5 Things You Should Never Do at the Digital Marketing Planning Stage

The planning stage is arguably the most important stage of any incoming digital marketing campaign. If you have not yet started planning, this is the time to start. A lack of a plan will lead to your campaign lacking the direction it needs to flourish.

We have worked with prominent digital marketing agency in Glasgow Xlweb.co.uk to help introduce you to some of the things you should never do at the digital marketing planning stage.

1. Ambiguity in the End Point

Whenever you start a journey, you need to know where you are going. You would not approach an SEO consultant and tell them you just want more conversions. You would tell them you want to see a 20% increase in conversions, based on the current figures supplied.

Not having an obvious target means you have no idea where the endpoint is and when this campaign should end. Come up with a clear goal.

2. Vague Performance Indicators

On your way to the end point, you need an idea of how you are going to measure success. Are you going to be measuring your progress through qualitative or quantitative methods?

Progress indicators are important for showing where you are at any given moment. It is also a way of noticing when things are not going according to plan. If you are behind on your progress early, these indicators will tell you about it at the earliest possible opportunity.

3. Not Putting People at the Heart of the Strategy

There is a rather alarming trend at the moment. All those new and shiny digital tools are at the centre of everything. They are being made to drive marketing strategies forward. This is the wrong way to look at them, and an over reliance on these tools can lead to a lot of wasted time and investment.

People should always be at the heart of the strategy. The tools you give them are just that: tools. A hammer is not responsible for building a house and that shiny Facebook app is not responsible for your strategy.

4. No Trial Run and Refusing to Review

Companies often try to save money by skipping the trial run and charging headlong into the fray. With every new marketing strategy, initiate a trial run. Make it clear that after the trial run there will be a further review period where the company will decide whether to continue or look elsewhere.

It is better than wasting money on a strategy that clearly is not working.

5. Give It the Resources It Needs

Nothing ruins a good strategy like not giving it the resources it needs to breathe. Yes, you want to save money and you do not want to spend too much money, but you will only lose what you do invest if you do not give it the resources it needs. It is like taking an oxygen mask away from someone on a life support machine.

When coming up with your digital marketing strategy, make a point of designing the strategy without any budget restraints to start with. Go nuts. It is easier to build something big and gradually chop it down to suit your requirements.