T he post-COVID phase of marketing development in Nepal has been phenomenal. The tremendous growth of online business during the pandemic expanded extensively through the advancement of e-commerce and digital payments. Today, customers can access virtually every product and service across social media platforms, mobile applications, and websites. Businesses are increasingly launching promotional activities across various digital channels, exposing consumers to online product offerings, brand messages, ordering systems, supply chains, and digital payments.
This rapid adoption of digital technology is evident throughout the country, driven not only by the pandemic but also by global technological advancements. This paper explores these emerging marketing practices using an online survey of seven marketing and sales managers who shared their current strategies. Their insights are analysed through the lens of a brief literature review on modern marketing.
Modern marketing
Modern marketing practices have expanded customer touchpoints across websites, mobile applications, social media, and e-commerce platforms. Consequently, this growth has driven the increased use and analysis of customer, competitor, and internal data to support decision- making. This data-driven approach informs segmenting, targeting, positioning, and marketing operations, shaping product
and service design, pricing, promotion, place, process, people, and related strategy execution.
Recent developments in marketing are categorised as Marketing 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0. Marketing 4.0 incorporates the use of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain, technologies and systems that have gained significant popularity among Nepali marketers.
Building on this, Marketing 5.0 focuses on balancing human and computer intelligence to create, communicate, deliver, and enhance value for all generations. Most recently, Marketing 6.0 emphasises blending physical and digital customer immersion
to achieve deeper overall customer engagement.
Digitalisation of marketing
Amid the aforementioned developments, marketers have been leveraging high levels of digitalisation by deploying digital media, channels, data, and technology to promote brands, expand customer reach, and enhance customer satisfaction. This strategy is supported by the use of big data gathered from social media, cloud or blockchain infrastructure, customer reviews, websites, mobile applications, and internet activity.
These technologies enable the structured collection and analysis of customer, competitor, and internal
information to drive improved decision- making. Consequently, current digital technology applications in marketing rely heavily on platforms like Facebook, general social media, and WhatsApp.
Furthermore, data-driven decision- making incorporates advanced tools such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI and ML), Electronic Customer Relationship Management (ECRM), digital quotations and invoicing, online customer inquiries and lead management, digital payment and transaction recording, online product catalogs, direct email, and online business meetings.
Content of technology
The following sections present the insights shared by the marketing managers who participated in this study. An analysis of the responses from Nepali marketers reveals that they are actively utilising digital technologies, including CRM-based lead management, digital customer communication channels, online product catalogs, financial and transaction systems, mobile app integrations, and digital customer feedback tools like the Net Promoter Score (a metric designed to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction).
Additionally, organisations are adopting solutions for online recruitment, job postings, and collaborative teamwork, such as using Notion for project management alongside search engine optimisation (SEO), public relations (PR), and influencer marketing strategies. While the degree and extent of implementation naturally vary based on the shape and size of the business, these modern technological practices have gained widespread popularity across Nepal’s corporate landscape.
Use of system
Implementing the above-mentioned technologies requires robust, structured systems within organisations. Rather than relying solely on customer-facing tools, businesses must establish digitised, structured internal operations. For instance, participants reported utilising sales force automation to track field activities alongside integrated human resources and finance systems for approvals and daily operational processes.
However, adopting digital technology demands a practical, phased approach, as complete transformation cannot occur overnight. This highlights the reality that business organisations need a concrete plan and step-by-step infrastructure development to ensure the effective implementation of digital marketing strategies.
Impact of digitalisation
Are business organisations truly benefiting from the adoption of digital technologies and systems? Reports indicate that they have achieved increased visibility across the sales process, allowing them to track tertiary sales right down to the outlet level to identify distribution issues promptly. Furthermore, customer satisfaction and retention have improved because issues are identified and resolved faster, while channel partners maintain greater accountability.
Organisations have also established stronger coordination with strategic allies and partner companies. As a result, sales management has become increasingly data-driven and proactive, yielding well- connected, customer-focused outcomes in decision-making.
Additionally, continuous innovation has further enhanced the overall customer experience. Ultimately, however, a persistent demand remains for the physical presence of human resources.
Key performance indicators (KPI) and benchmarking
Due to the aforementioned developments, new key performance indicators (KPIs) are increasingly being implemented for marketing personnel, with digital metrics serving to evaluate performance. Sales targets are now assigned alongside specific metrics, including lead conversion rates, customer response times, general conversion rates, the number of new leads generated, and payment performance and follow-up tracking.
Similarly, sales targets are set at the individual outlet level to categorise outlets, allowing businesses to tailor branding and channel strategies for each segment. Furthermore, discount flows are calculated scientifically based on the specific drop size within each outlet segment.
Way ahead
Marketers opined that digitalisation should be increasingly leveraged for data- based sales decisions and forecasting. To support this shift, regular sales training should be provided to enhance digital selling skills, while a greater focus must be placed on customer feedback and after-sales service.
There should also be continued adoption of CRM and sales analytics tools. Similarly, digital platforms ought to be integrated with traditional sales methods to achieve better market coverage.
Outsourcing has gained popularity as most operations are now conducted online, making the acquisition of international clients easier, more efficient, and more profitable. Furthermore, humanising the digital push is necessary, using technology not merely to monitor, but to energise the team. Ultimately, it appears that marketers have valuable suggestions to further refine modern marketing practices.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there has been impressive progress in the digitalisation of marketing, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Marketing 4.0 is being increasingly adopted in Nepal, though full- fledged implementation remains underway. Nepal has also begun adopting Marketing 5.0 and 6.0 concepts to drive greater customer engagement through digital technology, however, these tools must be utilised efficiently.
An over-reliance on artificial intelligence and technology risks limiting the strategic use of human intelligence alongside computer intelligence to create, communicate, deliver, and enhance value for all generations.
This evolution underscores the growing need for human resource development, empowering professionals who can effectively leverage available digital technologies and their associated organisational systems and infrastructure. Ultimately, the emergence of new KPIs and benchmarks for sales and marketing teams further highlights the essential role of a workforce equipped with both marketing expertise and digital know-how.
