By: Ari Haas
Create a robust online marketing strategy working with a pro, who can implement powerful tools like a CRM system, email automation, online reputation management, SEO, digital advertising and much more from day one. Learn the right combination of tactics needed to increase business development, improve visibility and drive sales.
Online marketing will change more in the next year than it has in the past ten. According to the e-commerce platform Shopify, global retail e-commerce sales will reach $4.5 trillion by 2021. HubSpot, a software maker, says 61% of marketers believe improving SEO and growing their organic presence is their top priority for inbound marketing. Yet companies, from startups to large corporations, can’t always keep up. An online marketing partner can spearhead creative programs that increase profits. Here are some key ways an online marketing partner can help.
- Identify The Right KPIs
The right agency partner can help the client identify their key performance indicators– KPIs– for their business and industry. What metric are we going to closely monitor? What is the goal that we’re trying to accomplish? The right online marketing partner will be able to help answer these critical questions. For example, an e-commerce site wants traffic; and the metric at first might be a number of visitors per day. When would the metric transform into cost per acquisition, or the price we spend to bring in a sale? An online marketing partner can help. Before investing more on Google and Facebook, we need to bring in customers profitably. For every site, there is one metric that is more meaningful than any other– depending on the industry, type of business and its stage in the market. For any business, the first crucial step is to identify one number we’re aiming for right now and try to improve that. Over time, the goal can shift. Initially one may want visitors, then they want the cost per sale, and ultimately they want to profit.
- Create a Customized Solution for Your Business Stage
Whether a startup, seasoned pro or somewhere in between, growing businesses need a robust online marketing program that would include crucial tools like a customer relationship management system, email automation, online reputation management, listing control and search engine optimization and digital advertising. Emerging businesses often know basic metrics, but once a business starts getting traction, it is imperative that they find an expert that can help to provide and uncover more in-depth metrics. At larger online marketing agencies, there is a prevailing attitude of pushing projects onto the junior staff. You want to find a partner that will have a senior-level person working on your programs– someone who is accessible, and can help customize all aspects of the program for your business.
- Provide Value, Experience, Success
Hiring an agency with proven experience in today’s increasingly digital era is not only a good value but the only choice for those who want to evolve, stay fresh and current in front of their customers and reduce overhead. Companies with in-house marketers could benefit from outsourcing the harder, more detail-oriented parts of online marketing– from CRM setup and implementation, SEO to PPC advertising– to experts, allowing in-house workers to focus on other tasks. Online marketing has never been more important. Experience is everything: your agency should have a mix of real-world experience and passion, providing leads, increases interest amongst prospects and facilitates sales–whether online, in-store or across the path to purchase, a critical task in any company’s life cycle. For most companies, outsourcing the online marketing function is often the best value versus paying an expert to work in house full-time, a costly proposition. Reduce costs by clarifying objectives, outsourcing the marketing function and watch traffic and sales increase quickly.
