Since 2018, we’ve worked with 100+ SMEs across Switzerland (and Europe), identifying key mistakes that prevent Swiss SMEs from optimizing their digital strategy. Learn how to avoid them to optimize your marketing performance and maximize your growth!
1 Focusing on only one aspect of the customer journey
Your website is just one touchpoint in your digital ecosystem. Digital transformation encompasses your entire business operation—from how you generate leads to how you deliver products and services. Limiting your digital presence to just a website is like opening a store but never advertising its location.
Your strategy should be holistic, not siloed. Focus on the entire customer journey, from awareness to conversion.
2 Believing your website is “Done” forever
A website isn’t a one-time project! Regular updates, optimization, and SEO are essential to maintaining a competitive digital strategy for Swiss SMEs.
We regularly encounter businesses that built websites 5+ years ago and haven’t updated them since. Your website isn’t a one-time project—it’s a living sales and marketing asset that requires regular optimization based on user behaviour, market trends, and business objectives.
3 Making it all about “Me, Me, Me”
Swiss businesses often create content focused entirely on themselves rather than addressing customer problems. Effective digital communication starts with understanding your customers’ pain points and demonstrating how you solve them—not listing your achievements or technical specifications.
Your communication should focus on your customers, not just your business. It’s about them, not you!
4 Misallocating Resources to Social Media vs. SEO and Advertising
We see countless SMEs hiring full-time social media managers while neglecting the fundamentals of search visibility and targeted advertising. Social media rarely delivers ROI comparable to strategic SEO and paid campaigns for B2B and many B2C businesses in Switzerland. That said a real social media strategy, with an edge and QUALITY content creation capabilities at scale, can lead you much further than SEO and Ads. But for that you need a real AI Agency, that can build your AI content generation framework CUSTOM to your needs (there is no one size fits all for great contents).
Know your audience and map their journey (probably 6 steps at least in their journey) an build the right content, about their human essential needs, at each step.
5 No Clear KPIs
Running marketing campaigns without measurable KPIs linked to lifetime customer value is like driving blindfolded. Your digital investments should track clear metrics beyond vanity stats like followers or likes—focus on cost per lead, conversion rates, and customer acquisition costs relative to customer value.
Without measurable KPIs, your digital strategy will lack direction and accountability. Align your marketing budget with customer lifetime value (LTV) to see real ROI. Don’t try to split ROI per channel, because all channels are feeding each other.
6 Neglecting your funnel & retargeting
Most Swiss businesses fail to implement basic marketing funnels or retargeting campaigns. The most valuable prospects often need multiple touchpoints before converting. Without proper funnels and retargeting strategies, you’re losing 90% of potential customers who showed initial interest.
A structured sales funnel is essential! Without retargeting and nurturing leads, you’re missing out on average 50% of potential conversion. Do you have clear funnel steps, and a retargeting audience (Google Ads or Hubspot for instance).
The most common mistake we observe is businesses launching digital initiatives without first mapping their entire customer journey. Before investing in any platform or campaign, define who your target audiences are, how they make decisions, and what touchpoints influence them at each stage.
7 Paying too much for CPC on Google Ads
Swiss SMEs often overspend on Google Ads due to high cost-per-click. We consistently see Swiss SMEs battling over expensive, generic keywords when audience targeting would deliver far better results. This approach leads to inflated CPCs and poor conversion rates. Segmenting by user behavior, demographics, and intent is much more cost-effective than keyword bidding wars.
Another issue we regularly see are low volume keywords with high-competition…
8 Focusing on keywords, not audiences
Keywords are important, but targeting audiences is what drives conversions with a ROI that works in Switzerland. With Performance Max campaigns, good assets and the right target groups, think bigger than just keywords! Use Performance Max campaigns for their real superpower, not a copy of Search campaigns. Invest in building Persona, Intents and Behavior for your top 3 audiences, and target them, not only the keywords.
9 Ignoring the other swiss languages
Operating in a multilingual country offers a significant competitive edge—yet many Swiss businesses limit themselves to a single language. Expanding your digital presence across German, French, and Italian markets can triple your potential customer base with relatively little additional investment. Swiss SMEs often miss out by focusing only on German or French. Expand your reach by embracing all the official Swiss languages!
10 Not recruiting the right talents
Many SMEs hire general marketers without digital specializations, then wonder why their campaigns underperform. Digital marketing requires specific technical skills—from analytics to automation. Either develop these competencies internally or partner with specialists who can transfer knowledge to your team.
Digital is evolving fast! Ensure your team has the skills to keep up.
Don’t just settle for a website—embrace the full digital landscape!
Ready to Enhance Your Digital Strategy for Swiss SMEs?
Let’s have a quick call and help make it happen!
