If we look at how marketing strategies have evolved over time, we shall see that businesses that adapted quickly to the opportunities offered by new technological innovations have prospered. From word-of-mouth and print only at one stage, marketing strategies have evolved to become more effective and efficient with the rise of new technologies. The introduction of telephones and radio advertising in the early 20th century brought a new level of reach and engagement to marketing and radically changed the paradigm. And the introduction of television in the US in the 1950s, followed by the rest of the world, again altered the entire marketing game.
With the Internet and social media having revolutionised connectivity in ways never seen before, we stand at another inflection point in marketing today! Customers spend far more time online nowadays — especially on their mobile devices — than on traditional marketing channels like print, television, and radio!
In April 2023, India overtook China as the world’s most populous nation with 1.428 billion citizens. The median age is 28.2 years. These “millennials” are the future of this country — our primary workers and consumers. And they work and play almost exclusively online. Considering that India’s Internet penetration is at 43% overall — and rising consistently — the potential for businesses online is limitless! No wonder the Indian B2C e-commerce market is projected to cross $163 billion by 2026! Therefore, businesses need to be where their customers are, and that’s on digital channels. And digital marketing shall be the very foundation of this new-age engagement!
Digital marketing is a broad term that encompasses various online marketing strategies and tactics aimed at promoting products or services. Some key forms are Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and Influencer Marketing. The key to a successful digital marketing strategy is to use a combination of these tactics and channels in a coordinated way to reach and engage with your target audience effectively. Digital marketing offers increased reach, engagement, and conversion rates. With the right digital marketing strategy, businesses can target their ideal customers and create personalised experiences that resonate with them!
Data analysis is the fulcrum for maximising the benefits of digital marketing. Businesses need to have sound data analysis tools in place to track their marketing performance and make informed decisions. The ability to generate meaningful insights into consumer behaviour and psychology is the key to success! Let us look at some tools that can be leveraged.
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service provided by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. It helps businesses understand how users interact with their website, what pages they visit, and how long they stay on each page.
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that allows businesses to manage and analyse their social media presence across multiple channels. With Hootsuite, businesses can schedule and publish social media posts, monitor social media conversations, and analyse social media performance.
Mailchimp is an email marketing tool that allows businesses to create and send email campaigns to their customers. With Mailchimp, businesses can design custom email templates, create targeted email lists, and track email performance.
SEMrush: SEMrush is an all-in-one marketing tool that provides businesses with insights into their website traffic, search engine rankings, and social media performance. With SEMrush, businesses can analyse their competitors’ strategies, identify new opportunities, and optimise their online presence for search engines.
By using these tools, businesses can collect and analyse data about their customers’ behaviour, preferences, and sentiments. For example, by using Google Analytics, a business might identify that a particular landing page on its website has a high bounce rate, indicating that it needs improvement. They could then use Hootsuite to analyse social media conversations about their brand and identify customer pain points. With this information, they could create a targeted email marketing campaign that addresses those pain points and drives traffic to the improved landing page.
Another crucial aspect that digital marketers can leverage is sentimental analysis. Sentiment analysis tools can be used to understand how customers feel about a particular brand, product, or service, and this information can be used to create more focused digital marketing strategies and make data-driven decisions to improve their offerings. Various tools like Google Cloud Natural Language API, IBM Watson Natural Language Understanding, Amazon Comprehend, Lexalytics, Hootsuite Insights, Brandwatch etc. can be utilised for the assessment of customer sentiments.
The inherent advantages of digital marketing have ensured that successful businesses are increasingly moving their advertising spends from traditional media to digital. The trend is so powerful that many organisations have dedicated Digital Marketing Directors who report directly to the CEO instead of the CMO! It is self-evident that Internet-based start-ups — Airbnb, Amazon etc — should have the vast majority of their marketing spends on digital marketing. Interestingly, more traditional companies, like Coca-Cola, P&G, Nike etc. are now allocating more than 50% of their marketing budgets to digital marketing alone!
Unfortunately, with the increasing popularity of digital marketing, we also have to contend with the abuse of these technologies. Spam emails, clickbait, false claims and narratives, data privacy violations and negative social media campaigns are things that companies should desist from. These put off consumers, taint their image irreparably and result in unproductive outcomes.
Digital marketing is the future of business. By leveraging the Internet, businesses can reach more customers, engage with them in real-time, and drive more conversions. To stay ahead of the competition, businesses need to invest in digital marketing and adopt a sound digital marketing strategy. But they also need to do so responsibly, maintaining ethical and transparent marketing practices to earn and keep customer trust. Companies failing to invest in a sound digital marketing strategy risk being left behind in a highly competitive market — and are destined for the grave!
Dr Sanku Bose, Group CEO
(Techno India Group)