Table of Contents
DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN: SOSTAC PERSPECTIVE
Situation analysis
Objectives of the digital marketing plan
Strategy
Tactics
Actions
Control
ADVANTAGES OF A DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN FOR AN INDUSTRIAL COMPANY
Today, buyers increasingly search for information themselves online and evaluate suppliers and partners long before initiating contact. And this process of researching all the digital investors email lists assets of companies likely to offer the service or product they are looking for extends throughout the entire purchasing cycle. It is clear that traditional offline marketing actions are no longer sufficient to achieve sales objectives.
For all these reasons, in recent years, more and more B2B companies in the industrial sector have begun to include digital marketing in all their communication strategies, achieving positive results in relatively short periods of time. There is no magic formula or exclusive method to make the most of the infinite possibilities offered by new technologies applied to the Internet; each company must follow its own path depending on its situation, characteristics and competitive advantages, sector to which it belongs and communication history, among many other determining factors. Industrial marketing is essential to adapt to new technologies and optimize communication strategies, achieving positive results in relatively short periods of time.
However, absolutely all companies need to start by designing a good digital marketing plan. Shall we begin?
DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN: SOSTAC PERSPECTIVE
The SOSTAC methodology is not new, it is a planning model developed in the 90s that, however, underpins most current digital marketing plans.
Its name is an English acronym that defines the five major stages of the model.
Where is your company located and how is it doing right now?
Where does your company want to go?
How are you going to achieve this?
What tactical actions will you use?
Who, how and when will put the plan into action?
How will you know the plan is working?
As you can see, the digital marketing plan is a strategic document that defines the objectives that your company must achieve within the usual time frame of one year, and plans the competitive strategies and tactical actions necessary to achieve them. To optimize the investment and guarantee the success of each campaign, it also includes a market research and study phase and a continuous process of analysis and measurement of results.
Next, we will delve into each stage of the plan from a theoretical and practical point of view:
Situation analysis
At this stage you will need to identify the situation and conditions of the market in which your company operates, as well as the real impact of new technologies on your business model.
How to achieve this? At GO2JUMP we recommend that you structure your study around three key pillars:
External situation analysis . List the external factors that affect or could affect your company, segmenting them into: political factors (government measures, international trade restrictions, etc.), economic factors (fiscal trends, GDP, price and salary levels, etc.), social and cultural factors (currents of opinion, consumer trends, etc.), technological factors (digitalization of the sector, new production models, etc.)
Internal situation analysis : Define your digital customers, what they are like and how they interact with your brand, and create your different buyer personas: a semi-fictional representation of your final (or potential) consumer based on their demographic information, behavior, needs, and motivations. Finally, establish your digital channel landscape and evaluate the success of each one for your company.
Competitive analysis : study your competition, how they compete and what strategies they deploy across all their digital channels. It is also essential that you prepare a SWOT analysis that shows your strengths, weaknesses and the main opportunities and threats that your sector presents.
Objectives of the digital marketing plan
You must convert marketing and sales objectives into SMART objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.
That is to say: specific, achievable and focused on achieving specific business results. An example? Increase web traffic by 30% (from 2,000 to 2,300 monthly visits) in the next six months, in order to increase sales opportunities.
In this way, your company's marketing department will channel all campaigns towards a specific objective and measure the ROI of its actions.
Furthermore, it is critical that SMART objectives align with the company’s strategic goals. For example, if one of the main objectives is to increase market share in a specific sector, SMART objectives can include generating 20% more qualified leads in that sector in the next quarter. This approach not only makes it easier to measure and evaluate campaign performance, but also ensures that each marketing action is directly contributing to the company’s broader business objectives, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the marketing department.
DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN: SOSTAC PERSPECTIVE
Strategy
Once you have defined your SMART objectives, you must draw up a strategic route to achieve them. This plan must specify the strategy to be followed by your company in the traditional marketing mix (Product, Price, Distribution and Communication), adding a fundamental fifth column: the Consumer . In a digital marketing plan, the user becomes the center of everything since he has multiplied his power as a buyer and prescriber of your brand. In addition to trying to know him in detail through a buyer persona study, you must also know what content he seeks and what needs he wants to satisfy in each phase of the purchase cycle.
In the case of B2B companies in the industrial sector, one of the most recommended 360º strategies is Inbound Marketing , as it is a set of non-intrusive marketing and advertising techniques that attract and accompany the user in a friendly way in each of the phases, from the first contact to the purchase action.
To implement this strategy effectively, it is crucial to develop a content plan aligned with your buyer persona ’s interests and problems , as well as use marketing automation tools to personalize communication and maximize the impact of your efforts. Furthermore, it is essential to integrate all marketing actions into an omnichannel approach that ensures a consistent and continuous experience across all customer touchpoints, from social media to email marketing and webinars. By doing this, you will not only improve lead generation and nurturing, but you will also strengthen the relationship with your current customers, fostering their loyalty and satisfaction in the long term.
