It was not that long ago that traditional marketing methods were crucial in helping a business to succeed in the marketplace. Leaflets, business cards, catalogues and newspaper advertising all played an important role in advertising a company’s name out, therefore, helping to build a sold customer base.

However, changing times mean that while traditional marketing might not be completely redundant, digital marketing is now much more important.

The majority of businesses now realise the value of digital marketing over traditional methods; a recent survey from Think Vine found that a quarter of the respondents now spend more on digital marketing methods, and 31% stated that they expect their digital marketing efforts to overtake the traditional ones.

Here are just some of the reasons that businesses are switching to digital marketing to market their products and services:

Greater reach

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Getting your name out to an audience of millions would be impossible for most businesses if they were using traditional marketing methods, however, with digital marketing it has never been easier. An effective online campaign has the potential to get millions of page views at little cost – and it could even go viral.

Cost

For a lot of business owners, their biggest challenge is promoting it in a cost effective way; traditional marketing methods such as printing leaflets and brochures can be expensive and time consuming, and there is no guarantee that your efforts will get any results. However, with digital marketing it is possible to reach a huge audience, no matter how limited your budget, and online marketing provides an affordable solution for raising awareness of your company.

Targeting

One of the main issues with traditional marketing is that it is often not targeted, which means marketing efforts can often be ineffective. However, digital marketing is a much more targeted way for a business to get its message out there. People will visit a website because they are interested in the product or service that it sells, which makes them more likely to become a customer.

Spontaneity

A lot of spending decisions that people make are spontaneous; with an effective digital marketing campaign, people are more likely to buy without taking the time to think about purchasing the product or service. The efficiency of being able to purchase a product instantly, or get the information that they need quickly, also appeals to the modern consumer that doesn’t have a lot of time to spare and wants everything as quickly as possible. Our digital agency in Glasgow can inject some love into your brand today – Contact us.

Interactivity

A digital advertising campaign allows an interactivity with potential customers that just isn’t available from traditional advertising. With a digital campaign, a consumer feels more involved, and being able to interact with a company helps to build greater customer confidence.

A growing amount of companies are realising the importance of digital marketing as an affordable way to market their business and reach a vast audience, however, research shows that a high percentage of companies do not have an effective strategy in order to make the most of their digital marketing plan.

A digital marketing strategy sets out what the business wants to achieve with its digital marketing and details how to reach its aims. However, according to the Managing Digital Marketing Report 2014, while 38% of the companies interviewed had a digital marketing policy implemented, nearly half (46%) did use digital marketing, but had no firm marketing strategy in place.

Why your business needs a marketing strategy.

There are several keys reasons why a digital marketing plan is vital:

Business goals – it is essential for a company to have its business goals clearly set out so that it is definable what the aim is, and what the company is working towards with its digital marketing campaign. This can only be done when a strategy is drawn up and in place.

Understanding your potential customers – if a business is going to market to potential customers, then it needs to know as much as it can about them so it can recognise what its potential customers want, and the best means of meeting their needs. If you are looking for a digital agency Glasgow & Edinburgh are proud of then you can talk to Smarter Digital Marketing who conduct professional market research before consulting.

Targeting – a clear plan will help a business to identify its market and target potential customers effectively, enabling it to reach its intended market.

Maximising opportunities – without an effective digital marketing strategy in place, a business’s risks missing out on vital opportunities. If there is no structure then it is almost impossible for a business to know which direction it is heading in, or what it wants to achieve, which means important opportunities will be missed.

Attracting loyal customers – most businesses would not survive without their loyal customers; having a digital marketing strategy in place is one of the best ways of attracting them. A well prepared plan will help a business to identity the best ways of communicating and interacting with potential buyers of its product or services online, thus helping to attract the type of people who are more likely to become customers and allowing the company to build consumer trust.

Competitors – conducting competitor analysis is an excellent way of gaining the edge over competitors. The better defined the strategy is, the easier it is for a business to outsmart its rivals by coming up with unique ways to reach its target market.

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