Digital Marketing - Murray International PLC - Case Study Example

Digital Marketing Plan Name: Institution: Table of Contents Executive Summary This paper is aimed at enable Western Murray investment trust with premeditated recommendations on how to appropriately plan their digital marketing growth by developing, maintaining and attracting new customers on their digital stage. Digital marketing has been on an upward trend following the complexity of purchase behaviours and patterns by customers. For this reason, marketers are looking for the best means to attain maximum return on their investments. Among the most common methods for digital marketing in the recent past have been the social media and use of mobile devices such as the mobile phones. With the continued advancements in technology, customers have become more refined in that most of them do some research online before making a purchase. This is as indicated by a recent study by Forrester research whose findings showed that 82 percent of shoppers undertake online researching before making a purchase. This shows that digital marketing has become a crucial aspect in the market environment and any business should allocate part of its budget to online marketing. Those that already have it in place should start strategizing on how to bolster their online presence so as to attain improved outcomes. This paper will discuss the crucial aspects of digital marketing plan and how they can be integrated to produce the best results. These aspects include; Introduction Murray international Trust is a company whose operations are based in the UK with its headquarters in Edinburgh. The company business is investment in an assortment of international equities and fixed income securities in oil and gas industries, basic materials, industrial, consumer goods, health care among others with investments in companies such as British American Tobacco, Unilever, Taiwan mobile, Phillip Morris international, standard chartered among others in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe and North America. The company’s collection includes 53 equity and 12 corporate bond holdings and is headed by a team of highly experienced directors and managers, who have loads of experience on their shoulders which is a key strength of the company. This industry under which the company operates is subject to prevalent uncertainity for instance, as seen during the slowing global growth and credit concerns with European countries. In this industry the market is extensively unpredictable due to the impulsive financial markets. Murray investment trust runs a programme for investor’s relations for the existing and potential investors as part of its marketing strategy. This is done through a monthly manager’s report sent to shareholders with regard to the company, which includes the analysis of performance. The company’s main target comprises the existing shareholders as well as known buyers of investment trusts. In pursuance of digital marketing, the company has a website in place through which visitors can access information with regard to the company’s share prices, performance, capital structure stock exchange announcements and monthly reports among other information. However, According to Quinn (2006), to attain the true benefits and success associated with digital marketing especially in the modern market where technology is key to a business’s marketing, the company needs to come up with a sound marketing strategy that would give it a competitive edge and a whole new experience for its shareholders and potential customers. Situational Analysis The market under which Murray international trust operates falls under the financial markets with its main operations being equities and fixed income securities dealings. It is noted by Brown and Goolsbee (2002) that in order to put in place a sound digital marketing plan, a company needs to follow the following steps. Create or enhance its identity; any business is identified by customers through its identity, the business should conduct itself in accordance with its identity. Significant to the plan, is for the company to identify who its customers are, this way it would be in a position to design its marketing strategy in such a way as to fit with the customer base and needs (Sheth & Paratiyar, 1995). The company should then seek the most appropriate channels for digital marketing. This is because of the technological advancement that have led to an extensive array of marketing channels, hence the need for the company to use as many marketing channels as possible. This may range from social networks such as face book and twitter, smart phones, PDA’s among other channels. Porter (2001) notes that through these channels, the message will be conveyed to a considerable number of individuals since not everyone is on twitter for instance, but they may be on face book or another social site, hence utilizing as much channels as possible increases the chances of reaching a vast number of customers. The company also needs to set aside a budget for use in the paid media as part of its marketing budget. Paid media offers businesses one of the most ideal and fast means of promoting their goods and services. Through paid media, a company becomes easier to find on search engines such that when someone is searching for companies with keywords that the company has, the name of the company is among the first to be displayed on the results page Deleersnyder et al (2002). Another method of utilizing paid media is through display advertising where the company’s advertisements are placed on other websites and pages for a fee. A company can also rely on owned media for the purpose of advertisements. Anderson et al (1994) indicates that through the use of owned media a company is able to create a bond and a sense of attachment with its customers. Through this approach, one utilizes email marketing by sending useful information with regard to the company’s products and services to existing and potential customers, or the use of a page or blog to market the company’s products. Have in place the company’s website; a website is a basic requirement for any digital marketing plan. Through the company’s website, customers are in a position to judge and have an impression of what the company is like. Through the website the company is able to engage its customers in its operations and activities as well as acquire new customers. With the advancement of technology experienced in mobile phones, particularly the smart phones, it is of essence to include mobile constituent in the company’s website. For an ideal web based strategy, the company needs to consider the most appropriate host and the web design so as to offer customers an appealing browsing experience (Smith & Chaffey, 2008). The company should then evaluate the development of digital marketing after conducting a strategic analysis of the market environment under which it operates. This is due to the ever changing customer requirements hence the need to improve so as to remain competitive and in line with the technological advancements as noted by Prince (2007). A company should then decide on what it aims at achieving with the digital marketing plan and what needs to be changed to facilitate achieving these goals. This would help to evaluate whether digital marketing would replace or complement other marketing techniques of the company and whether the company is ready for a change. The marketing plan is represented by the Gantt chart below Week 1 week 2 week3 week 4 week 5 week 6 week 7 week 8 week 9 Situational Analysis/ structuring the strategy Identify The Target market Set goals and Objectives Choose the medium/Channel Implementation of the strategy Evaluate the Strategy Improve the Strategy to Enhance customer retention and loyalty Macro-environment Analysis These are those environmental factors affecting the market and cannot be controlled directly by the business. They include economic factors, social factors and government policies. The customer’s behaviour is heavily influenced by the social factors such as beliefs and peer influence (Sinai & Waldfogel, 2004). For instance, the word of mouth passed by customers to one another regarding the online shopping experience with regard to a company might influence the customer to either buy or not to buy from the company. A company’s online presence is subject to various legal, social and political factors that tend to influence the business operations. According to Goolsbee (2000), a business should first consider the legal restrictions it has for engaging in digital marketing. This entails to protection of data and taxation. It is for this purpose that companies have copyrights for certain content or data such that if any one violates their policies with regard to such data they can take legal action. It is also important to consider how the company’s privacy is upheld. It is quite common for some individuals to hack into websites of other companies and post disturbing and annoying messages. These are some of the ethical issues that the company should be concerned about in addition to other technological constraints (Chaffey, 2012). Micro-environment Analysis With digital marketing, it is of essence to analyze the demand, competition and the structure of the marketing medium. Through analyzing demand, a company is able to review its current and future forecasts of demand from varying customers segments through the use of digital marketing (Ellison & Ellison, 2009). With the technological advancements in the modern world, most customers have turned digital in that they spend most of their time on the internet since it is readily accessible through mobile devices. It is for this reason that most customers today browse the internet first before buying products from a certain company. It is important to identify who the competitors of a company are and keep close tabs on their operations so as to enhance customer retention as well as attract new customers. To attain this, a company needs to have a competitive edge over its competitor’s, failure to which the customers might shift to the other competitors. According to Helmot (2001), this can be achieved through availing customers a quality, engaging and enjoyable web experience when they visit the company’s site. Online customers are easily influenced by the usability of a website and how appealing its design is, hence the need for the company to design its website in such a manner as to appeal to customers and influence them positively. Customer segment Analysis For a successful digital marketing strategy a company needs to divide its target market into different segments. This is because customers are diverse and have distinct requirements (Kumar & Shah, 2004). The company should do its segmentation in the following manner; Identifying the characteristics of the customer profile; this is the most common segmentation technique and dates back to the past years. The company should assess the current and the expected future value of a customer. Through this segmentation approach, the company is in a position to target customers who have the highest value and whose probability of future growth is high with respect to customer value (Leenheer & Bijimolt, 2008). Customers can also be segmented according to their buying patterns. The personal data kept by companies regarding a customer and their purchases can be used to determine the buying behaviours of customers. Through email marketing, the company can direct its marketing messages to this segment through emails. The company can also segment the market according to the preferred marketing channel by the customers (Davenport,2006). Whereas some customers would prefer to find company advertisements and promotions on the social media, there are those that would prefer other channels. Segmentation is therefore significant in the digital marketing strategy of a company as it helps to identify different customer groups thereby enabling the company to market to these different groups in the most appropriate manner. This way the company is able to meet the distinct requirements of the different market segments. Competitor Analysis Every business has competitors irrespective of the industry, For instance Murrays international trust Plc’s main competitors are F&C Asset Management plc, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC and TR Property investment Trust plc. it’s therefore important for a business to know and understand who their competitors are. According to Forman et al (2009), to maintain a competitive edge a business needs to be on top of its game in that it should know the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors. Understanding the weaknesses of competitors enables a company to exploit these weaknesses to its advantage. A company is able to understand the competition faced through the application of the porters five forces analysis to analyze the competition environment in the market. For instance, the internet’s low barrier to entry has enhanced the abundance of businesses in the online platform in addition to availing unlimited choices of products and services to customers. Online shopping gives the buyer power over the selling company. According to Caviello etal (2008), this is because there is a wide array of suppliers from whom the buyer can choose from. This gives them more bargaining power as they tend to choose the supplier who best fits their needs according to their preferences. Due to the few barriers of entry to digital marketing, competition is rampant as every company seeks to increase its market share. Amplified online presence by many companies increases competition hence the need for a company to develop a strategic marketing plan that surpasses that of the competitors so as to have an upper hand over them (Bean, 2001). Due to the minimal barriers to entry and the ease to copy applications, the number of new entrants in all industries is growing each day. Due to the rivalry of competitors, many companies have shifted their strategies towards price cuts since customers can compare products and their prices through the use of search engine. This rivalry facilitates widening of markets hence increasing the number of competitors. Substitute products in digital marketing serve to complement the digital marketing agencies as they enhance training of new trainees and regulate service delivery. SWOT analysis According to Quinn (2006), the strengths of digital marketing include; it enables a company to publish its information on a platform where it can be assessed by a large number of audiences hence creating brand awareness. It also enhances the company to connect with individuals under a large geographical coverage as compared to a store or office. Through the digital marketing platform there is an opportunity to discover new experiences which enhance improvement of the company’s digital potential. The weaknesses include lack of ample time to prioritize and plan appropriately, lack of knowledge and lack of a priority. With digital marketing a company can not be able to prioritize appropriately since the online platform facilitates open interaction. The company should focus on eliminating these weaknesses from its strategy and replacing them with strengths or opportunities (Forman et al, 2009). Digital marketing avails companies new opportunities. These include increased profitability if the platform is used effectively and there is a strategic marketing plan. The company is more visible as the brand name is enhanced and brand awareness is achieved to a larger margin as compared to other marketing approaches. The company should take advantage of these opportunities to its advantage (Forman et al, 2009). The potential threats faced by a company include the ever growing competition brought about by the ease of entry and the increasing new entrants. With digital marketing there is a high possibility of copying of site designs and features. These threats can be managed through using the available resources and seeking expert advice. Technological constraints and failures could affect the business if it wholly depends on these means (Helmot, 2001). TOWS Analysis External Opportunities Increased sales Larger market share Growth New ways of selling Higher customer relations High productivity External Threats Inability to target the right audience Lack of evidence Disconnect due to generational barriers Clowning Competition Internal Strengths Publishing information Wide audience Wide-range Brand awareness Coverage of a larger market Customer interaction and connection The company should utilize the larger audience it has for growth. The company should utilize its larger geographical coverage to increase its market share through widespread brand awareness Through the customer interaction afforded by digital marketing platform, the company should strengthen its bond/relations with customers. The company can find new ways of marketing through publishing its information on the internet. Coverage of a wider market would lead to increased sales for the company and hence high productivity. The company should ensure that it is targeting the right audience through the information it publishes. The company should utilize its large wide audience and convert them into customers hence having a competitive edge. The company can use the bond created between them and the customers to earn their trust with regard to their products and services. The company’s coverage of the market should be aimed at all generations to avoid a disconnect due to generational barriers. Company-customer relations should enable the customers to differentiate between a clown’s product and those of the company. Internal weaknesses Lack of time Lack of priorities Lack of complete understanding Inability to find own faults Need of a lot of information which might be costly Despite the lack of priorities the company should have its focus on aspects such as growth. Due to lack of enough time, energy and resources to avail all the information required by customers, the company can enhance customer loyalty and retention through enhancing their relationship with customers by providing quality services and products. The company should find new ways of marketing through the digital medium since it’s hard to completely understand the digital marketing platform and the associated technologies. The company should consult experts on digital marketing so as to enable them prioritize their activities and enhance their competitive advantage over competitors. The company should also endeavor to find priorities so as to be in a position to find ways of segmenting the target market well and avoid a disconnect due to generational barriers.. PESTEL analysis The modern world sophistication of the market place cannot be measures by the aspects characterizing the market environment. To enhance a comprehensive analysis, a company should conduct a PESTEL analysis to have a clearer picture. The analysis comprises the analysis of the following factors as noted by Porter (2001); Political; a company should be in a position to understand and evaluate th political influence or aspects affecting the target audience. For instance, social media is a key marketing tool in the modern world. However in some countries some social media networks have been blocked for some reasons as seen in the recent past in countries like Egypt. This way a company can be in a position to decide on the social medium that is allowed or does not stand the risk of closure. Economic; this entails an analysis of the economic environment, aspects such as tax policies and monetary matters. A company should consider the economic environment in a digital world marketing plan strategy. Social; these entails the social surrounding of the customer, the trends, customer perceptions, purchase behaviours, religious and cultural aspects. A company should enhance evaluation of these aspects in its digital marketing plan. Technological; with technology advancements happening in such a fast nature has enabled its application in almost everyday’s life hence a company should be in a position to characterize the circumstance that should be addressed by its marketing strategy and how to flourish in it. For instance, the turn around of events from the popularity of ‘My space’ in the mid 20’s and the superiority of Facebook and twitter today. Such twists should be considered. Legal; legal aspects are closely attached to political factors. They happen to be laws and regulations. A company should analyze and be aware of the legal requirements that need to be complied to with respect to its digital marketing plan. Environmental issues; a company should consider the factors that need to be observed according to the environmental requirements of the market environment hence putting them into consideration in the company’s digital marketing plan. Targeting and positioning Pozzi (2012) indicates that, after successfully identifying the target market as discussed in this report, a company should position itself in such a way as to satisfy consumers and add value to them through digital marketing. To achieve this, the company should have set goals and objectives that it wishes to achieve. These objectives include; It should be in a position to enhance more sales through a broader distribution to customers that would otherwise not be attained offline. Through online marketing a company can be able to market a wider range of products than what is held at the stores. Online marketing should be able to serve or add value to a customer. Through it, customers should have a platform through which they can engage with the company, ask queries and get timely feedback at the comfort of their homes. Same way customers should be able to know about new products or product development. A company needs to ensure that digital marketing is achieving its intended purpose. For instance it should be able to contribute towards revenue generation in addition to retaining and acquiring new customers. Online marketing should enhance interaction with customers in that, the company should be in a position to trace their customers, ask them queries, and conduct interviews. This interaction creates a bond between the company and the customer which is significant for customer retention. Through online marketing a company should be in apposition to save costs. These costs that are saved could enable the company to cut its prices which would attract more customers thereby increasing the company’s market share and attaining a competitive edge. The company should also be in a position to enhance its brand awareness through online marketing. Due to the large number of users, the web is a good medium to enhance brand recognition by the large number of visitors who open it. Strategic Growth Direction Despite having a digital marketing plan in place, the company should also focus on the growth opportunities and strategy. To achieve this, the company needs to identify the eye-catching areas that have a potential for profitable growth in the future (Porter, 2001). This could be by introducing new products, escalating the existing brands, adoption of new channels of marketing among other opportunities. These opportunities should be listed down, evaluated and priority given to the most viable and those that fit with the company’s capabilities. Conclusion With the growth of Electronic commerce as experienced in the modern world, many traditional retail stores are continuously investing in technology thereby setting up online divisions in addition to their physical outlets. The increased reliance of the internet to gather information by individuals has driven most of these companies to develop online platforms and adapt to online marketing and sales. Through digital marketing, customer shopping experience has improved drastically. It has also enhanced customer preservation as well as reduce the cost of sales due to the speedy transactions. Digital marketing has also brought diversity with most businesses adapting to this by putting in place different marketing and promotional strategies. Those whose strategies are aimed at not only boosting sales, but also developing ties and a long-term relationship with the customer have an upper hand in the long-term benefit of the business in terms of sales and profitability. One way of achieving this is creating a customer loyalty programme which is an effective marketing tool. This is attributed to its win-win situation whereby the customers are rewarded for their loyalty and the business acquiring and maintaining their market share through the customer’s repetitive buying hence boosting sales. Recommendations However, businesses should always pursue to retain customers rather than attract new ones. This is because with existing customers, they already have a relationship. It has also been noted by Goolsbee (2000), that customers who are repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers, he also indicates that trying to sell something to a potential customer, costs six times more than selling it to an existing customer. Hence the company’s profitability is more likely to go upwards if the company utilizes its marketing budget to create and improve their relationship with existing customers. This is achieved through treating them in a way that they feel appreciated and cared for. For instance, calling them to wish them happy holidays or sending them gifts unexpectedly. Unlike in the old days when marketing was done through the few available TV and radio channels, times have changed and marketers are eager to adapt by trying to incorporate any new media in their marketing strategies. Despite all these efforts by marketers, it is important to note that an ideal marketing strategy is the one that meets its intended goals in an effective manner. A good marketing plan should be driven by the intent to increase sales, be informative about the product, and to induce consumer backing. For an Ideal marketing strategy, a company should put into consideration the seven P’s of digital marketing as indicated below; Product; with the ease of entry to online marketing, a vast array of products and services is available on the internet. A company has freedom to choose what it wants to sell online. Hence it should be able to associate itself with certain products or services. Price; with the rampant competition on the digital marketing platform unlike in the local store, the company needs to set its prices in a way to reflect the intense competition since the customer has a vast choice to choose from. Place; since most online sales are conducted from the company’s websites, it is of essence for the company to design the website for it to be as user friendly as possible so as the customers can be able to navigate with ease. This way the company is able to attract and retain customers. Promotion; how a company advertises on the internet can contribute greatly to effective marketing. The company should endeavor to direct traffic to their website. This can be achieved through search engine optimization. Process; the company should ensure that it offers an ideal customer service. This can be achieved by having relevant data on the company’s website and how customers are engaged in the website with regard to serving them. People; the person dealing with the customers should be friendly, reliable and truthful in the company’s dealings with customers. One can learn from other online marketers so as to improve their customer service. Physical evidence; online marketing is different from offline in that customers can see and feel the products. The company should offer the customers something to show the effectiveness of the products such as testimonies and customer reviews. References Anderson, E., Claes, F. and Donald R., L. 1994. Customer Satisfaction, Market Share and Profitability: Findings From Sweden.Journal of Marketing 58 (July): 53-66 Brown, J. R., & A. Goolsbee 2002. Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry, The Journal of Political Economy, 110(3), 481{507. Bean 2001. The Application of Technology to Marketing, A twenty year Perspective. School of Business. Coviello, N.E., Brodie, R. and Munro, H. 2000. An investigation of marketing practice by firm size, Journal of Business Venturing, 15(5-6):523-545. Chaffey, D. 2012. E-business and e-commerce management. Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Harlow, UK. Fifth edition. Davenport, 2006. Competing on Analytics, Havard Business Review, 2006. Deleersnyder, B., Geyskens, I., Gielens, K. and Dekimpe, M. 2002. How Cannibalistic is the Internet channel? A study of the newspaper industry in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 19(4),337{348. Ellison, G. and Ellison, S. 2009. Tax Sensitivity and Home State Preference in Internet Purchasing, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 1(2), 53{71. Forman, C., Ghose, D. and Goldfarb, A. 2009. Competition Between Local and Electronic Markets: How the Benefit of Buying Online Depends on Where You Live, Journal of Management Science, 55(1), 47-57. Goolsbee, A. 2000. In a World without Borders: The Impact of Taxes on Internet Commerce, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(2), 561{576. Helmot, K. 2001. Competition in the Computer Industry: Online versus Retail, the Journal of Industrial Economics, 49(4), 487-499. Kumar, V. and Shah, D. 2004. Building and sustaining profitable customer loyalty for the 21st century, Journal of Retailing, 80(4): 317-330. Leenheer, J. and Bijmolt,T. 2008. Which retailers adopt a loyalty program? An empirical study, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(6):429-442. Prince, J. T. 2007. The Beginning of Online/Retail Competition and Its Origins: An Application to Personal Computers, International Journal of Industrial Organization Pozzi, A. 2012. Shopping Cost and Brand Exploration in Online Grocery, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 4(3), 96{120- 134. Porter, M. 2001. Strategy and the Internet. Harvard Business Review. March 2001, 62-78. Quinn, 2006. Ready for the Digital Future, Supply Chain Management Review. Sheth, J. N. and Pavatiyar, A. 1995. Relationship marketing in consumer markets: antecedents and consequences, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 23(4), pp 255-271. Sinai, T., and Waldfogel, J. 2004. Geography and the Internet: Is the Internet a substitute or a complement for cities? Journal of Urban Economics,15(6):429-442 Smith, P.R. and Chaffey, D. 2008 eMarketing eXcellence: at the heart of eBusiness. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford, UK. 3rd edition Appendices. Appendix i: Membership summary The company’s ordinary share amounts to 86, 612,772 ordinary shares of 25 percent each in issue and 1,076,598 B ordinary shares of 25 percent each in issue. The total number of voting rights in the company is 12 868 455 Appendix ii: Market share Murray International trust Plc is a stand out leader in the market together with Scottish Mortgage due to their ability to adapt to the modern times and continued strong returns to investors over the last ten years. Appendix iii: Epistle Analysis Political Factors Legal Factors Economical factors Social Factors Appendix iv:Porters 5 forces Bargaining power of the supplier Bargaining power of the buyer Barriers to entry Rivalry among existing competitors Substitute products Appendix v: Pricing Structure The pricing of the company’s shares is set such that the company attains more revenue than its set yardstick. In pursuance of this, the share prices are set at a relatively higher price so as to maximize the company’s proceeds in order to live up to its trend of above average yield with regard to dividends. Appendix vi: Aims and Objectives Enhance more sales through a broader distribution to customers To serve or add value to a customer Ensure that digital marketing is achieving its intended purpose. Enhance interaction with customers To save costs To enhance its brand awareness through online marketing. Read More