Will Digital Marketing Replace Traditional Marketing?

When businesses consider marketing tactics, they find that the available channels are split into two main categories- digital marketing vs. traditional marketing. Digital marketing seems to be in prominence at the moment, as businesses are exploring ecommerce routes to capture customers, most of them who are available online. Considering the growth of technology at this juncture, at some point, digital marketing is bound to replace traditional marketing. But at this particular time, both of them supplement each other.

In the last few years, most entrepreneurs are finding it difficult to ignore digital marketing due to the benefits it provides. Let us dig deep and figure out will digital marketing will replace traditional marketing.

What is digital marketing?

The focus of digital marketing is the internet and the presence of a company on the channels. Some of the marketing strategies of digital marketing are

• Social media marketing
• Website optimization
• Search engine optimization
• Affiliate marketing
• Paid search advertising

Comparison is common between Digital marketing vs. traditional marketing and some of the benefits of digital marketing is

• Cost-effective- for small businesses, budget considerations exist in terms of advertisement. The costs incurred for a marketing plan are low, and the impact offered is significant. The moment you avail of the services of digital marketing companies, it enhances your online visibility, and traffic to your website increases. An increase in traffic leads to elevated sales and leads to an increase in revenue. Considering that most of the work SEO companies do is online, affordable charges are provided for the services they render.
• An avenue is provided to target specific customer groups- the world has become interconnected more than before, and customers are becoming pronounced. Digital marketers are providing data for customers to formulate targeted marketing campaigns. It is based on the customer’s preferences, beliefs, and interests- When you run these campaigns on Google or Facebook, you draw the attention of the audience who are initially neglected.
• Easy to measure success- It is easy to measure the success of a digital marketing campaign. The success of a digital marketing campaign can easily be measured after a few days of its launch in the market. Entrepreneurs can use email marketing software to measure the output. With the software, you can tell how many emails were delivered to the recipient. Tools like Google Analytics can be leveraged to measure goals that a business would have set up at the beginning of any campaign.

Since most people are spending a lot of time online, the growth of digital marketing has become phenomenal. For most businesses, it has gone on to become an effective form of marketing. Digital marketing enables you to reach a larger audience, and as the targeted audience is specific, the response will be better. By far, it is one of the fastest-growing forms of marketing, and businesses, both small and big, can cash on its popularity.

What is traditional marketing?

Traditional marketing is a combination of various mediums. All the mediums are chosen methods for companies to reach their existing customers, and these target markets need to be exposed to advertising prior to the emergence of the internet. Some of the forms of traditional marketing are 

• Print marketing
• Direct mail marketing
• Broadcast marketing
• Outdoor advertisement
• Telephone marketing

Below are a few reasons why traditional marketing is important

• Easy to understand- for consumers with limited knowledge of digital marketing, traditional marketing ensures you are not left behind. Comparing the difference between traditional marketing vs. digital marketing, the former does not require any explanation since the content is straightforward. A billboard or flyer conveys the message concisely and clearly.
• Ads are kept- the tools that are used for traditional marketing can be stored and kept for later use. It can be viewed at a later point in time. Even the materials can be kept and recycled to develop other things.
• Better success rate- In spite of the increased popularity of digital marketing, conventional marketing still boasts a higher success rate. Online content may reach the global markets, but it does not mean it will reach a potential customer who will be promoted to make purchases. You have to be aware that everyone who is interested in your product will not have online access. They are not expected to search online about your company before purchasing your product. The moment you implement a digital marketing campaign, some customers may move over to your potential competitors. Hence traditional marketing is relevant, convenient, and improves revenue significantly.

Will digital marketing replace the traditional form of marketing?

The traditional form of marketing is not as relative as it used to be; still, in specific markets, its importance is paramount. It depends on your market goals, location, and budget. Still, traditional marketing is used by various companies. Billboard advertisement is important considering the amount of time people spend in a car. Till the point of time, we are spending considerable time on the roads, the importance of traditional marketing will be there.

The traditional form of marketing has also started to blend with the digital world, making it a hybrid form of marketing. An example is digital dashboards that utilize digital marketing strategies to convey different ads to various target groups but rely on traditional modules or outdoor media.

Numerous forms of traditional marketing have reported an increase, like broadcast marketing, and a major chunk of the population still relies on traditional ads. It is difficult to predict what the future will be, but traditional marketing is not expected to grow at the same pace as digital marketing. Still, if you compare digital marketing vs. traditional marketing, there are still some places where the latter holds relevance. It is not going to be the first place where a business is looking to promote the brand, but it can be aligned with your digital marketing efforts.

In hindsight, will digital marketing replace traditional marketing, or is it not going to happen entirely?  For sure it is going to capture a major portion of the market.