Digital Marketing Checklist: Essential Steps for SMBs to Get Started | Denave
Prepare Before Getting Started

Snapshot

The diversity of digital marketing approaches and platforms seems intimidating to most small businesses. However, starting an internal digital marketing function isn’t as challenging as most businesses presume.

In this blog we discuss the steps small and medium organizations can take to build and nurture their digital marketing function. We look at the digital marketing checklist for small businesses while building their internal engine. Additionally, we talk about what they must be mindful of at each of these steps to increase the chances of success.

Digital marketing and SMBs: A fear of commitment

Small and medium businesses (SMBs) have traditionally struggled to build a strong digital marketing function internally. Unless they happen to be a part of the digital industry, most SMBs neglect digital marketing owing to stringent budgets, lack of expertise, and limited digital readiness. If they have any digital presence at all, it tends to be focused on a single platform or channel to optimize costs. They often rely on a digital marketing agency to help build their online brand identity.

Further, a lack of digital understanding prevents many SMBs from making the most of the many benefits offered by digital marketing.

Small and medium organizations incorrectly assume that digital marketing is an extremely resource-intensive activity, whether in the form of outsourcing or setting up an internal team. Let us disprove this notion by understanding digital marketing checklist for small businesses and how they can set up internal digital marketing teams and operations.

Let's look at some of the best tactics to set up an internal digital marketing operation for the small and medium businesses:

Four things to do after launching your digital marketing campaign

Outreach: Begin by reaching out to all the people in the organizational and professional network about the new identity, the services provided, and a strong CTA. Then, put outreach efforts into the next gear by sending emails to the database that has been curating. Prioritize people according to relevance and follow up diligently. Marketing experts have long advocated the importance of building the right connections with the right people in the industry as an integral ingredient for success of digital marketing campaigns.

Set indicators: Set up easily measurable indicators and checks to help understand the overall direction of the team. Create internal parameters of success and failure, keep referring to them periodically, and be flexible to change them according to new developments. Having these indicators will help in deciding when to hire, downsize, shift goals, expand operations, or wind up existing campaigns.

Network: Once the digital marketing team is officially in business, it’s time to take the database building to the next step. Actively network to seek out collaborators and even find organizations within the industry you can partner with. Sign up for conferences, round tables, and events to meet like-minded people and find opportunities to pitch company services. Have a short pitch, marketing collateral, and other company information handy at all times.

Experiment a lot: Finally, once the ball starts rolling, don’t be afraid to try something new. As long as the goals and methodology is clear, feel free to experiment with the messaging, tone, and visuals as deemed fit. Remember, at its core, digital marketing is a highly creative and emotional function, and there are many different ways of doing the exact same thing.

Things to keep in mind when starting a digital marketing team

Originality and focus: One of the easiest ways new digital marketing teams get distracted is by replicating competitors without much thought. It can be tempting to follow the footsteps of someone who has succeeded, but laying the foundation in this approach can be a double-edged sword. Small and medium organizations must have the right mix of originality and focus to build on their USP and uniqueness.

Setting the right expectations: Although digital marketing is an extremely effective method to attract, engage, and retain customers, it comes with riders. The initial investment can be high, results may take time, and a certain sense of consistency and dedication is required. So, be prepared to experience setbacks with the right expectations and conviction. Remember, any digital campaign may take up to 8-12 months to mature and deliver results, so be patient.

Experience is expertise: All the degrees, training certifications, and online courses in the world pale in comparison to the actual experience of implementing a digital marketing campaign when it comes to learning. The more digital marketing projects are implemented, no matter their scale or kind, the more experience is gained. In digital marketing, expertise is truly built by how much has been practiced and not by how much is known.

Stay flexible and keep learning: Finally, don’t be afraid to respond to new trends or unanticipated demands. If a new opportunity or market development can help you pivot to make the most of untapped potential, don’t be afraid to show some flexibility. It is also vital to stay on top of industry trends, best practices, learn about new tools, and deploy new concepts to stay relevant and agile.

Key Takeaways

Digital marketing holds the key to scale up business growth. However, small businesses can find themselves tangled in a complex web of jargon and acronyms. Small and medium businesses can use the above guide as a starting point to avoid common mistakes, stay focused, and use the right approach for creating an in-house team of digital marketers. Digital marketing is a continuing process, enterprise can also partner with a dedicated digital marketing agency and take help to kick start the process. However, it’s important to know how the agency works and evaluate its capabilities.