You don’t have to be an experienced entrepreneur or a marketing expert to notice that how we do business and how we act as consumers have changed significantly in the last few years. The abundance of products and services is higher than ever, multiple niches have developed, and we interact with brands mainly online.
What has changed the market so unmistakably was the emergence of digital marketing, and from the moment businesses starting promoting their products on the Internet, nothing was ever going to be the same. As a result, any business that doesn’t adapt to the new era of digital technology will be missing out!
So, should you adopt digital marketing just because everybody does it? We think it’s more than that – keep on reading to discover the key benefits of digital marketing:
Provides a level playing field
If you had an unusual business idea ten or twenty years ago, it would have probably been buried because you didn’t have the amount of money needed to penetrate a market of big players. Nowadays, any business can compete with any company regardless of their size. A well-designed and thought-out website can rival any big business.
Cost-effective
These days not only can you become a successful business owner starting with a smaller investment, but you know where your money goes because return on investment in digital marketing is measurable. Moreover, you can achieve a global footprint at very little cost by implementing a digital marketing campaign.
Simple to measure
It is possible to see exactly what is working and what isn’t working for your business, such as using Google Analytics to measure specific goals. Unlike traditional techniques, you can adapt your strategy to quickly improve results.
Real-time results
If you had an advertisement being aired on TV, it would be impossible to tell how many people have watched it so far, not to mention how many people are watching it right now. With online marketing tools, you can see the number of visitors to your website and have access to other statistics in real time.
Brand development
Online marketing techniques enable you to add value to your brand – for instance, having a well-designed and maintained website with quality content that targets the needs and interests of your target audience can bring you lead generation opportunities.
Greater publicity
The amount of publicity you get depends more on the input you provide and your dedication rather than on large amounts of money invested in Advertisement, as it used to be with traditional marketing. One effective marketing campaign can make your business visible on a global scale. Simple actions such as optimising your website for search engine by using the right keywords can bring you a long-term return on investment.
Going viral
Your message can be shared very quickly by using social media share buttons on your website and by posting content on social media platforms.
Greater engagement
With digital marketing, it’s easier to encourage audiences to take action, such as visiting your website, reading about your products and services, purchasing and providing feedback, and so on. It doesn’t take long for good publicity to enhance the prospects of your business.
Not intrusive
But why is digital marketing so effective? The secret lies in relevance – communications are relevant to audiences because online consumers get the choice to opt in or opt out of communications. Instead of you barking up the wrong tree, your potential clients are the ones searching for you and your message reaches people who are interested in your offerings.
Traditional marketing drawbacks
Although you shouldn’t abandon traditional marketing completely, you should resort to it only when it works and be aware of its limitations:
- Results from traditional marketing are hard to measure, and marketers can gain feedback through costly methods such as surveys and interviews.
- It’s less efficient – with traditional marketing, it is difficult to measure the conversion rate, which makes it difficult to understand the efficiency of your ads and the results they offer.
- Traditional marketing techniques are more expensive, and there is a significant cost difference compared to digital marketing.
- Most of the time traditional marketing is reaching only a local audience and the campaigns take longer to produce than digital.
- Traditional marketing is static, which means there is no way to interact with the audience.
- Traditional marketing pushes products at consumers instead of letting interested prospects reach you. The consumer is rarely seeking your product in the first place and the resistance to your marketing messages is higher.
Regardless of this parallel between digital and traditional marketing, businesses are anyway using traditional in an overwhelming percentage. However, it’s good to keep in mind the advantages of digital marketing over traditional marketing so you can use the new techniques to their highest potential and realise how lucky you are to be able to employ them for your business!
