Digital marketing is an important theme that cannot be separated from the growth of a company. But, of course, there are many people who don't know "how it really matters" and "how to use it" in detail. This time, we will explain the meaning, necessity, and operation tips of digital marketing in detail.

 

What is digital marketing?

There are several differences between BtoB and BtoC "digital marketing". We will explain the difference between web marketing and digital marketing.

 

Characteristics of digital marketing

Digital marketing is a term that refers to all marketing activities that use digital technology. In addition to website management, this includes e-mail and web advertising based on data such as customer information and advertising using analytics. 

Today, through the Internet, it is possible to have close contact with customers. In digital marketing, information becomes a weapon from this point of contact. 

You can use various information such as inflow rate from SNS, word-of-mouth sites, advertising, and digital points member information. 

What are the measures that lead to the effect of digital marketing? 

What kind of system is actually effective in digital marketing? Here are some tips to keep in mind when starting digital marketing.

 

1. Measures to acquire new customers

To acquire new customers, measures need to be implemented from different perspectives.

 

SEO

When creating content, providing information that meets the needs of searchers will increase the effectiveness of the SEO system. To increase the number of visitors to your website, let's select keywords, analyze customer data, do competitive analysis, etc. 

When creating content articles, we will gradually demonstrate the effect of attracting customers by continuously creating, such as using keywords that customers are looking for in the title and title. 

Listing advertisement

They appear primarily above and below search results with the word "ad" in the site description. The ads listed are "Google Ads" and "Yahoo! Search Ads". 

The advantage is that you can directly reach potential customers who are searching for terms related to your ad and are highly motivated to buy. 

Getting started is relatively easy, just go to the dedicated ad management screen and enter the required information as instructed.

There is no need to contact the person in charge of the media company to discuss the terms or check the ad script. 

You can start posting anytime 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The amount is also very easy, and the minimum price can be used from $ 1,000. This is an ad that is easy to challenge for companies that want to start advertising easily

 

Video ads

The development of digital devices such as smartphones has accelerated the shift to online purchasing methods. 

If the purchasing method changes, the service provider must adapt the marketing plan accordingly. Video ads have the great advantage of being able to give users a concrete image online.

 

Influencer Marketing

The use of influencers on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is becoming common not only in BtoC but also in BtoB. This method is used by many companies today. It aims to improve company branding and product and service recognition. 

However, recently, more and more companies are using influencer marketing as a source of branding. Because it is a valuable tool that lets us directly know the level of satisfaction with the service, such as user feedback and word of mouth. 

An increasing number of companies are acquiring potential customers and conducting seminar guides by sending appropriate messages based on the results of the analysis. 

With improved analytics functions integrated with influencers, it will be possible to manage registrations for ads and seminars narrowed to specific targets such as age and gender.

 

e-mail magazine

It is a very effective method to take action against many potential customers with little cost and effort. 

Communication within the company is mainly done by email. It is said that an average of two and a half hours per day is spent answering emails. Regular email distribution and campaign announcements increase the likelihood of being seen by customers who spend a lot of time on email. 

Therefore, it is considered a very effective way to improve the awareness and willingness to purchase from the users

 

Utilization of content such as blogs

Blogs are one of the most useful tools for communicating the features and uniqueness of your company's services. 

It is also useful for displaying functional pop-ups to users who have viewed certain content on your website, or for notifying users when content has been updated. We can provide users with fresh and high-quality information.

 

Online seminar (webinar)

From topics that potential customers have and may be interested in, we connect them with the knowledge and products we can provide. 

By organizing seminars near customers, you can inform them about your company and increase their trust. 

Recently, the number of webinars conducted using the web is increasing. Online tools will play an active role in various situations, such as requesting participation via e-mail.

 

2. Measures to strengthen existing customer loyalty

The history of customer behaviour that can be collected using web media is powerful analytical data for digital marketing. 

In general, it is considered a good way to acquire new customers, but it can also be useful for generating repeat sales from existing customers and establishing new contractual connections.

 

3. Measures to improve operational efficiency and productivity

Marketing automation is essential for improving operational efficiency and productivity. 

Marketing automation is software that automates and visualizes marketing such as email, SNS, and websites by collectively managing company-owned potential customer information. 

It automates a series of processes such as cultivating and selecting potential customers and sharing information with the sales department, greatly improving operational efficiency. 

Developing a simple prospect takes a lot of work. Email newsletters require a lot of work, such as selecting recipients, entering addresses, checking and analyzing email open rates, analyzing whether people are visiting your company's website, investigating interest in seminars, and surveying participation rates. 

By introducing software, the workload on the person in charge is reduced and it is possible to focus on the work that should be done. As a result, you can work on tasks other than analytics, which leads to improved productivity.

 

Key points for planning a digital marketing strategy 

When it comes to digital marketing, you need to have a strategy. Let's take a look at digital marketing in the B2B context and think about the strategy you should develop according to your company. 

Two Digital Marketing Challenges Faced by SMEs for BtoB 

The importance of digital marketing is obvious, but it's also true that small and medium-sized enterprises have unique challenges. There are two issues here.

 

1. Low annual budget

A small annual budget can be a big challenge for digital marketing. 

A third of companies have an annual budget of less than a million. Company size is proportional to budget, and it is clear that companies with annual sales of 1 billion yen or less have almost no budget. 

About 60% of groups with annual corporate budgets for digital marketing between 3 million and 10 million dollars (37.7% of the total) are trying to increase their budgets. Furthermore, more than half of the companies with annual budgets of 10 million yen or more were expected to increase their budgets. 

This is the result of clarifying how important the role digital marketing plays for companies. 

But, more than 60% of companies with annual budgets of 3 million yen or less are maintaining the status quo or declining. It is expected that the budget gap will increase further in the future.

 

2. Shortage of digital marketing talent

The lack of skilled human resources is also a major problem in digital marketing. In the questionnaire survey, about 50% of companies answered that this is a problem for promotion. 

A shortage of outsourcers has also been seen among companies with annual digital marketing budgets above 3 million. After 3 million it increases rapidly and 30 to 40% is problematic. 

About 50% of companies answered that they want to stick to hiring their own employees. But among companies with annual budgets of $5 million or more, a number of companies with annual budgets of $5 million or more responded that they were OK with temporary staffing and they were OK with subcontracting. 

We want to stick to our own reactions, but we can clearly see that the current situation is not going well due to a lack of human resources. In other words, they lack planning skills rather than practical skills.

 

Summary: Maximize your business with digital marketing

Digital marketing is positioned as an essential element for corporate growth and will increase in importance in the future. 

At first glance, it seems difficult, but by repeatedly analyzing what kind of service you want to offer your customers and what kind of service your company can offer, you will be able to deepen your understanding of digital marketing. 

Let's aim to maximize the business by making good use of it.