20-20 Digital Marketing strategy

Everyone is in a hurry, no one is having time and patience to wait for the desired result. The products & services are available on-demand and on click delivery at the doorstep these days. So why not Digital Marketing should perform on-demand and on click deliver base. The quick result is being anticipated by Digital Marketing. If we are an employee of a company, the company wants a quick result from Digital Marketing? If we are a Digital Marketing agency, our clients expect a quick result? If we are an entrepreneur, we want to sale our goods or services as soon as possible through Digital Marketing Platform? And if we are a blogger, we want a quick good number of visitors to our blog? So everyone wants a quick result from Digital Marketing Strategies. We have to stand out on these expectations at any cost. Is not it correct? The DM 20 20 Strategies (matches) will lead us to get the quick desired result in a short period. In this article, I will share the quick DM 20 strategy which I have been practising and guiding other digital marketers the same. DM 20 yields the desired results in a stipulated time, it is tested and trusted Digital Marketing Strategies as it is being practised practically in the live scenarios. Let us go through these concepts and request you to practice it with conviction. Before starting the concept let me clarify an important aspect. Without which all concepts or technics get fail i.e. Customer/Consumer-centric approach? Keep your every method, practice and technic customer-centric. Whatever we do we must think from the customer/consumer point of view. EG we cannot design and develop a website just for our sake of satisfaction. Give priority to visitors whether they will get relevant information or not when he/she land to our website? Whether visitors can find or go through the site hassle-free or not so and so forth? So keeping the customer at the centre of gravity let us discuss DM 20 approach in 2020:

Let us understand DM20 in three segments in cricket terminology. First, few strategies take the risk and play disruptive strategies to dominate at the various online platforms. This segment is called Disruptive Digital Marketing Strategies then a few other sets of strategies are to build a strong Online Brand in middle over which leads to a strong foundation is called Sustainable Online Branding. And the last few strategies (last segment) is called Capitalization of dividend, which consolidates online position stronger on the base of the gained pace and captured market size from the first two segments.

A. Disruptive Digital Marketing Strategies:

All technics and strategies are for a short period and can be continued further as per the requirement. The purpose of disruptive DM strategy is to get attraction immediately so that a company can sell the product and service quickly in a competitive world. This strategy works for a new establishment or to increase the sales quickly or to generate leads in a short period, or to meet sales demand during the sudden surge in production or availability of ample products and services in a particular period. In this segment, we will talk only those strategies which yield result fast so that a company can meet the short time goal. These approaches are used to capture market position quickly. It costs more compare to the other two strategies. These strategies are furious and innovative in approach:

1.     SERP/ Online Space capturing:

A customer is being subjected to the product or service at the Search engine result page (SERP), Social Media or any other means of digital platform. So as a start-up or if anyone wants to trap the customers/consumers quickly the best way is to put the products and services at the digital place where the customers are lying these days. Paid means provides the opportunity to quickly capturing the attention of the customers. Organic means take more time and effort to capture online space and no good controlling on it. The below one technic work quick in case of organic effort to be:

More Landing Pages: A company needs to create more landing pages as per products wise, services wise, Area wise or can take help of blog to increase the number of landing pages. Creating landing pages as per the suitable long-tail keywords helps in getting the top SERP (search engine result page) position quickly. More Landing Pages helps in:

• It facilitates to accommodate more relevant keywords and LSI (latent Semantic Indexing) keywords on one landing page. This gives an ample opportunity to play with SEO (Search Engine Optimization technics).
• The product-wise or service wise landing pages helps in Search AD to take the customer directly to the desired page. This also works in the same way in the case of organic.
• Area wise and product wise landing pages helps in providing different type of offers or service accordingly.

Use Schema Markup to the different webpages. Schema Markup makes webpages appearance more prominently in SERPs and improves visibility which increases click-through rates.

Paid means is quick and even more controlling in term of targeting demographic, time day and date, geography etc. These Paid means can be achieved by:

Search Engine AD: Search engine AD-like Google Ads provides a platform to run a different type of ads for different purposes to target the specific set of customers. Here I am not going in-depth about the deferent type of Ads and how to run the effective and efficient Ads. But I will highlight how to run effective Ads in a short period. To run an effective ADS to meet short time goal is to know the target customers in-depth, need to thorough about the USP of the product and service. Sometimes referring to competitor’s ads also give us a fair understanding. Whatever we design Advert or writing title and description of the AD we must put ourselves in the customer’s shoes to understand what customer is looking for in the product and service. While designing and developing ADS treat yourself as a customer always fetch good result. Present what a customer is looking for to bring them to our website then show them the relevant product or service. Presenting product’s features as a solution in the heading of the AD is the best practice to attract customer attention. 

Social Media AD 

Tiktok Ad: Tiktok is a more popular means of targeting customer these days. A short video about the product/service specification is a good way to reach these TikTok customers. It is getting more competitive day by day in terms of the paid form so it is the right time to utilize TikTok for business.

Hotstar Ad: For brand awareness, it is a good mean of advertisement during the cricket seasons like IPL etc and for some popular serials and shows. The CPM (Cost per Thousand Impression) is Rs5 approx. It is also at the initial stage in the advertisement phase so we can have the advantage of early bird entry. In future, it will be more competitive and costlier once it becomes a famous mode of advertisement. 

FB/Instagram AD: This is not at the nascent stage but still relevant for some cases. All it depends on the type of product or service. If the product is not highly technical then Facebook AD is still cheaper and relevant. Try to run a different type of ADs and target the customers as per their interest and geography yields result. For brand consideration and also for explaining the product and features Facebook/Instagram AD is suitable. Video and Infographic will be a more suitable type of advert on this platform. We can try APP Download AD too on Facebook. 

LinkedIn AD: For B to B targeting LinkedIn is one of the best means of digital Advertisement. Here we can define a customer as per their organization, designation, location, size of Co, turnover of the company and many more. The In mail campaign provides the opportunity to reach the customer directly.  

2. Local business Listing and optimization: Local business listing increases the visibility at the SERP page and also regular posting of images, offers, Post enhance the chance of attraction and conversion.

3. WhatsApp Ad/IVR Reach: WhatsApp AD is very new for SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and still it has not become too bad in the eyes of customers. For SME we can try third party tool to do WhatsApp Ad because it is not allowing SME to use their platform for advertisement till date. There are some advantage and disadvantages to using a third-party service that we have to bear. The average cost per customer reach is around 22 paisa with ample text, videos, V-card, images. This facilitates to reach customer to explain product/service, features, offers etc.

                           IVR (Integrated Voice Response) has got a bad test in the eyes of customers. But still, we can try this in India as Indian customers can bear it. Either it is free or less in cost. It is easy to run IVR campaign if a company is already using dialling service otherwise need to have a new setup. By using IVR we can run a miss call campaign with our recorded voice message and can ask the customer to give a miss call if interested. We can also try IVR for input response from the customer by facilitating input option like typing number 0 or 1 as a response from customers. These IVR campaigns increase our lead funnel.

4. Email/ SMS Marketing: Most of us think email and SMS are not effective. Somehow it is true too but for quick reach or to generate quick lead one can try it. It yields very less result might be .2% but for an SME and start-up this is also the cheapest means to reach customers. Getting Database is the challenge for SME or start-up. As they will not have their own’ database because of low traction of customers to the website. So I would suggest arranging a database either from friends in the same industry or can be obtained from the exhibition, club, seminar etc.

5. Quick On-page Optimization/ Site map: Most of the users surfing the internet on mobile these days. So a high-speed landing page decreases the chance of customer moving from one's website. Another advantage is the search engine gives more priority to the high-speed sites and mobile-friendly site. This also helps in increasing quality score in term of AD.

HTML Sitemap facilitates easier to navigate for user, XML Sitemap gives better visibility to search engines/Bot.

6. Chat Bot: Catching customer then and there means once customer land to our website facilitates him the chance to interact with us. So that the chance of conversion will get increased. We can share more detail and offer talk with the customer about our product or service. It helps in tapping customer and helping them in the purchase journey. 

7.  Mobile app optimization & App Advertisement: These days App utilization has increased drastically due to the popularity of smartphone and convenience of the user. So do App store optimization for both Android and IOS? In-app optimization focus on crashes, Reviews along with the targeted keywords accommodation. Crashes free app increases the conversion and user experience. Enhanced user experience also helps in minimizing bad reviews. Attend all reviews and pacify customer's grievances. Once issues get resolved, ask the customer to edit review. This process builds brands and increases the word of mouth online. Run universal App campaign, App campaign on Facebook too to acquire more and more customers. By twisting we can run display campaign for app-only and same for search too. App campaign brings customer directly to purchase points so the chance of sales gets increased.

B. Sustainable Online Branding

In this section we a company needs to enhance technology and need to focus on a long-lasting approach, which costs less and give an upper edge over others. Focus area is to utilize the pace which we have attended in the first phase of the DM20 approach. Without assigning extra resources or extra cost one needs to optimize the existing resources to gain maximum from it.

Disruptive Digital Marketing strategies will continue with less budget allocation or can be used in a time interval as per the requirement of the company along with Sustainable Online Branding Strategies. The main aim in Sustainable Online Branding Strategies is to correct basics so that to get ready to fight with market leader or even to replace their positions online. The strategies include:

8. ORM: During this period, strategies must be focused on building a strong brand across digital platforms. Our customer/Consumer will give their feedback about our product/service. We need to have a very thorough review management system in place. This review management includes the following steps which will cost less or not at all but will fetch more:

a. Encourage the customer to give a review

b. Once review comes please take it seriously like answering and solving the problem for every review irrespective of positive or negative.

c. If the review is negative try to find out the root cause of the issue which is faced by the customer during the consuming of the product or service.

A good review management system is to find out the root cause of the problem, pass it to concern responsible department or person. Solve the issue for permanent so that same problem must not occur again. Make the person or department responsible and answerable to the issue. Take review as an opportunity to correct the system or to improve the product/service. The review is the online word of mouth which are more powerful marketing technic at the less cost or no cost. This increases sale and provides a competitive advantage.

9. Voice Search/AI Enabled website: Smart mobile facilitated present and coming era for voice search. 50% of all searches across the Internet could be voice-activated by 2020, per ComScore. Make sure voice-based content on the website. The content must include possible relevant questions and answers based stuff. The FAQ is another tool to tackle this as well as to address the visitor's anxiety about our product/service. FAQ also increase the user experience overall which addresses customer's common questions on the digital platform.

                                   The AI-based website enables us to showcase product/service based on the past analysis of visitor or customer to the site. EG if a customer has purchased product X so AI-enabled website can show a range of products which is a subsidiary of product X so and so forth. AI-based technics help in showcasing of desired products to take the maximum from the customer’s pocket.

10. Social media engagement: Social media engagement by the users is a brand promotion by the user. Our users are the brand ambassador of our product/service. So please enhance the social media content engagement by our users. These days search engines are more powerful and more logical in thinking which capture these signals from the users and keep it in the count while giving ranking of the content and relevancy of the content.

11. Quick Link Building/OFF page SEO: Instead of wasting time and resources to get more backlinks, better to go for niche link building strategy. Find the relevant industries and locality-based resources of getting more powerful backlinks. This type of online reference is more value addition in term of ranking factor as well as user experience. The local search engine listing like JustDial, Indiamart, Quicker, Sulekaha and many more, from where we can get good backlinks and customers too. The AI-based search engine gives more preference to these relevant backlinks over unnecessary more irrelevant backlinks. Yourstory is one of the power sources to get free .quick and powerful backlinks with high DA website. In nurture – a reference from a doctor from the same town is more worthy than 100 unrealistic references from other professionals from other industries for a hospital.

12. Analytics – Webmaster/Google Analytics: Analyzing users and user flow creates an opportunity. The webmaster helps in the scanning of the site like scanning of a patient. This helps in improving site technically so that we can capture the top rank in SERP. Google analytic helps to improve user experience. Few important points must be noted here:

 a. Bounce rate: To control bounce rate we need to find out the source of bounce where it is coming from. Device wise bounce rate helps us to optimise the site accordingly. EG if the bounce rate is more at the mobile device it means we need to optimise the site for the mobile device to enhance the speed and appearance of content for mobile appearance. In the same way, we have to find the source of more bounce rate and rectify it accordingly.

 b. Area wise analysis of users helps us to optimize AD and targeting keywords. If area wise user flow is irrelevant it means our targeting is not as per the availability of our product/service in those areas. If it is more for organic – it is not bad in term of a total site visit but this is also not good because user experience will be bad and it will increase overall bounce rate and overall ranking factors. In this case, we need to optimize the keyword strategy. Localised and long-tail keywords could be one out of several technics.

13. Social media story sharing: Social media story sharing provides an opportunity to reach more audience and it is also trending these days. With the video format of the information of the product/service or Offer will be a smarter way to address a large audience on the social media platform.

14. Sales Navigator: For B to B lead generation Sales Navigator/RocketSearch is one of the best tools. By using sales navigator we can target the right industry and the right person to reach. Need to follow-up them, have a conversation with them, comment on their shared post with the relevant content to build a relationship. 20 In mail per month is free, so we can take our offer to these targeted designated persons directly to them. Reaching directly with the product and service may not be preferable but sometimes it works in our favour.

C. Capitalization of Dividend

The slog over is to go all out in cricket but in digital marketing, it is a little bit different. In DM20 slog over means to accelerate and maintain or gain supremacy in the market by the advocacy of retained customers during the journey so far. Retaining and repeat buying by the acquired customers during the journey till now enhances the sale and market positioning. Customer Behaviour analysis is very important to create a remarketing group of customers. Based on their past behaviour with us, we create different remarketing customer lists. Past behaviour might be on-site visit mapping, usage of product/service etc.

15. Remarketing (Remarketing Email/Remarketing Ad): Remarketing technic is to target the customers who have come to our site or exposed during the cycle of marketing to our product/service. The few approaches could be:

 a. Remarketing AD: A particular set of customers can be targeted via Google Remarketing AD. We need to consider more suitable remarketing visitors list on the base of some suitable criteria. Our Ad will follow these customers on online platforms which will enhance the chance of consideration of our product or service.

b. Email Remarketing: Based on past data we can retarget the customers for enhanced product/service, or introducing a new product/service or a particular set of product/service on the base of their past behaviour. EG if some customers have visited for the product/service A. in this scenario we can target this set of the customer for the product B which is somehow similar or maybe substitute of A or related to A for further advancement.

16. Referral Approach: Referral approach will promote our product/service by the advocacy of the customers who have experienced it. We can give some referral redeemable points for referring new customers or for using other products or advanced product. The referral cost will be lesser than the incurred cost of acquiring a new customer. The conversion rate, in this case, will be quite high because product/service will be demonstrated by an experienced customer which will yield a valuable appealing to the new customers.

17. Blogging/Article: A yearly calendar for the blog is the key point. Blogging must be focused on inbound marketing strategy rather than a direct sales pitch. Instead of promoting product/service directly better to find the problem for which our product/service is meant for. Educate the customer about the problem and latter present the product/service as a solution to the problem.

18. Affiliate Marketing: Find out the other online business which might be an option to collaborate for the sale of our product/service. Our offer must be an additional source of income to the other for affiliation. I would not suggest looking for bloggers to do affiliation. Better to search for possible suitable players in the maker who can be our partner to recommend our product with their existing product. Affiliate marketing must be a win-win situation for both of the parties. EG if a company C provides service x to their customers and Company B provides service y to their customers. If product y is an additional requirement to the customers of C with the product X. Then in this scenario company, B can approach Company C for an affiliation. Here company C need not do anything extra to promote the company's B product. Company C needs to list the product Y to their kitty with a small code of the snippet. In this case, the existing customer of company C is ready to consume product y as it is an additional and related to product X. So it is an additional source of income for Company C as well as will create goodwill for their customer too (as customers will get more products and services under one umbrella).

19. CRM: Customer Relationship Management system helps to send personalized and automated marketing stuff to customers. Communication with customers at the right time is the success mantra in the sale of the product/service. If we miss the opportunity others will grasp it. CRM helps from finding the prospect to lead to qualifies then opportunity. CRM increases the overall sales by establishing a perfect and effective communication among sales/marketing, customers and different departments. It helps in understanding the lead's lifecycle to take appropriate action to maximize the conversion. It also helps us in the automation of communication set up in the company.

20. Offline marketing: In the Era of Digital, most of us depend on digital marketing. This is true but as far as brand promotion and putting our product/service before customers for consideration, offline marketing is still a more suitable and effective mean. As online digital display AD is the interruptive approach and research shows most of the customers do not pay attention to it. But offline branding and promotion of product leave a good impression in the eyes of customers as customer knowingly or unknowingly get exposed to it where he or she cannot ignore it in most of the cases. EG hoarding at a prime spot, the cut-outs at the mall, promotion at the electronic board in metro rail etc.

Conclusion: The core mantra of DM20 is “user experience”.

Getting good customer's experience will win the game. Good user experience starts from a user's exposer to the product/service and goes till after-sale and service. The notable points are:

• The claim must be realistic in the offer which our product/service can provide. Twisting words or sentences are fair. We must adhere to the ethic of business and not cheat customers even in Disruptive Digital Marketing strategies too. 

• User should not get annoyed with the loading speed of the site (not more than 2S). A Good UI designed website is the site which keeps the customer at the centre of planning. Relevant content, easy in finding things at the site and many more other aspects which is directly related to visitors and their engagement are the points of consideration.

• Customer support – Relationship plays a crucial role. Customer/Call centre team must be focused on building a strong relationship. A good relationship will bring desire sales automatically. "Grahak Devo Bhava" (“Customer is God and they are always right” approach helps in building a strong brand).

• After-sales and service – Never forget a customer once sales are done. A customer is the brand ambassador of the product/service. This customer will bring a new set of customers and also will do repetitive buying in future.

Keep the customer at the centre of gravity then draw entire sales and marketing circle across this. The basic funda of sales and marketing is still the same whether it is digital marketing or offline marketing. EG lux is still more saleable and known soap in the Indian market. The success mantra of lux is, it captures the user’s attention from the positioning of it to advocacy of product by the users.