Essay Sample Dedicated to Digital Marketing in Africa

In this digital era of media and technology being experienced in Africa and other countries across the globe, customers are flooded with marketing information all the time. For that induction, it is burdensome for the businesses to grow efficiently without marketing and mainly through the digital marketing attributed to the rapid adoption of internet and use of cellphones and computers amongst other related devices. Digital marketing can be understood as the act of selling or advertising commodities or services online. This work will seek to extend our knowledge on the introduction of internet marketing in Africa. Therefore, digital marketing has become an efficient network of promoting products and services which is boosted by the availability of the internet hence making the world to be linked together conveniently.

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Reasons for Carrying Out Research

Reason for researching digital marketing in Africa is because the world is rapidly evolving. Therefore, in such a dynamic environment change is bound to happen in all spheres of lives touching at all corners of doing business.

Aims and Objectives of Research

This research intends to illustrate ways through which digital has become a way of life for businesses in African countries. The objective will be to discuss how different countries are making efforts to make use of digital platforms such as cell phones, social networking among other digital media in Africa.

Research Questions

This work will seek to address some of these questions:

1. To what extent has African countries used online marketing?

2. What plans can be applied to ensure efficient use of digital marketing in these countries?

3. What elements have influenced the use of online marketing?

4. How consumer behave towards digital marketing?

Methodology

This study will use a mixed method of qualitative and quantitative data throughout the research. The essence of using this integration method is to allow for a more complete and synergist utilization of information gathered as well as providing a better understanding of the study problem. This research will be based on the individual behavior on digital marketing.

Subsequently, the research sample will be collected between the Nigerian professionals, business people, and students. Therefore the research sample will involve 120 Nigerians. This will be a sound study sample size since the respondents will provide the basis for the research on the technical matters since they are more conversant with online shopping activities through the internet.

Ethical Issues

The ethical issue in this research will be to uphold the privacy of the respondents. All the involved respondent's details will be handled with a lot of care based on individual data protection policy.

Consumer Behavior

The buyer behavior is understood as the behavior that is depicted by the individual while they are purchasing disposing or consuming any specific goods or services. Notably, these behaviors can be influenced by several elements. Typically, the importance of learning about the consumers' habits is to understand ways in which the buying decision is made and how they search for a commodity (Kwarteng & Pilik 2016 p.95). Nonetheless, learning about the consumer behavior will help the marketers to know the inclinations in the consumption of the products.

Digital Marketing in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa

Digital marketing is not a new trend or a strange concept in Nigerian Businesses. It has evolved to become a reliable solution that can no longer be overlooked. A majority of Nigerian Business people are looking for new approaches that will make life simpler and better. As a consequence of this change, the local businesses are moving business online for sales as well as promoting their goods and services to the millions of consumers that are using internet buying (Kwarteng & Pilik 2016, p.95). The new sensitization largely attributes this to the internet and influx potential clients in Nigeria and the demand to fulfill their needs online. In Nigeria, the older generation is still struggling to get used to social media platforms such as Nairaland, Instagram, and Facebook.

However, for the digital generation, they are more attracted to conducting businesses online since digital marketing has become the most convenient method to reach your target market, it is fast and comfortable when it comes to the act of linking up with your buyers. The application of internet in doing business is a bit slower in Nigeria as opposed to other countries such as Kenya and South Africa. A majority of the Nigerians are ignorant about the digital marketing since they assume commodities advertised on the internet are either strange to their customs or expensive (Iriobe & Ayotunde 2017, p.184). Therefore, this consumer behavior has minimized efforts of conducting inline shopping into the Nigerian markets.

On the other hand, a similar trend is seen in Kenya where Mobile commerce has been boosted by the method of carrying out transactions through mobile phones commonly known as M-PESA (Nyaboga, Marwa, & Kabata, 2015, p.45). Nonetheless, digital marketing has been on the rise due to its ability to contact potential consumers irrespective of their location or time. In Kenya today, a majority of the businesses are conducted online through websites such as JUMIA amongst others. The evolution of mobile phones has provided a wireless medium that ensures that consumers have access to information that is beneficial and easily accessible.

Moreover, technological advancements in South Africa has attributed to the expansion of internet usage, and the development of web has fostered the interconnectivity of consumers to maximize. In return, the consumer behavior has changed, and the companies require to understand the influence of digital marketing on the customer decision making process. Therefore, the findings revealed that South African's consumers have successfully adapted to the digital marketing which has led to change in consumer behavior (Mafini & Dhurup 2014, p.120). Thus, the retail firms had to change their marketing strategies to incorporate digital marketing so that they can reach out to more consumers.

Limitations and Security Concerns

From the buyer's perspectives in all the three African countries, the inability of the customers to touch, taste, try or smell the tangible products before making an online shopping can be one of the most common challenges that they experience. Nonetheless, there is an industry requirement for the digital marketing vendors to reassure consumers by developing liberal return policies and offering in-store collection services.

Moreover, there is the issue of security on both the companies and the consumers that engage in internet shopping business. Various customers are cautious to purchase products over the internet since they have doubts that their personal information will remain confidential (Kwarteng & Pilik 2016 p.100). Nonetheless, there is the issue of whether the digital marketing sellers will provide the exact item that is ordered by the customer. As a result, online sellers have tried addressing this issue by building and investing in healthy customer brands.

To sum up, digital marketing is viewed as the essential focus of all activities in a retail organization. Marketers have focused their energy on reaching out to their potential clients through the online platform. As depicted in this study, the basis of online internet commerce relies on the level of technology in a country. For instance, Nigeria is a developing state that has experienced advancements in its technological aspect in the recent past since a majority of citizens have embraced the use of the internet. However, there is a need for the African countries to exploit the full potential of using technology entirely to do business since this will enhance online shopping behavior.

Reference List

Kwarteng, M, & Pilik, M 2016, 'Exploring Consumers' Propensity For Online Shopping In A Developing Country: A Demographic Perspective', International Journal Of Entrepreneurial Knowledge, 4, 1, pp. 90-103, Business Source Premier.

Iriobe, O, & Ayotunde, O 2017, 'E-Commerce In Nigeria And Consumers' Intention To Shop Online', Journal Of Global Economics, Management & Business Research, 8, 4, pp. 181-192, Business Source Premier.

Nyaboga, A, Marwa, M, & Kabata, D 2015, 'Motivational Factors and Use of Mobile Payment Services in Kenya', Journal of Business & Economic Studies, 21, 1/2, pp. 40-49, Business Source Premier.

Mafini, C, & Dhurup, M 2014, 'Internet marketing benefits among sport organisations in South Africa', African Journal For Physical, Health Education, Recreation & Dance, 20, 1, pp. 118-132, SPORTDiscus with Full Text.