Consumer Behaviour- An overview
Traditionally consumer was habituated to visiting brick-and-mortar shops which had restricted timing. Morning till night. Soon after the Y2K search engines started to evolve, and more and more consumers started to search internet for products and services which gave birth to Digital Marketing sometime in 2005. Android mobiles were replacing basic mobiles. The real fuel came with popularity of social media platforms. These platforms could capture the socioeconomic status of its registered users which led to marketers using them as better marketing tools to create strategies and execute.
Role of Technology in future Digital Marketing
MSN messenger had to close because it did not engage the new age consumer as much as Facebook could. Facebook was technologically superior and the technology helped in better consumer engagement. Technology meant to drive consumers to a brands app/page and engages are top priority. Today, we hear MR (mixed reality) a hybrid of VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality).
Digital marketing considered to be responsive to English has started making its journey in other languages (brands sites are now available in languages-not Google translated) now which will enable brands to engage with Non-English speaking consumers. The recent Covid-19 conditions led to brands transforming their working to newer dimensions. Video Conference is widely accepted as a means of meeting now.
Lastly, brands marketing budgets are getting a bigger percentage which will translate into more demand for experts in the field.
Some Milestones:
It is important for us to know some of the important milestones from the past so that we relate them to the present digital field and its relevance in marketing
· The term Digital Marketing was first used in the 1990s.
· In 1993, the first clickable banner went live.
· The year 1994, Yahoo was launched.
· 1998 saw the birth of Google.
· Microsoft launched the MSN search engine and Yahoo brought to the market Yahoo web search.
· The digital marketing world saw its first steep surge in 2006 when search engine traffic was reported to have grown to about 6.4 billion.
Future of Digital Media
One could buy a Merc online!!
With the new generation consumers increasingly spending more time on their mobile phones, marketers have started to follow them there and register their brand in the consumers mind.
In coming days with consumers existing in numerous digital spaces at the same time, understanding the customer journey and connect them at every touch-point will be the new norms. Once the mapping of the customer is completed, brand will understand the segment consumers belongs to and target suitable communication. This process will lead to purchase and post purchase communications thereby making consumers loyal to brands.
Facts* on the advertising market:
• Indian advertising market stands at Rs. 61,878 crore
• It is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 10.62% till 2021
• Digital advertising market size is around Rs. 10,819 crore ($1.3 billion)
• Estimated CAGR growth will be 31.96 per cent
*(There are no figures on how Covid-19 would affect the above figures, so figures should be taken only in the context of how fast Digital Marketing is growing)
A competitive Digital Marketing professional should have the below skill sets:
• A marketing degree with technical knowledge in Digital field.
• Excellent Communication skills.
• Ability to budget, plan, develop, implement, manage and evaluate an overall digital marketing strategy.
• Stay up to date with the latest technology and best practices.
• Manage all digital marketing channels.
• Measure ROI and KPIs.
• Oversee all the company’s social media accounts.
• Manage and improve online content, considering SEO and Google Analytics.
• Build an inbound marketing plan.
• Monitor competition and provide suggestions for improvement.
Article contribution by:
Mr. N V Chidambaram, General Manager- Marketing Services, CERA Sanitaryware Ltd.
• Marketing and Advertising professional for 35 years
• Printing Technologist with 18 years of experience in Advertising and 14 years of experience in Marketing.
Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.
