With the world now a global village, we are depending more on digital solutions for almost every aspect of our lives for personal and business needs. The marketing practice is no exception. Like in the tech sector, marketers have caught on fast enough and are fully leveraging the internet to grow their brands, promote their products and services as well as enhance their productivity.
As more sectors of the global economy move towards full or partial digitalization, more investments are being directed towards technology-led solutions. In many firms, conventional methods of doing business and accomplishing personal tasks in all spheres of life are being dropped in favor of digital-aided solutions which are fast and more convenient.
With the relevant technological knowledge, the right applications, and reliable internet, one can instantly connect with millions of people across the globe by just the click of a button. The world has become one big marketplace. Uganda herself is increasingly becoming a connected marketplace with 20 million Internet subscriptions as per the latest Communications Market Performance Report by the Ugandan Communications Commission.
If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic opened our eyes to the fact that human contact is becoming less vital in the marketplace thanks to digitalization. The lockdown period made it very clear that one can still get things done without physical contact. The internet became and continues to be the go-to for all human needs.
Most business brands have moved away from traditional marketing techniques in favor of digital systems. For example, telecom companies, banks, hospitals, and even schools in Uganda are increasingly relying on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to push their products and services. A company would rather use a social media influencer for a campaign than place an advert in the traditional media as was done in the past.
ALSO READ: TIPS TO BECOMING A SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER
By utilizing digital marketing, businesses can easily target the right audiences, horn in on customer loyalty through engagement on more personal levels, and generate more revenue by wide targeted audience reach while saving on movement costs. Businesses save a lot of time and resources by replacing traditional marketing techniques with digital marketing. For example, a single post on any social media platform is guaranteed more reach in a short time than the old-fashioned cold calling where a whole day would otherwise be spent in the field knocking on doors.
In addition, businesses are now opting for cashless business transactions to make their clients and potential business partners more comfortable.
The recently concluded 13th African Marketing Confederation Conference hosted in Uganda, under the theme “Africa’s $3.4 Trillion Economy: Opportunities for Marketers” gave Uganda a seat at the table of the change drivers on the continent. The conference which was hosted by the Uganda Marketer’s Society (UMS) and sponsored by home-grown Roke Telkom, was attended by over 500 marketers from across the African continent.
As emphasized by the keynote speaker Prof. Robert Ebo Hinson, the Vice-Chancellor at Ghana Communication Technology University at the conference, Strategy and Technology can be applied to expand the success of Pan-African brands. Technology is critical for brand advancement because it eases communication and it should be harnessed and optimized for accelerated brand growth.
With the constant digital revolution, we should choose to embrace it and use it to our advantage rather than resisting the change and looking at it as a threat.
Editor’s Note: This opinion article was provided to PC Tech Magazine for publishing by Peter Muhumuza, Chief Technical Officer at Roke Telkom.
