Five principles to generate revenue with digital marketing

Marketing is practically synonymous with digital marketing at this point. The interconnected nature of technology and our lives has made it almost impossible to differentiate the two.

And while the digital evolution has been good to us as marketers, opening doors and creating new opportunities for demand generation, we’d argue some put a little too much emphasis on the digital side of the equation.

When we think about marketing, we’re looking at the dollars generated and bottom-line results. It’s important to know what channels, tactics and campaigns were effective, but more often than not, it’s the incoming revenue and customer engagement that matter most.

Arketi’s integrated marketing gurus put their collective brains together to identify a few principles for upping your digital marketing game. These are the top five.

#1 Customize the message, but don’t give them the creeps

Digital marketing requires personalization – no ifs, ands or buts. Prospects and buyers want to know you recognize them not just for a potential sale, but also for the challenges and pain points they are looking to address.

That level of personalization goes beyond adding their name and brand to an email. Ideally, your personalization should reflect a comprehensive view of who they are, where they are in the sales cycle, how they got there, their industry and the specifics behind why they are interested in your product or solution.

It can be a lot. And, for some buyers, a little overwhelming. That’s why we think:

• Timing is everything, so when someone downloads a piece of content, give them a chance to read it before reaching out. Over-eager outreach can give them the willies.
• Intent marketing is emerging as a powerful tool to identify and meet the needs of a prospect exactly where they are in the sales cycle. It works great, when marketers don’t take it too far.
• Automation is cool, but it can lead to some impersonal buyer experiences. Make sure automation isn’t winning out over one-to-one interactions and experiences.

#2 Down with dirty data

Poor-quality data costs organizations millions of dollars a year. This is especially true when it comes to your marketing database or CRM. Consider how many people have changed careers, retired or moved in recent years. If you haven’t cleaned your database in a while, it’s likely out of date.

Standing up a solid digital marketing campaign takes considerable time and effort, so why try interacting with buyers no longer on the receiving end? That’s a major waste – and can significantly impact marketing performance over time.

Make the most of your data by:

• Letting the system work for you – Most CRMs and marketing automation tools automatically drop users if they do not engage. This is great, but make sure to review who is being left off.
• Sticking to a schedule – Database maintenance can eat up time and resources. Depending on size, quarterly reviews are a good rule of thumb.
• Avoiding granularity – Thousands of data points make it easy to lose track of your end-goal. Pick a few key metrics to track and report on. Branch out where, and if, it makes sense.

#3 Be here, be there, be everywhere

Perception matters. Regardless the size of your organization, the more places your business and brand are seen, the better you look.

And, unlike public relations, you’re in complete control. Digital marketing helps you get your message out there through advertising, content marketing, social media, sponsorships, emails and just about everything in between. You can reach narrowly targeted groups or broad populations, with just about the same amount of effort.

When you think about where to invest marketing resources, consider:

• The Wow effect – You want audiences to see your marketing and think, “WOW, this company is on top of their game. We need to learn more about them.”
• Integrating across channels – Whether you call it multichannel, omnichannel or whatever else, create the impression your organization is everywhere by spreading your marketing campaigns across a variety of platforms and tactics.
• Sticking to a time limit – You can’t bore or pester your audience into liking your product. Establish a steady cadence and make sure there is variety in messaging.

#4 Market your marketing

Savvy marketers don’t stand up stellar marketing campaigns and set them on autopilot. They shout about them from the rooftops, in meetings with executives, during company gatherings and everywhere in between. They live by the phrase “always be marketing.”

Now, some of the best marketers we know take that a step further. They don’t just market themselves; they make it easy for others to join in and add their voice.

Look at it this way:

• Seal the deal with Sales by packaging up campaigns and marketing resources into an easy-to-use, easy-to-access format. Help Sales help themselves with email copy, published articles and PR hits, social posts, visuals and content.
• Speak the same language and monitor how marketing campaigns are being presented. Whether it’s internal or external, you want everyone reiterating the same message and narrative.
• But remember, you’re not doing this to make yourself or team look better (even if that is an upside). You’re taking these extra steps to enable sales and corporate growth, which leads to bottom-line results.

#5 Customer first, technology second

Unsuccessful marketing is rife with those who continue to switch from one tech tool to another in search of “the next best.” This is great for our friends in martech, but it can lead to incredibly complex technology stacks, unclear data and inefficient marketing.

If you’re spending most of your time testing and buying the latest and greatest technology, there’s a good chance you’ll lack the time and resources to maximize their value once deployed. Not to mention the integration process itself.

Technology alone is never the solution, that’s why we recommend:

• Sticking with the basics, as something is always better than nothing. You don’t need to invest all your budget in technology from day one. Start small and work your way up.
• Asking yourself, what problem are we solving? How will this solution help us connect with our customers? Does it integrate with what we have? Is this a solution we need, or just a shiny new toy?
• Spending more on marketing execution, than on marketing technology. No one wants to use 20 different tools. They want four that work well together – and buyers won’t care either way as long as you’re addressing their pain points.

Digital marketing that packs a punch

Marketers activate and enable growth for the businesses they serve. Modern technologies have opened the door to a brave new world of customer engagement and demand generation. And new channels continue to arise – have you visited the metaverse lately?

Let’s not take our eye off the ball. We must continue to focus on the needs and challenges of our customers and reflect those in our marketing campaigns and communications.

How is your B2B digital marketing program performing? Could it be strengthened using these five tips?

Let’s talk. Reach out to Mike Neumeier at 404.451.7832 or mneumeier@arketi.com.