By Dr. Sarit Levy
Faculty Member, Business Administration at American Public University
Marketing is a function that no business can do without. Incorporating a mixed media approach is very common today as online media and traditional channels blur communications boundaries.
Even major online companies like Living Social, Groupon, Shoe Dazzle, and E-Trade are maintaining traditional methods of marketing to reach their audiences. Facebook and other online conglomerates are not only advertising through social and digital networks, they are also using traditional methods such as television and billboards.
Coupled with formal marketing efforts, employees are talking to their colleagues and peers in open online social communities. In the 1980s, Lee Iacocca shared his vision for more effective communication amongst employees literally ripping downs walls in the corporate building of Chrysler so departments could talk to one another. Today, businesses routinely design the interior architecture of their organizations for an open line of communication about organizational and consumer needs, allowing the buzz to spread like wildfire.
Consumers and business owners alike want to be heard and are doing so within local and virtual settings. An advertisement for a Papa John’s pizza might advertise locally, yet they allow the consumer to complete the transaction online by splitting payments amongst multiple parties (i.e., a family has a party at a person’s house and they need to split their cost, there are customized options to do this.) This allows for the consumer, who is local, to begin the networking process by inviting friends, family, or co-workers to join in on the pizza time, while utilizing the Internet to consider the consumer’s needs in paying for the product. Moreover, by segmenting the consumer into paying online, other advertisements for products, rewards clubs, and promotions become visible. The consumer, who was ultimately only going to pay $5 toward the pizza party, might see that if he spends an additional $5, he can get a reward of free chicken poppers. This sort of cross-promotion allows the consumer to try additional products that he sees interesting virtually, but gets to enjoy them locally with friends. Marketing and advertising agencies are leveraging the needs of the consumer and the business owner, satisfying both parties. Lori Massovecchio of Zimmerman Advertising notes that the marketing mix is comprised of a crockpot of elements. Today, quantitative metrics and data mining are a large part of determining which ads will be most effective and which mix of tools would better serve the client.
Surveying consumers has been around for decades; however consumer tracking trends have gotten more efficient due to new technologies. Companies like Zimmerman even track how many cups of coffee a marketing employee drinks per day to help them think on their feet. Zimmerman can determine how many hours are being spent being productive or not by looking at the ROI of their campaigns. There is no doubt that both traditional and online methodologies are needed to succeed in today’s fast-paced environment. One does not replace the other.
About the Author:
Dr. Sarit J. Levy has been in the academic and business environments for many years. She holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Touro University International, as well as a M.S. in management engineering and computer science from Long Island University in New York. Dr. Levy has been working as a professor in the areas of business management, entrepreneurship, new product development, and marketing for nearly a decade. She has been recognized as a speaker and presenter for several conferences including winning awards in entrepreneurship. Dr. Levy has been published in many scholarly journals and is an innovator in bringing new products to market in an expeditious and successful manner. She currently teaches part-time online at APUS and at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. She does business consulting for start-ups as well as established companies in the South Florida region. Dr. Levy has pioneered many business programs in management, entrepreneurship, and innovation for many local and online universities, and has been an integral part of their success.
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