Published: 17 February 2016
The digital age has altered how businesses market their products. It has completely altered the playing field so companies have to tailor theirstrategies to reach their customers. It’s led to a rise in new companies, but in many ways it’s made it more difficult to succeed.
A huge marketing budget is no longer enough to take advantage of these marketing channels. In this article, you will learn how the digital age has changed marketing channels.
1. Customer Service is Always On
Customer service almost lost its importance before the digital age. As long as the store assistant was sort of nice and they managed to get them out the door without too much trouble, the customer would normally forget about everything.
However, that’s not the case now because the biggest change to the digital age is that customer service never sleeps. People expect you to address the needs of customers at all times. When 89% of companies believe customer service is their main point of competition, many have had to make a drastic shift in resources.
The ‘always on’ idea hasn’t necessarily meant you have to be available 24/7. What it does mean, though, is you have to address problems as fast as you can.
2. A Level Playing Field
The way communication has changed is another facet of the digital marketing age. Digital marketing channels are now more level than ever before. Due to the way customer behaviors have shifted, it’s now easier than ever to hit your target audience.
In many ways, the value of a big brand name has diminished somewhat. You will not create a sales spike by virtue of being a big company. Smaller companies have just as much power as you do in making themselves into success stories.
Digital marketing channels provide as much coverage to smaller companies as they do to established brands.
3. Pay to Play is Coming Back (and it’s cheap)
Advertising used to be a relatively simple thing to understand. The company with the biggest advertising budget usually won. They could reach more people therefore they were more likely to achieve the success they wanted.
Not so now.
For a time, the digital age meant that free advertising was everywhere. Social media channels, pioneered by Facebook, have brought back the idea of paying to play. In other words, you have to dedicate a small budget to reaching people via social media.
Nevertheless, this is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it means that you can compete based on your skills as an advertiser, as opposed to simply spamming lots of posts, which was the case before.
The digital age has heralded an era where everyone can join the advertising dogfight. Yes, those with huge budgets still have an advantage, but it’s no longer the decisive advantage of before. Even the smallest companies have good reason to play.
4. It Killed Traditional Advertising
Traditional advertising is dead. Television and radio, for example, have fallen a lot thanks to all of the streaming services that are available. It’s not because of anything they’ve done; it’s because people are moving online. They no longer sit in front of the TV when they can watch the same show without any ads online.
Furthermore, online marketing channels tend to be better targeted. You only pay for reaching people who may actually have an interest in what you have to say.
5. Ads Can’t Be Ads
Perhaps the biggest change of all is ‘ad blindness’. Ad blindness is a state where most people don’t see the ads presented to them online anymore. Ignoring the fact that ad blockers are common, even when ads do appear they are simply passed over without a second thought.
It’s led to many companies realizing that the traditional ad is dead, even in an online environment. Digital marketing channels have had to give something before they can get something back. This may be in the form of a free eBook or an entry into a competition.
At no point in history have companies had to give so much to prospective customers simply to stand a chance of gaining a conversion.
A conventional advertisement is no longer viable. You have to get creative.
Why Media is an award-winning design, marketing, digital communications and PR agency offering tailored solutions to companies on a global scale. We have extensive experience in delivering design and marketing services to a spectrum of companies, including professional services, property companies, financial institutions and shopping centres. We have offices in London UK, Hertford UK, Finestrat, Spain & Brescia, Italy.
Marketing Contact
Name: Claire White
E-Mail: claire@whymedia.com
Telephone: 020 3007 6002
