Digital marketing
Diagnosis, strategy, tactics
Local businesses should not blindly trust digital marketing
Social media ads, updates, and blogs may bring a few additional customers, but without a plan all businesses look and sound the same. Small and local businesses hop on to digital because it is doable and cheap. Businesses are slaves to the social media platforms.
Food business upstarts such as cloud kitchens, independent cafés, restaurant upstarts rely solely on Instagram to attract customers. It harmed them, when Instagram changed its focus. They could only reach one tenth of customers than before. Facebook encourages independent businesses to use Facebook to grow business. They can run advertisements with less than INR 100. Cheap advertisements, free updates, long blogs are for everyone else. When the number of advertisers grows, the returns are lesser and lesser, as everyone is trying to reach the same audience, using the same approach. As per ad-man Bob Hoffman, social media companies are not even serving the online ads to the customers.
As per New York Times: Then, at the end of 2021, Instagram’s parent company, Meta, changed the platform’s algorithm to prioritise videos, called Reels. Accounts that don’t regularly post the short-form videos appear below those that have embraced the format in users’ Instagram feeds, resulting in a notable drop in engagement on posts — and, in turn, sales — for many small businesses.
Running away from social media is not the solution, either. Small business, who do not only rely on social media, are doing better. They also focussed on media relations and word of mouth. The key is the balance.
Diagnosis first, strategy second and tactics in the last is the right way:
- Diagnose is about knowing the audience according to the problems they face. Does the business want to raise awareness or bring in new customers? Young businesses have to inform people first, build trust and memories. Older businesses can offer discounts to move the sales up.
- Strategy is about figuring out how to solve the specific business problem for the audience. Without knowing where to go, any road will take there. Businesses should identify their audience, the places where they exist, and then find the buying path.
- Step three is to focus on the best way to reach the audience according to the objectives. Young businesses with newer products may have to educate the customers, using longer videos and articles. Fashion businesses may have to position themselves rather than offering discounts.
Mini MBA Marketing’s professor Mark Ritson wrote, “Marketing strategy is where we play and how we win in the market. Tactics are how we then deliver on the strategy and execute for success.”
