It is a myth that all aspects of Digital Marketing work the same way. Quite the opposite! There are countless variables that adapt the structure of each strategy according to the characteristics of the company, the market and the marketing plan in general.
Even with these peculiarities, there are some important steps that
permeate most Digital Marketing actions. Are they:
1 – Planning
Planning is the key to all business strategies. And it would be no different
with Digital Marketing! This stage serves to reflect on the premises that
will guide the development and execution of actions in a future period.
Good planning answers in advance the questions that should arise during this
process:
- What are
the goals we want to achieve?
- What
metrics will we use to define whether an action was successful?
- Who are
our competitors? What can we learn from their strategies?
- Who are
our customers? How can we exert persuasion on them?
- What will
be the key steps of our strategy?
- What
specific actions encompass each stage of the general plan?
Therefore, the objective of this stage is to build a foundation to
support the application of the outlined strategy. Which is the next topic
we will discuss here!
2 – Execution
With the planning complete, it’s time to start putting Digital Marketing
actions into practice. You will use the general strategy definitions
to define clear steps towards the proposed objectives.
But the execution stage is not just about doing it, or you will get lost in
the midst of so many demands. It is necessary to exercise solid notions of
project management to prosper.
With this knowledge, you will be able to set the big picture for day-to-day
work, which is beneficial for both individual professionals and the team as a
whole. In other words, project management helps to clarify:
- what are
the actions performed in a time window;
- which team
member is in charge of which action;
- what is
the maximum delivery time;
- how is the
progress;
- What
documentation and other relevant materials are there.
3 – Analysis
After execution, it is necessary to identify the results that each
action brought to the company. And when can you start this step? It depends on
the channels used, the maturity of the strategy as a whole and the magnitude of
resources invested.
For example, an SEO strategy often needs weeks or months to gain traction.
Now, when it comes to paid media, you will be able to track results in real
time.
Either way, it is essential to dedicate time to performance analysis.
A common mistake is to believe that efforts are better invested in planning
and executing new actions. However, looking back is a powerful tool
for understanding what worked in practice and how you can maximize
this type of result.
This and identifying strategies that were not as successful as imagined and
therefore should not be included in future planning.
Fundamentals of Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing follows the internet landscape, which means that there are
radical changes every day. However, its theoretical basis is anchored in
traditional marketing, and there are some concepts that apply to both
strategies. This is the case with the Ps of marketing:
4 Ps of Marketing
Also called Marketing Mix or Marketing Compound, the 4 Ps of Marketing are
the pillars that should guide any marketing strategy to maximize the
results obtained: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
They were created by Professor Jerome McCarthy in his book Basic
Marketing: A Managerial View (1960) and published by Philip Kotler, the
“Father of Marketing”.
Even 80 years later, the 4 Ps of Marketing remain relevant for professionals
who aim to build a theoretical basis in the area. After all, they help to
understand the scope that marketing strategies must adopt to become more
effective.
- Product: must
be the basis of the company's strategy, focusing on convincing potential
customers of the benefits they can obtain with their purchase. There must
be extensive work to ensure the best possible quality and added value,
which can be anchored in branding strategies.
- Price: more
than just a number, this pillar is linked to the potential customer’s
perception of value about the product. People don't just pay for physical
objects, but for the experience that possession can offer. Therefore,
consider both production costs and also the added value.
- Place: concerns
the supply and distribution channels through which the product will reach
potential customers. It is necessary to understand where the target
audience seeks solutions to their problems and what the most efficient way
to deliver them is. In e-commerce, it encompasses logistics.
- Promotion: this
pillar is what we most associate with marketing, because it deals with
advertising strategies that will awaken the desire of potential customers
and convince them to make a purchase. In other words, it is related to the
way in which the brand reaches its specific audience.
8 Ps of Digital Marketing
The 8 Ps of Digital Marketing have the same premise as the Marketing Mix,
but applied to the dynamic internet scenario. In other words, they take into
account the peculiarities that permeate online marketing.
And, unlike the Marketing Composite, we were unable to find a consensus on
what the 8 pillars would be. Some sources claim that they are the 4 Ps of
Marketing with four extra items, while others indicate that the 8 Ps are new.
Therefore, we brought both versions so that you can fully understand the
concepts and draw your own conclusions.
4 Ps of Marketing + 4 Ps of
Digital Marketing
In the topic above, you have a complete explanation of the 4 Ps of
Marketing. Some sources conceptualize the 8 Ps of Digital Marketing bringing
the Marketing Mix accompanied by four new pillars:
- People: as
Digital Marketing strategies allow advanced audience segmentation, it
becomes necessary to understand who the customer has the greatest
consumption potential and what factors influence their purchasing journey.
- Processes: the
internet allows more and more people to join the customer base,
multiplying the available interaction channels. Therefore, this creates
the need to have pre-programmed flows to handle the high amount of
marketing demands.
- Positioning: this
pillar deals with the experience that the customer will have when
interacting with the brand, online and in the physical environment. Does
this relationship generate identification and encourage recurrence? If the
consumer feels good about the purchase, it is a sign that this P was
considered.
- Performance: a
great advantage of Digital Marketing is the optimization of resources and
the detailed measurement of results, which allows the creation of more
efficient strategies. Therefore, this pillar values maximum results with
minimum investment.
Unfortunately, we were unable to find an indication of a primary source for
this conceptualization. If you can help, leave a comment and we'll update
the content to bring this complete information!
8 Unprecedented Ps of Digital
Marketing
The concept was presented in the book 8 Ps of Digital
Marketing (2011), initially published as Google
Marketing (2008). The proposal is to outline a path for developing
strategies:
- Research: none
of the P of the Marketing Mix that we have already talked about in this
topic comes to fruition without research. It is through this that we base
ourselves on real data instead of “guesswork” and pre-conceived notions,
which contributes to reducing the duration of the trial and error process
that leads to success.
- Planning: Digital
Marketing strategies don’t go anywhere without planning. This first step
is essential to outline assertive actions, as it works directly with the
definition of objectives and, consequently, with the paths that will lead
to achieving them.
- Production: this
is the “hands-on” stage, where the planned actions will be put into
practice. Special attention is needed to manage this process, with clear
delimitations of the demands of each project and responsibilities relative
to team members, to maximize the potential of the resources used.
- Publication: with
the inputs ready, it's time to put them on the street. The specifics of the
publication will depend on the nature of the strategy. If it's a blog,
you'll need a CMS to manage the content. When it comes to paid media, the
channel will be the ad creation platform, for example.
- Promotion: this
P was “stolen” from the Marketing Mix, despite having a slightly different
application. Here, promotion encompasses how each Digital Marketing action
will be distributed, outlining the path until it meets the objective of
reaching the end customer.
- Propagation: It
is natural for a customer to trust feedback from a real person more than
advertising from a company. Therefore, propagation aims to promote a
positive experience for the customer considering that it can be a source
of new customers through referrals.
- Personalization: Identification
generates a feeling of familiarity which, in turn, is very powerful in
leading customers to purchase. Therefore, it is recommended to take
advantage of internet tools to create personalized experiences that meet
the specificities of each lead.