The Key features of digital marketing strategy

The Key features of digital marketing strategy

The interaction and integration between Internet channels and traditional channels is a key part of digital marketing strategy development.

 Digital marketing strategy is essentially a channel marketing strategy and it needs to be integrated with other channels as part of multichannel marketing.

It follows that an effective digital marketing strategy should:

● Be aligned with business and marketing strategy (for example, many companies use a rolling three-year plan and vision), with more specific annual business priorities and initiatives. 

● Use clear objectives for business and brand development and the online contribution of leads and sales for the Internet or other digital channels. These should be based on models of the number using the channels.

● Be consistent with the types of customers who use and can be effectively reached through the channel.

● Define a compelling, differential value proposition for the channel which must be effectively communicated to customers.

● Specify the mix of online and offline communication tools used to attract visitors to the company website or interact with the brand through other digital media such as email or mobile.

● Support the customer journey through the buying process as they select and purchase products using the digital channel in combination with other channels.

● Manage the online customer lifecycle through the stages of attracting visitors to the website, converting them into customers and retention and growth.

Applications of digital marketing 

For established multichannel organisations, digital media offer a range of opportunities for marketing products and services across the purchase cycle that companies need to review as part of their digital strategy. Consider the example of a low-cost airline.

Digital media and technologies can be used as follows:

● Advertising medium . Display ads on publisher sites or social networks can be used to create awareness of brands and demands for products or services.

● Direct-response medium . Targeted search advertising enablescompanies to drive visits to a site when consumers shows intent to purchase, such as searching for a flight to a destination.

● Platform for sales transactions. Online flight booking is now the most common method for booking flights both for consumers and business Travellers.

● Lead-generation method. For booking business flights, tools can be provided which help identify and follow up corporate flight purchases.

● Distribution channel, such as for distributing digital products. Today, airlines sell more insurance services than previously, for example.

● Customer service mechanism. For example, customers may ‘self-serve’ more cost effectively by reviewing frequently asked questions.

● Relationship-building medium. Here a company can interact with its customers to better understand their needs and publicise relevant products and offers. For example, easyJet uses its email newsletter and tailored alerts about special deals to encourage repeat flight bookings.

Benefits of digital marketing

The benefits of digital marketing in supporting marketing is suggested by applying the definition of marketing by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (www.cim.co.uk):

Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.

This definition emphasises the focus of marketing on the customer, while at the same time implying a need to link to other business operations to achieve this profitability.

suggested an alternative perspective, that there are three main forms of demand expansion for an existing company when they adopt direct Internet channels.

These are:

1 Market expansion, which occurs when new segments of customers are reached who did not previously buy in a category they give the example of Estée Lauder, which hopes that the Clinique.com site will attract customers who avoid buying at a cosmetics counter because they find the experience intimidating.

2 Brand switching, which is by winning customers from competitors.

3 Relationship deepening, which is selling more to existing customers.

For well-established brands with a loyal customer base, price reduction relative to other channels is not necessarily essential or some web-channel price reductions can be used, but they note that often competitive pressures may require lower online prices.

These authors also note the potential benefits of reduction in transactional and distribution costs through introducing a direct Internet channel once initial startup costs are incurred. However, for manufacturer brands it important that consideration is given to the advertising expenditure required to move goods through the supply chain once a brand is established online.

It is essential for brands to plan how they will manage potential channel conflict when establishing their brands online.