Digital Marketing Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing 2nd Edition

Book Preface

Digital Marketing Strategy: An integrated approach to  online marketing. Before we get into the meat of the book I thought  that you might find it useful if we go over what it’s all about. My inspiration to write this book came from the fact that I have struggled  to find supporting material and helpful tips when I have been constructing  my strategies over the years. I have always been able to find guides and tips  on each digital channel, on user experience, digital transformation, customer  service and many more relevant subjects but there are few that bring it all  together and also consider how the digital strategy should fit within your  organization, no matter what it might be. I hope this book goes some way  to filling that gap.

Firstly, it is worth looking at what we mean by digital strategy.

What is a digital strategy?

This is perhaps best answered with a question. Can you sum up in one  sentence what you will be trying to achieve over the coming years? If not,  then you don’t have a strategy. If you can articulate that but you don’t know  how to get from where you are to your end vision, then you don’t have a  strategy. If you have a vision and a path to get there then you have a strategy  but if that is not based on research, bought into by your leadership team and  with clear deliverables then your strategy will almost certainly not be a success. If you were to Google the word ‘strategy’ you would find definitions  such as ‘A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim’  (www.oxforddictionaries.com) and ‘A method or plan chosen to bring about  a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem’  (www.businessdictionary.com). Both of these definitions are of course true,  but we need to go deeper.

What we look at in this book is how to turn your great ideas and those  of your team and business into one strategy that is robust, agreed and  aligned with your wider business. This strategy needs to go through some
12 Digital Marketing Strategy clear steps to becoming something you can believe in, clearly articulate, gain  advocacy for and work to as a clear plan to deliver you vision. This needs to be accomplished through these core areas:
● understand what is possible;
● understand your business and market context;
● understand your customer;
● understand the potential challenges you face;
● plan your strategy for optimal delivery;
● understand the possibilities within the relevant digital channels and  touchpoints;
● measure and evolve your strategy;
● gain buy-in.
Once you have these in place you have a strategy and so this book is designed  to address each of these steps.

What’s the story of this book?

As mentioned above, this book will talk through each of the key steps to  creating your strategy.

In Chapter 1 we look at the background of digital marketing, wider  marketing and business models to ensure that the strategy you develop is  based on proven techniques and models. This gives some academic perspective  that is very useful in ensuring that your methods are robust. From here, in Chapter 2 we move on to look at how your strategy must  align with your business if it is to perform effectively. Working in silos is a  challenge that many large businesses face but whether your business is large  or small it will need to be aligned. A business that pulls in different directions  runs the risk of pulling itself apart.

In Chapter 3 we look at some of the challenges that face digital marketers  today. There are many challenges that can completely change the shape of  your strategy and so understanding these early on is vital. Once we have the background from these first three chapters, in Chapter 4  we look at effective planning processes and how to ensure your plan is solid  and logical before we get into the detail of each channel.

In Chapters 5 to 8 we look at some of the key channels. This book is not  designed to be a ‘how to’ guide to digital marketing and so we don’t go into Introduction 3 every channel and the detail of technical set-up, but we do focus on strategic  and tactical approaches to each and what that means to your digital strategy.

In Chapter 9 we look at user experience, as this is the ultimate destination  of most users, and we also examine digital transformation within your  organization before moving onto wider marketing techniques in Chapter 10,  such as CRM and retention and how these apply to your digital strategy. Personalization (Chapter 11) is increasingly important and the effects of  this on customer service and content strategy are examined in Chapters 12  and 13 respectively, as well as best-practice service principles and best-practice  content techniques.

We look at measurement throughout the book but Chapter 14 goes into  detail on tracking, measurement and analysis as well as reporting techniques  to encourage knowledge sharing and continuous improvement. In Chapter 15 we examine how we take your strategy and gain buy-in  from your decision makers.

After you have covered all of these steps you should have a strategy that  can withstand the tests of time, aligns with your business and is agreed by  your key stakeholders, but that most importantly takes your business on a  journey to delivering excellent digital progress for your organization