around how many posts that you want to
put up on each platform. Neither should
it require you to spend on something that
you do not understand.
A plan looks at your overall objective,
regarding what you want to achieve from
digital marketing. It also guides you as to
which would be the best platform to find
and engage your customer, and where you
will achieve high conversions. Creating a
digital marketing plan of action will help
you avoid Reactive Marketing which can
dilute your message and take away from
your objective.
Jumping in Without a Plan
Yes, the competition appears to be eating
into your market share. Yes, you have
targets that you need to meet. Yes, the
pressure to succeed is mounting and
things are slipping through your fingers.
Yes, if you do not do something soon, you
may miss out on an opportunity. The best
way to get forward is to take a step back.
Planning is at the heart of any strategic
growth activity. Planning requires your
input, as well as the input of marketing
professionals that can identify your key
issues. Consider a marriage going through
a rocky patch. The issue appears to be a
lack of communication, so the couple
attend seminars, speak to friends and even
have a team of people praying for them.
Nothing works. They finally meet with a
qualified therapist who within one session
will identify that the real issue is from the
past where they both experienced some
kind of trauma. Once they face it, the
marriage is back on track and it feels like
a miracle.
Marketing follows similar principles.
Often, as a business owner or manager, you
can identify the surface issue which you
passionately attempt to address. The real
problem is not addressed, and the results
are not forthcoming. A consultation with
a marketing strategist will lead you to a
breakthrough on your issue. Through a
planning process, a business can identify
its growth goals, and come up with a
strategy to meet these goals.
Getting Overwhelmed by
the Choices
To some, marketing means printing flyers.
To others, it is sending messages on social
media. There are those that believe it is
putting up billboards. All these options
are correct. Marketing is broad and
falls within different categories. When
meeting with a marketer, you may hear
terms like above the line, below the line
and through the line and wonder what
they are all about.
My advice, the best place to begin is
Direct-to-Customer marketing. This
requires you to interact with your
customers directly and is the fastest way
of discerning what works and does not
work. It also ensures that you can measure
conversion and accurately calculate ROI
on your marketing activities. Furthermore,
this approach can be incredibly cost
effective.
From Direct to Customer marketing, you
can then develop a plan to help you market
effectively on other channels to broaden
reach, including television, print, radio,
and more. Ultimately, growth is the result,
the journey can be smooth, insightful
and rewarding. A sound investment of
consulting with a marketing strategist
will set you on the course of success. Or
you could choose the alternative - there
is always someone waiting in the wings to
catch your ‘easy’ cash.
Valerie Ambetsa Siganga is the
Growth Strategist and Marketing
Consultant
at
Pink
Africa
Marketing, a Marketing Agency
that helps businesses grow. You can
commune with her on this or related
matters via email at: Valerie@
pinkafricamarketing.com.
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Owachi Africa Ltd
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