The most common mistakes of companies are based on the ignorance of the Internet as a communication channel, the lack of coherence with the company’s general strategy and the vision of the Network as a parallel world that does not interact with other channels. The integration between The traditional strategy and the use of online media is one of the main headaches for companies.
The irruption of the Internet has generated in many sectors an important anxiety to emulate the best practices and the success obtained by the leading brands, but it coexists with a significant lack of knowledge in the companies, whose marketing teams are, on the one hand, depleted by the fall in budgets and, on the other, lacking a deep knowledge of the online medium.
For this reason, the DNA marketing agency presents a decalogue with the best practices and vital aspects that guarantee a company the integration of online tools in its marketing and sales strategy.
- The Internet is not a parallel world . The first recommendation for any company is to understand the nature of the online channel. The most generalized tendency is to see it as a parallel world, which leads to separating the strategy into two lines of action or, what is worse, designing two different strategies, not always coordinated. The Network, however, should be treated as a means that provides new tools but does not vary the development of the business. The keys to a good marketing strategy are the same for the offline and online world.
- The attributes of the brand must be the same in both areas . One of the keys to a good marketing strategy is based on knowing in depth the strengths of each brand, your product or service. They can be rational or emotional strengths. Large companies usually have this analysis as the starting point of any strategy, although among medium-sized companies it is not so common. Brand values are always the basis of their commercial messages. It is common for companies to change those attributes or look for others for their online communication in the wrong way.
- Internet is here to stay and has changed the rules of the game. The lack of knowledge when it comes to understanding how to manage the digital world has distracted companies a lot, especially if the effects of the economic crisis are added up. It is essential to see the Internet without fear and with the assurance that the changes you have made will be permanent, with or without a crisis. And, in addition, very fast. Four years ago there was no iPad and now there are companies that receive more visits to their web pages through mobile devices than through the computer.
- What I want to do on the Internet . There are many companies that are present on the Internet or social networks more to follow a fashion than for having made the appropriate analysis of what the Network can provide. Before designing a digital strategy, all companies must be clear about who they want. be in the world of the Internet and how they will use it: as a communication channel, advertising channel, new sales channel … all. The important thing is to know how a product or service fits into the online channel.
- The target does not vary . The online audience does not have to be different, de facto, it is not. There are no different targets, the product is directed to the same target audience offline and online, but online tools allow you to reach it in a different way. However, there is a generalized confusion that leads companies to think that on the Internet they have to address a different potential client, usually younger. The fact that some sectors do not yet have a relevant sale in the digital world does not indicate that their target only buys outside the Net. It is not like that: all sectors are in an exponential migration process, increasingly faster and if not they give relevance or obviate such evolution, unfortunately they will be wrong.
- Know the online tools well . The digital world has multiple tools but not all are adapted to all products / services and not in the same way. It is essential to know which uses the target of the company and which ones can be useful in the execution of the marketing strategy, only in this way will they be able to adapt to the company’s objectives and optimize their use to the maximum.
- Betting on continuity, not breaking . Entering the Internet does not mean throwing away the history of actions that have taken place up to then. A large part of these actions can be capitalized to provide the strategy with adequate coherence and continuity. The use of the Internet does not mean an absolute break, but an extension of tools. A company that has created a loyal customer community can use Facebook, for example, to open a new channel for this same audience group.
- Monitor the competition and differentiate . It is important to analyze the steps taken by the competition, to know where and how it moves, and to use that information to seek differentiation, occupy another territory and make it its own in order to generate value.
- Set credible goals and KPIs with which to measure success . When mixing off and online tools it is essential to measure and fix KPIs that help to carry out an adequate follow-up of the objectives. It is necessary to know how both channels are interacting and to find out which tools combine best for each product and market. An example: if a television campaign is broadcast with a call to enter the website, it would be relevant to check as accurately as possible how much traffic the campaign generates to understand the impact that one channel has on another.
- Measure and correct on the fly . One of the main advantages of the Internet is that it allows continuous monitoring and introducing the necessary corrections and changes in a few hours. This allows to make changes in less than 24 hours and adjust the strategy more and more towards the achievement of the proposed objectives.