DIGITAL MARKETING AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE BUSINESS DURING THE PANDEMIC COVID-19

Abstract

The consequences of the globalization process, which in the 21st century is recording an intensive growth
trend and which is turning the world into a large "global village", are changing the way people live, work, travel,
communicate and make decisions. Information and communication technology, Internet of Things, databases, social
networks, software solutions, ubiquitous Internet, fast flow of information, artificial intelligence, virtual and
augmented reality, increasing information literacy and general awareness of people, are just some of the
characteristics of the Fourth Industrial Revolution - Industries 4.0. In parallel with the processes of globalization and
digitalization, the declaration of the Covid-19 virus pandemic, at the beginning of the third decade of the 21st
century, pointed to a new challenge that the whole world was facing. The state of emergency declared in most
countries, the closing of borders, the restriction of movement, are just some of the anti-pandemic measures that, until
now, interrupted the normal course of business. Although the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus caused
changes in all economic and non-economic activities, it seems that the world's dependence on digital technology is
the biggest consequence of the pandemic, which touched all industrial branches from production and trade to
education and healthcare. However, today, in the conditions of a crisis that makes the environment uncertain, and
the results of work unpredictable and risky, company management is focused on customer satisfaction and through
their loyalty, securing a competitive position on the market. Going to the mall, walking from boutique to boutique,
trying on a bunch of things, haggling, coffee and talking in a restaurant, already in April 2020, took on a new -
digital dimension, which directed people to shopping from the home armchair, visually "trying things on". , online
correspondence and virtual travel. Customers who want quick access to the necessary information and purchase
transactions, on the one hand, and the Covid-19 pandemic, which limited the movement of people, changed and/or
eliminated the previous purchase patterns, on the other hand, are the foundation of the development of digital
marketing, which marked the beginning of the "extinction " of traditional marketing techniques. In this regard,
company management, faced with the challenges of doing business in the time of a pandemic and the possibilities of
applying digital technology, on the one hand, and the necessity of adapting to the needs of increasingly demanding,
informed and sophisticated customers, on the other hand, recognize a great potential for satisfaction in the
development of digital marketing. consumer needs and at the same time improving their business. Given that the
pandemic gave digitization a new meaning and convinced the world that now is the ideal moment for the transition
from traditional to digital forms, at all levels and in all areas, digital marketing, the potential and advantages of its
application, in the business of companies, are the subject of research in this work. Its goal is to provide an answer to
the question of whether digitization of marketing is a matter of choice for the organization's management or an
essential opportunity for business improvement?