Marketing is a process through which products and services move from concept to the customer. It involves identification of a product, determining demand, deciding on its price, and selecting distribution channels. It also includes developing and implementing a promotional strategy. The American Marketing association defines marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Some of the most popular functional areas of Marketing include Advertising, Sales, Merchandising, Product Marketing, Data/Analytics, Digital Marketing, Marketing Research etc. Digital marketing is the component of marketing that utilizes internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Digital Marketing is the promotion of products over the internet or any form of electronic media.”Digital Marketing is the use of digital channels to promote or market products and services to targeted consumers and businesses (Digital Marketing Institute). The digital age started with the coming of the internet and the development of the World Wide Web. Digital marketing platforms are now taking over the traditional marketing platforms. Digital, mobile, and social media have become an essential part of everyday life for people all over the world. Today there is increased usage of tablets, phones, and computers etc, which have given a boost to the digital marketers. Reports reveal that more than 4.5 billion people now use the internet, while social media users have passed the 3.8 billion mark. Nearly 60 percent of the world’s population is already online, and the latest trends suggest that more than half of the world’s total population will use social media very soon. Digital marketing is a promising concept that has a large number of advantages. The most positive outcome of digital marketing is its being more affordable than the traditional marketing strategies. Businesses can reach a larger audience in a shorter time period using the digital platform. Its global reach feature using websites and apps allows a business to find new markets and trade globally for only a small investment. Businesses with a properly planned digital marketing campaign can reach their potential customers at a much lower cost than traditional marketing methods. With digital marketing, businesses can reach people interested in the business. They can specifically target consumers with interest in the company, services, or products. It’s an achievement that traditional marketing can’t match.
A lot has changed over the last few months due to the ongoing pandemic and there are new opportunities that have come around when it comes to online business and marketing activities.
With traditional marketing methods, it’s difficult for small businesses to compete with larger companies. Large businesses have the money and this makes it hard for small businesses to compete with these larger companies. But digital marketing allows small businesses to reach to interested consumers in an affordable way. There are many digital marketing and advertising methods that are budget-friendly. One significant feature of digital marketing is that it enables to track and measure results. There is no clear way to track the origin of leads with traditional methods without asking every person that visits your business. Businesses can easily measure their online marketing efforts with web analytics and other online metric tools that make it easier to establish how effective their marketing campaign has been. They can obtain in-depth information about how customers use their website or respond to the advertising. Using digital marketing there are chances for the improvement of the conversion rates. When companies focus on people more likely to be interested in business, they increase chances of earning a conversion which helps them grow. Once a business has a concrete customer base, it can focus more on providing a great customer experience to retain those customers and increase profit. Digital marketing is a best strategy to help companies achieve that goal. A lot has changed over the last few months due to the ongoing pandemic and there are new opportunities that have come around when it comes to online business and marketing activities.
(The author is Assistant Professor, School of Management, ITM University Gwalior, Youth Ambassador, IYS, Editor in chief for www.startupdailytips.com and a Regular Columnist with Kashmir Horizon. Views are his own, [email protected])