Activity 1.4 - Digital Marketing Strategy

Question 1

What is digital marketing?

Answer 1

The use of digital and online technologies and media to identify, anticipate and satisfy customers’ needs (usually for a profit).

Question 2

What sets digital marketing apart from traditional (offline) marketing?

Answer 2

• Provide many opportunities to interact with customers (this is known as “engagement”)
• Can use highly targeted messages, directed at specific audiences
• Have a global reach
• Are often more cost effective than offline approaches
• environmentally friendly
• Can be monitored to evaluate their effectiveness

Question 3

The classic marketing mix

Answer 3

Products
price
place
promotion

Question 4

how many stages are there in the classic marketing mix?

Answer 4

4

Question 5

Products

Answer 5

Must be designed to satisfy customers’ needs
Are typically developed after extensive market research to understand the needs
Can be tangible or intangible
Can be goods or services

Question 6

Price

Answer 6

is the amount that a business will charge for its products. It’s subject to these considerations:
The cost to produce the product
The customers’ perceived product value
How much do competitors charge for similar products?
How much market share does the business have?

Question 7

Place

Answer 7

relates to how the business is going to deliver its products to its customers. It encompasses where the product is sold, and the related distribution channels.

Question 8

Promotion

Answer 8

may be online or offline; it‘s how a company communicates its offering to customers. This is the point at which advertising fits into the marketing mix. Good promotion is two-way and builds a relationship with customers.

Question 9

The extended marketing mix

Answer 9

People
processes
physical evidence

Question 10

how many stages in the extended marketing mix?

Answer 10

7

Question 11

People

Answer 11

People refers to the business’s staff, specifically those who:
Are customer-facing, and so represent the brand to customers
May help to develop the products/services that the business offers

If staff are happy and motivated, this gives the business an undetected competitive advantage.

Question 12

Processes

Answer 12

Processes are the systems and processes that affect the business’s ability to meet customers’ needs. These internal systems need to be efficient in order to minimise costs and maximise profits, whilst still ensuring convenience for the customer.

Question 13

Physical evidence

Answer 13

the physical evidence element of the marketing mix refers to the physical environment experienced by the customer. This could include: the physical design and layout of the premises. the layout of the company website

Question 14

The product life cycle

Answer 14

product development
introduction
growth
maturity
decline

Question 15

product development

Answer 15

Product Development
During the Product Development stage the organisation undertakes research to understand the needs of its target audience. These research findings are used to develop the new product or service.

The company is not making any money yet, because the product or service is still being designed.

Question 16

introduction

Answer 16

In Introduction the product or service goes on sale.

Other elements of the Marketing Mix (particularly Price, Promotion, and Physical Evidence) will have a large impact on the growth of sales. However, unless the company has good physical evidence, growth of sales is typically slow, as potential customers might be uncertain about the new product.

During this phase, the company isn’t making any profit - it may even be making a loss as it will be spending huge amounts of money on production and marketing.

Question 17

growth

Answer 17

In Growth more potential customers have heard of the product or service and are willing to purchase it, which means that sales will therefore increase rapidly.

At this point the company will finally start to make a profit.

Question 18

maturity

Answer 18

In the Maturity phase sales start to slow down and level out. This might be because competitors start entering the market or it may be because most people who want to buy the product have already done so.

Question 19

decline

Answer 19

Decline means that fewer and fewer people are purchasing the product, which means that sales (and profits) decrease.

Question 20

What are customers?

Answer 20

A customer is any entity that purchases the products or services that are sold by an organisation. A customer could either be:

An individual person, known as a “consumer” (like whenever you purchase something online or in-store)
A business, which purchases products or services from another organisation (such as when a fitness brand hires a marketing agency to create a new website)

Question 21

b2c

Answer 21

B2C stands for Business to Customer. Examples include a restaurant providing a takeaway service for individuals to order food, or a high-street store selling sportswear to individuals.

Characteristics of B2C transactions are:
Marketing may involve channels such as magazines, billboards, Instagram, Facebook, TV and radio
Marketing messages are based on emotional factors
Relationships between businesses and consumers are harder to build and maintain
Transactions don’t typically involve negotiation between the business and the consumer
The sales process can be relatively short (taking anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours)
Promotional campaigns (such as discounts and vouchers) are used to promote quick sales

Question 22

b2b

Answer 22

B2B stands for Business to Business. Examples include a farmer selling fruit and vegetables to a wholesaler, or a wholesaler selling nail polish to a salon.

Characteristics of B2B transactions are:
Marketing may involve channels such as industry publications, LinkedIn, and trade shows
Marketing messages are based on value, service and trust
Relationships between businesses are developed and ongoing
Transactions may involve a degree of negotiation
Therefore sales processes take longer than with B2C relationships
Transactions between businesses may be part of a complex supply chain