ABSTRACT
Strategic approaches to digital marketing recognise clearer differentiations that move beyond broad brush identifications of ‘users’. In combination, the organisation, the buyer persona and the several elements of digital marketing strategy represent the Buyer Persona Spring. The more integrated use of data throughout the organisation is the key driver to increasing digital maturity. Even traditional business models, for example, taxis and bed and breakfasts, have felt the influence of digital technology through the impact of the Uber and AirBnB apps and their associated business models. With the business models of these disruptors built around the sharing economy and social networking channels, the challenge they present to other models is the way they resist being pinned down to conventional definitions or practices. Increasing business transparency, innovative business models and the use of sharing and crowdsourcing challenge existing labels and traditional definitions requiring deeper reflection and more mature responses from an organization.
