5 The findings
This section discusses the findings of the study. RQ1 (What are the methods and prac- tices used in effective organic digital marketing?) and RQ2 (Why aren’t SMEs - and, by in- clusion, Company X - more effective in their digital marketing efforts?) were answered in the literature section of the thesis. Summarizing this literature, a three-phase organic dig- ital marketing process model was created. It is presented below.
This process model is also important in helping to answer the main research question:
How can the organic digital marketing of Company X be improved from its current state?
To address this question, the current state of Company X’s organic digital marketing needs to be assessed. This is what this case study does. The case study aims to explore if Company X is similar to other SMEs with regards to organic digital marketing and in what ways it might be different. The case study also serves as a launching point in devel- oping Company X’s digital marketing (which will be addressed in the conclusion).
After presenting the three-phase organic digital marketing process model, this section will present the findings by following the three phases of the process model: The important prerequisites that need to be set out at the start (digital marketing goals, buyer personas, central branding concept and important keywords), obstacles that Company X might face in digital marketing (ownership factors, time factors, human resource/skill factors, finan- cial factors, environmental factors, language factors) and the different parts to an organic digital marketing campaign (content marketing, social media marketing, SEO and permis- sion email marketing and using metrics.) The section ends with a general summary of the findings.
Phase 1: The four prerequisites
Figure 5: Phase 1 of the process model: The four prerequisites of digital marketing
In the first phase, relevant stakeholders must work together to create digital marketing goals, buyer personas, a central branding concept and important keywords (the first phase). Though the process may be painstaking and anxiety-producing, it gives the organic digital marketing focus and direction. It helps to inform which organic digital marketing methods and tools to use, as well as which metrics to employ. For example, a company in the machine parts industry, with a marketing goal of building partnerships within the machine industry, would probably obtain little benefit from using Instagram or giving free giveaways.
Phase 2: The potential obstacles
Do the following have a positive, negative or neutral effect on your com- pany’s digital marketing efforts?
Positive Negative Neutral The mindset of the owner toward digital
marketing
Time factors
Number of employees
The digital marketing skillset of the staff Financial factors
The use of digital marketing in the business sector
Language factors
Figure 6: Phase 2 of the process model: The potential obstacles faced by SMES in organic digital marketing
In the second phase, the SME must realistically assess the potential obstacles to implementing organic digital marketing. Understanding the obstacles allows an SME to take a reality-based approach to organic digital marketing. If, for example, a company labels time as a precious commodity, this should inform how many weekly hours they devote to digital marketing. Similarly, if nobody in the company has the skill set to implement the digital marketing, and all a company’s competitors are effectively using digital marketing, the SME should consider hiring somebody with the needed skills.
Phase 3 of the organic digital marketing process model, the updated Kierzkowski et al.
framework, is shown on the following page.
Phase 3: The updated framework
Figure 7: Phase 3 of the process model: An updated, modernized version of the Kierzkowski et al. framework
Finally, the third phase of the model, the updated Kierzkowski et al. framework, allows for implementation and puts it in the context of customer acquisition, customer retention and
Attract users
Content marketing: Produce high-quality valuable content that is largely non-promotional and takes into consideration goals , buyer personas , brand and keywords (evergreen topics, timely topics)
Social media marketing: Use the most relevant social media channels to publish a mix of promotional and non-promotional content;
Participate in online discussions
SEO: Take steps to optimize on-page and off-page factors to achieve higher ranking
Engage user interest and participation
Social media marketing: Post interesting content (original and curated); particpate in dialogues;
encourage user-generated content/participation/social sharing
SEO: Use metrics to determine what content is most interesting to the customer
PEM: Send emails/e-newsletters regularly; Offer deals, discuss products, be a conduit to other
resources, link back to the website.
Retain users and ensure they return to the site
Content marketing: Regular output of fresh, engaging content
Social media marketing: Build strong customer relations through participation in dialogues and posting a steady stream of good content (mostly
non-promotional and curated, but some promotional as well); build brand identity
PEM: Be the source of good information (links, tips, original content); make special offers
Learn about customer preferences
Content marketing: Use website, social media and email marketing metrics to determine what content
engages the customer
Social media marketing: Use qualitative and quantitative metrics to learn about the customers’
needs
SEO: Use search engine metrics to get a better idea of the customer’s site behavior and journey
PEM: Use email analytics (such as open rates and clickthrough rates) to see what interests customers
Relate to customers
Social media: Relate to customers as much as possible on a one-to-one basis
SEO: Use website metrics to track the customer behavior and adjust sales strategies accordingly
PEM: Follow the customer journey after the customer clinks on a link from an email
brand equity. The focus is on creating high-quality content, engaging with customers and using the right channels, tools and metrics to guide future actions. This phase takes the four areas of organic digital marketing (content marketing, social media marketing, SEO and permission email marketing) and places them in the relevant elements of the Kierzkowski et al. framework.
It should be stated that this is not the first time that a researcher has tried to update the Kierzkowski et al. framework. Nikunen, Saarela, Oikarinen, Muhos and Isohalla, in their 2017 article, "Micro-enterprises’ digital marketing tools for building customer
relationships", also use the Kierzkowski et al. framework and relate it to the modern digital marketing techniques utilized by micro enterprises.
Despite using the same framework and applying it to micro enterprises, their research and the research of this thesis differ in many important ways. Most importantly, Nikunen et. al were simply testing how micro enterprises currently use digital marketing to build
customer relations; this thesis seeks to update the ”levers” so that micro enterprises can better succeed in modern, organic digital marketing. Secondly, their focus was on both paid and organic digital marketing while this thesis focuses only on organic digital marketing. Third, their research involved interviews with two digital marketing service providers while this thesis used the pre-existing literature. (Nikunen et al. 2017, 171.) Despite sharing the common themes of looking at micro enterprises through the lens of the Kierzkowski et al. framework, the two studies could hardly be any different.