Marketing is an interesting beast in that while most people know it’s an integral element of modern business planning (even if we can tire of it as consumers), you still need to market the need for marketing, so to speak. Some businesses consider marketing as an obligation and not an opportunity, which can lead to restrictive budgets and a lack of forward thinking.
If you’ve been newly hired into a business within its marketing department, or you’re trying to sell your services to a reticent company, you may wonder how to have that final marketing plan signed off. How can you convince a manager who doesn’t much care for online life about the value of SEO, especially when they feel AI is taking over everything already?
It’s not always clear. In this post however, we’ll determine a few more capable tricks you can use to win over the indecisive bosses. You might consider this a test of your skills – good marketing is about persuasion and convincing unconvinced people, after all. Regardless, let’s go into the advice below:
Table of Contents
Use Solid Case Studies To Prove The Point
It’s often a mistake to go in with general statements about how much digital marketing matters, because it’s a statement that causes rolled eyes, as we’ve all heard it a hundred times. In this case, it’s best to use specific case studies from other businesses, maybe even competitors, to show what’s possible.
For instance, you could focus on a company similar to the one you’re pitching to, maybe in the same industry, and show how a well-executed SEO strategy helped them achieve more growth and where they sit in the SERPs now. The data needs to be clear, and preferably directly related to the goals your business is hoping to achieve.
Ultimately, managers love seeing numbers that potentially inform what they’re doing, be that strict conversations or market share, so focus on those metrics, more like increased revenue or higher lead rates. If you can show them the return on investment and how that money comes back to the company, making sure the examples you use feel relatable and achievable for their current situation, they’re more likely to understand.
Photo by The Coach Space: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-and-woman-having-a-meeting-in-the-office-2977581/
Talk About Reach & Targeting
We don’t mean to be dismissive of practiced professionals, but a lot of older managers might be used to spending thousands on a print ad in a local paper that only reaches a handful of people, many of whom aren’t even in the target audience. Targeting is where digital marketing obviously shines, so be sure to point to that.
Show them how such targeting measures are well known for unbelievable accuracy in reaching certain demographics, interests, and past behaviors on each platform. You could explain that instead of broadcasting messages to everyone, online marketing allows the business to speak directly to the people most likely to buy their product or service which stops you wasting time chasing people who will never care. It’s a clever way to reframe it, and if done right, they’ll no doubt feel intrigued.
Always Come With A Clear Roadmap
You can’t predict the future or how every single campaign will go of course, but a fear of the unknown or a belief that online marketing is too chaotic is going to limit any results you gain here. Any boss, especially an unsure one, needs to see a structure and a sense of control. So, when you present your plan, make sure it’s laid out with a timeline, exact goals to reach, and milestones where you’ll report back. So for example, you won’t just “improve SEO,” but you’ll have a specific target for conversion improvement from natural traffic by a set date.
Then you can more easily break down the process into manageable phases. If you show them what’s going to happen in the first three months, then the next six, and so on, and then point to key performance indicators or KPIs to each phase so they can see how progress will be tracked, they know you’re not just being wishy-washy. Ideally, try to bind this to other promotional efforts in the business, such as any event coverage you’re doing lately.
Consider Working With Other Agencies
Perhaps your boss is worried that resources are tight already, and they’re funneling that where it needs to be, like updating equipment or regulatory compliance, now massive new changes are coming into place. Sure, that’s fine. However, you might find that recommending other courses of action, like working with a digital marketing agency, can be worthwhile.
If you help them understand the options available and how you don’t have to do every single thing in-house, they may be more open. You may think this is a harder sell given how outsourcing comes with its own costs, but it’s just like using deliver partners for logistics – sometimes patching your need right now with a professional service can be cheaper and easier for a result than structuring the entire practice internally. It sounds obvious in that context, so be sure to bake this in as an alternative if you feel it could help.
Address The AI Fear Directly
The fear that AI will make human marketing efforts obsolete is understandable (and believe us when we say many marketers are concerned about it), but in some respects, its also misguided. You need to show the manager that AI is a tool, not a replacement for the entire process, and that ultimately doing that will cheapen your identity and outreach.
If you explain that yes, AI can excel at automation, data analysis, and improving certain parameters, you still need human creativity and oversight for it to work well for any brand. Make a clear distinction about the value in your own marketing plan and why it’s superior. From there, show them how the digital marketing plan leverages AI if they’re all about it, such as sending out emails when someone signs up to a newsletter or needs more outreach. It’ll help you avoid dismissing your needs.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily get your marketing plan approved going forward.
