Is your agricultural business failing to bring in the revenue you hoped it would? Are you stuck at the same level of business you were last year? Well, do you have a working digital marketing strategy? No? Then it might be time for a change.

45% of businesses don't have a digital marketing strategy. If you don't have a strategy or ignore the strategy you created for your marketing, you won't be able to improve your business online. 

Promoting, talking about, and marketing your agricultural business is key to seeing your company online. If you don't do it right, people will bypass your website and go straight to your competitors. 

Strategy is at the heart of every great business, and today we're going to show you exactly why strategy matters and how you can create a strategy that gets you seen online and improves your business.

Why should you have a strategy for your business?

Whether it's a blog post, website, or social media update, you should always have a strategy. If you don't have a strategy ready, your marketing will fall apart, and you won't succeed online as an agricultural business. 

For example, let's say you decided to invest in Google ads to advertise your services because you received “free credit” from Google to get started. That's great! Paid advertising is a brilliant way to get your name out there - if you have a strategy. If you don't have a strategy or are unsure what you're trying to accomplish with Google ads, you won't get the results you're hoping for. 

Doing things without a plan will cost your company money. If you don't have a strategy or explicit goals, you're going to lose out on money. You'll also end up wasting precious time that could have been spent developing a marketing strategy for your business. 

Imagine spending thousands of dollars on Google ads only to get zero clients from it? 

If you don't have a strategy and invest in Google ads, that's precisely what will happen. You'll never be able to get the results you want for your company's online success.

How can you build the perfect strategy for your business?

Building the perfect strategy for your business takes time and effort. It's not something you can quickly put together without a second thought. It takes careful planning. That's right. You have to strategize to build the perfect strategy for your business. 

We're going to help you out, though, so don't worry. Take a look at the five necessary steps to building a full-proof strategy for your agricultural business.

1. Set SMART Goals

For any strategy to work, you have to have goals. Without goals, you won't know where you're going or even how to get there. The best goals to set for yourself and your business are SMART goals!

But what are SMART goals, and why should you use them for your marketing strategy?

SMART goals are goals that are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-sensitive

SMART goals will allow you to stay focused on your work. They'll help make sure that your strategy is implemented correctly. When you've completed your SMART goals, you'll feel inspired to focus on setting more goals and improving your marketing strategies even further. 

For example, let's say your SMART goal is to get three new clients with your email marketing strategy in the next month. This is a specific goal. It's measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive. 

Set SMART goals for your business and watch as you start to improve your marketing strategy and successfully reach new heights with your online sales. 

2. Research your market & competitors

To create the best strategy possible, you have to research your market carefully. You have to know what's trending and keep an eye out for what your clients are looking for. 

It's vital that you also keep a close watch on what your competitors are doing. You don't want to fall behind because you missed out on a critical part of the industry's progression. 

It's essential to keep an eye on when your market changes to keep your marketing strategy relevant and targeted at all times.

3. Create buyer personas

You won't be able to create a targeted strategy without a customer or buyer persona - that's a fact. A buyer persona helps you target your marketing towards the right kind of people, and without one, you could be missing your mark by a long shot. 

What is a buyer persona?

A buyer persona is a document that details everything about your target client. It lets you know who they are, what they're like, and why they want to work with you. 

A buyer persona includes a lot of details about your target customer, including:

• Age
• Occupation
• Gender
• Likes and dislikes
• Where they live
• Why they need your products 
• What makes them a good client 

Having buyer personas at the ready before you start creating the perfect marketing strategy will help you make sure your strategy is a success. Plus, 82% of companies that use personas improve their value proposition.

4. Make sure everything is relevant & consistent

If you're not relevant or consistent with your marketing, you're going to start losing out on clients. 

When creating your marketing strategy, it's important to remember that it might take your potential clients a few interactions before they even consider working with you. This means that one small irrelevant or inconsistent post or link will push them back a couple of steps. 

We've seen so many people lose out on conversions because of irrelevant posts and links. For example, many people send their clients to their home page instead of focused landing pages or even the contact page. These only delay conversions, and in some cases, it could lose you your client. 

If you've created Google ads or social ads, then don't forget to link your potential clients directly to the page that corresponds with the ad. 

Social media posts should also always be relevant. Don't post things to your social media accounts if they have nothing to do with your business. This will only drive people away. Be specific and publish relevant content that attracts the attention of your audience. 

For your marketing strategy to work, you have to continuously post relevant, valuable, and exciting content for your clients.

5. Put everything together

After setting out your goals, researching your market, and planning your marketing strategy, you should have everything in place to build an irresistible strategy. 

All you have to do now is sit down and start implementing it into your agricultural business. 

Create a document that maps out every part of your strategy and start taking the critical steps towards a successful digital marketing strategy. 

If you're a bit lost when it comes to implementing a digital marketing strategy for your company, consider getting some professional help by hiring a digital marketing expert who knows what they're doing. 

The team at Agtivation has years of experience helping agricultural companies find themselves online. We help businesses like yours get the attention they deserve and increase their conversions. 

If you'd like help from the experts when building a flawless digital marketing strategy, get in touch with our team today.