Digital Marketing Situation Analysis

Where are we now? Internal v External Perspectives

The situation analysis for digital marketing bridges the internal audit and competitor research. It answers the question where are we now in terms of our digital marketing (internal v external perspective)? The analysis literally considers your digital marketing situation by considering the fit between internal and external factors. There are similarities with traditional concepts and techniques, but you need to focus upon digital commerce. Here we consider the 5 S’s of Internet Marketing (Smith and Chaffey 2006), the Customer Life Cycle (CLC), and the application of SWOT analysis.

Some of the problems that you may encounter with SWOT are as a result of one of its key benefits i.e. its flexibility. Since SWOT analysis can be used in a variety of scenarios, it has to be flexible. To overcome these issues, one should employ a Power Swot.

The 5 Ss of Internet Marketing.

Smith and Chaffey (2006) distil the situation of a business using Internet as part of its business under the following 5S’s:

• Sell – Grow sales and attract business using digital technologies.
• Serve – Add value through the benefits of the Internet such as speed.
• Speak – Get closer to customers by making your business available to them at home, work or on the go with mobile technologies.
• Save – Reduce costs by using information technologies to make your business more efficient.
• Sizzle – Extend the online brand (or create a new one) – remember sell the sizzle not the sausage i.e. the benefits, aesthetics or value of a product or service rather than its features.

The Customer Life Cycle (CLC).

The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) is a tool that considers the creation and delivery of lifetime value to customers i.e. CLC looks at products and services that customers need throughout their lives. It is market oriented rather than product oriented (e.g. PLC). Key stages of the customer relationship are considered.

SWOT analysis – ranked and weighted.

SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.