Since the dawn of the Internet, marketers have regarded it as a vast laboratory, launching experiment after experiment to crack the code that increases productivity, generates sales, accelerates customer loyalty among other business objectives. Not surprising, most have failed. Consumers adopt digital technology as they themselves see fit, in the process fundamentally altering the way they make purchasing decisions and/or interact with your business. Companies that infer this evolution are now carefully moving digital interactivity toward the center of their marketing strategies, rethinking their priorities and budgets, and substantially reshaping their processes and skills.
Through our work with dozens of national and multinational companies navigating this shifting landscape, we have found that the most successful digital marketers focus on managing four essential sources of value as they increase the percentage of marketing and channel spending that is directed to digital activities.
First, they coordinate their activities to connect and engage the consumer throughout an increasingly digital purchase journey. Second, they harness interest in their brands by syndicating content that empowers the consumer to build his or her own marketing identity and, in the process, to serve as a brand advocate/ambassador. Third, they recognize the need to think like a large-scale multimedia publisher as they manage a staggering increase in the content they create to support products, segments, channels, and promotions. Finally, these marketers strategically employ ways to gather and utilize the superfluity of data now available.
It’s easy to understand why. Digital media solutions can help bolster sales. In fact, a Nielsen consumer survey revealed that most (80%) product brands experienced significant increases of up to 33% in additional sales through the use of digital media.
The ability for digital technologies to touch a customer on an emotional level far exceeds that of traditional media. Establishing such connections is critical to retail success, branding and customer retention. In an era of constant price reductions and widely publicized promotions, businesses need to think beyond discounting to differentiate themselves from the competition. A digital media solution that brings a cohesive brand story to the forefront can enable a company to rise above the noise and boost the bottom line.
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