8 Points To Know Before You Do So.
As the Internet is the first place we look to when we want to buy something, it’s imperative you have more than just a presence online.
Waiting another week, month or year to see where the trend is going? This argument is now officially over. Digital is not a trend.  It is the vehicle that is going to double your business’ turnover, guaranteed. So what are you waiting for?
We know it seems like a big step, but it’s not really. Below we’ve outlined a few key guidelines that will give you direction on how to get your business selling mainly online, and double your turnover. We are not necessarily referring to creating an online shop, but to establishing a digital marketing and sales channel that could drive leads and sales via the Internet.
1. Time To Learn Psychology
This is the time for applying the art of persuasion over the impersonal Internet. Understanding your customers’ emotions is imperative. This will assist you and your business to craft the right kind of messages and apply the right psychology, using the right channels, to tell your sales story best.
2. Tell A Story
The only ‘secret’ to great marketing is an ancient truth – tell a compelling story. This is the secret sauce for artful persuasion on all digital platforms, but especially social. As the Internet is impersonal and faceless, it becomes essential that you can tell a brilliant, engaging and convincing story about your product and business. The one that tells the best story gets the best results.
3. Writing And Journalistic Skills Are More Important Than Ever
Persuasive and emotive copy is the unacknowledged magic wand of Internet marketing. If you do not have a brilliant team of writers, most of your efforts will fall flat and not generate contacts, leads, and ultimately sales. The answer is to arm yourself with the best copywriters and storytellers that you can find.
4. Digital Persuasion And Selling Needs A New Skill Set, So Educate Yourself
The days of taking your clients to lunch and having face-to-face interaction are gone. You now have to convince your clients over the Internet. Most transactions today are being done over email; so schooling yourself in email persuasion techniques is imperative and will pay dividends.
Equally important is the quality of your visual material. We often tell clients, “Use a mediocre photo and you get mediocre leads and sales; use a brilliant visual and you will see the results immediately.” First prize is using compelling, outstanding video.
5. Be Disruptive And Stand Out
In every medium, the ads that stand out, the story that gets the most attention, wins. Being too classic and elegant translates into weak lead generation and sales. Every medium needs a different approach and an interesting and attention grabbing marketing strategy. Everyone knows that a hard sell on Facebook will not bring you any success, but why not romance your clients on Facebook with a sequence of engaging stories, until they seek engagement with you. It’s then that you are in the perfect position to start the persuade-to-buy method.
6. Test The Game
The Internet is the perfect place to test everything about your business, your product and your sales technique. By showing a variety of ads with different messages you will soon see what the market gravitates towards. Test often and wisely.
7. Double Your Income, Halve Your Spend
Our advice is to spend a conservative amount in the testing phase. Once you know which steam works for you, increase spend to get more results. This is a very calculated strategy – using a small budget to find the right people, and then increasing the budget to get big results.
8. The Perfect Partnership
Choose the right digital agency.  Digital platforms like Google Adwords, Facebook and YouTube are complex and to be able to utilise them to their full potential, and not waste a lot of money in the process, the perfect agency is your biggest asset.
Here is our list of dos and don’ts when looking for the right digital marketing agency:
  • Do look for an agency that delivers high quality prospects, rather than massive volumes of clicks. Instead of vanity metrics, the agency should set key performance indicators (KPI’s) that are directly tied to growth in the areas most important to you.

  • Do not get baffled by tech talk. We would steer clear of agencies that focus on hits, likes and stats. Return on Investment (ROI) is the only measurable topic on the table. How many leads did you get from the money spent?

  • Do not worry about the management fee of the agency. If they are good you will see major returns and the cost would not be a factor.

  • Do choose an agency whose main aim is to increase your footprint, and drive prospective customers to action.

  • Do choose an agency that wants to test the process and their ability to get results for two months before asking you to make any long-term contract commitments.

  • Do choose an agency that is well-versed in the various digital PPC platforms, especially Google and Facebook, and has an exceptional team of copywriters, storytellers and creatives, and an unrelenting drive to solve problems and deliver value.

  • Do look for an agency that is willing to commit to doubly your income with their digital marketing efforts. Are they prepared to commit?