A Review of Digital Marketing and Service Marketing during the COVID-19 and the Digital Economy

Abstract

Objective: As the COVID-19 pandemic expands its influence across the globe, businesses are continuously adopting techniques for developing the business model that incorporates organisational change due to digital economy as its core principles, inducing response to the triggered strong need for reorganising management processes, marketing and communication, and organisational strategies. This paper aims to digital marketing and service marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic and the digital economy.

Method: In this article, a systematic literature review was conducted. In addition, the literature and data were gathered from various books and scholarly articles retrieved from EBSCO, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect. The studies that were published in English and were peer-reviewed were included. Five independent reviewers evaluated search results, extracted data, and determined the quality of the studies to summarise and report the findings.

Result: The results reveal that the digitalisation in marketing communication channels in businesses highlights the significance of discovering a proper method for developing business practices centred on fostering technological change in organisations and the creation of adapted communication strategies. The dynamic nature of current marketing trends increases the necessity of implementing innovative technologies and communication tools that increase customer satisfaction and retention (loyalty) through customer relationship management (CRM) and digital marketing activities in the digital economy.

Conclusion: It can conclude that businesses should consider the challenges and potential strategic management approaches that consider the regulatory and legal environments in which they operate to improve the efficacy of their marketing strategies for competitive advantage in the digital economy.

Recommendation & Implication: The recommendation is that the marketers and managerial implications of the current COVID-19 crisis provide the optimal allocation of digitalisation-related resources, resulting in improved operational excellence, effectiveness, and efficiency. Although environmental complexity led to organisational complexity, it enhanced processes. Moreover, it completed the digitalisation of marketing-communication strategies as part of the organisation's internal environment, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and digital economy.

Keywords: Digital Marketing, Digital Economy, COVID-19, e-Commerce, Consumer Behaviour