MUNHUMUTAPA SCHOOL OF COMMERCE

SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY ,TOURISM AND CULTURE

NAMES SURNAMES REGESTRATION

NUMBERS

NATASHA JOWA M224799

NYASHA NYADENGA M224704

PETRONELLA DANANA M224705

QUEEN MAHUPULO M225423

PRINCE MPUNZI M225122

TATENDA ZVOVUMBA M225876

BRIDGET CHARUMBIRA M224928

Module narration : Digital marketing

Module code : HHT 224

Lecturers name : Mr J Ruvando

Assignment question: Digital marketing planning and strategies

Marketing Planning
Marketing planning is the process of developing a detailed roadmap for achieving
marketing goals and objectives. It involves analyzing market opportunities, setting
marketing objectives, selecting target markets, and allocating resources to
achieve marketing goals.

- Philip Kotler defines marketing planning as "the systematic process of assessing

marketing opportunities, selecting target markets, defining marketing objectives
and developing a marketing strategy and action plan to implement and control
the strategy."

- Malcolm McDonald describes marketing planning as "the process of creating a

detailed roadmap for marketing activities, outlining the actions and resources
required to achieve specific marketing objectives."

- Michael Porter states that marketing planning involves "analyzing the industry
and competitive forces, identifying potential target segments, developing a
unique value proposition, and creating a marketing mix to effectively reach and
satisfy customers."

Marketing strategy

A marketing strategy is a long-term plan for achieving marketing goals and

objectives through a combination of marketing tactics and resources. It is a
comprehensive and integrated approach to marketing that considers the
company's internal environment, external environment, target market, unique
value proposition, marketing mix, and performance measurement.

According to Kotler and Armstrong (2017)

Marketing strategy is the marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to
achieve its marketing objectives. It consists of the specific strategies for target
markets, positioning, the marketing mix, and marketing expenditure levels

According to this definition, marketing strategy encompasses the overall

approach and tactics adopted by a business unit to achieve its marketing goals. It
involves decisions related to target markets (identifying and selecting specific
customer segments to focus on), positioning (how the business wants to be
perceived in the market compared to competitors), the marketing mix (product,
price, place, and promotion), and the allocation of marketing resources.

Digital marketing planning process

1. Set goals

Before beginning a company it's important to clearly define what to achieve. This
include increasing website traffic, generating leads and boosting sales. By setting
specific measurable goals that will be able to track the progress and determine
the success of the campaign. The objectives must be smart( measurable, specific,
achievable, relevant and time bound).

2. Identify and segmenting target audience

Understanding who the target audience are and what their needs and interest are
crucial to create a successful company. By tailoring the messaging and tactics to
specific audience, being able to create a more effective company. For example,
starting by differentiate market segments that target audience then begin to
built out the personal ideal customer within each segments. Some
demographic and additional information that include age ,income to mention a
few.

3. Create a content strategy

Create a content plan that is in line with the objectives and target market . This
might include social media updates ,info graphic, videos and blog postings. When
creating a content consider things like what digital marketing channels the are
competitors using, what's their tonality and brand personality

4. Utilize SEO

Optimizing website and content foe search engines is crucial for increasing
visibility and driving traffic to the site. By incorporating keywords and phrases
that the target audience and be able to improve the search engine rankings
and reach more potential customers.

5. Calculating digital marketing plan budget

The next step is creating the best digital marketing plan for the brand is to
calculate the budget. The budget will define how much is available to spend on
digital marketing activities , as well as guide towards specific channels,
strategies and tactics.

6. Identify your channels

There is a need to define the primary digital marketing channels that will be
used. The choice of channels needs to take into account the audience , goals
and budget. For example ,on the issue of social media platforms are the best
way to connect with target audience and promote the brand . By creating and
sharing valuable content ,engage with the followers, and running social media
advertising campaigns and will be increasing the brand awareness and drive
more traffic to website.

7. Develop specific tactics

After defining channels there is a need to develop the development the digital
marketing tactics and strategies will use within those channels. For example if
there is need to focus on search engine optimisation and need to determine the
key words that are going to target and to target them. There is need to create a
comprehensive content hub, online courses ,SEO topic clusters, or a series of
online tools by monitoring key matrics such as website traffic, engagement and
conservation rate will be able to identify areas for improvement and optimise the
campaign.

8. Create a calendar

A marketing calendar allows have a map out exactly when to implement the
digital marketing campaigns and initiatives. It also creates accountability, insuring
that the company hit deadlines and effectively execute the plan throughout the
year. This will provide with an overall framework with sufficient time to prepare
and execute and each delivery for example in March the company will start a blog
that will be updated weekly. To make this happen there is need to decide on
topics assign them to writers, coordinate with a designer, create a blog calendar,
organise videos to be embedded.

9. Measure results

The final step in creating digital marketing plan and strategy is to measure the
results through definition of matrics. There is need to compare the outcomes of
marketing efforts to the baseline as well as original goals, if the results are under
whelming adjust ,optimize and then measure again be sure to measure each
channel so that the marketer can identify what working most successfully for the
brand and what need to be cut or reduced.

Digital marketing strategy:

1. Defining a unique value proposition (UVP)

A UVP is a clear statement that explains the benefits of your product or service
and how it solves your target audience's problems. It should answer the question,
"Why should I choose your product or service over others?" A well-defined UVP
helps differentiate your brand from competitors and resonates with your target
audience.

2. Developing a content marketing strategy

Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and

consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience. This can
include blog posts, videos, social media posts, podcasts, and more. A content
marketing strategy should align with your UVP and target audience's needs, and
be designed to build trust, educate, and entertain.

3. Building a strong online presence

That is website optimization hence ensuring the website is user-friendly, fast,

and optimized for search engines.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) that is improving the website's visibility and
ranking on search engines like Google.

Social media marketing that is building a presence on platforms like Facebook,

Twitter, and LinkedIn to engage with the audience.

4. Leveraging email marketing and mobile marketing

Building an email list and sending targeted campaigns to nurture customer

relationships and drive conversions and Reaching the audience on mobile
devices through SMS, MMS, and mobile-optimized content.

5. Using data analytics and performance measurement

Tracking and analyzing data to understand the audience's behavior, measure the
effectiveness of the digital marketing efforts, and make data-driven decisions to
optimize the strategy.

6. Continuously adapting to changes

Staying up-to-date with the latest market trends, customer needs, and
technology advancements to ensure the digital marketing strategy remains
relevant and effective.

References

- Puthussery, A. (2020). Digital Marketing: An Overview. Notion Press, pp. 1-14.

- Oliveira, A. (2017). A Four-Step Guide To Creating Your Digital Marketing Plan.
Forbes.

- McDonald, M. (2012). Market Segmentation: How to do it, how to profit from it.
John Wiley & Sons.

- Chaffey, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2015). Digital Marketing Strategy,

Implementation and Practice. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall.

- Dolbec, P. (2021). Digital Marketing Strategy. Concordia University Open

Textbooks.

- Hanlon, A., & Tuten, T. (n.d.). The SAGE Handbook of Digital Marketing. SAGE
Publications Ltd.

- Kannan, P., & Li, H. (2017). Digital marketing: A framework, review and research
agenda. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 34(1), 22–45.