Last week, Max Connect held its first annual Google Summit at our office here in Draper, Utah. It was an opportunity for our clients and digital experts alike to gain exclusive insights from Google and learn how to be front-end leaders in the evolving space of digital marketing. Kunal Khanna, Manager of Strategic Partnerships at Google, was the keynote speaker, and challenged attendees to be “disruptive” with the rise of new digital strategies. Khanna, along with other representatives from Google, conducted breakout sessions discussing a range of topics and tactics for sustained business growth. Now we're giving you the inside scoop, sharing the top takeaways from the summit that have been most helpful for our clients.
Digital Transformation Is Imperative
Businesses that fail to include digital transformation in their growth vision should re-consider the immense value that a digitally natured business offers. Khanna suggests that businesses should constantly seek for ways to digitalize their processes, adding that “Companies that tend to be more digitally natured [have] 3x higher returns than the market average.” With reference to BCG’s study on the enablers of digital transformation, Khanna cites that the following steps will be most helpful in the process of digitalization:
C-Suite Alignment: Every leader must share the same vision for digital enablement.
Supercharge Digital Solutions with Data: Smart Insights should guide every step of the journey.
Consistent & Dynamic Execution: Steer transformation by adapting to the evolving market.
A Budget as Fluid as Your Customers
Keeping pace with the volatile nature of consumer behavior can be difficult for marketers, especially if the marketing budget is non-versatile. If the aim of marketing is to meet consumers at the right place with the right message, then businesses should recognize that an agile budget for digital programs enables a responsive approach to shifting consumer behavior. Google revealed that “74% of digital leaders have established agile funding so digital programs can scale if they contribute to strategic goals.” Leaders working together across functions should be united in discussing, planning, and implementing the details of a dynamic budget.
How to Future-Proof Your Business?
Employ privacy safe, first-party data strategies.
The rise of new data privacy laws complicates audience targeting for your brand. However, a privacy safe, first-party data strategy will serve as a foundation for secured growth potential. When executed properly, customers willingly exchange their information with your brand for some added value. This first-party data can then be leveraged for retargeting and creating look-a-like audiences that extend your brand’s reach to new, high-converting customers. As you build a storehouse of first-party data, your brand will be able to weather the challenges of strict privacy laws.
The High Impact of Digital Tools
Consumers have become heavily reliant on digital tools to inform their purchases and store visits. A brand that does meet consumers at the places where they research products may be missing out on opportunities to generate sales. For example, the content-rich space of YouTube has become a popular tool for assisting purchase decisions, with over 40% of people saying they purchased products that they discovered on YouTube. Google search and social media are also valuable tools that consumers use to aid their journey to purchase. This underlines the importance for placing relevant messaging on each of these platforms to maximize influence over the purchasing behavior.
The Value of Digital Maturity
According to Google, a digitally mature brand yields about 18% more revenue at a 29% less cost—but what exactly does “digital maturity” mean?
Digital maturity defines a business that has optimized both the effectiveness and efficiency of their digital strategies to create a seamless system of targeting, attribution, and lead generation. Without digital maturity, a brand may deploy digital marketing to drive traffic, but will fail to connect the impact of digital efforts to business outcomes. A brand with high digital maturity will have maximized targeting potential with customer data and can track which leads have become qualified sales.
The future of digital will not be dictated by the marketer, it will be shaped by the consumer. The innovative strategies that Google has shared with Max Connect will be invaluable for helping us sustain our clients for future growth in the digital world.