Once upon a time, in a mystical, digital land far away from the world of traditional advertising, a business owner searched for the rarest, most valuable creature of all ⏤ a magical unicorn of marketing with renowned power over an online marketing domain.
Sound familiar?
Confronted with the confusing world of digital marketing, a business owner often hires a marketing manager to solve all the challenges of a complex and ever-changing ecosystem. But does this sole investment guarantee the outcomes small and medium-sized businesses expect or need?
Can a Marketing Manager Really Do it All?
A marketing manager who possesses creative and technical acumen and can create viral content and analyze its performance on all the marketing channels would undoubtedly be a find. However, William Goddard, President of GoTo Marketers, a full-service digital marketing agency, says the magical marketing unicorn does not exist, and assuming your marketing manager can do it all is like believing in a fairytale.
A talented digital marketer can do a lot, but they can’t solve every problem an SME faces,” Goddard explains. “Marketing is not solely a social media manager you hire to do 20 posts a month. It is not a local SEO specialist optimizes your Google My Business page or a pay-per-click campaign on an advertising platform. Marketing doesn’t work as a one-person show.”
Mike Poeltl, Marketing Manager at Handling Specialty Manufacturing, an industrial manufacturer of custom automated guided vehicles, scissor lifts, and custom personnel lifts, would agree with Goddard’s assessment. Handling Speciality’s talented marketing manager has been with the company for over seven years and is responsible for all the marketing channels, including the website, content, branding, and social media.
Despite his years of experience, Poeltl understood he couldn’t do it all. He knew precisely where his blind spots were regarding digital marketing. He convinced Handling Specialty to invest in marketing tactics he wasn’t versed in, such as search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search campaigns on Google. But to be successful, he needed an expert partner to do quality work and understand the data from these tactics. Mike turned to GoTo Marketers to support him in SEO, paid campaigns, lead generation, content planning, and website maintenance. He relies on the team to provide the data he needs to drive decision-making and optimize his marketing strategy within his allocated budget.
Goddard says Handling Specialty’s marketing challenges with the mythical unicorn marketer aren’t unusual. His observations stem from more than 25 years of working with SMEs and enterprises to deliver results-oriented sales tactics and digital marketing systems that drive businesses forward. Goddard has seen online marketing evolve from the early days of web advertising and website SEO trickery to sophisticated data-driven tactics and strategies that allow companies to make informed marketing decisions that drive repeatable and sustainable results.
Relying on a single person to understand the complex nuances of effective content marketing, email marketing, lead generation, marketing automation, social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and other strategies is a common small business trap.
Goddard believes this is because most SMEs fail to grasp the digital marketing landscape and journey fully. However, believing in a unicorn marketer is only one of the common mistakes SMEs make in their marketing efforts.
Common Marketing Mistakes
Even though most SMEs understand the importance of digital marketing, they are frustrated by a failure to see a return on investment for their efforts. However, a few common mistakes can hinder digital marketing success.
Poorly Defined Marketing Strategy
In Goddard’s experience, one of the most common mistakes SMEs make is failing to develop a marketing strategy aligned with a sales strategy. Without a results-oriented plan that maps to business objectives, a marketing manager can’t evaluate what tools and tactics best suit a business’s needs.
“Looking at Google Analytics without an eye to understanding the problems and opportunities is pointless. They’re just numbers. And, unfortunately, too many small and medium-sized companies focus on vanity metrics such as the number of likes on a Facebook post or followers on Twitter without aligning their marketing to a sales strategy,” he explains.
Without a strategy to guide decision-making, marketing managers often choose approaches they feel most comfortable with rather than what is best for the businesses. As a result, there is often a lack of clarity on what success should look like from marketing efforts.
Lack of Quality Marketing Content
Failing to invest in content is another mistake many SMEs share. While businesses often move online because it is where their customers are, companies fail to develop content that will engage those customers. Since the pandemic, consumers have become more adept online, expecting a business to maintain an active online presence by engaging in digital conversations. But how can SMEs engage customers if they don’t have anything to say with content such as blogs, videos, podcasts, infographics, case studies, testimonials, and white papers?
Goddard says clients should share stories about the pain points customers face and how solutions address those problems. However, a sole marketing manager doesn’t have the time or knowledge to create content independently. Often, they have to be a project manager for contracted resources rather than focusing on strategy. The result of inefficient processes is a lack of quality content and over-spending on marketing that doesn’t engage customers.
Underestimating Marketing Investment and Timelines
The biggest mistake SMEs face when embarking on digital marketing is underestimating how much and where to invest to be successful. “Marketing is a commitment. When a business fails to plan, invest, and improve its marketing operations, it plans to fail,” says Goddard. “Too many companies invest as little as they can. They think they can run ads on Google, write a blog or two, hire a part-time social media person, and see good results from these efforts. They won’t. Effective marketing takes time, people, and investment in the right areas to deliver the results a business expects.
SMEs looking for a marketing magic wand or quick silver bullet will be disappointed. Marketing is a journey, not a sprint, and it requires an investment that matches commitment. Small and medium-sized businesses need to invest in the right-sized systems and resources to make marketing work.
If Not a Magical Marketing Unicorn, Then What?
Despite all the challenges digital marketing can present, SMEs can find success. With the help of GoTo Marketers, Handling Specialty saw organic website traffic leap 188% year-over-year and website contact forms double, generating more qualified leads for its sales team.
However, to have success like Handling Specialty, businesses need to understand digital marketing better, especially as it relates to their customer’s (and potential customers’) buying journey. Making the commitment and investment in developing a results-oriented, customer-focused strategy, creating content that will attract and engage customers, choosing what marketing channels will perform best, and continually optimizing based on data is more than a one-person job. Finding a reliable partner like GoTo Marketers can help demystify digital marketing and turn a fairytale ending into real-world success.
GoTo Marketers offers free one-hour consultation to help SMEs understand its full range of digital marketing services. Companies can take advantage to explore the options, ask questions, and get free advice. GoTo Marketers’ passion is client success and quantifiable results. When you partner with GoTo Marketers, you get a team of experts who will make your success their business. They will do the right thing for your business at the right time and within your company’s budget.
Book your free one-hour session here.
www.gotomarketers.com, [email protected]
