Digital agencies continue to grow in relevance and importance in today’s market. The digital marketing industry is blossoming, but that can make standing out among the crowd tough.
For this reason (and a few others), having a solid marketing strategy is imperative. The right marketing strategy will help your agency gain the recognition and visibility that it needs to grow profits, challenge competition, and attract a steady stream of clients.
But designing a good marketing strategy isn’t always simple, especially in an industry renowned for its changeable nature. In this guide, we’ll go through six steps for creating a marketing strategy that your digital agency can use to its advantage.
Step 1: Define Your Target Audience
Any business that wants to create or improve its marketing strategy should first look towards its target audience. Before you can develop a marketing strategy that works, you need to know who you’re dealing with, and how to appeal to them most effectively.
You can start defining your target audience by adhering to the following tips:
- Create client personas – Client personas are fictional examples of what an ideal/average client might look like. Creating personas can help you flesh out a clearer picture of the kind of clients you want to attract most.
- Define who your target audience is not – Sometimes, working backwards is more effective. Whittle down your target audience by removing all the subcultures, demographics, and trends you know you aren’t gunning for.
- Utilise Google Analytics – Google Analytics has comprehensive target audience researching software. You can use this to your advantage.
Research is a fundamental first step for any business wanting to develop a strong marketing strategy. These are all great methods for kick-starting your market research process.
Step 2: Analyse Your Competitors
Competitor analysis is another very important aspect of market research. You might have a good understanding of your target audience, but what are your competitors doing to grab their attention first? You need to know. This can be achieved through:
- Identifying who your competitors are
- Reading competitor’s client reviews
- Defining their strengths and weaknesses
Conducting a competitor analysis helps you gauge the position of your agency in the greater market. You need to know what you’re up against before you can create a marketing strategy that is truly sustainable and effective.
Step 3: Develop Your Unique Value Proposition (UVP)
Your agency’s UVP should form a big part of how you structure your marketing strategy. A UVP helps you stand apart from competitors and show your audience why they should pick your agency over the many others in this bustling industry.
The right UVP tells clients why you’re special, and what makes you better than the rest. Without one, it may be difficult to resonate with your target audience and attract good clients.
One of the best ways to develop a strong UVP is to consider your client’s biggest pain point and provide reasons why you’re the one to solve it.
For instance, if your target audience’s biggest problem is managing resources, make sure your UVP includes clear resource control and strategy, for an easy and streamlined approach to managing different projects or clients.
Step 4: Establish Your Goals and Objectives
Goal setting is another crucial element of creating a winning marketing strategy.
By sketching out clear benchmarks or targets to work towards, you can make the process of reaching them much easier. Clarity fosters precision.
Many agencies use the SMART system to establish goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Goals that possess at least a degree of each of these traits are considered balanced enough to incorporate into a formal strategy.
Not all goals are realistic. If you set them too high, or don’t account for the time you have to complete them, you could be setting yourself up for disaster. Use the SMART system to guide you.
Step 5: Choose Your Marketing Channels
When it comes to marketing channels, two is better than one. In fact, you may find that you achieve the best results through staying active across a wide variety of channels.
Don’t just focus on email marketing or Instagram to spread the word about your agency. Find out which ones your target audience are most active on and meet them on their level. Some other popular options include LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and even Dribbble.
Step 6: Create Your Marketing Plan
Creating a marketing plan is a long, intensive process that requires many different tools and resources. But with the right approach, making one can be the determining factor in what shoots your digital agency into the sphere of success.
For the sake of clarity, let’s go through some of the main steps of creating a solid marketing strategy:
- Gather data – Find out who your target audience is and what they want from you. Also determine who your main competitors are and how you can rise above them.
- Set marketing goals – What are you trying to achieve from your marketing strategy? Set clear, well-researched, defined goals so that you have an easy path to follow.
- Know (and broadcast) your UVP – Know what makes your agency unique, and use it to leverage more interest in your agency from potential clients.
- Make your brand accessible – Once you have carved out a clear identity and are ready to go, make sure to market yourself on the right channels. Let the world know.
Through these basic steps, you can support your agency in the process of cultivating better marketing knowledge and creating a strategy that can stand up to competitors as well as generate sufficient leads, conversions, client relationships, and profit.
Marketing For Marketers
Every digital marketing agency needs a marketing strategy. But even the pros need help sometimes, and that’s exactly what this article is here to do.
Use these steps as a template for developing an industry-ready marketing strategy that both competitors and clients can attest to.