The past year has been challenging for many industries. Digital marketing has seen huge growth due to more businesses marketing online and even offering their products via e-commerce stores. You may have seen rapid growth and want to keep that momentum going into 2021.
With so many people staying home and spending more time online, it isn’t surprising the demand for digital marketing has also increased. However, just because there is more need for your services doesn’t equal automatic success. Here are five things you can do to set your digital marketing company up for success in 2021:
1. Keep Your Customers
In the climb to the top, you may focus on finding new leads and gaining new customers. However, you won’t grow if you don’t keep the customers you have. A current client is worth more than one who has never worked with you before.
Take the time to reach out to your list and make sure they have everything they need. Are they happy with the service? What results are they seeing? Before expanding and advertising to new people, take care of the ones already loyal to you.
When customers love what you do, they are much more likely to recommend you to colleagues. Word-of-mouth can grow your business beyond what typical advertising ever would. People are much more likely to try a business a friend recommends.
2. Improve Your Remote Work Strategy
Many people work from home due to the pandemic. The longer workers stay home, the more they want remote options at least part of the time.
There are always things you can do to create a happier work-from-home environment. Start with an analysis of how your current organization works. What can be improved?
Help your workers set up a productive workspace by offering credits for standing desks or other tools they’d normally have in an office setting. Talk to your IT department about ensuring they have the help they need to function at optimum levels.
Make a decision about meetings. Do you want to offer video conferencing or have workers drive into the office for a weekly meeting? Keep in mind that if you take on remote workers, you may have employees from all over the country. Some may not be able to drive to a face-to-face meeting. However, you’ll open the door to skilled workers who might not live in your area.
3. Secure Your Data
Unfortunately, data breaches are quite common. Small businesses are at great risk due to less stringent security.
Take the time to invest in third-party software to protect your customers’ accounts. Train your employees on how to keep passwords secure. Hire professionals to test your systems and see where your weaknesses are, and shore up any problem areas.
Keeping customer records in a cloud-based environment may be a good move. Most third-party cloud providers invest in heavy-duty protections to keep your accounts from being hacked. You should also install virus and malware protection on any computers in your network.
4. Generate New Leads
Finding new customers takes your business to the next level. Once you’ve ensured you’ll retain your current customers, move to other methods to help bring in new clients.
Advertise on social media by targeting your core audience. Write content that addresses a pain point your typical buyer has. Use quality content to solve your leads’ issues and then add a call to action (CTA) to get them to click on an offer for a free guide if they share their email.
Once you have their emails, it becomes much easier to regularly promote your service to those customers. Think about what their greatest needs are for digital marketing and present your case to them.
Keep in mind that many people have to see a company’s name multiple times before they recognize your brand. Make as many positive impressions as possible with testimonials, content, ads and contact.
5. Start a Video Channel
The statistics are clear — people love to watch videos online. In the 2020 State of Video Marketing report, researchers found 85% of businesses use video for marketing. People now use their smartphones to stream content.
It doesn’t really matter which channels you use. You can add info to YouTube, do a livestream on Facebook or upload on Rumble, Vimeo or any other platform available. People want information they can easily absorb.
Perfect your video making skills. You should promote your own business with videos, but you also will want to offer this option to your clients as part of your digital marketing packages.
Learn to Adapt
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s how fast things can change in the business world. Make a plan for 2021, but be open to big changes where you must adapt quickly. Even the way you operate your company might change suddenly, as those brands who suddenly had to go remote can attest.
Have a plan, and create a Plan B — and maybe even a Plan C. Keep your focus on your customers and what they need, and you’ll likely find success no matter what the next year throws at you.
Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.
