Episode 2: Digital Strategy – The 11 Areas that Impact Your Business
Episode Summary
Digital strategy is a term that’s thrown around a lot, but it’s often misunderstood. In this episode, we dive deep into what digital strategy actually is and walk thru each component and how it impacts performance. Our conversation includes a discussion on: “the wizard of oz effect” on website conversions, how brands stay ahead of the curve and why everyone in digital business needs a good BS detector.
In this episode, we spend time on each of the items below and offer tips on how to apply the concept to business and examples of companies that are doing it well.
The 11 Areas of Digital Strategy: a walkthrough to help brands visualizing all the elements.
1. Education
Because digital is changing so fast, companies are now proactively learning to better adapt to change. Cover the creative ways to hear things first and how that can optimize your business.
2. Niche
Identifying your niche and targeting your avatar to increase organic engagements and traction. An example of different food niches.
3. Branding + Content
The elevator pitch and establishing five brand differentiators that will separate one brand from the many other companies that offer similar products.
Why brands that have a mission are better positioned for the current market.
4. Website (Shopify)
It’s not just about looks. The importance of persuasion on websites. How to move past customer’s internal objections to buying. A use case that Shopify eCommerce brands have that involves AfterPay.com
5. Organic Marketing Channels
Defined as marketing that’s not pay-per-click. Email, Social Media, PR and search engine optimization.
6. Paid Channels
Defined as Google Adwords, paid social media ads, direct mail or TW. When to turn on paid marketing and which metrics are important to watch closely.
7. Operations
Staying on top of shipping, fulfillment and customer service. How doing test orders and mystery shopping can help your strategy overall.
8. Staffing
The plight of the solopreneur. And how he/she can clone themselves and where to outsource in order to better scale the business from six-figures to seven-figures.
9. Financials and Analytics
Looking at numbers creates checks and balances and helps companies adapt faster. How do you protect your company from bad ideas? FIguring out which KPIs (key performance indicators) to look at and how to use “soft” analytics such as customer feedback to figure out issues quicker.
10. Places to Sell Your Product
What does DTC mean? Why brands are looking outside of just selling products through a website. Where are they expanding to?
11. Building Community
A great example of how eCommerce is much different than 10 years. How companies are focusing much more now on fostering community versus only selling product. The different places where this is being done are: social media, branding, ambassadors and real-life events.
How do companies tackle strategy especially if they don’t have time to learn the newest tactics and stay ahead of change in the industry.
In conclusion, a discussion of the most common mistakes that brands make with their strategy based on Stephen’s experience with clients at Needle Movement.
Links + Resourced Mentioned
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