News and Insights
Picture This: The Art and Science of Integrated Digital Marketing, Simplified.
November 24, 2020
Recently, a new client showed us an old infographic our team had created way back in 2015. We were thrilled to rediscover the concept (and we’re sharing it for your reference below). We were also pleased that a prospect who is now a client remembered and saved something we published years ago. Imagine that.
Our graphic lays out how brands get clear, get noticed, get chosen, and, ultimately, how they get results. It also demonstrates how these efforts are inextricably connected. Our client showed it to their executive committee to explain the entirety of the project they were undertaking, and how all the pieces fit together. The project is a performance marketing initiative. While a new website is the centerpiece, the initiative is part of a holistic effort to reimagine the firm’s brand and its digital marketing program.
If your boss, colleagues and internal clients don’t quite get how all the pieces of your program fit together, show them this. Sometimes a simple picture is worth all those words.
Why we created the informational graphic
In 2015, we called our graphic “The Digital Sales Force.” It was a reimagining of the classic marketing-to-sales funnel, created as the world around us changed and we tried to explain it to our agency’s clients. Then and now, we believe there are four important reasons we all need to revisit that familiar model:
- The disruption of the digital age. Being surrounded by all things digital has come to seem inevitable. The mountainous accumulation of data being compiled on human behavior is creating the illusion that we can sell anything to anyone if we just know how to tap the data. This leads to the second reason to revisit the funnel …
- The timeless reality that if you don’t have a good story, well told, no one is going to listen — no matter the caliber of media or how precise your targeting is. And then, there’s …
- The business effects of the virus, and how it has made live events, meetings and in- person relationship-building less central to today’s marketing plans. Plus …
- The demand for metrics to prove the worth of our marketing and calculate the effectiveness of our sales efforts.
Additional notes explaining the graphic as you move from left to right, including the importance of the brand at each step:
Get clear with a compelling brand proposition or story
You won’t be surprised to hear a leader of brand consulting and design says a compelling brand position is core to your digital presence. If you drive people to your digital assets and it’s not apparent what you stand for or what you are promising, why would they stay? Analytics prove they often don’t.
Get noticed with engaging brand expression and content
Today, getting your message out through numerous channels is not the problem; noise and clutter is. Without an engaging personality or something valuable to say, you are at a loss for words — so to speak. The old analogy of the cocktail party applies: If you’re not interesting and interested in me, I’m not interested in you. “Engaging” means “memorable and valuable and personal.” Compelling content is the jet fuel of this new lead-generation engine. Not all content rises to this challenge.
Get chosen with a compelling brand argument
Congrats, you made it to the proposal and pitch stage. Yes, by definition, your pitch should be about the client and their problem or opportunity. But to help make the case that you are the right provider, you also have to crisply connect your brand and offerings with the buyer’s need. To get chosen, you need to find the right balance of “about them” and “about you.” Put another way, how will your brand help theirs?
Get results with a pleasing brand experience
We all know it is so much easier to get more business from existing clients or customers who have experienced the brand than it is to go all the way to the left side of the diagram and begin again to “get noticed.” Even with digital shortcuts, there are still so many stations to travel through before virtual relationships become real and lasting. Making your experience pleasing once you are chosen may be the most important step in the process.
We’d like to thank our new client for bringing this old piece of thought leadership back into focus. Sometimes good thoughts get better with age.
POSTED BY: Joe Walsh
