Paradigm Shift in the World of Marketing to Digital

The saying that change is the only constant holds true in all aspects of life. It is evident from the past that he who fails to respond to change, also fails to make it big. Consider doctors for example, the diseases that they have to treat are not always the ones they learnt about, in med school. If they fail to upgrade their knowledge and skills with time, they would find themselves catching flies in their own dispensaries (provided they can afford any!)

The corporate sector is no exception to this inevitable phenomenon.The organisations that have lasted for long are the ones who changed their approach with time. Post World War II and the Industrial Revolution, our society has changed remarkably. The companies which were product or production oriented shifted their focus on marketing orientation and are now trying to understand and respond to the needs of their customers better than ever.

With organizations showing keen interest in the

marketing approach to increase their profit margins, the role of a robust marketing strategy and planning has become paramount. The marketer’s approach to lure his/her target audience has changed. The world is going digital and so is the potential customer. Gone are those days when the prime time slot 'allocated' or in other words 'earned by you' for advertising your product defined your reach to the audience. With the advent of smart phones and tablet computers, complimented by Wi-Fi and easy access to a data connection, the potential customer can be reached anywhere, any time.

The reach of digital media has crossed the confines of geographical, cultural and social boundaries. The Apparel and FMCG industries are thriving on their digital marketing campaigns to garner more customers than by any other stereotype method of print advertising. A research shows that over 93% of the marketers now prefer digital media for their business growth (ref. www.jessicadraws.com). A recent survey done by StrongView indicates that  9 out of 10 'Business Leaders' from a mix of B2B and B2C in the North American continent have planned to increase their digital marketing budgets by alarming numbers. A statistical report below depicts the percentage increase in budget by these companies in various marketing medium.

Now even politicians have harnessed the digital marketing platform to gain their political grounds, increase their popularity and build an image by roping in the advertisement and image building agencies. Barak Obama (President, The US) being the trend setter and Narendra Modi (CM, State of Guj,India) being the torch bearer of such marketing strategies are fine examples (I also consider them to be the best marketed products during their respective election campaigns).

All said and done the question that still haunts me is, for how long will this new gimmick of Digital Marketing sustain? Is it here to stay or is it just like any other passing fad? Well undoubtedly these changing trends in the marketing and promotional strategies of various organizations across the globe are a result of changing consumer behaviour. Being a marketing student I’m curious to know how far this Paradigm Shift can go. Not to forget that these newly discovered strategies firmly challenge the ‘Kotlers’ and ‘Poters‘ of the marketing world (who have ruled it for ages) on certain grounds and have still sustained for fairly good time now and continue to do so. Time has come for the world to look beyond the 4 Ps of conventional marketing and learn the 4 Cs of digital marketing so as to stay upbeat with the pace of this changing world.

'What Next?' is now an interesting question. As I quoted in the beginning, change is inevitable and we as marketers will have to keep this in our minds at all times.