Oct 08, 2018
Some companies are still reluctant to go digital. They think that digital transformation is a long and expensive commitment. It’s true that it takes more than just financial investment to make digital transformation work.
Truth be told, though, that in today’s digitally-savvy society, brands that don’t adapt into the digital mindset are losing. Magazines are closing, and so are brick-and-mortar stores. In other words, modern society is gearing towards a digital marketplace, and you’ll lose business if you don’t get on board.
1. Competitive disadvantage
Most brands today are stepping up their game when it comes to digital marketing – and we’re not only talking about social media anymore. Digital marketing spans through a whole range of different technologies to help brands reach their preferred target audiences. And, with the shift in customer habits, it is now imperative to reach your customers exactly where they are – be it via social platforms, on mobile search, or even through geo-location.
2. Become irrelevant
Speaking of audience behavior, it’s been said that the new generation of consumers have changed drastically. Long gone are the days where brands dictate the trends; today finds brands and consumers’ roles interchanged. Consumers are creating the trends, and when brands get late into it, they lose.
One such factor is that of being digital. Nowadays, the legitimacy of a brand is directly correlated to their online presence, especially when it comes to new brands. The more following a brand has on social media, and the more exposed the influencers are to them, the more consumers are likely to trust them and in turn, buy from them.
3. Missed social selling opportunities
To be more conducive for business, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have introduced and improved social selling. Now, brands can have online shops on Facebook that are linked to their e-commerce website, or add a price tag to their photo on Instagram. These features provide marketers more insight on where their website traffic is coming from, and what type of posts actually lead to conversion.
4. Endure cost increase
The best thing about digital marketing is how cost-efficient it is. Because of it, brands today don’t need to spend hundreds of thousands to be found by their target consumers. Without it, though, companies would have to endure the cost increase in traditional media – without the safety net of measurable results that digital tools provide.
5. Lack of key data analytics
With big data comes great (marketing) power. Gone are the days where marketers feed their consumers a new product, market it, and see where it goes. Nowadays, data is rampant and easily accessible with the right tools. Marketers don’t have to guess who their target market is because the information is available with the click of a button.
Companies who don’t adapt to the digital age miss out on a lot of targeted marketing opportunities simply because they don’t open themselves to digital-based technologies such as social listening tools.
6. Hindered company growth
With the right sales and marketing strategy, your company can reach far and wide. However, more traditional companies who are comfortable with the usual media channels can be quite reluctant to adapt to new media and technologies, which in itself is an obstacle hindering the company’s growth.
Like people, it is important for companies and brands to grow with the times. What we know about marketing now will change with every new data privacy policy or algorithm or product that social media and tech companies churn out. If there’s any advice that we can give companies and marketers alike, it is simply: be open to change.
Dot Digital PH is a digital marketing agency based in the Philippines. We offer social media marketing, web design and development, content creation, pay-per-click ads management, and digital marketing strategy and consultancy.