Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing

            Marketing is an essential part of the business. Stakeholders must understand the implications this has on the overall business growth. With the advent and increased growth of technology and its applications in the business environment, digital marketing has become a strong foundation for growth for many businesses. Various advantages and benefits that accrue to a business that takes advantage of the developments include better options for growth. Also, there exist better and higher conversion rates in the context of marketing to sales. It becomes easier to establish brand reputation and also solve customers’ problems, such as through email and social media support. The aspects of cost-effectiveness ensure that a business enjoys a better return on investment. These, among numerous other factors, enhance the integrity of the argument for increased uptake and incorporation of digital marketing strategies within the business structure. Extensive research has gone into analyzing the need for these strategies, their impacts, shortcomings, alternatives, dimensions, among other vital elements to provide a solid base of information for innovative and creative applications for businesses. In this review of various literature, the arguments and points of view of multiple scholars are analyzed to provide clarity into different theories, concepts, and ideas that have come up in this field.

One of the vital approaches to the idea of digital marketing revolves around small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These are in great need of growth and development-oriented marketing that targets brand establishment and other critical factors depending on the business. Alfred and Page (2015), in the article ‘Marketing Technology for Adoption by Small Business’, address various elements that are reflected in this vital approach. They note that there exists a healthy appetite for the uptake of technology-driven business marketing strategies among these small and medium enterprises. They highlight the fact that most of these businesses have a problem identifying and taking advantage of relevant information. The lack of proper methods of collecting data, or even accessing it, hampers these businesses in a significant way that is eventually impactful on their operations – mostly in a negative way. It is worthy to note that the observation by Alford and Page (2015) that these businesses also face the challenge of inability or lack of capacities to evaluate their return on investment is crucial. It highlights a perspective that is often overlooked by many stakeholders in a business. The challenge makes it difficult for these small and medium enterprises to evaluate their progress or the impact of applied strategies on the business (Alford & Page, 2015).

As Alford and Page identified the problem of strategy impact analysis, Jarvinen and Karjaluoto (2015) address the issue of web analytics. The two ideas fall in line as the web analytics technology can be used to analyze performance on the various platforms effectively. They propose the approach that the data that is generated by these web analytics processes and structures is of great benefit to a business if exploited effectively and creatively. The idea seems to resonate with the concept that Alford and Page (2015) address and highlight, as it supports the idea that proper evaluative and analytical methods of strategy and relevant data can be useful in improving business performance. The concept applies to both big and established corporations as well as for small and medium-sized enterprises. It goes to show that the role of digital technology has broadened in the business environment. Web Analytics (WB) is a great and useful tool for measurable marketing (Järvinen & Karjaluoto, 2015). Xu, Frankwick, and Ramirez (2016) identify the impactful role in the concept of data analytics bears in various contexts. For example, they analyze traditional marketing analytics (TMA), new product success (NPS), and big data analytics (BDA) (Xu, Frankwick & Ramirez, 2016). The scholarly impact of this research is excellent, considering that it upholds a vital problem-solving approach that enhances the efficacy of evaluative approaches to marketing strategy formulation and analysis.

Further, when small and medium-sized enterprises are implementing the various digital marketing strategies, they need to understand and appreciate the value of target market reach – which is the essence of marketing. Jones, Borgman, and Ulusoy (2015), in their article, ‘Impact of Social Media on Small Businesses,’ addresses the various economic impacts that the internet has on small businesses. They are specific on websites and social media in their study. They seek to identify the benefits that would accrue to a business if they did employ these strategies in their marketing. Interestingly, they find out that for a business, these mediums are impactful in various ways. For example, they lead to increased awareness and inquiries. The impact this has on sales is often positive (Jones, Borgman & Ulusoy, 2015). Also, this is one way that a business can build its reputation and instill faith in its target market as this facilitates a vital channel of communication and information exchange. Another evident factor is the business advantage of gaining information. As highlighted by Alford and Page (2015), small and medium-sized enterprises often have the challenge of awareness and information access. The use of social media, websites, and related technological and digital approaches are identified in this literature as bearing a high degree of positive impact toward solving this problem. The idea is further echoed by Tiago and Verissimo (2014), who address the inhibitors and benefits of the social media approach from the perspective of the firm. The volatility of consumer behavior is vital and requires a rethinking of a fir’s marketing strategy and concept in the digital domain (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014).

In as much as there are opportunities in the field of digital marketing, there exist various challenges also. These challenges are more pronounced for small and medium-sized enterprises. The fact that it is a rapidly developing arena makes it even more challenging. More and more complications and unprecedented developments present new problems regularly. Leeflang, Verhoef, Dahlstrom, and Freundt (2014), in their article, ‘Challenges and Solutions for Marketing in a Digital Era,’ address the various challenges that are present for businesses in this time of increased digital innovation and development. The researchers identify different exciting findings that are vital for stakeholders in a business. First, they recognize the need to fill talent gaps as one challenge and shortcoming of many businesses. Sufficient digital capacity depends on a robust digitally talented human resource base. Filling this gap is one of the significant issues that face both bid corporations and on the lower side, the small and medium-sized enterprises. It must be noted that this aspect and challenge unfolds differently for the two levels of businesses. For example, to effectively hire sufficient talent, the costs involved require that a business is robust and prepared with adequate financial, operational resources – which the lower-level business often have limited. Also, they further identify organizational design as another vital problem. It is crucial to have the right structures and designs to implement a strategy effectively. The business has to be strategically oriented towards redesigning its core targets and goals and structure around these vital marketing strategies. Finally, they identify the importance of actionable metrics. One thing that stands out so far is that the literature reveals an inter-relationship between various essential concepts that are vital for the business. In essence, the need for internal and external awareness is stressed upon (Leeflang, Verhoef, Dahlström & Freundt, 2014).

Ritz, Wolf, and McQuitty (2019), in their article, ‘Digital Marketing Adoption and Success for Small Businesses,’ address the fact that most research addresses the interaction of this digital marketing approaches with big corporations. It there exists a gap in understanding the motivators, ideologies, and concepts that small and medium-sized enterprise have. They address this using the do-it-yourself (DIY) behavior model and the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Ritz, Wolf & McQuitty, 2019). The various findings of this study highlight a fascinating aspect of this level of business operation. They identify that businesses in a smaller operational scale identify the concept of the ease of use and adoption, and the impact and usefulness of technology to formulate intentions of application—the idea guides on the various aspects of motivation and the outcome analysis for different small business behaviors. The perception of the potential to create value is identified as a fundamental motivation that is presented in various points of view in the context of the two analysis models. One of the concepts that have been identified as value-creating is the ‘E-business’ model that is presented by Saura, Palos-Sanchez, and Correia (2018). Electronic Commerce is a significant foundation that offers internet business models and integrates them with digital marketing approaches and techniques (Saura, Palos-Sanchez & Correia, 2018).

In conclusion, the various levels of firms need to identify and adopt favorable approaches to digital marketing. It is critical for small and medium-sized enterprises to gain an edge in market competition and control to emerge and grow. Many stakeholders understand that many factors influence strategy success – both internal and external. The acknowledgment of shortcomings and strengths also is vital for these firms. For example, with the typical constraints in funds, the adoption of technology and talent that facilitates growth in strategic positioning through digital marketing is curtailed. Overall, the literature reviewed reveals a vast interconnection of concepts, theories, and ideas, which reflects the oneness of the studies, although carried out by different researchers. The studies show essential information that is critical for stakeholders in this field in an excellent manner.

References

Alford, P., & Page, S. (2015). Marketing technology for adoption by small businesses. The Service Industries Journal, 35(11-12), 655-669. doi: 10.1080/02642069.2015.1062884

Järvinen, J., & Karjaluoto, H. (2015). The use of Web analytics for digital marketing performance measurement. Industrial Marketing Management, 50, 117-127. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.04.009

Jones, N., Borgman, R., & Ulusoy, E. (2015). Impact of social media on small businesses. Journal Of Small Business And Enterprise Development, 22(4), 611-632. doi: 10.1108/jsbed-09-2013-0133

Leeflang, P., Verhoef, P., Dahlström, P., & Freundt, T. (2014). Challenges and solutions for marketing in the digital era. European Management Journal, 32(1), 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.emj.2013.12.001

Ritz, W., Wolf, M., & McQuitty, S. (2019). Digital marketing adoption and success for small businesses. Journal Of Research In Interactive Marketing, 13(2), 179-203. doi: 10.1108/jrim-04-2018-0062

Saura, J., Palos-Sanchez, P., & Correia, M. (2018). Digital Marketing Strategies Based on the E-Business Model. Organizational Transformation And Managing Innovation In The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 86-103. doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-7074-5.ch005

Tiago, M., & Veríssimo, J. (2014). Digital marketing and social media: Why bother?. Business Horizons, 57(6), 703-708. doi: 10.1016/j.bushor.2014.07.002

Xu, Z., Frankwick, G., & Ramirez, E. (2016). Effects of big data analytics and traditional marketing analytics on new product success: A knowledge fusion perspective. Journal Of Business Research, 69(5), 1562-1566. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.10.017