The World of Mouse

The invention of internet has created a paradigm shift in the traditional way of shopping.  The behavior of Buyers is changing rapidly and thus leading to a change in how brands are trying to capture the target market across all verticals to adjust and conform to the interactive world. In the current scenario nearly all the consumers have shifted  their  regular activities to  digital in some way — from listening to music, to shopping, to booking restaurant,  ticket reservations and so on.

Increased use of smartphones, health and environment concerns, technological innovations and the rising complexity in the decision-making process are some of the key areas of change that will impact retail businesses.

We are living in a consumer- driven market, where marketers are trying to understand the needs and wants of consumer and do business across channels and devices.

These days, brands are recognizing the importance of customer satisfaction and trying to ease the buying process.

• One-on-one communication – The focus has shifted from advertising to improving the customer experience by understanding the needs and wants of customers throughout the purchase cycle.
• Availability of various media channels – The number of media channels available in the market has created a big problem for marketers to determine when and where there is a customer is located.
• Make the experience easier – The marketers are trying to create platforms which are easy to access and provide all the relevant information to the buyer.
• Availability of Various payment methods – with the increase in number of mobile wallets the marketers are trying to ease the buying process.

India has come a long way in regulating its policies and promoting ease of doing business, and has huge potential for growth in this sector. As per the report, the Government is working on policy reforms by liberalising foreign investment norms and creating a single window clearance policy to facilitate business in the country.

By:

Sakshi Vig  -Faculty
INLEAD

Career Opportunities in Digital Marketing

Had this been 2007, you would have been laughing at me for writing an article that focuses on job opportunities in the field of digital marketing.  Till a few years back, it was almost impossible to find a job in digital marketing. The organizations were mainly stuck with the traditional promotional activities that aimed at spreading their product’s awareness and enhancing the bottom lines. Nevertheless, the tables have turned in a decade’s time. Today, the organizations are highly inclined towards adopting the contemporary techniques of promotion that does not only maximize their revenues but also focuses on revitalizing their brand.

From an unnoticed niche approach to one of the most persuasive contemporary marketing tactic, Digital marketing has grown in leaps and bounds in the last once decade. Along with the growth of digital marketing, the numbers of job opportunities have also increased. Hence, the aspiring managers should eye the varied opportunities in this sun shining field. Following are some of the job opportunities that should be considered by management graduates –

• Search Engine Optimizer – Who would like to spend money on Google AdWords when you can conveniently get free traffic on your website? The key responsibility of a SEO executive is to carry out keyword research to support new client pitches and existing client SEM campaigns.
• Social Media Marketing Expert The key role of SMM is to promote an organization, its products and services with the help of social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter etc.
• Content Writing – If you have a good command on language, content writing is surely your cup of tea. The job responsibilities include writing blogs, updating websites, developing interesting content for promotional campaigns and drip marketing campaigns.

Source: www.digitalmarketingeducation.com

• Conversion rate optimizer – Yet another job opportunity for the aspiring managers is CRO. The key job responsibility of a CRO is to enhance the conversion rate and enhance revenues. Other duties include defining and executing a CRO roadmap, market trends, implementing CRO best practice, comprehending the customer feedback and analysis.
• Search Engine Marketing Executive – The job description involves tracking and analyzing the efficiency of digital campaigns, targeting high number of leads, keyword research, landing page selection, split testing the ad campaigns etc.

Hope this information will be useful for the young managers who are looking forward to build their careers in digital marketing. In the upcoming posts, we will explore other interesting job opportunities in the field of digital marketing. 

By:

Dr Priyank Azad - Senior Faculty

INLEAD

The brass-tacks of Social Media

When we feel bored, when we feel a little unwanted, when we feel like reaching out to the world, we often turn to our favorite partner in crime, Facebook! Our day starts with clicking on it & our day ends with a post to the world or rather to our friends & followers. The incessant messages, images & videos that are forwarded to us over WhatsApp, the retweets that keep getting pinged, the videos that are shared by the groups we are part of, keep us rather busy clicking away on our smartphones. I often wonder: is the smart phone making us dumb! Or is it making us addicted to an instrument that seems to dominate our senses? Nevertheless, we cannot deny the fact that the Social Media while it may have its drawbacks, there’s a huge surge in the utility of the same.

What makes the social media so useful? In this blog, let’s analyse FACEBOOK, India’s favourite social media platform.

As of July 2017, FB has reported a total “potential audience” of 241 million active users in India, which is higher than Unites State’s 240 million. The absolute numbers seem exciting, but it’s just 19% of the total country’s population. USA’s penetration stands at 73%, with the world average being 73% (source: livemint.com, accessed 4^th Sept’17). Men outnumber women on FB in India, while it’s the reverse in US, where 54% of the platform’s users are female. Another factor that makes a huge impact is that the age group predominantly on FB is younger than 25 years of age.

Monetizing FB as a platform and upgrading it to a business tool has been an uphill task for Facebook Inc. They have moved away from being just a social media platform to an advertising medium, with promoted posts, promoted pages, & pay per click adverts. Your timelines are now resonating not just your friends’ posts but also with promoted newsfeeds, stories, videos, images, etc. Engagement with the audience is something very challenging for FB. They have to not only get Likes, they have to ensure Shares, comments, tagging of people, as also posting of requests. Only when all these are done, is there true engagement with stories shared on FB. Paid promotions which are known as boosts, cost but they lead to increase in likes for a post or for a page. Once all the above tools are put to use, an anlyst needs to check on FB insights as also on the Analytics of FB to track the growth, dips, engagement & disengagements over time.

Facebook has found its place amongst corporate budgets for digital promotions and they are increasingly leaving positive footprints for businesses to come. From setting up a company page, to reaching out to target audience, to raising charity money, even SMEs and NGOs are making a mark here. Facebook is here to stay for sometime now and with increased penetration we will see a gargantuan market opening up for those online. So much so now we may add a verb in our dictionary: “facebooking”!!

In another blog we will look into other social media platforms that are becoming popular in India. Keep reading!

By:

Monica Mor-Senior Faculty
INLEAD

A Craft called Digital Marketing

Social media, Search engine optimization, Pay per click, Websites, etc.. have become words/phrases used in common parlance. Yet there are many who are not tuned to these words. They may have access to smart phones and maybe watching videos or listening to music online, yet are they truly familiar with the business model of Digital Marketing?

So what according to them is digital marketing? Majority would answer with statements like “I can book tickets online”; “I can post pictures on Instagram”; or “I can Snap Chat or WhatsApp with my friends”. Yet the true meaning of Digital Marketing comes from the second word in this phrase, i.e “marketing”. Digital implies the online platforms that are at our disposal these days. Ranging from the ubiquitous Facebook to the selectively used Apps like Viral Shots. The term “digital” also deems it imperative that there has to be internet connectivity, and since it’s an era of smartphones the availability of adequate amount of “data” is essential. Marketing on the other hand refers to the monetization of all sources of media, online or offline to ensure that the outreach to prospective or existing customers is successful. Does that result in increased sales, is a matter of separate discussion, but the narrative around Digital Marketing primarily focuses around increased eyeballs and better positioning of the brands or products or services in the minds of target audiences.

Definition of Marketing Management, according to Kotler & Keller (2008) is “the art & science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping & growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.” If we look deeper into each element of this definition it will reflect the enormity of the definition and that of each word in its singularity.

The first question that arises when one reads this definition is the usage of the dyad ‘art’ and ‘science’. Art has its connection with creativity and the craft associated with marketing, whereas Science is all about the logical and numeracy aspects of marketing. Yet the twain has to meet and it does especially with advertisements and the design aspects of the product or service. There can’t be a better and more effective, monetarily as well as creatively, platform than digital.

As we explore the definition more acutely we come across the phrase ‘superior customer value’ and we are immediately drawn to the images and texts that are put together like stories for consumption by target audience. For a customer who by the click of a mouse or a scroll along the phone screen can decide what content he or she wants to associate with, it’s become quite a tedious task to keep them engaged effectively. Where the traditional forms of marketing like TV commercials are becoming slightly laggard in their approach, digital is slowly & steadily racing ahead in correlating with an increasingly young audience. Superior customer value therefore, in the case of digital marketing does seem achievable as digital marketing itself evolves to touch new heights of glory and innovation.

The canvass for Digital marketing is wide and bright, and new players in the market are writing new discourses and are breaking more & more barriers while effectively reaching out to the right audience at the right time. Many would also argue against Digital marketing especially due to the presence of a humongous quantum of online platforms and easy accessibility to unwholesome content, one of the worst examples being the Blue Whale Challenge, the jury is definitely out there on the utility and successful utilization of Digital marketing.

Watch this space for more such discussions on this effervescent & intriguing topic of Digital Marketing.

By:

Monica Mor - Senior Faculty

INLEAD