The secret behind the success of companies is their constant work on digital presence.Companiesoutsource digital marketing as it is budget-friendly and efficient.So, if you are planningfor a business, go for how to start digital marketing business in India.
5 Steps to Start a Digital Marketing Business
Following are the steps to start a digital marketing business in India:
- Business Planning
- Investment
- Registrations
- Set up your Grounds
- Build your Team
Step 1 - Business Planning
It is very crucial to make a plan before starting a business. Most startups fail to achieve their goals due to improper planning and strategies.
With this in mind, you need to decide and plan the following things to start a digital marketing agency in India:
- Find your Niche
The first thing you have to determine is your target niche.
For example, what type of companies will you be targeting, where your audience is more active and whether you will be targetting a small or a larger group.
Personally, I would suggest doing a few things really well rather than stretching yourself and your team working at half capacity.
- Pick a strategy
After finding your niche, decide on the strategy that you will use to reach and convince them.
Having a great strategy that no one could think of can make you stand out in the market.
- Brand Identity
Having a brand name and logo helps your business be recognised amongst competitors and build customer faith.
Therefore, the first thing you should start with istrademark registrationand make your brand identity.
- Market Yourself
What is the point of starting a digital marketing business if you cannot market yourself well.
Most companies make the mistake of focusing on building the clients brand identity rather than first establishing their own.
Services offered by a Digital Marketing Agency
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- SEM (Search Engine Marketing)
- Affiliate Marketing
- PPC (Pay-per-Click)
- SMM (Social Media Marketing)
- Blogging and Article Writing
- E-mail Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Analytics
- Paid Advertisem*nts
- Brand Registration
- Digital Strategy
- Media Planning
- Branding and Marketing communication
- Mobile/Website Designing (UI/UX)
- Influencer Management
- Video graphics
- Marketing consultation
They do everything for a business to stay on top of the search results and reach the maximum audience digitally.
Step 2 - Investment
The minimum investment required to start a digital marketing business in India on a small scale isRs. 2 lacs - Rs. 10 lacs.
Also, it is advisable to allocate the funds properly. Have enough funding for runningyour business for at least two years until you start making profits.
If you already have the funding, well and good.
However, if you are worried about securing that much capital, you can go for:
- SMERGERS
- Business bank Loan
- Startup India Scheme
- Venture Capital
- Angel Investment
- Incubators and accelerator programs
- Crowdfunding
- Commercial Lenders
- Bootstrapping
Step 3 - Registrations
Register your business legally for avoiding any future ownership conflicts or legal obligations.
You can register your business as:
- Private LimitedCompany Registration
- Sole Proprietorship
- Partnership
- Limited Liability Company
- One Person Company
However, choosing one depends on the scale of your business and the ownership criteria.
Get in touch with our experts today and find out the suitable structure for your business.
After that, apply for the mandatory permits to run your digital marketing business in India.
The following are the list of licenses required:
- GST Registration (only if turnover exceeds Rs.20 lacs annually)
- Shop and Establishment Act License
- Non Disclosure Agreement
- No-objection Certificate
- Employee Agreement (Offer Letters)
- Insurance Policy
- EPF Registration (if you have 20 or more employees)
- ESI Registration (if you have 10 or more employees)
Step 4 - Set up your Grounds
The area required for setting up a digital marketing business in India is a minimum of500 sq ft.
You will also need to get a proper layout planned to set up the office for a team of at least 6-7 people initially.
Remember that you do not need footfall in your office for this purpose. Most of your target customers are present online and also deal online.
But having an office in a well-developed area will encourage your employees to work in the office and avoid work from home instances.
Also, set up the workstations and buy the required devices and machines likelaptops, Wifi connections, printers, extensions, sim cardsetc.
Step 5 - Build your Team
After setting up the office, hire the core team. For this purpose, you will need the following people in a digital marketing business:
- AMA and DMA certified professional marketer
- Content Writer
- Graphic Designer
- Copywriter
- Search engine optimiser/Search engine marketer
- Email marketer
- Sales Team - 2 people initially
- Accountant
- Media Specialist
- Editor
- Ad Experts
- Social Media Managers
To know how much you have to invest in the above mentioned, you can check outGlassdoorfor the current salary estimations.
After that, you can start your operations by taking digital marketing projects of companies and new startups. It would also help to build your company portfolio.
Scope in Digital Marketing Business
The scope of the digital marketing business in India has seen a drastic rise from 2020. Moreover, India is the 2nd on the list of the maximum number of Internet users globally.
According to the market analysis, the digital marketing sector has recorded a growth of 76% in FY21 from that of 45% in FY19. Further, the digital marketing sector is expected to reach a market size of Rs. 539 billion by FY24.
Is digital marketing profitable?
How to start digital marketing business in India is an exhausting, tiring, long butREWARDINGprocess. For this purpose, all you need is a laptop and an internet connection to begin.
A digital marketing business earns around 20% profit on every project. Whereas a corporate digital marketing agency even reports a profit margin of 40%.
Although the benefits are not instant with time as your business gets recognised it can gain immense profits.
How to get Digital Marketing projects?
After understanding how to start digital marketing business in India, it is now time to get the projects to start operations.
But, how to get them?
The best sources for getting the clients is through:
- Social Media Network
- Database
- Website extractions
- Referrals (from past clients)
- Directories (Yellow Page, Yelp, DMOZ, Manta etc)
The project budget also depends on service to service. However, the minimum digital marketing cost in India starts from Rs. 20,000 per year.
Digital marketing helps companies grow and promote their products/services through digital channels. In fact, it assists the companies to generate leads and also creating brand awareness among the target niche.
Not only this, but digital marketing is more flexible, feasible, engaging, interactive and affordable than traditional advertising methods.
So, why only do this for the clients. Make your website rank on top first.
Must-have extensions for Digital Marketing
Here are some extensions that could help you while how to start a digital marketing business in India:
- Social Media Scheduling - Buffer, Hootsuite
- Accounting and Invoice - Freshbooks
- Project Management - Airtable, Trello
- Content Creation - Grammarly, Word Press,Semrush
- Graphic Design - Canva
- Lead Generation - Aeroleads
- To-do Lists - Taco
Conclusion
The purpose of digital marketing is to bring moretraffic to websites, generate convertible leads and reachesthe maximum audience.
Now the companies focus has shifted from spamming the niche to playing by ethics, strategy, content and efforts. Therefore, learning how to start a digital marketing business in India and starting one with great planning can change your game for good.
