The Effects of Digital Marketing on the Performance of a Business

Significant competition in dynamic business environment have been encountered with by business organizations with an increasing level of globalization. For this reason, new technologies have been developed by most businesses to uplift the operations and strategies, therefore achieving competitive advantage and not the other way round. Note that the use of digital technologies i.e., social media in marketing is debatable. Digital marketing can be made accessible by strictly following the normal procedure it takes. Taking advantage of the new digital technologies to achieve competitive advantage should be encouraged for the organization. Awareness of new products in the market today have been made easier to create on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Examining the impact of digital marketing in business is important. This is to encourage firms to utilize new opportunities and achieve competitive advantage of such new opportunities to achieve competitive advantage in the current competitive world.

The idea of investigating the impact of digital marketing on business performance has been motivated by various studies that have shown gaps in this research topic. For instance, Tsiotsou and Ratten (2010) have suggested that there is a need for future research to investigate the use of new technologies in marketing. These researchers have identified a huge gap in the literature focusing on the impact of e-marketing on business performance. Therefore, there is need for researchers to bridge this gap through research to help businesses understand the role of digital technologies in their marketing efforts.

Dehkordi (2012) also found out that business organization should take advantage of digital technologies in their marketing approaches or face the risk of being thrown out of business by competitors. Alford (2010) also carried out research in Bournemouth, England, and found out that rural businesses can benefit from online marketing because it enables them to compete effectively through attraction and retention of customers.

Although these studies and many others have engaged deep in research about the topic, there are still gaps to address. For instance, an investigation regarding business reports indicates that several businesses continue to fail in their marketing efforts despite the use of new technologies. It is clear that traditional marketing could still have a huge role to play in enhancing business performance. However, many people still believe that if we use digital technologies effectively, businesses could improve their performances significantly.

Regarding the above information, this research will investigate the effectiveness of different digital technologies including the internet in enhancing improved business performance. To make the study more effective, the researcher will examine the changing needs of consumers as well as how digital marketing can be used to address those needs. If the digital marketing is used appropriately to meet the needs of consumers, it will be effective in attracting and retaining customers, hence achieving higher business performance.

This study is important for business firms and individuals because it enables them to understand how they can use digital technologies to achieve a full advantage in terms of business performance and competitive advantage. It entails the investigation of the effects that digital marketing has on business performance. Researchers have found out that digital or e-marketing has significant benefits to business organizations including improving business performance and enhancing competitive advantage.

However, gaps still exist in terms of the impact of digital marketing on business performance because most businesses still fail despite adopting digital marketing strategies. After the study is completed, companies will understand the benefits and costs of using digital marketing; hence, they could make good decisions regarding their marketing approaches. The research questions that will be addressed in the study include:

• What is the impact of digital marketing on business performance?
• How can business adopt digital marketing to achieve competitive advantage?

References

Alford, P. (2010). Be internet savvy to boost business. Farmers Weekly, 152(14), 77-92. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/340311177?accountid=10612.

Dehkordi, J., Rezvani, W., Rahman, M., Fouladivanda, F., Nahid, N., and Jouya, S. (2012). A conceptual study on e-marketing and its operation on firm’s promotion and understanding customers’ response. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(19), 114-123. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v7n19p114

Tsiotsou, R. and Ratten, V. (2010). Future research directions in tourism marketing. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 28(4), 533-544. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02634501011053702