Convincing clients to try digital marketing: 4 steps to success
July 15, 2014
Digital Marketing
While the need for digital marketing may seem obvious in 2014, there are still clients who remain reluctant to dive in. Here are 4 steps to lead them to water:
Show them how active their target really is online.
We worked with a senior marketing team who was unconvinced that digital marketing was right for their target. We created a consumer profile that showed who our consumer was, from demographics to psychographics, and included media consumption information that was already familiar to them (TV watching, etc). Once they were nodding along, we layered in digital consumption information, such as the multiscreen effect of the target watching TV with a tablet/phone in their hands. We further showed how media (magazine) properties had augmented their traditional offering with digital, and were enjoying stronger consumer engagement as a result.
Show them how their competition is succeeding in digital marketing.
Following up on the consumer discussion, we presented some key examples of the competition’s digital marketing activity that showed resulting deep consumer engagement with the brand, including a study in which digital activity could be tracked to sales.
In addition, we demonstrated live how targeted advertising works, doing a Google search for a competitor’s brand, and then watching the brand pop up and follow us during our subsequent web browsing.
Show them what gold standard digital marketing is from companies/brands they respect.
We took a break from being followed by the competition to review work from brands like
P&G’s Always (“Like A Girl”), to show how digital marketing has become a central part of brand-building rather than an add-on.
Test and Learn: Give them something bite-sized to try.

Start w/bite size
While our client was reluctant to green light a large portion of spend in the digital space, they were newly intrigued by and open to exploring digital marketing. We proposed several projects with varying degrees of commitment and complexity, from a standalone
iAd effort that could be tracked and benchmarked against all other iAds for engagement, to a fuller social media effort around education in their industry. They chose the former, and we delivered a campaign that exceeded Apple’s engagement benchmark by 140% and resulted in 50,000 location searches for product availability.
And now the question isn’t IF they are going to do digital marketing, but what the scope will be.
Give these 4 steps a try, and get your clients excited about digital marketing! Feel free to share out if you find this valuable, and let me know how it goes– I’m eager to hear about your experience.
7 Comments
susby
Excellent points, Connie. The first three suggestions are things we often do when pitching a new client. The potential new client usually appreciates the research we’ve done, which also increases their confidence in us as a vendor. Your fourth step is a fantastic idea and a great way to show proof of concept for those who are relatively new to digital marketing. With results like yours, it would be very hard for the client to not want to continue working with you.
Also, I love the P&G #LikeAGirl campaign. That’s a great example of aligning with the audience, being socially responsible and building affinity for the brand. I wonder if they have been learning from Dove’s Real Beauty campaign.
Connie Chen (Author)
Thanks Suse, appreciate the feedback. I’m glad to know others have had success with the first three steps as well. Re the two campaigns, I bet P&G is happy to have such high profile work out there again– Dove is every marketer’s dream!
Christina Loehnig
Hi Connie,
Great tips! I especially like the last tip: Give them something bite size to try. In my experience, when trying to ‘sell’ someone on an idea, it is best to start out simple and get real results. Once you show the client/decision maker the concrete results and success, they will trust you and support your big ideas moving forward. Thanks for sharing!
-Christina
Lisa Love
Gosh, I can’t imagine that there are companies out there still reluctant to digital marketing. But I guess this does exist. Great examples of how to combat the hesitancy and ease into a small test. I would think showing a company what the competition is doing would be a huge eye-opener and get them charged up. Way to go!
Connie Chen (Author)
Thanks Lisa! I know, it’s hard to believe isn’t it? Baby steps…
Manasi Talikoti
Your all four points are very relevant. Talking about the campaigns, like Dove and P&G, I think recent campaign launched by Poo Pourri “Girls don’t Poop” is the most interesting campaign I have come across. Please have a look – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaQ1CdISw8o. The commercial is very innovative. This humorous spot features a perky British redhead sitting on a toilet reciting a monologue about poop that references “tenacious skid marks” and “astronauts splashing down” into the bowl. While it may not seem like a real product, the Dallas-based company is over six years old and sells its products mostly in boutiques across the country. This new campaign has really benefited them. I think its an perfect example for all those reluctant companies who are not keen in digital marketing.
Manasi Talikoti
Your all four points are very relevant. Campaigns, like Dove and P&G were excellent. But, I would like to share a recent campaign launched by Poo Pourri “Girls don’t Poop” is the most interesting campaign I have come across. Please have a look – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaQ1CdISw8o. The commercial is very innovative. This humorous spot features a perky British redhead sitting on a toilet reciting a monologue about poop that references “tenacious skid marks” and “astronauts splashing down” into the bowl. While it may not seem like a real product, the Dallas-based company is over six years old and sells its products mostly in boutiques across the country. This new campaign has really benefited them. I think its an perfect example for all those reluctant companies who are not keen in digital marketing.