Giving Advantage Business the Advantage with Strategic Digital Marketing

Approach

Advantage Business has built a strong reputation in the business advisory landscape, thanks to a team of advisors who are not just skilled but truly make a difference in their clients’ financial success. They understand that lasting relationships and trust matter most in this business and that's why they stand out — they back up their advice with solid support, resources, and a network that’s all about getting real results.

Challenged by the need to unify their marketing efforts and harness data-driven strategies, Advantage Business partnered with Virtual Marketers. The goal was to consolidate their position and amplify their reach across Aotearoa, bringing their high-value advisory services to a broader audience.

We adopted a dual approach initially concentrating on understanding Advantage Business's unique value proposition and the dynamic landscape of business advisory in New Zealand. We focused on creating a clear marketing strategy that would reflect the comprehensive nature of Advantage Business's services and specifically address the needs of their key target audiences: SMEs and family-run businesses. 

Solution

We rolled out a multi-pronged strategy, including:

• Data-Driven Marketing Strategy: We developed an overarching strategy that capitalised on the data and insights gathered from various marketing channels such as Hubspot and Google Analytics. This allowed for targeted campaigns and more understanding of their audience through detailed tracking, as well as a focused approach across the board.
• Branding and Communications: New brand messaging was crafted to underpin all marketing materials, reinforcing Advantage Business's market identity. This was complemented by a refreshed image library to enhance the visual identity across emails, blogs, social media and ads.
• Baseline Google Ads Campaigns: A suite of new search and display Google Ads campaigns were deployed to establish a consistent digital footprint. We honed in on long-tail keywords and segmented audiences based on detailed insights, ensuring that messaging resonated effectively across platforms.
• Performance Analytics & Reporting: We introduced a system for monitoring key performance indicators, ensuring continuous optimisation of marketing efforts based on real-time data.
• Organic SEO and Content Development: A new SEO-optimised content strategy was put into action to support and enhance paid marketing efforts. This content plan aimed to improve organic search performance and position Advantage Business as thought leaders and subject matter experts.
• Social Media Strategy: We introduced a dynamic social media strategy, laying out core content pillars for Advantage Business to maintain a strong and consistent online presence.
• Lead Nurture and Management: A customer nurture journey was developed within HubSpot, featuring a series of targeted emails, forms for lead capture, and clear audience segmentation to nurture and qualify MQLs efficiently.
• New Lead Magnet and Service Pages: We developed a new landing page and a compelling lead magnet designed to attract and convert prospects — offering a free in-person coffee consultation as an enticing initial engagement. Additionally, new service pages were designed with best-practice layouts to align seamlessly with the updated marketing strategy.

Key Outcomes

The collaboration with Virtual Marketers led to some pretty incredible outcomes for Advantage Business, with more to come as we get even more reach and cut through:

• Enhanced Digital Campaign Performance: A strategic overhaul of Google Ads campaigns resulted in a noteworthy shift in key metrics over a six-month period. Impressions decreased by 60%, yet this was accompanied by a more targeted approach that improved the Click-Through Rate (CTR) by a staggering 208%. The focused strategy also saw a 550% increase in conversions and a 78% reduction in the cost per conversion, showcasing a much more efficient allocation of the advertising budget.
• Website Traffic and Conversion Growth: The website experienced consistent growth in both sessions and user engagement, with a 7% increase in engaged sessions and a 10% increase in the engagement rate. A significant increase in website conversions illustrated the success of the campaigns in driving relevant traffic and converting visitors into leads or customers.
• Diversified Traffic Sources: Our marketing strategy enriched the sources of traffic to Advantage Business's website. While paid search accounted for a significant 26.4% of traffic, the campaigns also bolstered organic search (17.5%), direct traffic (22.4%), and display channels (24.8%). This diversification not only reduced the dependency on a single source but also indicated healthy brand awareness and recall across different mediums.
• Content Strategy and Thought Leadership: Consistent and high-quality content production significantly boosted SEO efforts, positioning Advantage Business as thought leaders in the industry. This approach not only drew more organic traffic to their website but also increased their authority and trustworthiness in the business advisory domain.

“Advantage Business has been working hard on its digital marketing during the past six years. We knew what we wanted to achieve but were met with regular challenges including covid and tough economic times. We had a range of frustrating experiences with the digital marketing partners we worked with and achieved limited results. 

Since working with VM, our digital marketing results have transformed. Our collaborative approach means that we both know where we have come from, where we want to get to, and how to get there. While we still have a long way to go, we know that our work with VM will produce real and sustainable channels for us to engage with new clients who can benefit from our professional services.”

- Dominic Moran, Partner / Board Chair, Advantage Business

Our holistic marketing approach enabled us to align Advantage Business's marketing initiatives with its overarching goals, resulting in a cohesive and impactful strategy that leveraged the best of both traditional and digital marketing channels.

This story exemplifies the success that comes from a synergy between a client's in-depth industry knowledge and our expertise in strategic, data-driven marketing. Together, we have set a new standard for excellent marketing within the business advisory sector.