Business plan to set up a digital marketing agency

Digital marketing is booming and digital media concentrate the highest growth in advertising investment.

What is Digital Marketing

Digital marketing encompasses the set of techniques developed in online media, whose objective is to get customers and in many cases increase sales.
As you know, a product or service does not sell itself, which is why marketing is necessary both in the offline and online environment.
The big difference between digital marketing vs. the traditional one is not the objective, since in both cases this is to reach customers and increase sales, but rather the channel in which it is developed.
While classic marketing takes place in analog channels: traditional television, radio, written press, foreign media, etc., the digital marketing channel is the Internet, and for its strategies it uses technology and advanced digital tools.

It started in the 90s and, since then, it has been growing unstoppably, finding new formulas and becoming essential for any business.

Digital marketing comprises numerous techniques, all of them developed in online media and focused on attracting and converting customers. Digital marketing strategies must be adapted to the characteristics and objectives of each company. For this reason it is very important that, if you have a business, you invest in a digital marketing agency. Whether you have already made the transition to the digital realm, or not yet, an online marketing agency will be your best bet. An objective approach to the company’s situation will not hurt and, in addition, a digital marketing agency consists of professionals in the digital field who dominate the environment and who are continuously trained.

Digital marketing has the great power of segmenting the public, focusing efforts and resources where it is known that results will be obtained. In addition, these are monitored at all times, so that the marketing strategy is continuously adjusted and optimized.

Unlike offline media where ROI is hard to measure. The results in digital media are measurable and can be modified in order to reach the objectives set.

If you have any doubts, we are going to give you 11 reasons that will end up convincing you. There they go!

Digital marketing tools

Digital marketing tools are diverse and, as you know in any digital marketing agency, they are constantly evolving. The most important at present are:

Website

  • It is the base center of any digital marketing strategy. The goal is to attract customers to it and make them convert. That is why its design, structure and content must be taken care of to the maximum and you must think not only about SEO issues but also about what is known as ux (or user experience).

Blogging

  • Fundamental for a good content strategy. Articles related to the interests of our target audience are published in it. It is important to establish a good content strategy designed for your target and with the aim of capturing qualified leads that become customers and long-term sales.

SEO and SEM

  • Search engines, mainly Google, allow users to find content that interests them. For yours to appear visible on the first page of results, you have to work with SEO techniques or “organic positioning”. The better you do it, the better positioned your page will be, and the more traffic it will attract, which translates into more conversions. Another option is to pay to obtain said visibility, in which case we would be talking about SEM. Both actions are complementary and closely linked. If, for example, the landing pages where the ads land are not properly optimized containing the keywords, Google considers the ad to be of little relevance to the user and it will not appear in the search engine, so it will not be visible.

Display network

It uses the insertion of banners (ads) that can be text, graphic, video or even interactive, on pages related to the interests of our audience. It has vastly evolved to offer completely personalized advertising thanks to programmatic buying.

Email marketing

One of the classic tools of digital marketing, but which is still valid. A personalized email that contains an appropriate message and that meets the recipient’s needs will have a higher opening rate than a neutral one that is the same for everyone.

  • Social networks: digital marketing strategies on Facebook or other social networks such as Instagram or Twitter are increasingly important. They offer very good results thanks to their ability to segment audiences and interaction. Social networks have become two-way channels that allow you to know what your audience thinks of you and allows you to draw very useful conclusions.

Reasons why you need a digital marketing agency

Who is the audience

Due to the current saturation of the market, having a limited and specific audience can be your best ally. Trying to get your product or service to everyone’s liking is practically impossible and, furthermore, a big mistake that can cost you dearly. Therefore, knowing your target audience exactly is the first step to success. This is because analyzing and getting to know your audience in depth will open the doors for you to offer a unique product or service that is capable of responding to the specific needs of said market.

Steps to identify your audience

Defining your audience can help you cut costs, especially in the area of marketing. By focusing your campaigns only on those people who have a probability of becoming your clients, you will be able to reduce and even avoid unnecessary expenses in time and money. Below I describe a series of steps that will help you define your audience:

  • Identify the motivations of your audience By putting yourself in the shoes of your ideal client, you will be able to identify their needs and desires.
  • Identify your potential opportunities Once you know what the needs of your audience are, you can develop a series of methods for them to achieve their goals. This will open the door for you to identify the opportunities that arise and work on what will give you results.
  • Be specific. Synthesize your ideas so that your ideal client begins to take shape.
  • Measure the results. Once you have defined your market, carry out tests to see if your product or service is really what the audience you have defined needs. If you did not reach the expected results, it is time to redefine your target audience.

Digital marketing is the present and the future

Every time we move in a more digital and sophisticated environment. For example, 43% of Spaniards already make purchases online from their mobile phone and the trend seems unstoppable. Internet advertising is essential.

The statistics show how digital marketing is the present and the future. According to data from the latest Annual Study of Advertising Investment in Digital Media, published by the IAB, investment in digital media grew by 9.1% in 2018, while that of daily press, Sunday newspapers and magazines fell. TV advertising, meanwhile, grew by only 1%.

Total investment in Digital Advertising in Spain now exceeds €1,708 million.

It is clear that the internet is the great means of advertising investment and that, if you have a business, you cannot ignore it.

Digital transformation is necessary

You may not have taken the step of digital transformation yet. The reasons can be diverse, from lack of time to ignorance. If this is your case, don’t wait any longer!

The presence on the internet, web advertising and the digitization of your processes will significantly increase the competitiveness of your business, and above all, it will allow it not to be left behind and surpassed by the competition. It is not enough that you maintain a blog and profiles on social networks. Digital transformation is something more complex and transversal.

Digital transformation is the process by which a company implements new technologies in its work processes, thus modifying its business model and adapting it to today’s digital environment. It is deployed in two large areas of work: on the one hand, the training and adaptation of workers to the new digital processes, and on the other, the definition of an action strategy.

The first thing that a digital marketing agency will do is a digital transformation consultancy, which will determine the approach and the actions to be carried out within said strategy.

Likewise, it will integrate the digital tools that best adapt to the company and said strategy.

Digital transformation will allow you to reach customers through
digital media.

Digital transformation is the great current challenge for companies, and therefore, if you have not yet done it, it is essential that you have a digital marketing agency.

A digital agency will help you take this step and, above all, to do it in a professional and non-traumatic way. The benefits you will obtain will be an increase in productivity, and the measurement and analysis of both workflows and results.

The benefits of inbound marketing

Inbound marketing is an effective and successful comprehensive digital marketing strategy, based on attracting customers to your brand, mainly through the creation of attractive and quality content.

Inbound marketing catches the potential customer in the first stage of their purchase process, offering them content that is interesting to them. It then accompanies you by providing relevant content throughout the entire decision process until you finally become a customer. Finally, he builds loyalty using the same strategy. Guess which one? Indeed, again, quality content.

Content marketing combined with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) make Inbound marketing a powerful methodology capable of generating 54% more leads ( potential customers ) than traditional marketing and at a cost that is 62% lower.

A digital marketing agency will develop your Inbound strategy so that you achieve lasting results over time and reinforce your brand image.

Focus your efforts

A digital marketing agency will be in charge of designing, implementing and developing your digital marketing strategy, allowing you to free yourself from that task that would consume a large part of your resources.

If you choose to carry out your digital marketing strategy internally, you will have to hire professional profiles capable of starting it up, or be part of your current team, something that would involve months and a high cost.

A winning digital marketing team

Investing in a digital marketing agency will allow you to have the work of the best professionals. Profiles with training and experience in all areas that comprise a digital marketing campaign, such as SEO strategies focused on achieving good search engine positioning, Adwords campaigns or the management of social networks and advertising on Facebook. This is a fundamental factor for your campaign to work and for you to achieve the results you are looking for.

A digital marketing agency will put at your disposal the work of web programmers, graphic designers, SEO and social media advertising specialists, analysts and account executives used to working with a joint and focused vision.

Scalability

Scalability is one of the factors that make a digital marketing agency the best bet for your company.

Think that if you do not have an agency, you will be forced to expand your team and resources as the demands or needs of your business grow.

With a digital marketing agency you will not have any restrictions in this regard, since you will be able to grow without having to expand your marketing team. A good digital marketing agency will adapt to the size and situation of your business, always offering you the plans and packages that best suit it at all times.

Measurable results

A digital marketing agency will help you determine your KPI (Key Performance Indicator) and know your ROI (Return On Investment), that is, the economic value generated by your marketing actions.

Measuring ROI is essential in online marketing strategies, because only then can you know its profitability and thus assess future investments based on the projects that have been most profitable.

The ROI considers both economic benefits from sales and potential customers generated as benefits, and is calculated, in the basic way, by subtracting the campaign expenses from the income generated and dividing the result by the campaign expense. Namely:

[(income – investment) / investment] * 100 = return on investment.

If we obtain a positive ROI, our project will be profitable.

Tools

Online marketing requires the use of different tools designed specifically for the management of certain tasks. Although there are many that include free versions or trial periods, the reality is that if you want to have the premium versions, which include the most interesting features, you will have to make a payment to acquire the ones that interest you.

A digital marketing strategy will use professional tools for SEO, advertising campaigns in Google Ads (formerly called Google Adwords), keyword research, competitor analysis and the automation of numerous processes.

Acquiring tools on your own for the various tasks that your strategy would need would entail a high cost, especially if your company is small or medium. On the other hand, if you have a digital marketing agency, you make sure you always work with the most advanced tools.

In our agency we have measurement and analysis tools that allow us to know in depth competitors, keywords for SEO, perform internal analysis of the web: Semrush, site analyzer, screaming frog… in addition to mastering other Google tools such as google analyitcs, datastudio, google ads, google extensions.

Profitability

An online marketing agency will mean greater productivity for your business. It will be more profitable for you than developing your digital strategies internally, since that implies hiring new profiles for your company: you will avoid the expenses generated by hiring personnel, as well as training or the purchase of specific software.

Internally covering everything that a digital marketing agency offers you (a specialized and experienced team) would mean a much higher cost for your company.

Simplicity in workflows

Managing an internal digital marketing team involves a considerable consumption of time and management, while if you have a digital marketing agency, you will have a single interlocutor, greatly streamlining your workflows.

In a digital marketing agency, from their experience, they know what works effectively.

Innovation

A digital marketing agency is aware of the new trends in digital marketing.

Your business must be adapting to the market and change as it does. Digital marketing is frenetic and therefore, having an agency will guarantee you to always be up to date and take advantage of the best opportunities at all times.

As you can see, a good digital marketing agency can be the differential factor for the success of your company.

It ensures you have the best digital marketing strategy, adapted to your business and backed by a team of professionals who will work to achieve your goals and challenges and ensure maximum ROI.

How to construct the business plan

below we explain what are the steps that every business plan document should include so that entrepreneurs work in the same direction, capable of leading their startup to achieve success more easily, take note!

Executive Summary

At this point you should review the most important aspects that you will include in the business plan. Think that with this first point you will have to be able to capture the attention and interest of future investors, so… go for it!

Product Description

This is where you will have to perfectly explain the product : its concept, origin of the idea and main characteristics. Once the interested parties already know what we offer, you must specify which target it is aimed at, why and the needs that it satisfies.

Market and competition analysis

This point is key to our business plan . In this we will analyse, on the one hand, the market in which the product will be introduced, its size, the success factors that characterize it, what entry and exit barriers we may encounter, what its evolution and natural growth is, its consequent pace and current trends.

Business model

Here we will define the business model and the financial plan, in which the financial agreements will be detailed, the core portfolio of products or services that the organization offers and will offer based on the actions necessary to achieve the strategic goals and objectives, among other aspects. relevant.

Description of the team and corporate issues

It is essential to describe the human team that forms the startup. Investors attach great importance to this point to check if these entrepreneurs are capable of carrying out the business correctly.

Regarding corporate issues, it is necessary to state what is the corporate and commercial name of the company, its corporate purpose, the name of the founders, the share capital, specify the administrative bodies that the company has and what obligations it has partnership with Public Administrations.

State of business development

It is important to specify here what phase the product is in, if a test has been carried out or if there is a developed prototype, etc.

Marketing Strategies

At this point we will begin by detailing the decisions on actions and resources to be used both in the online and offline media, which will allow us to achieve the final objectives of the company or organization , as well as specifying whether we are going to work with a communication, advertising or communication agency. online marketing consultancy

Contingency plan

As in any new project that is launched, risks have a place and must be reckoned with. For this reason, it is important that we take them into account and put them on the table in this document, in this way the investors, partners… They will be able to know from us what the risks they would face could be.

Example of structure for the business plan of your company or startup

Executive Summary

  • Project description
  • competitive value
  • Market
  • Customers
  • Funding Requirements
  • Equipment
  • Critical aspects of the business plan

Project description

  • Clear and concise description of the project, and the problem that the idea, business project or startup solves

Market Description

  • Analysis of the performance market
  • market maturity
  • business sustainability

Differential Value and Competitive Advantages

  • Description of the differential value of the value proposition (product or service)
  • The competitive approach to business

Equipment

  • Description of the professional team that makes up the project and the tasks and positions performed by each of them in the organization

Strategy and Value Chain

  • Model of production, marketing, sales and internationalization

SWOT Analysis

  • Evaluation of the internal aspects -weaknesses and strengths- and external aspects -threats and opportunities- of the business

Current Status-Milestones

  • Description of the current moment of the business, roadmap, next milestones…

Economic-Financial Aspects

  • Balance Sheet Projections
  • Income Statement
  • Cash flows in a time horizon of 1-3 years of the project and sensitivity analysis of scenarios
  • Determination of key financial indicators and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of the project

Risks

  • Identification and description of the risks inherent to the project

Typical Business Plan structures

Making a business plan is one of the keys to the success of an entrepreneur.

Executive Summary

First, there is the executive summary. As its name suggests, it contains a summary highlighting all the strengths and opportunities that will make your business successful. As well as the way in which you are going to face the adversities that you will have to face.

The length of this part of the business plan should be brief – remember that it is a summary – and convey the information clearly. The main objective of this executive summary is to get investors or those responsible for accepting the financing you request to continue reading the rest of the document. And considering that hundreds of business plans go through their hands, you should be brief and go straight to the point.

Internal analysis

In the internal analysis you will have to analyze the internal resources that you have to start with and that will help you carry out your idea. These can be of different types:

  • Materials: if you have your own funds, a headquarters where you can carry out your activity, machinery, etc.
  • Intangible: being able to have patents, concessions or licenses.
  • Human capital: that will take the business forward. Depending on the type of activity you carry out, this point will be the one that investors will give the most importance to.

Market study

In the structure of a business plan, a market study cannot be missing. Being as a result of which we will check if our business idea has a gap in the market, analyzing the following points:

  • Competition: analyzing its differential characteristics.
  • Target customer: detailing their demographic characteristics, their needs and the problems that you will solve with your product/service.
  • Key associations: companies that you depend on, such as suppliers or external companies that intervene in the production process.
  • Public administrations: with which you are affected to carry out your project.

Plan of operations

Another part that will make up your business plan is the operations plan. Being the section where you will define all the technical and organizational processes that will intervene in your production process, among which are:

  • Definition of products or services.
  • Production planning or service provision.
  • Processes involved in the development of your activity.
  • Provisioning and stock management.

Marketing plan

In the marketing plan you must include all your promotion and communication strategy. In addition to contemplating the actions that you will carry out to adapt your product/service to make it more attractive to your target customer.

Business investment plan

The financial information of your business plan will be included in the business investment plan. Including the following points:

  • Initial investment.
  • Income forecast.
  • Fixed costs.
  • Variable costs.
  • Sources of funding.
  • Return on investment and profitability threshold.

Business continuity or contingency plan

The business continuity plan will be the part of the business plan where your worst predictions are contemplated. That is, future situations that, if they occur, would endanger your business.

For each of these assumptions, a contingency plan will be established to reverse this negative situation and return to a normal situation as soon as possible.