For some of our clients the online presence of a website is simply enough, whether this is due to budget restrictions, workload limits being reached or time restraints.
However with today’s dominance of social media and online white noise you have to do more to cut through to your audience, you have to act smart, capitalising on your contacts, drawing in potential customers and offering more to existing clients. Of course all of this takes resources and time, that’s where a primarily automated Digital and Social Marketing Workflow comes into play.
A Digital and Social Marketing Workflow connects all of your digital and social marketing processes with your website sitting nicely at the core. The purpose of this workflow is to minimise gaps and maximise potential.
To explain how a workflow could look like we are going to use Shop Example A.
Shop Example A sells jewellery to a market audience of 20 – 40 something females. Shop Example A primarily serves it’s online purpose with an e-commerce website, recently engaging a growing audience outside of its typical local market reach. Due to this influx in audience they want to ensure their business is setup online properly for growth.
Workflow Approach 1: Target a new audience
Get them in
The following activities within the workflow create a fresh and ever changing environment for the user as well as providing great SEO results bringing you up the google-search-rank ladder.
- New products added ongoing (maximise productivity and schedule product releases each season ahead)
- New product ranges advertised through homepage slider & automate NEW Products area
- Google or Facebook ads (based on budget reach can vary but very beneficial for a new business online)
Keep them in/interested
These days its not enough to bank on a first time visitor to buy straight off the shelf, collecting data and revisiting them via email alerts and social media capture will keep the brand front of mind for when they next need, whenever that may be, in a week, a month or a year!
- Connect Mailchimp and offer an incentive for potential customers to sign up for news and specials (eg. 10% Off their first purchase at Shop Example A)
- Automate a welcome email to the new subscriber within a week and encourage them to return to the website and to follow them on social streams.
- Include a wishlist to the ecommerce store that they can add their most wanted products to, ensure the wishlist can be shared and most of all returned to within the next month to encourage a return to fullfill their wishlist cart order
- Enable and encourage Social Media sharing and Pinning of products to Pinterest.
- Integration of shop assist applications such as AfterPay to encourage buy now / pay in instalments for a noticeable increase in sales behaviour.
Workflow Approach 2: Target existing or post audience
Keep them interested
It is generally known in the business world that it costs 3 times as much to acquire a new customer than to sell to an existing customer. So take advantage of your existing customer database and ensure they keep coming back for more.
- Birthday offer – automated from Mailchimp list information gathered on sign up, limit them to the month of their birthday with a minimum spend.
- Mailchimp e-news campaigns, at least once a month either targeting new ranges or sale campaigns linking back to website.
- Blog posts at least weekly, automatically shared via all social media streams
- Automated Instagram to social media setup so real time candid pics (at markets, jewellery in the making, behind the scenes photo shoots, product teasers) are shared instantly with audience.
- Utilise the hashtag #shewearsshopexamplea to share customer pics of them wearing the jewellery, you’ll share it, they’ll share it; opening up more exposure to relatable target audiences.
Keep them informed
Automatic customer service is the way of the future, the customer wants to know instantly that their order has gone through, that tracking is available when the product has been shipped, and if they have a problem they want to know that their customer service enquiry has been received and is being looked at.
- Automated tracking process of shipped item to advise customer when item has been shipped, the tracking number (and link) and completion of order.
- 2 weeks after completion of order an automated email is sent asking them how they found the process and ability to review their item, also encouraging social media share with applicable hashtags eg #shewearsshopexamplea
- Automated and instant customer service reply email with an estimated turn around time and contact details should they need to contact you about their problem.
- Keep your customers informed of any changes in circumstances including, but not limited to, privacy policy, brand identity and general trading updates. Oveall business transparency will strengthen a business to customer relationship.
As you can see with Shop Example A, with a little work and a lot of automated data handling, your business workflow will run smooth and results will speak ten fold to customers and industry watchers alike.
Is your business looking for to implement a Digital and Social Marketing Workflow? Contact us today.
