A new online marketing mix strategy to unlock digital commerce success

Digital commerce plays a critical role in driving business growth, enhancing customer satisfaction, and achieving success in the digital environment. Unlike traditional e-commerce, digital commerce integrates advanced technologies and strategic approaches to optimize both customer experience and business operations. Although the Marketing Mix is a widely used framework for planning and implementing marketing strategies, there is currently no specific model designed for the digital commerce context. This study aims to develop an online Marketing Mix strategy tailored to the needs of digital commerce by identifying and analyzing key success factors. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative data from 21 expert interviews analyzed through Fuzzy Set Theory and quantitative data from an online survey of 600 digital entrepreneurs in Thailand, analyzed using first-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results highlight six key factors—Product, Experience, Site, Communication, Engagement, and Loyalty—that form the basis of the proposed framework, named 'PESCEL.' This framework provides a comprehensive guideline for businesses to navigate the complexities of digital commerce and addresses the limitations of traditional Marketing Mix models in capturing the dynamics of online consumer behavior and multi-channel communication. By leveraging these factors, businesses can strengthen their online marketing strategies and achieve sustainable success in the digital landscape.