Digital Marketing Landscape and Consumer Trends

This document provides an overview of the digital marketing landscape and the impact of digital marketing on the digital environment. It also discusses consumer trends and insights that are fueling the growth of digital marketing. The document further explores key digital tools and hardware available to marketers in contrast to other physical channels, and the development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms and channels as compared to physical channels. Additionally, it includes a digital marketing plan.

Digital Marketing
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Overview of the digital marketing landscape and comparison of online and offline
marketing concepts.................................................................................................................3
P2 Consumer trends and insights that are fuelling the growth of digital marketing.............4
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................6
P3 Key digital tools and hardware available to marketers in contrast to other physical channels
................................................................................................................................................6
P4 Development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms and channels as compared to
physical channels....................................................................................................................7
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
P5 Digital Marketing Plan......................................................................................................9
P6 Evolution of omni-channel marketing.............................................................................11
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................12
P7 Evaluation of measurement techniques and performance metrics in digital marketing. 12
P8 Set of actions to improve performance in digital marketing...........................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
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INTRODUCTION
Digital Marketing, also known as Internet marketing can be defined as a
component of the marketing function that uses internet and its various online
technologies to promote as well as advertise a company's products as well as services
(Alavi, 2016). Besides internet, it involves usage of social media, mobile phones, search
engines etc. It is a useful tool for organisations as it helps in generating profits as well
as revenues. Also, it is more cost as well as time effective as compared to the traditional
ways of marketing. Organisation chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer, which is
an international brand that sells high quality clothing, home and food products to its
customers. The company was founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer.
It is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The report provides an overview of the
digital marketplace and the impact of digital marketing on digital environment. It also
assesses the key digital tools that are available to marketers of the chosen organisation
with a marketing plan in order to build multi- channel capabilities. An evaluation of
different measurement techniques and performance metrics in digital marketing is also
done.
LO 1
P1 Overview of the digital marketing landscape and comparison of online and offline
marketing concepts
Digital marketing has gained popularity in a very short duration of time and has
helped businesses to grow themselves and gain a competitive advantage against others
in the market. As per the view point of Sherman, Digital Marketing is one of the
strongest tools of marketing that has the ability to change the way in which a company
reaches out to its customers in the market (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2019). Also,
using it is a very cost and time effective way that helps organisations market their
business in the industry because it is difficult for small businesses to carry out different
activities of marketing on a tight budget to compete with big brands (Top 10 Benefits of
Digital Marketing & Why Digital Marketing is a Must for Every Small Business, 2020). A
digital marketing landscape can be defined as a state of digital advertising and media
that keeps on evolving and includes social media, influencer marketing, SEO,
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podcasting etc. The number of organisations using digital marketing is increasing day
by day which means that it has become important for them to incorporate the same in
their systems. Marks and Spencer uses different offline as well as online concept to
market its products among customers.
Online marketing strategies include marketing through various social media
platforms, advertisements on different online channels etc. Online marketing concepts
can be defined as strategies that make use of internet to carry out various marketing
activities. Marks and Spencer markets its products through both online (promotions,
campaigns etc.) as well as offline concepts. The company uses various marketing tools
that are available online like Google Analytics and AdWords which make the process of
gathering as well as analysing data easy (Chaffey and Smith, 2017). Although, the
company also uses offline concepts for marketing, they are not a very effective way of
measuring the ROI, because it is not possible to measure if the customers were
attracted to make a purchase or not.
It is easier for a company to track progress after the implementation of a new
strategy as compared to offline concepts. For example, by using Google AdWords, an
organisation can easily measure the number of clicks and can then analyse the impact
of the same through Google analytics. This is a great way to measure the efficiency as
well as effectiveness of the strategy. On the other hand, offline concepts that include
brochures, pamphlets, direct mail etc. can only reach out to a limited audience unlike
online marketing strategies and also involve a lot of cost (Chester and Montgomery,
2017). But offline concepts can help in building relationships between customers as well
as the organisation. Thus, when compared, online marketing concepts have a lot of
advantages as compared to traditional ways of marketing.
P2 Consumer trends and insights that are fuelling the growth of digital marketing
Digital marketing in gaining importance by each passing day which is due to a
number of factors like changing customer trends as well as other insights in the market.
Some trends that are fuelling the growth of digital marketing in the industry are
explained below -
 Chatbots – A chatbot can be defined as a software that can start a conversation
with a user through text messages, mobile applications, websites etc.
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Organisations are incorporating chatbots in their system so as to provide
assistance to their customers 24/7 without any human labour. This is beneficial
as marketers of a company can clearly understand the needs, requirements and
complaints.
 Artificial Intelligence – It is considered one of the major trends in the industry
that is fuelling the growth of digital marketing in the market. Marks and Spencer
has already deployed artificial intelligence in many of its business operations like
planning and organising (Cole, DeNardin and Clow, 2017). This has proved out
to be useful as this has reduced the amount of work that was previously
associated with carrying out offline marketing campaigns. Since customers
today desire personalised experiences, artificial intelligence can be used to do
the same.
 Social Media Marketing – The number of users spending time on social media
is in billions which is why it is a key trend that is a very important marketing tool
for marketers around different industries. This is because it has made the
process of reaching out to customers, clients as well as prospects easier for
organisations. Marks and Spencer has official presence on different platforms of
social media like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook where any interesting as well
as relevant content about a new launch by the company is posted regularly. This
helps in attracting new customers and reaching out to larger segments of
customers.
 Customer experience – Customers are one of the major key drivers of digital
marketing because they are the ones who decide the success and failure of a
company. Thus, organisations are constantly seeking ways of improving the
experience of the customers because the growth in online content has increased
the power of customers (Critchlow and et. al., 2016). They now prefer
personalised products and services which Marks and Spencer has taken into
consideration and has improved the way of conducting promotions as well as
advertising to attract new customers and provide them a better experience. This
is because most people today have access to smartphones and a high speed
internet.
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 Changing channels of communication – Businesses today are looking out for
ways to personalise their products and services which has in turn changed the
channels that are used by companies (De Pelsmacker, Van Tilburg and Holthof,
2018). The number of social media platforms are increasing as they have proved
out to be an effective way of supporting customers and handling their complaints
etc. For example- Consumers who browse through Marks and Spencer's
website and somehow quit before signing up can be attracted back through e-
mail or SMS that asks them if they would like to complete the sign-in process.
LO 2
P3 Key digital tools and hardware available to marketers in contrast to other physical
channels
Digital marketing tools as well as hardware have become an important
component for organisation as the marketers depend on them to get various tasks done
effectively. These tools allow them to test and measure the overall performance of their
campaigns quickly and effectively. Some key digital tools and hardware that are
available to marketers of Marks and Spencer as compared to other physical channels
are described below -
 Analytics and Data – Data analytics is an important digital tool as it helps the
marketers of Marks and Spencer to understand the different problems that are
being faced by it in an effective way (Girchenko and Kossmann, 2017). The
respective company uses Google Analytics to explore and interpret large
amounts of data and present the same in the form of useful information. This
helps in formulating effective strategies and making sound decisions.
 Social Media – Social media is one of the major digital tools that is used by
Marks and Spencer to promote its products among customers in the market.
The company has a presence on all major social media platforms like
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. All these platforms allow the company to
reach out to large segments of customers both nationally as well as
internationally in order to increase overall sale. Marks and Spencer has a clear
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understanding of its target segment and thus posts updates that are relevant to
the same.
 Facebook's Power Editor – This is a paid online tool that is owned by
Facebook in order to create and run different specific advertising campaigns.
The company keeps on updating and improving its ad platform with new
features of targetting as well as budgeting features for users (41 Must-Have
Digital Marketing Tools to Help You Grow, 2020). This is one of the easiest
marketing tools available online that does not involve any kind of third-party
fees. Marketers of Marks and Spencer use this to create as well as manage
their advertisements. This tool is much more efficient than any other physical
channel as the time as well as cost involved are less.
 MeetEdgar – This is one of the best available digital marketing tools in the
market that separates content based on different categories (Hanlon, 2019).
Marketers can then set a schedule so that each category to upload a selected
post on a social media account at a pre-determined time. Cambridge Digital can
use this tool to post regular updates on various social media platforms in order
to achieve its goals and objectives.
 SumoMe – Marks and Spencer uses this tool in its various digital marketing
activities to track the behaviour of its customers while they are on its website.
This enables them to make changes accordingly (Girchenko and Ovsiannikova,
2016. The tool also has an option of Heat Maps through which marketers of the
company can see where the customers click. The tools also offers a feature
called Content Analytics through which the company can identify the place at
which people stop reading. This is, by far, one of the most effective tools of
digital marketing as compared to any other “brick and mortar” channel like
magazines, newspaper and other media.
P4 Development of e-commerce and digital marketing platforms and channels as
compared to physical channels
The usage of digital marketing and e-commerce channels and platforms by
organisations has gone up as compared to any other physical channel). This is because
it helps generating huge profits and revenues. Today, customers are not just dependent
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upon the content available online and word-of-mouth promotion, but instead read
reviews that are posted by other users online on different websites etc. before they go
on to purchase a product. E-commerce and digital marketing platforms have evolved
overtime as there has been a rise in the overall number of online marketplaces, people
use their mobile phones to shop online and the practice of modifying products and
services online in order to enhance sales.
One of the most important developments of e-commerce and digital marketing in
the recent years is that customers' ability to browse, compare and shop products from
various online websites through tablets and mobile phones has evolved (Hofacker,
2018). Having a busy schedule has made it difficult for customers to visit offline retail
stores and buy products. Thus, this is where different e-commerce and digital marketing
channels as well as platform have come forward to ease out the complete process.
Customers can easily browse through and decide on products they want to purchase.
Adoption of Internet by a large number of people is one of the biggest reasons
that has impacted the way in which a company carries out various marketing activities.
The number of people using internet has nearly exceeded 4 million and various online
platforms that previously did not have any additional features, are now being
incorporated with different updates that can be used by marketers to promote their
products and generate awareness. Both e-commerce as well as digital marketing
channels are developing at an increased rate because people now have access to
smartphones as well as a high speed internet and thus help in attracting more potential
customers. Physical channels, on the other hand involve increased time as well as cost
to market and promote products in the market (Kannan, 2017). The major difference
between the development of e-commerce as well as digital marketing platforms as
compared to other physical channels is that they have reduced the amount of costs and
time that were earlier associated with physical channels of marketing like direct selling,
selling products through intermediaries etc. Thus, development in e-commerce and
different channels of digital marketing have completely changed the way in which
organisations carry out their functions.
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LO 3
P5 Digital Marketing Plan
A digital marketing plan can be defined as a document that comprises of detailed
information about the different actions, goals and other details (Karatum, 2018). Such
plan is important for a company as it helps it in identifying areas that make the company
unique and offers it a competitive advantage against others. Also, it provides the
company an access to various business opportunities in the market to expand and
grow. A digital marketing plan for Marks and Spencer is explained below -
Step 1: Situational analysis
Strength:
The major strength of M&S that they are
very well recognized in market and have
high brand value. By offering wide range of
products in their each store helps to
consumers to choose one of best
products. To reach at large no. of
consumers they establish omni channel
with help of their research team and
talented personnel they can gain desirable
outcomes.
Weakness:
Before creating the digital marketing plan
for developing the omni-channel
capabilities organisation need to evaluate
own weaknesses. In context of M&S they
have draw back that their products is out
of fashioned and not trendy. With people
possess wrong assumption that their men
and women's wear is only for aged people
not for the teenagers and young people.
So it is very much potential for them to
priorly work on respective areas in order to
gain desirable outcomes.
Opportunities:
The major opportunity in front of respective
organisation that they are very well known
brand in market and has close relationship
with international franchising, so while they
develop capabilities of omni-channel
capabilities their relationship with
international franchiser proved beneficial
Threats:
Due to rising competition in all areas
directly impact on their business activities
as respective organisation wants to
develop the omni channel capabilities but
their competitors already reach at potential
consumers (Alavi, 2016).
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for them to reach at large no. of
consumers.
Step 2: Establish digital marketing goals:
The major objectives of M&S regarding developing the omni-channel capabilities
are:
 To enhance consumer base by 20% within the six months by using omni-
channel capabilities.
 To increase profitability and market share by 25% within a year.
Step 3: Define marketing strategy:
In context of M&S to develop the omni channel capabilities it is very much
potential to choose one of best strategies and tactics. In context of respective
organisation they prepare the marketing message for the definite consumers by using
STP (Saura, Palos-Sánchez and Cerdá Suárez, 2017). In context of M&S their
geographical segment in UK market but also have 337 stores in 41 international
territories that helps to shop consumers very easily. They positioned oneself as an
premium brand in the supermarket industry as consumer interested to pay premium
price so they set higher prices of product.
Step 4: Digital strategies and tactics:
To gain the omni channel capabilities organisation need to use various kinds of
tools and techniques in order to reach at large no. of consumer base potentially. In
context of M&S to enlarge business opportunities use different strategies that are email
marketing campaign in which organisation send mails to potential consumers, social
media tools to track consumers taste and preferences, CRM activities and Web
optimization.
Step 5: Measuring results ad KPI:
After conducting the analysis by collecting all the relevant knowledge and
information it is very much potential for organisation to measure results (Stephen,
2016). To measure results KPI (Key performance indicator) plays very much important
role in giving proper knowledge and information regarding organisational goals and
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objectives. In context of M&S they by visualise the consumer base and their
preferences, market share and many more.
P6 Evolution of omni-channel marketing
Omni-channel marketing can be defined as an approach that involves multiple
sales channels and smoothly integrates different communication channels that a
business can use to communicate with its customers (Key, 2017). Marks and Spencer
aspires to become an omni-channel business. The concept of omni-channel marketing
has evolved over time as, until a few years ago, companies that incorporated multi-
channel marketing approach in their system were considered to be innovative.
Customers also supported this due to the fact that they didn't have to answer phone
calls every now and then. Instead, they could use emails, text messages etc.
But over the years, customers' demands have changed and they demand for a
more personalised and seamless experience. Thus, this has made companies like
Marks and Spencer to be more careful in integrating and adopting an omni-channel
marketing approach. The concept of omni-channel marketing is beneficial as it helps in
increasing the brand visibility in the market through various channels like online, mobile
etc. In an omni-channel marketing concept, various channels are connected through a
single centralized routing system that provides a 360 degree view of how customers
interact. The system allows an organisation to provide its customers a superior
experience.
Companies should seek different partners in the market who are innovative as
well as creative. The concept of omni-channel marketing was first introduced in the year
2010. A powerful and memorable experience can be created for customers by
incorporating omni-channel marketing system in their system (Kingsnorth, 2019). One of
the major evolutions observed in the omni-channel environment is the shift of
organisations from supporting customer contacts to interacting and engaging with
customers. Thus, an omni-channel approach is a great way of treating customers in the
same way across all channels that can be adopted by Marks and Spencer in order to
gain their loyalty.
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LO 4
P7 Evaluation of measurement techniques and performance metrics in digital marketing
Performance metrics and measurement techniques are the different values that
are used by marketers of an organisation to track as well as measure the performance
of their marketing campaigns. By implementing such techniques, it becomes easier for
the company to determine its goals and targets and thus measure performance. Various
performance metrics used in digital marketing are explained as follows -
 Online Sales – Online sales is the most easiest way of measuring performance
of an organisation. Marks and Spencer tracks its website sales through Google
Analytics and other analytics platforms. This helps in identifying campaigns that
drive the most sales of the company's products.
 Website visits – Tracking website visits help organisations to identify the
number of people visiting their website and the amount of time they are spending
on the same (Kotler, Kartajaya and Setiawan, 2016). Thus, if the number of
people searching for and visiting the website of a company drops, the marketers
can identify potential areas and improve the same.
 Bounce Rates – Bounce rates are not considered good as this represents the
number of people hitting the back button as soon as they land on a company's
website. Also, such websites can be regarded as spam or low-quality (9 Ways to
Measure Digital Marketing Success, 2019). Thus, bounce rates should be
measured in order to get an insight into why are people doing so. If there is any
performance issue, it can be rectified by the company.
 Leads from Web forms – Many organisations, including Marks and Spencer has
forms on their websites which customers can fill in to request different services
and schedule appointments (Moctezuma and Rajagopal, 2016). Any person who
visits the website of a company and fills in a web form, can be later converted
into a customer. Thus, the success of any marketing campaign can be measured
by the number of forms that are submitted on the website.
 Page Views per visit – Since Marks and Spencer uses Google Analytics, it can
identify the average number of views per page by a visitor. The company pays
most attention to the webpages that are visited the most. This helps it in
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identifying the type of content customers are interested in and thus make
alterations in the existing pages to attract back customers.
P8 Set of actions to improve performance in digital marketing
Various actions can be used by companies to improve their performance in
digital marketing because it is one of the most inexpensive but effective approaches of
marketing (Saura, Palos-Sánchez and Cerdá Suárez, 2017). Also, a large number of
organisations have incorporated the same to gain a competitive advantage against
other players in the market. Different actions that can be used to improve performance
in digital marketing are described below -
 Digital Marketing Team – Marks and Spencer can form a team of people who
will be particularly dedicated towards developing and managing interesting
content that will be posted on the website as well as on the different social media
platforms. The team will ensure that all efforts of social media marketing run
according to the plan and are not delayed.
 Assessment of Technology – The respective company should assess
technology available with it from time to time to check the effectiveness of the
same. This will help in identifying any potential gaps and addressing the same in
the overall process of digital marketing. If any technology is not working
effectively, the company can replace the same with a new one.
 Measuring content reach – This is a crucial action for a company and thus,
Marks and Spencer should measure the reach of its content not only among
customers but employees as well (Staton, 2016). This will provide a broad view
of what kind of content as well as topics are relevant in the market. This will help
the company in improving its performance in digital marketing.
 Developing skills and Implementing latest technology – Marks and Spencer
should offer frequent training to its digital marketing team so that the team
members are in sync with the latest technology as well as skills in the market.
This will help them in enhancing their existing skills as well as developing new
ones. The company should also implement latest technology in its system to
remain competitive in the market.
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Thus, all these actions will be beneficial for Marks and Spencer to gain a
competitive advantage and stand out against other players in the market (Stephen,
2016). The company should lay its main focus on developing attractive and innovative
content that attracts customers and helps it in gaining their loyalty.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that Digital Marketing has become an
important aspect for different organisations. They can use various online as well as
offline channels to market and promote their products in order to gain a competitive
advantage. Also, there are various trends that are fuelling the growth of Digital
Marketing across industries. Social Media Marketing and Artificial Intelligence are
among the key trends that are driving the growth of Digital Marketing. There are various
tools as well as hardware like Google Analytics, MeetEdgar etc. that are available to
marketers as compared to physical channels. Different e-commerce and digital
marketing platforms have developed themselves to help organisations in promoting their
products in the market that are more efficient as compared to the different physical
channels which involve a lot of time and cost. Thus, in order to stand out against
competitors in the market, organisations can consider incorporating omni8-channel
marketing in their systems.
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