Digital marketing is a marketing technique using digital media that can reach consumers at the right time, personally, and relevant to their needs. Digital marketing is often also referred to as ‘online marketing, ‘internet marketing, or ‘web marketing. The term digital marketing has become the most common term, especially after 2013 along with the growing use of communication and information technology. Sathya (2017) states that digital marketing is a general term for marketing products or services that use digital technology, especially products or services that use digital technology, mainly on the internet, but also includes mobile phones, display ads, and other digital media. This gives companies the ability to reach consumers or clients by building innovative practices and combining technology with traditional marketing strategies (Gibson 2018).
A basic understanding of the meaning of digital marketing needs to be emphasized because it is sometimes equated with electronic commerce (e-commerce) and also the digital business. Chaffey and Smith (2017), provide several definitions that need to be understood to further clarify the role of digital marketing:
- Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is online sales or the ability to transact online, such as online retail, digital banking services, and transactions. travel agency.
- Digital business has a broader perspective that involves automating all business processes in the value chain
- Digital marketing is the heart of digital business, its role is how to make the company closer to its customers and understand customers better, adding value for products, expand distribution channels and increase sales through digital marketing campaigns using digital media channels.
Based on research by Taiminen and Karjaluoto (2014) and Coman et al. (2020), the benefits and advantages that can be achieved from digital marketing are as follows:
- Companies are easier to measure or assess their capabilities. Digital marketing provides a digital track record for every internet user in the form of a large amount of data that can serve as input for analyzing and evaluating marketing strategies that have been or are being carried out by a company.
- Companies can improve their services to meet consumers. The speed of communication, response and real-time feedback in digital marketing channels can improve service to consumers.
- The company has the opportunity to market new products or services and expand the market.
- Companies can reduce promotional costs as they do when using traditional marketing.
- Companies can improve their performance.
Until now, digital marketing has become a global life which is a new way for a business actor to carry out communication and marketing activities to their consumers. In its development, digital marketing is carried out through various digital media such as cellular technology, websites, social media platforms, and other digital media. This has implications for every business actor to continue to adopt new ways to communicate with consumers through digital media that continues to grow (Alghizzawi, 2019).
Digital marketing adoption (DMA) or efficient and effective use and digital marketing strategies, can be done using digital marketing methods and techniques in the form of websites and/or e-commerce via the internet as a platform to carry out a variety of derivative strategy activities (Gibson 2018, Bala and Verma 2018, Srividhya 2019). Companies are categorized as having adopted digital marketing, if the company has: (1) has a website, (2) conducts electronic/e-commerce trading transactions, (3) carries out marketing through social media, (4) conducts marketing through electronic mail/ email marketing, (5) conducting search engine optimization/SEO, (6) conducting search engine based marketing/SEM, (7) conducting public relations activities digitally/ digital PR, (8 ) using digital advertising,(9) performing digital customer relationship management, (10) using content marketing, (11) conducting affiliate marketing, (12) using electronic bulletins/ online newsletter, (13) using visual banner advertising/ display advertising, (14) using mobile marketing, ( 15) apply digital analytics.