5 Signs You Need A Digital Marketing Plan Refresh

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I hope you have a digital marketing plan.

If you don’t, it’s time….

Even if you do have a digital marketing plan:

  • Is it complete?
  • Is it up-to-date?
  • Is it on par with what your competitors are planning?
  • Have you had any new, outside ideas recently?
  • What are you missing?

Here are 5 signs you might need a refresh on your digital marketing plan:

WARNING SIGN #1: You Haven’t Done Anything Majorly New In Over A Year

Is it business as usual, or do you have new ideas?

Even if your ideas last year hit the ball out of the park, chances are, your competitors are aware and are catching up.

How are you going to stay ahead?

Business is like walking up an escalator the wrong way. When you stop moving, you’re going down.

When was the last time you analyzed all your data for insights?

When’s the last time you tried something new and big?

WARNING SIGN #2: You Aren’t Getting Significant Impact From One Of The Following: Facebook, Google, Email Newsletters, Outbound Email or Retargeting

These are all fundamental strategies for most companies today:

  • Facebook Ads
  • Google Ads
  • Email Newsletters
  • Outbound Email
  • Outbound Phone
  • Retargeting Ads

Every company uses each differently, and to different extents.

But for every one of these strategies, there’s a company that utterly relies on it.

So even if you’re checking the box by doing all of these, it’s time to ask about each one, “What more we could do? What might we be missing?”

For example:

  • Facebook Ads: Are you using them for leads? For online sales? For increased awareness? To get a video message about your brand out? How are you advertising on Instagram? Do you have the right sized images and length of videos to take advantage of all 12 placements?
  • Google Ads: Are you doing responsive ads? Gmail ads? Do you have phone number extensions in place? Sitelinks? Are you using YouTube for Action ads?
  • Email Newsletters: Are you split-testing subject lines? Have you tested text vs. graphic emails for deliverability? Are your open rates beating industry benchmarks? Are you segmenting and personalizing?
  • Outbound Email: How’s your deliverability? Are your lists good enough? Have you optimized send rates and pacing?
  • Outbound Phone: Are you using a web dashboard? Can you listen in to calls easily? Are you optimizing your script based on the calls you review?
  • Retargeting Ads: Are you using them? Are you using video reach ads to grow another type of retargeting audience? Have you analyzed the difference between your most effective retargeting and cold ads for insights? Do you have a full-funnel ad strategy with different creative for each segment?

WARNING SIGN #3: Your Results Are Below Industry Benchmarks

Every year, a bunch of great organizations post benchmarks for advertising, email and outbound sales.

Do you have those benchmarks at your fingertips?

Are you beating them, or falling behind?

WARNING SIGN #4: You’re Doing Well But You Want To Raise The Bar

Everyone gets comfortable.

The bigger your company gets, the more that seems to happen.

But every good organization also has drivers who push everyone to stay current and get further ahead.

If you’re a driver, you may be hearing from within your company, “Things are good!”

But you want them to be great.

You might be told, “Our marketing is competitive,” but you want to destroy the competition.

In cases like this, you sometimes have to go outside your organization for new viewpoints to shake things up.

WARNING SIGN #5: Big Changes Are Happening In Your Industry, Niche Or Area

Life is a story of never-ending adaptation. Change is constant.

We have to keep up, and get ahead.

At any one time, certain industries are going through big changes. Some companies are quicker to respond. Some are slower. Those that are too slow may not survive.

Changes come from many things:

  • Government
  • Economy
  • Culture
  • Technology
  • And more…

Sometimes the change is regulatory. Sometimes it’s globalization or culture. Sometimes tech outsiders disrupt the status quo and change how business is done. It might be something else entirely.

Regardless of the source, we have to adapt, and our marketing, advertising and sales has to adapt with it.

Refresh Your Plan

These are just a few of the reasons that a digital marketing plan can fall out-of-date.

When the plan is wrong, so is execution, and you may end up in the wrong place.

Check on your marketing plan today, and give it a refresh!