A world-class digital marketing agency does not reach the pinnacle of success by accident. Instead, planning is at the root of everything from growing market share to increasing revenue streams. And these days, growing numbers of digital marketing agencies are forging ahead by adopting the START planning process.
START planning is more than just throwing some ideas against the wall to see what sticks. It is highly intentional. It is highly targeted. In the digital market arena, it optimizes strategies and processes designed to guarantee that return on investment (ROI) and other pertinent business outcomes remain the core of every effort being undertaken.
With that in mind, I asked the experts at Webtek Digital Marketing how START applies to what digital marketing agencies do day-to-day. Here is a summary of what they told me:
1. Situation
START’s first basic premise is situation. Simply put, marketers analyze the current situation in which they find themselves. They need to know what they are dealing with before they can come up with the appropriate strategies. A proper situational analysis includes the following:
- Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).
- The organization’s current digital presence across every channel.
- The organization’s primary audience, along with their typical online behaviors.
- The organization’s primary competitors and their digital strategies.
This first phase of START planning is all about understanding your current position. It is a lot like planning a military battle. You need to know where you are, what your assets are, what the enemy is doing, etc. before you can proceed.
2. Targets
If you haven’t noticed, START is an acronym. The ‘T’ represents targets. For the digital marketing agency, targets could be any number of things. Think of them as goals. You might want to increase website traffic or improve your conversion rate. Your main target might be a larger social media following. It could be generating more qualified leads.
Going back to the battle scenario, you need to come up with an objective before you can plan your attack. In digital marketing, your objective is your target.
3. Actions
With the situation and targets identified, it is time to choose the actions you believe will help you reach the objective. There are likely multiple actions in play even when you’re aiming at a single target. If you’re looking at multiple targets, you’ll obviously need more actions. Typical actions among digital marketers include:
- Creating a content marketing strategy.
- Developing an SEO strategy.
- Implementing social media campaigns.
- Investing in PPC.
Multiple actions combined should lead to successful target acquisition. But the right actions are critical. It’s easy to chase actions that will have no meaningful impact on the target. So digital marketers need to be careful.
4. Results
The results phase of START planning is really about launching the actions you have determined are most appropriate. Once launched, you gather data relating to the results. Here’s where KPIs become critically important to the marketer. KPIs offer a clear and unbiased view of whether targets are being reached.
5. Track
The final phase of START planning involves tracking performance for the purposes of making modifications. Digital marketers make use of a full array of analytics. Where applicable, A/B testing can improve action effectiveness
START planning may not have been originally developed exclusively for marketing, but it is a tool that digital marketing agencies can put to good use. When agencies plan with intention and clearly define targets, success is more likely. Conversely, the chances of failure are greater when marketers merely throw things against a wall to see what sticks.