social media. You need to have an answer to that question ready in a hurry.

A secondary error that people frequently make is failing to set goals and deadlines that are reasonable. You have a sales quota that you have to achieve, or you’ve got a new digital marketing strategy for XYZ, and someone from Finance came up with the numbers that you’re expected to hit for reasons that you don’t even know. You’ve got to hit those numbers. It is expected of you that you will just get it done. It’s possible that the people that make up your target audience aren’t able to make judgments quickly enough, or that they need more time to figure out their finances. Be sure that everyone is on the same page and that appropriate expectations are set internally.

In some cases, the opposite might occur, and people’s marketing efforts can end up becoming runaway successes that they did not foresee, which presents a distinct set of challenges. If you work in an environment that is production-restricted and have a supply chain or a development period for the product, or if you run a service firm and have a limited number of service hours available, having too much success can be problematic. Even while it is a desirable problem to have, the success of a digital marketing plan being too successful may still be a challenge to deal with. As soon as a customer starts to have problems, your company’s customer service will start to have problems as well, which will result in a new difficulty.

Should the digital marketing plan be adjusted to account for new developments?

If you believe that your plan will not require any changes in the future, you are either asking the wrong people or looking to the wrong data sources for your information. There is nothing that remains the same in the market or among the competitors. Both microeconomics and macroeconomics are dynamic fields. Both products and consumer preferences are subject to change. Because of the frequent occurrence of both high level and extremely tactical shifts, we place a strong emphasis on data collection and utilization, as well as the feedback loop. The better access the marketing managers have to the aforementioned data and points, the better they will be able to adjust their strategies, perhaps not in real time but in a manner that is very close to it.

For instance, if you are going head to head with a larger and more established competitor, and your digital marketing plan is to try to take market share away from them, and in reaction to that, they lowered their price to the point where they break even, then you need to respond to that. The real world of marketing is full of unexpected occurrences such as these all the time. When do you anticipate being able to make your move?

Given how much has evolved in the field of marketing, can we still rely on the tried-and-true formula of product, price, place, and promotion?

Yes, however depending on the specifics of your situation, you may need to be extremely flexible on the definitions of the “four Ps”: product, pricing, place, and promotions.

Consider, as an example, online trading accounts that allow you to purchase and sell stocks at your leisure. Now there are ones that are free, and one of the Ps is the price. You need to have the flexibility to adjust to the parameters of its definition. In this scenario, a price is being paid, but the price that is being charged isn’t being paid by the customer who is ultimately purchasing the good or service. The aggregator of trading is the party responsible for making the payment. They are referred to as market makers, and they are the ones who are paying for bulk value on such internet marketplaces. Therefore, it is true that you have a price, but the manner in which you promote that price is not determined by the conventional “four Ps.” It varies greatly, can be quite complicated at times, and frequently fails to provide any clarity.

Are you able to hurry it up? Do you think you could come up with a strategy in a week?

You can move quickly when it comes to strategy, which is occasionally required. Managing a crisis may at times require the use of a speedy digital marketing plan in combination with it. This is especially true in the event that something unexpected is occurring.

Even while you can get it done quickly, your digital marketing approach really needs to be adaptable. Because acquiring the relevant data could take some time, you might be required to implement a new digital marketing strategy for a new venture despite the fact that you do not yet have all of the components in place as you would ideally like to have them. In light of the fact that it is a digital marketing plan that is always being refined, you will need to revisit it.

When it comes to formulating their approach, what are some common blunders that people make?

People formulating strategies without first obtaining objective facts and input from the sources that actually matter the most is the most common cause of the most common mistake that we observe. It’s easy to fall into the habit of doing what’s comfortable or what you did the last time. If sending direct mail was the sole focus of your previous digital marketing campaign, and all of a sudden that tactic is ineffective, you will need to modify your approach. Be mindful of the ways in which the environment is changing.

For instance, we have businesses that are racing against the clock to figure out how they can use TikTok into their digital marketing strategy. What are the dangers associated with carrying it out? What are the consequences of them choosing to ignore it? There are a lot of moving parts in our world now, including our culture, our technology, our consumerism, and even national and international pandemics. The data can be accessed very rapidly. It is a grave error to convince oneself that “I know what I’m doing. There is nothing else for me to learn. This kind of reasoning is not only inefficient but could even have catastrophic consequences.

Who exactly ought to be included in the process of developing the digital strategy?

Everyone who will have contact with customers or who will be working in areas that will have an effect on customers ought to be involved in the formulation of the strategy.

Product marketers, content creators, creative department, outsourced agencies, sales, and customer support representatives are examples of roles that should be considered for participation.

The executive team does not have to be actively involved in the digital marketing strategy; nonetheless, they are required to comprehend it and provide approval for it. Additionally, the budget will at some point in time need to be approved, which means that financial matters will be involved. Ensure that they are being adequately represented, and communicate to them what it is that you require of them. Describe the potential outcomes so that they can provide you with what you require, including good, better, and best case possibilities.

Research should be done outside of the organization on both current and potential clients. There are customers who are already utilizing the goods or services offered by your rival, and if these are the customers you want to acquire, you need to find a way to connect with them. Do not act in a way that betrays a lack of awareness of their thoughts, feelings, or beliefs, as well as the process by which they choose their actions. Your odds of being successful are directly proportional to the amount of data that you collect.

What is the primary factor that contributes to the failure of a digital marketing strategy?

When essential information that is likely to effect a marketing strategy’s success is disregarded, the strategy is doomed to fail. Because of this, the feedback loop is an extremely crucial component. To our great relief, it’s never been simpler. Now, more than at any other time in history, we have access to knowledge that can be trusted that is both better and deeper. It extends beyond the statistics of your website or the numbers of yesterday’s sales. You need to consider the full route that the customer takes.

You need to discover points of friction and places where mistakes are being made so that clients can provide you with accurate feedback regarding the situation. The failure of a digital marketing plan can be attributed to ignoring the information. The strategy will evolve, and at the very least, it will be improved upon by being fine-tuned, optimized, and refined through time. You are only making educated guesses because you do not know what to do.

Do you have any parting words of wisdom that you’d like to share with our readers who are currently googling how to develop a digital marketing strategy?

Perform an action in a hurry. People often argue that the best way to learn quickly is to fail quickly. There is a wide variety of slang out there for the purpose of marketing.

Time is not on your side, but it never stops moving forward. The sooner you put your digital marketing strategy into action, the sooner you’ll begin to collect data and be in a position to use it to inform better decisions. It is preferable to launch a marketing plan that is only partially completed if doing so requires only half the amount of time as doing so completely. You are not going to fail in reaching your goal; it does not matter what you do. You can save time by not spending it on fine-tuning your informed guess and instead learning as you go along and gathering more solid feedback from a strategy that has been put into action. If you jump in feet first, you will figure out where you are going.