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Cloud marketing is the process of an organization's efforts to market their goods and services online through integrated digital experiences, by which they are specialized for every end-user. [1] It aims to use advertising methods to give tailor made adverts to customers based on their browsing history or interests via online applications through social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and various online portals. Cloud marketing platforms could be supported by third party providers that maintain the platform.
Cloud marketing requires efforts in data privacy and data protection, especially for EU markets where GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has changed the regulatory landscape.
Cloud marketing enables businesses to reduce the cost of print distribution materials such as newspapers, circulars, direct mail, catalogues, and magazines and instead send strategic promotional content to consumers through digital formats. This allows businesses to send content digitally, which is a faster and cheaper approach to engage with customers. This reduces the printing costs and increases efficiency.
Customization allows businesses to creatively use interactive means to develop a relevant and effective advertising approach when targeting a consumer. Customization includes social media sites such as Facebook to customize pages and send to friends or the public over the internet. [2] Marketers can combine data through third-party data sources, including email and surveys, to visualize the consumer's experience.
Time is vital for targeting customers. Advertising using traditional methods, such as posters and surveys, have limited time before they often become invalid. Cloud marketing enables businesses to produce advertising when required. The material can easily be removed and if the campaign or season is over, the material can be erased from the internet or adapted to enhance material to the end user, linking with the customization element to ensure the marketing material is fit for its purpose, and delivered at the correct time.
When a company markets its products and services to a consumer, the consumer is not able to physically touch or manage the product or service. This experience could potentially lay off customers that have been targeted, if the business's efforts have not satisfied the consumer's decision to buy the merchandise. The material content would vary on the device, as compatibility and operating systems will affect the material content being delivered. [3]
Internet fraud has grown rapidly globally, faster than the internet. More and more fraudulent criminals can send promotional pop-ups in the form of online advertising on the World Wide Web to attract web traffic and display promotional content. The malware attacks can lay off customers responding to marketing material posted to their devices. [4] Labour MP Chris Evans said: “Copycat websites are a part of a growing industry which exists purely to trick the public out of their hard-earned money.” [5]
Digital divide is the partition between a given population within their use of information technology. This can be due to factors including:
This limits businesses' performance to market their goods and services globally to new locations if there is limited access to information technology in certain locations. The segment of consumers would be unable to experience and view online marketing methods from a business or resources, resulting in adopted a traditional method of leaflets and bill boards known as direct marketing. [6]
Strategy is the direction of action which aims to achieve a specific predetermined goal or objective. One of the common ways to approach formulating a company's cloud marketing strategy is by separating the activities into the following stages.
The first step is defining the objectives (or goals) company has for the marketing project. In order to set the objectives, a set of metrics (also referred to as "measures of success") are introduced, represented by either quantitative or qualitative data. By establishing the goal prior to defining other components of the strategy, a common decision-making framework is introduced, allowing for a more data-driven approach to evaluating various competing options.This also helps eliminate certain bias and act as a basis for post-implementation evaluation (described below).
The development stage is where the marketing team creates the graphics and media material. The web development team find a method to post the material onto the World Wide Web or online source. The marketing ad would need to meet its main objective and purpose, the development team will need to develop and plan to make the material visually appealing.
The maintenance step will require updating whilst the material is online which require continuous upkeep. Cloud marketing techniques include regular updating to ensure they are reaching their end-user and have a valid subject. Marketing members are responsible for moderating any discussion boards and keeping content updated increasing the validity.
Throughout the duration of the marketing material, the message would need to be evaluated to determine how successful it has been to the end-user. The outcome should be established in the strategy, allowing the marketer to adapt and increase the overall efficiency of the cloud marketing method.
Permission marketing is a type of advertising in which the people who are supposed to see the ads can choose whether or not to get them. This marketing type is becoming increasingly popular in digital marketing. Seth Godin first introduced the concept in his book “Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends, And Friends Into Customers.”
In marketing, market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer or business market, normally consisting of existing and potential customers, into sub-groups of consumers based on shared characteristics.
Personalized marketing, also known as one-to-one marketing or individual marketing, is a marketing strategy by which companies leverage data analysis and digital technology to deliver individualized messages and product offerings to current or prospective customers. Advancements in data collection methods, analytics, digital electronics, and digital economics, have enabled marketers to deploy more effective real-time and prolonged customer experience personalization tactics.
Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as direct response marketing. In contrast to direct marketing, advertising is more of a mass-message nature.
Marketing communications refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination. Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate a message to its desired market, or the market in general. It is also in charge of the internal communications of the organization. Marketing communication tools include advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, public relations, social media, customer journey and promotion.
Email marketing is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It involves using email to send advertisements, request business, or solicit sales or donations. Email marketing strategies commonly seek to achieve one or more of three primary objectives: build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness. The term usually refers to sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing a merchant's relationship with current or previous customers, encouraging customer loyalty and repeat business, acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, and sharing third-party ads.
In marketing, promotion refers to any type of marketing communication used to inform target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or issue, persuasively. It helps marketers to create a distinctive place in customers' mind, it can be either a cognitive or emotional route. The aim of promotion is to increase brand awareness, create interest, generate sales or create brand loyalty. It is one of the basic elements of the market mix, which includes the four Ps, i.e., product, price, place, and promotion.
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and concepts into one large media base. Advertising campaigns utilize diverse media channels over a particular time frame and target identified audiences.
Mobile marketing is a multi-channel online marketing technique focused at reaching a specific audience on their smartphones, feature phones, tablets, or any other related devices through websites, e-mail, SMS and MMS, social media, or mobile applications. Mobile marketing can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services, appointment reminders and ideas. In a more theoretical manner, academic Andreas Kaplan defines mobile marketing as "any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly connected using a personal mobile device".
The target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to the previously intended audience. In marketing and advertising, the target audience is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message.
Engagement marketing, sometimes called "experiential marketing", "Brand Activation", "on-ground marketing", "live marketing", "participation marketing", "Loyalty Marketing", or "special events", is a marketing strategy that directly engages consumers and invites and encourages them to participate in the evolution of a brand or a brand experience. Rather than looking at consumers as passive receivers of messages, engagement marketers believe that consumers should be actively involved in the production and co-creation of marketing programs, developing a relationship with the brand.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development during the 1990s and 2000s changed the way brands and businesses use technology for marketing. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly used digital devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e-books, and optical disks and games have become commonplace. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones, callbacks, and on-hold mobile ringtones. The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.
Customer engagement is an interaction between an external consumer/customer and an organization through various online or offline channels. According to Hollebeek, Srivastava and Chen S-D logic-Definition of customer engagement is "a customer’s motivationally driven, volitional investment of operant resources, and operand resources into brand interactions," which applies to online and offline engagement.
A target market, also known as serviceable obtainable market (SOM), is a group of customers within a business's serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a product or service.
Content marketing is a form of marketing focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience online. It is often used by businesses in order to achieve the following goals: attract attention and generate leads, expand their customer base, generate or increase online sales, increase brand awareness or credibility, and engage an online community of users. Content marketing attracts new customers by creating and sharing valuable free content as well as by helping companies create sustainable brand loyalty, providing valuable information to consumers, and creating a willingness to purchase products from the company in the future.
Targeted advertising is a form of advertising, including online advertising, that is directed towards an audience with certain traits, based on the product or person the advertiser is promoting.
Social network advertising, also known as social media targeting, is a group of terms used to describe forms of online advertising and digital marketing that focus on social networking services. A significant aspect of this type of advertising is that advertisers can take advantage of users' demographic information, psychographics, and other data points to target their ads.
Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Although the terms e-marketing and digital marketing are still dominant in academia, social media marketing is becoming more popular for both practitioners and researchers.
Dialogue marketing emerged in the early 2000s as companies engaged willing consumers in an ongoing dialogue to create lasting relationships. For example, based on data, marketers invite groups of likely consumers to connect with the company. The engagement process provides value to both the consumer and the company. Marketers use these opportunities as data collection points. The companies use the data to further customize their marketing messages and personalize the experience for their consumers and market segments. In exchange for sharing opinions, buying patterns, product preferences, etc., consumers receive perks such as discounts, tips, and free trials as well as appropriate messaging from the company.