The Good and Evil Side of Digital Marketing - Essay Example

THE GOOD AND EVIL SIDE OF DIGITAL MARKETING By The Good and Evil Side of Digital Marketing Introduction Theconcept of the digital marketing is fast increasing in many organisations and has become popular in the recent past than before. Despite digital marketing revolutionising the manner in which the business is carried out, it has attracted criticism and applaud in equal measure. The question of whether digital marketing is good or evil has attracted diverse opinions from different researchers and academics. The marketers are faced with the challenges of having to adapt quickly to the vast explosion of the digital marketing. Digital marketing is the technique that is used for the promotion of the products and services using the database-driven online distribution channels so as to reach the consumers in the relevant, cost-effective and personal manner. The digital marketing includes: online marketing such as website optimisation, Search Engine Optimisation, Video Search Engine Optimisation (VSEM), Social Media Optimisation (SMO), blogs & forums, online display advertising, and email marketing, mobile marketing such as messaging, mobile internet, and App Advertising, eMedia marketing such as video, audio, and the content delivered through the electronic devices. Despite businesses changing drastically into the digital marketing, the digital age has brought both the good and evil part. This paper will investigate the good and evil part of digital marketing. The emergence of the digital marketing has changed the modern market. Despite some of the limitation of the digital marketing in terms of the bandwidth, the diffusion and the technological issues, many of the offline transactions are now being replicated online in a quite successful manner (Boone, & Kurtz, 2013). Though this is comprehensive, it’s not yet exhaustive. The value of the examination of the list of the dual platform behaviours recognizes that digital marketing can affect certain aspects of the marketing behaviour via its unique features it presents to consumers, both negatively and positively. The increased competition, high costs and rivalry among firms demands that organisations establish long-term relationships with the customers to be able to retain and increase their market shares (Casalo et al., 2008). With relationship marketing winning, businesses are turning to digital marketing to understand consumers’ behaviours and to encourage brand loyalty and involvement. Additionally, digital marketing derives some benefits such as the perceived value, customer loyalty, and commitment. Customer loyalty can be defined as the perceived form of re- purchasing behaviour that reflects their conscious decision to continuing purchasing the same brand of a product (Jakoby and Chestnut, 1978). Digital marketing tools are considered to be the most valuable in marketing activities, especially in those organisations that depend on the technologies. For instance, with the digital marketing, the organisation stands to benefit from increased revenues. This can, however, be achieved by building of the productive websites, provision of the social technologies, and mobile tools that can maintain continuous connections with the customers (Fosdick, 2012). Some of the valuable marketing activities that are used by the organisations as a result of the digital marketing include; use of the E-services such as the element of the e-tailing, service delivery and customer support and service (Fosdick, 2012). This, therefore, explains how good or valuable the digital marketing is to the businesses. The use of the digital marketing channels in marketing is fast becoming an essential ingredient of strategy for many organisations. For instance, the car manufacturers companies use the internet and the email in launching their new models, as well as engaging and interacting with their customers through their websites and emails (Reza Kiani, 1998). More specifically, BMW uses the mobile portal in distinguishing itself from its competitors to provide the customers with the pictures of the new models, services, and games. Additionally, companies like Nike targets the youth through the digital marketing by launching the digital spring fashion show that allows the consumers to use the brand’s latest fashion catalogue online to create their photos and virtual identity (Hargrave-Silk, 2005). On the other hand, Canon iMage Gateway helps its consumers share their digital photos with their friends through online platforms. L’Oreal’s brand Lancome uses the email newsletters in order to keep in touch with the customers and thus to strengthen their brand loyalty (Merisavo and Raulas, 2004). Even the magazine publishers are activating and driving their customers into digital marketing through the SMS and email messages to improve the re-subscription rates (Merisavo et al., 2004). Such low costs and interactions with the customers using the digital marketing increase the effectiveness of the businesses’ promotional activities compared to direct marketing method. With digital marketing, the customers can get the additional information and the brand communications when they are buying the products and services using the digital marketing. This includes the newsletters, the maintenance and repurchase reminders, tools for the interaction with the friends and peers, and among others. For instance, Lensmart uses the database and the purchase information in the prediction of the repurchase moment and the production of the personalized email for the customers (Ryan, 2014). This makes Lensmart sell cost-effectively to their customers while also automating the re-selling process. Therefore, digital marketing is used to strengthen the customer loyalty as the customers perceive the emotional value of being personally cared and remembered, and appreciate the extra services (Cram, 2001). Fournier’s (1998) argues that, marketers are increasingly bringing their brands closer to the customers’ every day using of the digital marketing platforms. The interactivity in the digital media offers the customers better options to search the information, work as the initiators and to get the help on the use of products. Additionally, the interactivity in the digital media offers the customers new ways of spending time with the brand, such as playing games, participation in an activity on the website and learning more about the products that they are using. The marketers can get more information with the customer preferences, needs and interests using the digital marketing. For instance, companies like McDonald’s uses digital marketing in reinforcing the brand messages and relationships (Vogel et al., 2014). The company has focused on digital marketing by building the online community on communities for the children. This explains how good the digital marketing is to the businesses and the customers as well. The digital marketing also provides opportunities and the tools to marketers to personalise their choice of communication to consumers. The use of the digital channels enables the customers to create actively and shape their form of the communication such as through stating their channel and the content preferences. Additionally, the marketers are able to create more personal communication that is based on the customer’s preferences and behaviour, which can increase the effectiveness of communication by making the customers perceive it more relevant and interesting, and want to maintain their relationship with the marketers (Simonson, 2005). This, therefore, illustrates how digital marketing is fundamental for any business that wants to thrive in today’s business environment. The use of the digital marketing has played a crucial role in the reduction of the communication barriers. Additionally, digital marketing provides an interactive and immediate platform to the consumers to provide feedback and experience concerning the products they have purchased. The consumers can interact with the company’s site in order to obtain more information about the products and services that they want (Kang and McAllister, 2011). The digital marketing also through the social networks allows the customers to communicate their perceptions and thoughts on different topics with a large number of the audiences. As a result, many companies are now using social networks as a channel for the digital marketing. For instance, many companies are now aware of the need to implement the Twitter strategy to their advantage. In fact, in today’s world, the consumers are more tech savvy and have even less time or patience. Therefore, using Twitter as a digital channel is, relatively an inexpensive way for organisations to connect with their customers (Bulearca & Bulearca, 2010). Additionally, the use of social networks such as Twitter helps organisations to sell/advertise their products much more quickly and at a relatively lower cost than using the conventional methods. Videos as a form of the digital marketing can be a great marketing tool, more so if they go viral. Posting of the videos using the YouTube channels or any other social media can play a crucial role in driving traffic and increasing the awareness of the company’s products and services. This type of social platform niche ensures that several audiences are reached. Additionally, the increased availability of the products and services on the internet has led to the introduction of a variety of opportunities and benefits for the consumers since they can compare different products (Kim, Jeong & So, 2011). The customers can compare the different products with different companies at a relatively lower costs. Furthermore, the digital marketing allows a great deal of the prices transparency for the customers hence the consumers the autonomy to compare the different prices of the different products in the market. The benefit of the digital marketing to the consumers is that the consumers do not have to have physically to visit the store in order to see which type of the product is cheaper than another. The customers can compare not only the price of the different products but also the quality of the products. The digital marketing, therefore, edges the traditional marketing because the consumers can sit back and compare the prices and qualities of the products to see which product to purchase (Dahl, 2015). The consumers do not also have to spend a lot of money. For instance, when someone is going for the holiday, the airline tickets are relatively cheaper depending on the amount of the seats that are available. If the number the number of the seats are available, the price of the airline tickets will be cheaper and, hence saving the money for the customer. The global digital marketing showcase offers the unprecedented opportunity to showcase the company’s histories, promotions, the product details and the information that is not feasible in the traditional marketing. The ability of the digital marketing to offer the multimedia websites that can give the most basic click to make a purchase and the in-depth corporate history and the details of the products from similar address gives the marketers greater freedom (promotional) than they can experience in the traditional marketing (Bishop, 1998). In specific, the use of internet as the support medium allows for the mixed media promotion whereby the interests is generated in the offline advertising, and the details are also provided online. Another good side of the digital marketing is that the companies can use the online tracking tools to increase their customer base. This type of the software allows the companies to have information from which type of the search engines the customers originally saw their advertisements. Using this information they can be able to allocate more advertising resources to produce the greatest amount of the site traffic. Additionally, the digital marketing can develop better customer contacts whereby the companies can provide the clear communication with the customers (Wang, & Tang, 2003). For instance, they can capture the pages that the customers have visited, in order, to obtain the names, email addresses and the phone numbers of the customers (Goldenberg et al., 2010). The businesses can then use this information to maintain contact with the clients by sending periodic messages. The digital marketing offers greater customer relationship building whereby the companies can interact with the customers and can learn more about the needs of the customers. In addition, it reduces the costs while increasing the efficiency of the business activities (Weber, 2009). The company achieves this by avoiding the expense of maintaining the physical store, rent costs, insurance cost, and the utilities. The digital catalogues, in fact, costs less compared to the printing and the mailing catalogues. The greater flexibility that is brought about by the digital marketing is that unlike the paper catalogue whereby the prices and products are fixed until the next printing, the online catalogue is able to be adjusted from time to time to adapt the product availability, the promotions and prices so as to match the changing conditions in the market (Weber, 2009). The marketers also benefit from the digital marketing by having access to the global markets. The digital marketing is a global medium that allows the sellers and buyers to click from one place to another. The digital marketing has now altered the marketing dynamics in that there is less need for relying on the complex distribution channels for getting the products to the market. This can be a dual edged sword in that the smaller businesses may end up becoming more independent in their distribution, the larger organisations, on the other hand, have found out that their dependence on the intermediaries and the distributions has increased (Stokes, 2011). For instance, though Coke and Pepsi are two of the most famous organisations in the world, it’s impossible to order a can of cola from their websites (Stokes, 2011). Their global position, size, and the complex established channels of distribution have limited the manner to which they can directly sell from their websites. Though digital marketing has a good side, it also has the evil side. For instance, Twitter has the platform for the digital marketing has several drawbacks. With the number of the Twitter users increasing every day, Twitter as the marketing tool makes it difficult for the organisations to have the control over what type of the messages that are actually being seen by their customers. While the organisation might be putting positive messages about its products and services, the followers might be posting negative comments about the products and services that might be very destructive to the company’s reputation (Evans, 2012). Additionally, some of the Twitter followers regard marketing through Twitter to be too intrusive channel for their privacy. This can be harmful to business marketing. Another downside is that the social media such as Twitter attracts the current consumers of the organisation’s products (Evans, 2012). This type of the medium may only be successfully in the maintenance of the customer relationships only with the existing customers and not attracting new customers. Slow internet connections can also pose difficulties in digital marketing. In addition, digital marketing such as the e-commerce do not allow the users/customers to ‘touch” the product before they can purchase. This has prompted some countries such as Germany to enact laws that guarantees the customers a refund of their money in the event that the product does not match his or her expectations (Bampo et al., 2008). Cases of frauds have also been reported with the digital marketing. This is because of lack of the trust owing to the constant virtual promotions that appear to be frauds in many online e-commerce sites. Conclusion Ultimately, it is evident that digital marketing is an advantageous mode of product promotion compared to the traditional form. For this reason, many organisations are turning to digital marketing to advertise their products so that they can reach a large number of customers due to increased internet connectivity and access to digital platforms by consumers. 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