Please let me start off by saying this is not a spiel from a digital marketer to try to generate more leads.
I’m not here to spruce our services or any special deal for this month only or the first 10 enquiries.
I totally get that business owners receive multiple emails and phone calls every week from SEO experts all around the world promising page 1 rankings but let’s look past that for just one minute.
There are very few businesses that can survive, let alone grow, in this day and age without a half decent website and online presence.
Believe it or not, there are actually quite a few decent digital marketers and agencies out there that can certainly assist in helping you with both branding and more importantly, lead generation.
Here are the top 10 reasons I strongly recommend meeting with a digital marketer as soon as possible.
1. A Health Check up
Many digital marketers offer a comprehensive health check and audit of your website and online presence for free.
These agencies often pay hundreds of dollars per month for the latest in reporting software and various tools.
They are usually more than willing to give you extremely important and useful insights into what you are doing well and where you may want to focus your time and energy.
With so much riding on websites, social media and online enquiries, I struggle to see a better way to spend an hour or so of your time in the coming weeks?
2. The Dreaded Algorithm Changes
Yes, by now the majority of us are aware that Google, and all other search engines, make many updates to their algorithms each and every year.
In 2018, Google reported over 3000 updates in the calendar year.
Many of these are quite minor but some are quite major and have significant impact on where you rank and also the potential for penalties.
3. Knowledge
I don’t believe that knowledge is power, instead I believe that knowledge has the potential to be power.
The more knowledge we have, the more opportunities and options will be available.
By educating ourselves, the better equipped we will be at making informed decisions and sourcing solutions to any issues or problems that may be present or face us in the future?
4. Justification and Clarity of existing Providers Performance
Many business owners are engaging with a digital marketer or agency and are unsure if the results are up to scratch?
I would be wary of meeting with a marketing consultant that bad mouths your existing provider.
However, they should be able to offer some advice and give honest feedback as well as recommendations of what to pay attention to even if they feel they are not going to win your business in the short term.
Quite often, by asking a few questions to your existing provider, it can give them added incentive to pay a little more attention to your campaign.
5. Budget Forecasting
Bill shock.
No one likes it and few are prepared when it happens.
Perhaps your website is getting a little old and needs a refresh in the coming months or years?
Maybe you had a slow period repeatedly over the last few years and would like this year to be different?
You may be interested in increasing your social media presence as well as increasing leads in foreseeable future?
Why not create an implementation plan for creation of social profiles, content creation and posting as well as planning for increase in both enquiries and also sales that will be generated from the activity?
This may include having to look at hiring staff to cope with the extra work or buying more stock of your product etc?
By consciously planning for these times, they won’t come as a shock and we can also minimise the impact on our businesses and most importantly, our cash flow.
6. Identify Shifts in Market and Customer Behaviour
Once upon a time, in the days of cassettes and only 4 to 5 channels on the television, when we needed to find a plumber, we opened the yellow pages or simply asked our neighbour for a referral.
A good marketing consultant will be able to assist you in identifying your target audience as well as perhaps identifying new audiences?
A good marketing consultant will be able to help you fish where the fish and also forecast where the fish may be swimming in the future?
7. Networking Opportunities
Typically, digital marketers have fantastic networks and therefore make fantastic networkers.
Are you looking for a potential collaboration or forming a strategic alliance?
Chances are your marketing consultant could give you some name and numbers of some good reputable referrals?
Be sure to hand over some business cards and perhaps keep in contact as they may be able to refer some decent leads and business to you in the future?
8. Save You Money
While saving money is pretty high on everyone’s wish list I would recommend thinking about a better return on investment?
Marketing and lead generation is about investing rather than just saving money.
Invest $50 and see $100 return or $500 return.
Very few business owners have a clear and concise figure of what a customer, a sale or a lead actually costs them?
Wouldn’t it be nice to know that every qualified lead you generated over the last 12 months cost you an exact figure of say $8.50?
Wouldn’t this information be useful for business growth if you knew your average dollar sale was $3500 and you had a closing rate of 35%?
You could now quite easily plan to increase your business turnover by whatever percent purely based on increasing your current marketing investment.
Selling your product or service has numerous amounts of steps and stages.
We need to market and advertise on various channels and platforms, we need to generate a lead via website or landing page click, an opt in on a social media post or even generate a phone call.
These all come from the traffic we generate through our marketing and advertising actions.
What if your marketing consultant could help convert another 5% or 10% of your traffic to the next stage?
This would give you a much better return on your existing marketing investment and possibly even reduce the investment required?
9. Grow Your Database
Although I touched on a better return on investment in the previous point, I wanted to mention building your database more specifically based on a conversation.
I recently had a chat with a good friend who manages a camping store.
When I asked about their target audience, she gave the expected reply of outdoorsy, relatively fit 30 to 40-year old’s etc.
While yes, I agree these are the types of people they want coming into the store I suggested the actual audience, that is the easiest to sell to, are those people that have already bought something or even just visited the store.
Until our conversation, the camping store had no email database they could advertise to and advise of upcoming sales, new products or new manufacturers they now had onboard?
Pretty crazy when you think of the power of top of mind marketing?
A good digital marketer will be able to help you funnel contacts, store easily and advise on various ways to communicate with them to achieve some outstanding return on investment.
10. Help You Close More Deals
While marketing and sales are different fundamental aspects of your business, many good digital marketers will be able to offer advice and assist you to close more deals.
It is, I believe, the role of the digital marketer to be involved in the whole process.
From identifying existing and new target audiences, branding, traffic generation, leads and enquiries, data capture, sales, closing and also follow up marketing and client nurture.
The more experience, the more businesses your digital consultant has been involved with.
Chances are they have assisted other business owners in the same industry and perhaps even some of your direct competitors?
So, there you go, the top 10 reasons I believe spending an hour with a decent digital marketer could be the best hour you may invest this year.
Author –
Tony Bentall
Sales Manager and Digital Marketing Specialist.