Digital Marketing in India

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing, also known as Online Marketing, is the promotion of brands, products, and/or services online. This can be done by leveraging multiple channels including search engines, social media, online content, and paid advertising depending on business objectives.

Digital marketing includes all strategies applied online to market products and services, whether you’re targeting potential audiences via computer, iPad, or app. If you follow brands or influencers on Instagram, you’re experiencing digital marketing daily—and likely every time you open your feed. The same goes for when you take a deep dive into Google search results to find anything from a new dinner spot to where to find online digital marketing courses.

Why is Digital Marketing important? 

1. Affordability

Digital marketing is considerably less expensive than other marketing methods. Specific prices vary based on what you’re doing but ad spend tends to be lower than other forms of marketing.

2. Mobile Access

You may not know this but  77 percent of Indian adults own a smartphone and are likely to use that smartphone or another mobile device for news, social networking, and countless other activities. Digital marketing helps you reach them while they’re doing this. With remarketing ads, email and text marketing, and social media – you can be in front of your audience while they use many different apps on their mobile phones.

3. Flexibility

There are many forms and uses of high-quality digital marketing, including banner ads, email marketing, content marketing, and social media posts. Thus by learning how to creatively market yourself digitally, you open up a wide range of possibilities for future publicity strategies. With digital marketing, you also have the flexibility of testing and stopping poorly performing campaigns in real time.

4. Expansion

Many consumers do almost all of their shopping online. Digital marketing lets you appeal to these people and thus expand the reach of your company. Between Google Shopping Ads and brand awareness campaigns, you can expand your brand recognition and boost sales.

5. Multimedia

Customers tend to engage more with marketing materials that combine multiple types of content, including photos, video clips, and audio. It is far easier to incorporate all these content types into digital marketing than any other type of publicity – and it is very important.

6. Interactivity

Digital marketing lets you communicate directly with the customers who see your content, notably through website comments, messages, reviews, and social media posts. This shows those customers that you care about what they say and think, leading them to feel respected and part of the community you’re building. It also allows you to gather invaluable information on customers’ reactions and preferences.

7. Tracking

Besides communicating with customers, digital marketing lets you track their activities. You can monitor which ads and types of content they have seen shortly before they make a purchase. This tells you which marketing methods are most effective, allowing you to refine and improve your strategy.

8. Authority

Digital marketing makes it easy to comment on issues and controversies that relate to your product or your industry. In this way, you can establish yourself as an authority on such topics, leading readers to trust you, come back for more information, and eventually make a purchase. Digital marketing allows you to come off as the industry expert that you are and will instill trust in your business.

9. Influencer Engagement

Many of the most influential figures in modern culture promote themselves online or through social media. Digital marketing allows you to engage with these influencers and gain their respect. If you play your cards right, you can get them to endorse you, leading their followers to become customers and spread brand awareness.

10. Print Enhancement

Digital marketing lets you expand on your print marketing efforts. By writing online content that explains claims you make in your print ads, you can go into greater detail, maximizing the effectiveness of all forms of publicity and integrating your campaigns.

Types of Digital Marketing

We’ve arrived! It’s time to dive headfirst into 9 types of digital marketing. Types of online digital marketing include:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
2. Search Engine Marketing and Pay-Per-Click Advertising
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Content Marketing
5. Affiliate Marketing
6. Influencer Marketing
7. Email Marketing
8. Viral Marketing
9. Mobile Phone Advertising

Increasing Trends in India:

As a Digital Marketer, it can be argued that the most important phenomenon that happened in the Digital Marketing scenario in India, in the past few decades, is the “Jiofication”. On September 6, 2016, Reliance Industries launched Jio to the public, thereby creating a new meta. With dirt-cheap pricing and several free offers, it molded the average Indian mindset with a craving for more data.

People with no access to the Internet were given access and existing Internet users were given more data which provided them with a wide array of browsing possibilities. This meant more eyes viewing the content you put out on the internet.

T series is a shining example of the phenomena. As of 1st December 2018, the T Series YouTube channels stands at over 72 million subscribers and is well on its way to becoming the top Channel of youtube. The channel which was established in 2006 had about 30 million subscribers in 2016. This rapid growth can be attributed to Jiofication. Now imagine the same scenario with your business. More and more Indians are getting Internet savvy and are watching the content you put out online. So the Indian digital landscape is a great place to invest, as it full of new opportunities.

Demonetization has also had a huge impact on the Indian Digital landscape. After November 2016, there was a severe shortage of paper currency in everyone’s pockets. This is when digital payment gateways came into play. Even small-time merchants were forced to look into alternative ways of payment. This is when companies like Paytm flourished.

Digital transactions became the new meta for the average Indian consumer. Those vendors who had no digital alternative for payment suffered dearly. Paytm wallet was a simple application that was essentially a wallet for your digital currency. Customers flocked to it and vendors to adopt this alternative because it looked easier and was much more efficient.

In such a scenario where most Indians have the power of the high-speed Internet at their fingertips, it opens a rather wide avenue of opportunities. Let’s see how we can utilize them.

Niche Marketing

Niche marketing is an advertising strategy that focuses on a unique target market. Instead of marketing to everyone who could benefit from a product or service, this strategy focuses exclusively on one group—a niche market—or demographic of potential customers who would most benefit from the offerings.

A niche market could stand apart from others because of:

• Geographic area
• Lifestyle
• Occasion
• Profession
• Style
• Culture
• Activity or habits
• Behavior
• Demographic
• Need
• Feature reduction or addition

Description: Niche marketing is a marketing tactic deployed to target a specific market segment which is unique. Niche market is often created by identifying what a customer wants and this can be done if the company knows what the customer needs and then tries to deliver a better solution to a problem which was not presented by other firms. A niche market does not mean a small market, but it involves specific target audience with a specialized offering. By doing so, the company becomes a market leader and it becomes possible for other firms to enter that particular segment. For example, there are various cinema halls across India, but there are few which have recliner seats to offer. Not everybody wants to watch a movie by paying 5x-6x times the cost of a normal ticket. Hence, the target audience is very different and the hall is also only open at places where the company feels that it would be able to tap into target audience especially in posh areas.

There are various advantages of niche marketing. One of the benefits of niche market is that there is no or little competition under that segment. The company is virtually the market leader and enjoys price monopoly. The another benefit is the strong relationship with the customers because of the fact that the company operates in a small segment, the relationship between the company and the brand becomes stronger which is also a key to customer loyalty. Niche businesses are often high margin business. Customers do not mind paying a little extra because, they are only able to get that service in that company or under its brand.

Niche Marketing is a good way to make some extra income and to also help other people in some form or fashion.  First of all, you have to develop a genuine motivation to help others, then find the product that will fill the need.  It would not hurt that you too have tried the product or service so that you can give them a first-hand review of how it works for you.

Be alert to the world around you.  There are ads everywhere.  Find the product to put your own spin on and make it your own.  You never know who you might help along the way.

Examples of Niche Marketing: International

1. Lefty’s San Francisco

To the left, to the left. Everything you own in a box to the left.

Based in San Francisco,Lefty's is a left-handed retail store that sells school supplies, kitchen goods, and gardening tools, and more for lefties. They even offer custom gift sets for the left-handers in your life.

Only 10% of the Population is Left Handed, making lefties a natural niche market. And Lefty’s gets niche marketing right by investing in PPC advertising for search terms that lefties are likely searching.

For example, if someone searches “left handed scissors” on Google, they will see PPC advertisements from Lefty’s. Some small businesses believe that they can’t compete with big retailers when it comes to PPC advertising, but Lefty’s proves that PPC can be valuable for small businesses catering to niche markets.

2. Drybar

Drybar carved a niche in a hot market by providing affordable, high-quality blowouts — when a client’s hair is washed and blow-dried into a style without being cut or colored.

Unlike traditional hair salons, Drybar is set up like a bar where you can watch a movie and relax while getting a blowout named out of a Cocktail Drink

Drybar uses creative content and social media to interact with clients, hear their stories, and enhance the overall Drybar experience. In order to make every experience positive, Drybar responds to every tweet, Facebook post, and Yelp review.

The company also offers a Barfly Membership that includes two blowouts a month and a free birthday blowout in addition to 10% off all products and tools. Members can also receive $5 off any additional blowouts, and you can cancel your membership at any time.

When it comes to hair, Drybar has capitalized on the affordable luxury market with their signature blowout.

Examples of Niche Marketing: Indian

1. Tanjore Paintings:

Tanjore Painting is one of the most popular forms of classical South Indian painting. It is the native art form of Thanjavur (also known as Tanjore) city of Tamil Nadu. The dense composition, surface richness and vibrant colors of Indian Thanjavur Paintings distinguish them from the other types of paintings.

Most of these paintings revolve around the theme of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, along with saints. The main figure is always painted at the center of the painting. Since Tanjore paintings are mainly done on solid wood planks, they are locally known as 'Palagai Padam' (palagai meaning wooden plank and padam meaning picture). 

To sum up, Tanjore painting is the ultimate way of expressing devotion, truth and skill by an artist through his creation. This ancient form of miniature artwork thrives till date through intense craftsmanship and dedication of the artists of Tamil Nadu and is held at high esteem for its indigenous character.

2. Meera Shampoo:

The best example of one such niche product is the brand called "Meera" shampoo, manufactured and marketed by Cavinkare in the sachet segment. It has the traditional shihakkai base and is a hugely herbal product. It is advertised for the special shihakkai context, that lends the hair a very shiny look. This product is very famous in Tamil Nadu, and in Kerala, as rural folks still like to have the lake bath and then a shampoo which is traditional in nature. It is not available in this form in most parts of North India, as people out there, do not prefer the herbal variant. The same company also has a super duper hit product "Nyle" with the traditional chemical base for North Indian markets.

SWOT Analysis Patanjali Ayurveda Limited

What is SWOT Analysis:

A study undertaken by an organization to identify its internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as its external opportunities and threats.

A SWOT analysis is an incredibly simple, yet powerful tool to help you develop your business strategy, whether you’re building a startup or guiding an existing company.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to your company—things that you have some control over and can change. Examples include who is on your team, your patents and intellectual property, and your location.

Opportunities and threats are external—things that are going on outside your company, in the larger market. You can take advantage of opportunities and protect against threats, but you can’t change them. Examples include competitors, prices of raw materials, and customer shopping trends.

Advantages of SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a great way to guide business-strategy meetings. It's powerful to have everyone in the room to discuss the company's core strengths and weaknesses and then move from there to define the opportunities and threats, and finally to brainstorming ideas. Oftentimes, the SWOT analysis you envision before the session changes throughout to reflect factors you were unaware of and would never have captured if not for the group’s input.

A company can use a SWOT for overall business strategy sessions or for a specific segment such as marketing, production or sales. This way, you can see how the overall strategy developed from the SWOT analysis will filter down to the segments below before committing to it. You can also work in reverse with a segment-specific SWOT analysis that feeds into an overall SWOT analysis.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF PATANJALI AYURVEDA LIMITED

Strengths of Patanjali Ayurveda Limited 

Strengths are always internal to a company. These could be the points of competitive advantage that make them unique or could simply be the things that a company does well and it may not be unique. Here are the strengths from the SWOT Analysis of Patanjali Ayurveda.

1. Association with Baba Ramdev

Baba Ramdev is the brainchild behind the company and also serves as the brand ambassador and spokesperson for the company. Baba Ramdev has a cult following in India due to his status as a yoga guru and an expert of Ayurveda.

Baba Ramdev has millions of followers in India who also form a large customer base for the products of Patanjali Ayurveda Limited. Also, Baba Ramdev’s association has helped the Patanjali become a household brand all over India.

2. Strong Sense of Patriotism

Patanjali has linked itself strongly with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Made in India” campaign.

Patanjali’s positioning within the minds of consumers is of a natural Indian brand and projects a sense of patriotism in its advertising and marketing campaigns. This has helped script Patanjali’s growth story and enable the brand to become a household name.

3. Ayurveda and Herbal Brand

There is a rise in demand for organic and herbal products among consumers.

This is due to the side-effects of chemicals and other compounds in products. Moreover, as a marketer you need to understand that this is also because people want to feel good and be a part of the group which uses organic products. There is a feel good factor about it.

Ayurvedic treatments, products and medicines are known to have no side-effects. All raw materials used by Patanjali’s products are herbal and does not contain any chemicals or preservatives.

Patanjali’s positioning as a natural and herbal brand has helped script Patanjali’s growth story.

4. Penetration Pricing

The products of Patanjali are generally priced about 20-30 per cent lower than other competitive brands in the market. Other popular brands are unable to compete with Patanjali by prices, and this has made Patanjali popular among the lower income and middle-class income groups in India.

5. E-commerce

Patanjali might be founded on ancient principles but is quick to adopt modern technology. Patanjali has its own e-commerce platform and also sells its products through online platforms such as Amazon, Big Basket and other major retail platforms.

6. Keeping up with the latest trends

While the company might be owned and managed by Babas and Swamis, and the company is founded on ancient principles, it is quick to adopt the latest trends and technologies.

For instance, entering into retail with a partnership with the Future Group, using e-commerce, using digital media for marketing its brand and products, using Baba Ramdev as its brand ambassador.

The company has also adopted the latest manufacturing and sourcing techniques to manufacture its products and procure its raw materials. Patanjali is quick to adopt and implement the latest technologies to grow and promote the company and its business.

Weaknesses of Patanjali Ayurveda Limited 

Weaknesses of Patanjali are, again, somethings that are internal to Patanjali. Weaknesses are the points that the companies should be mindful of. A company should ensure that it builds upon its strengths well so that weaknesses do not pose the kinds of problems that they can.

1. Over dependence on Baba Ramdev

The Patanjali brand is strongly synonymous with Baba Ramdev, and Patanjali’s growth story has been linked to the popularity of Baba Ramdev. Baba Ramdev has political affiliations, and any act of a political vendetta against Baba Ramdev by any government agency can directly impact the Patanjali brand.

2. Low Number of Manufacturing Plants

Patanjali has a limited number of manufacturing units in Haridwar and Nepal. The brand is growing at an exponential rate, and the company needs to expand its manufacturing capabilities by investing in new manufacturing units to meet its growing demand.

3. Penetration Pricing Strategy is not viable in the long-term

While the penetration pricing strategy of Patanjali helps it expand its consumer-based and market share. However, it risks limiting the ability of the brand to expand as it is unable to invest its revenues, investing in new manufacturing units and other investments required to grow the company.

4. Low Distributor Margins

Patanjali operates on low profit margins, and as a result of this are unable to offer their distributors with attractive margins. Due to this, many distributors prefer selling and distributing the products of Patanjali’s competitors who offer them better margins.

Opportunities for Patanjali Ayurveda Limited 

1.  Growth in Demand for Organic Products

The growth of consumer demand for organic products is increasing due to the increasing awareness of organic and natural products.

Patanjali’s positioning as manufacturing of natural products has attributed to the growth and success of Patanjali Ayurveda Limited. The potential of increased future demand for organic and natural products can benefit the company.

2. Expansion into the rural market

The Indian rural market is largely undeserved due to the low spending capabilities of the low-income population of these regions. However, Patanjali’s product’s pricing being 20-30% cheaper than other popular brands.

The penetrative pricing policy of Patanjali combined with Baba Ramdev’s popularity in the rural regions of India can help acceptance of Patanjali’s products in rural India.

3. Global Expansion

The demand for herbal, organic and natural products is also increasing in other parts of the world, including the developed western countries. Patanjali’s positioning as a natural and ayurvedic company can help.

This offers Patanjali an opportunity to expand into international markets and grow its brand.

4. Strategic Tie-ups 

Patanjali has tied up with the Future Group to enter into modern retail chains. The company has also expanded its e-commerce presence with its products being available on Amazon, Big basket and other e-commerce platforms

5. Diversification 

Patanjali can diversify into other natural and organic products such as Khadi, clothing and apparel, natural cosmetics and other natural and organic products. This will also the company to use its existing distribution channels and strategic partnerships to distribute its new products.

Threats for Patanjali Ayurveda Limited 

1. Competitive Environment of the Indian Market

India has some major players in the FMCG sector which include HUL, Marico, Parle Agro, ITC, Nestle, P&G, Britannia Industries Limited and many more. Due to this, Patanjali Ayurveda Limited operates in a highly competitive market space.

2. Impact of a possible poor reap 

Patanjali used natural herbs and agricultural products to manufacture its products. Though Indian has a largely agriculture-based economy, most agriculture is still dependent on rainfall to water their crops due to lack of irrigation. One year of poor monsoon can lead to bad agricultural output, as a result of this negatively impacting the supply of raw material for the company.

3. Possibility of a Price War 

A price war might benefit the consumers, but often can be harmful to domestic businesses. Multinational FMCG companies with deep pockets can create a price war to drive out competition by selling their products below cost, which is unsustainable for domestic players such as Patanjali.

5 C's of Marketing Startegy

The Five C’s of Marketing are the five most important areas of marketing. When marketing executives make marketing decisions, they should consider the five C’s of marketing. The five C’s stand for Company, Customers, Collaborators, Competitors, and Climate. The five C’s act as a guideline when we are creating a marketing plan or devising a marketing strategy.

The 5c analysis is one of the most popular situational analysis models due to its effectiveness and its simplicity, and is an excellent choice for small- to medium-sized businesses.

How to conduct a 5c analysis:

Begin by asking questions related to  business:

1. What does the company sell? List the major product lines or types.
2. Do company products vary from competitors' products? If so, in what ways?
3. What competitive advantage does the company have?
4. What makes the companies brand unique or memorable?
5. What does the companies business do better than others?
6. What does the companies business do worse than others?
7. How do customers view the companies business?
8. If the company suddenly gained Rs 10000000.00 to invest in the companies business, where would the company invest it?
9. If the company suddenly had to cut its budget by 10%, where would the company make those cuts?
10. What are the companies 1, 3, and 5-year goals for itself?

The 5 c marketing strategy are:

1. Customers: The analytics in accordance to the customer varies greatly. A company needs to analyse a vast array of things to determine what the customers want and work on its capacity to fulfil that. The company needs to analyse things like the market size and growth, study how the  preference and desire of the customer changes over time, seasonal impact on sale and frequency of purchase, why a customer chooses a product, quantity purchased, how the customer knows about the company, what prompts the customer to buy the product, analysis between benefit vs. cost, market segment, and the benefit the customer seeks – tangible or intangible.

2. Company: Whether you are an FMCG company or an international information technology company, you need to analyse the scope for improvement in your product line, the image you currently have in the market and this needs to be done on a regular basis. You cannot rely on data that is post-dated. The mood of the market changes constantly and you need to analyse that, the response of the customer towards your product. The goodwill of your company in the market, goals, missions and vision also needs to be analysed.All this helps the company to determine the areas of its weaknesses, its capability to serve its customers and detect any loophole in its strategy.

3. Competitors:This analysis is very important as it determines the present and the future of a business. Competitor analysis focuses on three things in the majority; identifying the competitor is one of the very first and the most important factor in competitor analysis – identifying the product that the competitor offers; whether it’s akin to yours and if so then how can you offer better, the potential opportunity for the company and the threat its competitors may post in the near future, and the ratio of market share that its competitors are enjoying and its share in the market – this analysis helps the company focus on areas that would help it enjoy more of the market share and optimize on its present customer.

4. Collaborators:Collaborators are those who have shared interests in the growth of the company, meaning if the company enjoys profit they benefit a share of it. Identifying collaborators is very important as they help the company discover many un-reaped opportunities that the company would otherwise never be aware of. Collaborators like distributors, suppliers, and alliances are the closest to the customers, so input from them can go a long way.

5. Context or Climate:The analysis of context or climate is often referred to as PEST analysis. PEST is the analysis of the macro-environment, it affects every company whether big or small. Each syllable of the word PEST stands for:-

• Political analysis: The government policies and regulations that affect the functioning of a company.eg. GST, FDI, Tax imposed on corporations, and other taxes levied.etc.
• Economic analysis: Economic factors greatly affect the functioning of a business, like the recent 2008 crisis; if businesses could predict this, they could have shelled a lot of loss.
• Social analysis: The mood of the society and the current trend and fashion play a major role in determining the preference of a consumer.
• Technological analysis: A business needs to be alert about the new technologies and adapt themselves accordingly, bring in technologies that would help solve the customers needs more effectively. Like in the near future ‘internet of things’ is going to be the new big thing and businesses need to learn in advance of the possibility it poses.

5 C's Analysis of Cadbury India

Company

Cadbury Dairy Milk is a brand of chocolate made by Cadbury Plc. unit of Kraft Foods and sold in several countries around the world. It first went on sale in 1905 in the United Kingdom. The current parent is Mondelez International.

Customers

The prospective customer of dairy milk range from 5 to 60 years of age. Since dairy milk has a range of product suited for every member of the family. The aim is to strengthen the brand relationship in the current consumer’s life. The ranges of customers vary for diary milk. Whereas some buy it as an alternative for sweet others buy it as a gift item. The consumers mostly buy the product on impulse and are influenced by taste/flavor and then by company/brand. Customers get sentimental and emotionally attached. We can see that it had really affected the minds and psychology of consumers E.g.-when the company advertised its brand by tag lines “Aaj Pehli Tarik Hai”, ” Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye " and “Pappu Paas Ho Gaya”. However, the consumers had stopped purchasing the bars for sometime after the worm controversy. 

Competitors

The main competitors of Dairy milk in India are Nestle, Ferrero Rocher, Amulchocolates & unbranded chocolate. The high end chocolates (Bourneville and silk)also face competition also face competition from the imported Swiss chocolates. Butone of the biggest advantages the dairy milk has over its competitors is the brandloyalty that it has got. The excellent advertising, reach and accessibility have made itthe top of mind brand in the chocolate category.

Climate

The climate for the chocolate industry and dairy milk in particular seems very attractive in a country like India. With the size of the market being so big along with encouraging category growth the prospects look very good. Since the product is not seasonal and the margin is also good makes the climate for the industry even better.With new innovations coming up in terms of product and packaging the market is still on a growth curve.

Collaborators

As already said Cadbury dairy milk manages a huge range of retailers and wholesellers who make up the collaborators. 

Key Takeaways

1. As a marketer we need to determine what customer needs we are trying to satisfy through research we can gain valuable customer insights so we can develop customer segments.
2. It's important you understand your company's resource capabilities you can do this by conducting a SWOT analysis to understand your company's strengths and weaknesses.
3. Competition is the key. Competitors who compete with your company in your industry you need to know them in great detail their strengths and capabilities.
4. Collaborators are our key suppliers and alliance partners we partner with to add value to our product and service offerings.

5. Climate is referred to as pest analysis pest is the analysis of the macro-environment which includes political economic social and technological impact factors.

   In summary, the five Cs are a useful framework for developing a marketing strategy and the basis of good strategy development is researching and developing deep customer insights