How to start digital marketing?

As online shopping platforms continue to gain popularity, traditional marketing seems to no longer be able to bring about the most efficient user growth. This article points out the huge potential of "digital marketing" and explains the significance of applying digitalization to marketing. The "4R" method is an even more effective application method, and I hope it will be helpful to readers.

“Markets are changing faster than marketing.” — Philip Kotler

The rise of short video e-commerce platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu has brought about a traffic revolution. Concepts such as "planting grass", "content", and "smart push" have become important factors in current brand marketing. Private domain traffic has begun to be regarded by more and more companies as the key to winning the competition.

The acquisition of private traffic is the result of successful digital marketing. So, how to output content in the most effective and cost-effective way to win private traffic? The key lies in the understanding and application of digital marketing.

0 1What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing consists of two parts: digitalization and marketing

The foundation of digitalization is data, including the digitalization of enterprise equipment, digitalization of consumer use, digitalization of connections, digitalization of participation and other aspects. It is the product of the development of high technologies such as mobile Internet, big data, and cloud technology. It refers to the realization of digital upgrades through the Internet, computer communications, and digital interactivity.

Marketing refers to the activities, systems and processes of creating, disseminating, delivering and exchanging market supplies that are valuable to customers, clients, partners and the whole society. In a word, it is "profitably satisfying needs". The essence of marketing lies in "growth"; from the perspective of the enterprise, it means the growth of market share, the increase of loyal customers and the improvement of brand value; from the perspective of consumers, it means the growth of product functions, the increase of purchasing channels and the increase of brand interaction; from the perspective of society, it means the improvement of corporate voice and the assumption of green responsibility.

Digital marketing organically combines the two. On the basis of marketing, it incorporates digitalization in all aspects to achieve connections between people, people and products, and people and information. It allows data to participate in every aspect of marketing, reflects consumer participation in the connection process, and can then be dynamically adjusted and improved.

Based on this, digital marketing can be understood as "a marketing method that takes users as the core and digital tools as the means in the digital age to achieve collaborative marketing effects by finding, discovering, retaining, touching users and promoting conversions." Digital marketing is based on clear database objects and uses digital multimedia channels to achieve precise marketing, quantifiable marketing effects and data-based marketing.

0 2Why do we need digital marketing?

1. The market target is getting younger and consumer demand is changing

The essence of marketing is demand. The market is the sum of population, purchasing power and purchasing desire. Demand comes from desires that can be satisfied by purchasing power, and desires come from the need for specific products. People in Generation Y and Generation Z have gradually grown into the main consumer groups, that is, the post-90s and post-00s groups. Due to the influence of multiple factors such as living environment, personal concepts, and new things they are exposed to, the group's desires have changed, and the demand points for specific products have been updated.

Specifically, in the 1990s, people's demand for market products was more focused on functional demands, and they paid more attention to the functionality of the products themselves, while relatively ignoring the demands for services and experience. As the old saying goes, "Good wine needs no bush." ​​The key for companies to win the market lies in the differentiation of product functions, so marketing methods are concentrated on creating good products, setting good prices, and making good promotions. Companies do not need to conduct large-scale data analysis because their own product characteristics are enough to attract customers.

In the 21st century, the main consumer groups in the market are getting younger. While they value functional demands, they are still concerned about whether there are good experience demands, that is, services and content. When companies or brands are marketing, how to impress consumers with content becomes the key. The precise connection between content and consumer needs requires a thorough understanding of each target customer. Traditional research methods alone cannot provide one-to-one precise services, and digital marketing requires the use of data.

2. Market traffic is moving online, and consumer touchpoints are changing

The first prerequisite for marketing is to reach current customers. With the development of technologies such as the Internet and mobile payments, as well as the environmental impact of the three-year epidemic, online consumption has become mainstream, leading to changes in consumer touchpoints.

In the past, people used offline physical stores as the main purchasing scenario, and consumer touchpoints were concentrated in offline physical stores. Companies or brands could easily find and contact current customers in their own offline channels. But now, consumer touchpoints are concentrated in online scenarios, from platform e-commerce to social e-commerce to short video e-commerce. The scenarios where companies or brands find consumers range from Tmall Mall to WeChat micro-business to live broadcast platforms. Companies need to track consumers' online traces - data, to find consumers.

3. Socialization of market model and changes in consumer trust

As consumer touchpoints change, consumer trust changes accordingly. In the platform e-commerce era, consumers trusted major platforms, such as Taobao and JD.com, which reflected channel trust; in the social platform era, consumers trusted their relatives and friends, which reflected care and trust; in today's short video e-commerce era, consumer trust has changed again. They trust "Li Jiaqi", "Luo Yonghao" and "Dong Yuhui". In the final analysis, it is a reflection of IP trust. The formation of these KOLs stems from the direct interaction and participation of consumers and brands, and the resonance formed. The realization of brand resonance is inseparable from the help of digitalization.

0 3How to carry out digital marketing?

This article suggests following the 4R model and carrying out specific marketing digital transformation based on the company's own reality.

The 4R model is a digital marketing model proposed in response to the 4P model. It consists of four key factors: Recognize, Reach, Relationship, and Return.

1. Recognize means using digital methods to understand and identify target customers

In traditional marketing, companies conduct market research on consumers mainly through quantitative or qualitative methods. Common methods include questionnaires, seminars, focus group interviews, etc. In the digital age, the way companies study consumers should change. The root cause is the traces left by consumers' online shopping. Companies obtain accurate behavior and shopping data by tracking these digital traces, so as to further understand the different shopping preferences of each consumer, and combine local demographic characteristics to conduct precise consumer target portraits, and conduct predictive analysis to provide accurate and personalized data references for the development of marketing strategies.

Specifically, assuming that Company A wants to conduct digital marketing, the first thing it needs to do is to Recognize. Before determining a specific strategy, it should start with data and use platform data to investigate Company A’s number of competitors, sales, brand core, major customers, market share and other marketing indicators. After obtaining the data, it should conduct analysis to identify its target customers and main characteristics and develop a portrait.

2. Reach refers to reaching and finding consumers in a digital way

In traditional marketing, we reach consumers by casting a wide net through advertising and physical stores; in the digital age, companies should reach consumers accurately through digital methods such as digital advertising, traffic procurement, traffic interviews, VR marketing, social media, search engines, etc.

Based on an accurate portrait of current customers, Company A should launch the Reach phase to deliver precise advertisements and information through purchasing traffic, social media, etc.

3. Relationship refers to building a healthy relationship with customers through digital channels

In traditional marketing, customer relationships are mainly established through "intermediary" methods such as interpersonal relationships, services, and gifts by sales managers or specific persons in charge. In the digital age, companies should change their thinking and interact well with customers in a de-intermediary manner to establish a foundation for continuous transactions, that is, to establish communities, conduct in-depth interactions and connections, and obtain private domain traffic.

After solving the problems of targeting and reaching, Company A should carry out the Relationship stage, concentrate the targeted population through digital methods such as APP and mini-programs, establish its own brand community, and carry out related activities to trigger private traffic, form relationships, and consolidate the community.

4. Return refers to the return obtained through digital marketing

Different from the traditional marketing model, the return method of digital marketing is to monetize around products and communities; common methods include live broadcasting, crowdfunding, group buying, community distribution, etc. to convert and obtain returns. One point worth paying special attention to is to find the "key payment moment" of current customers, that is, the point when users are most likely to make a deal in the community or during consumption, such as: the cost of taxi apps increases when it rains. Through the above methods, companies can convert the value of the community into actual profits.

At this time, Company A should analyze the key payment moments in the community it has established and design a series of strategies to gain profits. At the same time, based on its own actual situation, it should select live streaming, group buying, crowdfunding and other methods to design marketing strategies, convert the value of community users into actual economic value, and realize the returns of digital marketing.

The 4R model uses a closed loop of four links, from identifying customers, reaching customers, to retaining customers and establishing ongoing transaction relationships, ultimately monetizing customer resources.

Conclusion

Digital marketing is a trend and an opportunity. In the digital age, enterprises and marketers should fully understand and master the meaning and methods of digital marketing, update their marketing thinking, upgrade their marketing methods, and make their marketing strategies keep pace with market changes.

Author: Mr. Bingfa

Source: WeChat public account "Marketing Art of War (ID: lanhaiyingxiao)"