Always start with a strategy that provides clear objectives, a plan to reach those objectives and solid analytics to assist in your next campaign.

1. ONLINE
MARKETING
STRATEGY

2. It’s no surprise to anyone that has been effectiveness. Under the umbrella of strategy we
in business over the past five years that work to increase productivity, quality or overall
the market place is changing at an speed when in fact these are actually tactics that
alarming rate. We also know that the support an overall strategy.
vast majority of this rapid change is
being driven by technology, especially
Re-Think Engagement
Internet technology. Results of these
We need to recognize that how the customer
rapid changes are driving business
‘shops’ regardless of whether your customer is a
owners and managers to regularly
business or a consumer has changed,
evaluate their company’s position in the
dramatically! The buying process has changed,
marketplace, their products and their
so our online strategy has to adapt to these
service positions to ensure that they are
changes. Today’s customer is in charge and they
maximizing business growth.
are only going to engage with you when they feel
that you are talking directly to them. To
Start With A Strategy
accomplish this, it is critical that we segment our
The first thought in any business owner audiences based on - at the very least - their
or managers head when wrestling with position within the buying cycle.
the “what to do” is, Strategy. It’s the
definition of what ‘strategy’ is that gets a
Buying Cycle
bit confusing. All too often when we There are five stages within the buying cycle of
think about strategy we tend to focus today’s customers; awareness, consideration,
on what is actually operational inquiry, purchase, and retention and the type of
information that your customer requires at every
stage is unique. So, your online marketing
strategy must provide the most relevant
experience at every stage of this buying cycle.
• Awareness: your online marketing strategy must
include provisions to make your company,
product, or services visible to your customers
that are unaware of you.
• Consideration: During this stage of the
customers buying cycle, they are educating

3. themselves. They are researching and this paper, you customer is actively crossing both
comparing your company, your online and offline channels on a regular basis for
products, your services, and solutions all sorts of information. In fact, in a recent survey
within your industry and even the other over 45% of the customers that were interviewed
people that you have done business (B2B and B2C) said that they will be making their
with. future buying decisions by crossing multiple
•Inquiry: Finally, we can start to see marketing channels.
some tangible results from our
To stay current with this rapidly changing
marketing efforts. This is where the
marketing environment, today’s marketer must
customer reaches out with
build integrated campaigns and communications
communications to start their dialogue.
across these channels, many times driving the
•Purchase: This is as important a stage
customer from one channel to another to provide
within the buying cycle as the previous
them with the most relevant experience, possible.
three stages. During the purchase
stage the customer experience is still
very important and they are expecting
you to make this process as simple as
possible for them.
•Retention: We’ve all heard the
analogies on how much more expensive
it is to get a new customer than
retaining an existing customer. During
the retention stage it is very easy for the
customer to leave for the smallest of
Bring It All Together
reasons. During this stage of the buying
cycle it is critical that you give the It all comes down to making sure that your
customer reasons for staying with you. getting the right message, in front of the right
person, at the right time. Being online is all about
Cross-Channel accomplishing business goals and your strategy
is answering the question ‘how am I going to
Synchronization
achieve these goals’. There are a lot of channels
As was mentioned at the beginning of and people online; when properly planned out,

4. the rewards can be great, and the About 3Sixty Interactive
frustration that can occur from not
marketing online correctly can be equally 3Sixty Interactive is a professional agency with
great. Before you write one word, online, over ten years of experience in the digital world.
think about who your customer is, what They offer a variety of digital marketing solutions
they want to know about your company, that include search engine optimization, digital
products, or services at the different advertising, email marketing, social media,
buying cycle stages, and then where customized strategy reports, analytics and
would be the best place to take them, maintenance of your marketing plan.
online, to get that information.
Learn more about 3Sixty Interactive at www.
3sixtyinteractive.com or by calling us at
1-877-43Sixty.