Nine goals of digital marketing

Egypt Business analyses the digital marketing of the 500 most prominent Egyptian enterprises. This paper is #3 of a series of papers on digital marketing in Egypt.

Companies that use the Internet today can achieve many goals. At the beginning of the Internet age, there was only one goal: awareness. Anyone who put a website on the net was included in lists and automatically got thousands of new contacts and thus customers. But only a few years later, you had to work hard to achieve this goal. Today, there is a whole range of other goals that can be achieved with online marketing - in addition to becoming known.
much more efficiently than with classical media. The costs are often significantly lower when processes are handled via the Internet. In order to work efficiently, however, the processes should be clearly aligned with the goal.

The following goals are the most frequently mentioned when it comes to online marketing:
● Increase awareness of the company,
● Build a positive image,
● To handle processes more efficiently,
● Improve customer loyalty,
● Addressing new target groups,
● Sell products online,
● sell services online,
● make a product better known,
● establish a brand.

Many of these goals are interrelated and mutually dependent. If you want to sell more, you naturally have to work on your brand awareness. If you achieve your online goals well, you automatically build a positive image. Nevertheless, there are a number of specifics that will be discussed in the following.

Raising the awareness of the company
The great strength of the internet is its enormous reach. In 1995, a few smart cuckoo clock makers in the Black Forest started to put a homepage online. On it were simply a few pictures of cuckoo clocks, explanatory text and an email address. Orders followed from all over the world. Thus, a communication technology was invented with which information could be distributed worldwide at low cost. Today, any clothing factory in Egypt can become known worldwide if it is found in a Google search.

Building a positive reputation
With what aim did many companies go online in 1995? Not because it is an efficient way of communicating with customers, but because it was part of the modern image. Today, an Internet presence is a must, and it takes more than just good design to build a positive image with it. It is important for a positive image that the visitor of the homepage finds what he expects, and that as comfortably and quickly as possible. The more diverse the offer and the possible wishes of the customers, the more difficult this task becomes. "Customer experience management" is the technical term for the convenient usability of a website. 

Handling processes more efficiently
Only a few companies mention this goal when talking about their internet activities. Yet this is precisely the "crux of the matter": many things can be done more efficiently via the internet. "Efficiency" can mean that a process functions adequately but is much cheaper to handle than by other means. This applies, for example, to cheap airline tickets, home banking and the provision of PDF manuals for customers who have lost their original printed manual. "Efficiency" can also mean that things are possible at reasonable cost that were previously unthinkable. A company can build an advice portal where prospective customers can find out about products for as long as they want.

Improving customer loyalty
Digital customer loyalty is in vogue. Customer relationships can be strengthened via e-mail, WhatsApp and social media by passing on relevant information that benefits the customer.

Addressing new target groups
After an intensive evaluation of customer history, a B2B company found out the following: Whereas in the past it was rather larger companies that had become customers, since the expansion of online activities there has been an increased influx also from smaller
companies. A disproportionately large number of these new customers have generated more sales than the somewhat more sluggish large companies that were previously their customers. Online advertising has demonstrably brought in new target groups that had previously been neglected.
had been neglected.

Selling physical products online
More than ninety percent of internet users inform themselves about products on the web. More than two-thirds also buy them online. Half use the internet to compare prices. In short: if you want to sell something, you can't get around the internet.
So there's no question about it: online sales are a great thing. Why? Because everything is automatic and the orders come flooding in. But in practice it's not quite that simple. If you want to sell physical products online, there are three challenges:
1. you have to manage a speedy shipment logistically.
2. every tenth customer makes use of his right of return.
3. you may have to chase your money.

Selling services online
Unlike shipping physical products, there are no returns for services. There is also no hassle of logistics. There is no need to pack and ship anything. Therefore, services are virtually predestined to be sold online. In addition, people often search online specifically for services. The internet therefore plays an important role as an intermediary for services. Online sales are now standard for both banks and insurance companies.
standard today. Regardless of whether it's a flight or a train: tickets are predominantly ordered via the internet. Even tickets for events are increasingly ordered online.

Making a product better known
Not only company websites in general, but also specific products can be promoted online. Often it is the product managers who, together with the marketing department, are active on the web to attract more attention. There are far more ways to present one's own products than just one's own homepage. How about, for example, a short press release on a wide-reaching portal like Egypt-Business.com?

Strengthen a brand
In the past, the introduction of new brands often relied exclusively on TV, print and outdoor advertising. Today, the internet plays a stronger role in brand building because many target groups are best reached online. In addition, the internet offers more opportunities for interaction. Achieving brand awareness only through visual contacts is less sustainable than by involving the target group. "Customer engagement" is the magic word in the World Wide Web. Whether it is a competition, a photo contest or a model casting - many campaigns can be developed into participatory campaigns via the internet.

Egypt Business analyses the digital marketing of the 500 most prominent Egyptian enterprises. This paper is #3 of a series of papers on digital marketing in Egypt. See also:
#1: 5 good reasons for digital marketing
#2: Steps to a digital marketing strategy
#4: Growth marketing
#5: Egypt's 10 web woes
#6: Element of an Egyptian website