With penetration of internet and proliferation of mediums, Indian consumers and businesses are observing an overload of media consumption options. A consumer in an average day is bombarded with a host of messages ranging across the realms of business, entertainment and general news. In such a scenario, the most wanted professionals after e-commerce delivery boys these days, seems to be Digital Marketers. This term has always posed a conundrum for me, for it over emphasizes the marketing media. Television Marketing, Newspaper marketing or Radio marketing anyone? Digital is not a form of marketing but a medium that carries the marketing effort. Having said that, Digital is a medium that certainly requires mastery…. and, Oh! What a medium it is!
With striking features like cost-effectiveness, instant response, flexibility, convenience, effectiveness, Digital Marketing is making a strong impact in the world of Marketing and Advertising. But, what makes this medium truly phenomenal is the fact that finally marketers can get the answer to that all elusive questions that had forced them to the back-foot since marketing was invented. The biggest question of them all is - "Who consumed my message?"……Well, in a bit of a Peeping Tom way, but with or without all the right permissions, the answer is gettable. Yes! That is as close to Nirvana as it gets for a marketer. Born-on-the-web marketers run the risk of assuming that just seeding messages on a digital medium constitutes marketing. Being able to count some output certainly beats not being able to count any or extrapolating one on other mediums.
This is not to say that Digital's power is overplayed, it is a hugely powerful medium. Digital marketing is a vast field with a variety of areas and segments such as Social media, Content writing, Email marketing, SEO/SEM, Data Analysis, Designing, and much more. However, the basics of marketing still apply.
" What's the marketing message?
" Who is it for?
" Will it have the desired effect?
" Will they bite the call-to-action?
Currently, most marketers adopt the ineffective 'spray and pray' strategy. Let's hit 'send button' on that e-Direct Mailer and push it out to a million contacts. Let's tag tangential keywords to the content that have one in a zillion chances to get traction with target consumers. We can do this today as digital marketing is at a nascent stage and the cost is low but evolution over time will make it an expensive affair which will force marketers to consolidate efforts and focus on target consumers. An entire industry has spawned on managing CPC (Cost Per Click) and CPL (Cost Per Lead). AdAge reports that the share of digital marketing budgets vis-à-vis traditional media is set to touch an all-time high of 25% this year. Yet, with the right strategy, savvy tools and smart resource allocation, even the smallest of businesses can take on the Goliaths of the world on digital media with equal aplomb.
If the whole world does get connected by Internet, something that Zuckerberg's internet.org initiative wants to achieve (although, the gate-keeping to the content by Facebook is a bit dodgy and hence the entire net-neutrality debate), you could potentially customize each message for every individual on the planet. The power will then rest with individuals; they would demand the price from organizations to be accessible. This is already happening; the cost of reaching out to customers for organizations on Digital platforms is already going up. Betting big on the rising popularity of social media forums like Facebook and Twitter, India Inc is increasing their marketing spend on it to a whopping Rs 1,200 crore, says a recent survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
Currently, it is the digital platforms and audience aggregators in the middle that are extracting the value for reaching their customer base digitally, but the time is not far when this balance of power will shift directly to the individual. Expect to see more 'schemes' and 'offers' being given to end digital users to incentivize their continued digital patronage.
Customers are already rapidly tuning out of Digital noise. Yes, we do have new unsuspecting first time digital citizens joining the bandwagon and that will continue for a while - but they will wake up to this cacophony of digital noise very soon, and unfortunately, will start tuning out. This is the time to perfect the medium and how we use it. By all means, it will take experimentation, but when data speaks, let's listen to it. If your potential customer has not opened your last six emails, spare her. When someone does leave a complaint on your Facebook page, do answer him immediately. Like in any form of marketing, the most expensive real-estate to occupy is a piece of the customers mind, they will love your even more if you do it in a manner that ensures their peace of mind.
Guest Author
Asheesh Sabarwal is Vice-President, Marketing and a part of the leadership team at Pearson India since July 2012. In his current capacity, Asheesh is responsible for developing & implementing Pearson India’s marketing strategy. He leads the Marketing function across Branding, Communication, Public Relations, Digital, CRM and analytics. A strong believer in the power of partnerships, he plays a critical role in establishing and strengthening marketing relationships with alliance partners.
