Essay Example on Tech Advances Making Smartphone Shopping Easier and More Fun

Introduction

My first impression of reading the article brought about a sense of appreciation of the advancements in technology, particularly, the use of smartphones to make the shoppers experience worthwhile. From advancements in tech that will allow people to virtually fit apparel and view how they would appear in their yet to be purchased clothing to live chat with friends in helping make shopping decisions will make shoppers get more out of their smartphones while shopping. However, while reading the article, I also noted that something or a statement was overlooked. The statement reads “As networks get better, it becomes easier for retailers to target customers based on where they live or shop, and to communicate with them in real-time” (Knowledge@Wharton, 2010).

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In my opinion, the authors of the article should have spent more time elaborating on this issue as it touches on privacy concerns regarding personal data. The title of the article in itself gives a suggestion to the idea that the topics and subtopics discussed would be about personal issues associated with the use of mobile telephony. However, the article has done a great job in presenting the advantages that are associated with the use of smartphones in e-commerce but with no exploration of any negative implications that may also come with the advancement of e-marketing practices that depend on the collection of personal data from smartphone users. To this end, I reckon that the authors should have taken the time to consider the disadvantages in as much as they took the time to discuss the benefits of smartphone tech use in e-marketing.

For example, e-commerce targets the user’s location data to determine frequented venues as well as proximity to retail outlets at any time. The collection of such data can then be utilized to offer the potential customer a discount on a suggested purchase or a free delivery offer. Although at face value such practices are aimed to enhance the convenience of the online shopper’s experience. It is the background data that the e-commerce firms are continuously collecting about their customers that is a worrying practice. Put another way, I do not imagine that there is a limit to what sought of information they can collect as location data is just one among various other data sets known as big data that the e-commerce firms can have access to. The question that lingers, therefore, is; are online shopper’s personal data safe in the hands of e-retailers and e-marketers?

Mastering Digital Marketing

The age of digital marketing as captured by Edelman (2014) is comprised of information streams that are not well-defined or singled out. Instead, digital marketing is a growing field of knowledge-based learning that heavily relies on access to data-sets. The conclusion of the article, in my opinion, is what captures the essence of the article where the author notes that “Information and data are going to be a critical source of advantage, and it’s pointing your spotlight on how your organization is going to compete to get the best data—because that’s going to drive a lot of the insights” (Edelman, 2014).

Essentially, Edelman’s sentiments are compelling considering the dos and don’ts that he has presented in the article as a guide for digital marketing executives and teams towards securing the benefits of the digital marketing potentials. From the perspective presented, I concur with Edelman’s sentiments that big data is the sure means of securing the benefits of online marketing opportunities. Moreover, the acknowledgment that the right set of data is more critical than the quantity of data is a notably wise guiding principle that companies ought to consider.

Edelman continues to warn digital marketing executives to be careful when handling big data as it is more about the value that can be generated out of a category of data than the actual volume of information flowing from the customers. In this regard, I recognize that the future holds promise in the fact that digital marketers will rely on readily available data from a vast array of sources. As technology advances, I foresee digital marketers gaining access to different digital data sources such as CCTV, smartphone data, and financial spending data that they can pin to their potential customers and; hence, make appropriate sales opportunities targeted at such clients.

The central message in the article that I find compelling is the clarion call to digital marketers to take up the opportunity presented by the presence or availability of big data in their e-marketing practice. As such, I agree with Edelman when he says that the future of retail business lies in e-commerce. Therefore, evolution from conventional to contemporary marketing practices is necessary. Nonetheless, e-marketing should be approached with keenness so as to take full advantage of the value streams that arise from harvesting customer data as this is key to successfully applying e-marketing principles and enhance profitability.

The Perils of Bad Strategy

The failure to face the challenge, mistaking goals for strategy, bad strategic objectives and fluff are the key points that the author attributes to strategic failure. The author’s take away from the article reads “the core of the strategist’s work is always the same: discover the crucial factors in a situation and design a way to coordinate and focus actions to deal with them” (Rumelt, 2011). I could not agree more with Rumelt’s position as he elaborates on how effective it is to strategize appropriately.

The common mistakes that the article mentions such as “fluff” epitomizes characteristic attributes of modern organizations where jargon and the use of buzzwords that present a façade of expertise when reality shows that it only distracts from the focus and purpose of strategy. Following this understanding, I have come to the realization that indeed, Rumelt has a compelling point to make in regards to why strategies fail in modern organizations. By focusing on public relations more than the attainment of strategic objectives.

For instance, customer relationship management is part of the overall strategic goal and not the goal itself. In other words, the strategy is in creating customer value to enhance sales; of which, customer relationship management is a part. For this reason, it would be imprudent for the executives to confuse relationship management as a strategic objective since it is a subset of the overall. Accordingly, Rumelt calls out executives who devise failing strategies by making mistakes that are avoidable such as not having a well communicated and understood vision and mission of the organization. The key to having a successful strategy is a unity of purpose.

Conclusion

I, therefore, concur with the sentiments presented by Rumelt (2011) indicating that executives in organizations ought to wake up to the fact that strategic planning requires alignment of organizational goals and resources with the right information and communication that enhances collective responsibility while also defining individual goals and contributions to the attainment of the company strategy. Recognizing that the strategy establishment and attainment is not a one-day event, it should be noted that the strategists are better placed to identify where and how inputs can be invested efficiently to produce maximum output. Hence, ensure that the outcome of the strategy development process yields the most desirable results. At its core, strategic mistakes are avoidable when the strategists recognize the importance of pooling effort towards the achievement of the same objectives.

References

Edelman, D. (2014, June). Mastering digital marketing. McKinsey & Company.

Knowledge@Wharton. (2010, June 09). In the age of mobile networks, e-commerce gets personal. Retrieved from [email protected].

Rumelt, R. (2011, June). The perils of bad strategy. McKinsey Quarterly.