Digital marketing in Bhutan: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract

The use of the Internet, mobile devices, social media, search engines, and other platforms to attract and reach consumers is known as digital marketing. The objective of this study was to understand the scenarios of digital marketing in Bhutan: opportunities and challenges faced and the digital marketing channel/ tactics that are popular in the Bhutanese market from the perspective of the digital marketing service providers. A qualitative approach was used in this study. A total of three Bhutanese digital marketing service providers based in the capital city Thimphu participated in the study using semi-structured interviews conducted through the online Zoom application. Interview data were analyzed using direct content analysis techniques and the findings are presented. The findings revealed that opportunities for digital marketing in Bhutan are the Tourism Industry, support from the relevant agencies and the market, changing mindset of the consumers (Businesses), while the challenges associated with digital marketing are the lack of support from the relevant agencies and the market, the lack of required infrastructure, consumer (Business) mindset, employees and market size. The digital marketing strategies used by Bhutanese organizations are social media, Search engine optimization, websites, animations, and, Videography. The creation of digital infrastructure and raising awareness of the advantages of digital marketing are the study's primary suggestions.