Our society has progressed radically over the past two centuries. We have moved from an egalitarian society to an industrial society and now to a technological one. The evolution into a technology society has brought with it an amazing number of ways one can produce wealth. How so? The answer is found in one word: marketing. While the basic concept of marketing has not changed in thousands of years, the formats in which one can market something have been radically altered as evidenced by the new development of digital marketing.
Digital marketing? What is digital marketing? This is a question many people looking for means of advertising a product or service are asking. They do not ask this question out of confusion as much as anticipation. Considering how wildly successful many other new developments in the world of marketing have been recently, it would be safe to assume that digital marketing would deliver the same outstanding results.
On a basic level, digital marketing refers to using the internet or other forms of interactive, technological mediums for promotional purposes. (One example of these other forms include mobile telephone marketing which, despite still being in the infancy stage, has helped sell billions of dollars in products worldwide for various vendors) The advent of digital marketing is truly revolutionary since it offers much more than many of the traditional means of marketing can deliver. Yet, many will still cling to these older, outdated modes of promotional advertising. Why is this?
One reason is familiarity. People will prefer to stick with what they know and are comfortable with. Perhaps their business has experienced great success in the past from print advertising and “snail mail” direct marketing campaigns. Now, if the vendor has achieved success from these methods, they should definitely continue to employ their use. But, they should never overlook the value of new developments in the world of marketing. If the past is any guide for the future, we all realize that falling behind on progress is never a good place for a business to be in.
An aspect fueling the popularity of digital marketing is the extremely low cost of it. This makes it perfect for new business and start ups since they will need to watch their bottom line. However, the benefit for established businesses is obvious: why not explore a new marketing pathway if it does not come with much investment or cost? Or, in more foreboding sentiment, it may be necessary to warn companies with decent market shares of the dangers of not staying on top of new marketing trends and methodologies. When a company falls behind, market share might decline as more innovative and enthusiastic competitors take advantage of new promotional inroads.
Digital marketing remains a new world that should be embraced by any serious entrepreneur. It is simply the path of the future for all business ventures regardless of their size. This is a good thing as well since it forever opens to door to commerce which helps maintain a strong global economy. Is that a hyperbolic statement? Well, the sheer billions of online commerce make the assessment look like an understatement.
