A digital marketing plan is one of the basic tools when starting any action in the field, especially when online commerce grows day by day and competition becomes more intense with the number of participants.
It is for this reason that applying a strategy without being clear about what to do or based on improvisation could harm the future of your e-commerce.
Maiden Stride invites you to create a digital marketing plan in these 8 steps to help you guide your work and take advantage of the potential of this channel.
How to create a digital marketing plan for e-commerce?
We know that a digital marketing plan is not something unique to the e-commerce industry, there are multiple areas that can take advantage of and benefit from the implementation of one.
Even so, in an area where the most important sales channel – and sometimes the only one – is digital, the relevance of having this guide is undeniable.
But before delving into its advantages, we must clarify what it is and what this planning includes.
What does this plan consist of?
A digital marketing plan is a document in which the guidelines to be followed by the company in this department are outlined. It proposes an internal and external analysis of the situation, the objectives, strategies and tactics to be carried out.
Ideally, this plan should not be longer than three pages and should be the product of exhaustive research to refine each of the points that make it up.
This document should be as detailed as possible in the fewest number of pages since the success of the project will depend on its correct creation.
How can implementing one benefit my ecommerce?
Among the advantages that applying a digital marketing plan can give you, we find the possibility of building a global vision of the market to which you want to enter or are already part.
This analysis will help you keep track of your competitors and your current situation, allowing you to direct your strategy appropriately.
Furthermore, as we mentioned before, by being clear about what you want to achieve and what you will do to obtain it, you will not have the insecurity of improvisation and you will be able to know exactly what to modify to improve your strategy.
Steps to build a digital marketing plan
Every plan has steps to follow, but before each part can be developed, it is first necessary to write the base document for everything. How do we follow a plan that we don’t know? How do we create a plan without information?
In this section, we offer you 8 steps to create and apply your own digital marketing plan.
1. Investigate the situation
It seems obvious, but many times we stay with what we believe about the market without conducting an in-depth investigation of the context and situation.
It is essential for success to know your market, your competition and how your business is compared to it. This analysis has to be as objective as possible, for this it is best to start with a SWOT analysis of your e-commerce and your competition.
A SWOT analysis consists of identifying weaknesses, threats, strengths and opportunities; With its elaboration, we draw a general overview of what is happening with our brand.
This information will be useful to reinforce those areas that you notice are weaker, to improve the user experience and to know what actions your competitors are taking.
In no case is it about copying our competition, but rather learning from what they do and fine-tuning our strategy.
2. Know your audience
Researching who you want to sell to is important to choose the way in which your team will approach the strategies they wish to apply.
Devising a buyer persona – a fictitious representation of your ideal client – will help you see your target more specifically.
Knowing your target audience, their needs, the way they search on the Internet, the websites they visit, and all that information will give you the foundation to create a solution to their problems and needs.
3. Set your goals
With knowledge of the situation and your audience, it is now necessary for you to analyze the short, medium and long-term objectives for your e-commerce. Remember that although sales are always part of those goals to be met if your business is just being born, you must first make yourself known and gain the trust of your future clients.
At this point, it is relevant that you do not forget that every strategy of your company must be aligned with the objective of your business, with its purpose, mission and vision, and with the work ethic of your team.
There must be coherence between what you want and what you do and never set goals that are utopian. You will not be able to verify the success of your actions if you set incorrect and impossible objectives and that would only cause frustration by wasting resources.
4. Decide on a strategy
The next step is to decide the strategy with which you will meet each of the previously established objectives. There are different types depending on the channel you use for your e-commerce, such as strategies focused on social networks, and search engines, and they even vary depending on the type of products you sell.
Finding the strategy that best suits your business can be one of the most difficult parts, however, if you already know what you want to achieve and who to target, deciding how you will make it happen is not as complicated as you imagine.
Analyze your options based on the information you’ve gathered during the previous steps and don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities. And always if you have doubts, you can use our calculator to estimate the budget projection you want to give to your digital strategy.
5. Define your tactics
If we consider the strategy as the set of actions to be carried out, the tactics would be the activities into which these actions are broken down. They are the way in which you will execute the strategy that will lead you to meet your objectives.
Let us give you an example to make it easier to understand the difference. If our goal is to attract clients interested in a bohemian lifestyle, the strategy could be to create related content so that they know us and our tactic could be to define a regularity of 3 posts a week on a social network where our target audience is located. All this provides valuable content to people.
6. Schedule deadlines
Every tactic has to have deadlines to know if it is feasible or not. These deadlines do not have to be inflexible, but it is necessary that you have an approximate time for each task.
An action calendar or a Gantt Chart can be an effective guide to control the application of your strategy.
7. Assign tasks
In this step, you must delegate the tasks to be executed in the marketing plan for your e-commerce. It defines who will be responsible for each action, what the procedures will be in case of eventualities and to whom each person in charge will be responsible.
The effective application of a strategy requires the collaborative work of your team and trust in the skills of each member.
8. Monitor the results
Once the digital marketing plan is in place, analyze your results constantly. Measurement and analysis are what will allow you to know whether or not your strategy is effective in meeting your goals. And if you notice that the results are not positive, look for a way to correct and adapt your action plan in time.
You can track results through metrics using data processing tools or analytical software. One of the most used is Google Analytics.
Little by little a marketing plan gives results
Yes, we know, it sounds a little intimidating to consider writing your digital marketing plan, after all, when you read that the success of your e-commerce could depend on this document, it is normal to fear doing it wrong.
But we are here to support you! By following these steps that we listed for you, making this should be easier.
