Modern society is building a new way of communicating between billions of its representatives, and at the same time is empathetic to the modern technology of thinking versus the dominant in automation.
It covers more than half of humanity, and in some countries a majority of the population has entered the main spheres of public life. It can be said that this progress is a colossal step in the development of civilization and can be measured by the emergence of scripture along the lines of economic, political and social space. The transition from writing to digital being unfolds in the face of new social phenomena and scientific achievements. Thanks to information technologies and digital extras that have permeated people's daily lives, new consumption patterns have been rapidly introduced since the early 21st century, building on the idea of collaborative, shared use of goods, which have become a subject of interest and public discussion around the world.
The transformational effect of technological development and digitization has an impact on communications, and the author chooses to explore precisely one of the most dynamic elements in this context, digital marketing in the software industry. In the following pages, before moving on to the suite of new goals, tasks, tools, and channels for the modern marketing professional, we should specify the strategic interrelationship between the business effects of the processes described above.
Digital convergence, which is "mutual penetration and functioning in an integrated environment of information and communication technologies, telecommunications, radio, television, the Internet, all types of mobile devices integrated into the Internet", creates a number of new opportunities not only for individuals but also for companies. On the business side, we are setting an example with the company Leapfrog0, from which they share that they are trying to fulfill certain prerequisites, such as pre-defining key roles and allocating important resources within the organization. This allows the process, structure, and culture of the company to be understood; which in turn makes it easier to formulate the digital transformation suited to their needs. The focus from a business perspective is focused on three main dimensions:
· structure – rethinking the structure before digital transformation from the point of view of having a core unit that centrally shapes digital operations or decentralized management, and determines whether the existing structure is sufficient or whether a change is necessary and is more flexible;
· human resources - upskilling employees and discussing issues such as "how you build a competent team – by hiring talent from outside or training your current employees";
· process - a need for rethinking, during which the main questions are whether the current process meets the needs for full digitalisation.
To clarify the modern understanding of marketing communications in the context of digital transformation , we will refer to the up-to-date definitions of two prestigious international analytical companies, IDC and McKinsey, whose reports and forecasts are consumed by some of the largest corporations in the global scale. McKinsey defines commercial digital transformation as
"an attempt to empower existing business models by integrating modern technologies"
(Jacques Bughin, Jonathan Deakin, and Barbara O'Beirne, 2019) and allows digital technologies to be integrated into pre-existing business models, changing the way companies operate and deliver their products or services. According to a survey by the April 2019 analyst company, 93 percent of executives believe that digital is critical to achieving their strategic goals.
In a similar direction, IDC analysts visualize the transition from digitally communicating to digitalization from a marketing perspective. The main features that affect the understanding of this process are: consciousness, strategy, approach, performance, and metrics. As Figure 1 shows, the turning point is set in 2020, a period when the global pandemic has spread across the globe and irreversibly transformed political, social and economic life internationally. The main changes brought about by this event are divided into several key features:
- a way of thinking – marketing professionals have been unabashedly talking about the theory of publishing content in the period 2007-2019. "new media" compared to traditional media channels, and today we understand digital communications and their tools as a communication tool "always and everywhere";
- strategic aspects – the shift from analogue lifestyles in the digital world to full digital experience; from megaphone to marketing message distribution to relationship building;
- approach – at the first stage of digitalisation, experts believe that a single format can fit into different channels and lead concepts are product and digital marketing; at the second stage, a key change is understanding of data and being able to underpin the personalization of messages, content management and digital across all marketing strategy programme;
- implementation – before the turning point of change, the main focus is inward, implementation is entrusted to teams allocated to silos, and still everyone follows the concept of the sales funnel; today, the most successful marketing teams are primarily customer-centric, working in a collaborative environment and horizontal relationships;
- meters – During the first wave of digital transformation, the leading indicators are clicking and downloading files, channels, and tools for multiplicity, while in the “new era” of digital transformation, the focus is on diverse channels and quality outcomes, deep engagement and intent leading to transformative customer behavior.
In view of what has been said, it can be concluded that communication today is fully digitized, and it is the user who chooses which channel and when to use, which exacerbates the demands on companies and competition for the best content strategy.