The days of single channel marketing are over.

At this stage most companies will have realised that their customer base is changing and are looking at ways to adapt their communication activity to include digital marketing.

Just in case there are still some out there who need a visual reminder of how fragmented the customer journey has become, here is a diagram. I have yet to come across a better diagram of it than this one from a www.ZDNet.com blog:

Although some companies do realise that the habits and purchasing methods of their customer base is changing, many just don’t know where to start. Just look at the sheer volume of ways that a customer now engages brands. This phenomenon has caused many companies to fail, as they could not or did not adapt quickly enough. Even today, some companies insist on sticking to the old ‘reliable’ broadcast methods such as TV, radio, press only. Basically, the public have moved to a more digital world (e-commerce) and business is not keeping pace. Business needs to move from making customers aware and trying to sell the benefits of, their product / service, to letting the customer know (on their terms) that you have what they want. Admittedly, it’s still the age old approach of solving a problem for them, but now you must make their life simpler or at least engage with them as a person. The point is that the opportunity of being able to do this, as a strategy, through digital marketing  is greater than ever nowadays.

Moving from invisible to visible.

Every day you will read somewhere that email is dead, that SEO is dead, that TV is dying, but one thing IS for sure – the days of single channel marketing are over. Combining and integrating existing marketing activity with a digital strategy (social, search and content) into your business planning is now vital to move from invisible to visible in an increasingly crowded and fragmented marketplace.

Here are some statistics for Ireland, courtesy of www.simplyzesty.ie

Mobile Movement

Professional help is available to SMEs to fully embrace this digital integration and it need not be a costly exercise – just a smarter one.

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