Thanks for your comments and shares for our new Marketing Growth Wheel, it was good to see that many found this useful. We'll be going into more depth on how to apply this in our guides and templates for members in future. By way of an introduction, I wanted to explain a bit more about our thinking behind it; why there is a need for a planned approach to digital marketing, yet the majority don't have a plan.
Perhaps, the best way to explain the need for a planned approach to give you the right focus is through this...
A person: "How do I get more traffic?"
Me: "Do you need more traffic?"
A person: "Yeah, of course, we always want more traffic!"
Me: "Hmmm, sure. Is that the priority though? Isn't the real question around commercial growth and the priorities in [digital] marketing to support that in the short and medium term?"
A person: "Yes, I can see that. How do I do that, then? Do I still get more traffic?"
Me: "Think of it as a process, a set of questions that help you focus on what is likely to be most commercially effective over what you think you should do. A combination of easy wins and opportunities for bigger ideas"
The above conversation happens a lot, I find. Someone I'm speaking to will already have pre-set ideas about what they need to do next in digital marketing, it varies drastically and may be about goals, tactics or techniques: SEO, traffic, leads, social media, Facebook marketing, sales, email, QR codes and mobile apps.
The opportunity is often overwhelming, being in their job with all these options and the pressure for results, I can see that. There's genuinely so much to got at, to do and think about. But, just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Doesn't success come from doing a limited number of priority activities, something that's even more important at a time of limited resources?
So, uur new Growth Wheel, below, developed by Smart Insights and First 10 Digital, seeks to help ask those bigger RACE questions and apply a process to action the outcomes. We hope it's useful, please do let us know your thoughts.
By Danyl Bosomworth
Dan helped to co-found Smart Insights in 2010 and acted as Marketing Director until leaving in November 2014 to focus on his other role as Managing Director of First 10 Digital. His experience spans brand development and digital marketing, with roles both agency and client side for nearly 20 years. Creative, passionate and focussed, his goal is on commercial success whilst increasing brand equity through effective integration and remembering that marketing is about real people. Dan's interests and recent experience span digital strategy, social media, and eCRM. You can learn more about Dan's background here Linked In.
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