Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about digital transformation and what this term means for different industries. Although the definitions about what this transformation stands for are as different as these industries themselves they always roughly describe the process in which some sectors substitute analog for digital processes to improve efficiency or customer experience.
Keeping that in mind, it is easy to see why marketing represents one of the areas that experienced the strongest hits by this digital tsunami. The goal of marketing is to create as many possible touchpoints and outline the entire customers’ journey. Digital tech can positively influence virtually all these nodes.
Let us take a look then at how exactly is the digital transformation changing marketing at this very moment and what is the role of SEO in this process.
Higher level of control and granulation
We would like to start by saying that the biggest legacy of digital disruption in terms of marketing is the unprecedented level of control and granulation modern marketers have at their disposal. In the age of mass media, the goal of marketing was to cast the biggest possible net and offer the messages that will appeal to numerous demographics. Present-day analytics gives marketers much more freedom in choosing who will see the message as well as advanced analytic tools that provide more comprehensive results. All this produces a very high level of granularity and opens the doors to a customized marketing approach.
SEO changing the nature of marketing
Saying that Google has a great impact on how companies communicate with the audience would be an understatement. At the moment, as much as 93% of online traffic starts with a search. Ranking high on the SERP should be an absolute priority of any company. However, with over 200 ranking factors in play, Google has changed how the very process of optimization envelops. Modern SEO is working to promote some brands as much as to offer valuable content and optimal experience to the users. This way, marketing actions create a very different and more valuable digital footprint than paid ads.
Better integration of channels
Marketers always tried to put the results of different marketing channels into the same framework. With the rise of digital marketing, however, we have finally got the situation where these varied systems effectively speak the same language which helps us to treat them with the same analytic tools, see how they influence each other, and develop a more holistic approach to the matter. Also, consulting companies like HTEC group are doing a great job at equipping small and medium businesses necessary for digital evolution so the perks of this advertising approach are becoming available across the board.
Personalization and elevated customer experiences
These perks are the direct result of the granularity and the control we have mentioned in the previous sections. Be that as it may, present-day web users leave a digital trail that can be used for crafting customized marketing messages and practically delivering different content to each user. This strategy works to the benefit of all parties involved in the process since a recent study determined that 71% of respondents preferred to get advertisements tailored around their habits and interests. So much so that 44% of them were willing to give up personal information to get more personalized marketing content.
Complex sales funnels offer more room for adjustment
The sales funnel represents a series of steps a potential customer needs to take from the initial exposure to the product to the checkout. In previous times, the marketers had very little influence over this process. They could simply mass-produce the marketing content, send it out, and hope for the best. The rise of digital tech allowed sales funnels development to become much more complex. These days, they are mostly divided into the following stages:
- Awareness (the consumers realizes that you are offering some product of interest)
- Interest (further research about the product)
- Consideration
- Intent (the consumers realize they need the product and service)
- Decision (the consumers are converted to customers)
Digital tech offers the techniques for influencing each of these instances allowing marketers to get much better results in the process.
Foundations for interactivity
Last but not least, we would like to mention one of the biggest changes that ushered with the rise of digital marketing and that is interactivity. Unlike the previous marketing mediums like television and press that offered consumers very little choice, now the users have to choose how they are going to use the content, when and with whom they are going to share it. Furthermore, the influencers are allowed to make comments, give suggestions, and actively participate in the marketing campaign. Such a degree of interactivity was virtually impossible, even if actively encouraged through referral programs.
We hope these few examples gave you a general idea about the forces shaping the modern marketing industry in the wake of digital transformation. What’s important to note here is that moving the game into the digital playing field hasn’t only changed the methods we use for marketing, but the very core of the industry as well. And still, the general feeling is that the true potential of digital marketing has, up to this point, remained intact. The only way to know in which direction the industry is going to move is to wait and see.