A marketing brief, digital or otherwise, helps lay the foundation for a working partnership. This framework is key in helping shape a B2B strategy to reaching your objectives.
However, to be really strong, your digital marketing brief needs to be aligned with your business goals and underpinned by realistic figures.
Why do I need a strong digital marketing brief?
Embarking on a digital marketing project without a clear brief is unlikely to achieve anything. But with the right thought process behind the project, there’s every reason for it to succeed.
A strong digital marketing brief is a great way for organisational leaders to get their thoughts in order. The brief-writing process will highlight any areas of uncertainty within your organisation, and create the opportunity for you to correct them. In addition, writing the brief will help you to focus on your current goals and ensure that the work you’re asking for aligns with them.
What to ask before you write a digital marketing brief
An effective B2B digital marketing brief should emerge when you ask yourself the following questions:
- What are the overall business goals?
Before you dive into the detail, go back to basics. What is the overall business goal? To be the best, biggest, cheapest, most niche, to offer a solution, to fill a gap, to enrich people’s lives, save people time, show increased value? When you pin this down, it’s easier to see how to work up to that goal.
- What numbers do you need to achieve?
The next step is to find the numbers you need in order to achieve the goals. Are you targeting a revenue growth percentage or possibly a profit margin? Or something else? Make sure they’re realistic as they will become a key measurable for the success of the marketing plan.
It’s important to remember that these numbers are likely to require investment from your organisation too. For example, how much are you willing to invest to achieve the required business growth? What is your current cost per customer or cost per lead and what does it need to be to improve your margins? Factoring in these figures will help you to set realistic targets for your marketing team, whether they’re in-house or an external agency.
- How will you measure success?
Key performance indicators will help you to keep on track. Ask yourself what measurements will prove success. Will you be measuring engagement, leads, conversions or something else? Refer back to the numbers you identified previously and use them to measure the success of your marketing.
- What isn’t working at the moment?
Gird your loins and be honest with yourself – what isn’t working for your organisation right now? For example, where are you currently losing profit? Is your average order value is too low, are your prices right?
If you’re struggling to see those gaps, a fresh pair of eyes can help. A reputable digital marketing agency should be able to help you identify what these gaps may be.
- What are your priority products and services?
Break down your products and services to identify your priorities. Ask yourself how they differ in price or margin from those of the competition. Be clear about your USP and business purpose too.
Answering this question will help you prioritise your marketing in the right area.
- Who is your ideal customer?
Who is your ideal customer? Enterprise businesses, construction clients, finance and insurance businesses, education or public organisations? You may have different tiers of customers, in which case you should ask yourself where the “sweet spot” is, or your “bread and butter.” Who are the rare but love-to-have clients?
Customer segmentation will help you find your voice and increase your chances of appealing to the leads who are most likely to convert.
- Where are your customers located?
Find out what locations you are selling to and recognise which are your priorities. Ask yourself how customers in different locations engage with your products or services.
If you try to write your brief without asking these questions first, you may find you’re trying to run before you can walk. Following an internet checklist of what to include in a digital marketing brief won’t yield the results you’re looking for, unless it has a strong foundation in your business purpose and goals.
I can’t answer a lot of those questions – what should I do?
If you see the value in asking those questions, but you don’t know where to start, Digital Clarity can help. Our strategic approach to marketing will help you identify the answers to all the questions we’ve suggested here, and many more besides. With this information behind you, you can create a strategy that your marketing team can use to deliver powerful results. Ultimately, this will take your business to the next level.
To find out more, book a call with us today.
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