How To Crush Your Digital Strategy This Valentine’s Day
Love is in the air! In this opinion piece, WP Engine country manager ANZ Mark Randall shares his tips for getting the most out of Valentine’s Day this year.
Last year, consumers spent an average of only $43.61 on gifts for their other half. More couples are abandoning expensive dinners for nights in, take-out and Netflix. Finder research suggests that almost two-thirds of Australians in a relationship had no plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day in 2019. A quarter of these dumped the holiday altogether due to how expensive it is, while 18 per cent simply don’t believe in it.
Despite its decreasing popularity, and the rise of Alibaba’s Singles Day, Valentine’s Day is still one of the busiest shopping periods in the retail calendar and one that retailers should plan to capitalise on. For Valentine’s Day 2020, it’s time to ditch old-school marketing methods and start a new love affair with easy, smart and targeted techniques that will make shoppers fall in love.
These easy to follow tips will help you improve your website strategy and boost sales on the most romantic day of the year.
Does your site have a romantic look and feel?Consider giving your site a Valentine’s Day makeover in the lead up to the holiday. Shoppers who had not considered spending for a loved one are then immediately prompted to do so when navigating your site. If you have a WordPress website, you have the freedom to customise your site and change the look and feel both easily and temporarily. Regardless of product type, you can always give your goods a bit of love by incorporating Valentine’s themed banners, colors, fonts, backgrounds and graphics to your website decor.
Have you incorporated any Valentine’s promotions?Many Aussie couples have abandoned Valentine’s Day due to the cost, so a deal or sale is a great way to entice shoppers who might not have initially planned to spend on your site . This could be a certain percentage off flowers and gifts, free shipping, free cards or even Valentine’s Day wrapping on the house. You can really bring this home by adding on-site prompts like pop-ups and banner messages which will help conversion rates during the Valentine’s Day shopping period.
Can your site handle the Valentine’s Day pressure? In the lead up to Valentine’s Day, many independent ecommerce retailers will see a surge in online traffic. An increase in website traffic can slow and in some cases completely crash your website. Recent industry benchmarks from Google tell us that 53 per cent of users will leave if a site takes too long to load, resulting in potential consumers spending their budget elsewhere. Considering the competitive nature of Valentine’s Day this year, it is important that businesses plan for increased traffic and ensure their site doesn’t crack under the holiday pressure.
Is your site a good match for mobile devices?While 63 per cent of ecommerce revenue comes from desktop purchases, many couples are still opting to buy gifts for their beloved on the go. To increase the likelihood of a purchase made through a smartphone, it is important to ensure that the design of your site is mobile-friendly. Building an ecommerce site using pre-existing themes on WordPress like Genesis and the WooCommerce plugin can cut down on these design costs, enabling you to create ecommerce sites optimized for both desktop and mobile, even on the tightest of budgets.
Does your checkout process leave shoppers feeling the love?The check-out process is an integral part of the online shopping experience. Retailers risk losing the interest of Valentine’s Day shoppers if the payment process takes too long or shipping it too expensive. To streamline the checkout process, retailers can offer consumers the option to use guest checkout rather than forcing them to sign in or create an account. FInding ways to shorten the check out process without something like WooCommerce reduces the hassle, saves time, and ultimately makes it easier for the customer to purchase their Valentine’s Day gifts on your site. Though there has been some resistance from Aussie couples to celebrate Valentine’s Day, there is still a huge opportunity for retailers to capitalise on the holiday, if they’re clever about it. A thought out and smart digital marketing strategy is a cost effective way to drive sales and spread the love this year.
The case for quitting: 7 people on why leaving their agency job was their best move
For advertising agency employees, quitting without a plan can feel impossible. That’s especially at a time when the agency business is so tumultuous. But for some people, making the decision to quit without having anything else lined up helped change their lives for the better. Below, seven employees share their stories about quitting the agency business, including one who left it altogether, and how doing so improved their lives. These stories have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Philip Pirkovic, a senior media designer for Noble PeopleA few years ago, I was working at an agency in San Francisco and feeling stagnant. I realized I needed to go to New York to see if I could make it there. I wanted to prove to myself that I can go sit at the table and I didn’t really think about what it meant to quit. I put my two weeks in, booked a U-Haul and spent five days driving to New York. Since I’ve lived here, it’s insane how much I’ve grown.
Quitting makes you very uncomfortable. You need to believe in yourself to be able to get to the next thing. That really pushed me. I wasn’t ever the smartest. I was the kid who worked harder. By quitting, I had no other options: I had to succeed, had to run all over New York and take chances. People generally want to do things where they know the outcome. But awesome things can happen when you take a blind jump.
A content strategist for an in-house agencyI went [to work for the] brand side [of things] and found that the culture wasn’t for me. Then, my wife and I had just found out we were pregnant. At that time, my work-life balance was shit. I knew I needed to leave more than I needed a job because I knew that [asking for] paternity leave [at that company] would not go over well. In quitting, I gave up a lot, not only a bonus but equity at the company. [I had] a high-paying job with a great title and power. But I gave it up for all the right reasons: more sane paternity leave, and my wife was tired of seeing me be miserable.
Thankfully, my old agency took me back. I’ve had moments where I’ve doubted myself. I thought I had committed career suicide by quitting. But overall, it worked out. My one piece of advice would be that even if you’re doing it without a plan don’t burn any bridges. Leaving well is underrated. Advertising is small and people talk. Don’t quit poorly. It doesn’t help you at all.
Scot Westwater, co-founder and chief creative officer of Pragmatic DigitalI spent 20-ish years in advertising and marketing. As I got higher up in the ranks, I was doing less of the work I was hired to do [and more management tasks]. I became a bit disillusioned. Then, my father passed away suddenly in 2017. That’s when I started thinking, What am I doing with my life? It wasn’t a midlife crisis but taking stock of where I was at.
One day someone had a heart attack on the train I was on. That moment snapped me out of my complacency. It really rattled me and galvanized my decision. Two weeks later I quit. I didn’t have a plan but I had already created an LLC with my wife focused on voice. In a very short window, I completely upended my life by quitting. I think it was the best decision I could have made. I feel like I should have done it sooner but I was scared of the unknown. This has taught me to embrace the unknown and not to worry about the past or what other people think about [me].
Surena Chande, a digital PR manager for Re:signal I quit my job last fall. I felt like I had learned everything I could where I was and there weren’t opportunities to progress. I had no plan whatsoever. After I quit, I was freaking out and constantly thinking about whether I’d made a huge mistake. It was heartbreaking because I loved everyone I worked with. I realize now, it took a lot of courage to realize that while I could be comfortable where I was, I needed to throw myself into an uncomfortable position.
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[After months of figuring out what to do next, I am starting a new job on Monday.] I feel like I made the right decision for myself. Having time out to get clarity was one of the best things I’ve done for myself. But only quit if you’re 100% sure you’re not happy in that job. It took me a few months to build up to leaving. As long as you’ve been sensible financially, there are other jobs out there. It’s worth exploring as long as you’re sensible.
Laura Wong, social media creative producer at Booking.comJust over a year ago, my partner and I both quit our jobs in Vancouver and bought one-way tickets to Amsterdam without [having] any jobs lined up. Previously, I was at a digital agency, but I always wanted to work abroad. It’s been a life-changing experience. Before we [quit], we tried for months to apply for jobs and then move. But ultimately, we made the decision to buy one-way tickets and hit the ground running. We had experience and put faith in the system.
I left a really good crew, good position, good pay and benefits, but I have no regrets. I never look back. Meeting new people and living outside of your comfort zone is invaluable. Before we left, all I could focus on was being afraid of failing. I would say to anyone in my position to not let fear hold you back because I wouldn’t be where I am if I’d given into that and held off.
Rachelle Denton, co-founder of the Storm CollectiveI was working for an agency for a few years before I quit. It was incredibly demanding in terms of the amount of hours. It wasn’t unusual to have people break down because of work. I had friends who are doctors, and they all kept saying that the way I work was a bit crazy. [I didn’t realize how crazy it was until] I went on maternity leave. When I went back to the agency for a catch-up day, they asked me about coming back. I slightly surprised myself because I just said, “I’m not coming back.” I left there quite shocked.
I suddenly realized that if I’m going to be leaving this kid with someone else, it needs to feel worth it. To be honest, it was the best thing I ever did. Since then I started a collective of freelancers and contractors to group together. In retrospect, [I believe that I] realized what I wanted without even knowing it. There’s a thing that happens to lots of people in agencies. It’s so intense and so intimate. People get really indoctrinated into [maintaining] that behavior and worry that a move like quitting will reflect poorly. But it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.
A strategist at a digital production companyYears ago I quit without a plan, turned my side hustle into a business and now I’m back at an agency. My biggest realization has been that my job doesn’t need to define me as a person. Back then I was looking for validation through my job and work. Now I am doing what I’m good at but it’s not my identity anymore. It doesn’t make me who I am. I do it to pay for life.
For some people, quitting is liberating. For others, it’s really scary. Ultimately, it’s a mixture of the two. You have your destiny in your own hands. Venturing into the unknown can take you in many different directions and you should allow yourself to try those to figure out what motivates you and what you enjoy.
Four Pitfalls Most Digital Marketing Agencies Encounter When Scaling
If you’re running an agency, growth is the goal, right? Every agency owner wants to work with the biggest clients, build the biggest team, win the biggest awards and score the biggest buyout deals.
Unfortunately, the path to sustainable growth is lined with potential pitfalls that threaten not just your ability to scale, but your agency’s entire operation as well. And while there’s no way to fully eliminate them, I’ve pulled together four common challenges, based on my experience growing my own agency and the experiences of other agency owners I’ve worked with, to help you scale as smoothly and successfully as possible.
Pitfall No. 1: You Scale Beyond Your Skills
The natural progression of scaling goes like this: As you successfully complete projects, your clients refer you to others. These new clients refer you to others, and the whole process snowballs until, theoretically, you’re working with the top names in your vertical.
As these referrals continue to build, your agency will likely receive inquiries asking you to bid for or perform projects that go beyond your core set of skills. While these requests can be great opportunities for growth, they can also set your agency up for failure if you aren’t able to deliver strong results.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t ever expand beyond your core competencies. But you need to be careful. When things are going well and your agency appears to be in demand, it’s easy to get caught up in the lure of the dollar signs attached to these "bigger and better" projects.
Before saying yes, take a close look at what's needed to execute the project. Do you need to bring on additional talent? Could you partner with another agency that specializes in the new area? It’s far better to turn down an opportunity you aren’t qualified for — no matter how good it sounds — than to take it on and blow up your carefully built brand reputation.
Pitfall No. 2: Your Systems Aren’t Scalable
Scaling services as an agency is hard. Because it requires so much manual effort and expertise, creative work doesn’t scale naturally, but you’ll only be making things harder on yourself if the systems you have in place aren’t scalable.
Take client intake, as an example. Do you currently have a system in place that shifts as much of the onboarding process as possible onto your clients’ plates? Or are you still using a manual process that requires one of your team members to chase down information that’s needed to kick off a new project?
If you want to scale but your systems and processes still require significant amounts of manual effort, you’re always going to struggle. Take the time to get your house in order with more scalable solutions before investing too heavily in growth.
Pitfall No. 3: You Don’t Have A Deep Bench Of Talent
By its very nature, scaling involves taking something small and turning it into something larger. But if you’re only thinking about scaling in terms of your revenue or your company’s operations overall, you might miss another critical element that needs to be grown in a sustainable way: your team.
Most agencies start out small, either with dedicated teams of employees wearing multiple hats or with pools of contractors that can be tapped as needed. Scaling an agency invariably means adding talent. But overlooking the impact of the talent you already have risks leaving your company vulnerable to turnover.
Imagine you have a core team of five employees, all of whom serve multiple roles at your agency. To scale, your team may need to grow to 10 people total. But what happens if, in the process of scaling, you lose a member of your initial team? This loss of institutional knowledge and multirole expertise could cripple your growth plans, no matter how many new hires you bring on.
To prevent this pitfall from affecting your ability to grow and scale, you need to have two things in place:
• Process documentation that’s updated on an ongoing basis so that the loss of an existing team member doesn’t mean losing important operations information.
• A recruitment approach that continually solicits applications for positions you aren’t actively hiring. When turnover occurs — and it will occur — you’ll be better off if you have a file of strong potential candidates already.
Regularly look at your team roster and ask yourself what you’d do if each member resigned tomorrow. Even the best employees won’t stay with you forever. If you don’t have a good answer for each worker, get a plan in place now, while this exercise is still theoretical.
Pitfall No. 4: You Don’t Give Your Past Clients A Graceful Exit
As your agency scales up, it’s likely that your service offerings will change. Your price points will change. The way you build your packages will change to suit the newer, likely larger customers you’re targeting. As a result, there are probably going to be some clients on your roster that are no longer a good fit for your changing agency.
Here’s what you don’t want to do: keep them limping along with your agency because you’re too scared to tell them that your growth means you’re no longer a good fit for their needs.
Instead, develop a plan in advance for transitioning away from poor-fit clients in a graceful way. Regularly monitor your book of business to identify accounts for whom your services are becoming less and less appropriate. Then, at least a month or two in advance of discontinuing the relationship (depending on your contract terms), communicate clearly why a change is occurring, and, if possible, refer them to a better-fit agency for their needs.
Growth might be the holy grail of most agencies, but it can be a double-edged sword. By putting plans in place to avoid the pitfalls described above, you can improve your agency’s ability to scale up without compromising its performance or integrity along the way.
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