Module 3: The Digital Marketing Mix & The Rise of The Consumer

Before the world of digital, consumers shopped with their feet. Literally. Shopping meant a drive into the nearest town, a browse around retail units dotted down the high street, followed by the treck home to unpack and unload everything. Not anymore. Consumers have become tech-savvy, and the needs of consumers has changed also. They have needs, needs that change based on the what they have the ability to do, or what they want to do. How has digital affected the requirements of the typical user?

They want to shop when they want to shop. No longer do they have to wait until 9am and doors to unlock. They can login online at 3am from a hammock in hawaii and order themselves the latest trending trainers. They want to involved, take part, be seen to be recognised by a brand. Social Media has finally helped bridged the communnication divide between company and consumer, helping both parties to communicate easily in a way that is convinient to the consumer. They want the best price, the ability to search across the internet in seconds for that special purchase and instantly compare who is best suited for their next buy. Pay as you go services have seen a massive rise in line with digital, allowing low cost monthly movie, music or e-book rental services to flourish, allowing consumers to do what they want, when they want. The creative and social side of consumers means they may want to share what they have bought, what they have seen or what they have recently read. The needs of consumers can be seen in every aspect of digital interaction.

To stay abreast with these evolving requirements means companies have to look to reach out in new ways, to stand out in the digital landscape already scattered with numerous online retailers. They have to help the consumer stay up to date, make transacting easy and allow the consumer to do more than they've even been able to before. Communicating with consumers through multiple channels should now be considered, reaching out to them on multiple social network channels, perhaps even tied in to traditional print media. Consumers want value for money, they want service and they want to transact on their terms. If a business wants to continue to trade well, they must evolve to meet these demands and transact on platforms familiar to their users.

Module 2: The Mobile Revolution and Technological Disruption

50 years ago, the thought of being able to check the prices of an item in your hand, in the 5 nearest shops around you would be just a dream. The ability to check the status of your upcoming flight on route to the airport, without calling the airport to check. Strange. Being able to lay outside in the park, drinking a chilled beverage, whilst ordering your monthly groceries and having them delivered straight to your front door. Unreal.

Mobile technology has progressed in such a way, modern society has adapted and evolved and incorporated the convenience of mobile technology in every day life. For the consumer, technology via the everyday mobile smart phone has allowed people to manage business from around the world, check the status of your latest online purchase or even view a live stream of the CCTV at home. Consumers no longer need to rely on manual methods to undertake everyday tasks, they can simply refer to the mobile phone for the answer.

As a result of this convenience factor, the ease of accessing information, mobile technology has affected real life businesses in many ways, both positive and negative. For example, Royal Mail, the UK standard for sending 'snail-mail' has seen a substantial drop in the number of letters delivered. Why? E-newsletters, E-Statements, E-mails have all but taken over and reduced the need for businesses to use paper to communicate with customers, reducing costs and increasing speed of delivering a message. On the flip-side, postal and delivery companies have seen a substantial increase in business in regards to package deliveries. As a result of convenience and being able to purchase almost any item online and have it delivered, the number of packages requiring delivery has increased through the likes of e-commerce, again accessible via the mobile handset and using mobile technology.

Mobile has changed the digital and physical landscape. To remain competitive, companies have to evolve and cater for the every increasing demand for mobile content. The fact is, a business can take it in its stride, develop mobile content, mobile solutions and provide convenience for a user. Alternatively, they can stand still, ignore the digital revolution and very soon, find themselves being ignored by a majority audience as a result. What will you do?

Amazon Prime: Why Prime Is Worth Every Penny

Amazon is a company that has built itself a very successful name throughout the internet, for supplying quality products, competitive prices and fantastic customer service. I challenge you to find somebody that has not heard of the company that continues to grow and continues to widen it's range of products and services all of the time.

I have always been an enthusiastic, yet cautious Amazon shopper for a couple of years... the convenience, wide range of products and product availability, plus the outstanding customer service Amazon prides itself on naturally led me to it's latest shiny offering - Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime is a pioneering product for the company. In the UK, Amazon originally saw Prime as an offering allowing Amazon customers to "Get unlimited, FREE one-day delivery on millions of products" and this continues to be the case. With the vast amount of shopping I already undertook via Amazon and other sites, normally paying additional delivery charges and regularly waiting 3-5 working days for my shopping to arrive, for me Amazon Prime was an offer I couldn't refuse... or at least try! 

Amazon didn't disappoint me. I originally enrolled on a 30-day free trial, which Amazon are happy to let you use without restriction or any charges to try out the service (you can get your own free trial, here). From the moment I upgraded, I could already see the benefits. Forgot a last minute gift? No problem, Amazon can deliver tomorrow. Need something urgently for a project? No problem, Amazon will deliver tomorrow. Increasingly, I found myself turning to Amazon for more and more of my shopping. More often than not, the item prices were very competitive and in addition I would not have to pay any shipping charges AND I could receive my item tomorrow, with the addition of courier package tracking on most deliveries. 

Recently, Amazon has increased the offerings included within Prime. For an annual fee of £79 per year, you can now receive the following:

• Enjoy all the benefits of Amazon Prime Instant Video.
• Borrow books from a choice of over 500,000 titles from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.
• Get unlimited, FREE One-Day Delivery on millions of items.

Amazon Prime Instant Video piggybacks off Amazon's existing company Lovefilm. It's a Movie/TV on-demand streaming service, which includes unlimited instant streaming of over 15,000 movies and TV shows, which you can watch anywhere, anytime with unlimited access throughout the UK. Another bonus feature of Prime Instant Video allows a UK user to watch exclusive hit TV shows before they air on British TV. Bonus!

Pricing

Amazon Prime has two pricing models. £5.99/month for Amazon Prime Instant Video only, or £79 annually which includes the one-day deliveries and 'borrow-a-book' from Kindle, which allows you to borrow a wide range of books from the Kindle store, for free. I'm not a Kindle user myself, so this didn't really have any benefit for me, however I decided to sit down and review my existing expenditure:

Before Prime:

• I would purchase a minimum of 2 items a month from Amazon, at about £3.95 P&P per item. This equals £7.90/month on carriage charges (3-5 day deliveries).
• I already have a LoveFilm subscription which I was paying £7.99/month.
• Total paid per year = Minimum of £190.68 a year!

After Prime:

The total of these two above points alone meant I was spending a minimum of £190.68 a year! Crazy. Thankfully, with Amazon Prime, this has saved me at least £111 a year and I get an upgraded 'VIP' delivery service for the items I was going to buy anyway!

Is Amazon Prime Right For Me?

The usefulness of Amazon Prime is different for each and every person. I now regularly make 5-10 orders a month, now incorporating my free, fast-tracked delivery whilst watching the movies provided by Amazon Instant Video on the big screen! It's entirely down to your personal preference, however if you often find yourself paying over the odds on P&P charges, get frustrated with delivery times or find you struggle for choice, Amazon Prime is a good bet for you.

Amazon provide a free, 30-day trial of Amazon Prime (including Amazon Prime Instant Video). Try it out, give it a spin, see what you think. It would be great to hear your thoughts and I hope this article has been useful and informative to you!

Good Luck!