Woolworths Group: Digital Marketing, New Media & IMC Analysis

This report provides an analysis of Woolworths Group's digital marketing and new media strategies, focusing on the challenges the company faces in employee management, customer relationship management, and operations management. It discusses the company's background, target segment, product/service line, and competitors. The report identifies key problem areas and proposes a media mix utilizing Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter to address customer complaints and improve communication. The message strategy, including objectives and consistency, is outlined, along with a budget and timeline. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing Woolworths Group's digital marketing efforts and overall IMC strategy, emphasizing the importance of addressing employee satisfaction and customer engagement to foster long-term relationships and improve operational efficiency.

Digital Marketing and
New Media Assessment

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Company background......................................................................................................................1
Milestones in digital marketing..............................................................................................1
Current target segment...........................................................................................................1
Product/service line................................................................................................................2
Types of competitors..............................................................................................................2
Critical challenges currently faced.........................................................................................2
Qualitative description of problems.................................................................................................3
Key problem area 1................................................................................................................3
Key problem area 2................................................................................................................3
Key problem area 3................................................................................................................4
Media mix........................................................................................................................................4
Reasons for selecting Instagram.............................................................................................4
Reasons for selecting Facebook.............................................................................................4
Reasons for selecting Snapchat..............................................................................................5
Reasons for selecting Twitter.................................................................................................5
Message strategy..............................................................................................................................6
Message objectives.................................................................................................................6
Message consistency..............................................................................................................6
Budget..............................................................................................................................................6
Timeline...........................................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations............................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
Digital marketing can be defined as a domain of marketing which makes the use of internet
and technical devices to market the products and services of an organisation. Some of the digital
channels are the search engines, websites, social media, emails and mobile applications (Kotane,
Znotina & Hushko (2019)). Organization chosen is Woolworths group, it is one of the leading
international retail supermarket company established in 1924 and headquartered in Australia.
The following discussion is based on the company background which includes milestones in
digital marketing, current target segment, product and service line, types of competitors and
critical challenges currently faced by the company. Discussions are also made on the qualitative
description of problems which includes three major problems associated with the organization.
Media mix which includes reasons for selecting Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter are
also discussed. discussion on marketing strategy which includes message objectives and
consistency are also made. Moreover, the budget and timeline with conclusions and
recommendations are also covered in the report.
Company background
Milestones in digital marketing
Organisation has a great importance of digital marketing because it has supported the
company in maximum sales and revenue generation. Milestones in digital marketing has a
perfect example in Woolworths group. This is because the company has maintained its digital
marketing techniques and benefited it in a large way. It has helped the organisation in good
productivity and creating brand awareness along with a wider reach to the customers. Moreover,
the company e uses different techniques of digital marketing such as search engine optimization
and Google ads along with the social media marketing and pay per click which is followed by
the content marketing and many more. Social media marketing has given the maximum benefit
to the organisation by performing the marketing with the help of Facebook and Snapchat along
with twitter and Instagram.
Current target segment
Target customers of the company are large in number based on different classifications of
current target segmentation. Company uses the business model of segmentation, targeting and
positioning. Segmentation includes the classification of customers based on age and lifestyle
1

along with the location and many more. Targeting includes the specific group of customers on
which the company expects to have more sales such as taste and preferences along with the
lifestyle of the customers are targeted by the Woolworths group. Talking about positioning, the
company has a position at their stores where very nearby customers can easily reach and make
the purchase with a good ambience and environment.
Product/service line
Organization has a good range of product portfolio and services which are offered by them
in their own stores. Such as they offer products and services like food items and groceries along
with the home appliances and electronics which is followed by the beauty products and baby
products as well. initially the company has only started with the food items but as the company
has grown with its brand name and loyalty, then they have started the other ranges of products as
well. It has helped the organization in good expansion across the world. a large range of product
portfolio and services is one of the greatest strengths of Woolworths group offered by them to
their target customers. Company also has a game plan of offers and discounts on every
alternative day so that maximum customers could get attracted towards them and make their
purchases.
Types of competitors
Competition is one of the greatest threats of the Woolworths group. This is because there is
high competition in the retail industry who are offering similar products and services with similar
prices and offers and discounts. Therefore, comparators are also gaining the equal brand
awareness and loyalty from the customers. Therefore, there are different types of customers the
companies have such as in the grocery market, beauty products market, food products market
and many more. List of competitors the companies have are Walmart, Amazon, Tesco, eBay and
many larger organizations who are giving the tough fight to the company.
Critical challenges currently faced
Woolworths group is facing the critical challenges on a current basis. Such challenges are
mainly from the employee management and customer Management. The reason being that the
technical team of the organization are not able to manage their technical devices and
coordination with the employees and customers. Digital marketing is one of the key areas where
the company needs to focus and target upon. Although the company is good in digital marketing
2

and are performing better in the internet world, still the expertise and specialized persons are
lacking to manage. This is because a company is lacking in its employee and customer
relationship management. These are the challenges the companies currently facing and are highly
required to look upon on a priority basis.
Qualitative description of problems
Key problem area 1
This is the first problem area which the Woolworths group is facing. Employee
management in terms of digital marketing is a major problem which the company has to resolve
on the priority basis. The problem is basically based upon the people who are managing the
digital marketing department of the organization. Expertise and specialized persons in the digital
marketing domain of the company work well initially when they start working. But now they are
inefficient and ineffective in working with the digital marketing of the organization. The reason
being is the effective and efficient management of employees within the company. Company is
lacking in employee satisfaction and employee retention techniques. This has resulted in the
inefficiency in function of the digital marketing domain which hinders the overall marketing of
the organization (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick (2019)).
Key problem area 2
This is a second problem which the Woolworths group is facing. Customer relationship
management is also one of the major problems which the organization has to resolve on an
urgent basis. This is because due to the lack in employee management there is a lack in
operations of digital marketing. Therefore, it is hampering the functioning of customer
relationship management. Hence the company is lacking in customer loyalty and customer
retention and also losing the long-term relationship with the customers because of the bad
feedback and no revert on time. Continuous interaction with the customers are important for the
organization so that the company can measure the demand and supply along with the profit and
revenues. This can only be possible with the digital marketing techniques so that wider reach
could be gained by the company. Therefore, customer Management is another key problem of
the Woolworths group (Tafesse & Wien (2018)).
3

Key problem area 3
This is the third problem which the Woolworths group is facing. Operations management is
also another major problem which the organization has to resolve on an immediate basis.
Initially the company has used the operation management technique of total quality management
and logistics management. They were working well with these methodologies but due to the lack
of time management technique of operations, the company is suffering delay in its functioning
timings along with the supply chain management. This can only be done if proper database
Management and record systems are available within the organization. Technical systems are
important for management. There is a great role of digital marketing in this problem. If just in
time management is good with an organization, then it is easier for the marketing team to
perform digital marketing without any delays and every activity will be on time from customer
interaction to the customer feedback. Therefore, it is considered as one of the essential problems
to resolve as soon as possible (Jacobson, Gruzd & Hernández-García (2020).
Media mix
Reasons for selecting Instagram
There are several reasons for selecting Instagram in the form of social media marketing
within the digital marketing domain for Woolworths group. These are the reasons which the
company has experienced personally while using Instagram for digital marketing. Instagram has
helped Organization in connecting with the customers across more than one channels for better
communication flow among the stakeholders of the organisation. Instagram has supported the
company in reusing its marketing materials by working smarter rather than harder such as the
initial content to make it more attractive and representing in front of the customers. It has also
assisted in attracting the engaged traffic by building a community that comes back with time and
time again. Moreover, the Instagram has boosted the marketing with the help of attractive and
attend the photos to gain attention from the customers (Dwivedi, Rana, Slade & Kizgin (2020)).
Reasons for selecting Facebook
There are various reasons for selecting Facebook marketing for the Woolworths group.
The company has a positive experience with Facebook by performing its marketing function in
the form of social media marketing. This is because Facebook is a low-cost marketing strategy
which shares the basic information about the business in an attractive manner in front of the
4

customers so that it looks a good representation with attention gaining content. Moreover,
Facebook has helped in sharing the pictures and videos from the business along with the
interactions flow and talking to the existing and potential customers about the production and
services offered by the organization. Furthermore, Facebook provides the customer support by
raising the brand awareness and promotes the positive word of mouth. Facebook has supported
the company in target advertising by offering The deals through Facebook places so that the
Facebook and steer traffic to the website (Bormane (2019)).
Reasons for selecting Snapchat
There are many reasons to use Snapchat as a marketing tool by the Woolworths group.
Snapchat is one of the social medias where people share pictures which are clicked immediately
and also communicate while texting each other. Snapchat has helped the company in driving its
traffic within its website. Snapchat has boosted the engagement with various stakeholders of the
organization by creating and building the brand awareness of the company. Snapchat has
connected the younger demographic and attracted new followers for better sharing of knowledge
about the brand and the products offered by the company. Moreover, it helped in influencing the
purchase of another way to consume the content. It has helped in building trust by proving that
the company is cool in using all such new social media tools (Rohm, Stefl & Saint Clair (2019)).
Reasons for selecting Twitter
There are a variety of reasons to select Twitter as a marketing tool for the Woolworths
group. By creating and posting the advertisement on Twitter, brand awareness is increased with
the help of such activity. Company has kept the latest trends in the industry by promoting the
block content and videos along with the presentations. This has boosted the company's website
with the help of search engine optimization techniques. Twitter drives the website traffic of the
company by getting instant feedback about the product and services offered by the company and
used by the customers. It has increased the reach and also positively impacted the public
relations initiatives of the company. Company has gained real time competitive intelligence by
monitoring their brand reputation. Moreover, Twitter has supported the company in recruiting so
that they can connect directly with the potential employees and can gain the direct access to high
profile individuals (Cowley, Humphrey Jr & Muñoz (2021)).
5

Message strategy
Message objectives
Message strategy is the technique in digital marketing which relates to the content
represented in front of the customers so that they can get attracted towards the brand and make
purchases. Objectives of the message for Woolworths group are such that the company has the
target of conversion and sales through message strategy in order to gain commercial success.
Another objective is consideration where the evaluation is done if the product meets the needs of
the customers. Awareness is also one of the objectives which is associated with the wider reach
to the audience. Retention is also the objective which enables to establish customer engagement.
Employee engagement and operations management are also the objectives set by the organisation
in its message strategy (López García, Lizcano, Ramos & Matos (2019)).
Message consistency
Message consistency is all about the brand consistency and consistent quantum along with
the consistent effort performed by the Woolworths group in the domain of digital marketing with
an organization. It is all about delivering the message in the manner which confirms the brand
identity and values along with the strategy of the brand. Moreover, it is related with the content
and associated with the brand products and services. All such techniques require efforts which
are done by the employees who are involved in the digital marketing functioning of the
organization (Langan, Cowley & Nguyen (2019)).
Budget
Budgeting regarding the digital marketing techniques for Woolworths group is estimated
according to the needs and requirements of cost related with the social media marketing such as
Instagram and Snapchat along with the Facebook and Twitter. The average budget set ranges
from $35000 to 145000 Dollars per year. This is the heavy budget when in depth digital
marketing is being done for the organization. But for basic digital marketing, the budget set is 90
dollars to 250 dollars per hour. 3500 dollars to 10000 dollars per month estimation of budget is
done. Moreover, estimation of per project is also done that is around 4500 dollars to 7000 dollars
(Melović, Jocović, Dabić & Dudic (2020)).
6

Timeline
Digital marketing plan in the form of social media marketing requires at least three to four
weeks in order to set up the whole procedure of continuous marketing within the organization.
Such as it takes some steps to cover these weeks for frequent marketing techniques. By
launching the campaign landing page along with the deployment of email blast are the initial
steps. distributing public relation materials and publishing and scheduling the blog distribution
are the further steps. Publishing and scheduling the social media post and updating the social
media handles are the and steps which are done in the last three days of the total timeline period
(Kingsnorth (2019)).
Conclusion
It is concluded that digital marketing is an important concept to learn and study so that its
applications can be applied in real world organizations. This is because nowadays technology is
updating day by day and therefore survival of business cannot be expected without technical
marketing. Hence it is important to analyze the company background to gain in-depth knowledge
about it. It is necessary to determine the qualitative problems from the organization in order to
resolve through digital marketing. it is essential to examine the different reasons for selecting
different social medias for marketing. It is significant to gain knowledge about message strategy
which includes content marketing. It is crucial to assess the budget and timeline discussion for
the same. Thereby this report covers all such areas in order to understand the concepts of digital
marketing.
Recommendations
By considering the three problem areas of Woolworths group, it is recommended that the
organisation must create the smart goals which state specific, measurable, attainable, realistic
and time bound goals. It is also recommended to track the meaningful metrics in order to create
the audience personas. Moreover, it is suggested to conduct competitive analysis and use social
media listening in order to look for imposter accounts and decide which network is safe to use. It
is also suggested to start using the employee management and customer Management strategies
along with the operations management strategies specifically the just in time management.
7

References
Books and Journals
Bormane, S. (2019, May). Trends in the development of integrated marketing communication in
the context of digital marketing. In SOCIETY. INTEGRATION. EDUCATION. Proceedings
of the International Scientific Conference (Vol. 6, pp. 84-95).
Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2019). Digital marketing. Pearson uk.
Cowley, S., Humphrey Jr, W., & Muñoz, C. (2021). Industry Certifications in Digital Marketing
and Media Education: An Examination of Perceptions and Use Among Educators. Journal
of marketing education. 43(2). 189-203.
Dwivedi, Y. K., Rana, N. P., Slade, E. L. & Kizgin, H. (2020). Editorial introduction: Advances
in theory and practice of digital marketing.
Jacobson, J., Gruzd, A., & Hernández-García, Á. (2020). Social media marketing: Who is
watching the watchers?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101774.
Kingsnorth, S. (2019). Digital marketing strategy: an integrated approach to online marketing.
Kogan Page Publishers.
Kotane, I., Znotina, D., & Hushko, S. (2019). Assessment of trends in the application of digital
marketing. Scientific Journal of Polonia University. 33(2). 28-35.
Langan, R., Cowley, S., & Nguyen, C. (2019). The state of digital marketing in academia: An
examination of marketing curriculum’s response to digital disruption. Journal of Marketing
Education. 41(1). 32-46.
López García, J. J., Lizcano, D., Ramos, C. M., & Matos, N. (2019). Digital marketing actions
that achieve a better attraction and loyalty of users: An analytical study. Future
Internet. 11(6). 130.
Melović, B., Jocović, M., Dabić, M., & Dudic, B. (2020). The impact of digital transformation
and digital marketing on the brand promotion, positioning and electronic business in
Montenegro. Technology in Society, 63, 101425.
Rohm, A. J., Stefl, M., & Saint Clair, J. (2019). Time for a marketing curriculum overhaul:
Developing a digital-first approach. Journal of Marketing Education. 41(1). 47-59.
Tafesse, W., & Wien, A. (2018). Implementing social media marketing strategically: an
empirical assessment. Journal of Marketing Management. 34(9-10). 732-749.
8