Digital and direct marketing

Digital and direct marketing

Digital and direct marketing opportunities are dependent on the economic environment. Good or fit economic conditions will favour the achievements of an organization’s expansion goals while bad economic conditions will result to collapse of an organization. Economic conditions of a country can be evaluated by the nations’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the sum of the value of all available goods and services produced in that country in a given year. Communication aids in the delivery of these goods and services and therefore is the number one drive force or successful digital and direct marketing. In the discussion below, Canada’s communication system has been evaluated, and the underlying opportunities available to boost digital and direct marketing have been discussed.

Canada is one of the top telecommunication service providers in the world. Canada has 13.842m subscribers on fixed lines and 33,211,401 subscribers on mobile cellular. This implies that out of 100 persons, 37 of them use fixed lines as of the 2018 estimate. And out of 100 persons again, 90 of them use mobile cellular.  Canada has a total of 31,770,034 internet users which represents 89.8 percent of the country population estimate as of July 2016, placing it position 22 in the most internet users countries in the world. The country also has a total of 14,445,606 broadband fixed subscriptions, placing it number 14 in the world. With first-rate technology, the state offers 99 percent coverage with LTE something that has been pushed forward by the consumer demand to invest and advance the data service infrastructure. The government of Canada has not been left behind in the improvement of telecommunication as it has been on the front line of aiding with the extension of broadband to rural and regional places something that has seen services being easily accessible. As of now, Canada has two public TV broadcasting networks and several commercial networks all with network affiliates. It also has about 150 TV stations, multi-channel satellite and cable system that provide access to a varied stations. Canada also has a mix of both commercial and public radio broadcasters, where the public broadcaster runs four radio networks (The World Factbook, 2020). Therefore, Canada has stable communication platforms.

One opportunity that digital and direct marketing has in Canada is online shopping. Most Canadians have embraced online shopping, and many of them (61 percent of consumers) prefer to check items digitally before buying. What seems to influence this large number of people going online to purchase stuffs is how convenient it is. Also, the lower prices of items online and social media seems to have a tremendous impact on online shopping (To Times, 2020). Digital and direct marketing has an opportunity to grow in Canada through online shopping which already has been seen to be stable. Therefore, maximizing on making items available online can help boost the digital and direct markets.

Another opportunity that digital and direct marketing has in Canada is personalizing marketing. Canadians have their challenges when it comes to taxes and shipping. They are taxed heavily (5 percent) on everything they purchase. They are also charged provincial sales taxes (MarketingSherpa, 2008). Thus, if one personalize his/her business by highlighting tax savings, then one will likely grab the attention of many consumers. Again, using a free shipping promotion can skyrocket sales. 51 percent of Canadians prefer to shop from domestic retailers because of the reduced shipping fee (Euromonitor International, 2018). Thus personalizing marketing can be an excellent opportunity to boost digital and direct marketing in Canada.

Consumer habits is another opportunity that can boost digital and direct marketing. Canada being one of the most diverse states in the Western countries, has South Asians, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Filipino immigrants. This diversity has influenced the country’s consumer profile and shopping habits, particularly food. Again, immigrants seem to cause a significant spending power that has strengthen the impact of consumer habits. Also, the new immigrants have been seen to settle in large cities like Toronto and Montreal. They end up buying homes there, which has been seen to largely impact the housing affordability in the market (Euromonitor International, 2018). Therefore, consumer habits which have been influenced by new immigrants pose a great opportunity for digital and direct market as the immigrants have a strong influence on consumer spending habits in Canada.

In conclusion, Canada has one of the best communication services in the world. The number of individuals connected to the internet is large enough to boost digital and direct markets in whichever corner of the country one is in. The country can boost marketing of goods and services by maximizing on the already available opportunities like robust online shopping practices in the country, personalized marketing and taking advantage of the new immigrates that are influencing the consumer habits.

References

To Times. (2020, January 13). 61% of Canadian consumers prefer digital shopping before buying. Retrieved from https://totimes.ca/61-of-canadian-consumers-prefer-digital-shopping-before-buying/

The World Factbook. (2020). North America :: Canada — The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html

MarketingSherpa, C. (2008). Special report: Marketing to Canadians: How to deal with language, cultural, location and regulation differences. Retrieved from https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/marketing-to-canadians-how-to

Euromonitor International. (2018, February 22). Canada: Consumer lifestyles in 2017. Retrieved from https://blog.euromonitor.com/canada-consumer-lifestyles-2017/