Introduction
Overview of the task
This report examines the opportunities and challenges presented by digital marketing. This is done by examination of various sources of literature review on digital marketing. Implementation solutions on digital marketing are suggested and a recommendation given as to why it is vital for organizations to engage in digital marketing.
Report purpose and structure
This report purposes to show the significance of digital marketing. The report points out that digital marketing is the way to go and no organization can afford to ignore adopting this marketing strategy. The report’s main body has four sections which examine the approach to digital marketing, advantages and challenges of digital marketing, how digital marketing can be implemented, and recommendation on digital marketing.
Digital marketing approach
According to Klososky (2012), digital marketing can best be understood by discussing its five-element formula:
Building productive websites
Productive websites are well maintained and optimized and contain information which clients search for. Such websites also necessitate conducting of transactions by the clients.
Providing social technologies
These are tools which offer a platform for interaction among clients and providers for the purpose of information sharing. Multiple bonds are created through such interactions making spreading of information fast.
Mobile tools
These tools offer maximum flexibility for business-client connection as they eliminate the obstacles of time zones and geographical distances. The connections are possible all the time, and from and to anywhere. Mobile tools therefore draw the world closer into a global village.
Driving online traffic
Online traffic is redirected to a common point for maximum reaping of benefits. Online traffic is redirected to the correct information sources such that transactions can be made possible. This is made possible by using such tools as search engine optimization among others.
Measurement systems
This is a precautionary process taken to find out what is working and what is not working. This helps to make the correct improvements and maximally utilize the whole process of digital marketing.
Digital marketing advantages and challenges
Opportunities for organizations to use digital marketing
Tapping into an exponentially increasing market
Digital marketing has often been described as being viral (Klososky 2012, p. 45). Digital marketing creates a platform for creating and delivering an organizational voice.
Digital marketing offers organizations the opportunity to use their organizational voices to connect well with their clients and potential clients (Klososky 2012, p. 44). Digital marketing therefore makes it possible for organizations to reach out to a huge market.
Low cost involved in digital marketing
Engaging in digital marketing is far cheap compared to other marketing techniques. Digital marketing also promises to reach out to a huge market. Furthermore, digital marketing is not limited by time zones or geographical distance. This makes this form of marketing inherently cheap compared to the contemporary means of advertising.
Challenges to organizations using digital marketing
Right touching
Even though digital marketing offers immensely huge access to a huge market, it needs to be right touched so that the marketing campaigns do not fall on deaf ears. The process of right touching is challenging because of the dynamism of the clients (Wind & Mahajan 2010).
Right touching of digital marketing involves fine tuning the marketing campaign to individual levels. It is hard, time and money consuming to identify individual tastes and preferences (Martin & Todorov 2010, p. 61).
Organizational structure shortcomings
Through a survey carried out, it has been shown that organizational structures have at some points proved to be challenges to digital marketing. In some cases, it has been pointed out that some IT systems are not flexible enough to make use of the data-rich world of digital marketing (Brown & Sikes, 2012, p. 8).
Digital marketing implementation solutions
Delivering the online customer experience
Delivering of online customer experience starts with the developing of a website. Website development will start with the registration of a domain name and selection of an Internet service provider (ISP). In designing a website, one has to learn and become aware of the users’ needs (Chaffey et al. 2012, p. 312).
This should be followed by modifying the site to be user friendly by ensuring that the content that is presented is relevant to what the customers need.
Interactive marketing communications
These are marketing campaigns which are aimed at soliciting responses from the website users. These techniques include application of search engine marketing tools, use of online PR, engaging in interactive advertising, E-mail marketing, and viral marketing.
Maintaining and monitoring online presence
Learning to successfully use digital marketing entails also knowing the process of maintaining well the tools used in digital marketing.
Maintenance of digital marketing tools calls for the creation of performance management systems. The maintenance process will include the updating of website contents and this should be done at a frequency which should neither be too soon nor too late (Chaffey et al. 2012, p. 417).
Recommendation
Digital marketing forms a bond between the clients and the producers and this bond significantly affects how sales take place.
The interaction which results from this bond significantly determines which products carry the day in the market. Adoption of technology, which digital marketing relies on, is increasing day by day implying that soon it might as well be the sole determinant of sales volume. This is further illustrated by the following points.
Digital marketing empowers the customers
Digital marketing involves the sharing out of relevant information by business to their clients and potential clients to enable them make wise choices. This sharing of information enables the customers to make the necessarily comparison among providers and go for the best.
An organization not engaged in this process of marketing will definitely lose out on this market and due to the fact that the digital marketing accesses a vast market then the implication is that such an organization will definitely be losing out (Martin & Todorov 2010, p. 63).
Digital marketing is fast and vast
Digital marketing has defeated the challenges of traditional marketing namely time and geographical distance. Digital marketing also spreads fast and for a longer time than the traditional form of marketing (Hollis & Fitch 2009, p. 208).
An organization which does not engage digital marketing therefore gives its competitors an edge in the market as they are able to reach far and wide in short durations of time. It is therefore wise to engage in digital marketing as it is affordable and effective in popularizing a brand name as long as the brand qualities and pricing is appropriate to the clients (Ryan & Jones 2012).
References
Brown, B & Sikes, J 2012, Minding your digital business. Web.
Chaffey, D & Ellis-Chadwick, F 2012, Digital marketing: strategy, implementation and practice, Prentice Hall, New York.
Hollis, N & Fitch, D 2009, ‘Is global brand marketing as rewarding as it first appears?’, Journal of Sponsorship, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 206-214.
Klososky, S 2012, Social Technology. Available from: . [13 August 2012].
Martin, k & Todorov, I 2010, ‘How will digital platforms be harnessed in 2010, and how will they change the way people interact with brands?’, Journal of Interactive Advertising, vol. 10, no 2, pp. 61-66.
Ryan, D & Jones, C 2012, Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation, Kogan Page, New York.
Wind, J & Mahajan, V 2010, The Challenge of digital marketing. Web.