For a financial services company, we produced a content series about generational wealth that featured Islamic financial principles. This information outperformed their earlier typical financial advice by over four hundred percent in engagement.
Recently, a skincare retailer invested 300,000 SAR in traditional advertising with limited returns. After redirecting just 25% of that budget to influencer marketing, they experienced a dramatic increase in sales.
A few months ago, a retail chain invested over 200,000 SAR in conventional advertising with underwhelming outcomes. After shifting just 30% of that investment to smartphone advertising, they achieved a three hundred twenty-eight percent increase in store visits.
When I launched my online business three years ago, I was certain that our distinctive products would stand out naturally. I dismissed competitive research as a waste of time – a choice that almost ruined my entire business.
Key considerations:
- Extended evaluation stages in Saudi purchase journeys
- Family influence factors in buying choices
- Chat as a substantial but difficult-to-track influence channel
- Face-to-face verification as the final conversion step
For a technology company, we found that their foreign language material was substantially stronger than their native information. After upgrading their Arabic content quality, they saw a significant increase in conversion rates from Arabic-speaking visitors.
I use a basic spreadsheet to record our competitors' costs modifications weekly. This recently helped us to:
- Spot seasonal promotion cycles
- Detect special offer tactics
- Understand their cost structure
A cosmetics company changed from multiple single partnerships to longer-term relationships with a smaller number of influencers, producing a substantial increase in conversion rates and a significant decrease in promotion spending.
I recommend categorizing competitors as:
- Primary competitors (offering equivalent solutions)
- Peripheral competitors (with partial resemblance)
- New threats (new entrants with game-changing capabilities)
Essential adjustments:
- Relationship length adjustments for Saudi consumers
- Word-of-mouth impact significance enhancements
- Seasonal spending behaviors acknowledgment
- Prestige-motivated acquisitions evaluation
During a marketing workshop in Eastern Province last month, I was astonished when a business owner told me he was paying 5000 SAR monthly to his "digital expert" who turned out to be a college student running campaigns from his bedroom! No judgment on entrepreneurial students, but formal training and expertise matter enormously in this field.
A few months ago, a store owner contacted me after spending over 500,000 SAR on Digital marketing experts saudi marketing with disappointing returns. After redesigning their approach, we produced a 743% improvement in value generated.
Listen, I've been through the challenging experience of hiring the wrong marketing agency TWICE before finally finding one that provided results. Trust me, it's a blunder you don't want to make when building your brand in Saudi Arabia's competitive market.
I'm running a small business networking event in Riyadh next month where we'll be talking about more about finding and working with marketing partners. If you're finding it difficult with this too, drop me a message - always happy to share insights over some good Saudi coffee!
Helping a food brand, we created a technique where influencers naturally integrated products into their regular routines rather than producing evident sponsorships. This method generated engagement rates two hundred eighteen percent greater than conventional marketing content.
- Cultural expertise - This is ESSENTIAL and often ignored. Saudi consumers respond to completely different approaches than Western audiences. The top marketing firm will understand nuances like the importance of Ramadan campaigns, regional preferences across different Saudi cities, and how to communicate effectively with the Saudi demographic you're targeting.
I discover now utilize several applications that have dramatically enhanced our market intelligence:
- Search analysis platforms to track rivals' SEO strategies
- Social listening tools to follow competitors' social activity
- Digital tracking solutions to track changes to their websites
- Newsletter subscription to get their marketing communications
Last year, I observed as three similar businesses invested heavily into developing their operations on a particular social media platform. Their attempts flopped as the channel appeared to be a bad match for our market.
For a fashion brand, we conducted a comprehensive medium performance assessment that discovered their most effective channels were totally separate from their international norms. This insight permitted a redistribution of spending that increased their total ROI by two hundred thirteen percent.
For a luxury brand, we implemented a locally-relevant attribution model that acknowledged the distinctive path to purchase in the Kingdom. This technique revealed that their social media spending were genuinely delivering 286% more value than earlier calculated.