As we approach 2025, the digital marketing landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. It’s a world full of shiny new tools, AI-driven tactics, and the latest buzzwords—but succeeding in this ever-changing environment requires more than just chasing trends. True success comes from having a clear, adaptable strategy that aligns with your goals.

That’s why we’ve tapped into the expertise of our Elite Marketing Program coaches. These are not just industry experts; they’re leaders who have guided countless businesses to real, measurable results. Learn more about their work and explore their expertise:

• Lauren Petrullo: https://mongoosemedia.us/
• Monique Morrison: https://www.moniquemorrison.ca/
• Amara Omoregie: https://amarareps.com/
• Dave Albano: http://jozamarketing.com/
• Scott Cunningham: https://merchantmastery.io/
• Renée Boudakian: rubiconfranchisepartners.com

Their insights offer not just predictions but actionable strategies for navigating the challenges and opportunities of 2025. This isn’t about jumping on the next bandwagon. It’s about focusing on what truly matters—building a solid marketing foundation, embracing personalization, and leveraging AI and automation in a way that deepens your connection with your audience.

These answers capture the heart of what the Elite Program is all about—helping businesses cut through the noise with clear strategies, proven systems, and the latest insights to drive sustainable growth.

Read on to discover how our Elite coaches are helping businesses prepare for 2025—and how you can too.

1. What’s the Most Important Trend You Believe Will Define Digital Marketing in 2025, and How Can Businesses Start Preparing Now?

Lauren Petrullo

Content will curate your audience. This answer is going to be drastically different depending on the size of the business, but in general, you need to have better content and lead with personalization whenever possible. The more I sound like one of the many you’re talking to, the more I’m gonna ignore you as one of the many I don’t care about. With AI and emerging tech, it’s easier than ever to provide personalization in your marketing.

Monique Morrison

I think with the onset of AI and how quickly it’s transforming and its capabilities, we will see that as the biggest trend. It allows smaller companies to implement predictive and personalized customer journeys, especially in the retail and eCommerce space, and I believe that will be an important trend to jump on in 2025.

Amara Omoregie

I think there’s a difference between what’s trending and what needs to trend. What will trend in 2025 will be the shiny object that is AI and all of the cool things that you can do with it… that’s a given. We’ll see more tools rise, and old ones fall. During all of this ebb and flow as marketing technology continues to hockey stick, the ability to connect with humans on a deeper level will be what people will resonate with. What needs to trend is knowing our customers better and using technology to build deeper relationships with customers.

Dave Albano

Without a doubt, it’s AI. This should come as no surprise. You’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t realized the importance of this, but it’s shocking how many small businesses are ignoring it when it’s going to radically change the face of how we do business.

How to start preparing? If you haven’t already:

1. Dedicate at LEAST 1 hour a week to explore ChatGPT (upgrade to the paid version for $20/month to unlock its “current” potential—it’s only going to get better from here).
2. Subscribe to a reputable source for regular AI news and updates (e.g., Matt Wolfe’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mreflow).

Scott Cunningham

• Coaching businesses: Throughout 2024, we saw a big shift from high-ticket, one-call-close coaching offers back to low-ticket front-end programs that allow coaches to first build trust with their audience before committing to high-ticket programs. The buzzword of the year was that we are in a “trust recession,” and we need to allow people to experience our value before committing big. I predict that businesses who made this pivot will thrive in 2025, and those who didn’t will struggle to compete.
• eCommerce ads: AI is becoming more of a factor in building meta audiences, and I predict that people won’t be frantically testing new audiences so often. From what I’ve seen, and from what I’ve been told by high-level Meta reps, letting ads run gives AI more time/insights to adapt, instead of constantly changing things and causing it to re-learn.

Renée Boudakian

AI-powered personalization is going to fundamentally change digital marketing and transform the customer journey experience.

The big opportunity lies in building AI-powered dynamic, hyper-personalized systems that:

• Adapt messaging based on actual performance.
• Learn from real-time customer behavior.
• Optimize for individual preferences at scale.

How can businesses start preparing now?

1. Conduct an audit of your first-party data—understand what customer signals you’re capturing and where the gaps are. Focus on collecting quality behavioral signals and ensure your data is organized and accessible.
2. Perform an audit of your tech stack—most current marketing tools don’t talk to each other well enough to support real AI personalization. Now’s the time to fix those gaps and build connections between your platforms to prevent future headaches as AI capabilities expand.

The companies that win won’t be the ones with the biggest AI budgets—they’ll be the ones who build smart, scalable systems while staying focused on actual customer value.

2. If You Had to Pick One Growth Strategy to Double Down on in 2025, What Would It Be and Why?

Lauren Petrullo

Long-form video content. People will consume before they convert. With long-form content, they’re getting to know you before they even talk to you, putting you in a place where calls are with pre-sold prospects. Also, as AI evolves, video still has a year or so before it’s as competitive as blogs. Content written with AI has exploded over the last 3 years, making it more competitive than before as the barrier to entry and opportunity to compete is at its lowest. With long-form videos, you can then bring in the multi-lingual aspect and compete in a blue ocean while your competitors are struggling in crowded waters.

Monique Morrison

We’re doubling down on our loyalty systems and predictive AI strategies for our retail and eCommerce clients. For service-based businesses, back-end AI systems that automate clerical work and time-consuming tasks are essential, especially for those tasks that are not done efficiently but are necessary for the sales process. We’re implementing systems from Buy Back Your Time that allow our clients to focus on revenue-generating tasks rather than being bogged down by low-value but necessary operations.

Amara Omoregie

Organic. Period.
On a few different levels:

• SEO → GEO: Creating content strategies to not only appear in organic search but to have responses shared from your brand and cited in generative/AI search experiences (e.g., Search GPT, Perplexity).
• Social SEO: Positioning your social content for discoverability on the platforms and in organic search when possible, while building backlinks and shares to boost your brand.
• Forums and Communities: Reddit and Quora are dominating search. People want help, and like-minded people want to discover new things. These areas are ripe for innovation.

I’d triple down in these areas. If you do, you’ll build a moat around your business.

Dave Albano

Robotic Process Automation—it’s going to transform businesses. When you can build automated “bots” that have agency to replace humans and hours and hours… even DAYS of research, repetitive tasks, content production & distribution, voice call handling—you name it—your competitors will leave you in the dust if you don’t jump on board.

Scott Cunningham

• Live events: These have been our highest ROI activity for filling sales calendars and bringing in deals.
• Low-ticket community: We are doubling down on our low-ticket community and using webinars to fill it. Following our insights into how to navigate the trust economy, we’ve also learned that webinars are a great way to fill low-ticket communities because people first get to spend time with you on the webinar before committing to your low-ticket community.
• The Trust Tri-Fecta: Webinar or event → Low-ticket community → High-ticket community.

Renée Boudakian

Double down on building automated marketing and sales systems. Map and automate your customer journey, from first touch to repeat buyer. This creates predictable revenue that scales without draining your team’s bandwidth.

In 2025, your most valuable asset won’t be your content or products—it will be your automated acquisition system that converts while you sleep.

3. How Do You See Customer Behavior Evolving in 2025, and What Steps Should Businesses Take Now to Meet Those Changing Expectations?

Lauren Petrullo

Customers want to know more than ever and get frustrated if you miss out on sharing critical answers they need. You NEED better conversation starters and an outlet for the person to ask their questions rather than assuming you’ve provided the answers they need. If you’re letting customers struggle to find answers, you’ll lose them as customers.

Set up phone numbers and chatbots to answer questions WHEN they have them. STOP ASSUMING. People crave connection, and with “Prime’s same-day delivery” mentality, every minute a customer waits for a critical answer drastically affects your conversion rate.

Monique Morrison

AI really took off in 2024, and many have adopted chatbots and other AI communication tools. In 2025, I believe customers will become more aware of AI interactions and gravitate toward companies that can provide truly human or human-like experiences.

This will be a critical time for companies to balance the power of AI with the expectation for authentic human interactions.

Amara Omoregie

Customers are sick of funnels. They hate being forced to get on a rollercoaster and not being able to get off until the ride is done.

Meaning, they want to learn about what is out there without having to talk to a sales rep, download an ebook, or watch an hour-long webinar. They want to be empowered to make their own decisions. Whoever gives their customer the most agency to make decisions will win.

Dave Albano

BECAUSE of the rise of AI, trust is going to be at an all-time LOW and inauthenticity will be at an all-time HIGH. Businesses will need to go ALL-IN in cultivating authentic, transparent relationships with their prospects and customers and provide even more value by giving more in delivery than they receive in return financially.

Scott Cunningham

I believe that 2024 was the year of the trust recession, and I expect this behavior to continue in 2025. I think we need to show more empathy in our marketing towards our customers and their lack of trust, rather than ignore it.

I also think we need to work harder, and listen better, to earn that trust.

Renée Boudakian

The market is shifting from “wait and see” to “show me now”—businesses need to adapt their delivery speed and accessibility accordingly.

• Fast Wins Beat Big Promises: 2025’s customers are done with “it takes time” excuses. They’ll pick the company that delivers a 20% improvement now over promises of 100% in six months. If you’re a marketing agency, start by fixing one leaky funnel stage this week. Small, concrete victories build more trust than grand transformations.
• Break Your Solution Into “Now, Next, Later”: Give them something they can implement today (template), something for this week (quick process fix), and then your bigger transformation. When they see results from the quick wins, they’ll trust you with the longer journey.

4: What are the most effective ways to build trust with cold audiences in a crowded digital landscape?

Lauren Petrullo

The best way to build trust with cold audiences is through authenticity and upfront value. SHOW me. PROVE your deserved attention. Gen Alpha grew up on YouTube subscriptions, and they’ll be incredibly powerful purchasers in the coming years, with many already self-made millionaires. Gen Z grew up with influencers and #ad controversies—no one’s getting fooled. If you’re providing value in a gated capacity or pretending it’s valuable but really just advertising, they’ll know. So lead with authenticity. No one is perfect, especially not your customers. Be raw, vulnerable, and valuable. Don’t just talk about it; show how you walk it, and you’ll gain attention. By providing actionable ideas, you’ll command loyalty.

Monique Morrison

Getting out and being in front of cold audiences is crucial. Showing you’re a real person and listening to followers creates immediate trust with new audiences encountering your brand.
One tactic that has worked well is running contests for email subscribers, with bonus entries for commenting on an Instagram reel with a question. We then reply to those questions with another reel, which has boosted organic reach, engagement, and comments outside of contestants. When people see that you’re listening and responding, they’re more likely to engage. This has been a winning tactic this year.

Amara Omoregie

Shift their state of awareness almost immediately. And I don’t mean bragging about your company/brand. I mean, if they are unaware, make them problem-aware. Problem to solution. Solution to product. Product to brand/most.
Why?
If you can solve an unsolvable problem.
If you can treat a group of customers better.
If you can end people’s suffering.
If you can make people aware of solutions that didn’t exist.
If you can change the status quo.
You’ll get the right kind of attention, from the right people, at the right time, and they’ll trust you.

Dave Albano

Strip away big “productionalized” content pieces, especially in video, and shoot your reels, stories, video ads, etc., in your day-to-day element (e.g., walking down your neighborhood street) on your phone. While technology has evolved, what has NOT is PEOPLE… we still connect best through face-to-face eye contact, and the best way to do that in digital is through close-up videos in selfie view.

Scott Cunningham

We’ve been running ads to a webinar, where we offer a free $1500 gift to those who attend. Then at the end of the webinar, we give everyone a $1500 ticket to a three-day live virtual bootcamp, where all they need to get the ticket is join our $39/month community. This has been working very well for us.

Renée Boudakian

Demonstrate proof. Feature concrete results, verifiable case studies, and authentic customer stories—let real outcomes speak for themselves.

5: Many business owners feel their growth plateaus because they’re constantly in ‘reactive’ mode. How can they step back and create a scalable system that can handle growth without constant intervention?

Lauren Petrullo

Most of the time, business owners need to fire themselves from the operation side. HIRE someone who has done it not once, but at least twice before.

Often, it’s ego stopping you from reaching your potential. You assume because you got your business to where it is today that you’re the solution to get it to where it’s going tomorrow. That’s absurd.

If you’re afraid to invest in quality talent, then you don’t truly believe in your growth. Most people aren’t great at being entrepreneurs and business owners—it’s like 1% of the 1% that are successful.

There are MANY who could be intrapreneurs or strong supporting roles to get you out of reactive mode and back into your zone of genius.

Monique Morrison

In addition to what’s taught in ELITE and Scalable, most business owners would benefit from a strong executive admin to manage their time.

Also, AI and automation can handle many tasks that often distract from revenue-generating work.

The reactive mode often comes from not having time for high-value tasks due to a lack of systems to handle lower-value ones. This imbalance leads to a pattern of either a great marketing month or a great fulfillment month but rarely a balanced approach to both.

Amara Omoregie

Business owners need to quit collecting shiny objects and piecing together makeshift solutions. Your tech stack isn’t meant to be a bird’s nest of mismatched tools and trendy platforms.

Think about a lemonade stand. The fundamentals are dead simple: Go where your customers are. Put up a sign. Stock your product. Open for business. This is all foundational.

From there, you test everything. Your pricing. Your location. Your recipe. You watch the data – which spots bring the most traffic, what times drive the most sales. Then you adapt and improve.

Digital marketing has made it dangerously easy to skip the fundamentals. To shoot from the hip without a plan. That advantage becomes your burden when your systems turn into a tangled mess.

RevOps (revenue operations) brings back that simple lemonade stand clarity to your digital operations. One integrated system. Every component working together. Clear metrics. Real feedback. Continuous improvement.

Don’t be afraid to make educated guesses about your future. Just make sure you’re testing against a plan and using that data to get better. That’s how you build a resilient, scalable business instead of another bird’s nest.

Stop chasing trends. Start building systems that solve for your customer. RevOS keeps it simple, measurable, and scalable.

Dave Albano

Well Duh… that cues up ELITE and the Growth OS nicely now doesn’t it ;).

I’ll bite. Join a program with trusted advisors and experts that have already done what you’re trying to do, and implement the proven frameworks & systems they provide to scale predictably.

Scott Cunningham

You need a KPI tracking tool for every stage of the customer journey, and you need to actually use it.

Our team has been using DM’s Growth Scorecard for years, and it is our holy bible of accountability. It can be overwhelming/intimidating thinking we need to be insanely proactive at all times.

Our scorecard allows us to move small things forward bit by bit that creates a big impact. (AND, there was a period where we stopped using it, and things fell off. So I think we need to prioritize the basics).

Renée Boudakian

• Document & Systematize Core Operations: Map and create clear workflows for the critical 20% of tasks driving 80% of results.
• Automate → Delegate → Eliminate: Start by automating repetitive tasks, then delegate remaining processes to capable team members, and ruthlessly eliminate activities that don’t drive growth.

6: How can businesses leverage AI and automation to scale their efforts while maintaining a personal connection with customers?

Lauren Petrullo

My favorite way of leveraging AI right now is through personalized AI chatbots, where the chatbots even call prospects.

Start personal conversations with leads to discover their true questions rather than guessing what they’re looking for.

With AI and personalized connections, you position yourself to care about your customers as if they’re in a 1:1 conversation with you—at scale.

Monique Morrison

It’s essential to train any AI interacting with customers to be conversational and engaging, making it as human as possible.

There are many back-end tasks AI can manage that usually consume time. When those are automated, it frees up space for more one-on-one conversations and personal connections.

We’ve used AI to analyze customer actions and purchases, allowing us to use predictive marketing. For example, integrating our Shopify database with Airtable lets the AI analyze the data, which we then use to guide our communications with customers.

Amara Omoregie

Automate what works. Set that baseline, and make sure that AI can produce the same quality or better when it comes to its outputs.

Never settle with AI. It has the capabilities to take the best of what we do and make it even better if we provide enough context.

Dave Albano

Do the “Handoff”… Use AI & Automation to INITIATE conversations in “triage” sessions to find out what they really need, then pass prospects/leads/customers off to a real person via calendar scheduling, direct phone transfers, etc.

Scott Cunningham

Never ask AI to do all the heavy lifting.

Feed it your own frameworks, processes, and case studies so it’s not telling stories that anyone can tell. It needs to tell stories unique to you.

Also challenge AI responses, or give it options to vote on, and get it to explain why it chose what it chose.

Renée Boudakian

• Automate the Routine, Personalize the Meaningful: Use AI for repetitive tasks (scheduling, basic support, data entry) but keep high-value touchpoints human (strategy calls, problem resolution, relationship building). This lets your team focus on conversations that matter.
• Create Smart, Adaptive Workflows: Build systems that recognize customer patterns and trigger appropriate human intervention. For example: Have AI handle initial support inquiries, but flag emotional or complex issues that require human attention.

7: What’s the best approach for creating content that resonates with audiences in 2025? How should brands be adapting their content strategies now?

Lauren Petrullo

When creating content in 2025, start by crawling into your ad comments, emails, and customer service FAQs.

Begin by creating content to answer questions they’re already asking.

Yes, you can focus on SEO, but if you want to resonate, don’t focus solely on the algorithm—focus on quality.

Answer your current customers’ questions. They’ll share your content.

Decentralization of SEO is coming, and the focus needs to be on directly answering, quickly, and with quality to win the content game in 2025.

Monique Morrison

See my answer to question four.

In addition to creating short-form content based on audience questions, we also turn those questions into longer-form content and email content.

Open rates have been strong for emails where the subject line hints at solving a customer’s problem directly.

Amara Omoregie

Helpful.

Creating content to rank is so 2010.

Create content that people will come back to over and over for reference.

Writers need to learn how to write again.

Do actual research—not just SEO research, but topical research. We need topical authority and information.

SMEs need their brains picked clean of the good stuff.

Google is getting sick of crawling hundreds of variations of the same exact content, so pretty soon, pages are going to get deindexed for not being helpful.

The more web pages there are on the internet, the more it affects our carbon footprint, so it’s up to us as marketers to stop the proliferation of low-value content.

Dave Albano

Trends and market tastes will always evolve.

It’s your job as the content creator to have your finger on the pulse of what’s trending, what people are asking, on what they’re searching, on what their wants/needs/fears/aspirations are.

Turn to AI for research (ChatGPT can search the web now) and the age-old favorite: AnswerThePublic.

Then where possible (platform-dependent) serve up your content dynamically to target your various avatars and audiences by segment.

Scott Cunningham

In our eCommerce world, I’ve been teaching brands to write long-form origin story ads that have been working better than anything else lately.

Show that you are the biggest nerd in your category, and people will look at you as the expert you are.

Renée Boudakian

Share Real Stories.

“I was drowning in client emails last year” creates more intrigue and connection than “Here’s how to manage your inbox.”

When you share your honest struggles and unexpected wins, people see themselves in your story instead of seeing another expert talking down to them.

8: What are the most effective ways to increase customer retention and loyalty in 2025, especially as competition intensifies?

Lauren Petrullo

Personalized interactions while leveraging AI.

You need more touchpoints and effective communication based on where they are in their buyer’s journey with you, addressing their needs—not where you are in relation to them paying you.

Monique Morrison

One big shift in 2024 has been automatically enrolling customers in loyalty programs instead of making it an optional step.

We’re also enhancing our indoctrination series to offer additional bonuses and free gifts with each new purchase.

The welcome email typically has the highest open rates, as customers are most excited then, so we leverage this moment.

Part of our approach includes a survey to identify the customer’s pain points, which AI analyzes for product fit and to create customized email content that addresses their biggest concerns.

We use two separate processes for leads and customers.

Amara Omoregie

Over-serve your customers.

Over-educate them.

Have them be a part of your journey.

Give them access to new products without having to pay (e.g., samples, GWPs).

Recognize your VIPs with great perks that have mutual benefit.

Right your wrongs, especially in public.

Be honest.

Share your roadmap for improvement.

Celebrate the wins of your customers.

Empathize—like Chewy when subscriptions end when a pet crosses the rainbow bridge. They send flowers and a card, and they donate the last bag of food to the local shelter.

Dave Albano

Same as #3.

Further, if you look at THE best companies in the world with the best retention (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Apple Music, HBO Max, Disney+, etc.), they target their pricing by being 1% of the average Social Security check in the U.S., which is $1787 as of Oct 2024 (Source).

1% of that is $17.87, or that $15-$20 range such that ANYONE can afford them.

Scott Cunningham

Keep adding more value when customers are up for renewal.

We do it in our coaching program, offering renewal bonuses.

Just this year we offered our mastermind members new quarterly review meetings to keep them on track with big goals.

This is something we constantly brainstorm as a team to ensure we keep leveling up the customers’ experiences.

The same goes for eCommerce.

Renée Boudakian

Make Customer Problems Your North Star.

Every dollar you’ll make in 2025 is hiding in a customer problem you haven’t fully solved yet.

The best product roadmap is your customer’s list of frustrations.

When you become obsessed with their challenges, customer retention & loyalty is a byproduct.

Design Your Offer Ladder Around “New Levels, New Devils.”

Success creates new challenges.

Your offer stack should solve each new problem that emerges from conquering the last.

When you guide customers through their entire journey, solving each evolution of their problems, they never need to look elsewhere.

The key to retention is being their trusted solution provider at every level.

9: With so many marketing tools and tactics out there, how do you prioritize which strategies to implement? How can business owners avoid ‘shiny object syndrome’ and focus on what truly moves the needle?

Lauren Petrullo

I prioritize what can work with my existing systems and tools first.

Learning a new product or tool is exhausting.

I need it to yield atypical returns with minimal additional effort.

To avoid shiny objects, ask yourself: if you adopt this new tool or tactic, are you okay with zero returns for the next 6 months?

If yes, because the return in 6 months is worth the investment, go for it!

Otherwise, focus on optimizing existing resources and avoid adopting new ones.

Monique Morrison

The growth lever canvas is key here.

Having someone empowered to say “no” when new, shiny tools and programs could derail progress is also essential.

We use the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) method, which, combined with the growth lever canvas, keeps us focused on what truly matters.

Amara Omoregie

If it doesn’t align with a growth initiative already in play or improve the customer experience, put it on the back burner for another time.

When a business has its customer acquisition engine dialed in and is hitting targets consistently, then experiment.

Not when the stakes are high and there isn’t much room for error.

Commit to being methodical and disciplined until you have the runway to be experimental with shiny objects.

Most shiny objects are just that—and not worth anything.

Digital snake oil and hype.

Dave Albano

You must have the correct STRATEGY first, and plug in the tactics INTO the strategy, not the other way around.

See #5

Scott Cunningham

Never scrap something completely if it’s working.

I think it’s ok to allocate 5-10% of your resources/focus testing new experiments to see if you could do better.

But keep most of your focus on the things that are producing.

For example, before pivoting ad budget from our VSL funnel to our low-ticket community funnel, we allocated a small fraction of our total spend to see if we could fill the community, and also to see if we could ascend the community to our core offer.

It turns out we could, so we allocated more spend to the low-ticket community funnel.

The takeaway is, don’t tackle too many ideas at once where you are spread thin on focus.

Choose one thing to test against your main thing.

Get proof of concept.

Then pivot some focus to the new thing that’s working.

Renée Boudakian

Build a Customer Journey Scorecard.

Use a simple traffic light system (red/yellow/green) to visualize each stage of your journey.

If lead generation is red but your sales conversion rate is green, you don’t need another sales tool—you need better lead generation.

Focus resources where the actual bottlenecks are.

Double Down on What’s Already Working.

Before chasing new tactics, look at your current wins.

If LinkedIn is driving real sales conversations, invest more there before testing TikTok.

Scale what works before exploring what’s new.

The key is letting your scorecard guide your priorities—turn reds to yellows, yellows to greens, one stage at a time.

Closing Thoughts: Strategy Over Tactics for 2025

If there’s one lesson to take away from our Elite coaches, it’s this: strategy always trumps tactics. While shiny new tools and tactics can grab attention, they won’t deliver sustainable growth without a solid foundation. The businesses that succeed in 2025 will be the ones that focus on their customers, leverage personalization and AI strategically, and implement systems that scale.

The insights from our Elite coaches aren’t just theories—they’re real-world strategies proven to drive results. And that’s what sets the Elite Marketing Program apart. We’re here to guide you, to help you focus on what matters, and to build a marketing engine that drives growth predictably.

Don’t just adapt to 2025. Lead the way.

Join the Elite Marketing Program today and start building your strategy for sustainable growth.

Click here to learn more and apply.

The post The Ultimate Guide to Digital Marketing in 2025: Predictions from Our Elite Coaches appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Ever wonder what the most successful agencies did differently than everyone else?

Was it luck, skill, hard work, the industry they chose, or something else?

Through my consulting work at Revenue Boost, I’ve worked with and taught over 400+ agencies how to scale their business.

From this, I’ve seen consistent patterns & traits in the ones who grow effortlessly…

Versus the ones who stay stuck for years – no matter how hard they work.

One key difference in approach stuck out to me.

I’ll illustrate what this one difference was with a story.

Once upon a time…

Two marketers graduated from business school with big plans to start their own agency. 

Ready to conquer the world, they started cold calling, cold emailing, and doing everything under the sun to get clients.

And although they had the SAME levels of work ethic and talent…

One of them now has an 8-figure agency.

The other one of them is still freelancing odd jobs, barely making ends meet.

What did the successful one do differently?

He took a big risk and started turning down clients and projects.

Instead of offering everything to everyone, like most agency owners…

And being a jack of all trades but a master of none…

He decided only to serve Plumbers and be the best dang’ plumbing marketer on the planet.

With a goal to make their pipeline fuller than a broken toilet pipe.

He mastered the art of niching down and realized it would be easier to be the biggest fish in a small pond.

And you should too – and in this article, you’ll learn exactly how to define your own niche.

Now it may seem scary to turn down clients…and it may feel like you’re limiting yourself by focusing on only one client-type.

But it’s exactly the opposite. You’re actually limiting yourself by being everything for everybody.

Niching Down Can Help 2x-3x Your Revenues

One of my clients Lauren ran a digital agency offering everything under the sun.

Social media, paid ads, web dev, SEO, and she offered it to clients from many different industries.

Because of this, her agency stayed stuck at $25,000 a month and she couldn’t break through.

On top of that, she and her team worked so much harder than they had to and operations were messy.

Every client needed different things, required customization, and nothing was standardized.

We sat together to audit all her past clients, and we found that Medical practices were her best clients.

They were easy to sell, stayed the longest, and gave her the least amount of headaches and complaints.

So, she changed her entire business model to ONLY service this industry.

Then, she developed a standardized offer for that industry, rather than customizing everything.

One offer, to one target market. Afterwards, she started cold emailing businesses in her niche with her new offer.

The Results?

 She 2X’d her revenues and grew to $52,000 in monthly revenue in not even four months time.

All from making one simple shift. One decision that can make everything easier, and you can do the same.

See, most agency owners and marketers start out with one or two clients, and then they get referred new clients from various industries.

Before they know it, they’re marketing everything for everyone and have NO idea who their ideal client is.

The Problem with Running a Business This Way Is That It Becomes Impossible to Scale.

Every single new client requires a ton of research, thought, and brainpower.

Because each new client has different needs, it leads to having no standardized processes and systems.

Which keeps the founder stuck in the business and unable to hire a team.

The other problem that arises is acquisition.

There are hundreds of thousands of agencies on the planet, and it’s really hard to stand out.

UNLESS you specialize.

When you specialize in a niche – let’s say, SEO for plumbers…

Then you aren’t competing with every other agency on the planet. You don’t look and sound just like them anymore.

Now, you’ve created your own tiny pond in which you can be a big fish.

There are way fewer agencies that specialize in plumbers or SEO, let alone both. So, you’ve eliminated the competition with one decision.

If a plumber was looking at two agencies – one that was a general digital agency and one that specializes in helping plumbers…

They almost always choose the agency that specializes in their industry and has testimonials from people just like them.

Not to mention, it’s easier to market when you have a clear niche in mind.

You know who you’re writing your content for…

You know who to send emails and social media DMs too…

You know exactly who to target in your ads….

You know what podcasts you should get booked on

And so on and so on.

Plus, you can charge whatever prices you want. Because you aren’t compared to the hundreds of thousands of agencies out there – you have a unique offer now.

Committing to one niche makes marketing easier, it makes selling easier, and it makes scaling easier.

You only have to be good at doing 1 thing for 1 person, and you can build systems and processes around it. This way, you can hire a team to take it over and be able to work less.

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Now how do you do it? What if you don’t know who your ideal client is?

Step 1: Audit Your Current + Past Client List.

Write down every single client you’ve ever served, and group them by niche. Industry, location, size and so on.

Once you group them together, one niche might stick out for you already as your favorite type of client.

If it doesn’t, use my 7-Point checklist and rank each niche on a 1-5 scale.

These 7 criteria points are what makes a great niche.

#1 – Total Addressable Market:

How many businesses are in this market? Is it large enough to support your bigger goals? Is the market shrinking or growing? Make sure the niche is big enough for you and that it’s not declining.

#2 – Purchasing Power

Is this market (or at least a segment of it) able to afford what you want to charge?

Think back to if you’ve received a lot of pricing objections when you’ve sold to these people in the past.

#3 – Lifetime Value

How long did these clients stay? Were they one-and-done projects or did they stay with me for eternity?

The bigger the life-time value, the more money and time you can spend to acquire a client.

If the niche typically churns in a few months or only works with you for quick, one-off projects…

Then you’ll have to spend so much energy on sales and marketing to keep the business alive.

#4 – Strong Need & Pain

Does this market have an important problem to solve, one that they have to fix? Or, is what you sell just a “nice to have”?

If the latter, it’s going to be very hard to get clients.

If they can’t live without your solution, then getting clients will be a breeze.

#5 – Desire to Solve that Pain

It’s one thing for a market to have a problem, but they must also have a desire to solve that problem.

Even if they have the need that you fulfill, that’s not enough – they also have to care about fulfilling that need.

#6 – Easy to Reach

Is the market fairly easy to find online? Can you reach them via most advertising platforms and social channels? Are their groups and communities online?

If you’re targeting businesses that are hard to reach online, you’re creating one extra barrier to your success.

Step 2: Choose 1 Niche After Ranking Each of Your Past Clients.

Tally up all the rankings and pick the 1 with the highest score.

Don’t worry about making the wrong decision.

Consider this an experiment.

You aren’t married to your new niche, you can always change back in a few months if it doesn’t work out.

Step 3: Create a Pre-Packaged Offer for Your New Niche

The whole point of niching down is to create more focus and simplicity in your business

Part of this is about WHO you sell, part of this is about WHAT you sell them.

Start out by choosing 1 problem to solve for them, and 1 solution to that problem.

List out what the deliverables will be and what you want to charge.

Keep it simple! You can build upon this later.

Step 4: Test the Waters and Go Land 5 New Clients.

Before you make any drastic changes to your business, such as letting go of clients, changing your branding and website…

Test the waters first, and verify if this new niche is the direction you want to go.

Go land another 5 clients or so, and that’ll be enough to identify if these are really our ideal clients or not.

You might think they are at first but you’ll know for sure once you serve more of them.

Wrapping Up…

You know now the problems of being a jack-of-all-trades with no clear focus.

Every new client is a ton of work and requires customization…

And getting new clients is difficult because there’s nothing that stands out about your agency. You’ll look and sound like everyone else.

This means when you do niche down, and sell 1 offer to 1 target market…

Your workload will decrease. Each new client will be easier to serve than the previous one.

You’ll become world-class at helping your clients from all the focused repetition

You’ll quickly develop a reputation and become a big fish in a small pond.

In every way, it’ll become easier to grow, scale, attract, and retain clients.

Plus, you’ll have more fun and the business will be simpler & easier to run.

And with this knowledge…

You’ve learned the 5 simple steps to niching down.

So…

Time to get to work!

Put this into practice and watch it transform your business.

The post Profit More, Work Less: 4 Steps to Niching Down For Your Agency appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

Imagine a world where Sherlock Holmes has the sharpest mind but no intriguing mysteries to solve. Or Iron Man without his tech-suit. They are simply incomplete without one another. 

In the same way, lead generation is the lifeline of businesses. Without a consistent inflow of customers, even the best business idea will fail to flourish. And you don’t want that, do you? 

This is where we come into the picture. Today, we bring you the top 10 lead-generation strategies that work like a charm in 2024. Each one, when done right, can help you achieve your goal without any difficulty.

So, let’s jump right into it!

1. Content Marketing

7.5 million blogs are published each day. There is a reason why more and more businesses are jumping on the content bandwagon.

This is because the content is just not the king but the entire kingdom! And if you look at it, truly look at it, you will know how true the statement is.

Content is everywhere. From the billboards to radio ads and pop-ups and more, there is no escaping it. But when you have enticing content by your side, that’s a whole other story.

Content marketing goes beyond promoting products. When done right, it helps provide information that solves problems or addresses the needs of your audience. Inclusive content plays a pivotal role here, as it ensures that diverse voices and perspectives are represented, resonating with a broader audience and fostering a sense of belonging.

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When you consistently deliver quality content, you can position yourself as an industry authority. This is super crucial because it helps you stand out and build trust and loyalty among your audience. This trust is a key factor in lead generation.

Why? 

At the end of the day, potential customers are more likely to consider and choose a brand they perceive as knowledgeable and reliable. It is seen that companies that post 15 blog posts a month generate almost 1200 new leads per month on average.

When it comes to content marketing, the sky is the limit. From blog posts to infographics, content marketing serves as a powerful tool.

2. AI and Personalization

Have you ever noticed Amazon telling you when your favorite product is back in stock? Or Maybe you receive an email from your favorite store with a whopping discount just because they miss you.

So, how does this make you feel? It feels incredible, doesn’t it? This is the beauty of personalization. And they leverage AI to run the personalization process.

Now, put yourself in the shoes of an ecommerce store owner who deals with hundreds of consumers every day. Personalization becomes a bit difficult, understandably. But what if AI could help you out?

Unlike putting in manual efforts, AI uses advanced algorithms and data analysis, which intelligently predicts user behavior and customizes your approach to offer your audience a unique and engaging experience.

This personalized approach not only captures attention but also establishes a deeper connection with potential leads. In fact,  89% of marketers say that personalization fetches them positive ROI.

By understanding and responding to each customer’s needs, AI personalization makes conversion an easy possibility.

Whether it’s recommending relevant products, delivering targeted messages, or predicting user intent, AI makes every interaction meaningful.

And 2024 is a tech-savvy era. With so many OpenAI development companies assisting businesses create their own generative AI model, there is no shortage of tools that can be used for personalizing communication throughout the customer journey. So instead of shying away from technology, it’s high time that you embrace it.

3. Social Media Marketing

From the time of its inception, social media has changed the way we humans communicate and consume content. Today, 66% of marketers generate leads from social media by spending only six hours per week on social media marketing.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn hold so much potential. The key is to come up with a well-structured marketing campaign plan and have engaging content that fully resonates with your audience.

When you come up with a consistent and interactive approach, it builds brand awareness and trust where you easily convert social media users into potential leads.

With social media lead generation tactics, you can check how your content plan is fairing with in-depth insights through analytics. It lets you tweak your approach as you go.

4. Free Demo

Picture this. You are looking to explore a new tool. Everything sounds good on paper but something is holding you back. At the same time, the competitor with similar features offers you a free demo. Which is more enticing? The free demo one right?

Offering product or service demos is a potent lead-generation strategy. It offers firsthand experience, which lets potential customers interact with your offering.

You no longer have to go on and on about how great it can be. Instead, your consumers can go through its functionality to see if it aligns with their requirements.

Remember, with free demos, you are engaging prospects in a practical, immersive way. Demos cut through all the noise and make a lasting impression.

5. Email Marketing

Don’t shun email marketing just because it has been around for quite some time now. It is still powerful and going strong in 2024. It generates $42 for every $1 spent.

Email marketing makes use of targeted campaigns to nurture potential customers. However, plain old boring emails won’t cut. This is the era is all about being different. Don’t hesitate to experiment if you must. The end result must be alluring and personalized messages that solve the specific needs and pain points of your audience.

Strategic segmentation is a must to make sure that each email resonates with its intended audience.

Most importantly, don’t forget to implement calls-to-action and exclusive offers to push your audience to take the desired steps to move them through the sales funnel. Consider incorporating engaging email newsletters to regularly deliver valuable content and updates, nurturing your relationship with subscribers. Again, don’t create emails for the sake of it. Analyze metrics and fine-tune your approach as you go.

6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your website and SEO go hand in hand. When you amplify your website content, meta tags, and backlinks, you are taking care of SEO. These efforts are rewarded by elevating your online visibility. This is the first step to conversion.

This visibility captivates organic traffic and can convert casual browsers into potential sales leads. Keyword optimization is still a strong SEO tactic in 2024 that aligns content with user intent. This is super crucial to strike a connection between your brand and your target audience.

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As your SEO efforts start making a mark, your website ranking starts climbing upward and soon reaches the first page. However, it is important to be patient with SEO as it can take at least six months.

7. Paid Ads

As aforementioned, social media is a powerful lead-generation strategy. However, if you are looking for quick results, paid ads are incredible.

50% of people arriving at a retailer’s site from paid ads are more likely to buy than those who came from an organic link.

Paid ads are like a shortcut that lets you reach specific audiences with precision and in no time. Platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Instagram Ads, and Facebook Ads offer robust targeting options.

Additionally, tapping into ad networks such as the Google Display Network or Twitter Audience Platform expands your campaign’s reach across a wide array of websites and apps. What does this mean? It’s simple. Your message reaches users interested in your products or services.

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But paid ads are no magic. It is all about the strategy and efforts you put into it. With careful keyword selection and demographic targeting, paid ads maximize visibility.

The beauty of paid campaigns is that they generate likes in its immediacy. It offers quick results, which drives potential leads to your website or landing page. 

The best part is that you can keep an eye on the metrics and adjust campaigns in real time. You can leverage an AI Ads generator to create compelling ads that will get you better results.

8. Chatbots

Chatbots can be your secret weapon when it comes to lead generation. Why? Because they provide instant and personalized interactions on websites.

As mentioned earlier, we live in a tech-savvy world. So, an AI-driven virtual assistant can engage visitors, answering queries, and guiding them through the initial stages of the sales funnel.

Your AI assistant can also collect user data and preferences. The immediate response and 24/7 availability can improve user experience. After all, if someone is there for you whenever you need them, it just makes you feel good!

9. Influencer Marketing

The influencer marketing industry is now at $21.1 billion, and it has only seen upward growth since it became popular in the recent decade. So, in this era when everyone relies on social media, influencers can help you reach your goals quite effortlessly.

Here, you partner with influencers whose ideologies resonate with your brand value. You use the trust and credibility these influencers have built within their niche and tap into their established audiences.

For instance, let’s say you are a skincare product. You can collaborate with a well-known influencer for an authentic endorsement. This type of social proof can do wonders.

By strategically partnering with relevant influencers, you can generate high-quality leads who are already interested in your products or services, making influencer marketing a powerful tool for B2C lead generation.

10. Webinars

When it comes to lead generation, webinars may be the last thing on your mind. But it’s time to give this idea some merit. 89% of marketers say that webinars perform better than other channels when it comes to producing qualified leads.

One of the reasons why it strikes the right cord is because it combines education and engagement. Hosting webinars positions your brand as an industry authority. When the quality of your webinar is high, it helps attract a targeted audience looking for valuable insights.

During your webinar, make sure you address queries in real-time. This instantly creates a direct and personal connection.

Also, attendees willingly provide contact information to access the event. It helps you with a set of engaged prospects for post-webinar follow-ups.

Bonus: Use Q & A Platforms Like “Quora”

Quora has over 300 million monthly visitors. You might have logged in too in search of a solution. We all do. However, the platform is still underestimated in marketing circles.

If you are wondering how Quora can help you, well, it helps businesses understand the audience’s problems by providing a space for users to pose questions and seek answers.

Let’s say, you are an agency. You come across a question about content marketing. Now, avoid fluff and advertisement-like content at all costs. Instead, be genuine and write authentic answers. In the end, direct users to your website. Do it strategically to convert a Quora user into a qualified lead.

Final Words

As a business owner, you already know how crucial lead generation is for you. But the key lies in choosing the right set of strategies that align with your business needs.

Remember, what works for business X may not work the same way for business Y. Lead gen is never a one-size-fits-all solution. That said, when you implement the top tips we have discussed in the above article, you are bound to make a mark.

The post Mastering Lead Generation in 2024: 10 Strategies to Propel Your Business Forward appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

There are two core metrics that should drive a lot of the decisions you have in your organization; churn & sales. A great agency is constantly studying these two numbers diagnosing them from every angle learning specific areas of opportunity. 

The more you are able to understand these numbers and what they are composed of the better you’ll be equipped to making the right decisions for your business.

In this report, we want to look at churn, which is something we’ve been studying for about 10 years across two different agencies. The first one was scaled to over 1,000 clients and the second one we’ve scaled to over 200 full time employees in just 5 years. 

When you’re a young agency, churn is so important because 1-2 clients can represent a large portion of your income, however as you scale, the same is true. Imagine you’re an agency like Hite and you’re doing $500,000 per month in MRR.

If you have 10% churn monthly, you’ll need to do $50k in new sales just to break even. If you can create an environment where you’re more likely to have 5% churn, if you do $50,000 in sales you’ll grow by 5%.

Understanding why clients leave and acting on it, isn’t only the key to scaling. Agencies with lower churn, partake in other benefits such as receiving more referrals & a much higher evaluation when it comes to selling the business. 

Hite is constantly focused on understanding the why behind our growth & this is essential for your business if you want to scale in 2023.

Churn is critical, especially as you scale for churn is a representation of the quality of your product, service, & customers.

Every agency is constantly battling both the increase of sales and the decrease of churn.

Defining Churn? 

Churn can be broken down in a lot a ways, but for agencies, the most common two churn metrics you’ll see is Client Churn & Financial Churn. These two churn types can be define these two churns as followed: 

For Client Churn we will look at the monthly turnover of clients regardless of financial impact.

For example, If in January you had 10 clients pay you then in February only 8 of them paid you, that would be a turnover of 2 clients and equal 20% churn. In this example it would not matter how much each client represented financially. 

For Financial Churn, we look at the monthly turnover of revenue regardless of clients.

For example, if in January you had $20,000 in recurring collected MRR and in February you only collected 18,000 of that $20,000, it would represent a 10% churn rate. 

Understanding the difference between these two numbers is crucial, let’s look at the following list of clients. 

MRR

Client A $1,000

Client B $5,000

Client C $2,000

Client D $3,000

If we were to lose Client B, you would have 25% client churn, however you’d have 50% financial churn. There could be a very large difference in these numbers especially as you scale. 

The Problem With Researching Churn

Doing research on churn for agencies doesn’t come easily. First off, about 80% of agencies that exist today would be defined as micro agencies, doing less than $15,000 in monthly revenue of which the vast majority do not keep up with, nor have any data on their numbers, especially when it comes to churn. 

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If you take into consideration those that do keep great track of their numbers, between those they may manage and report back churn in many different ways, even beyond the above numbers.

For example, there is a well known agency that is doing several $100m in annual revenue that keeps track of their financial churn, but in their own way focusing more on net growth vs. churn.

In their model, they look at how much was lost, and measure that against what was upsold in order to come up with a net churn. 

With that said, we believe that this report takes all those data points into consideration arriving to tangible and definitive results.

The post How to Reduce Churn appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

They say employees are a company’s greatest asset, and it’s just as true for marketing agencies as any other business. The right team can help prove your agency’s quality, credibility, and competency to potential clients. So, it just makes sense that you want to find qualified candidates and, more importantly, ensure they’re in it for the long haul. 

Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done. Chances are, you’ve experienced this firsthand. Maybe you’ve lost one of your most talented employees or been disappointed by a lack of interest from candidates. Whatever the case, it’s worth looking at why this is and how you can change your approach for greater success. 

Why Finding and Keeping Qualified Candidates Is Tough

There are many reasons marketing agencies struggle to find qualified candidates and retain them. The two biggest factors are as follows:

1. Competition in the labor market
2. Employee expectations 

For starters, consider the competition in the labor market. There are more than 14,000 marketing and advertising agencies in the U.S. alone. And according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, marketing job demand is expected to increase 10% by 2026. However, there’s a limited pool of candidates willing and able to perform at the desired level.

We’re all looking for a specific type of professional, right? At a minimum, the ideal team member is knowledgeable about marketing, has skills in one or more areas, and possesses the right attitude for success. A person with these traits who cares about helping clients grow is a hot commodity. Every agency that’s hiring wants them!

In short, the competition is fierce. Your competitors are trying to attract the same high-quality candidates as you are. So, you have to work extra hard to stand out and encourage them to apply for a position at your agency. And if you manage to bring them on board, you need to prove their decision was the right one. After all, there’s no shortage of options available to them.

But that’s not the hurdle you have to overcome…

There’s also the fact that the wants and needs of today’s marketing professionals (and workers in general) have changed. 

For instance, employee expectations include more than just a salary reflecting their value. People are looking for things like…

• Positive work culture
• Recognition 
• Flexibility
• Transparency
• Respect
• Purpose 

Unfortunately, these are things that many agencies neglect to highlight when recruiting—or worse, fail to deliver in the workplace. And in the second scenario, it leads to great talent leaving for other opportunities. In fact, 2022 showed 62% of professionals considering a job change.

To say that finding strong, qualified candidates and holding on to them is a challenge would be an understatement. But here’s the good news—it’s not impossible. It’s just a matter of changing your approach, putting your marketing skills to good use, and offering value to your team.

Let’s start with recruiting…

5 Tips to Find Qualified Candidates for Your Agency

As marketers, we’re always looking for ways to level up and do better for our clients. And the same should apply to the recruitment process. If you’re having a hard time sourcing and inviting top talent to work for your agency, you need to make some improvements. 

With that said, here are five tips you can use to find qualified candidates:

Create True Job Descriptions

A job description is just that—a description of a job. Yet, most marketing agencies (and businesses in general) get this wrong. If you’re trying to build a solid digital marketing team, you probably have a lengthy list of requirements for the ideal candidate.

But that’s not explaining the job, is it?

Jason Weseman, Certified Business Coach at FocalPoint Consulting, put it best during a workshop hosted by Viral Solutions: “A job description should define the work that needs to be performed, not the skills needed to do the work.” 

To explain why this is so important, Weseman went on to say, “You can find people that meet your exact description—your requirements, your skills, your experience—that couldn’t do the work.”

Plus, if you’re strict with your criteria, you could miss on great talent. For example, research has shown that women only apply to jobs if they’re 100% qualified. 

So, focus on outlining what the job entails rather than what characteristics you’re looking for in a candidate. 

Brand the Job, Not Your Agency

As marketers, we’re no strangers to branding. And we all know how vital employer branding is. But a common mistake agencies make when trying to find suitable candidates is not branding a job. 

According to Weseman, “Top talent already knows about their competition. They know about other companies in their space… What they need to be sold on is the job itself.”

So, in each job description you write, focus on answering the following questions:

• What can they do? 
• What can they become?
• What does success look like?
• What does the future hold?

Brand the job by explaining how it will benefit them and make life better. Use storytelling to take them on a journey!

Spread the Word Wide

When you have written your job description and are ready to look for candidates, spread the word wide. Go beyond popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Monster, Glassdoor, and Indeed. Consider posting the position on marketing-specific sites like MarketingHire, the American Marketing Association, and Digital Agency Network. 

And don’t forget about the other resources you have available! You can post about the job on your social media channels and encourage current employees to refer qualified candidates they may know.  

Don’t Ignore the Passive Market

To find qualified candidates to join your team, Weseman also recommends looking at the passive market. 

What does that mean?

It means considering those who aren’t actively searching for a new job. 

This gives you a wider pool of potential candidates. More importantly, it gives you a wider pool of top talent, as they likely have the knowledge, skills, and attitude you’re looking for. After all, another agency hired them!

The key to convincing someone to change jobs (apart from making sure they see your opening) is to show that a position at your agency can offer more. A career move needs to provide a 30% nonmonetary increase. That includes job growth, job stretch, and job satisfaction. 

By proving that a talented marketing professional can have greater opportunities, a bigger impact, and higher satisfaction with your agency, you can reach more exceptional candidates.

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Rethink Your Interviews

The last tip for finding good candidates is to rethink your interviews. (This is another nugget of wisdom from Weseman.) You’ll have a better chance of filling an open slot with the perfect person if you…

• Ask the right questions. 

“What is your biggest accomplishment?” is the most critical and effective interview question you can ask. It gives insight into what a candidate views as an accomplishment and helps you see if they’d be a good fit. If their answer is irrelevant to the position or doesn’t align with your agency’s goals, they’re probably not the right choice. 

• Wait to make a final decision. 

People come to an interview as the best version of themselves, so first impressions aren’t always reliable. That’s why Weseman recommends waiting 30 minutes. If you love them after three minutes, give them tougher questions for the remaining 27. If you’re unsure after three minutes, give them easier questions for the rest of the interview.  

How to Retain Good Marketing Talent After Hiring

Finding qualified candidates is one thing, but retaining them is another. And it’s arguably more important! When a team member leaves, you miss out on everything they bring to the table. Plus, it can cost you—big time. Replacing a salaried employee costs an average of 6-9 months’ salary. 

So, what can you do to retain good marketing talent once you’ve brought them on board?

• Offer training opportunities.

Great team members strive to learn and grow in their careers. That’s why you should offer training opportunities to enhance their knowledge and skills. Ask what they want to do better or take a deeper dive into. Then, source appropriate training for them. 

• Create a healthy company culture.

Fostering a healthy company culture can go a long way in retaining team members long term. It can boost satisfaction and keep employees engaged. So, make sure your culture passes the test by prioritizing wellness, promoting diversity and inclusion, being transparent, and ensuring everyone aligns with the agency’s values. 

• Commit to job advancement.

If you’ve promised a candidate that your agency can provide them with job advancement, commit to it. Give them a chance to move up the ladder once they’ve shown they’re capable. Having the option for vertical career growth will increase the chances they stay on. Plus, it proves you stay true to your word. 

• Reevaluate to stay competitive.

Put in the effort to show your agency is one of the best to work for.

How?

Reevaluate what you offer your team members every so often. In addition to compensation and benefits, look at the perks other agencies provide their teams. Even giving increased flexibility by allowing team members to work from home can be seen as an advantage. 

• Prioritize employee recognition.

Team members need to feel valued, which is why you should make it a point to recognize and reward their hard work. How you do this is up to you. It could be as simple as congratulating someone on a project completed without a hitch or setting up a bonus program for hitting set goals.  

In Summary

If you’re struggling to find qualified candidates to work at your agency and stay on for years, you need to change things up. We tell our clients it’s not about them, and the same goes for us! Show how a particular job can benefit a potential candidate, and don’t forget to deliver on your promises. That way, you can build the strongest team possible and position your agency for success.

The post Unlocking the Secrets to Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent in Your Agency appeared first on DigitalMarketer.

There’s something comforting and enjoyable about creating a routine where people know you, whether that’s a favorite coffee shop or place to walk or a local beer store where they call your dog by name.

Many businesses can create this personalized shopping experience to convert more browsers into buyers. But, it can be tough to do that online where you can’t look into a customer’s eyes or easily ask what they need as they browse digital shelves. Still, we regularly hear about the need for eCommerce personalization.

To tackle that opportunity, let’s define personalization, the best way to start implementing it, and methods to optimize your efforts.

Defining “Personalization” in ECommerce

Personalization and customization can feel like the same thing, but some important distinctions exist. Breaking these out makes it easier to understand personalization and how it can apply in eCommerce operations.

For your website and sales efforts, personalization uses data and customer insights to craft a specific shopping experience for every customer. These efforts may include showing relevant products, serving recommendations, and adjusting content based on the customer’s past behavior.

Companies may also try personalizing service levels or selecting specific pop-ups and overlays based on customer status. 

Customization, on the other hand, generally refers to customer-driven choices. These range from the obvious (selection or sorting by size, color, price, etc.) to detailed efforts specific to the individual (a customer chooses not to see certain types of products). When you think of customization as something helmed by the customer, you’ll start identifying ways to use their selections to craft personalized experiences.

How Personalization Creates a Better Shopping Experience

To create a personalized shopping experience, eCommerce businesses need to invest in audience research. By understanding your customers and what they want, you can create an individualized experience that will convert browsers into buyers.

You’ll want to create as complete a picture of the shopper as possible. Ask core experience questions, including:

• What are their needs that you can and can’t address? 
• What are their wants or things that tip them over the edge to make a purchase? 
• What motivates them to make this purchase at this time?
• Why should they choose you to meet their specific needs and wants?

Once you understand your customers well, you can start creating a shopping experience tailored to them. Take learning about their immediate needs and wants. I

t’s easier to suggest the right products when you know what they’ve recently viewed or what ad they clicked on to get to your site. You’re building based on their tastes and refining suggestions based on what gets that second purchase.

Understanding why someone values your brand can also help you create personalized discounts or special deals that gain shoppers. If you’re known for customer service, you might leverage this for an ad tagline: “World-class customer service meets free shipping on every order over $20.”

It’s more than just a deal; it’s one couched in the language you know they appreciate. Tying it back to shipping and order support also reinforces your brand as one that cares about the customer.

Finally, it is important to ensure the customer feels valued and appreciated. Thank them for their business and promptly take care of any issues they may have. Creating a positive relationship with your customers ensures they keep returning for more.

3 Steps to Take to Get Started with Personalization 

To get started with personalization, businesses need to take three steps: collecting data, analyzing data, and implementing personalization.

1. Collect Data 

The first step is to collect data about your customers. This could include information such as their demographics, location, what devices they use, what pages they visit on your site, and what products they are interested in. There are a number of ways businesses can collect this data, such as through website cookies, surveys, and customer loyalty programs.

2. Analyze Data 

Once you have collected data about your customers, it is important to analyze it to understand their needs and preferences. This will help you determine how to best personalize their shopping experience. Several tools are available to help with this analysis, such as analytics software and customer segmentation tools.

3. Implement Personalization 

The final step is to implement personalization into your eCommerce store. This could include creating a personalized homepage, recommending similar products, using data to segment customers into different groups, or offering discounts. By personalizing the shopping experience, businesses can increase conversion rates and average order value.

The Top 5 Ways to Personalize the Shopping Experience

Personalization can be an incredibly complex experience or a simpler operation based on your tech stack and the amount of data you use. To get started, there are some core efforts to implement that can start with minimal, current-session data and then move to longer-term tracking and utilization.

1. Use Data to Recommend Products

One of the most effective ways to personalize the shopping experience is to use data to recommend products. This could include data from past purchases, browsing history, and social media activity.

By understanding what customers have bought in the past, businesses can make recommendations for similar or complementary products. This helps customers find what they’re looking for more easily and allows businesses to upsell and cross-sell effectively.

2. Create a Personalized Homepage

Another way to personalize the shopping experience is to create a personalized homepage. This could include features such as recommended products, recently viewed items, and even a custom welcome message.

By creating a personalized homepage, businesses can make sure that each customer feels valued and that they can easily find what they’re looking for — reinforcing your brand identity as helpful and in-the-know.

Consider tying homepages to traffic and referral sources so that someone looking at your Instagram account hits a page filled with both products and the videos you create. It’s an easy way to start the fruitful process of understanding customer behavior across channels.

3. Use Data to Create Targeted Marketing Campaigns

Another effective way to personalize the shopping experience is to use data to create targeted marketing campaigns. This involves using customer data to segment customers into different groups and then creating marketing messages that are tailored to each group. This could include offering discounts or special promotions to specific groups of customers. 

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Don’t neglect small lifts here. Greet customers directly by name. Adjust messages based on user region. Adapt to local events and other broader experiences that keep your content from feeling too general, even if it isn’t hyper-personalized.

4. Use Data to Segment Your Email List

You can also personalize the shopping experience by segmenting your email list. This involves grouping customers together based on their interests, demographics, or purchase history. Most email marketing tools track detailed customer information you can leverage.

For example, monitoring when customers last visited allows you to email people about how “it’s been a while”. 

By segmenting your email list, you can send more targeted and relevant messages to each group of customers. This can lead to higher open and click-through rates, as well as increased sales and revenue.

5. Personalized Product Pages By Creating Variants

The final way to personalize the shopping experience is to use data to create a personalized product page. Or, at least create a page that feels catered to the individual based on broader context and information.

When you can get very detailed, this involves using customer data such as purchase history and browsing behavior to recommend similar or complementary products. You’ll need a dynamic site that can adapt to their history and habits in real-time.

If you don’t have a robust site, consider building blocks for each section of your landing pages or product pages for each SKU. Then, you can create groupings that feel customized because the pre-existing blocks you use match what people see in broader marketing campaigns. As you get more sophisticated, these blocks can then be what you dynamically insert into different elements as the customer shops around your site.

By creating a personalized product page, businesses can enhance conversion rates and have a better chance for higher order values because of the relevance of up-sell and cross-sell promotions.

The Benefits of Personalization for Businesses

There are many benefits of personalization for businesses. By creating a personalized shopping experience, businesses can increase conversion rates, average order value, and customer loyalty.

Conversion rates improve because customers are more likely to buy from a store that recognizes them and offers products they are interested in. If you’re marketing to the same people, small efforts like using someone’s first name in an email can increase conversion rates.

Companies that personalize offers also tend to see average order values increase in multiple ways. These incentives help push people to make more impulse purchases and reach higher overall orders — a benefit you can compound when making traditional online offers like free shipping on orders of a certain value.

Finally, studies also show that personalization can improve customer loyalty. Studies have found that more than half of people are open to receiving personalized experiences, and 72% who get these end up spending more or buying more often. This is because customers feel appreciated and valued when they are recognized and offered products they look at or follow.

Overall, personalization is a powerful tool that can help businesses improve conversion rates, average order value, and customer loyalty. When used correctly, it can be a key driver of success for eCommerce businesses.

Create an Experience You’d Enjoy

When it comes to personalizing the shopping experience, businesses must take a few steps to ensure they are doing it correctly.

First and foremost, they need to collect data about their customers so they can understand their needs and preferences. Once they have this data, they need to analyze it to determine how best to personalize the shopping experience for each customer.

Then, they need to implement personalization into their eCommerce store, which could include creating a personalized homepage, recommending similar products, using data to segment customers into different groups, or offering discounts. 

The final piece, however, is reviewing the effort and ensuring that it adds value to the shopping experience. Ask if it is something you’d enjoy or if the elements and personalization get in the way. You don’t want to be overly burdensome or overly creepy. The aim is to show people what they want to see without them feeling like you’re crunching a lot of data behind the scenes.

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