digital marketing strategy

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

A digital marketing strategy is a channel strategy

which means that it should...

1. Be informed by research into

1. customer channel behaviour

2. marketplace activity

3. Intermediaries

4. publishers

5. competitors

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

A digital marketing strategy is a channel strategy which means that it should...

2. Based on objectives for future online and offline

channel contribution %

3. Define and communicate the differentials of the channel to encourage customers to use it,

4. manage channel integration

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

In another way, digital marketing strategy defines how companies should:

1. Hit our channel leads & sales targets Budgets for

Acquisition, Conversion, Retention & Growth, Service

2. Communicate benefits of using this channel â€“ enhance brand

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

In another way, digital marketing strategy defines how companies should:

1. Prioritise audiences targeted through channel

2. Prioritise products available through channel

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

1. You're directionless

2. You won't know your online market share

3. Existing and start-up competitors will gain market share

4. You don't have a powerful online value proposition

5. You don't know your online customers well enough

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

6. You're not integrated ("disintegrated"•)

7. Digital doesn't have enough people/budget given its importance

8. You're wasting money and time through duplication

9. You're not agile enough to catchup or stay ahead

10. You're not optimising

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

SOSTAC® (P R Smith, 1998)

A simple aide-mémoire that helps managers to recall the key components of a marketing

communications plan.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

SOSTAC® can be applied to any kind of plans

◦ Corporate plan.

◦ marketing plan.

◦ marketing communications plan.

◦ social media plan.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

S – Situation analysis (where are we now?).

O – Objectives (where do we want to go?).

S – Strategy (how do we get there?).

T – Tactics (the details of the strategy).

A – Action (or implementation – putting the plans to work).

C – Control (measurement, monitoring, reviewing and modifying).

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Every plan must include the three key resources , the 3Ms:

Men/women (the human resources);

Money (budgets);

Minutes (time).

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Where are we now?

Understanding your online marketplace

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

your customers ◦ Their characteristics, behaviours, needs and wants.

◦ Characteristics summarised in named personas are useful to get started,

◦ Detail here is very useful to talk about

◦ “What would John do.. or think about...”.

◦ Potentially profitable customers

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Your market ◦ Market description

◦ Actionable needs and trends

◦ what exactly is growing in the market.

Your competitors ◦ Benchmark against competitors for your customer

personas.

◦ P.O.P and P.O.D.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Intermediaries, influencers and potential partners ◦ Customer use of publisher or media sites which

may influence their decision

◦ Example:

search engines, specialist news sites , social networks and bloggers

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Digital-specific SWOT summary ◦ Include a digital channel SWOT that summarises

your online marketplace analysis findings AND links to strategy.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Where do we want to be?

Setting useful, actionable objectives

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Marketing objectives

Refer to ◦ Sales.

◦ market share.

◦ distribution penetration.

◦ launching a number of new products.

◦ and so on……

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Marketing objectives

For example : ◦ To increase unit sales of product/brand X by 10 per

cent over the next 12 months;

◦ To increase market share by 5 per cent over the next 12 months;

◦ To generate 500 new enquiries each month;

◦ To increase distribution penetration from 25 per cent to 50 per cent within 12 months;

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Communications objectives

Refer to how the communications should affect the mind of the target audience: ◦ generate awareness, attitudes, interest or trial.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Examples of communications objectives:

Increase awareness from 35-50% within 8 weeks of the campaign launch among 25- to 45-year-old ABC1 women.

Position the service as the friendliest on the market within a 12-month period among 70% of heavy chocolate users;

Dr. Walid El-Etriby


Reposition Guinness from an old, unfashionable, older man‟s drink to a fashionable younger person‟s drink over two years among all 25- to 45-year-old male drinkers;

Maintain brand X as the preferred brand (or number one brand) of photocopiers among at least 50 % of current UK buyers in companies with 1,000-plus employees;

Dr. Walid El-Etriby


Include Bulgarian wines in the repertoire of possible wine purchases among 20 per cent of ABC1 wine buyers within 12 months;

Support the launch of a new shop by generating 50 % awareness in the immediate community one week before the launch;

Announce a sale and create 70% awareness one day before the sale starts;

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Four different types of measures : 1. Top-level broad goals to show how the business

can benefit from digital channels

2. Mid-long term vision to help communicate the transformation needed in a larger organisation

3. Specific SMART objectives to give clear direction and commercial targets

4. Key performance indicators to check you are on track

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

•Customer acquisition & retention targets Sell

•Customer satisfaction targets Serve

•WOW factor ” added value” Sizzle

•Engaging customers Speak

•Quantitative efficiency gain Save

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

„how we get there‟

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

how the objectives will be achieved.

It summarizes and drives tactics in the same direction.

Communications strategy helps to harmonize and integrate all of the tactical communications tools.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

The communications strategy should answer all of these questions

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

•how is the market broken up? Segmentation

•what target markets are chosen

•who is the „ideal customer‟? Target markets

•strategy must fulfil objectives Objectives

•The product or service,

•Which drives the overall proposition Positioning

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

• is there a sequence or series of stages? Stages

• does it all integrate smoothly perhaps through

a database? Integration

• TV, opt-in e-mail, PPC or social media, etc?

• whether you build your own network or use

someone else‟s Tools

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

IBM insurance marketing communications strategy.

Position the business as a solution provider that fully understands client needs and is easily able to provide complete and successful solutions.

All communications reinforce the company‟s unique capability, which combines marketing and IT in an integrated manner.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

IBM insurance marketing communications strategy.

The key target group is „European insurers with medium to large customer bases (usually over 1 million)‟.

All communications are below the line , editorially driven, and drawn from sound research into leading-edge solutions.

The published papers are used across a series of public conferences, own conferences and training awareness days, along with a constant media relations campaign.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

what happens when and for how much ?

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Tactics are the details of strategy.

Communications tactics are the tools such as advertising, PR, direct mail, etc.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Actions implement the tactics.

This is the not-so-glossy side of marketing,

Which requires ◦ good project planning skills.

◦ time management and people management skills.

◦ Handle pressure to get things done.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

The action/implementation of the marketing communications tactics requires:

an ability to get other people (staff, agencies, printers, etc) to deliver on time and within budget.

It also requires an ability to plan for contingencies

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Control systems need to be in place to help monitor any campaigns or activities

Some control parameters : ◦ Cost per order

◦ Cost per enquiry

◦ cost per visitor.

◦ cost per order

◦ cost per customer acquisition.

◦ Return on investment.

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

RACE PLANING FRAMEWORK

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Create a digital marketing plan

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Review marketplace and set objectives

Use these six key activities to define your digital opportunity through marketplace analysis: ◦ 1. Review digital marketing capabilities

◦ 2. Review performance using KPI dashboards after customising analytics for your business

◦ 3. Summarize customer insight in customer personas and customer journey maps

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

six key activities to define your digital opportunity through marketplace analysis:

◦ 4. Audit brand and benchmark competitors

◦ 5. Review influencer outreach, co-marketing and intermediaries

◦ 6. Define SMART objectives with conversion spread sheet models to quantify opportunity

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Create digital strategy:

Review how your digital proposition and communicate it using digital targeting techniques:

Select target market segments and personas.

Define digital targeting approaches

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Define your online value proposition (OVP) including review of business and revenue model, brand positioning and integration with traditional channels

Review marketing mix for online options for the 4Ps – Product, Price, Promotion and Place

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Implement and manage digital marketing communications

Make smart budget investments and optimise your digital communications across all key customer touch points:

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Reach: Build your audience by integrating paid, owned and earned media

Act: Using content marketing and persuasion to prompt brand interaction and leads

Convert: Use conversion rate optimization to boost online and offline sales

Engage: Develop customer loyalty and repeat sales

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Grow your audience online

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Encourage brand interactions and leads

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Increase sales through CRO “conversion rate optimization”

Dr. Walid El-Etriby

Build customer loyalty and advocacy

Dr. Walid El-Etriby