Dean launched Verb Marketing from the bedroom of his home and now employs more than a dozen people in the firm’s Liverpool city centre base and outlines what he believes is a winning strategy

Liverpool digital marketing expert Dean Currall has helped generate more than £23m in extra sales for his clients since setting up his fast-growing business just four years ago.

Dean launched Verb Marketing from the bedroom of his home and now employs more than a dozen people in the firm’s city centre base. He says growing sales is “not easy” and insists too many businesses are too focused on short-term gains.

“People want to spend £1 and get £2 back straight away… but with the right approach and processes, and a little more patience, you can turn that £1 into £5,” he said.

“There are very few easy or quick wins when it comes to digital marketing. People were getting easy wins in the early days of Google or Facebook but, until the next big thing comes along, those days are gone.

“We are bombarded with marketing and brands all the time – online and when we walk down the street. We have become adept at screening much of it out – so how, as a business, can you stand out?”

Key to building that killer digital strategy, Dean adds, is a sharper focus on creating quality content and what he calls “salience marketing”.

He explains: “If you ask someone to think of a toilet roll brand, most of us will immediately say ‘Andrex’. They have built a brand over time so strong that people are prompted to think of them straight away.

“Now, small and medium-sized firms do not have the kind of budgets, and cute puppies, that Andrex can employ, but it is still possible to gradually build yourself into a ‘prompt’ brand where when asked to give an example of a specific type of business, they will think of you.”

Dean has put together five straightforward elements that, put together, can form the basis of a powerful digital marketing and leads conversion strategy:

1 Content and connections

“It is vital to put your presence out there – but you must be selective in how you do it,” he said. “I don’t want to stand at a networking event with a limp sandwich in one hand and just handing out business cards with the other.

“I will get myself on panels, host seminars… establish my reputation as a thought leader and someone with the gravitas and authority who comes across as an expert in their field.

“The digital approach is similar. Online is a great tool and it’s free. Post content – that can be articles or pictures – that is compelling and engaging. Don’t just send out a sales pitch – most people will switch off straight away.

“A law or accountancy firm sending out content may think ‘we have got to mention solicitors or accountants in the text’ but they don’t. They can talk about finance, or the economy or changes in the law – engage their interest.

“I sent out something recently via LinkedIn that wasn’t a sales pitch but secured me three business leads.”

2 Sponsorship

“There is good networking and there is bad networking. There needs to be a point to everything you do and every event you attend,” said Dean. “You may go along to an awards dinner, have a few drinks and have a great time. But what is the value?

“If you sponsor and award – or maybe the whole event – your name is immediately up there in front of several hundred business people. It may not yield sales that day but the more your name is up there the more likely it will become that prompt in peoples minds.

“Build a brand that, in people’s minds, carries authority and becomes seen as a leader in that sector locally.”

3 Localised key and niche search terms

“If you are an SME in a market where there are big players then, in terms of SEO, it is a David v Goliath scenario,” Dean explains. “If you are a small or medium-sized accountancy firm you are not going to get to the top of the search engine results for ‘accountants’ – you are too small.

“Instead, focus on the smaller, niche search terms. Each one may only get you a couple of hundred hits but those searches will be much more specific to what people are looking for and are therefore highly convertible into sales.

“If you focus on a number of smaller search terms those crumbs can eventually add up to a significant increase in business.”

4 Newsletters

Dean said: “We offer bespoke Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to our clients. And, similar to the advice on offering compelling content, the same principle applies – don’t send out content that sells, send out content that engages people.

“Engagement is important because you have given them the reason and the impetus to contact you. They don’t feel pressured and they don’t feel sold to. You offered them a new idea or perspective and a voice in their head says ‘ok, these guys know their stuff’.

“In this respect, knowing your audience is also key. This makes social media channels such as LinkedIn invaluable. People are on there are open to good content that relates to them and their businesses. The opportunity there is huge.”

5 Corporate image and conversion

This, perhaps, is the most important piece of advice of all. As Dean points out, the best digital marketing strategy in the world is pointless if you don’t successfully convert those leads into sales.

He added: “Many entrepreneurs are so obsessed with their efforts in getting in front of potential clients, they neglect to have the right approach to actually close the deal. It is about making sure your whole package, your entire presentation, is as slick and professional as it can possibly be.

“In the early days of Verb I focused on developing a website that looked the part, at producing literature that was comprehensive and polished – I even made sure I dressed the way people I was meeting would expect.

“This is crucial. I recently did a presentation to a major company and the feedback I got was that mine was the best presentation they had seen and we are now in final stage talks of bringing them on as a client.

“It all fits in with building a a trusted brand. When you walk in the room they have to be convinced that you are the real deal and that you can deliver on your promises. This whole strategy takes a bit longer and requires hard work and imagination – but the medium to long-term rewards make it well worth it.”