MKTG1415: Analyzing Woolworths' Digital Marketing Strategy and Future

This report provides an executive summary of Woolworths' digital marketing strategies within the retail industry, highlighting the company's background and current marketing approaches. It analyzes current digital trends and activities impacting Woolworths' micro-environment, including human resources, supply chain management, research, and customer relations. The report identifies areas where digital marketing technology will significantly impact the industry in the next two years, such as online sales, social media marketing, AI utilization, geo-targeting, and app-based marketing. Recommendations include focusing on data management, predictive analytics, AI implementation, and aggressive social media campaigns. The report concludes with a detailed action plan outlining steps for implementing new marketing missions, objectives, and innovative ideas, emphasizing the importance of adapting to digital advancements for sustained success.

DIGITAL MARKETING

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Executive Summary
Retail industry has adopted digital marketing strategies for having edge in the market. This
report showcases the digital marketing strategies that are used by the Woolworths in their
business and has elaborated the strategies in an effective manner. It also provides the
background of the company. Apart from this, it also analyses the trends and activities in the
digital marketing. Along with this, areas where the digital marketing technology will effect in
the coming two years have been provided. A proper action plan for this digital marketing
implementation has been given. It is analysed that company must use the social media
marketing more aggressively. It is recommended that there should be implementation of
technologies such as Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics so as to understand the
needs of the consumers.

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Content
s
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................3
Business and the market in which Woolworths operate.........................................................................3
Woolworth’s current marketing strategies.............................................................................................3
Analysis of the current digital trends and activities...............................................................................4
Areas where digital marketing technology will impact in the coming two years...................................5
Recommendations.................................................................................................................................6
Action plan............................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................10

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INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing has become one of the most essential aspects of the modern day business.
Organisations are taking use of the innovative digital marketing strategies for improving their
performance in the market. There are new emerging trends in the technology which are used
by various firms in their marketing process. All these trends are going to affect the major
areas in various industries (Armstrong, et. al. 2014). Woolworths is one of the biggest
retailers in Australia. They are taking use of various marketing strategies so as to ensure that
they achieve maximum benefits from their operations. This report highlights the business and
the market in which it operates. It also describes the Woolworth’s present strategies. Apart
from this, it also showcases the current digital marketing strategies that are used by
Woolworths in the next two years. At last the recommendation and action plan has been
provided for the digital marketing of the Woolworths.
Business and the market in which Woolworths operate
Woolworths has a business of retail in which it specialises in the selling of products such as
groceries, household items, health and beauty items, stationary items, pet and baby supplies,
and magazine. It is having more than 970 super market stores while others are convenience
stores. Now it has also came into the business of online retail. It is operating in Australia
which is a highly competitive market and hence requires effective marketing strategies for
making edge over the competitors (Ryan, 2016). The major part of the market almost 80% is
captured by the two companies i.e. Woolworths and Coles.
Woolworth’s current marketing strategies
There are many types of marketing strategies used by Woolworths. Some of the strategies are
as follows:
 Paid marketing: This includes various approaches to marketing like print media, TV
ads. Internet marketing is another modern day form of this marketing strategy.
Woolworths is focusing on service

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 Cause marketing: It is another form of marketing that links the products and services
of Woolworths to a social issue or cause (Tiago and Veríssimo, 2014). Woolworths is
doing this marketing for the cause of the farmers as they are their primary
stakeholders.
 Relationship marketing: It is strategy in which Woolworths focuses on customer
building. It helps in enhancing the relationship with the consumers and enhances
consumer’s loyalty. Woolworths has a huge customer base hence it is essential that
they focus on this kind of marketing (Birchall and Stockwell, 2014).
 Word of mouth: Company is also reliant upon these kinds of marketing. This is the
reason why Woolworths gives quality services to customers. Hence companies are
ensuring that they have an effective strategy for ensuring customer loyalty.
 Internet marketing: Company promotes its brand with the help of internet mediums.
There are various internet platforms that are used by the Woolworths so as to promote
their product.
 Transactional marketing: Woolworths utilises this marketing as a part of their
marketing strategy. Here the company provides customers with sales or discount
coupons. It motivates the customers towards purchasing more products from the
outlets.
Analysis of the current digital trends and activities
There are various types of digital trends in the micro-environment of the Woolworths. Some
of the activities and trends in the micro-environment are:
 Human resources: Woolworths is taking use of the digital mediums for the
management of human resource. It is in terms of training, technology used in various
processes etc. The recruitment and selection has also become easier with the use of
technology.
 Supply chain management: The use of technology such as supply chain management
system has always helped the company in the understanding the demand in the market
and hence fulfilling it.
 Research: Research is very essential for the organisation (Pride, et. al. 2012). It is
helpful in the operations such as research which is very essential for understanding
the trends in the market which is again essential for ensuring the success of the
products. This is also necessary for doing competitor’s analysis.

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 Customers: There are many types of technology that is being used for handling the
customers. First is the communication technology that is helpful in maintaining the
relationship with customers (Bizcommunity, 2017). Second is the digital tool that
helps in collecting data related to the consumers. This is necessary for the new
product development.
Some of the activities in the micro-environment are:
 Digital marketing: Companies like Woolworths are one of those companies that have
adopted digital marketing as their primary mode of marketing. They are using various
forms of digital marketing tools for their promotional campaigns.
 Digital campaigns: In order to increase the brand image company is focusing towards
the digital campaigns especially the ones that are related to the social issues (Clark,
2012). The Woolworths is focusing towards the farmers concerns as they are their
favourite.
 Online sales: Company is also making its sales with the help of online websites and
other e-commerce items. It is also crucial that company as it helps in making sales in
the larger part of the market. Company also has an online site in the name of
“Woolies”.
Areas where digital marketing technology will impact in the coming
two years
In the coming two years there will be severe impact of the technology in different kind of
areas. Some of the areas where digital marketing technology will impact on the industry in
the coming years are:
 Online sales: In the coming two years brick and mortar kind of retail stores are going
to decrease. More focus of the industry will be on selling of the products through the
digital mediums (Cameron, 2015). It is essential that company understands this fact
and would focus on developing supplier chains so that more fresh groceries could be
delivered at home through the online trading.
 Social media marketing: With the personalised marketing techniques, it is expected
that in the coming years companies will move towards the technologies that are
helpful in doing social media marketing.

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 Pay per click or SEO: It is also expected that there would be tussle among the
competitors for staying on the top of the webpage search (Cliquet, 2013). This is
because the Woolworths will try to become the first priority among the companies
that are operational in the industry. The SEO marketing is going to affect the business
of the firms.
 Use of Artificial Intelligence: With the developments in the AI technology, it is seen
that company’s operations is going to get affected by this technology. Marketing will
be going to get effected by this as more automation can be promoted through artificial
intelligence. This will help in predicting the future trends and requirements of the
firm.
 Geo targeting: Companies like Woolworths is storing a huge amount data that they
have gathered through various sources (Witepski, 2011). It is seen that company will
be targeting the customers based on their location. This will help the company in
marking the individuals that are living in the local area. This would help the firms in
targeting the people that are in the nearby areas.
 App based marketing: Company is using their apps for making their marketing more
successful. It is helping the firms to reach to each and every potential customer (Luiz,
Bowen and Beswick, 2011). With the expansion of the mobile technology, it has
become easier for the organisations to understand the preferences of the customers
and hence it helps in improving the personalised marketing.
Recommendations
In the age of digital business, it is essential for the firms to ensure that they have an effective
strategy for doing the marketing. Woolworths must focus on the digital marketing strategies
that can reach to large numbers of customers at a single go. The first thing on which company
must focus in its digital marketing strategies is the data management strategies. This is very
essential for the designing of the strategies (HOTEL, 2016). The use of tools such as
predictive analytics is very crucial. Since the future is becoming very much uncertain hence
companies will have to be ready with their digital marketing strategies to stay ahead of their
competitors. Along with this, the use of Artificial intelligence is very crucial. This will help
in removing the challenges that is company is facing in its digital marketing due to human
errors. Social media marketing where the news spreads like fire sometimes also results in
negative marketing hence companies must have an efficient social media marketing

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campaign that helps in building the image of the company. The cause and the social media
marketing strategies can be used together so as to strengthen the marketing campaign for the
Woolworths. Company needs to increase the number of digital marketing tools that is used by
the firm so as to improve the organisational performance (Tiago and Veríssimo, 2014).
They must think about utilising geo marketing as the part of their digital marketing strategies.
The focus on such type of marketing can be help in attracting customers towards their local
stores. Company’s plans for the local customers can only be promoted with this kind of
marketing. Adding to this Woolworths must also tag people that had great experience while
taking services from their stores. More aggressive app based marketing must be used by the
organisation so as to increase the engagement with the customers so as to improve the
personalised marketing. At the same time they must also give interests towards increasing the
capabilities of the firm for getting feedbacks and grievances through online mediums
(Leeflang, et. al. 2014). This acts as a tool to make changes in the business operations that
might help in attracting more customers towards the stores. Since Woolworths deals in the
business of several things hence targeting needs to be done specifically citing each
customer’s choice and the things that they want. In all this process Woolworths must also
check that they do not violate the privacy of the consumers. At the same time they also need
to safeguard their digital marketing data and plans form the attacks of hackers.
Action plan
For making the marketing process successful, it is essential that company makes a detailed
action plan. This is also necessary for making the plan more effective and hence it affects the
performance of the marketing team and also avoids the chaos that occurs at the last moment
(Ryan, 2014).
Actions Starting date End Date Responsible
Person
Related
Department
Setting new
mission and
objective
statement
1/1/2019 1/3/201
9
Board members
and top level
managers.
Management at
top
Discussion about
the marketing
2/3/2019 1/6/201
9
Board of
Directors and
Senior level
management

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missions and
new objectives
top management
Development of
new opinions
and ideas for
decision making
3/6/2019 5/8/2019 Innovative
people of the
company.
All related
departments.
Choosing best
alternative and
implementation
of best ideas
10/8/2019 15/8/2019 Marketing
executive
Marketing
department
Implementatio
n of new
marketing plan
and strategies
15/8/2019 31/10/20
19
Advertising
managers and
personnel
associated to
marketing.
Marketing and
promotion
department
This action plan states that first it is necessary that new marketing mission and objectives is
made. Board members and top management must be involved in this. These board members
should discuss on various marketing missions and objectives. After this only there must be
development of new ideas and opinions for decision making (Williams, 2016). After this best
digital marketing strategies must be selected like the use of AI, aggressive social media
marketing etc. At the last there must be implementation of marketing strategies and plans. All
this process must be completed in ten months.
Conclusion
From the above based report, it can be concluded that Woolworths is one of the largest super
markets chain in Australia. Paid marketing, Cause marketing, Relationship marketing, Word
of mouth, Internet marketing and Transactional marketing are some of the marketing
strategies that is used by Woolworths. Human resources, Supply chain management,
Research and Customers are some of the micro-environmental factors that are getting
affected by the digital marketing strategies. Digital marketing, Digital campaigns and online
sales are the activities that are widely followed in the modern day business. Online sales,
Social media marketing, Pay per click or SEO, Use of Artificial Intelligence, Geo targeting

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and App based marketing are some of the digital marketing strategies that is going to get
effected in the coming two years. It is also necessary that for achieving the digital marketing
strategies, the action plan for implementation is very much necessary.

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REFERENCES
Armstrong, G., Adam, S., Denize, S. and Kotler, P., 2014. Principles of marketing. Pearson
Australia.
Birchall, A. and Stockwell, G., 2014. Bright future for young stars. Management Today,
(Jan/Feb 2014), p.14.
Bizcommunity, (2017) Woolworths forges ahead with digital strategy. Online. Available at:
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/182/170146.html. [Accessed on 11th Oct 2018].
Cameron, N. (2015) Woolworths details 3-year strategy to become customer centric. Online.
Available at: https://www.cmo.com.au/article/574302/woolworths-details-3-year-strategy-
become-customer-centric/ . [Accessed on 11th Oct 2018].
Clark, V., 2012. An eye on the future: company focus. South African Food Review, 39(9),
pp.59-62.
Cliquet, G. ed., 2013. Geomarketing: Methods and strategies in spatial marketing. John
Wiley & Sons.
HOTEL, L.L., 2016. WOOLWORTHS FACADE. Douglas Snelling: Pan-Pacific Modern
Design and Architecture, p.216.
Leeflang, P.S., Verhoef, P.C., Dahlström, P. and Freundt, T., 2014. Challenges and solutions
for marketing in a digital era. European management journal, 32(1), pp.1-12.
Luiz, J., Bowen, A. and Beswick, C., 2011. Woolworths South Africa: making sustainability
sustainable. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 1(1), pp.1-21.
Pride, W.M., Ferrell, O.C., Lukas, B.A., Schembri, S. and Niininen, O., 2012. Marketing
principles. Cengage Learning.
Ryan, D., 2014. The best digital marketing campaigns in the World II. Kogan Page
Publishers.
Ryan, D., 2016. Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the
digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers.
Tiago, M.T.P.M.B. and Veríssimo, J.M.C., 2014. Digital marketing and social media: Why
bother?. Business Horizons, 57(6), pp.703-708.

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Tiago, M.T.P.M.B. and Veríssimo, J.M.C., 2014. Digital marketing and social media: Why
bother?. Business Horizons, 57(6), pp.703-708.
Williams, A. 2016. How Woolworths reinvented its B2C model to meet the B2B market.
Online. Available at: https://www.cmo.com.au/article/595918/how-woolworths-reinvented-
its-b2c-model-meet-b2b-market/. [Accessed on 11th Oct 2018]
Witepski, L., 2011. The new. Journal of Marketing, 2011(Dec/Jan 2011), pp.16-17.