'How to ensure that brands get best from digital marketing?'

“Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident”

- Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam

These words from Dr. Kalam should inspire every single individual and people handling Digital Marketing are no exception for it truly is a process of the pursuit of continuous excellence.

For the longest period of time, digital marketing has been touted as the panacea of all ills in your marketing strategy and that missing link that can resolve all your misery when it came to improved efficiency and effectiveness of campaigns.

In my view, the time for change of this marketing world order is upon us. Digital as an underpinned enabler of business and engagement has changed our lives so much that there is nothing called digital marketing anymore. The world is turning digital and hence it is no more about using digital marketing better but about marketing more effectively in a digital world.

So how does one crack the code to create magic for their brands. Doing so requires the Chief Marketing Officer and the entire company to rally behind “engagements” and “moments of wow” in the Digital world. You ask me WHY? Here’s why:

GREAT CX SHOULD BE A GIVEN

No brand can afford to have websites that are not responsive/adaptive or an app/website that makes it cumbersome for a customer to access content or buy products and services. Design with CX as focus and you shall have repeat visits and advocacy like never before. This is not just true for digital businesses like ecommerce etc but across all businesses. Want to build a brand in the Digital world? Ensure that you as a CXO and all members of the organization are digital citizens first and then the journey begins of transformation that shall build the brands of the future.

NOTHING IS AND CAN BE HIDDEN ANYMORE

The digital world is an increasingly more democratic social order. Right from the discovery stage of a brand to evaluation to finally purchase, the brand is assessed democratically via peer reviews and opinions and content about the brand. So what does it mean? Just focus on ensuring WOW because people will talk about it. Focus on ensuring wow for your customers, employees and vendors and create brand advocates that will themselves share those moments of joy and create a more positive brand pull for you. Be honest and human in your communication and approach towards a consumer and you shall see Brand Promiscuity transform itself to brand advocacy.

EVERY ENGAGEMENT IS A MOMENT OF TRUTH

Brands today are not a function of some advertising messiah coming up with the coolest campaign delivered with great precision with amazing efficiency. Brands are built also because you know how to treat every moment of engagement and every channel of communication with customers with great respect. Cross channel synergy of your brand ethos, brand beliefs and brand values must be ensured. That means right from the first communication to follow ups to call centres to EDMs to actual physical meeting with sales personnel or channel partners to the product itself – everything needs to be a moment of serendipity for the customers. Customer truly is king and queen and since they have an easy channel to vent their ire, it is critical to pull up our socks as marketers and as CXOx and drive fantastic synergy between brand promise and brand delivery.

STORYTELLING AND CONTENT IS NOT JUST A PART OF STRATEGY BUT CRITICAL TO IT

If you think content led marketing and storytelling is something you can use a checkbox for, think again. Content – both UGC and brand led is critical to the way people perceive your brand. Telling amazing stories through content and being perceived, as a brand for which its customers are creating stories is an amazing place to be. Digital makes it easier as well as even more critical.

LEVERAGE THE POWER OF ANALYTICS

It is not just about basic sales growth numbers pre and post campaigns that can provide insights on what worked. It is critical to put your metrics in place before the campaign and then leverage the power of analytics to carve insights for every single variable and market that you are targeting. If you set up your analytical engines well, your insights can save you money and help you deliver more for less in terms of both brand building as well as sales

Remember, the Digital World is a connected ecosystem that like any other ecosystem is built on a give and take relationship. If you are a CEO, a founder, a CMO or a CXO looking to build your brand in this new world order, be ready to change yourself to be a digital citizen. Brand Building in the digital era begins with people changing within organizations to create impact outside.

About the author:-

Abhinav Upadhyay
Head – Marketing & Innovation, Zee Learn Ltd and an evangelist of digital transformation of businesses.
Tweets at @abhinavu