You have established your brand, registered your business name, and created a website. Your business is official. You are ready to start taking client calls and scheduling appointments. You are ready to begin providing services to your signed clients. Before you book that first client, however, have you developed a marketing plan? Have you established a strong IT security system? These are some of the most commonly forgotten parts of establishing a new business, but are also some of the most important. As you prepare for the next step of your business, ask yourself the following questions.

How will you reach new customers?
Perhaps you have a base customer list. These are customers that have already expressed interest and asked you to notify them when you were up and running. If you are lucky, you will turn a couple of these potential customers into actual customers. However, what happens when you have finished that initial list? It is actually more beneficial to create a strong digital marketing plan before reaching out to any customers. This allows you to practice your marketing strategies on current potential customers. By the time you are ready to branch out to cold leads, you have tweaked and improved the digital marketing strategy.

What is the best digital marketing strategy?
The best digital marketing strategy entirely depends on your business and the products or services that it offers. Some common types of digital marketing include search engine optimization (SEO), social media, Email marketing, and blogging. Each of these digital marketing strategies has great results. For example, an estimated 75% of search engine users do not scroll past the first page of search results. Creating a digital marketing SEO campaign that improves your search results can provide a steady flow of new customers.

How will you stay in touch with current customers?
Businesses that have great customer referrals tend to do better than those without. When your current customers are satisfied with the service or product received, they are much more likely to recommend your business to their network. This is an extremely cost effective and helpful way to grow a business. However, in order to remain fresh in your current customer?s minds, you have to keep in touch with them. Keeping in touch with current customers means that you have to understand your current customer base and know when they are most. An estimated 47% of Americans say that Facebook has had a larger influence on their purchases than any other social media network. Ensure that your business is prepared to reach out to and stay in touch with customers on the digital marketing platform that they use most.

How will you protect your customers?
Businesses with a strong product or service, a strong digital marketing plan, and minimal IT or security knowledge will eventually fail. We live in a highly technological world where everything is done over the internet. If you do not have knowledgeable computer support or business IT support services, your customers will go to someone that does. Additionally, customers expect their confidential information to be well protected. Compliance mandates such as PCI, HIPAA, and FISMA require businesses to protect, track, and control access to sensitive information. Failing to do this can result in large fines and a loss of customer trust.

How can you develop a strong business plan?
Now that you know that digital marketing and computer security are important to business success, how can you ensure that you have created a successful business plan for these areas? Working with a professional digital marketing company can ensure that you have met all of the required areas. A digital marketing firm can also provide you with additional resources for creating new marketing and security ideas.

New businesses often put a lot of planning and thought into their business. They spend hours researching products and price points. They go through the complex process of registering a new business. However, they fail to create a successful digital marketing campaign and to consider IT security. Increase your chances of success by developing a strong digital marketing strategy.