The Diamond Model of Digital Marketing Capabilities in Chain Stores with an Approach to Improving Productivity

The present study is an attempt to present a model of digital marketing capabilities in chain stores since, in recent years, customers tend to shop online to gain faster and easier services as well as new experiences, and digital marketing is tied with new concepts and terms such as Martech, Figital and Next technologies. However, the challenges and risks inherent in online digital shopping can erode trust and lead to subpar customer experiences, prompting shoppers to withdraw from the platform. Despite the importance of this issue, there is no model for digital marketing capabilities in chain stores so that the managers of these stores can identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their competitive advantage in this area. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 experts in marketing, information technology and chain stores of the country, using the qualitative data-based approach (Glaser), which was followed by open, selective and theoretical coding of the data using Maxqda software. Moreover, a systematic review of the previous research was done to enrich the dimensions extracted from the interviews, and based on this, the diamond model of digital marketing capabilities in chain stores was presented, which includes five dimensions: Martech Capability-Maintenance Technologies, Martech Capability-Transformational Technologies, Networking Capability, Digital Relations Capability and Marketing Capability for the Next Best Action, all of which result in the digital customer experience. Among the above mentioned dimensions, martech-transformative technologies due to the existence of the important components such as blockchain and artificial intelligence and the dimension of Next best action marketing are called meta-capabilities. Chain stores, using this model, can measure the level of their digital marketing capabilities and plan to achieve their desired situation.