Introduction
The primary objective of marketers is to inform and influence a target audience to buy a particular product or service. Therefore, they use the most suitable and effective ways to promote or advertise their products. Large companies carry out a marketing function to improve their position in the target market. Previously, companies only followed traditional marketing methods, including television advertisements, newspapers, billboards, pamphlets, flyers, and radio.
With the emergence of advanced technologies, organizations have now started to utilize digital marketing that is better suited to the modern competitive business environment. However, it must be highlighted that digital marketing is not the best option for all businesses. The current report highlights the differences between traditional marketing and digital marketing. The main purpose of this report is to identify the reasons for selecting these methods by companies.
Main body
Traditional and digital marketing are both focused on advertising, but they are two different methods or options available to a business. Four significant differences between these options are discussed in the following:
Advertising vs. Advertainment
Traditional marketing primarily relates to advertising products or services. In contrast, digital marketing refers to the method of creating awareness and developing an attitude towards a brand (Kotler, Kartajaya & Setiawan 2016). Traditional advertisements present content which is used to make them enjoyable for the target audience. In addition, though, digital marketing includes exciting content with information sharing options which assists in spreading the message to a larger number of potential customers.
Peer Recommendations
Traditional marketing involves word of mouth by celebrities who are considered to have a significant influence on people in society. However, it can be argued recommendations given by peers are more influential than celebrity endorsements. Digital marketing enables individuals to recommend specific products or services to their friends and families (Taylor 2013). Furthermore, this form uses digital technology in all functions of marketing (Bird 2018). The significant benefit of this approach is that it is cost-effective and helps in influencing a large number of audiences.
Data-Driven Technology
One of the crucial benefits of digital technology is that it involves data analytics which is useful for determining the Return on Investment (ROI). These analytics do not just determine the ROI, but also help in the preparation of metrics that can be used to improve marketing outcomes. The evaluation of a customer’s omnichannel experience is one of the technical methods to improve the ROI of a business (Nah & Tan 2015). It analyses the interactions between a company and its customers over different touchpoints. Modern consumers now demand seamless customer service and this, too, is also made possible through digital marketing. In other words, customers respond quickly to the company which has prioritized its investment in enhancing the customer journey.
Cost and Time Saving
The principal benefit of digital marketing is that it saves time and costs for marketers. It is clear that traditional marketing incurs higher costs in comparison (Kotler et al. 2016). Digital marketing is the new form of marketing; not only is it different but also generates better results from the advertising and promoting products in the target market at a lower cost. Moreover, it is shown that traditional marketing requires a longer time to make an impact on consumers. However, the outcomes of digital marketing are achieved in a short period due to the high involvement of users in the marketing process.
Omnichannel Usefulness
The role of data analytics is significant in digital marketing. Marketers require sufficient information about customer experiences to identify their problems and recommend solutions (Sornlertlamvanich, Chawakitchareon & Hansuebsai 2018). The use of qualitative data is high in the modern business environment due to the differences in preferences and requirements of various customer groups. Omnichannel is a multitasking channel that works in the same way as in-store shopping by consumers.
The primary objective of digital marketers is to improve the performance of a company, as well as the customer’s experience. The main requirement is to align all departments of a company to remain actively involved in omnichannel marketing (Martínez-Ruiz et al. 2016). The hierarchy should be set in a way that every employee has complete and relevant information to communicate with customers. The choice of communication devices depends on customer preferences. Therefore, it is also the responsibility of a marketer to remain active in providing appropriate solutions to different types of users.
The success of a company depends on the method of marketing and selling products within their target market (Nah & Tan 2015). The financial performance of a company largely depends on customer loyalty and satisfaction. Marketers face difficulties in achieving, and maintaining, customer satisfaction due to issues in the various different departments of a company. Therefore, it is crucial for companies that all departments remain consistent in their objectives, mission, vision, and agenda.
Customers are the main contributors to the growth of a company’s revenue. Therefore, the experience of customers is crucial for companies. Companies should, therefore, provide the best customer opportunities available to them (Nah & Tan 2015). The changing trends of markets and customers’ needs and preferences are crucial for the future of any company. Data analytics in omnichannel provides a way for marketers to address uncertainties. The interpretation of data provided by customers is crucial, and marketers should summarize and analyze this information in order to develop reports for other departments to ensure improvement in business activities.
Conclusion
The overall discussion in this report has identified significant differences between traditional and digital forms of marketing. The main question addressed in this discussion is whether digital marketing is better than the traditional way of marketing? It is not always necessary for all companies to adopt digital marketing due to its different approaches and outcomes. It is possible that some companies will continue to use traditional strategies for marketing their products and services as they believe that this form of marketing yields better results. Companies should focus on improving customer experiences and company performance.
However, the use of digital technology is increasingly becoming common as people use internet technology more and more to purchases products and services online (Loras 2016). Digital marketing provides solutions to marketers who work on the agenda to reduce business costs and effectively use consumer data to market their products and services. It can be concluded that companies can gain a competitive advantage by using omnichannel tools that use data analytics techniques.
Reference List
Bird, A 2018, Digital marketing. Web.
Kotler, P, Kartajaya, H & Setiawan, I 2016, Marketing 4.0: moving from traditional to digital, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
Loras, S 2016, What’s so great about digital marketing anyway?
Martínez-Ruiz, MP, Gómez-Suárez, M, Jiménez-Zarco, AI & Izquierdo-Yusta, A, 2016, From consumer experience to affective loyalty: challenges and prospects in the psychology of consumer behavior 3.0, Frontiers, Cape Town.
Nah, FFH. & Tan, CH 2015, ‘HCI in business: second international conference’, in HCIB 2015, held as part of HCI International 2015, Los Angeles, CA, USA, August 2-7, 2015, proceedings, Springer, New York, NY.
Sornlertlamvanich, V, Chawakitchareon, P & Hansuebsai, A 2018, Information modelling and knowledge bases XXIV, IOS Press, New York, NY.
Taylor, G 2013, Give your marketing a digital edge – a 10-book bundle special edition, Global & Digital, New York, NY.