Be Amazing Online | Jan 14, 2020 | 3 min read
Go Digital, Not Broke
Updated: Mar 30, 2020
Marketing is an age-old concept that has been into existence ever since the advent of capitalism. Over the years, only the medium of marketing has changed or rather evolved. With the latest medium being the internet, digital marketing has become the new buzzword or the latest marketing trend. Therefore, businesses nowadays, are all investing huge numbers into the digital marketing space to create a stronger online presence and reach the customers in every possible way.
The real struggle is faced by small businesses and early-stage start-ups that are not that popular yet and trying to leave no stones unturned to reach their target audience and generate potential leads. They also have a significant budget constraint that cannot be ignored. This has been a major concern for the past few years and dealing with this issue should be of utmost priority. On the other hand, the big organizations with an established loyal base of customers are constantly increasing their digital marketing budget to be at the top of their game online.
This is a very tricky situation and must be handled with care by small businesses. All that matters now is to evaluate and work on a digital marketing strategy that is goal-oriented. The approach that mostly costs the small businesses a fortune in digital marketing is that they try out everything at their disposal to finally realize what actually works for their business. The marketing strategy and business goals or objectives are mostly not in sync with each other.
Here are a few points that small businesses should focus on before going out into the digital world.
Clarity of Goals –
Not all businesses are competing to achieve the same thing. Some have totally different goals than others. While for some, the priority is to grow their revenues, others might focus on having a loyal customer base. This clarity of what a business is trying to achieve through its marketing strategy is very important. Otherwise, all the effort counts for nothing but wastage of time and money. This is not something a small business can afford nor is it something recommended for businesses of any scale.
Do NOT try everything to see what works –
Not all businesses are competing to achieve the same thing. Some have totally different goals than others. While for some, the priority is to grow their revenues, others might focus on having a loyal customer base. This clarity of what a business is trying to achieve through its marketing strategy is very important. Otherwise, all the effort counts for nothing but wastage of time and money. This is not something a small business can afford nor is it something recommended for businesses of any scale.
This is a very common mistake most start-ups and small businesses make nowadays. They try to proceed with any given strategy they come across without analyzing the effectiveness and potential of that strategy in achieving their business goal. This can be considered as a subsection of ‘Clarity of Goals’ as the entire marketing strategy of a company must align with the business strategy of the company. Digital marketing is not a platform where a business can afford to experiment with trial and error methods.
Budget based on analysis and priorities –
In today’s day and age of cut-throat competition, the budget allotment for various aspects of a business is very crucial. Spending more than what is required for a brand to create a strong online presence can impact the company with huge losses. Therefore, it is very important for a company to conduct an audit to analyze the brand’s goals and offerings to curate an online marketing strategy accordingly.
This is high time for brands to realize the potential of online marketing and consider internet penetration at various levels of the societal pyramid. Lack of awareness in the field of digital marketing can cost a company big time and a brand may end up getting no new leads generated.
To avoid such a situation, it is very important for companies to connect and collaborate with the right social media marketing companies which can analyze and suggest an appropriate marketing strategy for the brand to reach their target audience with effectiveness.
This also helps companies of all scales to cut down their costs to a significant level by avoiding excessive spending on online marketing without a proper strategy. As the number of internet users is increasing day by day, there has never been a better time to go online to grow your business.