Executive Summary
This report gives insights into digital marketing. Accordingly, the report highlights the fundamental element formula for digital marketing. In addition to this, the report considers the opportunities and drawbacks associated with digital marketing.
The integration of primary and secondary information is used to draw recommendations on the report. From the report, it is clear that digital marketing integrates various tools like productive websites, social technologies, and mobile tools to drive online traffic. From the report, it is evident that digital marketing is a two-way form of communication where customers directly interact with marketers.
This is because although digital marketing has traits similar to those of conventional advertising, it has more advanced features, such as the use of media like the use of the Internet and other devices that use the Internet. Nevertheless, because digital technology is more advanced on digital marketing issues in contrast to the rest of marketing tools, organizations should inevitably adopt this promising advertising channel (Hollis & Fitch 2009).
Introduction
Overview of the Report
Advertising has been very critical in the business sector since the human race started doing business. Marketing helps entities, organizations, and other business settings; to promote their sales, recognize the needs, desires, and wants of consumers; and as a channel of communication to the consumers. There are distinct forms of media that are utilized in reaching consumers. These range from conventional media such as print, radio, and TV broadcasts. However, the Internet and technology have advanced to immense heights and transformed many things including marketing. Digital marketing is seen as the latest channel used in almost the entire world to connect, interact, and transfer distinct messages about products and services (Martin & Todorov 2010).
Purpose of the Report
This report is about digital marketing, highlighting the fundamental element formula for digital marketing. Also, the report looks into the opportunities and drawbacks associated with digital marketing. The report concludes with an overview of the benefits that might accrue to an organization by embracing digital marketing.
Digital marketing approach
Digital marketing integrates the use of Internet-enabled devices to engage customers with online advertising in promoting goods and services. As more complicated Internet-enabled devices are invented in the field of digital marketing, it is also fundamental to capture the element formula for digital marketing, such as,
Creating productive websites
Websites are custodians of digital information. Websites are also avenues where e-business transactions are conducted. Additionally, customers gather crucial information about different products and services from the Internet (Klososky 2012).
Providing social technologies
Social technologies include social software applications that facilitate passing information from one party to another. These interaction tools are substantial in securing and preserving the discussions that create perpetual connections between the parties involved(Klososky 2012).
Mobile tools
Mobile devices have proved essential medium not only for personal communication but for generating and distributing critical information for promoting products and services (Klososky 2012).
Driving online traffic
Upon integrating productive websites, social technologies, and mobile tools, it is vital to drive online traffic. This involves utilizing distinct channels, devices, and tools that lift the network of potential prospects who gain access to the marketing information (Klososky 2012).
Measurement systems
These are the mechanisms that are put in place to assist in checking the websites, social technologies, and mobile tools to establish the way the various tools of digital marketing work, and or make the necessary adjustments (Klososky 2012).
Opportunities and Challenges of Digital marketing
Opportunities for digital marketing
A two-way model of communication
Before the advent of digital marketing media, marketers relied on TV, radio, and print media to convey information and advertise goods and services. TV, radio, and print media transfer information in one direction, and thus, they require brilliant interpretation to produce feedback and establish customer interaction. Wind & Mahajan (2001 p. 17) claims that the arrival of “the Internet and mobile devices enhance bilateral communication where marketers can interact with clients.”
Cost-effective
Digital technology has changed marketing. Digital media can be used to trace consumer requirements and seize a cheap tie straightforward to the client.
Challenges of digital marketing
Shattering walls
The massive advances in information communication technology are breaking the barriers between entities, altering the balance of power to empower consumers and the “global grid”. In this new environment, “simple rules often amount to sophisticated outcomes, such as traffic patterns on the Internet” (Wind & Mahajan 2001). Furthermore, Internet performance continues to become better even though the bulk of traffic continues to rise exceedingly.
Strategic uncertainties
With its global access and user empowerment, the digital revolution comes with enormous strategic unpredictability. Wind & Mahajan (2001 p. 24) argue that while planning in stable environments calls for “optimization and carefully developed strategies, planning in the digital environment requires flexibility and experimentation.” The changes are very dynamic and happen with high levels of uncertainties, such that, by the time an optimal solution is made, it is often outmoded.
Digital marketing implementation solutions
Ways through which organizations can learn to use digital marketing
Learning from other entities that have already integrated digital marketing
There are numerous lessons that organizations can learn from those companies that have adopted digital marketing successfully. This includes the value to integrate competent marketers who provide expertise in digital technology. Businesses should scale and monetize digital opportunities and combine efforts to form a wide network of users. Chasten (1999 p.24) claims that within organizations, marketers need to understand the digital challenge by creating confidence and competency “while strategizing their plans in digital marketing.”Exceedingly, organizations also need to monetize prevailing digital activities and start using e-commerce to be successful.
Determining the benefits
Organizations should determine the unique benefits and characteristics of their products and services. Here, companies need to transfer this uniqueness to customers and assure their synergy with the positioning of the online provider.
Employing the right tools
Ryan & Jones (2012 p. 44) argue that organizations should know that the manner of increasing the opportunities of digital technology lies in cross-functional teams, virgin approaches to delivering marketing, and a change in the culture of the entity. Corporations that are experiencing massive success from digital technology are those that look at it strategically and comprehensively, and where digital technology in marketing has been integrated by competent personnel who can provide the most decisive support and advice (Parkin 2009).
Why organizations should adopt digital marketing
By acknowledging the advanced digital technology and focusing on the new regulations of marketing, marketers can increase delivery with lots of success. Consequently, organizations should adopt digital marketing because this new technology has opened new channels for advertising, promoting, and selling products and services. Digital technology provides users with an unimaginable quantity and quality of the information in an easily accessible channel.
Here, consumers can select products based on personal desired attributes of the product. Digital technology has also put customers in possession, building a substantial alteration in the dynamics of marketing. Digital technology aids marketing by making tacit knowledge more accessible. Some of the most critical information about customers is implicit knowledge (For example, shopping patterns). All of these can be found online. Therefore, organizations must find ways on how the customer should capture the required knowledge and information (Jain & Haley 2009).
References
Chasten, I 1999, New Marketing Strategies: Evolving Flexible Processes to Fit Market Circumstances, Sage, London.
Hollis, N & Fitch, D 2009, Is global brand marketing as rewarding as it first appears? Journal of Sponsorship,Vol. 2 No. 3. 206–214.
Jain, S C & Haley, G T 2009, Marketing Planning and Strategy, 8th edn, Cengage Learning, California.
Klososky, S 2012, ‘Social Technology. Financial Executive, 2012, 40-45.
Martin, K&Todorov, I 2010,‘How Will Digital Platforms be Harnessed in 2010, And How Will They Change the Way People Interact With Brands?’Journal of Interactive Advertising, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 61‐66.
Parkin, G 2009, Digital Marketing: Strategies for Online Success, New Holland, Cape Town.
Ryan, D & Jones, C 2012, Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation, 2nd edn, Kogan Page Publishers, London.
Wind, J & Mahajan, V 2001, Digital Marketing: Global Strategies from the World’s Leading Experts, John Wiley & sons, New York.
Wind, J & Mahajan, V 2001, The Challenge of Digital Marketing, John Wiley & sons, New York.