The triple threat of being quarantined, barred from visiting clients in person, and under pressure to keep delivering sales and profits has had a seismic impact on digital transformation, it turns out. The adoption of digital marketing tools, services, platforms, and strategies has risen dramatically as a result of the COVID-19-led paradigm shift in how customers work and buy.
These shifting winds have increased reliance on CMOs to serve as the “meteorologist” of the times, assisting in the deciphering of changing customer behaviors, interpreting the impact of digital platforms, and leading a return to normalcy following the pandemic.
With this increased reliance on CMOs comes increased pressure to deliver: CEOs expect their CMOs to take on more responsibilities and ensure faster growth than ever before. Don’t even think about the medium term. What matters now is the present.
Of course, digital transformation is nothing new; it has been demanding a seat at the corporate table for more than 20 years. However, as the adoption of more and more excellent digital tools has accelerated in recent years, external stakeholders have increased their scrutiny to ensure that data and privacy are protected.
As a result, most Chief Outsiders CMOs anticipate an 11 to 25% increase in digital marketing spending in 2022. This prediction was confirmed by eMarketer. They predict a 15.6 percent increase in digital ad spending in the United States in 2022, following a 25.5 percent increase in 2021.
Where Should Your Digital Efforts Be Focused?
Paid search, organic SEO, video, social media, email, and content marketing are all areas where Chief Outsiders Fractional CMOs and their clients will invest in digital in 2022, according to our proprietary research. However, marketers must clearly define product-market fit and go-to-market strategy in addition to defining the media mix. Only then can digital channels be integrated into an omnichannel approach to demand generation and capture.
Another point to consider: Our findings support the importance of content marketing, as evidenced by our research. Content is the engine that drives digital marketing, and it’s an important part of helping Google sort through the 5.6 billion daily searches on their platform to find relevant results for your business. To help us compete in the search query sweepstakes, we’ve placed a premium on quality (and keyword-rich) content.
Because of this emphasis on content, you’ll hear a lot more about a new concept called 10x content. The concept of “10x content” refers to the idea that only the highest-quality content will help you own a specific topic or keyword. This does, in fact, necessitate a larger investment in professional writing resources (though some CMOs have seen improvements in content written by AI as an alternative).
How to Make the Most of the New Digital Landscape and Position Your Business for Success
So, how do you know what media mix, content, and digital tools will propel you to the top of your market segment? We recommend a deep-dive digital assessment at Chief Outsiders to see how a conceptual digital strategy compares to those of your competitors.
A digital assessment, for instance, using tools like SEMrush (a SaaS product that analyses the effectiveness of your content for search engines, among other things), can show:
- The size of your company’s digital presence in comparison to competitors, relative positioning in regional or international channels, and digital growth over time are all important factors to consider.
- Insight into the content strategy of the analyzed companies, including what SEO keywords are searched for and which company captures the majority of traffic. SEO keywords are snippets of conversations taking place in your market. You will own the market if you can master those conversations.
- What digital campaigns are companies in your market running, and how much are they spending on them? SEMrush and other similar tools can reveal what’s going on behind the scenes in the digital world and highlight the various strategies used to acquire new customers.
- What role do the media, analysts, influencers, and technology partners play in raising market awareness?
The findings above can help you gain a better understanding of competitive strategies and show you where you can gain market share and increase sales velocity.
An omnichannel digital strategy can also improve the LTV: CAC ratio (a measure of a customer’s lifetime value versus their acquisition cost) as part of a larger demand generation strategy. Paid search strategies in the middle of the funnel (MOF) are generally the most expensive, whereas long-term Top-of-Funnel (TOF) awareness campaigns built for organic search will yield the best sales velocity.
What Is the Best Way to Implement a Digital Marketing Strategy?
While marketers are frequently entrusted with acquiring and implementing digital strategies to improve the customer experience and the company’s go-to-market strategy, it will be most effective if CEO buy-in is obtained. Many businesses, including many tech firms, are falling behind because they lack a top-to-bottom digital adoption culture. It’s understandable: there are a lot of options and a lot of complexity, and the landscape is constantly changing.
Learn more from Marketing and read Are Digital Marketing Courses Worthwhile? Professional Marketers Respond.
