At the Dot office, we like to stay up-to-date on the rapidly evolving digital marketing industry. That’s why attending online webinars has become a key part of our daily responsibilities. Over the past months, we’ve been able to attend some really interesting webinars from different players in the industry.

Today, we would like to share our key takeaways from some of those webinars and more specifically the ones that focused on the increasing importance of digital marketing and how to keep track of the constantly evolving digital landscape. 

Digital transformation is not only a technological business change, but also a cultural business change.
Meaning: your business can only change if the people inside your business are willing to change. Knowing that it’s in our human nature to resist sudden change, this can be a challenging journey.
How to handle this properly?

1. Explain WHY a change is necessary.
   Tip: Use clear examples and numbers to make your point.
2. Explain WHAT we will change in the near future.
3. Explain HOW you will handle the change: include everyone in your plan.
4. Explain the GOAL of your change: what will we reach in the short and long term?
   The people of your company need to feel and see the benefits of the transformation. This way, you can keep up the level of motivation.

“Going digital” is a way to meet your high-level business goal(s), it’s not the goal itself.

We’re seeing it too often, businesses that all of a sudden “go digital” just because other businesses are doing it and therefore think they should follow. This is clearly not the way to go. Why? Because every business is different and therefore your client and their customer journey is different.
If you’re in the middle of re-thinking your business and business model, start with your high-level goals: Why have we founded this business in the first place? What do we want to accomplish with it? Where do we want to be in the upcoming years? 

If you have a clear vision of those business goals, you can start to translate them into a tailored digital marketing plan, instead of just spending money for the fun of it!
And this is exactly what we do within our Dot office:

1. Get to know your business and talk about your business needs
2. Analyse your current data & performances
3. Created a customized digital marketing strategy using only those channels which are important for your business.

Interested to know more about our way-of-working and services. Go check it out!

Our society has shifted from a “going shopping” to an “always shopping” mindset.

And yes, we all plead guilty right? Where 15 years ago, we went out for a shopping spree twice a year and bought everything we would need for the next few months, today we’re shopping on an almost daily basis just because we can!

Therefore, you – as a company – not only have to be present all the damn time but also use the right marketing tools and strategies in order to reach your customers at the right time, at the right place. Our main message: Be there when the customer is looking for you!

The complexity of marketing has increased drastically over the last 30 years. The rules of the game have stayed more or less the same, but the complexity and the size have increased.

• The number of channels has increased and still keeps on increasing
  Think about which channel is most important for your business and start from there, rather than just be everywhere but getting nothing out of it.
• The number of daily touchpoints has increased exponentially. Going from seeing 4-5 ads in one day (in the paper or on a billboard) to seeing 400 to 10.000 ads in one day.
  Keep this in mind when you want to start up your ads: your customers are seeing so much in just one day. If you want their attention, you really need to stand out!
• We’re spending more and more time on our mobile devices. On average, 2,5h are spent on social media through our mobile.
  Knowing this, it’s super important to have a mobile-friendly website but also mobile-friendly creatives. Read more about this here.
• The privacy of our customers has become an important matter of discussion.
  This hot topic will be further discussed in one of our upcoming articles, so stay tuned!

There are 6 pillars to keep track of the rapidly evolving marketing landscape. 

1. Always start with your ultimate business goals (and remember that “being digital” is not a goal itself)
2. Constantly gather new data and be transparent about it. More importantly, do something with your data. Analyse-it and learn from it.
3. Make an analysis of your customer’s journey. Tap into it by choosing the right mix of channels and timings to get in touch with your clients.
   Want to know how we manage this? Read more about this in our customer journey article.
4. Be as personal as you can be and use the same tone of voice for your on- and offline marketing.
5. Focus on negative customer experiences, rather than on positive ones.
   Don’t think: “What’s going well and how can we make it even better?”
   Do think: “What’s going wrong and how can we fix this?”
   If you’ve struggled with negative reviews for example, here are some tips on how to tackle this.
6. Think out of the box, be creative, but also learn from others.
   In order to stay relevant, you have to be unique. Don’t just copy everything from your competitors, because this will simply not work. Think, test & learn! 

Are you looking for a partner to guide you through your digital transformation?
We’re really excited to get to know you and your business.
Reach out to us for more information!