Chaffey (2022) stated that 4.70 billion people (59% of the world) currently use social media and the number is growing by the day. Consumer behaviour is changing with the popularity of the Internet (Nabieva, 2021). Resulting in an increase in online transactions which makes for greater use of digital marketing (El Junusi, 2020) and engaging with the customer online. Chaffey (2022) concluded a few reasons for the increase in Digital Marketing:
- Active social media users are growing very rapidly. In July 2022, it grew by 5.1% YOY.
- The rise of social media is also increasing in the younger age group of 8-11 years of which 49% have their own smartphone. In the age group of 12-15 years, it’s even higher, with 91% having their own smartphone.
- Significant use and growth of social media due to the pandemic/lockdown.
This opens new possibilities to convert through social media, resulting in a new standard in customer engagement. Customers expect an online, connected relationship with a brand (Cheng et al., 2020). Digital transformation has also been made more urgent by the crisis. New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are raising the bar even higher. AI is now being applied to make the customer experience as personal as possible (Chaffey & Smith, 2022).
Chaffey & Smith (2022) stated that a company may also face barriers to the expansion of digital technology.
– Data protection: ensuring protection and handling of customer data.
– Training staff to correctly and properly handle customer data.
– Collecting and continuously updating customers’ correct permissions, this can be changed at any time.
– Social media: companies need to respond quickly and appropriately to complaints online to keep their brand value high.
Potential customers can be approached online and, like offline, offers many opportunities. A company’s website is often the leading factor, which is the online business card. But activities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn are also important. When it comes to approaching customers offline, there are other options such as advertising with leaflets, radio spots, TV spots, bus shelters, and ads in magazines and newspapers. Customer acquisition is a continuous process, where online and offline methods of approaching potential customers can be used side by side (Chaffey & Smith, 2022). To generate traffic for an effective communication strategy, online is a good option for advertising via LinkedIn, Google, Facebook or posting on social media. It makes sense to apply SEO (search engine optimization) to rank higher in search results. McKinsey (2013) indicates that there is a trend in consumer behaviour shifting from offline to online, where customers demand a seamless omnichannel experience and personalised communication.
However, you must have sufficient consent from your customers to target and contact them (Chaffey & Smith, 2022). What sometimes goes wrong and is forgotten is that companies are not working with a double opt-in (Palermo, 2017). For instance, the email address is not verified, which pollutes the database with invalid emails and opt-ins. Krafft et al. (2017) stated that customers may struggle to provide their consent to the use of their (consumption) data. Most concerns are privacy related. Using benefits such as winning physical prizes or discounts, for example, as well as using a lottery has a positive effect on obtaining more consents.
Kind regards, Marietta
References
Chaffey, D. (2022) Global social media statistics research summary 2022. Available from: https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20social%20media,4.62%20billion%20in%20January%202022 [Accessed 04 October 2022].
Chaffey, D & Smith, P. R. (2022) Digital Marketing Excellence. 6th ed. Oxon: Routledge. Available via the Vitalsource Bookshelf. [Accessed 04 October 2022].
Cheng, F.F., Wu, C.S. and Chen, Y.C. (2020) Creating customer loyalty in online brand communities. Computers in Human Behavior, 107, 105752. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563218305089 [Accessed 04 October 2022].
El Junusi, R. (2020) Digital marketing during the pandemic period; A study of islamic perspective. Journal of Digital Marketing and Halal Industry, 2(1), 15-28. Available from: https://journal.walisongo.ac.id/index.php/JDMHI/article/view/5717 [Accessed 04 October 2022].
Krafft, M., Arden, C.M. and Verhoef, P.C. (2017) Permission marketing and privacy concerns—Why do customers (not) grant permissions? Journal of interactive marketing, 39, 39-54. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094996817300191 [Accessed 06 October 2022].
McKinsey (2013) How retailers can keep up with consumers. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/how-retailers-can-keep-up-with-consumers [Accessed 06 October 2022].
Nabieva, N.M. (2021) DIGITAL MARKETING: CURRENT TRENDS IN DEVELOPMENT. Theoretical & Applied Science, (2), 333-340. Available from: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=44813129 [Accessed 04 October 2022].
Palermo, J. (2017) You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto: Getting past the Opt-in v. Opt-out Consent Debate between the European Union and United States. Geo. Mason J. Int’l Com. L., 9, 121. Available from: https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/gmjintco9§ion=8 [Accessed 06 October 2022].
