5 signs you donât need an online marketing strategy.
An online marketing strategy can be described a detailed written plan that explains exactly how youâll market yourself and your business on the internet.
The development of an online marketing strategy can call for a significant investment of both time and money.
Before you spend your time and money, you may want to consider the following points to find out if you really need an online marketing strategy.
What is online marketing?
Online marketing is an umbrella term used to describe online tools that can be used for the purposes of marketing a person or business. Facebook ads, email broadcasts, getting on google and your website are all online marketing tools.
These are by no means an exhaustive list of online marketing tools, though.
In fact, the world of online marketing changes almost daily. New tools are constantly emerging, old tools dissolving and familiar behemoths changing their functionality or design almost entirely overnight.
Why do businesses market themselves online?
Consumers are savvy creatures. You know, youâre one of them!
In response to being inundated with advertising, weâve adapted. We have spam filters, Netflix subscriptions and caller IDâs to help us avoid being sold to.
In the same breath though, weâre spending literally hours a day online. (Over 24 hours a week online in 2016 according to the Globe & Mail.)
Being in business, it pays to have a presence where your future customers are, so it makes sense to invest in a presence on Facebook, Google, YouTube and on other online marketing tools like your website.
When is developing an online marketing strategy a waste of time?
There are several scenarios when developing an online marketing strategy isnât a good idea.
#1 – The first sign you donât need an online marketing strategy.
The first is if you or the majority stakeholders in your business are of the opinion the internet isnât a huge opportunity for businesses and business people alike.
Donât laugh.
This is a reality for some people. Most commonly those who are just about to retire, those who donât have cell phones and those who are generally resistant to change.
#2 – The second sign you donât need an online marketing strategy
Another sign you shouldnât invest in an online marketing strategy is when what youâre already doing is working well really well for your business, and for you personally.
Some businesses reliably experience an influx of new customers and sales from the internet. These leads and sales are willing to pay for whatâs being sold and turn a tidy profit.
Sometimes this result can happen fairly easily and naturally, especially if the business owner is really in touch with their customers, where their customers hang out online and when they have an interest in learning online marketing.
#3 – The third sign you donât need an online marketing strategy.
You’re confident.
Youâre measuring your results, you know what works, what doesn’t and what tactics have the best return on investment.
Generating results and feeling confident in your abilities add up to an ideal situation, one where you likely donât need any further support.
If you donât find yourself in any of these three situations, it may be worth additional exploration to find out for certain whether or not an online marketing strategy will deliver value for your organization.
Other scenarios when an online marketing strategy doesnât make sense are:
You may find you need an online marketing strategy, but youâre not able to allocate the resources.
You donât want, or canât handle any more business
When is developing an online marketing strategy a good idea?
The following symptoms usually indicate when it may be a good idea to invest in an online marketing strategy.
#1 Youâre feeling less than confident:
Youâve been successful with your online marketing efforts to date.
Your business is making money, but youâre not feeling very confident youâre going about your online marketing the right, best or most effective way.
You may be wondering if youâre missing something. You may be worrying about whether you should have a presence on the latest social media site, or if itâs a waste of time. Any leads or sales that you’re getting from the internet may be fairly sporadic, so it’s not a very reliable source of leads.
#2 Youâre not generating results:
You could have a very successful offline business, have an online marketing budget and believe online marketing can generate opportunities for you. But everything youâve tried is a colossal waste of time and money.
#3 Your competitors are kicking your butt:
You may be noticing that your competitors appear to be doing a little bit better than you are. Whether it’s they are ranking better than you are on Google or their social media is getting more engagement or whether you’ve just heard through the grapevine that they’re doing better than you are financially.
#4 You canât delegate:
You may want to delegate some of your online marketing responsibilities but youâre having difficulties doing so, because you donât really know what to say to the person youâre delegating to.
#5 Your market is changing:
If youâre looking to expand or pivot into a different market, and you want to use the internet to drive leads, it makes sense to look at developing an online marketing strategy.
What kind of results can I expect from a strategy?
According to the Business Development Bank of Canada small business that have an online marketing strategy and are actually executing it can see revenues up to 22% higher than their competitors.
Obviously 22% more revenue is a significant increase in funds. That may be just the right incentive to invest in a strategy.
Why is a strategy that much more effective?
Without an online marketing strategy, typically anything that gets done in the area of online marketing is sporadic or reactive. Itâs what we in the business call “spray and prayâ. What this means is that you’re out there testing everything out publicly.
Remember the internet never forgets, so being reactive and inconsistent can compromise your brand and erode the trust youâre trying to build with your audience.
Instead of building on the solid blocks of a foundation, each tactic or effort is acting individually instead of in concert where you can expect a compound effect.
Obviously I am biased, but truly and in the long term an online marketing strategy is much more effective for resource allocation if youâre at all invested in marketing your business online.
An online marketing strategy can save you time, save you money and most importantly it can going to keep those sales coming in and keep those profit margins high.