Using Digital Media to Achieve Organizational Goals, a Walmart Case
Using Digital Media to Achieve Organizational Goals, a Walmart Case
Introduction/Synopsis
Digital media types are some of the greatest technological advancements that provide benefits to humans. They can be used in various ways that every individual is able to achieve his or her goals by using different types of digital devices, such as mobile phones and personal computers. Digital media also enables humans to access a wide range of communication to the point that geographical location is no longer an issue just to send and receive messages and information from different parts of the country and around the globe. In an organizational level, many companies use digital media to establish better communication and interaction with their current and potential customers. Thus, digital media is also used internally by these organizations to achieve their overall organizations goal. Electronic mails, social media, and video blogs are just some of the few examples of digital media that support the organization’s goal. One of the known companies that uses digital media to achieve its goal is Walmart. This discussion will present a case about how this company utilizes digital media.
Walmart is known as one of the most successful retail giants in the United States. In fact, the company was able to establish different branches outside the United States. According to the case written by Giannopoulos (2014), Walmart is reshaping its marketing strategy by employing a better digital assets through Walmart Exchange or WMX. It aims to develop a platform that targets its audiences and media buying, which will benefit both the company, its suppliers, and the customers. This development also aims to improve its customer-driven approach by identifying their customers’ behavior so that it can enhance the product development, merchandising, and marketing that will eventually increase Walmart’s operational efficiency. This approach was executed through the use of digital media. Primarily, the application of this strategy involves data from the company’s website, third-party data, and its social media platforms.
According to the case, Walmart wants to emphasize their goal as the major provider of cost-efficient products and to maintain the loyalty of their current customers and hopefully get more from other retailers or competitors. In doing so, Walmart will use its digital media platforms in order to apply big data to improve its marketing techniques and to help their suppliers (Giannopoulos, 2014). The WMX will also be used as the company’s essential supply chain management element that will increase sales, while reducing the costs. Thus, it will also act Walmart’s social media platform in addition to its current Facebook account, which will offer different products on a discounted price.
This digital strategy is an essential step for Walmart in order to achieve its goal as one of the biggest retail stores in the country. Generally, the company’s approach in applying digital media to its marketing strategy is considered a smart move to take advantage of the current programming infrastructure as it will be able to extend its benefits to the company’s suppliers and customers. Giannopoulos (2014) also explains that Walmart can optimize its social media platform and other forms of digital media to provide exceptional shopping experience to customers and in return, sustain its customer loyalty.
Goals of Walmart
Just like its competitors, Walmart aims to increase its profit by increasing its market share, while providing affordable products to their customers. It also aims to sustain the loyalty of its customers and gain the trust of its potential customers. Specifically, Walmart has its own digital goals that supports its business and at the same time, ensure that its current and potential customers understand that Walmart provides the lowest price across the retail industry. Thus, Walmart aims to improve the people’s lives by helping them save money. This is in addition to the company’s goal to constantly enhance its reputation and defend it from any possible negative situations or events.
Walmart has been working to extend its communication efforts to its customers, as they are the major reason that the company operates using its current strategies. In order to improve its customer service, Walmart uses different forms of digital and social media. To increase its market share, sustain its customer loyalty, and to continuously provide the lowest possible prices, Walmart aims to have better communication channels that will serve as gateways of information. These include the use of company website, Twitter, Facebook, and even video blogs through YouTube.
Walmart is able to establish better communication channels with its current and potential customers using different types of digital media. It is important for Walmart to understand what its customers think about the company. This is one of the bases of the company’s strategic development to ensure that they not only provide what the customers want, but also their needs. Walmart offers a wide range of products and employs numerous workers, which increase its needs to utilize various forms of digital media to address both internal and external issues.
Relatively, the utilization of WMX or Walmart Exchange approach will enhance both the communication of Walmart with its suppliers. At the same time, the company will also be able to offer essential information to its customers, such as products that are currently at their rock-bottom prices. This is essential as it enables the company to meet tits main goals, while ensuring the profitability and sustainability of the company within the retail industry.
Walmart Digital Media Strategy
Organizations’ approach in achieving their goal through digital media is a complex action, yet will increase the probability of success if done correctly. As for Walmart’s approach, the strategies were executed based on their organizational goals. Pollitt (2014) said that Walmart’s worldwide recognition as well as the overall success was due to its digital communication initiatives that were seamless and flawless. Despite the challenges of the online technology, such as digital communications and marketing, the company was still able to execute its strategies accordingly. To ensure that the previously mentioned goals are met, Walmart’s digital communications team uses Twitter as one of the main communication channels. For instance, @WalmartHub was created as the parent Twitter account that provides essential social media contents of the company. On the other hand, there sub-accounts that were also created according to their responsibilities. Because of the company’s social media strategies, it was able to increase its e-commerce sales due to increased social interaction. Thus, the company’s digital media utilization provided various benefits both for the company and its customers, which is part of Walmart’s major goals. Figure 1 shows how the retail giant was able to surpass its competitors in terms of by accelerating its digital transformation (Capgemini Consulting, 2014).
Figure 1: Leading Online Retailers (By Revenue) 2009-2013, Excluding Amazon and Apple
Walmart’s digital media also enabled the company to establish better online presence, which surpassed both amazon.com and ebay.com (Capgemini Consulting, 2014). The strategy that was employed to achieve better online engagement with their customers was due to its constant digital marketing using its social media accounts. This provided information to its customers that encouraged them to visit Walmart’s website as the main digital sales channel. Figure 2 shows the percentage of the average monthly visitors between years 2011 and 2014.
Figure 2: Leading Online Retailers’ Growth in Average Monthly Unique Visitors, 2011-2014 (%)
The WMX initiative was one of the significant steps that Walmart had employed to increase their interaction with their suppliers and improve the customers’ experience by providing them an easy access to a wide variety of discounted products. In line with this, the digital strategies of the company is not only focused on the current objectives, but it also serves as an initiative to achieve the company’s vision to remain competitive in the retail industry. The constant application of e-commerce, social media, and other forms of digital media also opens other opportunities for the company’s better future. An illustration below shows how Walmart’s digital initiatives is viewed as the center of its future current and future vision.
Figure 3: Initiatives at Achieving Company’s Current and Future Vision (Capgemini Consulting, 2014)
In addition to its current digital media approach, Walmart also combines social media and analytics of big data, so as to provide a personalized buying experience to their customers. For instance, the company had developed a Facebook application called ‘Shoppycat’, which enables the customers find the perfect gifts for their families or friends. This is a good example of how the digital media has become part of the company’s strategic marketing that focuses on what the customers need and want.
Measurable Success Factors
The factors that can be used to measure the success the digital initiatives of Walmart in relation to the establishment of Walmart Exchange includes various elements. Primarily, the current and future customers’ interaction with the company is one of the measurable factors that can be used. This can be measured by identifying the rate of online visitors before and after the digital media initiative’s implementation. In addition, the success can also be based on the level of profit increase. For instance, Walmart can measure the level of profit increase on a quarterly basis while the digital initiative is still on its initial stage of implementation.
Furthermore, the WMX or Walmart Exchange initiative will provide measurable data that will show the success of its suppliers in terms of the number products being sold through this platform. Thus, Walmart can also ask for sales rating from its suppliers after the implementation of the digital strategy. In relation, the company can identify a probable success based on the number of website visits on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. This will show how this new social media platform can increase the market share of the company as well as the products of its suppliers.
Conclusion
Digital media provides advantages to companies that have significant goals, such as Walmart. The benefits that the company has gained from its digital strategies enabled it to surpass the performance of its competitors in terms of online sales. Additionally, such action strengthen the customer’s loyalty, while establishing better communication through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Walmart’s utilization of digital media is an example of how technology can influence the company’s performance and how such technology affects the profitability and sustainability of the organization.
References
Capgemini Consulting. (2014). Walmart: Where Digital Meets Physical. Retrieved from https://www.capgemini-consulting.com/resource-file-access/resource/pdf/walmart_pov_15_7_2015.pdf
Giannopoulos, N. (2014). Walmart Boosts Efficiency with Digital Media Platform | Retail News | RIS News: Business/Technology Insights for Retail, Supermarket Executives. Retrieved from http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-news/Walmart-Boosts-Efficiency-with-Digital-Media-Platform94143
Pollitt, C. (2014). An Inside View of Walmart's Digital Communications Strategy | Social Media Today. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/inside-view-walmarts-digital-communications-strategy
