According To The Electronic Commerce Framework, Direct Marketing, Search Jobs, And Online Banking | The Electronic Commerce Framework and Direct Marketing

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is the exchange of goods and services between businesses and individual consumers using electronic devices and the Internet. E-commerce grew from nearly zero in 1992 to nearly $14.4 billion in 2018, making up 18.2% of all retail sales.

E-commerce has grown significantly, but it’s not all good news. According to the 2018 edition of the Global Retail Marketing Survey, conducted by research firm Market Reach, less than 1 in 5 respondents reported “a lot of success” with their digital marketing strategy.

The survey gathered data from more than 500 marketers around the world, asking questions such as “How do you plan to grow your business in the next two years?” and “What do you think are the most effective online marketing tactics in 2018?”

The first question addresses digital marketing trends and what respondents plan to do differently in the next two years.

Among the trends respondents identified are:

Geography – Respondents said they’re planning to grow their businesses in regions including Europe, the Pacific Rim, and South America.
Marketing mix – Traditional marketing will remain important, but respondents plan to increase their use of digital channels such as search engine optimization, email marketing, and social media.
Personal selling – The use of marketing data to identify individual customers and target marketing will grow.
Products – Respondents plan to expand their product lines and move into new arenas such as e-commerce.
Branding – Building a brand for the company will become more important, respondents say.

The second question asks about the most effective digital marketing tactics in 2018.

The tactics respondents chose were:

Search engine optimization – Increasingly, consumers are seeking out products and services over the Internet, and having a visible spot on search engine results pages (SERPs) can boost business significantly. Respondents chose this technique in the 2017 and 2018 Global Digital Marketing Survey.
Email marketing – Building a brand for the company will become more important, and respondents plan to use email marketing as part of their strategy.
Social media marketing – Respondents chose this tactic in the 2018 survey.
Display ads – Respondents chose this marketing technique in the 2017 and 2018 Global Digital Marketing Survey.
Content marketing – Respondents chose this technique in the 2018 survey.
Remarketing – Consumers have a short attention span, and retargeting is an effective strategy to keep users engaged and visiting the site regularly. Respondents chose this technique in the 2018 survey.
Online PR – Respondents chose this tactic in the 2017 and 2018 Global Digital Marketing Survey.
Influencer marketing – Influencers can help establish your brand identity and boost organic reach on social media.

The results of the 2018 Global Retail Marketing Survey show that marketers plan to increase their use of digital channels in the next two years. However, despite all the growth, only 18% of respondents said their strategy has been “a lot of success.”

Why Are Marketers Increasingly Turning to Digital Marketing?

The 2018 Global Retail Marketing Survey shows that there’s a clear disconnect between what respondents want their marketing strategy to be and what they’re actually doing. The survey found that only 23% of marketers are “satisfied” with the results of their digital marketing strategy, with less than 1 in 5 marketers saying their strategy is “a lot of success.”

The Evolution of Digital Marketing

The results of the survey are interesting because they show the changes that have occurred in digital marketing over the last two years. In the 2017 survey, respondents identified social media as the most important digital marketing tool, while 22.8% chose search engine optimization.

The rankings have shifted slightly, with respondents now choosing search engine optimization (28.4%) over social media (26%). The use of mobile phones to access the Internet has also increased, with 55% of respondents using mobile phones to connect to the Internet as their primary means of access, up from 47% in the 2016 survey.

Interestingly, despite the fact that respondents are seeking increased engagement on digital platforms, only 18% of marketers are “satisfied” with the results of their strategy, and only 1 in 5 are saying it’s a “lot of success.” This highlights the importance of establishing a clear digital marketing strategy that focuses on creating content for digital platforms, using data to guide the creation of content, and then measuring the results of that effort.

The Rise of Online PR

Respondents in the 2018 Global Retail Marketing Survey cited “product and services” as the industry area where they see the greatest opportunity for growth, followed by “retail and apparel.” Respondents chose this tactic in the previous two surveys as well.

Interestingly, only 14% of marketers chose “media and communications” as the industry area where they see the greatest opportunity for growth.

How Do You Plan to Grow Your Business in the Next Two Years?

The biggest question is: How do you plan to grow your business over the next two years?

To gain some perspective, we can look to the results of the 2018 Global Retail Marketing Survey and examine the plans of the marketing executives who responded.

Here are three proven ways to grow your business, according to the respondents:

Create more content – Respondents plan to create more content, whether that’s using an inbound approach or attracting customers through an e-commerce store.
Expand into new industries – Respondents chose this option in the 2018 survey, citing the “greatest opportunity for growth” as the industry area of “digital marketing,” followed by “retail and apparel.”
Leverage your e-commerce platform – According to the 2018 Global Retail Marketing Survey, 22.8% of respondents plan to build on their e-commerce platform, while 28.4% plan to use an existing platform.

Are You Ready to Grow Your Business?

The results of the 2018 Global Retail Marketing Survey show that respondents are ready to grow their businesses. However, without a clear direction, the efforts of these marketers could be ineffective and even damaging.

If your marketing strategy is “just to get a better rank on Google,” you could be setting yourself up for disaster. You need to find a better strategy if you want to grow your business successfully.

Since digital marketing is an ever-changing field, it’s essential to stay ahead of the game and find ways to make your efforts more effective.