One of the most prominent rules of business, as well as of human life, is to roll with the changes. Mankind has distinguished itself from all other species by the rules of adaptation and survival instincts. Business is no different. In a world that changes every day, bringing along more challenges, marketplaces and customer wants, it is crucial for businesses to adjust to the changes, make use of new innovations and facilities, and to cede to the demands of the customer.
Digital Marketing
Technology has ushered in multiple changes to the proceedings of business and probably the most important one has been digital marketing. The process of indulging in marketing essentially through the internet and other technological routes, digital marketing is a separate branch of work in itself nowadays. It uses methods like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Social Media Management (SMM), Email marketing and content marketing to expand the customer base and reach of any firm.
Characteristics
The main aim of digital marketing is to expand the geographical base of the market for businesses. Firms look to take advantage of the global reach of the internet to reach a higher number of customers and to spread knowledge about their products and services. This brand of marketing has multiple advantages:
- It reduces the gap between customers and businesses.
- It ensures better and quicker service to customers.
- It reduces the cost of marketing as it is relatively cheaper than the other types of marketing.
- It makes it easier for the customer to gain knowledge of the product.
- Reviews and ratings on the internet are of great convenience to the customers.
These advantages work well to convince businesses of the means of digital marketing. However, the practice does hold a few disadvantages:
- Almost completely based on the internet, the form is useless if customers do not have access to the internet.
- Owing to a large number of similar products and goods, the internet ends up being a clutter, reducing effectiveness due to a lack of differentiation.
- There are limitations to the types of products that can be marketed through the means.
- Most of the customers attained through digital marketing do not have the means to purchase a product or service, leading to skepticism about its effectiveness.
Businesses are advised to thoroughly assess their digital marketing plans against their products or services, objectives and customers before going forward with digital marketing.
Surviving online without digital marketing
As has been stated previously, most businesses have shifted their routes to digital marketing as a means to survive and thrive in the new, competitive world. In lieu of this, there have been doubts as to whether businesses which do not indulge in digital marketing can succeed in the e-commerce field.
On one hand, there has been a lot of conjecture over the effectiveness of the particular route of digital marketing. Critics have pointed out that the target base of digital marketing often does not have the purchasing power to be able to buy the product or avail of the service. This implies that digital marketing might not lead to actual sales. In this context, a business may survive without digital marketing as long as they indulge in other forms of marketing, rely on word-of-mouth publicity and ensure dissemination of information to the correct target market.
On the other hand, other forms of marketing such as newspaper advertisements or pamphlet distribution have become largely obsolete. A majority of the customer-base thrives on social media and other digital platforms. They yearn for the convenience of getting products and services from the confines of their own homes.
Moreover, an e-commerce business cannot survive without digital marketing. Since an e-commerce business functions largely on the internet, all forms of functions, including marketing, sales, customer follow-through and service, etc., have to be committed on the internet. In lieu of this, digital marketing assumes prime importance to any e-commerce firm. As far as the limitations of digital marketing are concerned, the business owner can customize and alter their marketing plan to reach customers that could affect actual sales.
Overall, it is heavily recommended that any e-commerce firm indulge in digital marketing so as to ensure consistent success. For this matter, it would be prudent to seek the aid of professional digital marketers that help any business chart out its digital plan and impact.
For the best digital marketing services provided by a staff with multiple years of experience, contact MAG Studios and give us a chance to get you closer to your dream!
