How are traditional and digital marketing different?
In traditional marketing, communication only goes in one direction, with the company speaking directly to its audience. Admittedly, in digital marketing, it is still possible to see this type of communication being used. However, there is a focus on multidirectional communication, with companies speaking to and listening to their audience at the same time.
Moreover, with the increasing digitization of more and more things, they are managed directly online. Indeed, with the emergence of website creation software, the solutions available to entrepreneurs are numerous for making the leap to digital transformation. With the possibility for customers to communicate with you via social media, this opens the door to real-time interactions.
Advertising campaigns have also changed with digitization. Before, campaigns were planned perfectly in advance over a certain period of time. Today, there is also last-minute planning, but there is more room for adjustments during the campaign. There is also still room for real-time responses.
Here are 8 reasons to train in digital in order to perform in marketing.
1) Better brand positioning and stronger differentiation
Your brand is much more than just a logo or a slogan; your “brand” is also the representation of the overall experience a company offers its customer. This experience must be convincing in itself while embodying the organization’s identity. There have been a great many digital campaigns built around rejuvenating the company or renewing its image. Thanks to this type of campaign, companies like Google or Starbucks have managed to remain strong.
In traditional marketing, your brand might appear on TV or in magazines. Potential customers therefore have a limited time to decide whether they are interested in the product or not. With digital, you can define and present your company in several different ways. It is important to know that customers are now used to evaluating and paying attention to brand promises, so always be transparent.
With this transparency (along with the rise of social media), companies can no longer make false promises. They can position themselves on anything, but they must pay attention to the opinions of different communities, which can have a real impact on brand image.
2) Leveraging communities
In the digital world, customers are connected with communities among others. Whether they are on social networks like Facebook or commenting on an article on Buzzfeed, the possibilities for discussion and interaction are endless.
These communities have replaced what marketers traditionally call segments. Unlike traditional marketing segments, communities are made up of customers who define their own reason for joining the group.
Usually, marketing simply segments users into groups according to what the marketer thinks they know about them.
Customer communities do not tolerate spam or advertising that is unrelated to the topics they discuss. They therefore force companies that do not offer consistent information to rework their communication. This clearly shows the horizontal relationship that exists between brands and customers in digital marketing.
3) Moving from our “4Ps” to the “4Cs”
In traditional marketing, the most important thing is understanding what should be offered to the customer and how to deliver that offer. The 4Ps (product, price, communication, and distribution) have always been a major focus for every company’s marketing departments.
But today, the marketing mix has shifted from the 4Ps to the 4Cs. These new 4Cs have been defined by many marketing experts (consumers, costs, convenience, and conversation). These elements represent the evolution of B2C where companies communicate and listen simultaneously.
The consumer aspect is the process of including the customer early in the product, service, and offer content design process. This makes it possible to personalize these elements for the customer.
Costs, or rather pricing choices, are also included in the 4Cs. This means setting prices that are flexible and based on usage capacity and market demand. This is not new in some sectors, but in practice it has continued to grow with digital.
Companies of all sizes now charge different prices depending, for example, on the customer’s location or buying habits.
In this sense, price is now seen as a currency that can fluctuate depending on market demand. As for the last two of the 4Cs, both are an important part of digital marketing, and we are going to look at them in more detail.
4) Moving from “Customer Service” to “Customer Care”
Before making a purchase, customers are often targeted as leads or prospects.
If we base ourselves on traditional marketing, once they have completed the purchase action, they gain access to all the advantages of customer service.
With digital marketing, it becomes easier to treat the customer with attention and interest. Companies have the ability to listen, respond quickly, and constantly follow up with the customer using an approach that benefits both parties. Collaboration is the key when you want to give attention to your customers. This involves including users in the process with things like FAQs, email support, online chat, etc..
5) Expanding targets
In traditional marketing, companies limit themselves to a particular audience to broadcast and reach that audience around the world 24/7. In addition, ad campaigns can be tailored to reach a specific audience based on job title, age, gender, etc..
You may find that digital marketing campaigns reach more people than you ever imagined. Online, your posts, videos, blogs, and any other type of content can go viral at any time if enough people like and share it. On the other hand, bad news spreads just as fast as good news on the internet.
Make sure your risk management strategy takes negative impressions into account as quickly as they appear online.
Digital marketing also offers a wide range of distribution channels compared with traditional marketing. There are a few major channels for traditional marketing, such as television, print, or radio, but there are thousands of digital channels we could mention. They will help you reach your potential leads where they already spend time and in the way that suits them best. Some people prefer reading articles on company websites, while others watch videos on social media. With digital marketing, the options are endless.
6) Reduced costs
Your organization can develop its digital marketing at a much lower cost than it would have taken to reach the same number of prospects with a traditional marketing strategy.
For many companies, digital marketing has replaced most of their major advertising expenses such as the Yellow Pages, magazines, or television. Test it and see what works for your business.
You may then find that digital marketing is better, or on the contrary that a mix of traditional and digital can be a winning recipe.
7) Increase interaction, analysis, and learning.
Traditional marketing often limits customers to contacting you by phone, but digital marketing gives them the opportunity to contact you through many more solutions. We have already explained how this can help in a customer care approach. It is also true for the customer experience in general. Whether the customer needs help, has a question, or wants to buy a product, digital marketing structures tools such as emails and social media and gives them nearly unlimited interaction possibilities.
In the same line of thought, the customer can easily stay connected with you, and you can also contact them more easily. Digital marketing makes it easier to understand how the customer sees your product and your service. This can be achieved through tools such as feedback, surveys, comments, etc.. The more informed you are about your audience, the harder you will be able to work on improving your brand and your product.
Ultimately, digital gives you the opportunity to analyze your overall ability to communicate effectively with your audience by giving you access to advanced data.
It also enables search marketing; on this subject, do not hesitate to get in touch with a company specializing in search marketing. From social media data to search engine data, including likes, comments, or the number of views on your pages, you will easily understand how engaged your customers are with your brand.
Feel free to share this article if you found it useful. If you would like to go further, we invite you to discover another article about crazy internet statistics.
This article was written by Tanguy SEVOZ, web writer at Orson.io.
