Introduction
As part of the marketing plan, Digital Marketing Communications (DMC) includes the company’s digital activities to offer customers its products.The current DMC Plan aims to boost the online presence of 23 Degrees Coffee Roasters and increase the awareness of its products and ideas. The plan covers the organization’s situational analysis, describes the current branding, positioning, and targeted marketing, and offers an action plan for using essential DMC tools to achieve the goal.
Company Description
23 Degrees is a small business company located in Melbourne that operates in the coffee industry. Australia has a well-established culture of coffee consumption, which determines the product’s popularity (“Australia coffee market,” 2022). The Australian market is competitive, uniting global and regional companies; its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to be 2.19% during 2022-2027 (“Australia coffee market,” 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the industry, shifting the focus to home consumption. However, with the mitigation of restrictions, the increased demand for coffee in coffee shops is again predicted (Australia coffee market, 2022). 23 Degrees sells coffee from self-roasted beans through wholesale and retail, aiming to guarantee affordable prices (“Our story,” 2020). Consequently, its products are of interest to individual consumers and businesses.
23 Degrees is committed to applying business practices that demonstrate its social responsibility. The company promotes fair business, ethical prices, the need to invest in social projects, support for women’s employment, and environmental protection (“Our story,” 2020). Such ideas are consistent with modern social expectations for sustainability and corporate responsibility (Orr & Escudero, 2021). 23 Degrees is a Certified B Corp business that maintains transparency, accountability, and social performance standards. It has also received Climate Active Carbon Neutral organization status (“Our story,” 2020). As a result, 23 Degrees’ products and ideas have significant potential to attract attention in the digital environment. It is necessary to analyze the company’s current online presence and find ways to improve it.
Situational Analysis
Digital Competitive Analysis
Hello Coffee
Hello Coffee uses such DMC tools as website, social and content marketing, email, and search engine optimization (SEO). The website’s home page contains simple navigation, hero shots, benefits, features, and calls to action (CTA) for purchase, subscriptions, and community membership. The company also states to be a specialty roaster, introducing its brand at the top of the page (“Hello coffee,” n.d.). The website is adapted for viewing on various devices, including a laptop and a phone. Using the criteria for evaluating the website presented by Chaffey and Smith (2017), it is worth noting the aesthetics. Pages have a consistent font, but sometimes it is too light in color, making it hard to read. Simultaneously, the appropriate but dark colors are used for the website – the predominance of green and brown in the photo and logo and white background for text (see Appendix A).
The website is the second in organic search results for “buy coffee Australia,” showing careful work on SEOs. HelloCoffee is featured on social media such as Instagram and Facebook. The pages’ design and content match the company’s style, but Instagram is more active in publications. The content is dedicated to information, inspiration, events, and lifestyle. The company barely uses Social Media Trends relevant in 2022, except for online retail tools on Facebook (Envato, 2022). Thus, the company’s advantage is that it maintains a single style, but optimizing DMC is necessary.
Seven Seeds
The company uses a website, email, social and content marketing. The design of the website and the brand logo predominantly contain blue and white colors; users can use navigation by browsing and searching (“Seven Seeds,” n.d.). It is better adapted for viewing from a mobile device than from a laptop since images and text are cropped in the web view (see Appendix B). The landing page does not represent benefits or brand positioning but contains several CTA, photos, an email subscription option, and products. The content and design of social networks are consistent with the website, and the Instagram and Facebook pages are active in posts and adding stories, including visitors’ experiences. Publications are devoted to company information, events, social and environmental responsibility ideas, and inspiration. In addition to social awareness and accountability, some posts support a monochrome style, which is also a 2022 trend (see Appendix C). Thus, the company’s advantage is active social media usage, but website improvements are needed.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
- Strong brand story.
- Website informativeness.
- Position statement at the top of the webpage (see Appendix D).
- An incentive for email sign-up (see Appendix E).
- Consistent and readable font.
- Simple website navigation.
- Website adaption for mobile viewing.
- Clear product photos.
- Useful and interesting information in the website content.
- Product benefits highlighted.
- SEO capability check with Seobility (2022) showed a high SEO score (see Appendix F).
- Effective use of backlinks (see Appendix F).
- Appropriate meta tags and keywords usage (see Appendix F).
Weaknesses
- The website page organization does not correspond to the purposes of transactional websites and does not contribute to the conversion.
- Poorly noticeable CTA on the website.
- No CTA in the email (see Appendix E).
- The website content has not been updated since 2021.
- Hero shots represent social ideas, not products (see Appendix D).
- The color palette is not engaging.
- No way to leave feedback or contact an employee on the website.
- The website is on the second page of Google Results when searching “buy coffee online Australia,” 20th place.
- Slow website response time (see Appendix F).
- Low social media activity.
- Product design contrasts with the social focus of media publications (see Appendix G).
- A link from Facebook calling for purchase does not lead to the shop page but to the company’s story.
- The company has not created or distributed new content for a long time.
Opportunities
- Using the content management system (CMS) to update content regularly (Morris, 2022).
- Applying the Awareness (Attention), Interest, Desire, and Action (AIDA) model to change the website (Hanlon, 2022).
- Making the website more interactive (Shetty, 2019).
- Applying search engine marketing (SEM) and other digital advertising options (Google Australia, 2020).
- Video marketing (“Digital marketing trends,” 2022).
- Using consumers’ content for publication.
- Using tools for retail through social media (Envato, 2022).
- Creating a landing page (Patel, n.d.).
- Streaming events (Envato, 2022).
- Marketing automation.
- Investing in conversion rate optimization (CRO) and personalization (“The state,” 2022).
Threats
- Activities of competitors.
- Fraudster activity and customer privacy threats (“Digital marketing trends,” 2022).
- New data sets and changing data collection methods, approaching cancellation of cookies (Cameron, 2021).
- Widespread use of ad-blockers.
Target Marketing, Positioning, and Branding
Consumers of 23 Degrees are individual coffee lovers and business owners, such as cafes or companies working in offices. The target market covers urban men and women over 18, predominantly aged 24-54 (“The target market,” n.d.). Since 23 Degrees offers affordable prices, the audience can have low and medium incomes. At the same time, consumers are active users of the Internet and social media, interested in ideas of social responsibility and environmental protection.
The company uses quality positioning, presenting the phrase “Seriously (!) good coffee” at the top of the webpage (“Our story,” 2020). Considering digital branding, the company has a symbolic name, a logo, a position, and a style of writing but needs an attention-grabbing, consistent color palette. 23 Degrees does not use video marketing and is not active in media to build strong audio-visual and social identities. Therefore, it is recommended that the website’s design be changed and media activity increased with the support of integrated marketing communications.
DMC Objectives
- Updating the website design to reach a conversion rate adequate to the e-commerce industry in three months after taking measures aimed at optimization.
- Increasing the traffic volume to the website through the improvement of organic and payment positioning in web search during a six-month-one-year period after the plan’s implementation.
- Increased email open and click-through rates (CTR) to the industry-relevant level in two months after the implementation of email marketing strategies.
- Increasing brand awareness, traffic on the website, and sales through regular activities in social media within nine months after the implementation of SMM measures and marketing content.
- Increase traffic and conversion to a level adequate for e-commerce using digital advertising within two months after the campaign’s launch.
DMC Mix Plan
Website Design and Conversion Optimization
- Website design update to attract attention and support brand identity with particular attention to:
- engaging color palette;
- more product photos;
- noticeable CTA (McDowell, 2018);
- a combination of text and images without overlap;
- negative space application (“Website design,” 2022);
- higher loading speed (“Website design,” 2022);
- organizing content with short texts and visual cues (McDowell, 2018).
- Creating a landing page with appropriate navigation, headings, hero shots, benefits, CTA, and social proof like customer feedback (Patel, n.d.).
- Using personalization, including name, location, and product recommendations, to improve users’ experience (“What is a good conversion,” 2022).
- Adding chat widgets, user-generated content, and feedback forms to make the website more interactive (Shetty, 2019).
- A/B testing to check website design effectiveness for conversion optimization (“Website design,” 2022).
Search Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to improve organic search position:
- website optimization for faster loading (“Top SEO,” 2020);
- updating content with optimal use of keywords (Andrade, 2020);
- regular content update (Andrade, 2020);
- increasing social media activity;
- monitoring company and product feedback (Andrade, 2020).
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for creating ads with payment positioning:
- planning, researching, and writing the text of the advertising (Andrade, 2020);
- integration for retargeting
- regular performance monitoring after campaign launch (“Top SEO,” 2020).
Email Marketing
- Email design update following AIDA principles and current practices:
- adding a banner and an engaging subject line (GoDaddy, 2016);
- adding CTA that leads to a registration form or shop with a topical appeal such as “get a discount” (Harper, 2022);
- adding links to social media with a suggestion to join (Harper, 2022).
- Personalization of emails and the use of trigger-based campaigns:
- using a name for a personal appeal (Harper, 2022);
- sending suggestions and reminders based on users’ actions (Harper, 2022).
- Conducting A/B testing to check the effectiveness of email elements.
Social Media Marketing (SMM) and Content Marketing
- Optimizing and managing social media profiles and content:
- regular content updates (Shah, 2022) (see Appendix H for social media post suggestions);
- alignment of profile style with the brand;
- creating educational, humorous, or promotional video content (Envato, 2022);
- alternating content about the company’s products and social ideas (Envato, 2022);
- using hashtags (Aboulhosn, 2019);
- establishing retail tools in profiles (Envato, 2022).
- content planning (Aboulhosn, 2019);
- updating content on the website on the topic of products and social ideas – texts and photographs;
- use of consumer content on the website and social profiles.
- Advertising on social media:
- collaboration with local influencers (Shah, 2022);
- media advertising for more coverage of posts (see Appendix I for social media advertising suggestions).
Digital Advertising
- Applying search engine marketing (SEM) as described in “Search Marketing.”
- Social media ads are related to “SMM and Content Marketing.”
- Using display advertising with banners and photos, taking into account the following:
- target audience;
- brand-appropriate advertising style (Hancock, 2022);
- creative, attention-grabbing design;
- matching ads to the type of platform where they are displayed (Hancock, 2022);
- manual buying of digital media space.
Evaluation
- The critical metric for evaluating the success of website design and conversion optimization strategies is the conversion rate collected with analytics tools, for instance, Google Analytics (“What is a good conversion,” 2022). The measures taken should increase the shopper conversion to 3%, which is the average for e-commerce sites (“What is a good conversion,” 2022).
- The effectiveness measures of SEO and SEM strategies for the current plan are the search traffic volume, CTR for organic and paid search, and return on ad spend (ROAS). The combination of SEO and SEM efforts suggests about 30% growth in traffic (Kagan, 2021). Good CTRs for organic searches include nearly 2.6% and for paid – about 0.5% (“Click-through rate,” n.d.). Benchmark for ROAS measures is 2:1, which means that the invested funds are returned in double size (Berry, 2020).
- Email marketing should raise the open rate to 20% and the CTR to 1.5% (“What are good,” 2022). This data is critical for evaluation and can be collected through email marketing systems (Campaign Monitor, 2020).
- The SMM and content marketing performance metrics for the current plan are reach, engagement, and return on investment (ROI). Small businesses must strive for a reach rate of 8% for stories and 32% for posts (Bridge, 2022). For Facebook posts, the current average reach rate is about 2.5% (Facebook Organic, 2022). Based on the number of subscribers, the recommended coverage rates for Instagram are 0.6% and for Facebook – 0.06% (Newberry, 2022). A good ROI for SMM is 3:1 when using advertising services (Schaffer, 2022).
- CTR and conversion metrics will be used to measure the effectiveness of digital advertising strategies in the current plan. The average CTR for display ads, which can serve as a benchmark, is 0.11% (“What is a good click,” 2022). The conversion rate for the paid traffic resource is about 2.9% (“What is a good conversion,” 2022).
Conclusion
The DMC plan offers strategies for using essential DMC tools to enhance the effectiveness of 23 Degrees Coffee Roasters’ online presence. The Australian coffee market is competitive with local and global players. An analysis of competitors showed that 23 Degrees is inferior in website design and social media activity.
Detailed SWOT analysis revealed more specific strengths and weaknesses of the company’s digital activities. The DMC plan presented goals to improve the digital presence of 23 Degrees and selected strategies for the application of DMC tools for the purpose of achievement. Finally, the plan gives metrics to assess the impact and effectiveness of the measures described after implementation.
References
23 Degrees Coffee Roasters (@23degreescoffeeroasters) (n.d.a). Posts [Instagram profile]. Instagram. Web.
23 Degrees Coffee Roasters. (n.d.b). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Web.
Aboulhosn, S. (2019). How to craft an effective social media content strategy. Sprout Social. Web.
Andrade, N. (2020). Top SEO and SEM marketing strategies for your business. Media Culture. Web.
Australia coffee market – Growth, trends, COVID-19 impact, and forecasts (2022 – 2027). (2022). Mordor Intelligence. Web.
Berry, S. (2020). Average ROAS by industry: The most difficult metric to measure. Web FX. Web.
Bridge, K. (2022). 10 key Instagram metrics you should use in 2022. Bazaarvoice. Web.
Bukevicius, T. (n.d.). How to win with Facebook ads when you don’t have a big ad budget. Scube Marketing. Web.
Cameron, N. (2021). 19 digital marketing predictions for 2022. CMO. Web.
Campaign Monitor. (2020). How to look at your email analytics in campaign monitor [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Chaffey, D., & Smith, P. R. (2017). Digital marketing excellence: Planning and optimizing your digital marketing. Routledge.
Click-through rate (CTR). (n.d.). Oberlo. Web.
Digital marketing trends for 2022 – What to expect this year. (2022). Australian Academy of Digital Marketing. Web.
Envato. (2022). Social media trends 2022 [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Facebook organic reach rate benchmark. (2022). Social Status. Web.
GoDaddy. (2016). Email marketing best practices – GoDaddy [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Google Australia. (2020). Introduction to search engine marketing (SEM) [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Hancock, G. (2022). How to craft a digital advertising strategy that combats rising costs and captures new customers. CXL. Web.
Hanlon, A. (2022). The AIDA model. Smart Insight. Web.
Harper, D. (2022). The 13 best email marketing strategies for campaign success in 2022. Sendinblue. Web.
Hello Coffee. Specialty roasters. (n.d.). Hello Coffee. Web.
Kagan, J. (2021). How paid search incrementality impacts SEO (Does 1+1=3?). Search Engine Journal. Web.
McDowell, W. (2018). Homepage design secrets for a highly converting website [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Morris, C. (2022). What is a content management system (CMS)? Search Engine Journal. Web.
Newberry, C. (2022). 16 key social media metrics to track in 2022 [Benchmarks]. Hootsuite. Web.
Orr, S., & Escudero, G. (2021). Australian coffee strategic RD&E plan. AgriFutures Australia. Web.
Our impact. (2021). 23 Degrees. Web.
Our story. (2020). 23 Degrees. Web.
Patel, N. (n.d.). Your guide to creating high-performing landing pages. Neil Patel Blog. Web.
Schaffer, N. (2022). Social media ROI: The easiest way to calculate the impact of social media on your business. Neil Schaffer. Web.
Seobility. (2022). 23degrees.com.au – SEO Checker. Web.
Seven Seeds Coffee Roasters. (n.d.). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Web.
Seven Seeds. (n.d.). Seven Seeds. Web.
Shah, K. (2022). Best social media marketing strategies in 2022 for doctors, small businesses, e-commerce & more. IIDE. Web.
Shetty, S. (2019). How to make interactive websites and why you need one? Specbee. Web.
The state of Australian marketing in 2022. (2022). Croud. Web.
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Appendix A
Hello Coffee Website
Appendix B
Seven Seeds Website
Laptop views
Mobile views
Appendix C
Monochrome Trend in Seven Seeds Posts
Appendix D
23 Degrees Website
Appendix E
23 Degrees Email Marketing
Subscription option with incentive
23 Degrees’ email
Appendix F
SEO Checker Results for 23 Degrees
Appendix G
23 Degrees Social Media Profiles
Appendix H
Social Media Post
23 Degrees Coffee Roasters not only offers you the best coffee but it makes the coffee business better. Women in many countries find it harder to find work than men, so we buy beans from women producers, supporting equality. Most of them own organic coffee farms or harvest grains grown in the wild. Their effort allows our customers to enjoy natural coffee grown without pesticides. The production of 23 Degrees Coffee Roasters supports sustainability and protects the environment by reducing carbon emissions to zero and sending materials for recycling. Order coffee now and support the ethical business!
#womencoffeeproducers #coffeelover #womensupportingwomen #bcorp #specialtycoffee #naturalcoffee #23degreescoffeeroasters #ethicallysourcedcoffee #ethicalsupplychain #sustainableproduction
- Created with Canva
- Photo and information source is 23 Degrees website (“Our impact,” 2020).
Appendix I
Social Media Advertising
- Created with Canva
- Photo source is 23 Degrees Facebook Page (23 Degrees Coffee Roasters, n.d.a)