Surely no one knows your customers like you do? They’re your customers after all. However, once upon a time, before they gave money for what you are selling, before they became Facebook fans and subscribed to your newsletters, they were mere strangers.
Once they were part of a target customer base of millions or tens of millions. Now they’re loyal, die hard fans, brand advocates. This is a relationship you’ve spent years building, investing in, working hard to cultivate and nurture.
Across digital channels, where there’s more distractions for your customers, a digital marketing strategy which supports their needs is more difficult to implement.
Brands are now faced with customers wanting to communicate with them via Twitter, Facebook, on smartphones, tablets, through support tickets, as well as more traditional methods like email and the phone. Developing a strategy that maintains or improves customer experience across multiple channels is now the challenge CMOs are grappling with.
Just like with any of life’s challenges, sometimes a little outside perspective can shed light on new ideas and help you overcome roadblocks. Here’s why considering an outside consultant can benefit your digital marketing strategy and your customers:
1. Experience Based Analysis
Outside consultants or agencies are better able to view your brand from a customers perspective. They have the resources to take data from stakeholders to assess how customers actually interact with your digital assets. Customers won’t always interact with websites or across social networks the way you would expect.
2. Wide Angle Lens
With this information they can start to plan for a strategy which will move you towards hitting your long, medium and short term objectives. Often an in-house marketing or digital team can get too mired in day to day activities, which means they lose sight of strategic objectives. An external team can clarify whats been done, what can be done and how an overhauled digital footprint can help hit those objectives.
3. More Objectivity
Internal marketing or IT teams will normally defend their turf quite vigorously. Everyone has an area of responsibility which means everyone has to show why their area deserves a larger budget or adds more to the bottom line. Add a layer of office or personal politics on that and then things can get complex and messy fast.
An external team has no such concerns. They should of course work with all the relevant stakeholders, but they should never have a dog in any fight. They will be able to clearly assess how to maximize the existing digital assets, reduce waste and enhance what you already have or develop a digital marketing strategy around what you need in order to create the kind of digital experience your customers will love you for.
