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Online Marketing Guide
Geomares supports businesses that want to grow by devising smart marketing campaigns and
executing them until you reach your goals! With our enthusiastic team of dedicated, knowledgeable
marketing advisors and content professionals, and the largest global database of decision-makers in
the geomatics and hydrographic community, we form the link in the interaction between professional
buyers and businesses.
We are always happy to inform or advise you about marketing opportunities, trends and practical tips
that can help you grow your business. That’s why our team of online marketers created this complete
online marketing guide with:
1. Trends and opportunities for 2018
2. Building a sales and marketing funnel
3. Setting up targets for online advertising
4. Practical tips for your marketing campaigns
Enjoy reading and grow your business!
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1. Trends and opportunities for 2018
The marketing and media landscape is constantly changing and is increasingly shifting from offline to
online. New websites, apps and tools are introduced every day and your target group moves with it. This
offers opportunities to use your online marketing in a more targeted and effective way. To help you get
started, we discuss five major trends in online advertising in this article.
1. Database Marketing
2. Advanced Targeted Marketing
3. Social Advertising
4. Native Content Marketing
5. Lead Generation
1.1 Database Marketing
Database marketing is all about collecting customer data and how to use it as effectively as possible in
your communication. The more you know about your (potential) customers, the more specifically the
marketing campaigns can be organised. Consider, for example, segmentation based on demography,
behaviour (e-mail opens and clicks, active / not active etc.) or additional data such as product preference
and interests. All of this data can be used to deploy targeted messages, resulting in higher involvement,
more activity and ultimately a higher conversion rate.
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Tips for filling your database
Building a good database is not easy and can easily cause a mess if you do not tackle this structurally well.
A few tips:
- Decide in advance which data you want to use and leave out other fields.
- Make sure your database is well-filled. It makes little sense if you know the age of only 20% of your
database, for example.
- Pay attention to the quality and uniformity of the data.
- Regularly update your data.
1.2 Advanced Targeted Marketing
The database marketing trend continues in (advanced) targeted marketing. Because in addition to your
own database, there are even more opportunities to reach specific target groups such as display
advertising and search engine advertising. Through tools like Google AdWords, Bing Advertising, LinkedIn
Ads etc. you can show your message to an audience that could be of interest to you. For example, it is
possible to target demographics, language, location, keywords or websites based on topics.
Search Engine Advertising
SEA uses search engines such as Google and Bing. These search engines give you the opportunity to rank
above the organic search results with your paid ads. The advertisements consist of a header, sub heading,
description and URL and you can enter the keywords you want to be found on yourself. How often your
ad will actually be displayed depends on the bid you specify and the Quality Score, the latter is used to
avoid entering keywords that do not match the ad and / or landing page of the ad.
Display Advertising
Display advertising focuses on advertising with visual advertisements, often called banners. These come in
many different shapes and sizes and the channels on which you can use them are numerous. You can use
the network of search engines like Google, but you can also advertise on (trade) websites. Which channel
you choose depends on your message and target group. An interesting development within this trend is
the use of remarketing, where you approach groups of users who have visited a website before and of
whom you already know certain things about. This makes it possible to tailor your message even more
specifically to the wishes and interests of your target group.
1.3 Social Advertising
As the name suggests, in social advertising you use the advertising possibilities of social media such as
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Because in addition to building a network with your own page, these
platforms are also very suitable to reach a larger audience through paid advertisements. The advertising
options of these channels have therefore expanded considerably in recent years. It is now possible to use
remarketing via Facebook and LinkedIn offers the option to send sponsored private messages, the
Sponsored InMails.
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Also in targeting ads you can choose from extensive options. In addition to demographics, interests etc. it
is also possible to upload your own lists on Facebook and LinkedIn offers the possibility to target existing
groups, even if you are not the manager yourself!
1.4 Native Content Marketing
With the rise of adblockers, native content marketing, also called native advertising or sponsored content,
is becoming an increasingly popular form of advertising. This circumvents the adblocker because the
message is integrated in the style of unpaid content and is therefore often perceived as less annoying by
visitors. Examples include promoted posts, advertorials and infeed advertising. With this form of
advertising, it is important to think carefully about transparency; is it necessary to mention that it is a paid
advertisement? If you choose not to do this, it can have a negative effect on both the advertiser and the
publisher, especially when relevance to the reader is not big enough.
1.5 Lead Generation
The fifth and final trend is one that has played an important role in online marketing for a long time.
Because how can you better measure the success of your marketing campaigns than with concrete leads?
The definition of a lead varies for each company and sometimes even for each campaign. Sometimes
leaving an e-mail address or telephone number can be enough where other companies only count a lead
when a specific request is made. Campaigns with lead generation as the main goal can be realised from
various forms of advertising, some examples:
- Show a pop-up to stimulate signing up for a newsletter.
- The possibility to request a quote.
- A 'call button' on mobile websites.
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- Fill in an email address.
Lead Management
Generating leads does not make much sense when nothing happens with it, this is the moment lead
management comes into the picture. Often this is also the moment that marketing and sales merge,
seamlessly or not, and the leads have to be converted into customers. This can be done manually, but
there is also a lot of online software available for setting funnels with automatic messages matching the
leads.
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2. Setting up targets for online advertising
When setting up and executing marketing campaigns, you want them to be as good as possible. And when
it is finished, you want to determine whether it has been a success. If it’s not, you want to know what
could have been the problem and what can be improved for next time. Predetermining concrete
marketing objectives can help you enormously with this. It provides guidance and forces you to think
carefully about the message, the target group and the required impact.
2.1 What types of marketing goals are there?
Advertising or marketing goals are closely related to the behaviour of the target group which can be
roughly divided into three phases.
1. Cognitive phase: the target group is unfamiliar with your brand branding
I. Create or increase brand awareness
II. Create desired image
2. Affective phase: the target group knows the existence of your brand bonding
I. Creating a bond
3. Context phase: target group knows your brand and is ready to proceed to action action
I. Encouraging concrete action
By defining your marketing goal and coordinating the campaign, you prevent inefficient campaigns. For
example, there is little point in making concrete product offers towards a target group that does not yet
know your brand and product. Or a brand awareness campaign towards an audience that has been loyal
to you for years. Not very useful, is it?
2.2 Create or increase brand awareness
In creating or increasing your name recognition, it is often just one thing: to show your brand or product
to as many people as possible as often as possible. However, you do not just do this, it is important to
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think carefully about the target group, the budget, available resources and of course the appropriate
message.
Planning and the power of repetition
A campaign that revolves around brand awareness is aimed at a target group that is not familiar with your
brand. You are not yet in their evoked set, the group of brands or products from which people make their
final choice. One impression is not enough for this either, the strength of these campaigns is in planning
and repetition. Make sure your brand or product is shown to the target group at different times and in
different ways to end up in their evoked set.
Do not be too specific
Your goal is to create brand awareness and that is why it is important not to go into product details or
services too specifically. Keep the communication general and focus on the impressions and their
frequency.
2.3 Create your desired image
Branding is about the perception that people have of your brand. The great thing about this perception is
that you have a direct influence on it with your marketing communications. Sounds good right? However,
it is not as simple as it sounds. Your message has to be in line with the target group in order for it to come
across well and stay in good shape. Chances are you miss the mark if you do not properly examine your
target group first and adjust your message accordingly.
Consistency and communication
Think carefully about what your brand or product does to actually make a difference for customers and
incorporate this into your campaign. You want to create a positive attitude towards your brand and let
people recognise the added value. It is important to be consistent in your communications, both inside
and outside the company. Set a vision and house style and use this time after time, this recognisability will
result in an optimal impact.
Impressions and clicks
Creating an image actually falls in between branding and bonding, with a slightly stronger emphasis on
branding. The primary goal therefore remains the number of impressions of your campaign, but you can
also carefully try to generate traffic here. However, keep in mind that you can not be too specific and / or
commercial here either, because you want to create a positive attitude towards your brand and trigger as
few 'red flags' as possible.
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2.4 Create a bond
After the branding phase you actually want to
bond people to you. In this phase it is no longer
enough just showing your brand, but you actually
want to add value to the perception of the target
group. Bonding can be seen as the phase in which
the focus of marketing shifts cautiously to sales.
Adding value can be done, for example, by
additional informative content such as an article,
video or infographic. Unlike creating an image, in
this phase you focus more on the problems of the customer and the solution that you can offer. You show
that your company is the expert in its field and ensures that the customer can not ignore you.
Traffic and follow-up actions
In this phase you can focus on traffic to your website and / or profiles on other channels. Your content
represents an informative or advisory value towards the target group and the ability of reading this may
require some effort in the form of a click. Subsequently, it is wise to think of follow-up actions in advance,
because with the reading of an article, no bond has yet been created. Consider, for example, showing
additional content via email, display or social remarketing.
2.5 Encouraging concrete action
If your target group is already familiar with your brand, products and services and is also aware of the
added value of this, you can proceed with a campaign aimed at inciting concrete action. Combine the
communication from the previous phases into concrete call-to-actions that are clear and recognisable.
Consider, for example, filling in a contact form, registering for a newsletter, requesting a quote or, of
course, proceeding directly to a purchase of your product or service.
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3. Building a sales and marketing funnel
Did you know that only 2% of the purchases are made at the first contact moment? This percentage is
even only 10% at the fourth contact moment. On average, a customer needs between 5 and 8 contact
moments before a purchase is made. These moments together form the customer journey and this
journey is different for every customer. That is why it is very important to respond well to this with your
communication, so that potential customers get the right information at the right time. The process
towards a purchase is called the marketing and sales funnel.
3.1 Why do I need a funnel?
As mentioned in the introduction, a customer needs between 5 and 8 contact moments on average for a
purchase. Annoying? On the contrary! It offers opportunities to brand your company and product or
service in such a way that the customer can not miss you in any way.
Customer journey
The contact moments that lead to a purchase together form the customer journey. There are countless
models written for this by marketing gurus and experts, but certainly the most used one is the AIDA
model. This model contains the following phases:
Attention: the customer has a certain need, is aware of it and
knows your product or service
Interest: the customer begins to show interest in your product
Desire: the customer has the need to buy your product
Action: the customer buys your product
Each stage of the model needs his own unique approach and
messages. It does not make any sense to start communicating
prices and packages, when the customer is not yet aware of your
product and certainly does not have the need to buy it.
Time and effectiveness
A well-equipped funnel ensures an effective distribution between sales and marketing and saves you or
your employees a lot of time. An automated funnel ensures that your website and communication
provide a constant stream of leads 24 hours a day. The marketing department can focus on the
communication within this funnel and the sales department can effectively spend its time by focusing on
prospects that are in the last part of the customer journey and thus your funnel.
Advising and informing
Consciously or unconsciously, customers have the need to be informed and advised by experts when
purchasing. They want to be helped to make sure they make the right choice. A sales and marketing
AIDA Model
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funnel offers the opportunity to meet this need and at the same time put your company and product as
the solution that the customer needs.
3.2 What is the difference between the marketing and sales funnel?
The funnel that we are talking about is often classified as a sales funnel. Strange, since most of this funnel
consists of marketing, while sales comes around the corner only at the end. That is why we make a clear
distinction between marketing and sales here.
Marketing funnel
In the marketing funnel you are busy attracting potential customers. You’re focusing on a broad audience
and try to convince the customer that your company is the best choice for their needs. In this process it is
of the utmost importance that your target audience gets as little 'red flags' as possible. That is why you
only communicate about problems and opportunities that your target group has and do not yet speak
about the solution that you can offer. If you do this, potential customers will start to doubt your motives
and sincerity and thus trigger a 'red flag'.
Sales funnel
The sales funnel starts when the marketing funnel has done its job well. The customer is aware of his
needs and now is the moment to talk about your product or solution and how it can help your customer.
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Shift from sales to marketing
In recent years, the focus has shifted more and more from sales to marketing. Where sales were still
responsible for about 60% of the funnel, this is now only about 20%. This is clearly visible in the image
below.
3.3 How do I build an effective marketing and sales funnel?
Setting up a funnel starts with a thorough investigation of your potential customers, how you can reach
them and can help with your product or service. Then it is important to determine which phases your
customers go through and with which communication you can respond to them. Think carefully what you
want to tell per phase and at which stage of the customer journey this fits in. Finally, it is very important
to determine the turning point between marketing and sales; when does a lead become a prospect?
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4. Practical tips for your marketing campaigns
Before you start a marketing campaign, it is important to have your plan in order. Ask yourself what goals
do you want to achieve with the campaign? Who do you want to reach? How are you going to reach
them? And why does the customer has to choose for you in the end? Just a few questions to think about
before actually spending money, time and efforts into the campaign. At Geomares, we have conducted
numerous marketing campaigns for our customers over the years, both online and offline. That’s why we
have listed three very important tips for a stunning online marketing campaign!
4.1 Provide a good website
A well performing website is an important success factor for your online marketing campaigns. Attracting
people to your website is a great start, but what if your website is not performing well enough? Visitors
will have a bad experience, leave your website quickly and all efforts have gone for nothing after all.
Solid basis
What information should be available at all times to be find by potential customers? Make sure this key
information is clearly present and easy to find on your website. This ensures a solid basis.
Landing pages
The majority of all online advertisements links to specific landing pages that are deeper in the website
than the homepage. Before designing your landing page, keep in mind what the exact purpose of this
page is and whether this forms a logical continuation for a visitor after clicking on the advertisement. This
helps ensuring a good user experience and increases the chance of a final conversion.
Responsive
Is your website optimized for tablets and smartphones? If not, a campaign on mobile devices will have a
low conversion rate. Think carefully about this beforehand.
4.2 Make sure your message is perfectly aligned with your target group
In one of our previous articles we already discussed marketing goals and the different phases of the
customer journey. Before you start a marketing campaign, define the goal, desired target group and
which message will be in perfect alignment with them. For example, ask yourself the question if your
target group is already familiar with your company or haven’t they heard from you before? How much
sense would it make to make an immediate offer for a Macbook to someone who walks across an Apple
store and has never heard of Apple or Macbooks before? Or explaining the core benefits of Apple
products to someone who owns an iPhone, iPad, iPod and Macbook for years. In both situations, the
target group has different needs and it is your job to make sure your message is perfectly aligned with it.
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4.3 Define your Unique Selling Points
Why do customers have to choose for you instead of your competitor? The answer to that questions will
be your Unique Selling Point (USP), maybe you even have several! Make sure to define them in advance
and let them be a crucial part in your campaigns, landing pages and in any follow-up actions.
Unique Buying Reasons
Where USPs are determined from a providers point of view, it is strongly advisable to consider whether
your USPs are actually unique benefits for potential customers. In other words, are your USPs also Unique
Buying Reasons for customers? With this thought in mind, start thinking about how your product or
service helps the customer to solve existing problems or other needs. Write them down and use them in
your advantage.
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5. A quick recap
Be aware of trends and opportunities
• Database Marketing
• Advanced Targeted Marketing
• Social Advertising
• Native Content Marketing
• Lead Generation
Set goals
• Cognitive phase: branding
• Affective phase: bonding
• Context phase: action
Build a sales/marketing
funnel
• Define your customer's journey
• Define your marketing strategy
• Turning point between marketing and sales?
Make sure the basics are OK
• Provide a good website
• Align your message with your target group
• Define your USPs
