The Digital Era of Marketing

Our world is evolving every day, and over centuries humans have come up with commendable inventions. One of the most glorious inventions of humanity is- the internet. Yes, that’s right. We all are entirely dependent on ‘the net’ for everything. This technological advancement has revolutionized the world in a way that now it is impossible to imagine our lives without it. From news updates and ordering groceries to shop and watching movies, the internet has catered to every single need of ours. Over the years, the internet has made our world connected, never better than before. Today we can converse with anyone sitting at any corner of the world, and there is not just one medium but hundreds to do so. Phone calls, video calling, text messaging, e-mail, etc. Just like communication, all primary, secondary and tertiary sectors have blossomed with the use of this superpower. That is why we can say that the internet has aided every sector of the economy and so as marketing. In fact, marketing plays a crucial role in the development of every industry because it is the medium to promote goods or facilities available to the public. In the last few years, our markets have transformed immensely due to globalization and hence, provided the consumers with access to a wide variety of products and services. We cannot deny the fact that the internet has played a crucial role in facilitating the trade network through digital marketing.

First coined in 1990, the term ‘digital marketing’, also known as web marketing, simply means using the internet as a platform for marketing with the help of technological tools like computers or mobile phones. It has eventually become an inseparable wheel of trade development reason being that it enhances globalization which in turn increases demand as now not only the people living in that region but a person residing in an entirely different corner of the world can also purchase the good online. This platform has made the entire world like a ‘global trade village’ engaging all of the population in a single massive market. Digital marketing is broadly divided into four phases. The first step involves understanding your ‘target audience,’ i.e., any web agency must know which strata of the population is to be targeted and how your product can resolve their issues. The reason behind this is that nothing is more powerful in marketing than knowing your customer’s pain points and desires. Once that is done, one should start raising

brand-awareness via free content and advertisements. The most crucial point of this venture is brand awareness. If people do not know about it, they will not go for it. The rule is to make it relatable for your audience, to make them believe that the good is of some utility. This is done through surveying, groups on social media, review sites, search engine marketing, etc. to make a product not just available but also efficient. The next phase is when you drive your audience’s attention to buying your product and you then make sales. Lastly, you have to measure, optimize, analyze, and then draw up a conclusion on has to how you can improvise. The key to excel in every stage is feedback. Till the time you do not get an idea about customer response, you won’t be able to expand your business, and thus, surveying people is extremely important. One must remember that there is a difference between a web page that converts and the one that falls flat, and thus, utilizing those feedbacks and reviews to come up with solutions is what makes your product desirable.

Though there are some obstacles as well. One major issue is that only 41% of the world population has access to the internet. Such a digital system is not feasible for someone who does not have internet access. There are chances of cyber-crime and online frauds which prevents some people from shopping online. Also, the trust factor built up in offline marketing is hard to break. Lack of interaction, inability to touch or try out the product, complaints, and feedback from customers, and shipping related issues are some other disadvantages of digital marketing. Although web marketing has some flaws but comparatively, it is a much better alternative to traditional marketing as its immense advantage covers up for the few drawbacks it possesses. Thus, there is no doubt that ‘it is an expense worth every single penny’. This is because not only does the customer get a wide variety of products and budget suiting prices but it has its own perks both for the producer as well as for the consumer. Today, if some entrepreneur wishes to set up an enterprise, digital marketing is suitable to invest in. You do not need to pay for the rent or labor. For a small organization, it can be supervised by a single person. It definitely allows you to reach out to a diverse audience. The cost of advertising on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. is almost negligible. All you need is a website, some marketing skills to build up strategies for boosting sales, and you are good to go! One can even keep changing the look of their sites, revise the products, and put up offers on every product individually. You cannot perform such tasks so smoothly in traditional markets. In the last few years, many consumers have shifted from offline to online mediums for buying goods. It makes even more sense for companies to move to digital marketing because on one hand, the footfall in actual stores is decreasing day by day. On the other hand, sales from online mediums have doubled up in the last five years due to the varied product ranges, affordable rates, and various other factors.

The whole system works just like any MNC establishment, with the only difference being that the target audience is much more extensive as it is not limited to a few countries but the entire world. Global e-marketing gives any agency the ability to advertise on a much broader scale and multi-task by handling thousands of customers simultaneously. Once the brand starts functioning smoothly, the next step is to come up with ways to increase the audience size visiting your site. For this, it is integral to know the current demands of your potential customers. Here, SEO plays a significant role. It refers to Search Engine Optimization, which basically means to enhance the quantity and quality of the traffic on your website. We usually tend to click on the first few sites visible to us, ignoring the ones at the bottom area and never checking the pages in line, and that is why click-through rates are an essential component in making your brand a success. Apart from SEO, there are several other modes of marketing. These include e-mail marketing, social media marketing, advertisements played in applications, YouTube, collaborations, sponsorship, etc. All these components work together and help increase the conversion rates of a company leading to the growth of the company. This way not only huge trusted brands but also small enterprises are able to promote and excel in their businesses. A very relatable example for explaining this is Amazon. The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezoz, is currently the CEO of the company himself. The company is purely based on digital marketing. It is so inspirational to know that his enterprise was established in a garage in Washington. Today, the organization is the biggest online shopping multi-national company in the whole world, employing seven hundred and ninety-eight thousand people.

Even from a consumer’s perspective, web marketing is totally worth it since it is a hassle-free mode of shopping. Sitting at home, you can have access to any brand of the world 24/7. You just have to type out your preference, and the website will do the work for you. One can filter out the price range, colors, brands, and so on to get the best deals. Before finalizing, you can compare various options, crosscheck through ratings and reviews, and get personalized offers to suit your demands each time. You can choose which payment method has to be used, and if someone is not comfortable sharing his or her bank details, they can also opt for cash on delivery or use applications like Paytm, Google pay, etc. Now, even if the product is damaged or you are not satisfied with it, you can reach out easily, asking for a refund or exchange. The company always picks up and delivers the products at your doorstep. This way, you can save so much time and effort. Isn’t it astounding? Well, guess what that’s not it. The embellishment of web marketing is that it is not restricted to some particular goods. Its spectrum of availability is infinite. You can literally name any commodity, and you would be surprised to find out that you can purchase it on the net. Every physical, as well as digital good, is accessible, be it a sewing needle or a car or digital services like educational courses or cooking recipes or life hacks; you can have it all. Once you become a regular customer, you need not even search for new offers, but the sites or apps keep track of your likings, and all catchy offers pop up on your screen by itself. For example, Zomato, a food delivery start-up. It grew through advertisements and has shown commendable results. As of now, it has been established in over three hundred cities in India, and it continues to prosper. You must have noticed it has a simple yet reliable marketing strategy, through the punchlines that it sends its customers via e-mail or advertisements, people tend to crave for their favorite food item and end up ordering. It also notifies people regularly not to let go of any customer. The application is pretty simple to use, and it gets you prepared food in 30 to 40 minutes. That is how it keeps on increasing its customer size day by day. There are thousands of entities like these based in all corners of the world. Hence, this mode of marketing is not just beneficial but equally convenient for almost everyone.

Online marketing has extensive scope in the future years, and we can clearly see the changes from the start of the year itself. As we all know, in such times of pandemic, the internet is the biggest boon. Social media platforms, ‘work from home’ and online classes for students, webinars, e-banking, binge-watching shows on applications like Netflix, digital libraries, online training, and the list is endless. All these things have proven to be a rescue in the lockdown period. Believe it or not, ‘virtual has become the new actual’ and thus, ‘on-screen’ is the need of the hour. This is a golden opportunity for enterprises to shift their resources to digital marketing since more and more people are trying to find alternative options for everything online. It will not just be advantageous to individuals but also lead to the development of a country’s economy as a whole as it also involves foreign trade. The field of web marketing carries so much potential and this is just the beginning. We can thereby conclude that digital marketing is not just an expense but is instead an investment. This statement holds true as the gains it can give you in the future is magnificent, and no matter how much the world changes one thing will never come to an end i.e., human wants. As we know that our demands can never be fulfilled. If one gets addressed, another is already waiting in line. To keep up with this fast-paced world’s demands, a producer must be well equipped to maintain a balance between production and customer satisfaction, and digital marketing is the very foundation of this equilibrium. Trade has existed since the very beginning and now, digital marketing will pertain till the very end.