What's the best way to create a digital strategy for an emerging market?

Working in emerging markets is a totally different ball game. 1. It’s important not to put all emerging markets into one bucket when devising a global strategy. 2. Flexibility is key. Government policies can change, internet access can be flaky, people can be hard to find - it’s key to be able to navigate and change tactics when required. 3. A local Partner is paramount. Need someone with knowledge of the market, your target segment and off course the language and cultural nuances etc. Communication, making sure the brand identity and brand values are adhered to in the best possible way is important. Fifth - take your time to choose a partner agency. Going with a global agency or a local one - all depends on various factors.

Goals and objectives are important. However, to succeed in any market we need to gain clarity on WHO our target market is and understand their USER Journey. This way we can understand what digital communication channels will bring the best outcomes and meet our users where they are. For example, the way we would communicate with Gen Z will be different to Millennials. Did you know that 40% of Gen Z are starting their search on Social Media and not on Google. This means that SEO is going outside the realm of website content and must be included as part of your social strategy also. #flintt

For success in an emerging market, setting clear, actionable goals is paramount. For example, if launching a new app, a goal might be, "Achieve 10,000 app downloads and 1,000 active users per month in the new market within the first six months." This goal provides a clear target, making it easier to measure success and tailor strategies accordingly.

First up, remove the word digital. A strategy has to set objectives based on business success, no matter what market you are in. Are you increasing market share, profitability or growing the category. Keep objectives clear and focused on the outcome. The digital part of any strategy should be how you are going to achieve your objectives. Even then, base digital activity on the current behaviour of your target market and then what you need them to do, as individuals and as a network.

When we talk about strategy we need to have the ABCDE elements in place: A - Where (A)re we now? What are the facts and figures? Bring all the numbers to the table B - Where do we want to (B)e? What is our vision of the future? What does success look like? What will tell us that we got there? C - What are the (C)hallenges to go from A to B? What are the roadblockers of the journey? D - What we are going to (D)o? What are the ideas to overcome the challenges? E - How do we (E)xecute it in an Agile way? What will be the team's structure and governance to be self-directed and autonomous in order to pivot if needed? Bring everyone involved to the table and co-create with them so the plan will be ours, not someone else.

The depth to which you understand the market and your audience plays a pivotal role in shaping your digital strategy for emerging markets, and that is what makes it different from a strategy for developed markets. A few examples are, McDonalds approach to adding a vegetarian menu when it expanded in India; Alibaba's Lazada incorporating "cash-on delivery" while expanding in Indonesia, where credit card penetration was limited; WeChat leveraging the concept of "red envelopes," a traditional gifting practice during holidays in China, by digitizing it into a viral campaign that encouraged users to send monetary gifts to friends and family digitally.

Further to what Krunal Thukker shared about McDonalds. McDonalds segment their market by their ethnicity and create marketing campaigns based on their individual preferences.

Take PepsiCo for instance. In its pursuit to tap the African market, they recognized a predominant mobile-first consumer base. The internet might have been sparse, but mobile usage was soaring. PepsiCo leveraged this by rolling out SMS-based promotions and mobile wallet rewards, uniquely tailored to the local digital habits. They combined local insights with global standards, ensuring their campaigns resonated while maintaining brand consistency. To triumph in emerging markets: - Understand local digital behavior. - Adapt global strategies to local nuances. - Execute with agility. Emerging markets, teeming with opportunity, present distinct challenges: fast-paced growth, varied customer demands and evolving digital landscapes.

When creating a digital strategy for an emerging market, go beyond understanding your audiences and how and why they use digital products and services. Be sure to understand the full context to how their digital experiences fit in to their physical lives. For example, where digital products are used could have an impact on your customer journey and evolve your 'digital strategy' to also include various non digital strategies and tactics.

While researching your market, develop personas of your target market and determine what is their current digital experience like. From there, you will have flexibility to identify points of friction and where the opportunities are.

After careful detailing of your TG ( buyer personas) specific to the emerging market (demographics, psychographics, etc.,) we need to develop a value proposition - who you are, how you are different from the competitors, and something that addresses your TG's pain points. What are you trying to solve? Are they looking for convenience, comfort, efficiency, experience? Differentiate yourself and implant yourself in the minds of your TG with your proposition that delivers your brand promise.

The fundamentals still remain the same, but the ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) expectations in dollar terms might be lower while the number of paying user count expectations might be higher. Your value proposition in an emerging market must underscore accessibility, relevance, and customization, addressing the unique challenges and aspirations of the demographic. Positioning should leverage local insights to differentiate your offering. Think of utilizing the value proposition canvas to map out customer profiles and pain points. Emphasize trust and value over features, and tailor your communication strategy to utilize channels most prevalent in the market, whether it's social media, community forums, or mobile platforms.

Develop a clear value proposition and differentiation strategy that sets you apart from your competitors. You can focus on solving a specific problem, offering a superior customer experience, or creating a strong brand identity.

Identifying and communicating a compelling value proposition is critical. If the emerging market values sustainability, your positioning might be, "Our eco-friendly packaging not only protects your purchase but also our planet, offering you a guilt-free shopping experience." This differentiates your brand and aligns with local values.

The key to a strong positioning is owning a distinct space. In order to do that it's important to either spot a problem, gap, or an opportunity. It's about carving out a unique niche that sets you apart in the digital landscape. By identifying and addressing specific challenges or untapped potential, you position yourself as a leader in your field.

Example of company for choosing right digital channel - McDonald’s mobile ordering app - Domino’s early investment in online ordering

Be sure the messaging across your digital channels is consistent and aligns with your brand’s value proposition. All channels should work together like a well choreographed dance.

Take websites, social media, email, and mobile apps – they're your superhero tools for reaching customers in this digital age. But it's not just about platforms, it's about turning them into action-packed strategies. Remember, every move to utilise social media, email marketing or online ads has to be backed by goals, audience insight, and budget smarts. It's like creating a symphony, with each channel and tactic playing a note to craft your brand's digital melody. So, if you're ready to dive in, think of it like curating a menu for your brand's online feast. Let the digital journey begin! ??

Choosing the right social media channel mix is more about impact than volume. It's all about meeting your audience where they are most active and engaged. Each platform offers unique opportunities to connect and resonate with specific demographics. By tailoring your approach and selecting the right mix, you amplify your brand's visibility and impact. It's not just about being present everywhere, but rather being impactful where it matters most.

Content is at the center of all these activities that help you create a winning digital strategy. Your content should resonate with the user of that particular platform. Reels, for example, is great for Instagram. At the same time, LinkedIn might not respond to such videos well. Content freshness is very crucial too. Your content should add value to the user so they can consider your brand.

Based on your research, develop your value proposition and positioning for the emerging market. Consider crafting an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) to test and validate your offering. This MVP approach helps to swiftly gauge market reactions, refine your solution, and enhance your value proposition. Your positioning differentiates you from competitors, making your unique benefits clear to customers. As you gather MVP feedback, adjust your positioning to better resonate and communicate your refined value proposition. Frameworks like the value proposition canvas or positioning statement can streamline this.

My top 5 collaborative tools for digital marketing teams: Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe provides collaborative features through Adobe Cloud, making it easier for teams to work together. Figma: Cloud-based design tool that allows for real-time collaboration. Popular among UI/UX designers because of interactive prototyping capabilities. Canva: Allows teams to create graphics for a wide range of purposes. Trello: Project management tool, the board & card system can be a useful for creative teams to organize their ideas, assets, & feedback in one place. Miro: Visual collaboration platform offering a digital whiteboard to brainstorm, plan, & analyze. Especially useful for mapping out marketing strategies, customer journeys, & content plans.

In our vibrant, interconnected digital era, merely transplanting traditional marketing methods online won't cut it. The dynamics have shifted: the audience of the social age isn't just looking to buy; they're seeking value, engagement, and education. Relying solely on old strategies in a new digital cloak is a recipe for obscurity. Brands should transition from blatant promotion to genuinely enlightening their audience. Craft content that's instructive, offer tools that empower, and engage in two-way dialogues. In this vast digital landscape, the goal isn’t to scream the loudest but to converse meaningfully. By creating direct value and leaning into education, services can organically draw customers in.

Tailored content speaks directly to the audience. For a market with a strong national pride, creating a marketing campaign that celebrates local heroes or landmarks using your products can foster a deep connection. Leveraging local festivals and traditions in your content calendar can also increase relevance and engagement.

?? Your digital content and assets are your secret weapons—blog posts, videos, podcasts, ebooks, infographics, webinars, and landing pages. Craft them with care, for they hold the power to captivate your audience. ? Make it high-quality, relevant, and engaging, addressing your customers' needs and pain points. Optimize it like a pro, with keywords, catchy headlines, persuasive calls to action, and eye-catching design.

This is like the grand finale: executing and monitoring your digital strategy. Launching websites, managing social media, orchestrating email campaigns – it's like setting the stage for your brand to shine. And you are not just launching; you'll be actively managing, ensuring each channel aligns with your goals. For example, captivating blog posts led to soaring engagement metrics. Armed with analytics, dashboards, and reports, you would need to dive into data, spotting trends and refining your approach. It's a creative puzzle of testing, learning, and optimizing, a dynamic dance towards digital success.

Monitoring and measuring your digital marketing strategy is crucial to ensure you get most out of your budget. By tracking key metrics such as leads created, conversion rates, brand awareness, and brand loyalty, you can identify what is working and what is not, and make necessary adjustments to your strategy. For example, if you are not generating enough leads, you may need to adjust your target audience or your marketing messages. If your conversion rate is low, you may need to improve your website's landing pages or your call to action. And if your brand awareness is not where you want it to be, you may need to increase your branding budget.

Close monitoring is a must IMO, being able to tweak and adjust in accordance with feedback is really important when working in an emerging market. As such, it's good to get mechanisms for analysis established and your team fluent in their interpretation of the various outputs/metrics.

Don't over engineer your execution to ensure you have the flexibility to learn and adapt from early results. No matter how great your initial plan, it won't get everything right. It is best to learn fast and continually improve.

Experiment and iterate quickly to test your assumptions and learn from feedback. You can use agile methods, minimum viable products, and data-driven decision making to optimize your performance and adapt to changing market conditions.

Only about 30% of companies navigate a digital transformation successfully. To flip the odds of success in a digital transformation, you need to start with a strategy and set of goals that clearly define “success” for your company—and map out how to get there. Digital transformation—means adopting an agile mindset, principles, and culture throughout your organization. Track progress against clear, quantified transformation goals—from start to finish—have an edge when it comes to flipping the odds of success in digital transformations. Your tech upgrades in a digital transformation should be aimed at creating a modular, flexible, and interoperable technology and data platform aligned with business needs

Emerging markets have their own dynamics where the globally defined personas or digital channel-mix strategies may not work as expected. The key to success is the proper localization and customization of your customer engagement approach and omnichannel strategy as per the market needs and personas. I'm intentionally not using "digital strategy" as you may need to position non-digital channels, so, better to consider an Omnichannel approach specifically for the emerging markets.

The term "emerging markets" is a vague definition. This article misses asking a critical question. How do you choose an emerging market? What are the parameters that are critical for your growth? Without properly analysing these aspects, you shouldn't start developing a digital strategy. So here is a 5-step guide what to do before you start working on your strategy: 1. List all potential markets 2. List risk and opportunity criteria 3. Do a digital evaluation of the markets (digital due diligence) 4. Weigh and score results to prioritise markets 5. Now you are ready to start working on your digital strategy, and you can follow the 6 chapters from the article above.

To cook up a digital game plan for a new market, you gotta first get the lowdown on what's hot there. Check out what people are into, how they use the internet, and what tech they've got. Then, figure out who you're talking to – like, who's your crowd? Shape your plan to match what they like and need. Mobile phones are big in many emerging spots, so keep that in mind. And if you team up with local apps or sites, that can give you a big boost. Oh, and don't forget to make your stuff feel right at home by using local flavors and styles. Stay flexible, though! Keep an ear out for feedback and stay on top of changes. Tweak your strategy as needed to keep things fresh and on track.

As someone who has launched a company in an emerging market I’d say these are the only two crucial elements thar have truly helped my company launch and grow: 1) Talking to our potential customers to understand the market. I organised Zoom calls with competitors’ customers ?? 2) Hire local experts. Reality is unless you’re from your target market you’ll need to rely on local expertise that do truly understand how things work. My most important hire was an operations lead with over 15yrs of business experience. She did everything I had no idea how to ??