Marketing is a Battlefield

To paraphrase a line from the 1979 film, Apocalypse Now: We love the smell of marketing in the morning.

While the war of inbound marketing is a different kind of battle than the war fought in the jungles of Vietnam, the two definitely have a few things in common: 

• two sides opposing each other in search of success 
• conflict arising from where best to allocate resources 
• beating your opponent to the mark
• swaying public opinion in your favor

Hey, they don’t call it “guerrilla marketing” for nothing.

In the marketing war, your competitors will fight hard for every bit of market share possible. Your business must do the same.

The Marketing War

With the wealth of options available to consumers these days, businesses face greater competition for market share and profitability than ever before. This battle isn’t fought in swampy jungles or arid deserts, though—the marketing war takes place online, during each step of your sales funnel. Digital marketing agencies must fight for every lead acquired. Retaining your customers while your competitors try to steal them is a endless tug-of-war. The examples are many: every time your marketing agency squares off against a competitor, your business risks losing hard-fought ground on the marketing battlefield.

To make matters worse, marketers can get bogged down in the trenches of analytic aggregation and detailed customer journey analyses. Losing perspective of your larger marketing strategy prevents you from applying broader industry practices that give your organization a competitive edge. What should marketing agencies do in this war-torn landscape of online combat?

Calling in Special Ops

If you feel overwhelmed by the superior strategies of your competition’s marketing battle plan, it might be time to lay down arms and call in Special Ops.

Yes, if inbound marketing is a battlefield, then think of digital marketing agencies as elite soldiers ready to sweep in and rout the enemy. These agencies can be hired to go to battle on behalf of your business and provide game-changing improvements to your marketing efforts. However, not all soldiers are created equal. When searching for these mavens of marketing, make sure they have the essential weapons necessary to help your business stay in the fight:

• SEO Capabilities: SEO is still an essential skill for marketers to have in their arsenal. Your digital marketing agency should understand the SEO basics of keyword research, inbound links, domain names, and meta data.
• Paid Advertising: Paid search marketing does wonders for brand visibility and improved marketing outreach. Agencies should understand strategies in this area, involving paid-per-click ads, cost-per-click analyses, and how to leverage tools like Google Adwords for maximum effect.
• Social Outreach: In our social world where over 1 billion people have Facebook accounts, social media outreach has become an essential part of your marketing battle plan. This involves understanding which platforms your markets use, what your customers' values are, and the best way to socially engage them in a way that fits into your marketing sales funnel.
• Market Intelligence: Now that there is more customer activity data available than ever, our databases are overflowing with information. What value does this bring if it isn't leveraged for marketing and competitive intelligence? Stellar digital marketing agencies know how to harness Google Analytics and other innovative technologies to gather, report and make tactical moves based upon market intelligence.
• Marketing Automation: Automated marketing software is a powerful tool used by digital marketing agencies. These technologies streamline your sales funnel from initial customer awareness to customer acquisition and all the way to their purchasing and post-purchase advocacy. It takes a trained hand to operate these tools, and they play a large role in the value your special ops team can bring to the table.

Don’t Fight The Battle Alone

Now, we know what you’re thinking: can’t we achieve these goals on our own, without calling in Special Ops? The answer is yes, you can, with a big caveat—it’s difficult to generate competitive results without a dedicated team backing you up. Think about it. When one fuse blows, you replace it handily. But when your entire fuse box goes up in a puff of smoke, do you try to fix it yourself or do you hire an electrician? What about when your car needs maintenance? Do you take it to the shop or just poke around under the hood trying different strategies until something works?

Your marketing is no different. Better customer outreach, lead generation, retention, and improved customer loyalty aren’t goals that can be achieved by simply throwing ideas against the wall and seeing what sticks. Marketing is a complex battle that requires time-tested strategies and an experienced hand to run them. Will your DIY marketing generate demonstrable returns on your ROI and contribute to your growth in a manageable way?

Don’t go into the marketing battle alone. Leave your marketing to the pros who have experience and industry insight. Your marketing "Special Ops" know what they’re doing—stand back and watch them work.

Unsure if you're winning the marketing war?  Find out if it's time to call in Special Ops by downloading our free checklist!