[PRESS OFFICE] In days gone by, women were dismissed as not having the capabilities to contribute meaningfully to business.
In fact, they were relegated to the kitchen and taking care of the children while their men went to work and brought home the proverbial bacon. In 2019, these tables have turned and women are playing a significant part in business. Women are sitting on the C-suite of business – in roles such as CEO – and the more entrepreneurially minded are running their own successful business.
The internet and a new business model
Technology is about so much more than the beginning days of the Internet. The world has changed more in the last 20 years than it has in the last century. With the new range of smartphones that is coming out this year, we are able to use the massive processing power that these devices have and actually replace our PCs.
The Internet has provided an extremely affordable way for new business to start interacting with their customers. In fact, many new business owners are actually preferring to use the World Wide Web as a platform to start up their businesses as opposed to beginning with a bricks-and-mortar establishment with the higher related costs.
This new way of doing business means that marketing has had to change. The core principles that marketers learn in the classroom are still applicable to digital marketing. However, the ways in which these principles are interpreted are very different. For example, a fundamental principle of marketing are the ‘4 Ps’, which stand for:
If one were to take ‘promotion’, before the days of the Internet marketers would promote their products with advertisements on media such as billboards and magazines depending on what the budget was. However, social media and Google have provided cost-effective alternatives for advertisers which are just as effective whether you have an enormous budget or are operating on a shoestring.
Digital marketing is the key to female entrepreneurs’ success
According to the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), women only make up 18.8% of business owners in South Africa. Although South Africa is showing year-on-year progress in this regard there’s still a way to go.
This being said, there’s one key factor that has been shown to spell the difference between success and failure for these women. This competitive advantage is digital marketing.
Lisa Schneider – who is a successful entrepreneur as well as managing director of the Digital School of Marketing – says that 100% of the success of her business can be attributed to digital marketing. “When we started off,” says Schneider, “we used social media marketing to promote our digital marketing courses. As this channel has proven so popular, we continue to market on social platforms and have diversified the ways in which we accomplish this using tools such as chatbots to personalise the consumer’s experience with DSM.”
All of DSM’s courses are based on the lessons that she has learned in building her truly successful business. “If you want to be truly successful in business today,” concludes Schneider, “you need to have a good grasp of digital marketing as this will set you head and shoulders above your competitors.”
The Digital School of Marketing is an online provider of accredited digital marketing education which will allow you to get an edge over your competitors. To find out more, visit our website on www.digitalschoolofmarketing.co.za. call us on 0861 428 710 or e-mail: [email protected].
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