Now that you know what this document consists of and what it can contribute to your company, let's look at the steps you need to follow to start designing your company's online marketing plan.
1.- Situation analysis
When making your online marketing plan, the first step is always to analyze the company's market situation . To do this, you need to conduct an internal and an external analysis.
You can carry out this analysis by performing a SWOT analysis , as it allows you to work on both the internal aspects of the company and the external aspects that are beyond your control.
This SWOT analysis consists of the following phases:
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are the internal aspects of the company that need to be improved in order to increase productivity, as they hinder our activity and growth and make it difficult to achieve a competitive position on the Internet.
Some examples of weaknesses to incorporate into your online marketing plan could be;
Organic traffic is very low, you don't have a strategy to get visits
There is no defined content strategy policy, which is key to your digital marketing plan.
There are no or very limited resources to invest in appropriate tools.
You don't work on SEO, there are positioning errors, Google sees you as uncompetitive...
Your website is not adequate and you do not get traffic or you do not retain your visitors.
Your brand image is not adequate.
Properly defining weaknesses in your online marketing plan will allow you to adapt and pharmaceutical email lists optimize tactics, processes and skills in a more coordinated and effective way.
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Threats
Threats are external factors that are beyond the company's control , but which can directly affect it.
Some examples of threats that you should include in your online marketing plan may be:
Sector with few barriers to entry for new competitors.
Constant changes in Google and Facebook algorithms that prevent you from positioning your website properly
Competition with greater capacity and resources than you
Specific conditions of your product, seasonality, etc.
Market size…
etc
When implementing your digital marketing plan, you should take these factors into account, as they can determine the success of your campaigns.
Strengths
Strengths are all those aspects in which the company stands out compared to the competition .
Some examples of strengths that can help you in developing your online marketing plan are:
Differential human and technical resources in our company
High investment capacity for marketing actions
Very effective customer service/support
Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies
High conversion rates in Adwords, Facebook or email marketing
etc…
Opportunities
Opportunities are profitable situations that play in your favor and that cannot be missed.
Some examples of opportunities may be:
Our location, name, age or other aspects make us a recognized brand
Your competition is not working properly on the Internet
There are new markets or business niches that you can exploit
Your competition does not use certain actions such as Adwords, Facebook, Mailing…
etc
As you can see, detecting all these situations is of vital importance for the implementation of your digital marketing plan and the subsequent implementation of the actions to be developed.
Another type of analysis that is also often used when making an online marketing plan is the PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) Analysis , as it studies some of the most important macroeconomic aspects for a company.
It may be important to analyze them as they can greatly affect the functioning of your company.
2.- Definition of objectives
One of the most important factors that you should take into account is knowing how to define the objectives of the online marketing plan .
Remember that these must always be measurable, relevant, achievable and specific, as well as time-limited.
This means that you have to be realistic. You cannot set a goal that you know you will not reach just to "inflate" your company's results. It would make no sense at all.
Thus, the objectives of an online marketing plan can be grouped into four large groups depending on their priority.
Selling : aspects related to the quantification of items sold by business areas or by business volume.
Serving : All aspects of services provided to customers, both before and after the sale. Examples include after-sales service and customer service.
Communicate : Customer relations are very important today. That is why it is a priority in any digital marketing plan to define how communication will be done on the Internet. Press releases, blog content, news, social networks, live chats, articles, etc.
Attract : refers to attracting customers to your company through different channels such as social networks, the company website, positioning, content, etc. You should use these channels since they are the ones that are most accessible to us and generate a great impact on users.
Have you already defined the objectives of your online marketing plan? Let's move on to the next section.
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3.- Definition of the Strategy
Once you have set the objectives you want to achieve with your online marketing plan, you must define what strategy you are going to implement to achieve them.
To do this you will have to determine what actions you are going to carry out in each of the following aspects:
Market Analysis
One of the most important things is to know which market you are competing in and whether you are interested in establishing yourself in other markets with your same products.
Therefore, you must analyze the possible strategies to follow in the market in which you are established or if you want to establish yourself in a new one. Some of the strategies to use are diversification, market development, product development or market penetration.
In this way, the selection you make of these markets in your digital marketing plan must be in line with the proposed objectives.
Revenue Generation Model
The way to earn income through the Internet is very varied, since there can be different types of online businesses .
That is why it is essential for the success of your online marketing plan that you define all the areas you are going to work on, as well as the actions you take to achieve sales.
Some of the most common are :
Income generated by the online store or website
Subscription to content services such as video platforms like Netflix or HBO or courses of any kind.
Advertising revenue, through banners…
Affiliate Marketing
Revenue generated by viewing or downloading content
etc..
Keep in mind that this part is one of the most important elements of the digital marketing plan, since all the actions you take from the start will be determined by the type of business model you have chosen.
And of course, the investment, tools and actions will be specific and different for each model you work with.
Selecting the target audience
If there is something really important when making an online marketing plan, it is to correctly choose the audience we want to target .
To do this, you must study the different types of consumers and identify and group them by common traits.
Once you have identified them, study their characteristics, behavior, what they think, etc., so that you end up selecting the group that best adapts to what you are looking for.
Finally, you will have to think about your added value and your differentiating factor with respect to the rest of the competitors, as this is what will make this segment of the population that you have defined find you, perceive your strengths and make you achieve more sales.
Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is the analysis or outline of the internal strategy usually developed by companies and which must be included in the online marketing plan due to its importance.
In the marketing mix, four basic variables of the activity are analyzed, such as product, price, distribution and promotion.
Product : As we all know, a product is everything that a company offers on the market. Therefore, it is often necessary to adapt the product to customers and the Internet, both its content and any additional services of the product. Among the most important points that you should include is its complete definition for the Internet, optimization for positioning, quality, prices, customer orientation, how it should be communicated, sold, etc.
Price : Choosing the price of your products can be a key and differential aspect when it comes to attracting customers. The price must be set taking into account the cost it generates for you and the benefits it can provide to the customer. Especially when working on the Internet, price is a fundamental factor for the customer's perception of your brand.
Distribution : Distribution consists of the set of activities that allow the product to be transferred from the seller to the buyer. In your case, when making an online marketing plan you should reflect logistics as an important factor within your company policy because it represents the speed of product delivery.
Promotion : The Internet has fostered the emergence of new channels and methodologies for promotion and advertising. The success of your digital marketing plan will depend on how you develop this phase, undoubtedly one of the most important in all of the planning. What, how and where are you going to promote it? How much investment? To whom?
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As you can see, there are many different channels through which you can reach your customers on the Internet. Website, online store, positioning, content, social networks, online advertising…
It is up to you to determine the strategy you are going to implement and incorporate it into all of your marketing actions in the company.
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4.- Tactics
Once you have the strategies with which you are going to try to achieve the objectives of the online marketing plan, you have to define the tactics that you are going to use .
By default, these tactics are summarized in five main actions: attract, retain, convert, build loyalty and measure.
Attract
There are many ways you can attract visitors to your website . From online advertising, content creation , social networks, positioning, Facebook Ads or Adwords campaigns...
Whatever you do, remember that in order to attract customers you will have to differentiate yourself from your competitors in some way….
What is your value, what they have to buy from you for? Does your audience really know it ?
So don't forget to reflect this as one of the main stages of your online marketing plan.
Retain
Once you have gotten users to your website, you need to be able to retain them to prevent them from leaving without making a purchase and/or leaving their details.
Therefore, when developing your online marketing plan you will have to define what actions you are going to initiate to convert those visits into Leads , offering them some incentive or action that provides them with significant value, something like a Lead Magnet.