Is Digital Marketing changing the world?

Photo courtesy of The Robin Report

   Not so long ago if a company had a website they were considered “turned on” to the digital world. Today, however, the digital world is changing the world before our very eyes. Companies once considered eternal giants have been brought to their knees because they fell behind the digital curve. Take Sears for instance. A company that founded interactive marketing with the very first mail order catalogs over 100 years ago. Seemed like every home in America had a Sears catalog where families each took a little time dreaming of something they wanted in the future. Kids would make lists for Christmas out of their Sears catalog selections. Fathers would plan their next lawnmower and mothers their next kitchen product all from this wonderful little book that was always there when someone wanted to dream. Sears built brands that became household names like Diehard, Craftsman, Kenmore and many others. Today Sears the international giant is on the watch list of companies heading for bankruptcy. The problem is Sears forgot the most important things that made them great.  Consumers need to be reached in their own space wherever that is and engaged.
   Enter Amazon filling the void. Instead of a bulky catalog coming to your home they have the most amazing website and business model. A buyer can find almost anything on their mobile phone get immediate reviews on any product, make a purchase and have it delivered within a day or two and never leave their space.  It is the biggest retailer in the world today and it is completely driven by digital marketing and exists for the most part only within the digital world. I know they have some brick and mortar but the fact remains that if the internet was turned off tomorrow they would likely be gone in short order.
   My sense is it will not stop with Amazon. I think it begins with them. I believe the next great company may not even be born yet because even Amazon who never seems to miss a trick in the digital world has become too big and too slow to take full advantage of the biggest possibilities available today in digital media. I could go on and on all day about the possibilities but that will wait till my next post.

-Don Troiano CEO Market Pros International

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