A digital strategy is essential to a business’s success. You need to know their goals and where they are going. It’s amazing how many online businesses lack a digital strategy.

Why is digital strategy so important?

Most business owners will answer “sales more” when asked what they want from their website. They might want to sell more products or services, or they might just be looking for a brand. But they want to sell more…

Businesses don’t have unlimited funds and may want to sell more than one product. Businesses need a strategy. An effective digital strategy will help you allocate resources and effort to achieve your business goals.

Start by asking simple questions like:

• Would you rather sell 10 x PS1,000 widgets or 1 x PS10,000?
• When you sell a widget can you cross-sell additional widgets?
• What is the lifetime value of a widget?
• What widgets are the most popular?
• What is the online competition for widgets?

Once you have figured out the true commercial value of your products or services, you can create a strategy to allocate resources. A digital strategy that works will not only increase business sales but also help to change the direction of your business.

Here’s an example of how one of our clients was helped to develop and plan a digital strategy and define business goals, KPIs, and results.

How to develop a digital strategy

Search Engine Optimization is difficult in the financial sector, especially in the insurance industry. Online aggregators that have large budgets have changed the market, leaving traditional brokers struggling to make a living. We faced the exact David vs Goliath scenario when we worked with an established broker. To survive, we needed a digital strategy.

We began by looking at market opportunities and insurance products. Then we allocated resources based on the following:

• We analyzed the data and searched the internet for the competition.

• We knew our client was a master at creating bespoke business packages.

• We knew that our client had a substantial margin on their business packages

• Cross-selling was a possibility (from the van to the property).

• We knew small businesses could grow into large businesses.

Definition of the North Star Goal

Next was to create the North Star Goal. This concept emerged from Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial culture and has helped many start-ups become household names.

Your North Star Goal should be your primary goal. Everything you do should guide you toward this goal. In this instance, the North Star’s goal was to be the ‘go-to’ broker for small-business insurance within 18 months.

Definition Business Goals

You need to set shorter-term goals to make progress towards your North Star. We have set short-term goals to increase small business insurance conversions and quotes by 40% by the end of Q3.

It is important to set SMART goals. Make sure you are clear about your goals.

• Specific What are you trying to achieve and why?
• Measurable How will you know if you’ve succeeded?
• Attainable Are your goals achievable given the available resources?
• Relevant Are your goals worth it for your business?
• Time-Bound What are your start and end points?

Define Key Performance Indicators

Once you have defined your North Star Goal and short-term business goals, the next step is to identify Key Performance Indicators. KPIs are a marketing tool that provides guidance.

It is best to use five or six KPIs when choosing effective ones. This will make it more difficult to interpret the data. KPIs can be used to measure progress and resources. They can also be turned on, off, up, down, and turned off.

Take, for example:

Turning on and off KPIs:

Once you achieve the desired result, you can focus on another KPI like increasing Dwell Time.

Turning KPIs Up and Down:

If your KPI is to increase your Open Rate by 10% in Q1, and it quickly becomes obvious that this additional resource isn’t translating into conversions then you can reduce the volume on the KPI and increase volume elsewhere.

Choosing key performance indicators

We had a clear strategy and a keen understanding of the opportunities. The following KPIs were chosen to increase conversions by 40% in Q3.

• 10% Increase CTR in Google Search Results by reworking meta

• Through content outreach, build 40 targeted high-quality links

• Increase keyword footprint vis 6 product pages 3 guide pages, and 3 case studies

• 10% Increase in Conversions via Pushing Get a Quote and Sign-up for the Newsletter

• 5% lower Bounce RateviaUX and content review for key pages

• 25% Increase PPC ROASby improving the quality score via the landing page

• 50% more LinkedIn followers via sponsored content/sponsored in-mail

The results from a digital strategy

The number of small business insurance quotes and brand mentions soared, exceeding all targets by the end of Q3. Quotes had increased geometrically, but conversion rates were also higher than for other products.

Our client was very close to their North Star. Small business insurance offered many opportunities for cross-selling, lifetime value was high, customer loyalty was strong, and there were lots of opportunities for cross-selling.

This example illustrates how a digital strategy can help you focus, quickly get to your goals and make profits.