Are your clients up to speed on digital marketing? Competition for revenue, both online and offline, has never been more intense. To drive revenue, your clients need a clear definition of their goals for digital marketing. Then, they need to put their plan in place. The new Digital Marketing 2018 survey from Clutch reveals how successful retailers are managing all things digital.

Goals

The top goals most businesses have for their digital marketing investment are:

• Boosting sales/​revenue 28%
• Improve brand awareness 19%
• Convert leads 15%
• Stand out from competition 13%
• Increase website traffic 11%

Digital Formats

As Clutch analysts report, digital marketing’s value is its ability to influence purchasing. Once a business defines its goal, leaders can decide which digital channels will help them achieve success. The following formats are most commonly used by businesses:

• Social media 81%
• Website 78%
• Email 69%
• Display/​banner ads 55%
• Mobile app 53%
• Content marketing 53%

Analysts point out that social media, website and email investments work because marketers can “tell a story about their products or brand.” Even better, an email or social media communication allows a brand to directly connect with a potential customer.

SEO

What about the value of less popular digital marketing formats? The Clutch survey reveals only 44% of businesses use SEO. Two issues arise when marketers encounter SEO. One: they don’t understand how the method works. Two: impatient marketers need to understand that SEO takes a while to bear fruit. SEO works well in conjunction with other digital formats. For example, when your clients take the time to embed the right keywords into the main pages on their websites, consumers will find them. Proper keyword use on content pages will increase a marketer’s position on search engine result pages.

Small versus Large

The Clutch survey also detected differences between how small and large businesses use digital marketing. At least 21% of large businesses (5,000+ employees) use digital to help them stand out from competitors. Only 7% of businesses with fewer than 500 employees say this is a goal. On the other hand, about 21% of smaller businesses expect their digital marketing to increase brand awareness. About 14% of large businesses say the same.

If your clients are curious about how their digital marketing activity stacks up against the competitors, run a Digital Audit for them on AdMall from SalesFuel. Explain what they're doing well and offer to help them in the areas that need improvement.