Marketing is
often described as a war amongst the participants; with each organization
trying to get as much market share as they can. In order to do that, you must
plan for success and use all the tools you can (within budget of course).
Digital
marketing strategy is an extension of traditional marketing strategy, with the opportunities
for commerce and communication taking place using the digital medium through a
number of Internet connected devices (PC, tablet, smart phones, etc.). All activities can be quantified and measured
easily unlike traditional integrated marketing communications (IMC) tactics
such as radio advertisements, indoor and outdoor signage, etc. that require
staff be on the ball and survey customers (who may or may not be willing to
answer your questions).
The Burger
King slogan “have it your way” is the digital marketing strategy, which
customizes the online experience. E-Marketing: The Essential Guide to Digital
Marketing, describes the users experience as “user-centric thinking, which involves
placing the user at the core of all decisions, is vital when looking at
building a successful digital marketing strategy. The advent of new
technologies means the digital marketing strategist of today is offered not only
a plethora of new tactical possibilities, but also unprecedented ways of
measure the effectiveness of chosen strategies and tactics.[i]”
A digital
marketing strategy is something that every business needs, regardless of size
in the 21st century. No longer can a company get by with having no
online presence or a simple website as their only means of communicating to the
world, “this is who we are and what we have to offer.” Why? Your competition is
doing more than using a token website as their lone internet tool or will be
working towards doing more in order to create more revenue for their business –
which potentially means taking money away from your company.
Some small
business owner may be thinking, “yeah, we already have that covered with a
website that we’ve been using for years. It’s good enough”
But is it
enough? What is the competition doing?
According to
a May 2014 survey conducted by Webs, a subsidiary of Vistaprint N.V., in which surveyed
2,292 small business in the United States[ii]:
·
63%
of small business owners use digital products as part of strategy (often with
print)
·
61%
use or will use a website, online store or mobile website
Furthermore, the
role of social media is becoming more prominent in digital marketing strategy
for small business due to the effectiveness of getting the message out and the
low cost. Surveyed small businesses plan to use or are using:
·
46%
of small business have/plan to create a social media profile
·
88%
of small business with social media profiles list Facebook as their top choice
also use Linkedin (39%), Twitter (31%), Google Plus (22%), Pinterest (20%) and
Youtube (17%) to reach their stakeholders
·
65%
with Facebook business profiles may use Facebook advertising in the future
Looking at the
small business survey may be a good measuring stick in terms of comparing what
your company is currently doing online. Even then, this is just scratching the
surface. It doesn’t indicate how much their sales have gone up or if they even
do a good job with the online tools that they have. This is an area where you
may be able to look more professional by using professional online sevices. Small
businesses in this survey stated:
·
80%
of website owners are their own webmasters
·
59%
created the website with do-it-yourself (DIY) tools
Remember how
you’re essentially at war with your competitors? There are ways of finding out
what they are doing through online market intelligence. Tools exist such as
Spyfu (www.spyfu.com) that allow you to find
out what your competitors key words for their website is for example.
Competitor activities can be monitored using various Google services (www.google.com/patents) for example.
The list is endless.
Like with any
war, in order to win, you must adapt, adapt, adapt. A well planned digital
marketing strategy, executed properly can help you to live to fight another
day.
[i] Stokes, R. (2011). Digital Marketing Strategy. E-marketing:
The essential guide to digital marketing. (4th
ed.). Quirk (Pty) Ltd. Retrieved from http://www.quirk.biz/emarketingtextbook/
[ii] http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140514005382/en/Survey-Shows-Small-Businesses-Increasingly-Adopting-DIY#.U5aAvHJdWSp
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