This list is for the ‘Stage 3’ high-flyers who have been winning at digital marketing and are hungry to tune the marketing engine that has been moving the organization forward with good, consistent speed and velocity.

t out our Stage 1 list for those who are just getting fired up about digital marketing or even the Stage 2 list for our next level digital marketing friends.

Kicking things off, as a Stage 3 organization, you are playing the long game and are focused on continued, sustainable results as your lead generation machine is delivering, but there is still incremental room for improvement.

1. Extended Marketing Mix

The 7Ps marketing framework is applicable to both product and service-based organizations, which consists of product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and people. Learn more at: wlion.com/mix

2. Perceptual Mapping

To locate gaps in the market, while understanding actual consumer brand perceptions, the perceptual mapping process plots the organization against all key competitors. Learn more: wlion.com/perceptual and wlion.com/perceptual-example

3. Multi-Channel Focus

To maximize the organization’s impact within the market, both online and offline channels need to be assessed to figure out where potential and actual customers are congregating in the greatest numbers. Learn more: wlion.com/channel

4. Messaging Apps & Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bot Engines

Digital marketers need to be aware of channels within channels, as messaging applications are becoming more sophisticated. Facebook Messenger, for example, continues to roll out new functionality for marketers to engage customers and prospective customers. As Facebook also owns Whatsapp, we can expect new marketing opportunities on the Whatsapp global messaging platform. Finally, as artificial intelligence explodes onto the marketing scene with bots (which is a software application running automated tasks or scripts), new ways to engage, attract and retain customers are on the horizon. Facebook, for example, is hard at work building a ‘Bot Engine’ into Messenger. Learn more: wlion.com/messenger and wlion.com/messenger-bot-engine and www.wlion.com/bot-overview

5. Push Notification Approach

Website enabled push notification platforms are emerging and offer digital marketers another way to segment and engage with their audience. Marketers can ‘push’ or send notifications at specific times to all those who have opted in for the service. Learn more: wlion.com/push and wlion.com/push-tool

6. Sales Play(s)

Across a specific timetable, a repeatable offering that helps a sales team promote and sell a product or a service to a specific customer set often using cross-selling and upselling offers. Each Sales Play will often contain a ‘Sales Kit’ containing items like supporting sales and marketing collateral. Learn more: www.wlion.com/sales-play

7. Vertical Search Engine Optimization

Thinking beyond general search engines like Google and Bing, your brand is being discovered on a wide range of ‘vertical search engines’ like Yelp, Pinterest, Amazon and others. Exploring the 6-Step Intent Based Search Optimization (IBSO) can help your team capture more leads and conversions. Learn more: wlion.com/vertical-search

8. Voice Search

Millions of voice activated search devices by Amazon, Google and Apple are already in the homes of consumers and the numbers will continue to climb. How can you start positioning your brand to part of that conversation? Learn more: wlion.com/voice-search

9. Content Topic Clustering

As part of the SEO strategy, like a hub and spoke, core topic clusters important to buyer personas, along with linked subtopics, creates an opportunity to perform significantly better with organic search traffic. Learn more: wlion.com/clusters

10. Natural Language Audit

Speaking in a language that your audience can easily relate to and understand is key. Maximize conversions using surveys and client interviews, assess all key content assets ensuring the organization’s messaging is continually refreshed and infused with key content phrases and sentence structuring from actual or prospective customers.

The Digital Planning Guide has 56 additional digital marketing checklist items and 33 website resources designed to help ensure your website outperforms your competition. If you haven’t already, consider downloading the full guide and be the hero and share it with your friends, too! And, let us know how we can help support you and your team in your digital journey.

Does your website have everything in place to win in the marketplace?