This assessment will cover the following questions:
- Explain important digital tools, platforms and channels, comparing and contrasting bricks and mortar and other physical channels.
- Determine how to Zalando digital marketing activities and build multi-channel capabilities.
- Zalando is an e-commerce company selling shoes and fashion based in Berlin, Germany. Evaluate methods of monitoring and measuring digital marketing effectively.
- Provide an understanding of the opportunities, challenges and impact of the digital environment on the working of the Zalando company.
INTRODUCTION
Digital marketing involves companies showcasing and selling their products and services on digital platforms such as the Internet, websites, phone apps, advertisements, and emails (Alvermann, 2019). It's an effective way to attract a large number of customers, providing 24/7 contact and easy access to information, managed both online and offline. Zalando, an e-commerce company based in Berlin, Germany, was founded in 2008 by Rocket Internet, Robert Gentz, and David Schneider. It specializes in fashion and lifestyle products in the European market. This report covers the various strategies Zalando has adopted to boost sales through digital marketing.
Part I
1) An overview of digital marketing
Digital marketing is a platform that is used by Zalando to present there products and services to customers on platforms like social-media apps, websites, web portals etc. Zalando markets there products in both the platforms as online as well as offline and that includes the different concepts (What is digital marketing, 2019). Online marketing includes the marketing of a product on the digital platforms like social media, websites, mobile apps etc. , offline marketing includes the creation of the awareness in the market about the product and services of the Zalando but doesn't access the internet as by using newspaper advertisements, radio, banners, posters, pamphlets etc. Thus there is a difference between the online and offline marketing concepts that are as defined below as:
Basis |
Online marketing concepts |
Offline marketing concepts |
Cost |
Online marketing of Zalando includes the optimization of the websites and providing adds to the social-media platforms that is comparatively less. |
Offline marketing of Zalando include the maintenance of stocks, rents, salary of workers and many more indulge more expense. |
Convenience
|
Online marketing is more convenient to the Zalando as by this they can in direct contact with the customers as 24/7. |
Offline marketing of Zalando is less convenient as include a lot of cost with that they get the sales when the shops are open. |
Exposure |
Online marketing of the Zalando is not bounded it is the limitless process as company covers a wide range and have the maximum exposure (Bala, 2018). |
Offline marketing of Zalando gets the less exposure as it covers a particular area that is surrounded by the stores. |
As digital marketing is on boom as that Zalando measures the higher growth by that thus there are different factors that contributes the growth some of them are as follows as:
- Time: Zalando takes lesser time as they can easily manages their products and services and implement the new marketing strategies with lesser time, easily control the changes with that also monitor all the feedbacks of customers and services as well.
- Technology: Right use of technology brings the increment of the sales and technology always comes with the advancement for that Zalando uses there own app named as Zalando mobile app to delivered there product and services to the customers.
2) Analyse the challenges that organisation faced by switching to digital marketing
Zalando uses both the mediums for marketing and faced several challenges while switching to digital marketing that are as follows as:
- Producing effective referrals: This is the major challenges that is faced by the Zalando at the time of switching as it is the most basic need that customers must use there brand website and find as well as click to there social post. Thus to get the attraction of the customer and the referrals to expand there product information is the biggest challenge of Zalando (Cao, 2018).
- Generating traffic: It is also be the challenge when Zalando wants to switch to digital marketing as it is mandatory that people get attracts towards the websites and continuously using that websites. To increases the traffic Zalando convince there customers towards there product and analyse the market and make some scheme that attracts the large customer base.
- Proper use to technology and platforms: At the time of switching Zalando faces the challenge as to choose what kind of technology and platform has been used for digital marketing. There are several technologies as sending the mail to the customers or make create advertisement, SMS, make their own app, search engine, optimised engines, social-media and many more. Thus these are the challenges that is faced by the Zalando at the time of switching and at last company uses the use of there own fashion app from where they sale all the different clothes at affordable prices to attains the growth and development.Need assignment help?Take experts advice!
3) Critically analyse the key digital tools and platforms as compare to physical channel
Digital tools are the several platforms that has been used by the Zalando named as social-media platforms, email marketing, google search engine, content creation, video hosting etc. Whereas, physical channels is an activity that is performed by the Zalando to increase the sales and includes sales distribution channels as like retailer and wholesalers (Chaffey, 2019). There are several merits and demerits of both that is explained below as:
Merits of key digital tools :
- Zalando can target the maximum number of customer as include both international and local areas.
- Zalando could interact with the customer and also gets there feedback and apply the needed changes.
- Zalando can easily reach to the customers by targeting them as by radio channels that attracts the near by customers.
- It is easy and comfortable to understand and customers can collect all the required details from the newspapers and radio.
Demerits of key digital tools:
- Sometimes Zalando faces the issues related to the security and privacy.
- Zalando also faces the higher competition as through digitalisation they covers the higher area with that risk of success also raises.
- It includes the very less attraction with the customers and there is an expectations not confirmation that customers may get aware of product and services of Zalando (Chaffey, 2019).
- It is also a costlier process for Zalando as to print in newspapers and radio channels takes there own cost.
4) Critically analyse the digital marketing landscape and impact of growth of e-commerce
Digital marketing includes the marketing of the product and services by digital platforms like internet. Digital marketing landscape is a man created space for digital marketing includes different kind of marketing as social-media, pay per click, google search engines, optimised search, email marketing and many more.
E-commerce or electronic commerce and that defines the online services where company buy and sale there product and services on the internet services or other techniques as well like emailing. E-commerce measures the growth as people get attracts towards the web portals and other online platforms. Customers gets the update of all the things on there phone and there is no need to go on shops and stores to get to know about the different schemes of any Zalando (E-commerce in the UK-statistics and facts, 2019) There are several impacts of growth of e-commerce as UK had the third largest e-commerce market that are defined as below as:
- Lower the cost: As to start the business that takes the lot of capital cost but due to e-commerce that cost is reduced. E-commerce is the been maintained with the lowest investment as well thus Zalando also gets the positive impact of that and they balance there inventory on the basis of customer requirement and demand.
- Elimination of mediators: As by using the online platforms company is direct in contact with the customers and doesn't need any mediator to transfer there product and services. Thus there is no requirement of the substitute that transfer there schemes and changes to the market.
These are some of the factors under which Zalando measures the success and growth as it is a e-commerce business thus there whole business depends upon the digital platforms (Galipoglu, 2018). Thus the growth of e-commerce has the positive impact on the success and growth of Zalando.
5) Explain how and why omni-channel marketing has developed
Omni-channel marketing is an integrated approach that provide leniency to the customer to purchase the product from any of the channel includes the phone, desktop and the brick-and-motor store. It is used by the Zalando to maintains the focus on the customers need and wants that builds the unified brand image and value in the market.
As customers are omni-channel and they are choosing different source of the digital marketing thus it has been developed by Zalando and consist several steps like first they get to know about the need and demand of the customers and analyse the complete prospects of the market. After that apply several techniques by which they connect to the customers like making advertisement, creative pamphlets etc. Then targets the segmented customers after that get the experience of the customers and then spread that experience to the omni-channel by which people get to know more about the product and services of the Zalando (Hanlon, 2019).Worried for essay help?Take Experts help.
Omni-channel has been developed as people get more adverse about there choice of digital platform thus it developed to provide the easiness for the customers as they get the same service from all the platforms and get the same experience from every digital channels. This has been developed to provide the cohesive and seamless services to the customers.
Part 2
1) Develop the logical digital marketing strategy and determine its implications and generate actionable measurement framework.
Zalando uses digital marketing strategy to enter into the new market as they sell 1500 international brands and localised brand as well that includes different fashion, culture, payments, strategies that varies from country to country (Kingsnorth, 2019). Thus the digital marketing strategy takes the best decision at the right time that makes the company successful in terms of success. The digital marketing plan for trendy fashionable clothes is as follows:
Vision: To make the world not only fashionable but also sustainable.
Mission: As a e-commerce business produce more fashionable products that leads the success of the company.
Marketing objectives: To promote there product and services by which they get â real dispensable relationshipâ with the customers from where people start there fashion and end there fashion too.
Situational Analysis: As per the competition of the market Zalando develops certain marketing strategies for to measure the growth.
Strengths: As UK is the most developed and modern country thus people always gets attracted towards the new and trendy clothes. Customers also look for the trendy clothes that is affordable in price thus Zalando also introduce the fashionable and trendy clothes that attracts the large customer base.
Weaknesses: The major weakness of Zalando is as they have less amount of capital as online retailing doesn't have the high revenues. And due to Brexit there business is suffers the economic crisis and to measure that is the biggest issue.
Opportunities: Zalando expends there business to other markets as like Sweden and Denmark and they are also be more developed thus they accept the different fashionable trends with that Zalando measures the growth.
Threats: There are other company as well like eBay and ASOS that also produces the trendy and branded clothes that is the biggest competition of the Zalando.
Marketing strategies: Zalando joins global fashion agenda with VF corporation as a associate partners to enhance the sale and increase the brand value and image.
Social-media marketing: It is an effective and efficient tool that is used by the Zalando to attracts the large number of customers and it makes the direct contact with the customers by which they get the direct feedback as well and implement the changes according to the need (McCabe, 2018).
Target market: Zalando targets the age group of 18-35 as these group people get attracts towards the fashionable clothes and accepts the different fashionable trends in the market.
Zalando measured there actionable framework by the follows tools and techniques are as:
- Key performance Indicator: It is a technique used by Zalando that shows the enhanced performance as compared to the set standard. As company set the standard as compare to the other best performed industry and then make some strategies by which they achieve that set target. As per the context of digital marketing Zalando sets the standard as per there competitor as eBay and ASOS. This framework is used as it differentiated between what company has to what company has achieved.
- Measurable Metrics: It is a matrix that is used by the Zalando to measure the effectiveness of the digital marketing strategies that is used by company. This matrix includes cost per click, absenteeism rate, overtime hours, sales and delivery time. It is one of the most beneficial metrics as defines the current situation of the company (O'Shea, 2018).
2) Justification of choosing multi-channel capabilities and how it optimised the consumer engagement and return on investment
Multi-channel capabilities means that company uses different channel to get in contact with the customers. With that Zalando applies same strategies to all the digital platform to enhance the productivity. The major goal of multi-channel is to provide the choice to the customers to buy the product at any time whenever and wherever they want.
Zalando optimised the customer engagement by using multi-channel marketing strategies as through this company reaches to the customer at the right time and right place exactly at the time of requirement. By applying various strategies like email, SMS, social-media etc. and with that company also focuses on the approach of customer and thus it optimise the engagement of the customers (Rohm, 2019).
Zalando optimised the return on investment as by multi-channel company is in contact with the customers at every platforms and that enhance the customer engagement, that increase the customer base by which there is a development of the brand image and value in the market. That all factor increase the sale of the Zalando thus they get the best return of there investment.
Know More:Sample Reflective Journal Assignment
3)Actions to be implemented to improve effectiveness of digital marketing using performance metrics and critically evaluate it
Zalando is operating their business in digital and information technology sector through managing different methods that is used by organisation to gain sustainable advantage in market. Their are several ways are also used by companies which leads companies to gain top position by improving performance of organisation. Some state of actions that are implemented by organisation is as follow:
Customer related services- In present scenario buyers or consumer are most essential part of a market because all companies sold their products to customers for increasing their profits. So with digital marketing it is easy to understand whole market and then to select a specific market and target group of persons to fulfil needs of customers at large level (Saura, 2019).
Customer oriented-With the help of digital technology majority of companies are performing their work at global level. This refers it is essential for management to increase their sale of profits by satisfying needs of customers in effective manner. From point view of Zalando data and digital technology used by management to understand recent years information due to which new products and services are designed as per customer perspective.
Buying methods- All techniques which are related with digital marketing is used by Zalando to identify needs of customers for preparing products as per customer expectations. Along with this by implementing new digital techniques and software quality of products is also checked by management within limited period by using updated software machines.
4)Using data to inform and develop customised and personalised products and services
Online marketing refers to complete all work through utilising various channel with point of developing an effective shopping experience for customers. In simple terms Zalando utilise all techniques and channels with motive of generating better experience for buyers. This is also used by entrepreneurs to attract more number of customer for increasing market size. Moreover, personalised products is beneficial for designing products and services as one to one marketing channel through offering content as an individual entity.
Enhancement in revenue- Their are various task will be performed by management to increase sale of products and profits. It determines that personalised products is an effective technique for increasing demand of commodity and services by satisfying customers needs. So digital tools is one of most effective techniques that is used by management to increase revenue for firms (Sharmila, 2018). Moreover, social media tools and website is used by management for engaging customers in products due to which it is easy for Zalando to design products and services as per customers needs and wants. Further, with virtual images it is recognised that is it possible to develop product in practical way or not.
Formulation of website- Marketing is most effective term that is used by management to complete their work within effective manner. Affiliate marketing, E-commerce platform and digital advertisement are some essential techniques which is used by management to design marketing techniques through generating better work fields for management that results for developing better marketing strategy for all operations and functions that boost sales of products and services. Along with this it is also used to collect data by monitoring clicks on company website.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above discussion that digital marketing is the platform by which companies sells there product and services to the customers. Zalando also uses both the type of marketing like online and offline with that company measures the growth. With that Zalando also faces different challenges while switching to digital marketing. Company uses different tools by which they measure there growth and also uses omni-channel marketing. Further, report contains the different marketing strategies that is adopted by the Zalando to measures the growth and development.
Read More:FHE6004 Digital Marketing Opportunities
PM235 social media advertisements BSc Honours HRM GSM London