Modern marketing strategies are characterized by an omnichannel approach that ensures the opportunity for consumers of goods and services to use the full set of marketing channels of communication to obtain a continuous inflow of information and engage in decision-making about companies and purchases
[1]. In this case, the relevant marketing strategies should be provided exclusively by a combination of online and offline tools, which necessitates the digitalization of commercial processes. According to a Netsertive report, “The State of Digital Advertising for Multi-Location Businesses”, and other analytical reports
[2], the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the snowballing of e-commerce development. Therefore, digital instruments have become strategic imperatives for brands.
The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, approved in 2015 by the UNDP, require the transformation of the business sector to the principles of a green economy
[3][4][5][6][7][8]. Harmonization of the basic postulates for the sustainable and competitive development of enterprises should be ensured by enterprises developing green competitiveness, which is characterized by the ability to create and effectively use green competitive advantages (the greening of business processes, green marketing and environmental management, a regulatory framework, inclusion of stakeholders, and green infrastructure)
[9][10][11][12][13][14]. These key determinants will provide convergent and complementary effects for the sustainable development of enterprises, the expansion of their competitive positions in the market, an increase in investment attractiveness and capitalization, and the formation of the green brand
[15][16].
At the same time, the development of Ukraine’s national economy is characterized by an intensification of the European integration processes (an association agreement was signed in 2014, and an application for EU membership is to be prepared in 2024 with the aim of joining the EU in 2030). These processes require companies to implement modern sustainable development models, transform and modernize production and management approaches, implement green processes and technologies, and produce green goods and services
[17][18][19][20]. Ecologically oriented transformation processes will provide competitive advantages for Ukrainian companies and ensure their green competitiveness
[21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Therefore, the positioning of domestic enterprises in the European market actualizes their use of digital channels of communication with stakeholders and the promotion of goods and services in new segments of the European market, especially in these COVID-19 pandemic conditions
[28][29]. Therefore, it is important to assess the level of companies’ green competitiveness, use the relevant marketing channels for communication, and justify the relevant criteria for their selection to increase the green competitiveness of enterprises.
2. Justifying the Quality Criteria of Digital Marketing Communication Channels
Modern trends in the promotion policies of companies y characterized the necessity of providing relevant communication channels to promote green competitiveness. Competitive marketing strategies must become increasingly complicated in how they combine traditional offline and online communications
[30][31][32]. Simultaneously, the mainstream of modern marketing involves the total digitalization of communication processes, and the significant domination of online channels for promoting goods and services and for disseminating other information about the activities of companies
[33]. The prevailing evidence suggests that the integrated digitalization and virtualization in the era of Industry 4.0 adjust the nature of the companies’ interactive processes: managerial, financial, marketing, educational, etc.
[34][35][36]. In the paper Bilan et al.
[37] justified their hypothesis about how the amount of financial resources attracted through digital platforms is dependent on the quantitative characteristics of the relevant determinants. The digitalization of marketing policy includes many approaches and methods: strategic communication with influencers
[38][39], the aspect of branches
[40][41][42], SMM marketing
[43][44][45], and behavioral aspects
[46][47]. In the article Kim et al.
[48] demonstrated through bibliometric studies that digital marketing is leading the way in offering new methods to reach, promote, involve, supply, and propose goods and services to customers. At the same time, Oncioiu, I. et al.
[49] provided the theoretical background for identifying the correlations between the capabilities of social media and the features of relationships with online consumers. Moreover, Oncioiu, I. et al.
[49] justified the importance of companies assessing their interactive communications and how they dialogue with online consumers and other stakeholders. Several studies have recognized that social media is a new medium for marketing promotion. It gives the opportunity for companies to communicate with their customers while constantly monitoring the content, timing, and frequency of social media conversations
[50]. In that context, it is also important to determine the benefits of social media marketing, to understand and apply best practices, and to use an experimental design
[51]. The COVID-19 pandemic has only highlighted the importance of these actions. Some scientists investigated digital mental health and emphasize an active role in creating digital mental-health marketing communications
[52]. The author Syhyda L.
[53] justified the necessity to use hybrid tools for marketing communications that allow taking advantage of the benefits of advanced communication tools and innovative solutions. On the other hand, Fischer et al.
[54] reported that communication plays an important role in promoting sustainable consumption. They generalized the key approaches and behavioral aspects in the communication process, and revealed the challenges of integration in this field
[55][56]. In the parer Tkachuk V. et al.
[57] examined digital marketing strategies for running a green-based business and for developing a policy for communicating with consumers. The findings of Vorontsova et al.
[58] highlighted the tendencies apparent in developing educational processes.
The formation of competitive advantages for enterprises in the modern market environment is characterised by the greening of all business processes and the appearance of clusters of green consumers
[59][60]. In the paper Ziabina et al.
[61] distinguished the social, economic, and ecological indicators of energy efficiency at the country level. Moreover, Pavlyk V.
[62][63] estimated the energy efficiency of the national economy using the interdependence of green investment and energy efficiency gaps. The authors Bilan et al.
[64] confirmed the linkage between pollution of the environment and the shadow economy. At the same time, Keliuotytė-Staniulėnienė G. and Daunaravičiūtė K.
[65] reported that the development of the green-bonds market provides a relevant scientific area for researchers to study the tendencies of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using bibliometric analysis, Ziabina Ye. and Kovalenko Ye. proposed using theoretical and methodological backgrounds for analyzing the trends in energy efficiency theory
[66]. The scientists Vasylieva et al.
[67] developed a mechanism to increase energy efficiency by reducing energy efficiency gaps. The generalization of the scientific approaches
[68][69][70][71][72] to estimate the interconnections between social and economic indicators and environmental responsibility concludes that effective energy policy and responsible communications support key opportunities for developing the green competitiveness of enterprises.
Consumers of green goods and services are heterogeneous, which is due to differentiated socio-demographic structures, values, behavioral determinants, levels of education, and degrees of environmental literacy
[73][74][75][76]. Therefore, it is important to define the category that characterizes a consumer in the digital age and outline the key characteristics of the digital portrait of the green consumer. The portrait of the green consumer includes the following structural elements
[77][78][79]: socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, profession, professional and family status, and income level); psychological characteristics (concerns, interests, beliefs, behaviors, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, values, and cognitive biases); behavioral characteristics (loyalty, events, frequency of use, attitude to the brand, attitude to the product, consumer status, and level of conversion); and geographical determinants (geographical location and living conditions).
The causality and uncertainty of the processes of promoting green competitiveness are significantly determined by the dynamic and behavioral nature of the consumers of green goods and services. Therefore, marketing strategies for developing green competitiveness should use an omnichannel approach and continuous communication with the personalized consumer of green goods and services. In comparison with other marketing strategies, omnichannels take into account the heterogeneity of consumers of green goods and services by personalizing them; building integrated communications; maintaining the continuity of the purchasing process, consumer information, and experience; using multimedia routing; and interacting with consumers via all communication channels
[80][81]. To determine the role and place of marketing tools for communicating with stakeholders and to form and increase green competitiveness, it is important to establish the strength and direction of the appropriate tools’ impact on the level of green competitiveness and identify channels that inhibit sales growth
[82][83].
Scientific achievements, the existing practice of using omnichannel strategies for promoting goods and services, and the development of environmentally friendly competitive positions indicate that there is a strong system of indicators for assessing the quality and effectiveness of digital marketing strategies. The Global Retail Omnichannel Index
[84], which was established in 2015 by Global Consulting Company Strategy& includes the following groups of indicators: web promotion indicators, mobile web system adaptations, indicators that characterize traditional channels of communication and sales, and indicators that characterize the use of marketing strategies and consumer service. The growing level of the digitalization of communications between producers and consumers leads to the constant implementation of new tools and indicators for assessing the quality of the interaction channels in marketing strategies, which include indicators for the web system and for the traditional offline promotion channels.
However, it is important to create a scientific basis for improving the reliability and accuracy of the selection of marketing communication channels, and of the patterns for improving and expanding their effectiveness in the context of establishing sustainable development and the green competitiveness of enterprises.
3. Conclusions
Herein confirmed the hypothesis about the statistical significance of the relationships of the quality parameters of marketing communication channels (page speed insights, failure rates, image and remarketing activities) with the levels of the green competitiveness of enterprises.
The above-mentioned points substantiate the causal links between the relevant characteristics of the marketing channels of communication and the level of the green competitiveness of enterprises. Increasing the green competitiveness level should be ensured through the implementation of an omnichannel strategy combined with the use of different combinations of marketing communication channels and the identification of the causal relationships between relevant quality criteria. For further research, it is necessary to study the trends in the digitalization-level influence on companies’ performance. Moreover, the link between marketing expenses for digital promotion and sales volumes should be analyzed.