News / Opinions
Digital Marketing or Digital Strategy ?
There are a lot of opinions, views and much information available about digital marketing and digital strategy. This can, in itself, cause confusion about what a business needs as the lines are blurred and it is difficult for non-experts to get a handle on what they really need to help their business move forward.
Digital strategy, often headed up by a CIO, will cover issues like the whole Information Strategy in the digital world including systems, hardware, Enterprise Resource Planning, communications, integration, future proofing and much more.
In contrast Digital Marketing, under a CMO or similar, will include the digital communications both externally to prospects, customers and influencers, and internally to employees and stakeholders, as well as the software and systems that need to deliver these communications.
To help clarify the situation, digital marketing and digital marketing strategy centre around the website and communications as well as the software and systems that help deliver these communications, both externally and internally.
The place to start is with the audience (customers, prospects, channels, influencers, employees and internal stakeholders) and understanding their needs, the buying process, and their preferred devices and channels of communication. This can be a large task and also quite complex.
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Re-branding? It doesn’t have to break the bank!
There’s barely a day goes by without seeing news (and plenty of opinion) about companies that have or are re-branding. And it’s often an exercise associated with high costs, risk and a business-wide programme that gobbles resources and time.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. Especially for SMEs who recognise the need for change and a refresh in order to grow but where management resources are stretched as it is.
The big question for many senior managers in SMEs is whether a re-brand is just a licence for design and branding agencies to print money. And what to believe!
For example, can the agency actually prove that all the investment is needed, or that the most effective re-brand strategy is/was used? Most agencies will do a good job, but like all of us in business, they are interested in selling their services and making money..
So what’s the best way to navigate the muddy re-brand waters and make sure you get the results at a sensible cost?