Digital Marketing Strategy A to Z

DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

a to z

by Deborah Bayles, Founder/CEO

© Copyright 2014, Deborah L Bayles

prepared for Westcott Courses and

Brandman University

INTRODUCTION


Today all marketing involves digital marketing. The ability of buyers to interact with sellers via the Internet has changed traditional marketing forever, and today’s marketing managers must become digital marketing experts or they will rapidly become obsolete. Push vs. Pull Marketing Models Traditional marketing has always been based on a “push” model: advertising, direct mail and other media push a highly controlled one-way message to the marketplace. Traditional marketing dictates to buyers what they should want and need. Digital marketing is very different. Digital marketing uses the Internet and other digital channels to conduct two-way conversations with buyers. The old “push” model of traditional marketing has been replaced by the “pull” model of digital marketing, where buyers are invited to tell sellers what they want and need. Does this mean that traditional marketing is dead? No, traditional marketing provides some valid frameworks on which digital marketing can build. The traditional disciplines of market research and strategic planning are still vital, but they must expand to include digital marketing’s new, vibrant multichannel approach. What This Means for You The opportunity for digital marketing experts who are also solidly grounded in traditional marketing is tremendous. Whether you’ve been in marketing management for years or you’re just starting out, gaining verifiable digital marketing expertise is critical to your career success. In this paper I outline the evolution of the traditional and digital marketing mix by way of the “alphabet” of letters that marketers have used through the years when developing strategic marketing frameworks. We’ll see how the best of these letters have come together to create digital strategy “words,” and then see which “I” you’ll choose to be in the digital marketing landscape.

CONTENTS


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

1

2

3

4

The Original Marketing Alphabet

New Digital Marketing Frameworks

Digital Marketing Strategy Words

Which “I” Will You Choose to Be?

Deborah Bayles has 25+ years of experience in business, marketing and education, including founding and running an Internet application development firm and two marketing agencies. She authored two best-selling e-commerce books (published by Prentice-Hall) and has been a keynote speaker at conferences worldwide. She developed and taught more than 20 unique e-business courses at the University of California, Irvine, and has also taught e-business at the University of California, San Diego, the University of California, Riverside, and at the Singapore Institute of Management. She developed the E-Commerce/Digital Marketing curriculum for the Business Education department of Cuesta College, and has been a faculty member there since 2009.


THE ORIGINAL MARKETING ALPHABET 4Ps & 4Cs

1

THE MARKETING ALPHABET


The traditional marketing “alphabet” resulted from attempts to clearly define a conceptual framework for marketers to plan the best approach to each of their target markets. This conceptual framework is called the marketing mix. 4Ps Grow to 7Ps, Then to 8Ps The marketing mix was first referred to during an American Marketing Association conference in 1949, but gained popularity in the early 1960s. The first conceptual framework, and the birth of the first letters in the marketing alphabet, came from Canadian Jerome McCarthy (1960) who developed the 4Ps, product, price, place, promotion. These 4Ps later came under fire for being too product-centric. Booms and Bitner (1981) tried to mitigate this problem by developing the 7Ps, also called the service mix. They contended that the extra Ps, representing people, processes and physical evidence, were necessary in the delivery of services. Later on, Kenichi Ohmae (Smith, 1996) said that no company can succeed globally without partners, and added an 8th P, for partnerships, to the mix. The 4Cs Strike Back Lautenborn (1990) also thought that the original 4Ps was too product-centric, but he struck back by suggesting a customer oriented framework as a solution. His 4Cs are customer, cost, convenience and communication. See the following diagrams for more detail on what these traditional strategic marketing frameworks are and how the various components interact.

ProductOriented

8 Ps

Product Price

Place

Promotion

People

Process

Physical Evidence

Partnerships

Optimizing internal and external processes through the web

Digital value Experiencing the brand

Representation New distribution models

Price transparency New pricing models

Online vs offline mix Integration

Resourcing and training Contact strategies

Online physical evidence Integration

Managed marketing alliances

• Jerome McCarthy (1960) coined the term 4Ps: product, price, place, promotion to define the marketing mix.

• Booms and Bitner (1981) developed the 7Ps to emphasize a service mix. The extra Ps are people, processes and physical evidence.

• Kenichi Ohmae (Smith, 1996) said that no company can succeed globally without partners, thus the 8th P, partnerships, was added to the mix.

Lautenborn (1990) suggested the 4Cs customer oriented framework as a solution to the product-centric approach of the earlier 4Ps (later modified to become the 7Ps, then the 8Ps).

Cost Cost to the customer (price).

Customer Customer needs and wants (from the product).

Communication Communication (promotion).

Convenience Convenience (relative to place).


NEW DIGITAL MARKETING FRAMEWORKS 4Es, 5Is, 4Is & 6Cs

2

THE MARKETING ALPHABET GOES DIGITAL It’s about the Customer The largest differentiator between traditional marketing and digital marketing strategy is its orientation. Traditional marketing focuses on products and processes, whereas digital marketing focuses on the customer. This is a crucial difference that has permeated the development of the new digital marketing frameworks and their alphabets. The 4Es Lautenborn’s 4Cs was a definite step toward customer orientation, and Rothery (2008) took this one step further by developing the 4Es framework, which is comprised of experience, exchange, evangelism, and everyplace. The 5Is and 4Is—The Is Have It Peppers and Rogers (1997) were pioneers in customer orientation when they introduced the 1:1 philosophy of marketing as a personal conversation between seller and buyer. They define their framework using 5Is: identification, individualization, interaction, integration, and integrity. Forrester Research put forth its own customer-centric framework with 4Is of customer engagement: involvement, interaction, intimacy, and influence. 6Cs and the OVP Building upon the Es and Is above, Dave Chaffey (2004) suggested 6Cs of customer motivation to help define a company’s Online Value Proposition (OVP). The OVP is an important driver of a company’s marketing tactics. See the following diagrams for more detail on these frameworks.

Experience

Every place

Exchange

Evangelism

Rothery (2008) developed the 4Es framework as a follow-on to Lautenborn’s (1990) 4Cs framework.

Exchange Price (as money or credit is exchanged for product or services).

Experience A product is an experience (including online experience).

Every place Place or distribution should be everywhere the customer wants it.

Evangelism Promotion becomes evangelism.

Identification

Individualization

Interaction

Integrity

Integration

Peppers and Rogers 5Is (1997)

INVOLVEMENT INTERACTION INTIMACY INFLUENCE

What to Track

•Site visits •Time spent •Pages viewed •Search keywords •Navigation paths •Site logins

•Contributed comments on blogs •Quantity/freq-uency of written reviews, blog comments, forum discussions, and UGC

•Sentiment tracking on third-party sites (blogs, reviews, forums, etc.) •Sentiment tracking of internal customer contributions •Opinions expressed in customer service calls

•Net promoter (NP) score •Product/service satisfaction ratings •Brand affinity •Content forwarded to friends •Posts on high-profile blogs

How to Track

•Web analytics •eCommerce platforms •Social media platforms

•Brand monitoring •Customer service calls •Surveys

•Brand monitoring •Customer service calls •Surveys

FORRESTER’S 4IS OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Customer Motivation

6 Cs

Content Customization

Community

Convenience

Cost reduction

Choice

Right content Right context Right media

Many-to-many social networks

Personalization according to individuals or groups

24/7 availability of a service

Internet perception of lower-cost place of purchase

Wider choice of products and suppliers than traditional media

• Chaffey (2004) suggests 6Cs of customer motivation to help define the Online Value Proposition (OVP)


DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY WORDS PRACE & SOSTAC

3

So, we’ve looked at a bewildering array of marketing strategy frameworks, all designated by sequences of single letters as their creators strived for mnemonic cleverness. This alphabet soup has been useful for prodding marketing strategists into placing the customer’s requirements in the prominent position, and for forcing all of us to realize that the blended push/pull of online conversations is at the heart of effective multichannel strategies. But here is where we need to put the “alphabet” to use in creating some digital marketing “words.” Here is where we need words that describe a comprehensive A to Z digital marketing strategy. Fortunately, Dave Chaffey and PR Smith, two digital marketing thought leaders, have created the right words: PRACE and SOSTAC. PRACE PRACE stands for Plan, Reach, Act, Convert and Engage. Dave Chaffey also refers to his framework as RACE™, but the P for Planning is an indispensible step. Chaffey’s (P)RACE™ planning system was developed to help create actionable plans using integrated communications to engage and persuade customers, based on understanding customer needs using analytics and insight. It is often used in conjunction with SOSTAC, as the two planning systems are complementary. SOSTAC PR Smith’s SOSTAC® Planning System is also a planning process framework to help structure and manage implementation of digital marketing plans. SOSTAC® stands for Situation, Objectives and Strategy, Tactics, Action and Control. The best way to see how these two planning systems operate is by taking a look at the graphics on the next two pages.

FROM LETTERS TO WORDS



WHICH “I” WILL YOU CHOOSE TO BE?

4

A February 2014 report by Forrester Research states that “digital” is no longer a differentiator for marketers and agencies. Tomorrow’s marketing leaders will help their companies revolutionize their customer strategies by playing one of three roles: Innovator, Integrator or Implementer. Which I will you choose to be in the digital marketing landscape?

Innovator You develop disruptive creative strategies that are truly groundbreaking.

Integrator You integrate the strategies that have been developed across multiple marketing channels so that branding is consistent.

Implementer You implement the tactics that have come out of the strategic marketing plan.

THE 3Is OF THE DIGITAL MARKETER:

• INNOVATOR • INTEGRATOR • IMPLEMENTER

WHICH “I” WILL YOU CHOOSE TO BE?


WHY YOU SHOULD EARN YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING CERTIFICATE WITH BRANDMAN UNIVERSITY

Brandman University is part of the Chapman University system, a highly regarded, regionally-accredited university system with global recognition.

Brandman University offers Professional Development Units (PDUs), not CEUs, for this Certificate. PDUs are regarded by other universities as higher quality and more transferrable.

Courses are offered in a one-month format, allowing you to complete your Certificate in as little as six months, or to progress at a slower pace.

Learn from an expert instructor with more than 25 years of industry and teaching experience. Course material is also supplemented by the insights and research of other thought leaders.

The Certificate is offered 100% online through a user-friendly Learning Management System. There is no need to travel, pay for child care or interrupt your work schedule.

Courses are offered year-round, with a new course section starting on the first of each month. Start your certificate program at any point throughout the year.

CALL ONE OF OUR COURSE ADVISORS TODAY AT:

1 (805) 489-2831

OR REGISTER ONLINE AT:

WESTCOTTCOURSES.COM The Digital Marketing Certificate is offered through Brandman University. Brandman University, part of the Chapman University system, is regionally accredited through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and has 26 campuses throughout California. Westcott Courses provides the instruction and Brandman University provides Professional Development Units (PDUs) for each course. Your certificate and official transcript will be issued by Brandman University.


Date post:	15-Jul-2015
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