In a world where digital media is one of marketing’s most valuable tools, SMEs face a number of different barriers regarding the adoption of digital marketing solutions. This means that a large portion of businesses around the world don’t have the proper tools necessary to tackle marketing on the digital front.
The Problems
1. Technical Barriers
Absence of IT infrastructure including high-speed broadband connection, lack of knowledge of models and methodologies of digital marketing, and lack of measures for internet security are some of the technical barriers faced by SMEs.
2. Financial Barriers
Lack of proper financial infrastructure to ensure implementation and upgrading of digital marketing solution suites, as well as the high cost of installation and implementation, are some of the financial barriers faced by SMEs.
3. Organizational Barriers
This barrier is associated with the adoption of digital marketing solutions in traditional organizational setups. Several enterprises are still deploying traditional marketing infrastructure and are reluctant to change their traditional methods of marketing.
4. Vendor Selection
Furthermore, SMEs are facing the challenge of selecting the right vendor. With the presence of a large number of digital marketing solution providers, they need to thoroughly research the tools and technologies available in the market before choosing the digital marketing solution best suited to their needs.
5. Product Categorization
Additionally, there is no clear definition of the various categories of digital marketing products available in the market. Companies find it difficult to keep up with new trends in the market and understand the acronyms used by vendors to define their products. This increases the pressure on customers to select a product that is best suited to their standards and requirements.
The Solutions
1. SaaS-based Solutions
The emergence of SaaS-based digital marketing solutions has enabled organizations to increase their efficiency and reduce the cost of deploying valuable IT infrastructure. The SaaS-based model for digital marketing offers a pay-per-use model, along with a one-time set up fee for the software, to maintain, upgrade, and to provide lifetime support.
Hence, the Global Digital Marketing market is witnessing a trend where many vendors have begun to offer their solutions through the SaaS-based model to expand their services and enter new markets. In addition, digital marketing solutions are becoming increasingly popular as they enable businesses to securely store, access, and maintain digital records, images, text, and data. This is leading to increased adoption of SaaS-based solutions during the forecast period.
2. Consumer-Centric Web Experience
There is growing awareness among consumers about various products and services available in the market, and consumers are becoming more sophisticated. Customers are also increasingly using the internet not only for entertainment and information but also to make purchases online. Currently, they use the internet to browse, support, and share and develop their own content, and they spend more time voting, reviewing, blogging, and social networking. Hence, to meet the requirements of these modern-day customers, companies are shifting their marketing focus from a product-centric approach to a consumer-centric approach.
3. Marketing Efficiency
As a result of intense competition in the market, organizations are facing increased customer demand and pricing pressure. This has paved the way for companies to improve the efficiency of their marketing operations by delivering the correct information to target their audience. Digital marketing solutions have automated the process of improving marketing effectiveness. The software analyzes enterprise-wide marketing data based on facts and provides alerts that help companies to take marketing investment-related decisions. Furthermore, this software integrates enterprise-wide resources in order to provide complete visibility of marketing efforts, over-the-period effectiveness, and related expenses.
