Marketing refers to any actions a firm or organization takes to attract customers to its product or services using compelling messaging. According to Peter F. Sticker, “Marketing aims to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” This means the concept of marketing is to enshrine productive direction on how business should respond to opportunities, create sustainable long-term interaction between the firm and its customers and ultimately increase sales.
However, as amazing as marketing is to business growth, many firms are accustom to conventional marketing strategies. Traditional marketing, including print advertisements, such as press, newsletters, billboards, flyers, danglers, and other POSM materials, has made marketing success limited. Hence the paradigm shifts to digital marketing.
Digital marketing is the advertising of products and services or brands through the use of electronic media. It screens things like what is being viewed, how long and how many times, what works, and what does not. It is a known fact that conventional methods can only reach a local audience. This is the bridge that digital marketing is out to fix. The statistic has it on record that traditional marketing had fallen nearly one hundred and sixty percent. At the same time, digital marketing improved fourteen percent in the last year.
It is undeniable that the use of digital platforms for marketing purposes is fast-growing and has drastically transformed marketing. It was projected In 2014 that interactive marketing was near approximately $55 billion, representing 21% of all marketing spend. Also, it is estimated that in 2016 marketers are likely to spend roughly $77 billion on digital marketing.
According to Research and Markets.com, between 2016 to 2020, Every minute, an estimated 650,000 search queries are raised on Google, more than 700 videos are hosted on YouTube, over 700,000 status updates and 500,000 comments are posted on Facebook, over 65,000 tweets are made worldwide, and approximately 180 million e-mails are sent. This magical speed and daunting figures unquestionably emphasize the significance of digital media as a marketing tool.
The growth in marketing is attributed to shifting by marketers from the traditional media to the adoption of digital marketing, which comprises e-mails, social media, search marketing, and display advertising. Consumers are increasingly using digital media, and with the tendency of more potential users joining the digital platform, more companies are adopting digital marketing to reach existing and potential customers. ICT facts and figures, in 2015 puts global internet users at 3.2 billion people, and this is expected to double every one to one and half years.
With approximately half the world population using the internet, the digital era makes it easier for marketing to research and analyze consumers all the time, conduct focus groups, send out surveys, study online shopping habits, and ask the fundamental underlying question: “Where, when, and how does our consumer want to communicate with our business?”
Before the advent of digital marketing, marketing is usually one-way traffic. Organizations make use of billboards, newspapers, magazines, etc., to advertise their products and services. There is no effective channel to measure or review customers’ wants and get feedback. Improvement is left to a rigorous task that may take years for the result to come out.
On the contrary, the use of electronic channels and methods to activate business in reviewing marketing campaigns and understand what works and what is not gives marketing a profound shape. Hence, business owners, as well as marketers, can take quick action after consumers’ feedback or requirements.
Unlike before, reaching a wide range of prospects is made easy with digital tools in enhancing marketing. As such, a business that is not focused on integrating digital marketing will in no time fold up. For clarity, few of the marketing transformations in the digital era are:
- Digital marketing contributes to the marketing mix through which clients are connected, and leads are generated for new business opportunities. This is something eluding the conventional method.
- Digital marketing creates prospects for firms to interconnect and engage their target clients more efficiently and effectively. The digital era has made it easier for companies to streamline a particular audience and interact with them.
- Consumers to constantly be on the lookout and searching to find the best deal from the sellers on the internet, thanks to digital marketing. This is usually not possible with the traditional method.
- Digital marketing is cost-effective and has a tremendous commercial impact on the business.
- Digital marketing is a solution to the flaws of traditional marketing. Helping both individuals and corporate organizations to reach satisfaction within a minimum amount of time.
The digital era has not only transformed marketing but has also improved productivity and efficiency. It has made transactions a lot easier and encouraged customers’ choices. The digital era has made the bond between business owners and customers stronger as they constantly talk about their products or services and get feedback almost immediately.
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