Welp MagazineThe days of businesses handing out leaflets and hoping that they’ll get the attention of their ideal customers are long gone. These antiquated methods have been usurped by technological advances, and companies can now attract their desired demographic with laser focus. Anyone who wants to survive in the cutthroat world of online business needs to leverage the power of these innovations or risk falling behind the competition.
Utilizing Data for Personalization
Something that is becoming more apparent online is the availability of bespoke experiences that are geared towards individual users. While marketing has often favoured a one-size-fits-all approach in the past, technology is allowing marketers to fulfil people’s needs in a more personal manner. This can be done through the mass collection of data, especially when someone is already a customer at a site.
Business owners can now make use of algorithms that collect data on users’ preferences over time. The system can then go on to make recommendations and offer promotions based on each users’ tastes. The more people who shop at or use a platform, the better these recommendations will be.
For instance, an e-commerce website could find that many people who buy a particular piece of household furniture also buy another item alongside it. In the future, it can offer this additional item as a suggestion when people click on the piece of furniture. These algorithms have improved over time, and now Amazon’s use of neural networks is an example of how accurate they can be.
Digital Engineering
Savvy business owners are now taking on digital marketing engineers, who are expected to combine technological skills with marketing in a hybrid role. These people are responsible for a wide range of functions, which can include building websites or content management systems. They are also expected to take care of customer relationship management.
This is all done by collecting vast amounts of data and organizing it through automated web tools. They can analyse all the information and then make recommendations about how to fine-tune the marketing approach. For example, advertising campaigns often start with a broad scope. Once the data shows which demographic is responsible for the most clicks, advertisers can zone in on those people.
Cheaper Promotions Delivered Digitally
Businesses used to spend a lot of money on advertising that wasn’t even guaranteed to reach the right people. Think about the cost of leaflets, television commercials, and paid promoters who had to market products and services to the masses rather than the perfect clientele. Nowadays, advertising online costs money, but marketers can use complex targeting methods to ensure that it is presented to their ideal customers. This means that the cost per acquisition is much lower than it was in the past.
The internet has given rise to promotions because businesses have a greater amount of budget to allocate in this regard. Freebies are often used as a hook to draw people in before they have to pay anything. This is seen a lot in the entertainment industry, where games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Eternium are free to play but allow users to pay to receive upgrades and additional items.
Most multifaceted platforms will offer a free taster to users before they invest. Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Spotify all come with a free month before there is any need to subscribe. This is also common in the online casino industry, where players can use casino promo codes to get free spins and deposit match bonuses upon joining a site. These promotions sound generous, but they are marketed to the people who are most likely to continue using a site after they have taken advantage of the freebie, meaning that they are worthwhile for the businesses.
Increased Reach
Technological advances and the rise of internet marketing mean that a business is no longer forced to exist in one place. Ancient methods of advertising usually focused on people in a certain catchment area, delivering leaflets to houses within the radius of a business. This can still be done using targeting on Facebook and Google, and it is a great method for brick-and-mortar businesses with local clientele.
However, online businesses now have the option to advertise to people on a much wider scale. This has helped eCommerce sales exceed $4 trillion worldwide. Improved logistics on the ground mean that online companies can market to and cater to people everywhere.
Technology has revolutionized the way businesses can market their products and services, but the progression hasn’t finished yet. The industry is still evolving, and business owners need to keep ahead of trends to ensure that their strategies are up to date and effective.
