Implementation of multi-channel marketing in a digital environment

Abstract

The digital world along with new communication devices and platforms is changing consumer patterns. The growing role of the digital environment in consumer behaviour provides companies with exploding volumes of data and new methods to interact with customers. Not only does this transformation revolutionise consumer markets, but it also induces major changes in industrial marketing practice. Although multichannel marketing is being increasingly used by organisations as a result of its revenue and cost benefits, its implementation is complicated by the diversity of channels in a digital environment. This descriptive study seeks to understand what are the major challenges faced by organisations in the implementation of multichannel marketing in a digital environment. It also try to identify whether these South African organisations have developed plans or solutions to address these challenges. Data was collected using a web survey, it targeted business leaders and specialist in a variation of industries across South Africa. This survey was done to assess the relevance of each challenge for the organisations and the implications of digitisation on a company’s marketing activities. The results reveal that “online targeting”, adjusting “organisational capabilities” and “business models” are the biggest improvement opportunities for companies. These findings show an immediate need towards are the integration of channels with real-time analytics and the ability to act on those insights. Management need to invest in integrated channels’ architecture through the deployment of systems required to deliver ideal customer experiences while empowering the organisation’s employees.