Why digital marketing is imperative? Essay

Digital Marketing Introduction            Marketing has become of the vital aspects in business running. This is the method of communicating the worth of a service or a product to the customer by a producer or the seller with the main intention being selling the product or services. There are numerous types and forms of marketing. Digital marketing is one of them; this is marketing which makes use of electronic devices (computers). Digital marketing applies expertise’s or platforms such as websites, e-mail and social networks. Many organizations have resulted to combination of tradition and digital marketing channels. Digital marketing is the advertising of products or brands using different forms of electronic media. One of the major differences between the traditional marketing and the digital marketing is that, digital marketing uses methods or channels that allow a business to scrutinize marketing movements and comprehend what is functional and what is not (Ryan & Jones, 2012). Why digital marketing is imperative?            Digital marketing an all encompassing aspect that all customers have access to information at anytime and anyplace they want it. Past are the times when messages that people got about a product or service comes from the company and entailed only what the company wanted the customers to know (Wind &Mahajan, 2001). The world of digital world is an ever-rowing source of leisure, news, social interaction as well as consumers are now uncovered not just to what the business says about their product, but what the media, relatives, friends, etc., are saying as well. In addition, the customers are further probable to trust them than you are. People want products they can trust, companies that know them, personalized communications and relevant offers modified to their needs and preferences (Bird, 2007).            With the world rapidly shifting from analogue to the digital world, the digital marketing world is as well becoming one of the vital aspects in the business industry. People are becoming more and more consumers of the digital world through devices such as mobiles, computers, and laptops and in turn, the marketing sector is adapting fast. Digital marketing is becoming infinitely more affordable than the traditional offline marketing strategies or methods. For example, the social media can transmit a marketing message to a wide range of audience or consumers within a very short period and at an affordable cost (Fenwick & Wertime, 2013). In addition, another main benefit of conducting marketing digitally, us the fact that, one can be able to track and monitor the marketing results. This can be done through review of consumers response rates and in turn enable to measure the success of a marketing campaign in real time. Perhaps the strongest case for incorporating a di gital element in ones marketing intelligence campaign is that, there are numerous digital forms of media that are fast overtaking the traditional forms of information consumption. The bottom line is, the digital age is here, and those businesses that fail to adapt to the new marketing climate are at great risk of going extinct sooner rather than later (Ryan & Jones, 2011). Digital Marketing Methods Already In Use in the Company ABC            Despite the growing list of available digital marketing methods, ABC has already put in use some of the methods. Despite the need to deployment the new marketing channels, ABC Company had already deployed different and varying marketing channels. One of the major and key digital marketing that is already in use by the Pepsi Company is the use of Company Official Website. The company website is the chief gateway to the company’s products or services. Numerous businesses start with an eye-catching website as the primary step to advertising their business or the products and services and so does the Pepsi Company (Hemman, 2013). It does not look like the websites use technology is not departing away anytime soon. They are still the most effectual advertising channel, even though many business proprietors attribute the achievement of a sale to their website rather than the advertising actions that got public there in the first place (Rowan, 2001). This is a gene ral dilemma that can only be determined through analytics and education. A website on its own will fail to produce activity unless there is a dynamic program or advertising in place to welcome visitors to the website. A great looking website is a good start but very few websites can get results without many months of social media, search marketing, or advertising (Ryan & Jones, 2012).            The major merit associated with use of website marketing also known as online marketing is that, the company can reach to a large volume of customers globally. The internet is a powerful tool in connecting people. It’s also inexpensive when compared to other traditional methods if marketing, brings results quickly, invites consumers and clients to research for specific product of their interests (Rowley, 2008). Moreover, business growth statistics can be measured very easily. On the other hand, this method has limitations. One is the consumers are denied to feel, smell, taste or to try on the tangible goods before marketing or purchasing. For the method to be effective, customers and clients must be handy with the use of ‘Email Marketing Efficiently’ (Carter, 2011).            In addition to the company website, the company also has implemented email marketing method. This is whereby, the company captures the emails addresses of their website visitors when they subscribe to the website. In return, they use send emails to the customers with the desired messages about a product or a service. This can be done from the official company website or from the affiliate’s websites. The benefits of this method include low cost of conducting and running the marketing campaign, it’s also easy to create and also track. Moreover, it can be used to cover a large geographical area within a short period of time (Carter, 2012).            However, on the other hand the marketing method is incurred by shortcomings. One is that the method needs engagement as it calls for constant tweaking so as to keep the subscribers engaged. Spam is another demerit of the method. People’s inboxes are filled with emails and in order to cut down the amount of unwanted emails, servers have filters to lessen the number of spam emails to the customers and in return the information may fail to reach to the intended people in time (Friedlein, 2014). Digital marketing channels            In the ever growing digital marketing world, there are numerous and continues channels that can be deployed in digital marketing. The channel (s) used by any given business depends or varies from one business to the other as the business the most effective method depending on the target or objectives of the marketing campaign. Choosing the right channels to use for what purposes in the ABC, critical elements of business strategy is vital in choosing the most effective channels (Hendrix, 2014). Get it right and you can reap the rewards of reaching and retaining your customers. In the process of choosing marketing channels there are three keys to a successful digital marketing. (I). the channel should be able to manage complex customer relations with the company, products and services offered across a variety of other channels both digital and traditional. (II) The channel should respond and at the same time initiate dynamic customer relations. (III) Finally, the cha nnel should extract value from big data to make better decisions faster (Winterberg, 2013). As a marketing consultant the best digital channels that can be deployed by Pepsi Company include: Social Media Marketing            Social media marketing  refers to the practice of gaining  website traffic  or awareness through social media sites. It is a form of Internet marketing which utilizes  networking websites as a marketing tool. The main objective of this method is to produce content that users will share with their social network to help a company increase brand exposure and broaden customer reach. The social media phenomenon is gaining steam in recent times as the young and digital generations are frequently relying on for information (Farrar, 2010). One advantage of deploying social media is the fact that it’s free to use for the customers and the company so able to get the feedback from the customer instantly. Social media is the various activities which integrate technology, social interaction, and construction of pictures, words, videos and audio. This marketing channel creates connectedness between the company and the customer, maintains openness and promotes par ticipation of the customers in company activities. However, this digital marketing method requires the company to keep updating the social media accounts. This process takes time and effort. In addition, a person with knowledge about the company and its products should be deployed to manage the accounts (Ryan & Jones, 2012). Affiliate Digital Marketing            Another digital channel that would be of great help to ABC is through affiliate digital marketing. This is whereby a website owner places adverts on behalf of ABC (online merchant). The benefits from this affiliate marketing are through three ways. These are: pay per click policy. Pay per sale and pay per lead. Advantages of using this digital marketing channel are that, the merchant company only incurs a cost when the agreed action occurs. In addition, the company would get mass coverage at no additional cost and lastly, the more websites the ABC Company would be affiliated wit, the more exposure of its products and services it gets. Despite the scams and schemes in the trade, affiliate marketing is still one of the best ways to generate income on the Internet. It is especially beneficial for those wanting to earn without having to spend too much time and effort monitoring sales or client response (Bird, 2007).            For the success of the new digital campaign the information provided is vital for the customers and the company at large. The kind of information sent through the channels in marketing should relevant o the company, the product and the customer. One of the vital information exchanged through the marketing channels is the different types of products offered or produced by the company. This helps to identify a company in terms of goods or services produced. In addition, the geographical location of the business is also provided. This helps the customers to know the nearest location to find the company or their products. In other words, the channels provide information about the company and its business aspects. Moreover, the information passed or sent through the marketing methods includes promotions, payments methods and delivery of goods and services as well as all the information deemed vital to help the company increase the amount of sales or revenue gained (Bird , 2007).            In order for the digital marketing to be successful, there are numerous factors that must be met or observed by the new digital campaign, for the company. Objective attainability, this is the fact that, the new marketing campaign and the channels deployed should be applicable in achieving the company objectives and missions. Secondly, the new digital campaign should be dynamic and consumer engaging. Other key success factors include the engaging aspects of the marketing channels. The new designed marketing channels are customer engaging as it helps in determining the performance of the company through the number of positive responses from the customers. Finally, market information is sent through the channels (Bird, 2007). Conclusion            Over the recent times, there has been a dramatic increase in the intensity with which people business entities and companies use digital devices and platforms. Market analyst believes that worldwide mobile transaction volumes and value will see an average 42% yearly increase between 2011 and 2016. As customers shift online, it will become essential that businesses adopt the clear-cut rules of online and mobile targeting, personalization, engagement, conversion, and retention (Bird, 2007). Digital marketing represents about 25% of all marketing spending today. By 2020, it is believed that, it will dictate 50% of all marketing budgets. Businesses that prepare for and hone their digital marketing abilities now will begin to see instantaneous benefits and are likely to stay ahead of the curve. Interactive media will modernize business. 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