A Wider Net

The greatest value that digital marketing provides to national consumer companies is to help build customer ritual. In the case of most national brands, your goal is to bring customers in the stores for product. The best way to build ritual is to make a positive customer experience—and using digital media as a key component of your media mix is not only cost effective, but it is the best way to create a customer experience short of a visit to a store. Of course, digital marketing encompasses more than the website, including POS, digital signage, email, and more. And digital media is most effective when part of a complete media campaign. Nevertheless, there are specific benefits. While television, radio, and print advertising all have important roles, when a consumer visits a website, they have taken a small but proactive step toward the brand. That minor commitment says they are at least willing to consider being aligned with the brand.

Once at the site, they are not passive viewers, but can interact. They control the amount of time they stay on the site at no cost to themselves. If the experience is positive, entertaining, and has a strong mechanism to make an on-line purchase or visit a store, the return on investment is not only achieved for that visit—but fuels the ongoing ritual. Other specific benefits include:

• Digital media is a remarkably cost-effective way to reach a large, targeted audience.
• Digital media is persistent: It’s an “always on,” omnipresent element that enables secondary and tertiary marketing impressions that create lasting brand awareness.
• Metrics driven: You have the ability to quickly measure, adapt, and correct your path.
• Broadband is highly available. Today, more than 70- percent access exists in US homes—so the on-line experience is getting better.
• It’s a two-way channel. Your customers can reach you, and you can reach them.
• You are able to reach multiple audience and constituents beyond consumers, including franchisees and potential employees.
• Digital marketing allows the brand to speak multiple languages and assimilate to various cultures, cost effectively getting the message to the audiences at the right time and the right place
• Consumers associate themselves with like-minded consumers, and digital media is an easy and growing way for people to link themselves directly with the brand.