M&S Digital Marketing Strategy
Marks & Spencer has been putting more emphasis on digital marketing recently. Their new strategy, which involves a photo search function on Instagram called Style Finder, has been designed to appeal to younger audiences.
The platform allows customers to upload a picture of a piece of clothing, and powerful AI will then match it with M&S’s inventory. The results are then shown to users, allowing them to shop the look.
Content Marketing
Using content marketing to promote your product or service can help you build visibility, brand authority, and trust. But it’s important to make sure your content is relevant to your audience. It’s also important to measure your content’s ROI so you can see if it is driving traffic and new customers. HubSpot is a great tool for measuring content ROI and making data-driven decisions.
M&S has invested in a number of new technology initiatives that are helping it to compete more effectively with online retailers. These include revamping its customer data center by bringing together Sparks loyalty program data, M&S online shopping data, and data from its partnership with Ocado (an online grocery retailer).
It has also prioritised its spend on social media marketing to drive engagement and improve its brand perception. Its efforts have seen a boost in sales of products such as Percy Pig sweets and Walnut Whip chocolates. The retailer is also increasing its investment in its distribution centers to reduce store shelf-life losses.
Social Media Marketing
M&S is reversing some of the negative perceptions associated with its brand. In May 2022, Bolland reported that “on almost all customer metrics we see renewed interest and approval.”
Social media marketing plays an important role in M&S’s overall digital strategy. It provides the opportunity to reach a wide audience, build brand recognition, and drive website traffic and sales.
For example, the M&S Yate store’s Halloween video received more than 300,000 views on TikTok. This video was part of M&S’s ‘Insider’ program, which uses staff as influencers to showcase their favorite products.
M&S also leverages its Instagram platform to promote its clothing and home lines. Its smart creatives are designed to appeal to younger audiences and encourage engagement. Its Shoppable Instagram campaign features inspirational content and clear links to purchase.
Email Marketing
Email is the most popular way to reach prospects and customers. It is a cost-effective way to reach your target audience and promote your products or services. Emails can be personalized to increase engagement with your prospects and customers. Emails can be triggered based on customer behavior, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase.
Moreover, it follows a competitive pricing strategy for its own brand clothes for women, men & kids. M&S also has a special loyalty program ‘Sparks’ where the customers can claim reward pints for their purchases.
M&S is implementing several technology initiatives to improve its business operations and customer experiences. These include strategic technology partnerships and collaborations, technology development and roll outs, and acquisitions. The company is also focusing on building a digitally empowered workforce by creating a culture of data analytics and digital capability. This will help the company to break down data silos and create a unified customer profile for hyper-personalization.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising is one of the most important pieces to any digital marketing strategy. With the right approach and consistent optimisation, you can create a campaign that drives quality traffic and conversions.
M&S’ new marketing strategy is online first – with campaigns launching on Facebook before TV and print. The company’s upcoming Christmas advert is an example – a two-minute video has been posted to YouTube ahead of its TV debut this weekend.
M&S has attempted to reboot itself a few times in recent years, but this time it feels different. Covid-19 has accelerated the shift to online shopping, and M&S has to supercharge its efforts in order to compete. This means breaking down data silos to create unified customer profiles. It also means creating agile marketing teams that can quickly react to changes in the market. And it means designing smart mobile and web experiences for customers.