strategic thinking 19 Why you need a digital marketing strategy Why do you need a digital marketing strategy? The simple answer: because without one you'll miss opportunities and lose business. Formulating a digital marketing strategy will help you to make informed decisions about your foray into the digital marketing arena, and ensure that your efforts are focused on the elements of digital marketing that are most relevant to your business. It's a crucial first step towards understanding how the constantly evolving digital marketplace relates to you, and how it affects the relationship between your business or brand, and your customers and prospects. It doesn't matter what business you're in, it's a fairly safe bet that an increasing number of your target market rely on digital technology every day to research, evaluate and purchase the products and services they con- sume. Without a coherent strategy of engagement and retention through digital channels, your business is at best missing a golden opportunity, and at worst could be left behind, watching your competitors pull away across an ever-widening digital divide. Unlike conventional forms of mass media marketing, the internet is unique in its capacity to both broaden the scope of your marketing reach