An Analysis of Digital Marketing: A New Era

The way in which digital marketing has developed since the 1990s and 2000s has changed the way brands and businesses utilize technology and digital marketing for their marketing. Digital marketing campaigns are becoming more prevalent, as digital platforms are increasingly incorporated into marketing plans, and as people use digital devices instead of going to physical shops. Major Search Engines are always evolving, and organizations involved in SEO do have to be able to adapt their strategies quickly and effectively to keep getting results. The history of Digital Marketing is to a large extent a product of the history of the Internet in general and Search Engines in particular, as marketers have adapted to keep abreast of changes and keep up with the way the major Search Engines rank web pages. Major changes include, in chronological order: 1991 - Introduction of a network protocol called "Gopher", one of the very first network query and search tools. Gopher was for a couple of years widely used, but usage has now fallen off, with barely 100 Gopher servers now indexed. 1996 - More new Search Engines and search tools launched, including HotBot, LookSmart and Alexa. 1998 - The launch of even more Search Engines, with some big new names appearing for the first time. Google was incorporated as a private company in September 1996 by Larry Page and SegeyBrin; 8 years later when Google went public it was valued at US$23 billion. Microsoft launched its MSN Search Engine in 1998, whilst Yahoo launched Yahoo Web Search. 2007 - The rise of Social Media is currently changing the landscape of the Internet, with the predictions of the first Web 2.0 conference now becoming a reality as user-generated content becomes increasingly important, influencing both consumer opinion and Search Engine rankings. The way users access the Internet is also changing, with mobile devices becoming increasingly prevalent, allowing Internet usage on the move.

Two different forms of digital marketing are: ▪ Pull ▪ Push

• The consumer actively seeks the marketing content, often via web searches or opening an email, text or message • Websites and blogs are examples of pull digital marketing • Users have to navigate to the website to view the content • Search engine optimization is one tactic used to increase activity

• The marketers send a message without the consent of the recipients, such as display advertising on websites and new blogs • E mail and text messaging can also be classed as push digital marketing when the recipient has not given permission to receive the marketing message • Push marketing is also known as spam • Push technologies can deliver content as it becomes available and can be better

With advent of Digital Marketing, the consumers are a troubled soul; they have different definition of “what Looks Good” to them. They will compare an FMCG product’s service with that of TV’s service. They expect one brand element to be equivalent to another brand’s element. There have been instances where people tweeted on FMCG companies’ handle on how let’s say Samsung has a better Quality of Service than what they provide. I mean these two products are far apart. But, consumer is King. So, now every company has to be on their toes now because, they are now competing with anyone and everyone on Social Media Space. Consumer Tolerance is reducing at an alarming level Consumer wants response as fast and as clear as possible. It takes merely one viral tweet or post to destroy or build a company’s rapport. Platforms like, mouth shut, quora, twitter, Facebook, etc. are being used by consumers to share their misfortunes that they had faced with a company. Negativity attracts people and this is human psychology. Very few users will put a grateful post on FB or Twitter. To tackle such situations, a brand must follow ORM strategy (Online Reputation Management). ORM is basically a management system where you respond to people who are talking about you. If they are talking good, then thank them and ask to visit your website. If they are talking negatively about you, ask them to chill and ask them to register a complaint on the helpdesk. Make sure that the helpdesk solves the problem because again the customer will go to Social Media, but now he/she would be even angrier! Such interactions create a positive impact on people. Consumer Dialogue- Word of Mouth Word of mouth is still one of the most effective marketing tools. Before Digital Marketing people used to ask elders, or people who have domain knowledge of the specific product they are about to buy. But, now the list has new entries like Rating, Reviews (User and Expert), Testimonials, etc. The decision of a consumer to buy a product, online or offline, they will first Google search it, then they will go to review sites and read what experts and users have to say about the product. People are not afraid of experimenting Gone are those days when people are afraid of using a new product and would use it only when somebody else puts a trust deal on the product. Now, a new product with good features and quality is lauded with backed up by a trusted brand like Maruti or TATA. Experimenting concept prevailed and due to which many companies like OYO, Uber, Ola, etc. came to life. Consumers are now switchers instead of Loyals Loyalty in consumers is now an extinct feature. There was a time when people in India just had a trust in one brand in mobile phone industry, NOKIA. Now, NOKIA is nowhere to be seen. Likes of MNCs like Samsung, Apple is now being threatened by new comers like Oppo, Xiaomi, Gionee, One+, etc. Flash sales and people getting mad over these low cost ultra-features phones. Another close to home example is Patanjali, Baba Ramdev initiative. Patanjali has made MNC sweat. Colgate accepted that they have a new competitor in town. Patanjali as of now is a Rs. 5,000 crore company. People use more than one Social Media channels now It is not upto brands to decide which social media platform they want to be on. It is now decided by the consumers. If consumer is on FB, Twitter, Snapchat, Vine, G+, Tumblr, Instagram etc. brands have to be present there. They have to interact with people to create a buzz among them. Once a positive buzz is created, word of mouth spreads like fire.

• To see the perception of customers towards Digital Marketing • To see the perception of customers towards Offline or Physical Marketing • To identify which of the two is better by the customers’ perception. • To give some practicable suggestions

It is an empirical study. The researcher has used both primary and secondary data to attain the objectives of the study. Primary data have been collected with help of a structured questionnaire addressed, to 50 customers (25 each of Digital Marketing and Offline Marketing). The customers have been chosen from State of Delhi NCR using convenience sampling. The questionnaire has aimed at Impact of Digital Marketing and offline marketing on Consumer perception. Secondary data have been collected from various journals and research regarding Digital and Offline marketing in India. The data so collected have been analyzed

The present study has been conducted to know Customer Mindset mind-set regarding Digital & Offline Marketing. In all, 50 respondents (25 of Digital market and 25 of offline marketing) chosen from Delhi NCR have constituted the sample. The Survey has been conducted in two modes: Through paper printed questionnaire and online questionnaire using google forms. -28 responses have been taken on paper printed questionnaire while the remaining 22 responses have been recorded online.

• The study was conducted in Delhi NCR region only, so there might be a difference in perception of customers residing in other states of India. • The sample size selected for the study may not be true representative of the universe. • The respondents while filling the questionnaire may quote wrong responses because of inadequate timing, lack of knowledge, boredom, non-interesting activity etc... • There is a chance of personal biasness by responders

Out of 11 Responses 10 are in favor of Digital Marketing and only 1 is in favor of Offline Marketing. So, we can say that Nowadays Digital Marketing is more effective than offline marketing. To support this poll I also have designed questionnaire to judge the behavior of persons about Digital & Offline Marketing.

Chart 1 defines that almost all people are using Whatsapp and Facebook and Linkedin& Instagram have also good users. So we can imagine how important these platforms for markitiers to do digital marketing are. Daily Average Time spends on social media

• Less than 1 hour

• 1-3 hours

• 3-5 hours

• More than 5 hours

Chart 2 defines that 52.4% of persons are using the social media less than 1 hour and this signifies that it become a necessity for people that they use it at least one or two times a day. Digital Payments method Statements: Do you use Digital Methods for Payments? • Yes • No

Chart 3 defines that around ¾ of the persons are using digital payments for making payment and this is very big share which give a solid reason to growth of digital marketing Online Shopping Statements: Do you shop Online? • Yes

Chart 4 defines that more than 4/5 of the persons are going for online shopping so here the digital marketing plays a very important role and the scope of digital marketing also increases. Cheaper Statements: Which one is Cheaper? • Digital Marketing

Chart7 defines that 81.8% people thinks that digital marketing is much more cheaper than offline marketing because social media platforms give free chance to persons to do marketing and it can be done at anytime, anywhere.

FINDINGS

• Almost all people are using Whatsapp and Facebook and LinkedIn & Instagram have also good users. So we can imagine how important these platforms for markitiers to do digital marketing are. • 52.4% of persons are using the social media less than 1 hour and this signifies that it become a necessity for people that they use it at least one or two times a day. • Around ¾ of the persons are using digital payments for making payment and this is very big share which give a solid reason to growth of digital marketing • More than 4/5 of the persons are going for online shopping so here the digital marketing plays a very important role and the scope of digital marketing also increases.

• 81.8% people thinks that digital marketing is much more cheaper than offline marketing because social media platforms give free chance to persons to do marketing and it can be done at anytime, anywhere. • 82.6% people thinks that digital marketing can create more business with less cost, because it has more potential to meet the customers at very cheaper price.

• It is suggested that more social media platforms should be used to do marketing because there are very cost effective and give better returns. • It is suggested that through Digital Marketing we can also track the action of customer so it’s easy to track the behavior of customer. • Digital Marketing sometime becomes problem and leads to customer ignorance so this should be limited so that better results can be expected. • Offline Marketing needs more improvement in terms of cost so it should be focused. • Digital marketing is useful but very few skilled persons are there so more workshops should be organized by companies to improve it. • More set of rules and procedures should be made. • More importance should be given to digital marketing because of digitalization • Company should use combination of both digital and offline marketing so that better results will be expected. • Digital Marketing is the future if marketing so more importance should be given to it. • More use of technology should be there to do the marketing in more effective manner.

Google ad words book. http://colorwhistle.com/guide-to-digital-marketing/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_marketing https://www.qsrmagazine.com/promotions/understanding-impact-direct-digital-marketing https://www.the-reference.com/en/expertise/digital-marketing