Is a “do it yourself” online marketing approach best for your business?
Some channel partners opt for a “do it yourself” approach when it comes to managing their digital marketing campaigns. Instead of seeking outside, professional assistance from industry experts who know their products, services and brands as well as they do, they assume that they can handle the job by themselves.
Is this a good idea your business?
It may be tempting to think that you know what works better than an outside party. After all, you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into the business. You built it, so you know what’s best for it, right?
Go online right now and do a Google, Bing or Yahoo search for the products, services and brands you offer. For example, Xerox® Color C60/C70, multifunction printer, Xerox ConnectKey, Managed Print Services and your printer/copiers.
It’s clear that dozens of regional and national partners (read: competitors) are actively trying to lure buyers to their businesses with these searches.
If you’re attempting to stand against those competitors with limited digital marketing know-how, you’re setting yourself up for a less than ideal outcome.
One study shows that owners who manage their own online marketing efforts waste at least 25% more of their investment every month. This WordStream study reviewed 500 businesses that manage their own Google AdWords campaigns and found that they were losing money because of a lack of time and expertise in managing their ad copy, bids and more.
What does that mean?
It means that, like you, people who own or manage their own high-tech B2B business are pulled in a variety of directions. They’re too busy managing the day-to-day operations of their business to add one more thing to their plate. They have customer service issues that they need to address. They have employees to keep happy. They have systems and processes that they need to keep operating at optimum efficiency.
They find it difficult to keep up with their online marketing to learn what’s involved in running a successful, sustained online marketing program. They’re running a single campaign in a silo, lacking access to the collective wisdom and intelligence of other partners running the same kind of campaigns in similar markets.
Most challenging of all, poorly executed ad copy and landing pages are driving down their digital quality score. This is a Google term for the relevancy of the keywords prospects enter versus your digital ads and landing page where you send each click. The higher your quality score, the lower the cost you pay per click. On average a do-it-yourself digital campaign will cost 30-80% more per click.
Experts that know the high tech B2B industry are worth their weight in gold
So, what’s the answer? That’s simple: Avoid the temptation to tackle online marketing yourself and instead seek the guidance of a trusted partner who’s an expert in your field.
Google Premier Partner Netsertive is home to a team of industry experts with experience in a wide variety of digital advertising tactics, from search engine marketing (SEM) to display, mobile, video, social and more.
We run hundreds of campaigns for partners just like you, delivering industry-leading quality scores and content that converts into clients. On average, our team and technology makes more than 1,000 proactive changes to each partner’s account every month. In fact, since we started working with a small selection of Xerox partners here’s a total of the changes we’ve made across your network (as of November 17, 2015):
Our experts know how to write and test ads that trigger clicks from qualified clients, and how to convert those clicks into opportunities with relevant landing pages on your website. We’re also familiar with the latest trends in digital marketing and we know what your competition is doing online. Finally, we have the tools necessary to research the most effective means of getting your marketing message out to people who are likely to respond.
It may be tempting to attempt an online marketing campaign on your own. But like any effective marketing effort, it requires a lot more effort than just “setting and forgetting” a few stale ads, keywords and broad geographic area. If you collaborate with an expert in high technology B2B marketing, you’ll end up with a better response rate, more sales, and a better return on investment.
The bottom line: The online marketing team at companies such as Netsertive may cost a little more, but they’ll attract more high-quality clients to your business every month at a lower cost than doing it on your own.
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