Digital Marketing: Fundamentals and Value

At Elm, we are wholeheartedly committed to bolstering the values of community partnerships with entrepreneurs in times of emergencies. In line with that, we hosted Abdullah Al-Ghadouni, a digital marketing specialist with work experience in major technology companies such as Nokia. Al-Ghadouni is also the founder of Triggers Agency, one of the first licensed electronic companies in Saudi Arabia, and a consultant for some business accelerators.

Fundamentals of Startup Marketing

One of the fundamentals of marketing is the right start based on meeting customers' needs that are in line with the target market’s demand and studying customers' potential behavior towards your product. Marketing fundamentals also include creating a recommendation engine for customers, which means promoting initial advertisements that attract the first customers to a new experience, who in turn will become a brand advocate for you and help promoting the product to other customers.

Creating standards for measuring customers' satisfaction is one of the pillars of the recommendation engine, as positive feedback from customers can be leveraged to attract new customers and then identify the barriers that prevent customers from trying or buying your product. This can be done through creating surveys such as Google Form, or through direct contact with customers using, for example, LiveChat.

The Buying Journey

For customers, their journey begins with a desire that needs to be met and with the suitability of the product to address this desire. The customer then moves to exploring the best possible options to satisfy this desire. When the buyers choose the product, they move the implementation stage, which means the method of purchase, whether by bank card or cash, and finally the journey ends with the care that the customer gives to the product specified.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The product must have a webpage that meets all stages of the customer’s purchase in terms of the product page's title, link, and page description on search engines. This is in addition to linking the page with product accounts on social media platforms, as 60% of potential customers come through search engines.

Website Analysis

Website analysis tools analyze the number of visits to the site and the number of potential customers who registered on the site. The tools also analyze the number of customers who purchased the product through the site and their satisfaction with the overall experience. Google Analytics is considered one of the most popular online tools that benefit startups in this area.

Website Marketing Messages

Placing a marketing message that begins with "why" in the header of the site makes the customer aware of the added value provided, why they should buy it, and what is the problem that will be solved.

Paid Advertisement Channels

Advertising via social media is of utmost importance in the world today, specifically the "Snapchat" and "Instagram" platforms. These platforms provide advertisers with a comprehensive analysis of customer behavior, identifying their gender, ages, and geographical locations with ease of targeting, in addition to the low cost of ads through these platforms compared to celebrities who provide advertisement services.