Internet MKTG 652 v1

INTERNET MARKETING
Sub Code - 652
Developed by
Prof. Nitin C. Kamat -B.E. (Elect.)
Under Guidance of
Prof. Rajesh U. Aparnath - MBA
Unit Head — PGDBA (DLP)
On behalf of
Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research
 
Advisory Board
Chairman
Prof. Dr. V.S. Prasad
Former Director (NAAC)
Former Vice-Chancellor
(Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University)
Board Members
1. Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe 2. Dr. B.P. Sabale 3. Prof. Dr. Vijay Khole 4. Prof. Anuradha Deshmukh
Group Director Chancellor, D.Y. Patil University, Former Vice-Chancellor Former Director
Welingkar Institute of Navi Mumbai (Mumbai University) (YCMOU)
Management Ex Vice-Chancellor (YCMOU)
Program Design and Advisory Team
Prof. B.N. Chatterjee Mr. Manish Pitke

Dean – Marketing Faculty – Travel and Tourism
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai Management Consultant
Prof. Kanu Doshi Prof. B.N. Chatterjee

Dean – Finance Dean – Marketing
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai
Prof. Dr. V.H. Iyer Mr. Smitesh Bhosale

Dean – Management Development Programs Faculty – Media and Advertising
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai Founder of EVALUENZ
Prof. B.N. Chatterjee Prof. Vineel Bhurke

Dean – Marketing Faculty – Rural Management
Prof. Venkat lyer Dr. Pravin Kumar Agrawal

Director – Intraspect Development Faculty – Healthcare Management
Manager Medical – Air India Ltd.
Prof. Dr. Pradeep Pendse Mrs. Margaret Vas

Dean – IT/Business Design Faculty – Hospitality
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai Former Manager-Catering Services – Air India Ltd.
Prof. Sandeep Kelkar Mr. Anuj Pandey

Faculty – IT Publisher
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai Management Books Publishing, Mumbai
Prof. Dr. Swapna Pradhan Course Editor

Faculty – Retail Prof. Dr. P.S. Rao
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai Dean – Quality Systems
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai
Prof. Bijoy B. Bhattacharyya Prof. B.N. Chatterjee

Dean – Banking Dean – Marketing
Mr. P.M. Bendre Course Coordinators

Faculty – Operations Prof. Dr. Rajesh Aparnath
Former Quality Chief – Bosch Ltd. Head – PGDM (HB)
Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai
Mr. Ajay Prabhu Ms. Kirti Sampat

Faculty – International Business Assistant Manager – PGDM (HB)
Corporate Consultant Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai
Mr. A.S. Pillai Mr. Kishor Tamhankar

Faculty – Services Excellence Manager (Diploma Division)
Ex Senior V.P. (Sify) Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai
COPYRIGHT © by Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research.

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright here on may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphic,
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NOT FOR SALE. FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
1st Edition, April 2019

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A Senior Professor in Management with a wide range of experience in the

Information Technology.
Prof. Nitin C. Kamat, B.E. (Elect.), has done his Electrical Engineering from College
of Engineering (COEP), Pune University, in 1973. He has professional experience
over 40 years mostly in MNC like ICIM, Tata Honeywell, and Bharat Electronics etc.
He has served International Computers Indian Manufacture (ICIM) for

seventeen years and worked in multidiscipline areas like Engineering,
Planning, Quality Control and R&D.
He had worked on many software companies for six years on domestic and
overseas projects and involved in MIS and ERP implementation.
He is instrumental in developing various educational modules of Welingkar

Distance Education such as Audio e-learning CDs, Video recording of
lectures for Welingkar DLP Website Digital Library.
At present, in addition to his own consultancy, he has taken up teaching

profession and imparting trainings at various reputed Management
Institutes in Pune like Symbiosis Institute of Management (UG), N. Wadia,
and IMDR etc.
3
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
He has developed innovative student focus methods of learning and

involved in sharing his experience with students and faculties as a mentor
for start up projects in various leading management institutes and College
of Engineering COEP, Pune.
He is author of books— Management Information System, Human Resource

Information System, Digital Business Management and social Digital Social
Media Marketing books Published by Himalaya Publications.
He visited many countries including Toronto and Canada. During his visit,
he shared his experience with students and faculties of Ryson Business
School Institute,Toronto.
Prof. Nitin C Kamat is Manging Director of Finesse Learning Consultants.

He has taken up Digital Literacy Programme of Rotary International, a
project on digitising schools by using e-learning tools and techniques in
urban and rural areas.
He conducted “Teachers Training Seminars” on e-learning and using

social media for school and college education in various places such as
Belgavi, Kolhapur, Gadinglaj, Panvel and Pune as a social work.
His mission is “Digital Literacy” at all levels UG to PG and adult also,

through Social Media awareness.
Prof. Nitin C. Kamat
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CONTENTS
Contents
Chapter Page
Chapter Name
No. No.
1 Basics of Internet Marketing 6-29
2 Environment Analysis and Strategy Development 30-61
3 Internet Marketing Plan Creation 62-98
4 Websites and Portals — Your Internet Marketing Hub 99-141
5 Internet Marketing Research 142-172
6 Online Consumer Behaviour Analysis 173-204
7 Internet Marketing Strategies 205-242
8 Online Product Offering and Pricing 243-298
9 Online Distribution Channel 299-317
10 Creative E-mail Marketing 318-345
11 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Web Analytics 346-384
12 Communication Tools 385-415
13 Using Social Media for Internet Marketing 416-469
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BASICS OF INTERNET MARKETING
Chapter 1
Basics Of Internet Marketing
Learning Objectives
• After going through this chapter you should be able to know:
• Assess the Significance of the Internet to the Modern Marketing Concept
• Get a Chronological Perspective of Marketing on the Internet
• Understand the Difference and Benefits of Internet over Traditional

Marketing
Structure:
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The Internet Marketing Basics

1.2.1 Significance of Internet Marketing
1.2.2 Internet Marketing Defined
1.3 Role of World Wide Web

1.3.1 The Internet Marketing Concept and Scope
1.3.2 Concept of E-Commerce and E-Business
1.4 Benefits over Traditional Marketing
1.5 M-Commerce
1.6 Recent trends in Internet marketing
1.7 Summary
1.8 Self Assessment Questions
1.9 Multiple Choice Questions
6
1.1 INTRODUCTION
In this book we are going to cover the important aspects of Marketing over
the Internet. Is the concept of Internet marketing really essential and
significant to businesses?
In the present scenario, this answer varies dramatically for different

products and markets. A wide range of industries are leveraging the power
of the Internet and World Wide Web to globalise their brick and mortar
businesses. Every industry be it Information Technology, Finance,
Infrastructure or even Transportation is affected by the Internet. For large
software companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and Dell the answer is
“very significant” – Dell now gains over 90% of its multi-billion dollar global
revenue online. It also conducts many of its other business processes such
as new product development and technical customer service online.
The significance of the Internet is relatively low in the manufacturing

sector, which still follow the tradition channels of sale. Even for these
sectors, the Internet is breaching boundaries as the Internet is becoming
increasingly important in influencing purchase decisions – many new car
purchasers will research their purchase online, so manufacturers need to
invest in Internet marketing to persuade customers of the features and
benefits of their brands. We shall also get a chronological perspective of
marketing on the Internet to develop a firm understanding before we
proceed to the next chapter. Benefits over traditional means have also
been discussed in this chapter.
This book covers all the different ways in which the Internet can be used to
support the marketing process. In this introductory chapter, we review how
Internet marketing relates to the traditional concept of marketing. We also
introduce basic concepts of Internet marketing, placing it in the context of
e-commerce and e-business.
Marketing is all about communicating the right message to the right people
using right medium.
Things to Remember about Internet marketing
7
First and most importantly ~ Internet Marketing is not free or cheap.
1. Internet marketing is complex
2. Internet marketing is a concept. It’s not a product or service or

technology
3. Internet marketing requires huge budget, long term goals, strategy and
a team for execution
4. Don’t just start Internet marketing activities without having a proper

plan, clear objectives, deep pockets.
5. Don’t expect quick results.
6. Don’t try to do everything together
7. Internet marketing is not for sales. It’s marketing which will generate
sales
1.2 DEFINING INTERNET MARKETING BASICS
1.2.1 Marketing Basics Covered
The important concept of Marketing is covered in this introductory section.

For us to develop a good understanding of Internet Marketing, we must
first understand the underlying concept of Marketing. The Chartered
Institute of Marketing defines Marketing as “the management process
responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer
requirements profitably.”
If we look at this definition in more detail, marketing is a management

responsibility and should not be solely left to junior members of staff.
Marketing requires co-ordination, planning, implementation of campaigns
and a competent manager(s) with the appropriate skills to ensure success.
Internet Marketing is the newest development in this field. Marketing
objectives, goals and targets have to be monitored and met, competitor
strategies have to be analysed, anticipated and exceeded.
8
Through effective use of market and marketing research an organisation

should be able to identify the needs and wants of the customer. Marketing
research should try to deliver benefits that will enhance or add to the
customers„ lifestyle, while at the same time ensuring that the satisfaction
of these needs results in a healthy turnover for the organisation. Philip
Kotler defines marketing as 'satisfying needs and wants through an
exchange process'. Within this exchange, transaction customers will only
exchange what they value (money) if they feel that their needs are being
fully satisfied; clearly the greater the benefit provided the higher
transactional value an organisation can charge. The marketing concept
should lie at the heart of the organisation, and the actions of directors,
managers and employees should be guided by its philosophy. Modern
marketing requires organisations to be committed to a market/customer
orientation.
All parts of the organisation should co-ordinate activities to ensure that

customer needs are met efficiently, effectively and profitably. Marketing
encompasses activities traditionally seen as the sole domain of
accountants, production, human resources management (HRM) and
information technology (IT). Many of these functions had little regard for
customer considerations.
For us to develop a good understanding of Internet Marketing we must first

understand the underlying concept of Marketing.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as “the

management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying
customer requirements profitably”.
If we look at this definition in more detail, marketing is a management

responsibility and should not be solely left to junior members of staff.
Marketing requires co-ordination, planning, implementation of campaigns
and a competent managers with the appropriate skills to ensure success.
Internet Marketing is the newest development in this field. Marketing
objectives, goals and targets have to be monitored and met, competitor
strategies have to be analysed, anticipated and exceeded. Through
effective use of market and marketing research an organisation should be
able to identify the needs and wants of the customer. Marketing research
should try to deliver benefits that will enhance or add to the customers?
9
Lifestyle, while at the same time ensuring that the satisfaction of these
needs results in a healthy turnover for the organisation.
Philip Kotler defines marketing as 'satisfying needs and wants through an

exchange process'. Within this exchange, transaction customers will only
exchange what they value (money) if they feel that their needs are being
fully satisfied; clearly the greater the benefit provided the higher
transactional value an organisation can charge.
The marketing concept should lie at the heart of the organisation, and the
actions of directors, managers and employees should be guided by its
philosophy. Modern marketing requires organisations to be committed to a
market/customer orientation.
1.2.2 Internet Marketing Defined
Internet Marketing is a broad term for marketing products and/or services

online — Internet Marketing means different things to different people.
Essentially, though, Internet Marketing refers to the strategies that are
used to market a product or service online. The marketing strategies
include search engine optimisation and search engine submission,
copywriting that encourages site visitors to take action, website design
strategies, online promotions, reciprocal linking, and e-mail marketing.
Online marketers are constantly devising.
Definition of Internet Marketing
Internet marketing is all about promoting a business using Internet

channels like Internet, website, blogs, social media platforms, video
marketing, mobile marketing, email marketing and the list is huge….
Very simply put, Internet Marketing or electronic marketing refers to the

application of marketing principles and techniques via. electronic media
and more specifically the Internet.
The terms E-Marketing, Internet marketing and online marketing, are

frequently interchanged, and can often be considered synonymous.
Internet Marketing is the process of Marketing a Brand using the Internet.

It includes both direct response marketing and indirect marketing elements
10
and uses a range of technologies to help connect businesses to their

customers.
By such a definition, Internet Marketing encompasses all the activities a

business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new
business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity.
Fundamentals of Internet Marketing
1. Internet marketing is not new. It’s been around since Internet started.
Internet marketing is not just activities. It’s term used for marketing
activities and strategies combined.
2. Internet marketing is bunch of marketing techniques used to connect

with target audience using various Internet channels.
3. Internet marketing has many advantages over traditional marketing.
4. Internet marketing allows brands to target specific audience at lowest

possible cost.
5. Internet marketing is not limited to promote your business. It’s more

about how you can connect with your target audience, potential
customers and your existing customers.
6. Internet marketing can also be used for delivering better customer

services and customer delight.
7. In my Internet marketing tutorial you will find how brands use Internet
marketing to engage with their existing customers.
Internet marketing includes many topics. In Internet marketing world, we

call them channels.
Mainly Internet marketing is segmented in two major parts.
a. Search Engine Marketing
b. Social Media Marketing
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Search Engine marketing is mainly used for attracting audience using SEO,
Search Ads and social media marketing is used for connecting with
audience using social networking websites.
Apart from search and social there are many other topics you must
understand to learn Internet marketing.
Internet Marketing is a broad term for marketing products and/or services

online — Internet Marketing means different things to different people.
Essentially, though, Internet Marketing refers to the strategies that are
used to market a product or service online. The marketing strategies
include search engine optimisation and search engine submission,
copywriting that encourages site visitors to take action, website design
strategies, online promotions, reciprocal linking, and e-mail marketing.
Online marketers are constantly devising new Internet marketing
strategies in the hopes of driving more traffic to their websites and making
more sales.
Diagram 1.1
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A wide range of organisational functions and processes that deliver

products and services to customers and other key stakeholders are
supported by the Internet. It facilitates information management, which is
now increasingly recognised as a critical marketing support tool to strategy
formulation and implementation. The future role of the Internet should
form part of the vision of a company since its future impact will be
significant to most businesses. Without adequate information,
organisations are at a disadvantage with respect to competitors and the
external environment. Up-to-date, timely and accessible information about
the industry, markets, new technology, competitors and customers is a
critical factor in an organisation’s ability to plan and compete in an
increasingly competitive marketplace.
Internet as a Tactical Management Tool: Widening Our Horizons
We need to move our focus towards understanding broader applications of

the Internet within the total marketing process rather than just using it as
a communication and selling tool, if Internet marketing is to become
integrated and fully established as a tactical marketing management tool.
One of the elements of developing an Internet marketing strategy is
deciding which marketing functions can be assisted by the Internet. There
is a tendency amongst companies first using the Internet to restrict
applications to promotion and selling rather than as a relationship building
and service delivery tool.
Theodore Levitt, writing in the Harvard Business Review (Levitt, 1960),

outlined the factors that underlie the demise of many organisations and at
best seriously weaken their longer-term competitiveness. These factors still
provide a timely reminder of traps that should be avoided when embarking
on Internet marketing.
1. Wrongly defining which business they are in.
2. Unwillingness to innovate and ‘creatively destruct’ existing product/

service lines.
3. Short sightedness in terms of strategic thinking.
4. Giving marketing only ‘stepchild status’, behind finance, production and

technology.
13
1.3 Role of World Wide Web
Websites are the major tool that consumer goods organisations are using
mainly. The concept of affiliate programmes is not used at all. Customer
surveys too are widely used to increase the awareness level and induce
trial and repurchase.
Newsletters and Banner Ads are used but not that much currently. Data is
being tracked by all companies as to what pages the visitors click on, in
what order and how much time they are spending on each page. Click
through Ratio is the main technique used. The data, however, is only being
gathered at this stage, it is not being analysed by many companies yet.
Unilever’s however, is one company which is ahead of others in this regard
and is using other methods like Cost per Click and other CRM data and is
analysing it as well.
The only models used are brochure-ware and incentive sites. These are
only the basic models. In order to apply any of the more sophisticated
models, companies would have to actually start selling online and have
payment systems as well.
Consumer goods companies provide a wide variety of services online.

However, voiceovers and sounds are not used. A wider age bracket is being
catered to online as compared to offline. The consumer targeted online is
more educated, can read and understand English and has high knowledge
and awareness. Other psychographic characteristics are similar to those of
offline customers nationally. Internationally a lot of diverse potential
customers visit their websites.
1.3.1 Concept of World Wide Web Marketing
World Wide Web marketing strategies include aspects of online advertising

services, products, and the websites that include the e-mail marketing,
market research and the direct income strategies. As shown in diagram
1.2:
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Diagram 1.2: Marketing Types
World Wide Web Marketing Types
1. Search Engine Marketing: SEM or Search Engine Marketing is a

special type of World Wide Web Marketing, which looks to endorse the
websites by mounting their appearance in the pages of Search Engine
Results. This type of World Wide Web Marketing could be divided into
several categories such as paid placement, search engine optimisation,
and paid inclusion.
2. E-mail Marketing: E-mail Marketing is a special form of direct World

Wide Web Marketing that uses the electronic mails as the component of
interacting commercial or fund-lifting messages to a target audience.
3. Blog Marketing: When the World Wide Web Marketing is done through
the uses of the web-blogs, then that type of online marketing is called
the Blog Marketing.
4. Viral Marketing: Viral Marketing is the marketing technique, which

uses the already existing social networks to create the brand
awareness, through spreading of personal viruses. We shall have a
detailed look into the above types in the latter part of this book.
15
5. Video Marketing: YouTube is another avenue for any advertiser

interested in giving visual understanding of the product. The
advertisements are done to suit target clients, for example you offer
just a link to YouTube which will take client directly to site where your
product is used.
By referring one simple app on agro tourism, you can list many sites on
agro tourism sitting at your place and decide which one to you prefer to
go for weekend.
6. Social Media Marketing: The term Internet Marketing also popularly

known as Digital Marketing has number of marketing tools, components
embedded as it supports different channels. When we use face book,
twitter, Goggle +, Instagram, WhatsApp to market a product it is called
social Media Marketing.
7. Content Marketing: Content is the form of marketing focused on

creating, publishing and distributing content for targeted audience. it is
often used for business in order to:
• Attract attention
• Expand customer base
• Engage on online community of users
1.3.2 Concept of E-Commerce and E-Business
Organisations are marketing themselves mainly and have descriptions and

benefits of all the products they offer. Special sites and emphasis has not
been given to individual brands in the consumer goods industry as of yet.
Significance of Internet Marketing in Promoting Consumer Goods using the

Internet a media is a perfect opportunity for Multinational and Local
Consumer Organisations to exploit this type of tool for reaching their
customers. We need to move our focus towards understanding broader
applications of the Internet within the total marketing process rather than
just using it as a communication and selling tool, if Internet marketing is to
become integrated and fully established as a tactical marketing
management tool.
16
One of the elements of developing an Internet marketing strategy is

deciding which marketing functions can be assisted by the Internet. There
is a tendency amongst companies first using the Internet to restrict
applications to promotion and selling rather than relationship building and
service delivery tool.
Theodore Levitt, writing in the Harvard Business Review (Levitt, 1960),

outlined the factors that underlie the demise of many organisations and at
best seriously weaken their longer-term competitiveness.
These factors still provide a timely reminder of traps that should be

avoided when embarking on Internet marketing.
Wrongly defining which business they are in.
Unwillingness to innovate and “creatively destruct” existing product/service

lines.
❖ Short sightedness in terms of strategic thinking.
❖ Giving marketing only “stepchild status”, behind finance, production and

technology.
The Internet has created a new economic ecosystem, the e-commerce

marketplace. Today, e-commerce has grown into a huge industry, with
consumer-driven (B2C) online transactions impacting industries from travel
services to consumer electronics, from books and media distribution to
sports and fitness. In the last decade, many startup e-commerce
companies have rapidly stolen market share from traditional retailers and
service providers. As traditional brick and mortar firms continue to lose
market share to e-commerce players, they will likely see continued
declines in their revenues, operating margins, and profits. It is important to
note that most e-commerce players are at a competitive advantage to
retailers. They have lower operating expenses and better inventory
management due to operating in a virtual commerce environment.
17
E-Commerce in India
❖ The Indian e-commerce industry has been on an upward growth

trajectory and is expected to surpass the US to become the second
largest e-commerce market in the world by 2034.
❖ The e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 200 billion by 2026

from US$ 38.5 billion as of 2017.
❖ With growing Internet penetration, Internet users in India are expected

to increase from 445.96 million as of December 2017 to 829 million by
2021.
❖ Rising Internet penetration is expected to lead to growth in e-commerce.
❖ India’s Internet economy is expected to double from US$125 billion as of

April 2017 to US$ 250 billion by 2020, majorly backed by e-commerce.
❖ Digital transactions are expected to reach US$ 100 billion by 2020.
• Growing Demand
❖ India is the fastest growing market for the e-commerce sector.
❖ Being driven by a young demographic profile, increasing Internet

penetration and relative better economic performance, India’s E-
commerce revenue is expected to jump from US$ 39 billion in 2017 to
US$ 120 billion in 2020, growing at an annual rate of 51 per cent, the
highest in the world.
• Increasing Opportunities
❖ A lot of India’s bluechip PE firms had previously avoided investing in E-

commerce but are now looking for opportunities in the sector.
❖ India’s start-up ecosystem is growing supported by favourable FDI

policies, Government initiatives like Start-up India and Digital India, as
well as rising Internet penetration driven by market players like Reliance
Jio.
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Policy Support
❖ In India 100 per cent FDI is permitted in B2B e-commerce,
❖ As per new guidelines on FDI in e-commerce, 100 per cent FDI under
automatic route is permitted in marketplace model of e-commerce
What is E-Business?
Electronic business is commonly referred to as "eBusiness" or "e-business",

or an Internet business. This may be defined as, the application of
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in support of all the
activities of business. Commerce constitutes the exchange of products and
services between businesses, groups and individuals and can be seen as
one of the essential activities of any business. Electronic commerce focuses
on the use of ICT to enable the external activities and relationships of the
business with individuals, groups and other businesses. Electronic business
methods enable companies to link their internal and external data
processing systems more efficiently and flexibly, to work more closely with
suppliers and partners, and to better satisfy the needs and expectations of
their customers. In practice, e-business is more than just e-commerce. In
its simplest form ecommerce is the buying and selling of products and
services by businesses and consumers over the Internet. People use the
term "e-commerce" to describe encrypted payments on the Internet.
Sometimes these transactions include the real-time transfer of funds from

buyer to seller and sometimes this is handled manually through a POS
terminal once a secure order is received by the merchant. Internet sales
are increasing rapidly as consumers take advantage of lower prices offer by
wholesalers retailing their products. This trend is set to strengthen as
websites address consumer security and privacy concerns.
As with e-commerce, e-business (electronic business) also has a number of

different definitions and is used in a number of different contexts.
One of the first to use the term was IBM, when it launched a campaign
built around e-business. Today, major corporations are rethinking their
businesses in terms of the Internet and its new culture and capabilities and
this is what some see as e-business.
19
E-business is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and
selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business
partners.
E-business includes customer service (e-service) and intra-business tasks.
E-business is the transformation of key business processes through the use

of Digital technologies. An e-business is a company that can adapt to
constant and continual change. The development of intranet and extranet
is part of e-business.
E-business is everything to do with back-end systems in an organisation.
E-business involves business processes spanning the entire value chain:

electronic purchasing and supply chain management, processing orders
electronically, handling customer service, and cooperating with business
partners.
Special technical standards for e-business facilitate the exchange of data

between companies. E-business software solutions allow the integration of
intra and inter firm business processes. E-business can be conducted using
the Web, the Internet, intranets, extranets, or some combination of these.
In practice, e-commerce and e-business are often used interchangeably.
1.4 BENEFITS OVER TRADITIONAL MARKETING
The first main advantage of internet marketing is the fact that it is so much
cheaper, so the budget that you will need to start your marketing campaign
is relatively smaller. Can you imagine just how much it would cost to place
a TV commercial? The time wherein they show it even dictates the cost per
placement. You can go for a radio commercial but the production process
alone entails added cost. Let us just say that with every marketing
campaign, money is involved. It just so happens that Internet marketing is
so much cheaper, primarily because it is targeted specifically to the online
user at the time they are interested. If a person is searching for products
or services, they are looking to buy, and through referrals you can even
utilise the popularity of social networks and do targeted advertising there
at a minimal cost or even for free!
20
Another great thing about Internet marketing is that you can get the
feedback of your target market in a snap. They can comment and ask
questions about your post real quick. That way, you can communicate with
your customers faster and the sooner that you convince them to purchase
the product or service that you are promoting, the better. What is amazing
about Internet marketing is that it can be very interactive. When you air a
commercial, you need to conduct a survey to find out what your audience
has to say about it. Online, it is so much simpler because you can skip the
survey procedure and still get an honest feedback anyway. Never
underestimate the marketing power of word of mouth. Traditionally, it was
said to be even more effective than actually launching an advertisement.
That is because people would rather hear a recommendation from a friend
or someone who has used the product rather than an advertiser.
The birth of Internet marketing multiplies the power of word of mouth

because instead of just telling people one at a time, the Internet allows a
person to reach to as much as a hundred people at one time. One
Facebook wall post can make or break your brand and the product that you
are selling, because of the many people who will hear from it. One email
can immediately trigger a chain reaction. Hence, utilise the marketing
power of word of mouth in your Internet marketing. It will surely affect the
sales of your brand. Internet marketing really is the new phase of
marketing.
You can design your site and persuade your customers in a better way
without much time and investments on an Internet Marketing enabled
campaign. With less cycle time you can meet more needs of your
customers when compared to conventional channel. One of the best
aspects of an Internet Marketing campaign is that it meets the eye of the
target much faster and in a concentrated way. You can manage your leads
and convert them into opportunities in a faster manner too. It has proven
to provide a clear cut communication between the customer and the
service provider. Internet marketing leads to product innovation. Vendors
are informed about the preferences and likings of the end user and they
manufacture or present the services in a desired manner. Proliferation of
your service portfolio is pretty easy and simple online. Within no time you
can create a campaign and send it across to major social networks
including LinkedIn. Twitter or Stumble Upon. You can better your online
revenues and increase your bottom-line over the period of time. With
21
better customer satisfaction and increased bottom-line you are sure to

become a prominent entity in the segment of your industry.
1.5 M-Commerce
In its present state, M-commerce can be viewed as the extension of

conventional, Digital based e-commerce which adds a different mode of
network and accommodates different end users. The phrase mobile
commerce or M-Commerce means “The delivery of electronic commerce
capabilities directly into the consumer’s hand, anywhere, via wireless
technology”. In another sense, M-commerce is simply defined as a way of
exchanging products, ideas and services between mobile users and the
service providers.
M-commerce involves applications, wireless devices and middleware and

wireless networks. Many of the existing applications of e-commerce could
be modified to run in wireless environment, m-commerce involves many
more new applications that become possible only due to wireless
infrastructure. M-commerce is creating many new service opportunities
such as payments, banking transactions, online gaming and paid mobile
applications. M-commerce Mobile technologies have gained much attention
with consumer oriented products and applications. It is being used as a
tool for augmenting business strategies to support organisational processes
with the integration of Digital based technologies. Roots of M-commerce
could be traced to e-commerce.
Electronic commerce is the electronic exchange (delivery or transaction) of

information, goods, services, and payments over telecommunications
networks' commerce activities include establishing and maintaining online
relationships between an organisation and its suppliers, dealers,
customers, strategic partners, regulators, and other agents related to
traditional delivery channels.
22
Some of the other activities include:
1. Product searches and comparisons by consumers;
2. Product information presentation and promotion by the supplier;
3. Post-purchase customer support;
4. Communication between seller and shippers or banks; and secured

payment by consumer.
The above mentioned discussion implies that M-Commerce can be

interpreted as a subset of e-commerce by referring to those e-commerce
activities which involves wireless technologies i.e. mobile devices.
Mobile Devices are those devices that are used to connect the mobile
services. Current wireless devices include:
1. Wireless phones,
2. Wireless-enabled handheld computers,Laptop computers,
3. Vehicle-mounted technologies, and
4. Personal message pager devices.
Mobile e-commerce can also be conducted using portable non-wireless

mobile devices, such as:
1. Personal digital assistants (PDAs) and
2. Laptop computers.
23
1.6 RECENT TRENDS IN INTERNET MARKETING
In 2018 there are key high-level Internet trends that you need to aware of
so you are not wasting your time, energy and effort doing things that are
not so important. We’ve researched the web and have identified 8 key
trends that have a major impact on writing a future proof digital marketing
strategy in recent years
These are:
• Mobile First – the growth in mobile and smart phone usage, the
importance of voice search, responsive website design and good user
experience.
• Voice search, SEO, content marketing and micro-moments.
• The surge in the use of social messaging apps and chat bots.
• Machine learning, artificial intelligence and marketing automation.
• Digital transformation and using data to inform marketing strategies.
• Integrating marketing activities into the customer lifecycle at different

touch points and the importance of personalisation in marketing having a
robust customer engagement strategy.
• The future of augmented reality in marketing.
• Digital Marketing trends change fast so it is important to know what are

the most important things you need to concentrate to make your
marketing a success.
• Yes, it takes time to plan but in the long run it’s so worth it.
• Smart Insights have reported that shockingly 80% of Indian businesses

don’t have an integrated Internet Marketing Strategy. There’s so much
information available online it’s a challenge to know where to begin…
24
The recent Marketing Trends
1.7 SUMMARY
A wide range of industries are leveraging the power of the Internet and
World Wide Web to globalise their brick and mortar businesses. Every
industry be it Information Technology, Finance, Infrastructure or even
Transportation is affected by the Internet. The Internet can be used to
support the full range of organisational functions and processes that deliver
products and services to customers and other key stakeholders.
The World Wide Web Marketing concept is gaining some rapid popularity,
due to the low cost and the global nature of the Internet. Types of World
Wide Web include Search Engine Marketing, E-mail marketing, Blog
Marketing, Viral Marketing etc. World Wide Web marketing strategies
include aspects of online advertising services, products, and the websites
that include the email marketing, market research and the direct income
strategies.
Companies have created innovative advertising programmes, sometimes

referred to as viral marketing. Viral marketing seeks to create a buzz about
a product through word of mouth.
25
Never underestimate the marketing power of word of mouth. Traditionally,

it was said to be even more effective than actually launching an
advertisement.
That is because people would rather hear a recommendation from a friend

or someone who has used the product rather than an advertiser.
1.8 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
1. Where do we start with internet Marketing?
2. What is advantages and disadvantages of internet Marketing?
3. Explain with examples concept of E-Commerce and E-Business.
4. What are benefits of internet marketing over brick and mortar

Marketing?
5. Explain importance of M-Commerce in present scenario.
26
1.9 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Identify World Wide Web Marketing Types:
a. Search Engine
b. E-Mail
c. Diversified learning
d. (a) and (b) of the above
2. Enlisted below are the set of activities and tasks which are critical in
need analysis phase. Identify correct option:
a. Evaluate marketing department and business models

b. Diversified learning
c. Develop system specifications
d. (a) and (c) of the above
3. What characteristics e-business or e-marketing strategy process models

tend to share?
a. classroom learning
b. Physical Meetings
c. Continuous internal and external environment scanning
d. All of the above
4. What are Stages for E-Marketing Strategy Development?
a. Analysis
b. Increasing competitiveness
c. Budget
5. A Dynamic website is one that has web pages stored on the server in
the format that is sent to a client web browser:
a. True
b. False
27
6. Content is the form of marketing focused on creating, publishing and

distributing content for targeted audience. it is often used for business
in order to:
a. Attract attention
b. Expand customer base
c. Engage on online community of users
d. All of the above
7. Electronic business methods enable companies to link
a. Analysis
b. Increasing competitiveness
c. Their internal and external data processing systems more efficiently
and flexibly,
8. E-business is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying

and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business
partners.
a. True
b. False
9. E-business involves business processes spanning the entire value chain:
a. True
b. False
Answers
1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (d) 4. (a ) 5. (2) 6. (d) 7. (d) 8. (a ) 9. (a)
28
REFERENCE MATERIAL
Click on the links below to view additional reference material for this
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
29
ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 2
Environment Analysis And Strategy
Development
Learning Objectives
• After reading this chapter you will be able to:
• Understand the concept of Situational Analysis for Internet Marketing
• Create an effective strategy to build a strong Internet based business by

using the four stage model for Internet Marketing strategy development
• Learn how to transition business to the web
• Get a clear understanding of Competitor performance benchmarking
• Understand the process of Online marketplace analysis and mapping
30
Structure:
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Situational analysis for Internet Marketing
2.2.1 Basics of situation analysis for Internet Marketing
2.2.2 Introduction to Internet Marketing Strategy
2.2.3 Four stages model for Internet Marketing Strategy development
2.2.4 The Internet Micro Environment
2.2.5 The Internet Macro Environment
2.3 Transitioning business to the web
2.3.1 The 7 steps for smooth transition to the web
2.3.2 Types of e-business models
2.4 Strategic objectives of Internet Marketing
2.5 Competitor performance benchmarking
2.6 Online marketplace analysis and mapping
2.7 Summary
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2.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter we shall discuss important aspects related to Environment

Analysis of Internet Marketing. In today’s online market, the website needs
to be a core element in all marketing strategies. The integration with other
marketing and sales initiatives will provide the most cost-effective return
on your investment. Crucial aspects of situational analysis for Internet
Marketing are discussed in detail in this chapter. An Internet Marketing
strategy is needed to provide consistent direction for an organisation’s
Internet Marketing activities that integrates with its other marketing
activities and supports the overall objectives of the business.
The Micro and Macro environment aspects provide a key insight into
situational analysis. Pertinent factors for the Internet include demand
analysis, competitor analysis intermediary analysis, channel structure.
Michael Porter has written extensively about how the Internet has changed
the dynamic of the marketplace and has re-interpreted his often-quoted
five forces model in the Internet era.
Through the creation of an e-business model, your business can reach

millions more customers across the country — or even around the world.
Making this transition can take time and money, but it will help your
business to grow and thrive.
Benchmarking of competitors’ online strategy and services is a key part of

Internet Marketing planning activity and should also occur on an ongoing
basis. This should be done in order to respond to new marketing
approaches such as price or promotions. Online marketplace analysis and
mapping is a fundamental technique for developing an Internet Marketing
or e-business strategy for an organisation.
32
Picture 2.1: Source: tnt.co.zw
2.2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS FOR INTERNET MARKETING
2.2.1 Basics of situation analysis for Internet Marketing
In common with traditional marketing strategy, strategic analysis or

situation analysis for Internet Marketing involves review of the internal
resources and processes of the company and a review of its activity in the
marketplace; immediate competitive environment (micro-environment)
including customer demand and behaviour, competitor activity,
marketplace structure and relationships with suppliers and partners. Wider
environment (macro environment) aspects are also reviewed. These
include the social, legal, economic, political and technological factors in
which a company operated. In this section we will highlight the key aspects
of the internal and external environment that need to be assessed when
developing an Internet Marketing strategy.
33
Internal resources: These are of particular importance for e-marketing:
Internet Marketing effectiveness – How effective is the organisation at

converting browsers to visitors and visitors to prospects and buyers’
Analysis of web logs using diagnostics such as those available from
marketing insights is important here.
Financial resources and cost/benefit – in particular the breakdown for

costs of running the online presence between site development, promotion
and maintenance.
Many organisations still do not have good visibility of these costs and the
benefits such as those described in the objective setting section.
Service quality – human resources and software assistance for answering

customer queries and dispatching goods.
Technology infrastructure resources – availability and performance

(speed) of website and service level agreements with the ISP.
Structure – relate to the responsibilities and control mechanisms used to

co-ordinate Internet Marketing across different departments and business
units.
Strengths and Weaknesses – SWOT analysis can be readily applied to

Internet Marketing specific issues.
34
2.2.2 Introduction to Internet Marketing strategy
The importance of developing an effective Internet Marketing strategy is

indicated by Michael Porter (2001) who has said: The key question is not
whether to deploy Internet technology – companies have no choice if they
want to stay competitive – but how to deploy it.
Link
Building
Natural
Email Search
Marketing
Analytics
Online TR Website Trafﬁc
Paid Search
Social
Networks
Affiliate
Brand Marketing
Protection
Picture 2.2: Source: steven-dean.com
An Internet Marketing strategy is needed to provide consistent direction for

an organisation’s Internet Marketing activities that integrates with its other
marketing activities and supports the overall objectives of the business. For
many companies, the first forays into Internet Marketing or Internet
Marketing are not the result of a well-defined, integrated Internet strategy;
rather, they are a response to competitors activities or customers demand.
After a site has been in existence for year or so, marketing staff and senior
managers in a company will naturally question its effectiveness.
35
This is often the point at which the need for a coherent Internet Marketing
strategy becomes apparent. E-business or Internet Marketing strategy
process models tend to share the following characteristics:
• Continuous internal and external environment scanning or analysis is

required
• Clear statement of vision and objectives is required
• Strategy development can be broken down into formulation and selection
• After strategy development, enactment of the strategy occurs as strategy

implementation
• Control is required to detect problems and adjust the strategy

accordingly
• They must be responsive to changes in the marketplace
2.2.3 Four Stages Model for Internet Marketing Strategy

Development
Diagram 2.1: E-marketing Strategy
36
We shall discuss a four stage model for Internet Marketing strategy

development. The four stages are:
1. Strategic analysis: Continuous scanning of the micro and macro

environment of an organisation are required. Special emphasis needs to
be given to the changing needs of customers, actions and business
models of competitor and opportunities afforded by new technologies.
Techniques include resource analysis, demand analysis and competitor
analysis, applications portfolio analysis, SWOT analysis and competitive
environment analysis.
2. Strategic objectives: Organisations must have a clear vision on

whether Internet media will complement or replace other media and
their capacity for change. Clear objectives must be defined and in
particular goals for the online revenue contribution should be set.
3. Strategy definition: We shall discuss a four-stage model for e-

marketing strategy development. The four stages are:
• Decision 1. Target market strategies.
• Decision 2. Positioning and differentiation strategies.
• Decision 3. Resourcing — Internet marketing priorities —

significance to organisation.
• Decision 4. CRM focus and financial control.
• Decision 5. Market and product development strategies.
• Decision 6. Business and revenue models including product

development and pricing strategies.
• Decision 7. Organisational restructuring required.
• Decision 8. Channel structure modifications.
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4. Strategy Implementation: Includes devising and executing the tactics

needed to achieve strategic objectives. This includes relaunching a
website, campaigns associated with promoting the site and monitoring
the effectiveness of the site.
2.2.4 The Internet Micro Environment
Demand analysis or online customer activity is a key factor driving Internet

Marketing and e-business strategy objectives. It assesses the current level
and future projections of customer demand for e-commerce services in
different market segments. In a B2B context customer activity can be
determined by asking for each market:
• What % of customer businesses have access to the Internet?
• What % of members of the buying decision in these businesses have

access to the Internet?
• What % of customers are prepared to purchase your particular product

online?
• What % of customers with access to the Internet are not prepared to

purchase online, but choose or are influenced by web-based information
to buy products offline?
• What are the barriers to adoption and the facilitators amongst customers
and how can we encourage adoption?
Qualitative research is important to create strategy since it identifies the

differences in psychographics between current online customers and those
that are not offline. Competitor analysis or the monitoring of competitor
use of e-commerce to acquire and retain customers is especially important
in the e-marketplace due to the dynamic nature of the Internet medium.
Comparing the activity of an organisation and its competitors for their
different channels by trying to answer these questions:
38
Diagram 2.2: Competitor Analysis
1. Business contribution: How does Internet Marketing contribute to the

bottom line? What is the online revenue contribution (direct and
indirect), costs and profitability?
2. Marketing outcomes: How many marketing outcomes are achieved

online? For example, what proportion of leads, sales, service contacts
occur online? How effective is online marketing at acquiring, converting
and retaining customers?
3. Customer satisfaction: What are the customers’ opinions of the online

experience and how does this affect their loyalty?
4. Customer behaviour (Web analytics): This assesses how different

customer segments interact with website content and assesses how the
actions they take are influenced by usability, design, content,
promotions and services.
5. Site promotion: How effective are the different promotional tools such
as search engines, e-mail, direct marketing and advertising at driving
quality traffic to the website? Measures include attraction efficiency,
referrer efficiency, cost of acquisition, reach and the integration between
39
tools. Analysis of the use of intermediaries to build and service business

is also important here.
2.2.5 The Internet Macro Environment
These can be classified into Social, Legal, Economic, Political and

Technological characteristics of the macro environment. What are the legal
limitations to online promotion and trade, ethical constraints and
technological constraints. What is the current availability and usage of
technology to access the Internet and offer distinctive services and how is
this likely to vary in the future? All these aspects need to be considered in
the Macro environment. All in all, then, e-business is far more about
strategy than about technology.
The big giants of global business have taken a little longer to see the
Internet Marketing opportunity. But they are getting there now, and it is
they and their customers, not the Internet start-ups, that will increasingly
define what e-business means. Because the main actors will be established
rather than new businesses. The ways in which the Internet is changing the
world may be less spectacular than some of its enthusiasts might wish, but
a good deal more pro-found.
The macro environment is primarily concerned with major issues and

upcoming changes in the environment. The acronym for the macro analysis
is “STEEP”.
The five areas of interest are Socio-cultural and demographics;

Technology; Economic conditions; Ecology and physical environment; and
Political and legal.
Socio-cultural and Demographics: Societal values and lifestyles change

over time, and the most important of these should be discussed. The
changes in values and lifestyles may come from many sources: medical
(smoking, healthy eating, exercise); science (global warming, going
green); economic (people working longer, women in the workforce);
cultural diversity (music preferences, foods, living accommodations,
medicine); and technologies (Internet dating, biodegradable plastic) are
just a few examples. Some changes in values and lifestyles will be
important to the industry, but not to individual businesses.
40
Technology: Technology encompasses more than computers! Remember

that technology comes in many forms – medical devices, new plastics,
production techniques. The technology discussion should not include what
the business does – but what is available to members of the industry!
Economic Conditions: The state of the economy is usually in some sort of

flux. The current situation (specific to the industry) and any changes that
may be forecast are important. The current economic situation is not
conducive to new car sales, but may be better for used car sales.
Ecology and physical environment: plays a large part in many

businesses – especially those who have production facilities. But also,
everyday businesses are affected. For example, the impact of climate
change must be considered: water and fuel costs could change
dramatically if the world warms by only a couple of degrees.
Political and Legal: An analysis is made of pertinent local, state, and

federal legal information in the business and industry environment.
Different political parties have fundamentally different views on business,
environment, taxes, and many other issues that may affect a business.
Additionally, an industry may have specific laws and regulations.
2.3 TRANSITIONING BUSINESS TO THE WEB
In order to keep your business healthy, you need to ensure that it stays
relevant. One way to do this is to keep up with changing technology,
including setting up your business's presence on the Web. Through the
creation of an e-business model, your business can reach millions more
customers across the country — or even around the world. Making this
transition can take time and money, but it will help your business to grow
and thrive.
41
Diagram 2.3
2.3.1 The 7 Steps for Smooth Transition to the Web
Step 1. Choose the Right Leadership: Transitioning to an e-business

model requires more than just Information Technology (IT) expertise—it
also requires general management and leadership expertise. Make sure
that you choose a solid manager within your company to lead the team
that will help move your business into the Web.
Step 2. Prepare Employees and Customers: Once you have some

leadership in place (one to three managers), share the plans to transition
to e-business with the rest of your staff and — of course — your
customers. Hold an information meeting for staff so that everyone feels
involved and prepared for the changes that are about to take place, and
arrange for training so that your staff will be able to stay productive and
knowledgeable working in the Web branch of your business. Additionally,
send an informational mailing about the transition to your customers, and
encourage them to check out your new website when it is up and running.
42
Step 3. Meet With Graphic Designers: Choose a graphic designer or

design team to come on board and help your company arrive at a polished
finished Web product that is representative of your company's brand.
Transitioning to an e-business model means that not only will much of your
business transactions and work be done through the Web, but that the look
of your Website will be crucial to your success, as well. Once you have
decided on a general look and design for the Website, the graphic
designers can begin to implement that design with the various pages and
features you decide to include on the site.
Step 4. Bring In the IT Experts: With an e-business model, you are now
going to need a generous amount of IT support. In order to support the
transition period and bring your business to the Web, you will obviously
need IT experts to help; however, you will also want to think about
permanently hiring an IT team to support your Web business once the
transition is over and you have moved on to day-to-day business.
Step 5. Determine What Your E-Business Will Look Like: With your
leadership team and IT consultants, you need to figure out what exactly
your online business is going to entail. Will you offer the same products
and/or services you offered before? Or, will your business offerings change?
Do they have to change? With the input of your managers and IT
consultants, draw up a business plan of what you are going to be able to
offer through your e-business and how your website will have to be
structured to support these offerings.
Step 6. Go Live: Once you have your e-business plan in place, your
experts ready and your website set up and approved by your leadership
team, it is time to take your new and improved e-business live. Send an e-
mail to your customers to notify them that your website is ready for their
business. As with any new site, there will inevitably be technological
glitches, so make sure you always have IT staff on hand during business
hours to answer customer questions and to troubleshoot problems.
Step 7. Monitor Your E-Business's Performance: Perhaps the most

important stage of the transition comes at the end, when you will need to
monitor and evaluate how your e-business is doing. In order to do this, IT
should be able to provide your management team with site information and
business records to help you determine whether business is moving along
43
as it should, or if there are minor tweaks (or major changes) to be made.

It is best to figure out any problems early in the game.
2.3.2 Types of E-business Models
Picture 2.3: Source: blog.ub.ac.id
An e-Business model describes how an organisation operates and provides

products or services. It also demonstrates how the company makes money.
Many business models explain the organisation’s approach to creating and
penetrating new markets or technologies. Most e-Business models consist
of various components — concept, value proposition and sources of
revenue. In addition, models include business activities, resources and core
capabilities.
Brokerage: The brokerage e-Business model entails bringing buyers and

sellers together to make possible business transactions. Brokers can
facilitate consumer-to-consumer, consumer-to-business or business-to-
business markets. This business model earns money by charging a fee or
commission for each transaction. Various types of brokerage models exist,
such as auction broker, search agent, buy/sell fulfilment or transaction
broker. Auction brokers co-ordinate auctions for sellers for a listing fee and
commission. The eBay website epitomises the clearest example of the
model. Search agents involve a robot or search agent that uncovers prices
44
and the availability of specific goods and services or difficult-to-find items.

Buy/sell fulfilment brokers takes customers directives to buy or sell
services or products. A transaction broker offers buyers and sellers a third-
party payment venue where the parties can settle business transactions.
Infomediary: This particular e-Business model entails capturing and

sharing information. Some organisations may have website users to
register to gain access to the information on the website, even free
information. This is a common technique for getting white papers or
eBooks. Many companies have white papers written by experts or
consultants. Some other infomediary entities like specialising in supplying
banner ads to a group of member sites, collecting consumer data to
evaluate marketing campaigns. Another model provides consumers
incentives, such as coupons or points to patronise certain businesses and
collects data to sell for target advertising campaigns.
Advertising: The advertising e-Business model works in the same way as

the convention media broadcast version. The business may offer free or
paid services, such as e-mail, blogs or instant messaging. Many sites list
ads, products or services for selling. This model usually has banner or text
ads, which may constitute the primary source of revenue. Generally, this
sort of model requires a high volume of traffic. The model also works for
highly specialised traffic.
Affiliate: The affiliate e-Business model offers products or services

whenever people may surf on the Web. An Internet merchant offers
financial incentives, usually as a commission, for a website owner to place
an advertisement with links on the affiliate’s website. When a surfer clicks
on the link and buy, the affiliate receives a commission. Companies benefit
from this approach because it reduces customer acquisition costs and
allows merchants to target-specific markets.
45
B2B, B2C, C2C, and B2E
Depending on the parties involved in the transaction, e-commerce can be

classified into 4 models. These are:
• Business – to – Business (B2B)
• Business – to – Consumer (B2C)
• Consumer – to- Consumer (C2C)
• Consumer – to – Business (C2B) Let us look at each of them in detail.
Let us look at each of them in detail.
Business-to-Business (B2B) Model
The B2B model involves electronic transactions for ordering, purchasing, as

well as other administrative tasks between houses. It includes trading
goods, such as business subscriptions, professional services,
manufacturing, and wholesale dealings.
Sometimes in the B2B model, business may exist between virtual

companies, neither of which may have any physical existence. In such
cases, business is conducted only through the Internet.
Let us look at the same example of www.amazon.com. As you know,

www.amazon.com is an Online bookstore that sells books from various
publishers including Wrox, O’Reilly, Premier Press, and so on. In this case,
the publishers have the option of either developing their own site or
displaying their books on the Amazon site (www.amazon.com), or both.
The publishers mainly choose to display their books on www.amazon.com
at it gives them a larger audience. Now, to do this, the publishers need to
transact with Amazon, involving business houses on both the ends, is the
B2B model.
Consider a hypothetical example. ABC Company sells automobile parts and

XYZ Company assembles this part and then sells the automobile to
customers. XYZ Company comes across the Website of ABC and finds it
suitable. XYZ, therefore, requests for more information about ABC and
46
finally, decides to purchase automobile parts from ABC. To do this, XYZ

places an order on the Website of ABC.
After ABC receives the order details, it validates the information.
As soon as the order is confirmed, the payment procedures are settled.

Finally, ABC sends an acknowledgement of payment to XYZ and delivers
the goods as per the shipment details decided between the two
organisations. The advantages of the B2B model are:
It can efficiently maintain the movement of the supply chain and the
manufacturing and procuring processes.
It can automate corporate processes to deliver the right products and

services quickly and cost-effectively.
The B2B model is predicted to become the largest value sector of the
industry within a few years. This is said to be the fastest growing sector of
e-commerce.
2. Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Model
The B2C model involves transactions between business organisations and

consumers. It applies to any business organisation that sells its products or
services to consumers over the Internet.
These sites display product information in an online catalogue and store it

in a database. The B2C model also includes services online banking, travel
services, and health information.
47
Consider a hypothetical example in which a transaction is conducted

between businesses organisation and a consumer. A business house, LMN
Department Store, displays and sells a range of products on their Website,
www.lmn.com. The details information of all their products is contained in
the huge catalogues maintained by LMN Department Stores. Now, a
consumer, Mr. Deshpande, wants to buy a gift for his wife. He, therefore,
logs on to the site of LMN Department Stores and selects a gift from the
catalogue. He also gets the detailed information about the gift such as the
price, availability, discounts, and so on from their catalogue.
Finally, when he decides to buy the gift, he places an order for the gift on
their Website. To place an order, he needs to specify his personal and credit
card information on www.lmn.com. This information is then validated by
LMN Department Store and stored in their database. On verification of the
information the order is processed. Therefore, as you can see, the B2C
model involves transactions between a consumer and one or more business
organisations. The example of the www.amazon.com site also involves the
B2C model in which the consumer searches for a book on their site and
places an order, if required.
This implies that a complete business solution might be an integration

solution of more than one business model. For example, www.amazon.com
includes the B2B model in which the publishers transact with Amazon and
the B2C model in which an individual consumer transact with the business
organisation.
The B2C model of e-commerce is more prone to the security threats

because individual consumers provide their credit card and personal
information in the site of a business organisation.
48
In addition, the consumer might doubt that his information is secured and
used effectively by the business organisation. This is the main reason why
the B2C model is not very widely accepted. Therefore, it becomes very
essential for the business organisations to provide robust security
mechanisms that can guarantee a consumer for securing his information.
3. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) Model
The C2C model involves transaction between consumers. Here, a consumer

sells directly to another consumer. eBay and www.bazee.com are common
examples of online auction Web-sites that provides a consumer to
advertise and sell their products online to another consumer.
However, it is essential that both the seller and the buyer must register
with the auction site. While the seller needs to pay a fixed fee to the online
auction house to sell their products, the buyer can bid without paying any
fee. The site brings the buyer and seller together to conduct deals.
Let us now look at the previous figure with respect to eBay. When a
customer plans to sell his products to other customers on the Website of
eBay, he first needs to interact with an eBay site, which in this case acts as
a facilitator of the overall transaction. Then, the seller can host his product
on www.ebay.com, which in turn charges him for this. Any buyer can now
browse the site of eBay to search for the product he interested in.
49
If the buyer comes across such a product, he places an order for the same
on the Website of eBay. eBay now purchase the product from the seller and
then, sells it to the buyer. In this way, though the transaction is between
two customers, an organisation acts as an interface between the two
organisations.
4. Consumer-to-Business (C2B) Model
The C2B model involves a transaction that is conducted between a

consumer and a business organisation. It is similar to the B2C model,
however, the difference is that in this case the consumer is the seller and
the business organisation is the buyer. In this kind of a transaction, the
consumers decide the price of a particular product rather than the supplier.
This category includes individuals who sell products and services to

organisations. For example, www.monster.com is a Website on which a
consumer can post his bio-data for the services he can offer. Any business
organisation that is interested in deploying the services of the consumer
can contact him and then employ him, if suitable.
Let us look at another example of the C2B model.
Deshpande needs to buy an airline ticket for his journey from Mumbai to
New Jersey. Deshpande needs to travel immediately. Therefore, he
searches a Website for a ticket. The Web-site offers bidding facility to
people who want to buy tickets immediately. On the Website, Deshpande
quotes the highest price and gets the ticket.
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In addition to the models discussed so far, five new models are being
worked on that involves transactions between the government and other
entities, such as consumer, business organisations, and other
governments.
All these transactions that involve government as one entity are called e-
governance. The various models in the e-governance scenario are:
Government-to-Government (G2G) model: This model involves

transactions between 2 governments. For example, if the Indian
Government wants to by oil from the Arabian government, the transaction
involved are categorised in the G2G model.
Government-to-Consumer (G2C) model: In this model, the

government transacts with an individual consumer. For example, a
government can enforce laws pertaining to tax payments on individual
consumers over the Internet by using the G2C model.
Consumer-to-Government (C2G) model: In this model, an individual

consumer interacts with the government. For example, a consumer can pay
his income tax or house tax online. The transactions involved in this case
are C2G transactions.
Government-to-Business (G2B) model: This model involves

transactions between a government and business organisations. For
example, the government plans to build a flyover. For this, the government
requests for tenders from various contractors. Government can do this over
the Internet by using the G2B model.
5. Business-to-Government (B2G) model: In this model, the business

houses transact with the government over the Internet. For example,
similar to an individual consumer, business houses can also pay their taxes
on the Internet.
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2.4 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF INTERNET MARKETING
There are five broad benefits, reasons or objectives of e-marketing. This

framework is useful since it presents a comprehensive range of objectives.
Marketers will decide whether all or only some will drive e-marketing:
Diagram 2.8: Strategic Objectives of Internet Marketing
Sell – Grow sales (through wider distribution to customers you can’t

service offline or perhaps through a wider product range than in store, or
better prices)
Serve – Add value (give customers extra benefits online: or inform product
development through online dialogue and feedback)
Speak – Get closer to customers by tracking them, asking them questions,

conducting online interviews, creating a dialogue, monitoring chat rooms,
learning about them
Save – Save costs - of service, sales transactions and administration, print

and post. Can you reduce transaction costs and therefore either make
online sales more profitable? Or use cost-savings to enable you to cut
prices, which in turn could enable you to generate greater market share?
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Sizzle – Extend the brand online. Reinforce brand values in a totally new
medium. The Web scores very highly as a medium for creating brand
awareness, recognition and involvement
2.5 COMPETITOR PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKING
Benchmarking of competitors’ online strategy and services is a key part of

basis in order to respond to new marketing approaches such as price or
promotions. Competitor benchmarking has these different perspectives or
options which serve different purposes:
Review of internal capabilities: such as resourcing, structure and

processes vs. external customer facing features of the sites.
From core proposition through branding to online value proposition

(OVP). The core proposition will be based on the range of products
offered, price and promotion. The OVP describes the type of web services
offered which add to a brands„ value.
Different aspects of the customer lifecycle: Customer acquisition,

conversion to retention as well as many others. Competitor capabilities
should be benchmarked for all the Internet Marketing activities of each
competitor. These should be assessed from the viewpoint of different
customer segments or personas, possibly through usability sessions. In
addition to usability, customer views should be sought on different aspects
of the marketing mix such as pricing and promotions.
Qualitative to Quantitative: From qualitative assessments by customers

through surveys and focus groups to quantitative analysis by independent
auditors of data across customer acquisition (e.g. number of site visitors or
reach within market, cost of acquisition, number of customers, sales
volumes and revenues and market share).
In-sector and out-of-sector: Benchmarking against similar sites within

sector and reviewing out of sector to sectors which tend to be more
advanced, e.g. online publishers, social networks and brand sites. You can
see that this is based on the expert evaluation of the suitability of the site
for different audiences as well as measures under the overall construction
(which includes usability and accessibility), message (which covers key
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brand messages and suitability for international audiences) and contact

(which shows integration between different audiences).
From user experience to expert evaluation. Benchmarking research

should take two alternatives perspectives, from actual customer reviews of
usability to independent expert evaluations.
2.6 ONLINE MARKETPLACE ANALYSIS AND MAPPING
To help summarise the linkages and traffic flows in your e-marketplace, it

is helpful for marketers working on an e-marketing plan, or students
working on a case study to create an e-marketplace map like the one
shown. The marketplace map should show the types of sites and the
relative importance of different online intermediaries in a particular
marketplace.
In a more advanced form, it could also show the flow of clicks between
different customer segments and to different company site(s) and different
competitors via the intermediaries. Companies then need to work out
which sites are effective in harnessing search traffic and either partner with
them or try to grab a slice of the search traffic.
The Main Elements of the e-Marketplace
The main members of the e-marketplace model are:
Customer Segments: Identify different segments to understand their

online media consumption and the type of content and experiences they
will be looking for from a website. Personas are used to understand the
preferences, characteristics and online behaviours of different groups as
described in link at bottom of the page.
Search Intermediaries: These are the main search engines in each

country. Typically Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft Live Search, but others are
important in some markets such as China (Baidu) and Russia (Yandex).
You will need to know the most important phrases using tools such as the
Google Traffic Estimator.
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Intermediaries and Media Sites: Media sites and other intermediaries

such as affiliates are often successful in attracting visitors via search or
directly since they are mainstream brands. You should assess potential
partners in the categories shown in the figure such as:
Mainstream news media sites or portals (traditional, e.g., NYT.com, FT.com

or Times or Pureplay, e.g., Google news an aggregator).
• Niche/vertical media sites, e.g., E-consultancy, ClickZ.com in B2B.
Price comparison sites (also known as aggregators), e.g., Money

supermarket, Kelkoo, Shopping.com, uSwitch, etc.
Affiliates. These gain revenue from a merchant they refer traffic to using a
commission based arrangement based on the proportion of sale or a fixed
amount. They are important in e-retail markets, accounting for ten per
cent of sales.
Niche affiliates or bloggers. These are often individuals, but they may be
important, for example, in the UK, Martin Lewis
A selection of free and paid for tools to help you analyse your e-
marketplace is given here:
Online marketplace analysis tools:
Alexa: This is a free service owned by Amazon which provides traffic

ranking of individual sites relative to all sites. Sample dependent on users
of the Alexa toolbar.
Google Trends: This is a free tool giving trends in searches for high
volume phrases — can be used to compare the strength of different brands
and the seasonality of different generic phrases, e.g. iPod. Google
introduced a tool to compare traffic of different sites. Again it only works
for high volume phrases.
Hitwise: Paid tool, but free research available at the Hitwise Blog. Paid
service available in some countries to compare audience and search/site
usage. Works through monitoring IP traffic to different sites through ISPs.
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Netratings: Paid tool. This is a Panel service based on at home and at

work users who have agreed to have their web usage tracked by software.
Top rankings on site give examples of most popular sites in several
countries.
Comscore: Paid tool. A similar panel service to Netratings, but focusing on

the US and UK. A favoured tool for media planners.
ABCE Database: Free tool. The Audit Bureau of Circulation (Electronic)

gives free access to its database of portals (not destination sites) who have
agreed to have their sites audited to prove traffic volumes to advertisers.
Search key phrase analysis tools: These can be used to assess the
popularity of brands and their products reflected by the volume of search
terms typed into Google and other search engines.
Forrester: Paid research service offering reports on Internet usage and

best practice in different vertical sectors such as financial services, retail
and travel. Free research summaries available in press release section and
on its Marketing blog.
Gartner: This research service focuses on technology adoption within

companies.
IAB US, IAB UK and IAB Europe: The Internet or Interactive Advertising
Bureau has research focusing on investment in different Internet media
channels, in particular display ads and search marketing.
IMRG: The Internet Media in Retail Group has compilations on online e-

commerce expenditure in the UK which as the time of writing was
averaging around £5 billion per month or over 10% of all retail spend.
IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) is the UK’s industry association

for e-retail.
Formed in 1990, IMRG is setting and maintaining pragmatic and robust e-

retail standards to enable fast-track industry growth, and facilitates its
community of members with practical help, information, tools, guidance
and networking.
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2.7 SUMMARY
In this chapter we have discussed the important aspects related to

Environment Analysis of Internet Marketing. The Micro and Macro
environment aspects provide a key insight into situational analysis. An
Internet Marketing strategy is needed to provide consistent direction for an
organisation’s Internet Marketing activities that integrates with its other
marketing activities and supports the overall objectives of the business.
Four stage models for Internet Marketing strategy development are

Strategic analysis, Strategic objectives, Strategy definition, and
Strategy implementation. Pertinent factors for the Internet include
demand analysis, competitor analysis intermediary analysis, channel
structure.
Qualitative research is important to informing strategy since it identifies

the differences in psychographics between current online customers and
those that are not offline. Competitor analysis or the monitoring of
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competitor use of e-commerce to acquire and retain customers is

especially important in the e-marketplace due to the dynamic nature of the
Internet medium.
The Internet Macro Environment can be classified into Social, Legal,

Economic, Political and Technological characteristics of the macro
environment. In order to keep your business healthy, you need to ensure
that it stays relevant.
We have discussed the 7 steps for smooth transition to the web. An

eBusiness model describes how an organisation operates and provides
products or services. It also demonstrates how the company makes money.
Types of e-business model are Brokerage, Infomediary, Advertising and
Affiliate.
Benchmarking of competitors„ online strategy and services is a key part of

basis in order to respond to new marketing approaches such as price or
promotions. The main members of the e-marketplace model are Customer
segments, Search intermediaries, Intermediaries and media sites, and
Destination sites. We also have discussed online marketplace analysis tools
like Alexa, Google trends, ABCE Database etc. which help to analyse your
e-marketplace.
• Describe briefly the Internet Micro Environment.
• Describe briefly the Internet Macro Environment.
• Enlist the 7 steps for smooth transition to the web.
• Enlist and discuss the 5S Strategic objectives of Internet marketing?
• “The key objective for Internet Marketing is the online revenue

contribution.” Please comment on this statement.
• What are the different perspectives or options included in competitor

benchmarking?
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• What are the main members of the e-marketplace model, enlist and
briefly discuss the members?
• Write a short note on Intermediaries and media sites.
1. Internet Marketing strategy process models tend to share the following

characteristics:
a. Continuous internal and external environment scanning or analysis is

required
b. Clear statement of vision and objectives is required
c. Strategy development can be broken down into formulation and
selection
d. All of the above
2. Identify stages of model for Internet Marketing strategy development.
a. Strategic analysis
b. SWOT analysis
c. ROI
d. All of the above
3. Depending on the parties involved in the transaction, e-commerce can

be classified into models.
a. Business – to – Bank(B2B)
b. Business – to – Consumer (B2C)
c. Consumer – to- Consumer (C2C)
d. B and C of the above
4. The B2B model involves electronic transactions for ordering, purchasing,

as well as other administrative tasks between houses.
a. True
b. False
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5. Benchmarking of competitors„ online strategy and services is a key part

of Internet Marketing planning activity.
a. True
b. False
Answers
1. (d) 2. (a) 3. (d) 4. (a ) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture - Part 1
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INTERNET MARKETING PLAN CREATION
Chapter 3
Internet Marketing Plan Creation
Learning Objectives
• After going through this chapter you should be able to know:
• Get a broader understanding of creating marketing plans by conducting

market and competition analysis
• Appreciate detailed aspects of an 'Internet Marketing Plan'
• Understand and analyse the five stages of an effective Internet

marketing plan
• Understand and create high impact marketing plans
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Structure:
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Market and Competition Analysis
3.2.1 Three Step Competition Analysis
3.2.2 Competitor Profiling
3.2.3 Scanning Competitor's Ads
3.3 Building the Internet Marketing Plan
3.3.1 Key Constituents of an Internet Marketing Plan
3.3.2 Broad Topics of Internet Marketing Plan
3.3.3 Effective Online Promotion Techniques that Fit the Marketing

Plan
3.4 Five Stages of an Effective Internet Marketing Plan
3.5 High Impact Marketing Plans
3.6 Steps for Online Internet Marketing Plan
3.7 Summary
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3.1 INTRODUCTION
A broad outlook of the Internet Marketing plan is presented in this chapter.

Before we discuss the marketing plan it is critical to understand the aspect
of competitor analysis in marketing. This is an assessment of the strengths
and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. This analysis
provides both an offensive and defensive strategic context through which
to identify opportunities and threats. Competitor profiling links all of the
relevant sources of competitor analysis into one framework. This is done in
the support of efficient and effective strategy formulation, implementation,
monitoring and adjustment.
Behind every successful Internet business is a well-researched Internet

Marketing plan. An Internet Marketing plan guides a company step-by-step
how to market its product or service to a specific target market and it helps
a company remain focused on its marketing objectives. The central concept
of this chapter revolves around understanding , creating and improving
effectiveness of the Internet Marketing Plan. Even if you are not able to
market your own invention, writing a marketing plan will help you to sell or
license your invention to manufacturers, retailers, and other interested
parties. You will be able to intelligently discuss the market for your
invention with potential buyers. This chapter discusses the nuts and bolts
of Marketing Plans. Five stages of an effective marketing plan are
discussed in detailed.
Marketing Plans would just remain plans unless we involve the element of
impact, thus we shall also study how to provide high impact to our Internet
Marketing Plans.
3.2 MARKET AND COMPETITION ANALYSIS
Competitor analysis in marketing and strategic management is an

assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential
competitors. This analysis provides both an offensive and defensive
strategic context through which to identify opportunities and threats in
Traditional as well as online marketing. Competitor profiling groups all of
the relevant sources of competitor analysis into one framework in the
support of efficient and effective strategy formulation, implementation,
monitoring and adjustment.
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Competitive analysis is critical to online success through SEO
An effective search engine optimization campaign starts with an evaluation

of your main competitors. Identifying their page rank and back links is not
enough. You need an in-depth analysis to determine how to outrank them
in the search engine results.
The SEO experts of company should have the knowledge and the skills to
identify what terms the competitors are ranking for in the major search
engines. The SEO analysts should also look into the competitor's website
deeply to find out what they are doing to achieve these top rankings.
This analysis is important for Internet Marketing as the World Wide Web
has spun more competition in every industry than has the traditional
method of doing business. Hence it is crucial to perform competitor
analysis before marketing on the Internet.
Picture 3.1
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3.2.1 Three Step Competition Analysis
Blindly going online with a "successful" business plan pioneered by an

earlier online competitor is a serious error in Internet Marketing. In many
cases, competitors are now so strong that the new business has no chance
of success. Internet business space is extremely crowded mostly by
smaller players. You've got to understand the competition if want to devise
a successful Internet Marketing plan. Your goal is to identify your
company's chief competitors, analyze their individual marketing strategies,
and see where to position your company.
Step 1: Identify the Leaders
The first step is to identify the major players. Start with the Yahoo
Directory category or categories closest to your business. The Yahoo
Directory will list the major players in your business. Print out the
directory, and then check out every link, making notes on your printed
copy. Look for the larger companies, innovative approaches, new products,
etc.
You can also learn about relative traffic by using Alexa (http://
www.alexa.com). A free add-on to your web browser, it ranks the traffic to
each site you visit to in terms of Top 100, Top 1000, Top 10,000, etc.,
giving you a rough idea of your competitors' positions in the traffic pecking
order.
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Step 2: Scrutinise the Leaders
The second step is to study the top 5 or 10 competitors carefully. You can
learn a lot from their websites. Make notes on what you discover: Look for:
• Products or services offered. Note especially any that differ from your
own offering.
• What is the distribution system for products: inventory, distributor, drop-

shipping?
• Customer service. Look for guarantees, policies and procedures.
• Look, feel, and functionality of website.
• Capability and personalisation of the e-commerce system.
• Advertising campaigns and offers.
• Strengths and weaknesses from the customer's point of view, not yours.
• Strategies and objectives.
• Look for a statement of vision or purpose, or what amounts to a Unique

Selling Proposition on the site.
• Areas where the competitor holds a market advantage.
• Vulnerabilities or gaps in what is offered.
Step 3: Highlight Strengths, Vulnerabilities and Gaps
Third, summarise your findings into a sentence or two highlighting key

strengths and weaknesses you find for each top competitor. Your strategies
may vary depending upon your own strengths. If you have a large cash
reserve, for example, you might want to blow away the competition by
vastly outspending them in effective advertising. But if you're small, you'll
need to use your ingenuity to leverage your strengths to take advantage of
your competitors' weaknesses.
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3.2.2 Competitor Profiling
The strategic rationale of online competitor profiling is powerfully simple.

Superior knowledge of rivals offers a legitimate source of competitive
advantage. The raw material of competitive advantage consists of offering
superior customer value in the firm’s chosen market. Customer value is
defined relative to rival offerings making competitor knowledge an intrinsic
component of corporate strategy. Profiling facilitates this strategic objective
in three important ways. First, profiling can reveal strategic weaknesses in
rivals that the firm may exploit. Second, the proactive stance of
competitor profiling will allow the firm to anticipate the strategic response
of their rivals to the firm’s planned strategies, the strategies of other
competing firms, and changes in the environment. Third, this proactive
knowledge will give the firms strategic agility. Offensive strategy can be
implemented more quickly in order to exploit opportunities and capitalise
on strengths. Similarly, defensive strategy can be employed more deftly in
order to counter the threat of rival firms from exploiting the firm’s own
weaknesses.
Clearly, those firms practicing systematic and advanced online competitor

profiling have a significant advantage. As such, a comprehensive profiling
capability is rapidly becoming a core competence required for successful
competition. A common technique is to create detailed profiles on each of
your major competitors. The profiling is simplified due to the competitor’s
online presence as a lot of information about them is published on the
Internet. These profiles give an indepth description of the competitor's
background, finances, products, markets, facilities, personnel, and
strategies. This involves:
Background:
• Location of offices, plants, and online presences (websites, portals, etc.)
• History — key personalities, dates, events, and trends
• Ownership, corporate governance, and organisational structure
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Financials:
• P-E ratios, dividend policy, and profitability
• Various financial ratios, liquidity, and cash flow
• Profit growth profile; method of growth (organic or acquisitive)
Products:
• Products offered, depth and breadth of the product line, and product
portfolio balance
• New products developed, new product success rate, and R&D strengths
• Brands, strength of brand portfolio, brand loyalty and brand awareness
• Patents and licenses
• Quality control conformance
• Reverse engineering
Marketing:
• Segments served, market shares, customer base, growth rate, and

customer loyalty
• Promotional mix, promotional budgets, advertising themes, ad agency

used, sales force success rate, online promotional strategy
• Distribution channels used (direct and indirect), exclusivity agreements,

alliances, and geographical coverage
• Pricing, discounts, and allowances
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Facilities:
• Plant capacity, capacity utilisation rate, age of plant, plant efficiency,

capital investment
• Location, shipping logistics, and product mix by plant
Personnel:
• Number of employees, key employees, and skill sets
• Strength of management, and management style
• Compensation, benefits, and employee morale and retention rates
Corporate and Marketing Strategies:
• Objectives, mission statement, growth plans, acquisitions, and

divestitures
• Marketing strategies
3.2.3 Scanning Competitor’s Ads
Scanning competitor's ads can reveal much about what that competitor
believes about marketing and their target market. Changes in a
competitor's advertising message can reveal new product offerings, new
production processes, a new branding strategy, a new positioning strategy,
a new segmentation strategy, line extensions and contractions, problems
with previous positions, insights from recent marketing or product
research, a new strategic direction, a new source of sustainable
competitive advantage, or value migrations within the industry. It might
also indicate a new pricing strategy such as penetration, price
discrimination, price skimming, product bundling, joint product pricing,
discounts, or loss leaders. It may also indicate a new promotion strategy
such as push, pull, balanced, short term sales generation, long term image
creation, informational, comparative, affective, reminder, new creative
objectives, new unique selling proposition, new creative concepts, appeals,
tone, and themes, or a new advertising agency. It might also indicate a
new distribution strategy, new distribution partners, more extensive
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distribution, more intensive distribution, a change in geographical focus, or

exclusive distribution.
A competitor's media strategy reveals budget allocation, segmentation and

targeting strategy, and selectivity and focus. From a tactical perspective, it
can also be used to help a manager implement his own media plan. By
knowing the competitor's media buy, media selection, frequency, reach,
continuity, schedules, and flights, the manager can arrange his own
media plan so that they do not coincide. Other sources of corporate
intelligence include trade shows, patent filings, mutual customers, annual
reports, and trade associations.
3.3 BUILDING THE INTERNET MARKETING PLAN
The key element of a successful Internet Marketing plan is to "know your

customers", their likes, dislikes, and expectations. You must also know
your competition (or similar inventions) and their strengths and
weaknesses. By identifying these factors, you can develop a marketing
strategy that will allow you to arouse and fulfil customers’ needs, better
understand competitors and identify changes in the marketplace. The
purpose of the marketing plan is to define your market, identify your
customers and competitors, outline a strategy for attracting and keeping
customers, and to identify and anticipate change.
3.3.1 Key Constituents of an Internet Marketing Plan
An amazing number of companies build their site and then think about an
Internet Marketing plan. That's generally suicidal. Even if you dispense with
marketing through the search engines in many ways still the most effective
method — you must still understand what Internet shoppers are looking
for, and build your site to capture that interest. Sooner or later you'll have
to adjust to customer requirements, and delaying changes will only
increase the overall workload. Before building the site, you should:
1. Establish and double check your unique selling proposition.
2. Devise a clear, step-wise and costed marketing plan.
3. Find the best keywords for each page.
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4. Design the site around your keywords and marketing plan.
Before the Internet Marketing Plan is finalised, and any website built,
ensure you have:
• Found out what potential customers really want by surveys, market

research, and visits to competitor sites.
• Assessed the competition, there strengths and their marketing

approaches.
• Focused on what you can do and your competitors can’t: your unique
selling proposition?
• Devised clear contingency plans to counter competitor moves against

you.
• Included lead-generating advertising in the plan.
• Looked at potential new markets.
• Constructed a timetable for traffic levels, conversion rates and sales.
• Cost each marketing phase accurately.
• Set up contingency plans for unexpectedly high or low sales.
Fitting the Site to the Internet Marketing Plan
The mechanics are covered in site development, but the general principles
of ecommerce site building are:
• Design should reflect your unique selling proposition, and your market
position Vis a vis the competition.
• Appearance must be professional, inspiring trust and confidence.
• Download should be fast, certainly not more than 10 seconds with a

56.6 modem, even in congested internet conditions.
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• Navigation should be clear and trouble-free — not merely possible to

follow, but impossible to misunderstand. Check with third parties before
going live.
• Testimonials should be placed strategically (and be genuine).
• Guarantees and return policies should be clearly stated (and adhered to)
Types of Internet Marketing
In terms of value for money, these are the best marketing techniques:
using search engines and directories, search engine ads and pay-by-click
search engines, conventional off-line advertising, through affiliates, with
emails, reciprocal links and viral marketing.
Modifying the Marketing Plan
Marketing is not a campaign, and still less a technique, but an education.

Rooted in an understanding of how people instinctively think and feel,
marketing has to find a way of accommodating whatever is being sold to a
particular conception. The product or service may not be the best going,
but it has to satisfy perceived requirements, creating a relationship that is
both sympathetic and reassuring.
The only sure way of marketing a product is, therefore, to plan intelligently,
follow the plan meticulously, assess results, and keep modifying the plan.
Marketing is a continual learning process, and it's essential that your
website statistics keep you fully informed on what visitors are doing.
Ensure that your hosting company provides these traffic statistics on a
daily and monthly basis:
• number of visitors, pages downloaded, time spent on the site (average

and maximum)
• page popularity
• most used trails through the site
• pages used to enter and leave the site
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• referring sites and search engines
• visitors' countries of origin
Even minor changes to copy and page layout may alter visitor performance
and sales, which is a reason for monitoring results carefully.
3.3.2 Broad Topics of an Internet Marketing Plan
Your Internet Marketing Plan will define all of the components of your
marketing strategy. You will address the details of your market analysis,
sales, advertising, and public relations campaigns. The most successful
Internet Marketing plans integrate both Internet Marketing strategies as
well as traditional (offline) marketing strategies.
The topics you need to discuss in your Internet Marketing Plan

include:
1. Market Research: Collect, organise, and write down data about the
market that is currently buying the product(s) or service(s) you will sell.
Some areas to consider:
• Market dynamics, patterns including seasonality
• Customers—demographics, market segment, target markets, needs,

buying decisions
• Product—what’s out there now and what’s the competition offering?

Conduct market research by going to google.com and conduct
searches on the types of products or services you want to sell
• Current sales in the industry
• Suppliers-vendors that you will need to rely on
• Target Market(s) — to be successful, focus on one or two small niche

markets instead of a large general market. Niche markets have far
less competition and they tend to be more profitable. If there is one
thing you can do to help your odds of being successful in business, it
is to focus on one or two small niche markets.
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2. Product: Describe your product (or service). How does your product
relate to the market? What does your market need, what do they
currently use, and what do they need above and beyond current use?
3. Competition: Describe your competition. Develop your "unique selling

proposition." What makes you stand apart from your competition? Why
are you special? W hy should a customer choose to do business with
you instead of one of your competitors? The better job you can do to
differentiate yourself from your competitors, the more success you will
have.
4. Mission Statement: Write a few sentences that state:
• “Key market” — who you’re selling to — be very specific!
• “Contribution” — what you’re selling
• “Distinction” — your unique selling proposition — why are you different

from your competition?
5. Internet Marketing Strategies: Write down the Internet Marketing

and promotion strategies that you want to use or at least consider
using. Strategies to consider include:
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): What this means is using

optimisation techniques so that the search engines (Google, Yahoo,
MSN) will rank your website within the top 10 search results. By doing
this you can get literally thousands of people to your website every day
for free.
• Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Marketing: When you use this service

you are bidding on keywords so that your website text ad is displayed
when a person conducts a search on a particular keyword or key
phrase. Google, Yahoo and MSN all have pay per click Internet
Marketing services.
• Affiliate Marketing: This is where other websites market your

products for you and you pay them a commission on each sale. This is
an outstanding way to create a successful Internet business.
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• Link Exchanges: This is where you and other websites exchanges

links to drive traffic to each other’s website. Exchanging links with
other websites is also a great way to get better rankings in the search
engines. The reason for this is that search engines want to give top
rankings to the websites that are most popular in their category/
industry. The best way for the search engines to determine which
websites are the most popular is to see who has the most links pointing
at their website. That is why getting a lot of links pointing at your
website is so important.
• Write Articles and distribute them online: This is a great way to

get tons of one-way links pointed at your website (which search
engines love!). Remember, the more links that point at your website,
the higher search engines will rank your website. And, if getting tons of
links pointing at your website wasn't enough, writing articles will also
send targeted traffic to your website and it will make you an expert in
your field. The way it works is very simple. You write a one page article
and use online article distribution services to distribute your article to
hundreds other websites, blogs, and ezines (electronic magazines).
People them read your articles to learn about your products or
services. The best two services to use for distributing your article are
Ezines Articles and Isnare.
• Write press releases and distribute them online: Just like writing
and submitting articles, this is a very simple and extremely effective
way to get tons of links pointed at your website. It is also great way to
drive targeted traffic to your website.
• Advertise in magazines: (also known as an internet newsletter or an

internet magazine). This is another simple yet highly effective way to
market your products or services online.
• Network using social networking services: like Myspace,

Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
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6. Offline/Traditional Advertising Strategies
• Networking—Go where your market is, Chamber of Commerce, BNI,

etc.
• Direct marketing using sales letters, brochures, postcards, flyers, etc.
• Advertising-Print media, directories, billboards, yellow pages, radio, TV
• Training programmes—Seminars that you give to increase awareness
• Write articles for magazines, your local newspaper, and other

publications read by your industry.
• Direct/personal selling
• Publicity/press releases
• Trade shows
• Referral programmes
• Co-marketing with businesses that share your target market
• Barter
7. Pricing, Positioning and Branding: From the information collected,

establish strategies for determining the price of your product, where
your product will be positioned in the market and how you will achieve
brand awareness.
8. Budget: Budget your Rupees. What strategies can you afford? How
much can you afford to spend per month?
9. Marketing Goals: Establish quantifiable marketing goals. This means

goals that you can turn into numbers. For instance, your goal might be
to gain at least 10 new clients each month or to generate 100 leads
per month.
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10.Monitor Your Results: Test and analyse. Identify the strategies that
are working.
• Survey customers
• Track sales, leads, visitors to your website, per cent of sales to

impressions
• Determine which marketing strategies are producing the most

customers and which are producing the least customers
• Measure return on investment per each marketing activity
3.3.3 Effective Online Promotion Techniques that Fit the Marketing

Plan
When we have an online business, we know which promotion is critical to

achieving success online. There have been many opposite ways which we
need to operate for selling online. Following are ways in which we can
operate for promotion online:
One: Article selling is a really effective process for selling online. You need
to write an essay which can effectively establish you as an expert. Connect
this essay to essay directory in order for it to be available to hundreds of
places on the web.
Two: Forum selling is an additional approach to begin promotion online.

You can find forums which are applicable to your business. This will do a
promotion online in these forums since any time we have a post, answer
subjects or only get concerned in a discussions, your signature will be put
underneath your post. Search engines additionally adore forums since
there are regularly latest reports posted on them.
Three: Social networking is a really quick flourishing process for selling

online. It is give away to operate as well as we can have friends and set up
commercial operation relationships. You need to build relationships, which
equates to future success for your business.
These have been only a couple of ways which we can operate for
promotion online.
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3.4 FIVE STAGES OF AN EFFECTIVE INTERNET MARKETING

PLAN
A planned, organised Internet Marketing campaign with rotation through a

variety of targeted sites, directories and venues is not hard to coordinate,
does not need to cost a great deal of money and can generate traffic
and sales faster than search engine submissions alone. It takes a bit of
research and a solid knowledge of your target customer, but you can plan
and implement a simple marketing campaign in the space of a dedicated
day.
A Five Step Marketing Plan follows, created by practical experience with

Internet Marketing for small business. By doing each of the actions, you'll
end up with an effective Internet Marketing campaign, creating a
marketing plan that can be implemented immediately and begin reaping
you sales successes.
Diagram 3.2: Five Step Marketing Planning
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Internet Marketing Plan Step 1 – Defining Your Customer
Defining your customer is as important as defining your products or

naming your business. If you have not yet done a marketing plan within
your business plan, then you need to do this exercise.
Action: Answer these questions as honestly as you can. In other words,

don't project your expectations or hopes on them. What is your perfect,
solid customer really like?
• Is my perfect customer male or female?
• Does my perfect customer work out of the home or in the home?
• What is the job profile of my perfect customer — an executive, manager,

worker, entrepreneur, stay-at-home parent, etc.?
• What is the net household income of my perfect customer?
• What level of education does my perfect customer have?
• Does my perfect customer have room in her spending budget for my

product/service on a one time, occasional or constant basis? How do my
perfect customers use my product/ service — do they buy it for
themselves or as a gift?
• Does my perfect customer spend a lot, some or minimal time on the

Internet?
• Where does my perfect customer look for my product/service? Both

online and in physical locations?
Once you have this written out, you should have a good picture of where to
start looking to place your message and how to write your message copy.
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Internet Marketing Plan Step 2 – Choosing Your Targets
Now, where are you going to post your ads? A coordinated effort across
several sites and venues commonly frequented by your customers is the
most effective marketing campaign. If you are seen in several places your
visibility and retained message is much stronger. Holiday specific sites that
are well promoted are excellent areas to consider.
When considering a site or newsletter for your ad, look at factors such as
traffic, search engine placement, external linking, quality of current ads
and types of messages being presented in current ads. Are there many
competitors of yours already or is the advertising of a complementary
nature to your business? Are the ads completely unrelated to your business
and to the intended traffic of the site? These are all clues to measure a
best fit of your message to the traffic of the site.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is another consideration for your Internet

Marketing campaign but can be daunting for someone new to this form. If
you're new to PPC, stick to places that allow you to set limits on daily
expenditures. Google is a good example. This will also help you to
experiment and determine the most effective keywords by paying close
attention to the statistics of the PPC campaign.
Conversion rates are an important measuring tool. What you need to do is

determine what exactly you want to measure for your marketing campaign.
Is it sales orders? Newsletter subscribers? Downloads of your free e-book?
A conversion rate is the number of click-throughs it takes to achieve
your target measurement. Your page may have 1000 hits, 14 clicks and 1
sale in a day. Your conversion rate is 1:14 or 7.1%. In other words, 7.1%
of the clicks are generating a sale during this period.
Picture 3.2: Source: ctiadvertising.com
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Close monitoring of your conversion rates will quickly tell you what is
working and what is not. Don't hesitate to change, tweak or modify your
ads if needed. This is a process in constant motion until you find the best
fit. Remember too, an ad may work superbly in one place but not in
another.
Action: Create a spreadsheet or document that you will enter in all the
sites and venues that are a consideration in your Internet Marketing
campaign. Internet Marketing Plan Step 3 - Budget W hile some people
think this should be the first step, realistically you can better create the
budget for your marketing plan when you have a good idea of the costs
involved. That can only be done once you've figured out your targets. You
probably already have a figure in mind of how much you can really spend,
so go back to your marketing campaign sheet and total up the costs of all
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the ad spots you'd like to do. Chances are that total will exceed your
overall spending limit.
Action: Now go through that list and prioritise the ads in terms of where
you think you'll get the most exposure and results that fit within your
budget. Move the others into a holding list. Remember, as the ads start to
pull in results you can always go back and expand your marketing
campaign from that holding list.
If you are engaged in pay-per-click advertising, check in daily for the first
week or so and monitor your results to ensure you are paying for results.
Step 3 – Budget
The mystery isn’t whether or not a business needs a marketing budget.

Most savvy business owners and marketers already know that budgets help
establish parameters for spending, project revenue, monitor return on
investment and set benchmarks fo r future marketing endeavours.
Instead, the mystery often lies within figuring out how to create a
marketing budget in a landscape that is rapidly shifting.
It used to be that the bulk of a marketing budget was entwined with a

marketing plan that focused on traditional efforts, like direct mail and
collateral print materials.
What’s more, it was fairly standard practice for the marketing budget to be
the first to see cuts when a business’s revenue slowed. Today, however,
more dollars are being spent online than ever before through e-mail
marketing and social media and decision-makers are thinking twice before
putting marketing dollars on the chopping block.
Clearly, marketing isn’t what it used to be and neither is the budget; but
what still holds true amid the evolution is that budgeting takes research,
planning and measurement to be successful. What is your business doing
with your budget to ensure success in this new landscape? Read on to
learn the basics of successful budgeting, to see where you’re business falls
in line with other benchmarks and how to implement a budget that works.
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Action: A budget is a plan for coordinating resources and expenses over a

period of time by assigning costs to goals and objectives for specific
activities.
Therefore, the best marketing budgets are entwined with a marketing plan
and timeline and relate specifically to desired outcomes. Not only are
budgets that are based on plans easier to implement and measure, they
are much easier to make the case for. While many budgets are created and
approved by campaign, budgets are also created with a fixed cap and then
broken down by tactic. Either way, here’s the scoop on where you should
stand …
The magic number
Generally speaking, marketing standards for most industries indicate that

the overall budget number should work out to be two to ten per cent of the
overall projected revenue for the coming year of a business-to-consumer
company. Some businesses base this percentage on past gross sales, per
unit sales, seasonal allocation or projected cash flow.
Here are the 5 steps that a small business should follow to develop a
marketing budget:
• Research your customers
• Match spending to revenue
• Make wise spending decisions
• Correct the course as needed
• Utilise best practices
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Internet Marketing Plan Step 4 – Creating Your Ad Content
Internet Marketing works best when you focus only on one or two things.
You may have a variety of products but pick one or two items that are good
sellers and have a solid appeal to your target market for your marketing
campaign.
Next ask yourself, "What am I selling"? It's rarely the product or service.
You are selling a benefit, something that registers at the emotional level. If
you are selling fishing rods, for example, you're selling the excitement of
successfully landing that monster in the lake. If you are selling cosmetics,
you're selling beauty.
The most successful ads use words that relate to the customer. Use, You
and Yours and never put the focus on Me, Mine, Our, My or We. Create
several emotional words associated with the product – fun, comforting,
relaxing, stimulating and addictive — and use at least one of them in the
ad.
Coupons are also an effective marketing tool. They can be easily tracked
either manually or by an automated shopping cart system. Use different
codes for different advertising locations and you'll quickly see which ones
get the best attention.
Action: Create a text ad for each item in your Internet Marketing

campaign, making sure to hit at least one to three prime keywords in the
text. Text ads typically run 60 characters wide by 3, 5, 8, 7 or 10 lines
long.
Internet Marketing Plan Step 5 – Tracking and Monitoring Your Ads
Tracking and reacting to your campaign's successes are critical in

maintaining an effective marketing campaign. From your website statistics
to PPC statistics, there are many ways to determine what is working and
what isn't. By paying attention you'll learn volumes about your ads and
how to sharpen them for best results.
Tracking tricks include using specific coupon or sales codes for each ad
placement, setting up separate entry pages on your site for each ad, and
utilising a service that helps track activity. There are advertising
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management services that help you to track ad performance, such as

Google's DFP Small Business, a free service that is relatively easy to
implement and gives powerful ad tracking management and support.
Action: On a daily basis for the first two weeks, review the results of your
various ads. Write them up in your tracking sheet and look for any trends
or patterns. Which ones are performing, where and why? If some aren't
working, replace them with others that are or try another from your hold
list. Once you settle into a pattern of review and ad management you'll
know better how often you need to monitor your marketing campaigns.
Successful Internet Marketing campaigns are within the reach of any

business, no matter what your budget. By following these basic marketing
plan steps and committing to the follow- through, you can create a cost
effective marketing campaign with a substantial return on investment.
3.5 HIGH IMPACT MARKETING PLANS
Successful online businesses start with strategically targeted marketing

plans. If you have a specific market you want to serve, it’s easier to focus
on that market with any marketing plan you may create. Strategic planning
from start-up radically increases your success ratios; however, it’s
never too late to get focused.
By incorporating a few simple success strategies into your marketing

campaign, you can quickly develop a targeted marketing plan that will
bring specifically targeted traffic to your site with the intent to purchase
what you offer.
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The following are High Impact Marketing Strategies will take your online
business exactly where you want to it to go.
1. Keyword association: Include market specific keywords in your

website, in your description, and in your Meta tags. This enables your
prospective clients to find you on the internet search engines.
2. Search Engine Optimisation: By optimising your website for search

engine crawlers, you'll have more direct new traffic. You can optimise
primarily with content and keyword use. Links to your site from other
sites are another good option for optimisation.
3. Refreshing Dynamic Content: If your website content becomes stale,

never changing, lacking in important updates and content changes, you
lack impact. Keep your site fresh and up- to-date.
4. Interactive Communications: Blog, forum, and newsletters are all

optimisation tools that allow your clients to come to you, interact with
you, and have input in your business. Ask questions to increase email
contact.
5. Viral Marketing Documents: Give away free documents that bring

traffic back to your site. Give away stuff that other sites can give away
too. Increase your traffic through friends and network with affiliations.
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Picture 3.3 Source: 2018 Internet marketing Plan Survey Ascend2 and
Research Partners
3.6 STEPS FOR ONLINE INTERNET MARKETING PLAN
Step 1: Know thy Target Audience intimately
Who are they? Where do they hang out? What do newspapers or trade
journals they read? One way to define your target audience is to create
buyer personas. A persona is a description of a specific person who might
want to buy your services or products. The persona usually includes a
fictitious buyer‘s demographic information, day in the life of, needs,
motivations, preferences, biographical information, and a photo/image to
make it real. Take Catarina for example…
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Step 2: Spy on your Competitors (nicely)
Put together a spreadsheet of your top competitors and research them to

see how they are using Internet marketing channels to reach customers.
Do a quick competitive analysis by checking out how your competitors
(three is a good number) are performing on the SERPs and social media,
as well as taking a good look at their websites.
Be a private detective, do a bit of mystery shopping, impersonate your

customer to and your (and your competitor‘s) products or services online.
Uncover what they are doing within the Internet channel to make a
connection online. Write down each connection you make in the spread
sheet.
The first tool in my competitor research toolbox is always Screaming Frog

Spider from Dan Sharp the enigmatic founder and director of Screaming
Frog, a UK search marketing agency. Screaming Frog is as essential, well
worth the small annual fee for limitless SEO audits.
Picture 3.4
Step 3: Priorities Your Internet Tactics & Channels
Look at each Internet channel and think about how valuable or important
the channel is to your organisation. e.g. Do email campaigns drive web
traffic or is it referrals (links) from directories or news sites. Hint: check
your referral traffic in Google Analytics.
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1. email marketing
2. referral traffic
3. directory listings
4. press social media like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest

for e-commerce or a combination.
Value can be defined as existing referrals, % of new visitors, no. of new

leads etc. use your Google analytics data to see trends. Then, look at the
effort required to implement your plan across each Internet marketing
channel.
The value-effort score will show you which channels represent ‘quick wins’.
Think about the following options to narrow down the list:
1. Company Goals – What are the top priorities for the business to
achieve? Brand Awareness, Education, Raw Traffic or Sales?
2. Budget – How much do you have to spend on your marketing efforts?
3. Available resources – What personnel or outsourced people do you have

available to create or remarket content?
4. Available content – What content do you have already, carry out a

content audit to and out top performing content.
5. Your website – Check if it‘s content rich, responsive and designed for
conversion optimisation
6. Does your site follow the Google webmaster guidelines?
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Step 4: Quick Result (wins)
A variety of Internet channels and tactics will be ‘right’ for your business
depending on your business objectives and customers. For example, if you
want to raise brand awareness and improve customer services social media
marketing tactics will be the bill. If you want to generate sales and web
traffic a combination of Search Engine Marketing, Google+ and email
marketing may be your best fit. In reality, most businesses have a variety
of business objectives and audiences so take a ‘pick ‘n‘ mix’ approach, test
effectiveness and monitor results.
1. Display Advertising
2. Email Marketing
3. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
4. Online Public Relations
5. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
6. Affiliate Marketing
7. Social Media Marketing
8. Viral Content Campaigns
9. Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)
10.Blogging
11.Twitter advertising
12.Facebook advertising
13.Influencer/Blogger outreach
14.Video marketing
15.Local search marketing
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16.Mobile marketing
17.Groupon/offer sites
18.Corporate website
19.Free content (eBooks, white papers, tools)
20.Online communities/forums
21.Webinars
22.Podcasts
23.Crowd funding campaigns
Step 5: Measuring Output (Results )
Create SMART performance indicators that are quantifiable and

measurable. Examples include:
Increase online sales by 20% from x to y Increase natural search track by

20% Increase social media engagement on Facebook by 25% quarterly
Internet Marketing and Measurement Model.
Internet marketing goes hand in glove with Internet analytics. Ask yourself
why are we undertaking this Internet initiative?
Step 6: Is it working?
You can test whether your marketing campaigns are working by tracking
your traffic, goals and conversions in Google.
Analytics and other metrics like Facebook Insights. You can also use Click
tale or Crazy egg to see where potential customers are exiting your sites.
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Step 7: Monthly review
Take time out to review where your marketing tactics are driving results
regularly and adapt your campaigns to take advantage of new
opportunities.
You can use a variety of tools for this see this cool list of SEO and social
media tools and pick a free or paid one to get going!
Your essential tools are Google Search Console previously known (like
Prince) as Webmaster Tools and Google.
Analytics. There are so many SEO tools out there to use but don‘t get
bogged down by them.
Choose one or two.
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3.7 SUMMARY
In this chapter we have discussed the Internet Marketing plan in detail.

The critical aspect of competitor analysis in marketing is discussed in great
detail in this chapter. This is an assessment of the strengths and
weaknesses of current and potential competitors. We have discussed the
three step Competition analysis which includes:
Step 1: Identify the Leaders
Step 2: Scrutinise the Leaders
Step 3: Highlight Strengths, Vulnerabilities, and Gaps
Competitor profiling facilitates this strategic objective in three important

ways. First, profiling can reveal strategic weaknesses in rivals that the firm
may exploit. Here we have learnt to use the common technique of creating
detailed profiles on each major competitor. These profiles give an in-depth
description of the competitor's background, finances, products, markets,
facilities, personnel, and strategies.
Scanning competitor's ads can reveal much about what that competitor
believes about marketing and their target market. A competitor's media
strategy reveals budget allocation, segmentation and targeting strategy,
and selectivity and focus. From a tactical perspective, it can also be used to
help a manager implement his own media plan.
We have discussed in detail various aspects related to building the Internet

Marketing plan. A few vital concepts were the points to be considered while
building a site, fitting the site to the Internet Marketing plan and modifying
the marketing plan.
Market research, Product, Competition, Internet Marketing Strategies,

Offline/Traditional Advertising Strategies, Pricing, Positioning and Branding
are some of the topics we need to consider in our marketing plan, these
are discussed in detail in this chapter. Here we have discussed many ways
in which we can operate for promotion online and also discussed the Five
Stages of an effective Internet Marketing plan. By following each of the
steps, you'll end up with an effective Internet Marketing campaign.
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Successful online businesses start with strategically targeted high impact

marketing plans; hence we have discussed 5 key high impact Internet
Marketing plans which include: Keyword association, Search Engine
Optimisation, Refreshing Dynamic Content, Interactive Communications
and Viral Marketing Documents.
1. Why is Competitive analysis critical to online success?
2. Describe briefly the steps in scrutinising the leaders.
3. Why is competitor knowledge an intrinsic component of corporate

strategy?
4. What information is revealed in a competitor’s media strategy?
5. What is the purpose of the Internet marketing plan?
6. What are the major aspects of the Market Research part of the Internet
marketing plan?
7. Discuss in brief the Offline/Traditional Advertising Strategies.
8. Write a short note on what is a Mission statement.
9. Enlist the steps in a Five Step Marketing Plan.
10.When considering a site or newsletter for your ad, what are the key
factors to look at?
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1. In terms of value for money, these are the best marketing techniques:
for Internet marketing
a. Search Engines
b. Emails
c. Brick and mortal
d. 1 and 2 of the above
2. High Impact Marketing Strategies will take your online business exactly
where you want to it to go. Identify from followings those strategies
a. Keyword association
b. Search Engine Optimisation:
c. Refreshing Dynamic Content
d. All of the above
3. Identify steps in marketing plan on Internet

a. Selecting products
b. Defining your Customer
c. Choosing your employees
d. All of the above
4. Behind every successful Internet business is a well-researched Internet

Marketing plan
a. True
b. False
5. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is another consideration for your

Internet Marketing campaign but can be daunting for someone new to
this form.
a. True
b. False
Answers
1. (d) 2. (d) 3. (d) 4. (a ) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
98
WEBSITES AND PORTALS – YOUR INTERNET MARKETING HUB
Chapter 4
Websites And Portals – Your Internet
Marketing Hub
Learning Objectives
After going through this chapter you should be able to know:
• Assess and differentiate between Websites and Portals
• Understand various aspects related to attracting and retaining visitors to

websites
• Learn how to leverage the power of search engines and portals
• Learn how to convert visitors into customers
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Structure:
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Difference between Website and Portal:
4.2.1 Websites
4.2.2 Web Portals
4.3 Online prospect enhancement techniques:
4.3.1 Lead generation systems
4.3.2 Business networking
4.3.3 Creating remarkable content on the net
4.4 Leveraging your business through web portals
4.5 Online Customer conversion
4.5.1 Converting visitors into leads
4.5.2 Converting prospects into leads
4.6 People behind Websites
4.7 Summary
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4.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we shall understand essential aspects of Websites and Web

Portals. These are very crucial to conducting business online. The internet
is an excellent channel for promoting your business to potential clients
anywhere and anytime. All they need is your website address, whether
from a business card, an advertisement, letterhead, e-mail or search
engines.
It offers a cost effective and convenient means of keeping in touch with

your existing client base and keeping them informed of developments
within your business. You can achieve this without visiting the printers, or
mailing hundreds of letters. A website will maximise your marketing
investment, by leveraging this versatile and dynamic marketing channel
which is the Internet.
Today’s business environment demands a new approach—one where

customers can ask questions or voice concerns and employees can answer
in real time, improving service delivery and product innovation. We have
covered Websites and Web Portals in complete detail in this chapter.
Online prospect enhancement techniques which include: Lead

generation systems, Business networking and creating remarkable content
on the net are covered in detail as well. Knowledge of the elements of a
great lead generation system is crucial to any online marketer; hence we
have discussed the same here. The Top 5 Lead Generation Systems are
discussed to provide you with an understanding of how to generate leads
required for your online business.
Business networking is critical if you want to create a presence online.

LinkedIn, a prominent business networking site is discussed in detail to
give you a practical overview of this important aspect. The content of any
website is crucial to attracting and retaining visitors to your website.
Marketing your business on search engines is the key to success on the

Internet hence we must understand all the essential aspects of this
approach. How your website pages are ranked determines their position in
the search engine results pages that returned from a customer's search.
Search engine optimisation involves specialised writing and site design
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techniques that not only increase the volume of traffic to your website, but
also increase the quality of the traffic looking at your website.
Leveraging your business through web portals: Portal solutions have

changed the way business is done today. A web portal is highly beneficial
access point to web for individual as well as business users. The
information contained in web content portal is categorised into topics such
as new, business, finance, travel, sports and more.
Online Customer conversion consists of converting visitors and prospects

into leads. Once you have a visitor’s email, it is necessary for you to begin
and develop a relationship with them over time. Regular email
communications will establish credibility and develop the relationships and
trust you need to help them make a buying decision.
4.2 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEBSITE AND PORTAL
Picture 4.1: Website and Web Portal (Source: besttoolbars.net)
A good understanding of the difference between Websites and Portals is

necessary before we proceed. A web portal offers multiple services like
mail, news, calendars, search or multiple brands (in the case of content
portals) under one umbrella. A website is a smaller subset offering only a
limited or just one service or brand.
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Thus, a portal is a larger entity than just a website. Of course the

boundaries on where a website ends and where a portal begins are
subjective. A web portal is usually a website that contains or provides
access to multiple sub-websites. An analogy might be a shopping mall
where the mall provides access to multiple stores with specific purposes. A
web portal is like the mall and the sub-websites would be like the stores.
The very term "Portal" indicates an entry point for further access to
information and content. This also implies that a Website will tend to be
static and a Portal will require a Content Management System (CMS) in
order to manage the myriad of information contained within the system.
Another differentiator is that a Portal will almost always authenticate/
authorise the user in order to provide customised content and role based
access to content. Perhaps an oversimplified analogy is that Portals tend to
be applications whereas Websites are more like brochures.
4.2.1 Websites
A website is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or

other Internet assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server,
accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area
network through an Internet address also called URL.
A web page is a document, typically written in plain text interspersed with

formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A
web page may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable
markup anchors. Web pages are accessed and transported with the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which may optionally employ
encryption (HTTP Secure, HTTPS) to provide security and privacy for the
user of the web page content. The user's application, often a web browser,
renders the page content according to its HTML markup in-structions onto
a display terminal. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute
the World Wide Web. The pages of a website can usually be accessed from
a simple Uniform Resource Locator (URL) called the homepage. The URLs
of the pages organise them into a hierarchy, although hyper-linking
between them conveys the reader's perceived site structure and guides the
reader's navigation of the site.
Some websites require a subscription to access some or all of their

content. Examples of subscription websites include many business sites,
parts of news websites, academic journal websites, gaming websites,
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message boards, web-based e-mail, social networking websites, websites

providing real-time stock market data, and websites providing various
other services (e.g. websites offering storing and/or sharing of images,
files and so forth).
The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1989 by CERN physicist Tim
Berners-Lee. On 30 April 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web
would be free to use for anyone. Before the introduction of HTML and HTTP,
other protocols such as file transfer protocol and the gopher protocol were
used to retrieve individual files from a server. These protocols offer a
simple directory structure which the user navigates and chooses files to
download. Documents were most often presented as plain text files without
formatting, or were encoded in word processor formats.
Organised by function, a website may be work of an individual, a business

or other organisation, and is typically dedicated to some particular topic or
purpose. Any website can contain a hyperlink to any other website, so the
distinction between individual sites, as perceived by the user, may
sometimes be blurred. Websites are written in, or dynamically converted
to, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using a software
interface classified as a user agent. Web pages can be viewed or otherwise
accessed from a range of computer-based and Internet-enabled devices of
various sizes, including desktop computers, laptops, PDAs and cell phones.
Picture 4.2 illustrating Website of FLC communicating between head and

branch offices in two different parts of globe
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Types of Websites
Organised by function, a website as shown in Diagram 4.1
1. Static Website: A static website is one that has web pages stored on
the server in the format that is sent to a client web browser. It is
primarily coded in Hypertext Markup Language, HTML. Simple forms or
marketing examples of websites, such as classic website, a five-page
website or a brochure website are often static websites, because they
present pre-defined, static information to the user. This may include
information about a company and its products and services via text,
photos, animations, audio/video and interactive menus and navigation.
This type of website usually displays the same information to all visitors.
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In summary, visitors are not able to control what information they receive
via a static website, and must instead settle for whatever content the
website owner has decided to offer at that time. They are edited using four
broad categories of software:
a. Text editors, such as Notepad or TextEdit, where content and HTML

markup are manipulated directly within the editor programme.
b. WYSIWYG offline editors, such as Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe

Dreamweaver (previously Macromedia Dreamweaver), with which the
site is edited using a GUI interface and the final HTML markup is
generated automatically by the editor software.
c. WYSIWYG online editors which create media rich online presentation like
web pages, widgets, intro, blogs, and other documents.
2. Dynamic website: A dynamic website is one that changes or

customises itself frequently and automatically, based on cer tain criteria.
Dynamic websites can have two types of dynamic activity: Code and
Content. Dynamic code is invisible or behind the scenes and dynamic
content is visible or fully displayed.
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Diagram 4.3 Dynamic Website
Dynamic Code: The first type is a web page with dynamic code. The code
is constructed dynamically on the fly using active programming language
instead of plain, static HTML.
A website with dynamic code refers to its construction or how it is built,

and more specifically refers to the code used to create a single web page.
A dynamic web page is generated on the fly by piecing together certain
blocks of code, procedures or routines. A dynamically-generated web page
would recall various bits of information from a database and put them
together in a pre-defined format to present the reader with a coherent
page. It interacts with users in a variety of ways including by reading
cookies recognising users' previous history, session variables, server side
variables etc., or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouseover‘s,
etc.). A site can display the current state of a dialogue between users,
monitor a changing situation, or provide information in some way
personalised to the requirements of the individual user.
Dynamic Content: The second type is a website with dynamic content

displayed in plain view. Variable content is displayed dynamically on the fly
based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content stored in a
database. A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages,
text, images and other information are displayed on the web page and
more specifically how its content changes at any given moment. The web
page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre-defined rules or
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variable user input. For example, a website with a database of news

articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles
for today's date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the
most current news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic
content is when a retail website with a database of media products allows a
user to input a search request for the keyword Beatles. In response, the
content of the web page will spontaneously change the way it looked
before, and will then display a list of Beatles products like CDs, DVDs and
books.
Purpose of Dynamic Websites: The main purpose of a dynamic website

is automation. A dynamic website can operate more effectively, be built
more efficiently and is easier to maintain, update and expand. It is much
simpler to build a template and a database than to build hundreds or
thousands of individual, static HTML web pages.
3. Product or Service Based Sites: Some websites derive revenue by

offering products or services for sale. In the case of e-commerce
websites, the products or services may be purchased at the website
itself, by entering credit card or other payment information into a
payment form on the site.
Websites occasionally derive income from a combination of these two

practices. For example, a website such as an online auctions website
may charge the users of its auction service to list an auction, but also
display third-party advertisements on the site, from which it derives
further income.
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Various types of Websites are listed below:
1. Affiliate: A site, typically few in pages, whose purpose is to sell a third

party's product. The seller receives a commission for facilitating the
sale.
2. Archive: Used to preserve valuable electronic content threatened with

extinction.
3. Blogs: Sites generally used to post online diaries which may include
discussion forums (e.g., blogger, Xanga). Many bloggers use blogs like
an editorial section of a newspaper to express their ideas on anything
ranging from politics to religion to video games to parenting, along with
anything in between. Some bloggers are professional bloggers and they
are paid to blog about a certain subject, and they are usually found on
news sites.
4. Brand Building: A site with the purpose of creating an experience of a

brand online. These sites usually do not sell anything, but focus on
building the brand. Brand building sites are most common for low-value,
high-volume Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)
Picture 4.3 Source: www.snapdeal.com
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5. Celebrity Website: A website whose information revolves around a

celebrity. This sites can be official (endorsed by the celebrity) or fan
made (run by his/her fan, fans, without implicit endorsement).
6. Community Sites: A site where persons with similar interests

communicate with each other, usually by chat or message boards.
7. Content Sites: Sites whose business is the creation and distribution of

original content.
8. Corporate Sites: Used to provide background information about a

business, organisation, or service.
9. Dating Sites: These are site where users can find other single people
looking for long range relationships, dating, or just friends.
10.Ecommerce Sites: A site offering goods and services for online sale
and enabling online transactions for such sales.
11.Government Sites: A website made by the local, state, department or

national government of a country. Usually these sites also operate
websites that are intended to inform tourists or support tourism.
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12.Information Sites: Most websites could fit in this type of website to

some extent many of them are not necessarily for commercial purposes.
13.Media sharing Sites: A site that enables users to upload and view
media such as pictures, music, and videos.
14.Mirror Sites: A website that is the replication of another website.

These types of websites are used as a response to spikes in user
visitors. Mirror sites are most commonly used to provide multiple
sources of the same information, and are of particular value as a way of
providing reliable access to large downloads.
15.News Sites: Similar to an information site, but dedicated to dispensing

news, politics, and commentary.
16.Personal Sites: Websites about an individual or a small group (such as

a family) that contains information or any content that the individual
wishes to include. Many personal homepages are rare, thanks to the
modern era of social networking sites such as MySpace, but some are
still used for at home businesses. This website is different from a
Celebrity website, which can be very expensive and run by a publicist or
agency.
17.Phishing Sites: A website created to fraudulently acquire sensitive

information, such as passwords and credit card details, by
masquerading as a trustworthy person or business (such as Social
Security Administration, PayPal) in an electronic communication.
18.Torrent Sites: Websites that index torrent files. This type of website is
different from a Bit torrent client which is usually standalone software.
19.Political Sites: A site on which people may voice political views, show
political humor, campaigning for elections, or show information about a
certain political party or ideology.
20.Sites: A site that shows sexually explicit content for enjoyment and
relaxation. They can be similar to a personal website when it's a website
of a porn actor/actress or a media sharing website where user can
upload from their own sexually explicit material to movies made by
adult studios.
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21.Review Sites: A site on which people can post reviews for products or
services.
22.Search engine Sites: A website that indexes material on the internet

or an intranet (and lately on traditional media such as books and
newspapers) and provides links to information as a response to a query.
23.Social bookmarking Sites: A site where users share other content

from the Internet and rate and comment on the content.
24.Social networking Sites: A site where users could communicate with

one another and share media, such as pictures, videos, music, blogs,
etc. with other users. These may include games and web applications.
25.Web Portal Sites: A site that provides a starting point or a gateway to

other resources on the Internet or an intranet. Some websites may be
included in one or more of these categories. For example, a business
website may promote the business's products, but may also host
informative documents, such as white papers. There are also numerous
sub-categories to the ones listed above.
4.2.2 Web Portals
A web portal or links page is a website that functions as a point of access

to information on the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from
diverse sources in a unified way. Apart from the standard search engine
feature, web portals offer other services such as e-mail, news, stock prices,
information, databases and entertainment. Portals provide a way for
enterprises to provide a consistent look and feel with access control and
procedures for multiple applications and databases,
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Types of Portals:
1. Horizontal and Vertical Portals: Two broad categorisations of portals

are horizontal portals, which cover many areas, and vertical portals,
which are focused on one functional area. Another definition for a
horizontal portal is that it is used as a platform to several companies in
the same economic sector or to the same type of manufacturers or
distributors. A vertical portal consequently is a specialised entry point to
a specific market or industry niche, subject area, or interest, also called
vortal.
2. Personal Portals: A personal portal is a site on the World Wide Web

that typically provides personalised capabilities to its visitors, providing
a pathway to other content. It is designed to use distributed
applications, different numbers and types of middle-ware and hardware
to provide services from a number of different sources. In addition,
business portals are designed to share collaboration in workplaces.
Personal portals can be related to any specific topic such as providing
friend information on a social network or providing links to outside
content that may help others beyond your reach of services. Portals are
not limited to simply providing links. Information or content that you are
putting on the Internet creates a portal, or a path to new knowledge
and/or capabilities.
3. News Portals: The traditional media rooms all around the world are
fast adapting to the new age technologies. This marks the beginning of
news Portals by media houses across the globe. This new media
channels give them the opportunity to reach the viewers in a shorter
span of time than their print media counterparts.
4. Government web Portals: At the end of the dot-com boom in the

1990s, many governments had already committed to creating portal
sites for their citizens. These included primary Portals to the
Governments as well as Portals developed for specific audiences.
Examples of Government web Portals include:
a. Australia.gov.au for Australia.
b. USA.gov for the United States (in English) & GobiernoUSA.gov (in
Spanish).
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c. India.gov.in for India.
5. Corporate Web Portals: Corporate intranets became common during

the 1990s. As intranets grew in size and complexity, web-masters were
faced with increasing content and user management challenges. A
consolidated view of company information was judged insufficient; users
wanted personalisation and customisation. Webmasters, if skilled
enough, were able to offer some capabilities, but for the most part
ended up driving users away from using the intranet.
6. Stock Portals: Also known as stock-share Portals, stock market Portals

or stock exchange Portals are Web-based applications that facilitates the
process of informing the shareholders with substantial online data such
as the latest price, ask/bids, the latest News, reports and
announcements. Some stock Portals use online gateways through a
central depository system (CDS) for the visitors to buy or sell their
shares or manage their portfolio.
7. Search Portals: Search Portals aggregate results from several search

engines into one page.
Tender's Portals: Tender's Portals stands for a gateway to search/modify/

submit/archive data on tenders and professional processing of continuous
online tenders. With a tender portal the complete tendering process—
submitting of proposals, assessment, administration—are done on the web.
Electronic or online tendering is just carrying out the same traditional
tendering process in an electronic form, using the Internet. Using online
tendering, bidders can do any of the following:
• Receive notification of the tenders.
• Receive tender documents online.
• Fill out the forms online.
• Submit proposals and documents. Submit bids online.
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Domain-specific portals: A number of portals have come about that are

specific to the particular domain, offering access to related companies and
services, a prime example of this trend would be the growth in property
portals that give access to services such as estate agents, removal firm,
and solicitors that offer conveyancing. Along the same lines, industry-
specific news and information portals have appeared, such as the clinical
trials specific portal: IFPMA Clinical Trials Portal.
4.3 ONLINE PROSPECT ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES
In this section we are going to discuss about various techniques used to

enhance the online prospect. As shown in the diagram 4.2 below, there are
three main techniques used for online prospect enhancement which are:
Lead generation System, Business Networking and Creating remarkable
content on the net.
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4.3.1 Lead generation systems
In any given industry, there are a myriad of potential lead sources that can
be used to supply your business with highly-qualified sales leads. Some are
very simple and inexpensive to set-up, others are more involved. Some will
give you a trickle of leads, others will produce a flood. What would the—
ultimate—lead generation system look like? A great lead generation system
should have the following elements…
• Require little manual effort to effectively run it with the ability to be put
almost entirely on —autopilot.
• Generates names, addresses, and even email addresses of people who

respond and are interested in knowing more about your specific product
or service.
• People who respond give you permission to contact them and give your
best sales presentation about your specific product or service.
• Creates a positive relationship of trust and generates a perception that

you are—the authority in your industry about your product or service.
• Generates predictable results. The system works like a radio volume

control that increases your business when turned up and maintains your
business when turned down.
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The Basics of Lead Generation:
Picture 4.5 Source: ideamamaadnetwork.com
Target Best Buyers: If you look at a financial statement that shows

income generated from all your clients, you’ll find that the “80/20 Rule” is
working within your business. That is, just 20 per cent of your clients are
giving you 80 per cent of the business and profitability. These are your
“Best Buyers” or “Dream Clients.” What does this mean to you? It means
you should target and concentrate on these “Best Buyers” first, because
this will be the easiest way to grow your business and profitability. So take
a few minutes now to create a profile of who your most “Dream Client” is.
Being proactive with your leads is your key to success: Most

companies spend an enormous amount of time, effort, and capital to get a
few people from a big audience to “raise their hand” (respond) and become
a new lead. Yet, most won’t invest the time or the attention to follow-up in
a diligent, timely, and continuous manner. Every day that a lead goes
unattended you are eroding the viability of that opportunity by a huge
amount. They would not have responded and become a lead if they were
not interested in the benefit your product or service offers. The key to
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success with handling leads is to have an aggressive and proactive system

in place, even if it’s a simple as picking up the phone and calling your lead.
The Top 5 Lead Generation Systems
1. Direct Mail to your Best Buyers: The fastest way to build your
business is to target the best customers with a “laser-focused” approach
with direct mail to your “best buyers.” This strategy alone has helped
many businesses literally double their revenues in just 12 to 18 months
(or less). This disarmingly simple strategy is one of the most effective
and least expensive ways to market and grow your business… fast!
Every market has what we call: “Best buyers.” Those are the clients who
will buy the most of what it is you offer. In essence, they are your
“dream clients”. So identify and select a target group who will now hear
from you at least once per month. Most of the people on your list will
throw the letter away the first four or five times that they receive it, but
remember that you are committed to building a great reputation in the
market, and gaining clients. It’s a numbers game.
The first thing you're going to do is to send them a letter introducing

yourself in giving an offer they cannot refuse. Then, send something out
to these people each and every month, even if it's only a letter or a flyer
offering a free consultation or free service of some kind. Over the next
12 months, these people are going to hear from you each and every
month. Remember, these easy and inexpensive strategies alone can
double your revenues in just 12 to 18 months (or less).
2. Buy leads from lead brokers and leads companies: Another great
way to generate hot “ready to buy” leads is to purchase them from lead
brokers and lead companies. The company’s sole focus is to generate
leads and then sell them to other companies who want a great source of
consistent new business.
Consider the example, of a life insurance professional. His main source

of business and income comes from buying leads from the leads
companies. Since this is a “numbers game” with ebbs and flows, he
always buys leads from 3 different sources to keep his leads and sales
numbers consistent.
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In average, each lead costs about $25 and he closes about 20% of the
leads that he buys. This strategy alone has makes him a top producer
that makes a very nice living for himself and his family. So, if you don’t
currently buy leads, adding this strategy alone can increase your
business by 50-75% or more! It just doesn’t get any easier than this, so
buy leads and grow your business.
3. Buy leads from the Internet Search Engines: One of the most
effective online strategies for generating leads is by attracting targeted
traffic to your Website with the "Pay-Per-Click" Search Engines
(PPCSEs). PPCSEs can and should become an indispensable part of your
lead generating arsenal. PPCSEs allow you to tap into the searches
occurring in your industry and put your site directly in front of
customers who are actively searching for what you're selling. You set
your budget, set the price you are willing to pay for each sales lead, and
pay only when your customers click through to your site. You are
guaranteed to receive "hot prospects" because you only pay for
performance – pre-qualified clicks and visitors.
The 2 best PPCSEs are:
• Google AdWords http://www.google.com/ads/
• Overture http://www.overture.com/
Here is an example of what can be accomplished with PPCSEs. The

owner of a small, highly-profitable software firm has built his business
success almost entirely with only 2 marketing tools:
Having a Website where he offers a free 30-day trial version of his

software
Purchasing traffic from PPCSEs like Google AdWords and Overture.com
He spends up to $3.50 per click for precisely-targeted keywords and

makes a high return on his investment. In fact, for every dollar he
spends on keywords, he makes $5.00 to $7.00 back. This calculates out
to being approximately a 500-700% return on investment. Not bad!
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4. Advertise: Studies show that 50% of all purchasing is motivated by

advertising. Advertising is also one of the best tactics for generating
leads that a company can deploy. Plus, it’s also the great way to build
name recognition in the market which can get you publicity, ‘word of
mouth’ advertising, and other great benefits.
Here are a few tips for running an advertising campaign that brings you
a high return on investment…
• Place ads in the most targeted publications that your target market
reads
• Consider inexpensive ads in e-mail newsletters and Websites that your

target market reads.
• Use direct response ads — always ask the reader of your ad to respond
for more information by phone, mail or via your Website.
• Be proactive. Have a follow-up system in place to get maximum results

from your advertising dollar.
• Use a compelling headline that introduces the biggest benefits your

product or service offers your client.
• Make them an offer that they’d be crazy to refuse so they’ll respond

and become a new long-term client.
5. Referrals: Referral marketing is one of the most effective techniques

for creating steady streams of prospects and clients. According to a
recent Jupiter Media Metrix survey, 70% of Internet users are compelled
to visit new websites through referrals. Referral-generated customers
are most cost efficient, profitable, and loyal source of new business
leads you can generate. And, they tend to buy quicker, negotiate less,
buy larger quantities, and refer more business to you. The best way to
get more referrals is with proactive referral systems that you add to
your marketing and business procedures. You can easily set up these
referral systems that are fool-proof strategies for increasing your
profits. Here are a few tips…
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Give your customers an incentive or additional products or services in

return for referring others to you.
Use a “Give a Gift” referral system where you invite your clients to give a
free sample of your product or service to others as a gift. Referral gift
certificates are great tools for this.
Use a “Loss Leader” referral system. Here’s how it works… Advertise a free
sample to get new clients to try out your product or service. This alone will
get you more sales. Plus, you can build a perpetual referral generator by
giving each person who tries your freebie 3 or more referral gift certificates
to give away to their friends and family. Then, watch your new referral
system take off and bring you a steady flow of new customers!
Along with your mailed or e-mailed invoices to clients, include surveys that
ask for feedback about how to improve company’s product or service. Be
sure to ask for referrals in the survey as well. This works!
Identify and create relationships with non-competitive companies and

people who already serve your target market. Then partner with them and
have them automatically refer you to their database of clients.
4.3.2 Business networking
Online networks are the new power lunch tables and the new golf courses
for business life in the U.S. In the past ten years, online dating has become
mainstream; 40 million Americans use online dating sites. Now,
businesspeople are starting to use the same family of technology to find
business clients, new partners, and jobs, through virtual contacts they
make online.
Bill Gates, John Kerry, and other celebrities are among the over 2 million
people currently registered on LinkedIn, a popular business networking site
84 per cent of American Internet users have used the Internet to contact
or get information from an online group--more than have used the Internet
to read news, searches for health information, or to buy something.
Forty-four per cent of U.S. Internet users — 53 million Americans — have

taken the first step to creating a virtual presence by — contributing their
thoughts and their files to the online world through building or posting to
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Websites, creating blogs, and sharing files. The 11 million Americans with
blogs are just one example of a far broader trend.
Certain clients, colleagues, and practitioners have become regular readers,

and the blog strengthens his bond with them and increases his perceived
competence.
Virtual relationships can help you find a job, market your product or
service, close deals, recruit talent, and identify and contact strategic
partners. The virtual networks you join and the way in which you
participate in them will vary according to your current objectives. Whatever
those objectives may be, there are ten steps that we recommend everyone
take to dramatically improve your personal network online.
1. Document your goals: For each goal, write down how online networks
can help you achieve it.
2. Analyse your network using the Seven Keys to a Powerful Network:
• How can you improve your Character and make it more visible?
• How can you increase your Competence?
• What is the best way to raise the Relevance of the people you know?
• How can you build stronger ties?
• How can you increase your Information about the people you know
• How can you multiply the number of people you know? Or, should you
focus on building stronger relationships with the people you know now
• How can you double the diversity of your network?
3. Make the mundane sublime: Master the basic office productivity

tools. If you invest the energy to learn how to speed read, how to touch
type, and how to use standard office productivity software comfortably,
you will become far more productive.
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4. Become an information sponge: Install professional contact

management software. Record emails, phone numbers, the notes you
take in meetings, and everything else you can about the people you
know. Add everyone you meet to your database.
5. Master your e-mail: Install a sophisticated e-mail reader and spam

filtering and antivirus software. Set up mail filter rules to route mail into
appropriate folders. Turn off automatic send/receive. Organise your e-
mail folders, and keep your inbox empty.
6. Share your knowledge wealth: Maintain a master file of documents,

resources, Web links, etc., which have been helpful to you. Document
processes.
7. Write your Recyclable Document: Save time by centralising all of

your recyclable emails and other text.
8. Take control of your virtual presence: Make sure that when people
look for you online…which they will…your image is both accurate and
flattering.
9. Join the virtual communities where your target market lives, and
keep your profile updated: Once you have joined one group, ask the
members where else they connect with like-minded people. Be sure to
look for smaller groups within larger sites.
10.Take a leadership role: Write a blog to cover your domain, and

perhaps create a virtual community around your unique interests.
Prominent Site for Business Networking
Linkedin: LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. Founded

in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for
professional networking. As of 22nd March 2011, LinkedIn reported more
than 100 million registered users, spanning more than 200 countries and
territories worldwide. The site is available in English, French, German,
Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. This site is highly popular among Indian
corporate employees.
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One purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of

contact details of people with whom they have some level of relationship,
called Connections. Users can invite anyone (whether a site user or not) to
become a connection. However, if the recipient of an invitation selects "I
don't know", this counts against the person inviting them, and after five
such "IDKs" a member cannot invite another to connect without first
supplying their recipient mail address.
This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:
A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the

connections of each of their connections (termed second-degree
connections) and also the connections of second-degree connections
(termed third-degree connections). This can be used to gain an
introduction to someone a person wishes to know through a mutual
contact.
• It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities

recommended by someone in one's contact network
• Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates
• Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which
of their existing contacts can introduce them
• Users can post their own photos and view photos of others to aid in
identification
• Users can now follow different companies and can get notification about
the new joining and offers available
• Users can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs which they would like to apply for.
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4.3.3 Creating remarkable content on the net
A membership website is only as good as the premium content. Profitability

comes from renewals and members only renew if they love the content.
The content marketing revolution is upon us. Lead generation is driven by
content marketing.
What makes great content?
Here is a checklist that should help you to think through the style, tone and
voice of your content, as well as the substance. Don't forget that on the
Internet, content is not just about the written word. Think about audio,
video and images, but keep the style consistent across all mediums. Highly
relevant to the audience, in both content and the tone in which it is
presented.
Exclusive and unique – Try to ensure that your audience cannot get the
information you provide anywhere else
Frequently updated – Ideally, a site should be updated every day. Of

course, this will depend on the nature of the content, but you must ensure
your members have a reason to keep coming back to the site
Current – Make sure your content is right up to date. If you give people
yesterday's news, they will seek current news elsewhere
Punchy – People read 40% slower on the web so get straight to the point.
Keep it easy to read
Factual and accurate – Free information on the web is infamously

inaccurate. Members pay to get factually correct data
Easy to read – Use simple words, short sentences, short paragraphs, sub-
headers and lots of white space
Make it personal – Write in your personal style and tone. Members are
buying into you and your expertise. You are the site's brand Variety is the
spice of life! - Keep the content fresh, dynamic and exciting. Try new ideas
and watch the web stats to see what members like.
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Use images – A page that is a pleasure to look at is more likely to be a

pleasure to read
Involve your members – Give your members a chance to interact with

you. Allow them to rate an article or leave their comments. You get
feedback, they feel involved
Make it easy to print – Many people still like to print articles to read, so
make printing easy.
Key Guidelines for developing remarkable content
Target Audience: Whom are we trying to get to read this? Many people
call this — buyer personas today. This you want to understand both
demographic variables (title, role, company size and industry) and
psychographic variables (what keeps them awake at night?).
Funnel Segment: Where will the buyer we are trying to reach be in their
buying cycle? (researching, comparing vendors, etc.)
Topic and Outline: What will the structure of the content be? Will it be a
list, a tear-sheet, or some other format? Ultimately, you will know what
your buyers want and you will want to give it to them.
Key Messages: You must identify the goals of your content and the
messages that support those goals.
Tweetable Moment: A tweetable moment is a sound bite that is so

memorable that your readers or listeners feel compelled to re-quote you in
140 characters or less. Where and what are the — tweetable moments you
will have in your content? You want to give your audience the opportunity
to tweet you.
Media Format: What format will we present the content in? PDF, webinar,
blog post? A good recommendation is that for every idea you create, you
will create five pieces of content, i.e. five different media formats.
Distribution Tactics: How are we going to get this content into our
buyer’s hands? Examples of distribution channels: syndication, paid search,
blogs, email and so forth.
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Registration Strategy: Will registration be required? If so, how many

fields and so forth?
Remarkable Traits: How will this piece of content rise above the noise?
Remember, the content marketing revolution is on, and that means you
aren’t the only one creating content. Quite simply, your content will go
unread unless it is remarkable and can stand out from the rest. Remember,
content is a key component of your brand today. Make sure you leave no
stone unturned.
4.4 LEVERAGING YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH WEB

PORTALS
Your Web presence may be the only way customers and partners engage
with you—and one of the primary ways employees get work done. You
need to make those interactions count. Web development service is the
booming one among the many new and highly profitable business sectors
in the World Wide Web. Undoubtedly the technology has brought a huge
change in the business field through Internet. Portal solutions have
changed the way business is done today.
A web portal is highly beneficial access point to web for individual as well
as business users. The information contained in web content portal is
categorised into topics such as new, business, finance, travel, sports and
more. Also originally used by general public for purposes such as email,
public forums, search engines, online shopping and more, web portals
today provide a multitude of other functions.
A well designed and technologically highlighted website is the main tool for
any kind of business development. It is the responsibility of a web
development company to make the website smooth so that visitors can go
one page to other effortlessly while navigating. Termed as a business or
enterprise portal, this development in online portal services, as well as
improved communication and response times. Business web portals are
becoming increasingly vital to organisations of all sizes. Amalgamating this
type of online portal application into the existing system has the power to
significantly improve the productivity of an organisation.
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A business portal enables the integration of a number of functions in a

website, including task management and work flow application, search and
navigation functions, content and data management systems, supply chain
management systems, internal and external communication system,
automated sales support system, e-commerce storefronts, notification
system, online forums, discussion boards and more.
Portal software can provide users with prompt information that is

individualised to the users’ role. The users’ interface can be customised to
feature commonly used shortcuts, personalised data, and customised
designs. It can also suggest additional information to the user, and allow
the user to search for related information. A web portal site for a business
environment can facilitate and streamline many processes for your
organisation. Some solutions with strategic consulting for web portal
development include:
• Enterprise web strategy consulting
• Requirement consulting and streamlining
• Advanced web portal design
• Web portal administration, development and implementation consulting
• Web portal user interface consulting
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Picture 4.6
4.5 ONLINE CUSTOMER CONVERSION
The customer conversion rate is probably the most important number you
should know about your website. You can calculate this number by taking
the number of people who actually buy something from your site in a
week, and then divide by the total number of unique visitors to your site.
So, if 6 people bought something on your site and 300 people visited, your
conversion rate for that period would be 6/300, or 2%.
4.5.1 Converting Visitors into leads
Online lead generation is about getting 2 things from a person...
Permission to make contact and talk about your product or service.
The contact data necessary to do so.
Until a person has both permission to talk, and the means to do so, s/he
doesn't have a lead. Fast-talking marketing 'gurus' often claim to have all
kinds of secret methods for getting people to give up their contact details,
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and they're usually willing to share them with you – for a fee. It's possible
some of their methods might even work. But it's important to understand
that this isn't lead generation. Sharp practices are about obtaining data.
They're not about obtaining permission. Calling a person who hasn't given
permission to talk about your product or service is essentially a cold call.
The lead has still to be generated.
It's also worth noting a business that first obtains permission to call about
their product or service doesn't have to trick anybody person into giving
their contact data. The fast-talking 'gurus' have it all backwards – as usual.
So the real question is not how do you generate leads? Its how do you get
permission to call? And the key to answering that question lies in the
reasons you give a person to become a lead in the first place. Because
those reasons generate a genuine desire to talk about your product or
service.
It's essential that you see the following 20 ways in that light. They're about
giving people a reason to talk to you, and then following up.
Offer to solve a problem
Offer an in-depth hand-written custom report
Offer a free download or information
Offer a newsletter or ezine subscription
Offer a free consultation
Offer money-saving tips/tricks
Provide discount and/or promotional codes 20. Make an offer designed to

appeal to a specific group of people
Offer to improve something (e.g. I can double your sales)
Use better targeted traffic generators (e.g. article marketing)
Use a video sales pitch
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Improve your sales copy
Work on building trust/removing doubt
Personally invite people to the site (e.g. via business networking)
Ask others to personally invite people to the site (e.g. referral marketing)
Include video testimonials
Include scans of written testimonials
Give genuine value and invite reciprocation
Make your site interactive and use that interaction to increase relevance
Match a teaser ad with a landing page designed specifically to receive

those visitors
Make an offer designed to appeal to a specific group of people
4.5.2 Converting prospects into leads
Once you have a visitor’s Email it is incumbent upon you to begin and
develop a relationship with them over time. Regular Email communications
will establish credibility and develop the relationships and trust you need to
help them make a buying decision.
Auto responder (triggered) Email campaigns
Each time a new prospect gives you permission to Email them you should
have a timed series of events to take place after that initial contact. This is
your sales process. The late Cory Rudl, famed Internet marketer of
InternetMarketingCenter.com suggested the best schedule is:
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Immediate response
3-day follow-up
7-day follow-up
2-week follow-up
1 month follow-up
2 months follow-up
3 months follow-up
Prospects rarely make a purchase on the first contact with any company.
Conventional marketing wisdom says it takes five to nine contacts or brand
impressions before a prospect takes action. Systematising your follow-up
sales process is key to increasing your sales. This is not easy – but you
only have to do it once and put it on auto-pilot. It requires careful thinking,
planning, writing and technology to implement this process.
Triggered Actions: The next level of automated follow-up is to

automatically trigger different responses, different e-mail tracks, or
different content based on the prospects’ future actions or on what you
already know about them. A basic example would be to have one e-mail
track going out before a prospect becomes a customer, and another track
to be triggered after they have become a customer. Good e-mail marketing
service providers can provide this functionality.
Educational Content: Use your triggered e-mail campaigns or regular

campaigns to break down the features or benefits of your product or
service over a series of messages. For complex offerings, it is often much
more feasible to educate your prospects in little bits over time. Consider a
multi-part educational ‘course’ via e-mail as a special offer on your
website.
Special, limited time offers: Scarcity and time limited offers are proven
direct marketing response drivers. Consider using these techniques in your
triggered or regular campaigns.
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Lead qualification: If you have salespeople, you’ll want to deliver them

qualified leads, and get them speaking to your most qualified prospects
first. Ask them about lead qualification via Email, engagement devices,
web forms and special offers.
Regular E-mail Campaigns: After your triggered e-mail campaigns run

out, you’ll want a way to stay on top of the mind with your entire prospect
universe.
Send regular e-mail newsletters (at least monthly) to keep your brand on
top of the mind and drive traffic back to your website and your
salespeople.
Send new product or service announcements. Let your prospects know

what is new with your organisation.
Learn about outsourcing your e-mail marketing campaigns with our

turnkey e-mail marketing services, or consider an e-mail marketing quick
start programme if you’d just like to test the waters.
Web and E-mail Analytics: Track all of your e-mail and web activity and
measure it against pre-defined company benchmarks. The key to continued
growth is constant improvement. Notice what works well and do more of it.
4.6 PEOPLE BEHIND WEBSITES
Owners
They are the main entity who is in need to put their business on Internet
and have global presence. Their requirement depends upon business and
products they have. Depending upon their requirement static, dynamic,
transaction website or portal is decided.
Venture Capitalist
These are the people or organisations that do funding for the entire project
and having stake in profit sharing. A typical VC follows a maxim stating
that most ventures will fail, a few might do okay, and—hopefully—one will
take off and become a large enterprise that will repay investors many
times the initial investment. Record companies and movie studios follow
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the same principles, expecting that most of the projects they green-light
will have meager sales but that the one hit will more than repay the cost of
a bunch of flops.
Creative Directors
Creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film,
music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be
useful in other creative organisations such as web development and
software development firms as well.
A creative director is a vital role in all of the arts and entertainment

industries. In another sense, they can be seen as another element in any
product development process. The creative director may also assume the
roles of an art director, copywriter, or lead designer.
The responsibilities of a creative director include leading the

communication design, interactive design, and concept forward in any work
assigned. For example, this responsibility is often seen in industries related
to advertisement. The creative director is known to guide a team of
employees with skills and experience related to graphic design, fine arts,
motion graphics, and other creative industry fields. Some example works
can include visual layout, brainstorming, and copy writing.
Before one assumes the role of a creative director, one must have a preset
of experience beforehand. Like anyone else, these types of artists start up
from the very beginning in fields that can relate to motion graphics,
advertisement in television, and/or book (or magazine) publishing.
Directors have overall control over all the activities and responsible for
smooth operations.
There are two primary jobs involved in creating a website: the web
designer and web developer, who often work closely together on a website.
The web designers are responsible for the visual aspect, which includes the
layout, colouring and typography of a web page. Web designers will also
have a working knowledge of using a variety of languages such as HTML,
CSS, JavaScript, PHP and Flash to create a site, although the extent of
their knowledge will differ from one web designer to another.
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Account and Project Manager
You are the front lines for client contact. Some clients are a dream to work
with. Others can be a nightmare. Your job is to keep them all happy, even
in the face of delivering bad news. You have to know how to steer projects
while always keeping the client's needs in mind. You'll need to be strategic
about when you can handle issues cropping up, and when it's time to
escalate before it's too late.
Project Manager (naturally): You will certainly spend plenty of time tracking
budgets and schedules, managing scope, creating project plans, scrubbing
ticket queues, calling out risk, and managing a development team to
successful project completion. You'll need to master the delicate balance of
too much process and not enough process. We're all about flexibility, so
we're not an agile shop or a waterfall shop either. We fall somewhere in-
between, and we customise our process to fit the needs of any given
project.
Programmers and Graphic Designers
Occasionally you'll find a client who has crystal clear vision for their project
and a perfect list of requirements and implementation suggestions.
However, in the vast majority of cases, you’re going to be hand-holding the
client through the discovery and design process to arrive at a business/
technical specification that developers can execute upon. Developers will
generally have your back on the technical side, but from a marketing
standpoint, the more strategic and knowledgeable you are around web
architecture, user experience, design, content, SEO/search, social media,
and analytics, the better. The client knows what they want, but asking the
right questions to get all the answers is crucial to the planning process.
And improper planning will always set you up for failure on the project
management side of things.
Depending on the scope of the project, web design may involve

collaboration between software engineers and graphic designers. The
graphic design of a website may be as simple as a page layout sketch or
handling just the graphics in an HTML editor, while the advance coding is
done separately by programmers. In other cases, graphic designers may
be challenged to become both graphic designer and programmer in the
process of web design in positions often known as web masters.
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Copy Writers and Marketers
Further jobs which may become involved in the creation of a website

include:
Graphic designers to create visuals for the site such as logos, layouts and
buttons.
Internet Marketing specialists to help maintain web presence through

strategic solutions on targeting viewers to the site, by using marketing and
promotional techniques on the internet.
SEO writers to research and recommend the correct words to be

incorporated into a particular website and make the website more
accessible and found on numerous search engines.
Internet copywriter to create the written content of the page to appeal to

the targeted viewers of the site.
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4.7 SUMMARY
In this chapter, we have discussed about the Websites and web portals in
details.
Today’s business environment demands a new approach—one where

customers can ask questions or voice concerns and employees can answer
in real time, improving service delivery and product innovation. A web
portal offers multiple services like mail, news, calendars, search or multiple
brands (in the case of content portals) under one umbrella. A website is a
smaller subset offering only a limited or just one service or brand.
A web page is a document, typically written in plain text interspersed with

formatting instructions of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML, XHTML). A
web page may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable
markup anchors. Any website can contain a hyperlink to any other website,
so the distinction between individual sites, as perceived by the user, may
sometimes be blurred. We have also discussed about Static website,
Dynamic website and various types of websites like: Affiliate, blogs,
community sites, corporate sites, ecommerce sites, personal sites, torrent
sites etc.
A web portal or links page is a website that functions as a point of access

to information on the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from
diverse sources in a unified way. The web portal gained special attention
because it was, for many users, the starting point of their web browser.
Various types of web portals are: Horizontal and vertical portal, Personal
portals, Government web portals, News portals, Hosted web portals,
Tender's portals. Search portals. We have discussed Online prospect
enhancement techniques like Lead generation systems, Business
networking, Creating remarkable content on the net. Search engine
optimisation is not about tricking the search engines.
It's about making your website and its content friendly to the search
engines. Search engines use a variety of off- and on-page analysis
techniques, including keyword frequency, hyperlinks, meta tags, heading
and site structure analysis, and more to determine page rankings.
A well designed and technologically highlighted website is the main tool for
any kind of business development. It is the responsibility of a web
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development company to make the website smooth so that visitors can go

one page to other effortlessly while navigating. Portal software can provide
users with expeditious information that is individualised to the users’ role.
The users’ interface can be customised to feature commonly used

shortcuts, personalised data, and customised designs. It can also suggest
additional information to the user, and allow the user to search for related
information.
The customer conversion rate is probably the most important number you
should know about your website. You can calculate this number by taking
the number of people who actually buy something from your site in a
week, and then divide by the total number of unique visitors to your site.
1. Questions (Browse Internet Search Engine and for various sites)
2. Write a short note on what is a web page?
3. Enlist and describe the four broad categories of software used for
editing static website.
4. Describe five types of websites.
5. What are the two broad categorisations of portals?
6. Describe in brief the concept of content aggregation.
7. What precautions we have to take for protecting our website /blog?
8. Where we can find stock photos for our website/blog?
9. How do you build links to our website/blog?
10.Enlist the steps used in analysing network using the seven keys to a
powerful network.
11.What contact information must appear as a minimum on our web site/

blog?
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A MCQ Questions Identify correct answer from following options
1. HTML. Stands for___________
a. Hypertext Markup Language

b. Hypertext Markup Lines
c. Hypertext Moment Language
d. None of the above
2. A static website is one that has web pages stored on the in the format
that is sent to a client web browser.
a. Client
b. Server
c. Internet
3. Dynamic Websites can have types of dynamic activity:

a. Code
b. Content
c. Text
4. Affiliate: A site, typically few in pages, whose purpose is to sell a third

party's product. The seller receives a commission for facilitating the sale
a. True
b. False
5. The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1979 by CERN physicist
Tim Berners-Lee. On 30 April 1980
a. True
b. False
6. Yagoo.com is not a portal
a. True
b. False
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Answers
1. (a) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (a) 5. (b) 6. (b)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
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INTERNET MARKETING RESEARCH
Chapter 5
Internet Marketing Research
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter you will be able to:
• Recognise the key role played by research to improve online marketing

efforts
• Understand market research by Target Market
• Learn different approaches to online market research
• Understand the various tools associated with online marketing research
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Structure:
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Role of Internet Marketing Research

5.2.1 Online Marketing Research Characteristics
5.2.2 Advantages of Online Marketing Research
5.2.3 Importance of Online Marketing Research
5.3 Consumer Market Research

5.3.1 Qualitative Marketing Research
5.3.2 How to Conduct a Qualitative Survey?
5.3.3 Quantitative Marketing Research
5.3.4 How to Conduct a Quantitative Survey?
5.3.5 Difference between Quantitative and Qualitative Marketing
Research
5.4 Internet Market Research Strategies
5.4.1 How to Plan an Internet Marketing Strategy?
5.5 Internet Market Research Techniques
5.6 Online Research Panels and Communities
5.6.1 Online Surveys

5.6.2 Developing Surveys: Asking Questions
5.6.3 Types of Survey Questions
5.6.4 How to Obtain Responses?
5.6.5 Steps to Conduct Research Surveys
5.7 Summary
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5.1 INTRODUCTION
The World Wide Web was developed as a tool for academics to allow
information to be shared freely. This foundation of the Web as an
information tool has had profound effects on the markets we transact in.
Consider that consumers are able to research companies and products
easily, gathering information to compare prices and service with a few
clicks of the mouse.
Consumers are also able to share likes and dislikes easily, whether that
information is shared with companies or with friends. Likewise, the Web
has an impact on market research. Its foundations in academia make it
ideal for secondary research, with reports and data filed, indexed and
available via a few savvy searches. Technology can also be used to easily,
and accurately, conduct surveys. The connected nature of the Web also
makes it possible to record data about consumers’ online habits. For
example, when researching the penetration of broadband in a particular
market, a few web searches will reveal plenty of sources that can be
compared and verified. If a company wants to gauge the demographics of
visitors to their website, an online survey may be offered to website
visitors. Online reputation management tools allow companies to track
consumer sentiment expressed online.
Marketing Research is "the function that links the consumer, customer, and
public to the marketer through information — information used to identify
and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and
evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve
understanding of marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the
information required to address these issues, designs the method for
collecting information, manages and implements the data collection
process, analyses the results, and communicates the findings and their
implications." Marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording,
and analysis of data about issues relating to marketing products and
services. The goal of marketing research is to identify and assess how
changing elements of the marketing mix impacts customer behaviour. The
term is commonly interchanged with market research; however, expert
practitioners may wish to draw a distinction, in that market research is
concerned specifically with markets, while marketing research is concerned
specifically about marketing processes.
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Marketing research is often partitioned into two sets of categorical pairs,

either by target market:
• Consumer marketing research, and
• Business-to-business (B2B) marketing research
Or, alternatively, by methodological approach:
• Qualitative marketing research, and
• Quantitative marketing research
Consumer Marketing Research is a form of applied sociology that

concentrates on understanding the preferences, attitudes, and behaviours
of consumers in a market-based economy, and it aims to understand the
effects and comparative success of marketing campaigns.
Thus, marketing research may also be described as the systematic and

objective identification, collection, analysis, and dissemination of
information for the purpose of assisting management in decision-making
related.
5.2 ROLE OF INTERNET MARKETING RESEARCH
The task of marketing research is to provide management with relevant,

accurate, reliable, valid, and current information. Competitive marketing
environment and the ever-increasing costs attributed to poor decision
making require that marketing research provide sound information. Sound
decisions are not based on gut feeling, intuition, or even pure judgment.
Marketing managers make numerous strategic and tactical decisions in the

process of identifying and satisfying customer needs. They make decisions
about potential opportunities, target market selection, market
segmentation, planning and implementing marketing programmes,
marketing performance, and control. These decisions are complicated by
interactions between the controllable marketing variables of product,
pricing, promotion, and distribution. Further complications are added by
uncontrollable environmental factors such as general economic conditions,
technology, public policies and laws, political environment, competition,
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and social and cultural changes. Another factor in this mix is the
complexity of consumers. Marketing research helps the marketing manager
link the marketing variables with the environment and the consumers. It
helps remove some of the uncertainty by providing relevant information
about the marketing variables, environment, and consumers. In the
absence of relevant information, consumers' response to marketing
programmes cannot be predicted reliably or accurately. Ongoing marketing
research programmes provide information on controllable and non-
controllable factors and consumers; this information enhances the
effectiveness of decisions made by marketing managers.
Traditionally, marketing researchers were responsible for providing the

relevant information and marketing decisions were made by the managers.
However, the roles are changing and marketing researchers are becoming
more involved in decision making, whereas marketing managers are
becoming more involved with research. The role of marketing research in
managerial decision making is explained further using the framework of the
"DECIDE" model:
The DECIDE model conceptualises managerial decision making as a series

of six steps. The decision process begins by precisely defining the problem
or opportunity, along with the objectives and constraints. Next, the
possible decision factors that make up the alternative courses of action
(controllable factors) and uncertainties (uncontrollable factors) are
enumerated. Then, relevant information on the alternatives and possible
outcomes is collected. The next step is to select the best alternative based
on chosen criteria or measures of success. Then a detailed plan to
implement the alternative selected is developed and put into effect. Last,
the outcome of the decision and the decision process itself are evaluated.
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5.2.1 Online Marketing research characteristics
First, marketing research is systematic. Thus systematic planning is

required at all the stages of the marketing research process. The
procedures followed at each stage are methodologically sound, well
documented, and, as much as possible, planned in advance. Marketing
research uses the scientific method in that data are collected and analysed
to test prior notions or hypotheses. Marketing research is objective. It
attempts to provide accurate information that reflects a true state of
affairs. It should be conducted impartially. While research is always
influenced by the researcher's research philosophy, it should be free from
the personal or political biases of the researcher or the management.
Research which is motivated by personal or political gain involves a breach
of professional standards. Such research is deliberately biased so as to
result in predetermined findings. The motto of every researcher should be,
"Find it and tell it like it is." The objective nature of marketing research
underscores the importance of ethical considerations.
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5.2.2 Advantages of Online marketing research
Online Marketing research has witnessed a growth trend in the recent past.
Market researchers, Marketing managers and B-school students have
increasingly begun depending on Internet research for collecting primary
data through surveys, experiments and online focus groups. Web research
has proven to have several advantages over offline surveys and focus
groups. The most obvious advantages include speed and low cost of
execution.
Online research is relatively low in cost in the sense that participants from
all over the globe can pitch into the discussions, without engaging in any
kind of travel and/or living expenses. More specifically, the online surveys
eliminates or substantially reduces the usage (wastage) of paper work,
postage charges, phone charges, labour charges and printing expenses.
Although online research requires some prior advanced scheduling and

preparations, in the long run it proves to be worth the effort. Teens, well-
educated professionals, working mothers can be effectively reached
through online research. The response rate is also seen to be better off as
they can respond to the research in their own space and at their own
convenience. Once submitted, the results are available to the researcher
almost immediately without having to encounter manual labour for
quantifying the responses.
5.2.3 Importance of Online Marketing research
Online market research is an important tool which many of the market

research companies utilise to draft the data and stats into furnished market
research reports. Many of the companies don’t feel the importance of using
online market survey, which we consider the most important tool to grab
the market share. Online market research doesn’t means browsing the
sites to collect the data which might not be authentic. This toll is used by
market research companies with access to meaningful, authentic resources
to analyse and populate the data to be completed in the form of market
research reports. There are tons of market research companies worldwide,
but a capable market research company is that which understands well
what you need and what is important for you and your business. The size
of a market research company doesn’t matters but the capability, work
experience and team they have to take up your projects. There are
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incidences when you contact a market research company but the reports
delivered to you don’t meet the requirements you expect from market
research reports. This is where many of the market research companies
lack. The role of a market research company is to understand the client
needs, for what purpose the market research reports are required, what is
reason behind the online market survey the company is looking to have.
Market research reports and report from online market survey must solve
the purpose, rather than illustrating useless stats which are of no use to
you. As a client you can ask the market research company questions
pertaining to their expertise. Not only what services they provide but also
what sort of team capabilities they have, clients they have served and the
most important they are involved in market research services. A market
research company always employs market research analysts which have an
educational background of business management. The work experience
matters but what matters the most is their knowledge in particular market
segment.
Online market research is very vital for any sort of market research
reports. Equally a capable team of market research analyst must be there
to handle those projects and assignments.
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5.3 CONSUMER MARKET RESEARCH
Picture 5.1 Source: consultimi.com
In consumer targeted marketing, the customer becomes the central focus

of the organsation’s strategy and activities, rather than the product itself
(which is the prime concern in traditional marketing). The organisation’s
paradigm shift in marketing requires a company to build a commitment to
quality and to listen critically to the customer to determine the market
needs and how the company can meet those needs more effectively.
One of the major characteristics of the approach is to focus on each

customer’s interests and interactions with the organisation to deliver
targeted, personal messages. This would require the company to be
constantly gathering information about their customers.
In an effort to better serve them and, most importantly, to retain them as

loyal customers. As suggested by Peppers and Rogers (1998), the
organisation would need to use various techniques and strategies (possibly
with the help of information technology and the Web), such as focus
groups, in-depth interviews, customer surveys, attitude testing and so on
to obtain information about consumers for more effective marketing of a
product or service. With these customers’ data and feedback, the
organisation will apply the knowledge to develop more customer-centric
products and services and/or to improve existing ones. In addition, the
information will be shared within the organisation to encourage employees
at all levels to focus on creating maximised customer value and loyalty.
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5.3.1 Qualitative marketing research
Qualitative research can be classified as exploratory. Qualitative research

aids in identifying potential hypotheses, whereas quantitative research puts
hard numbers behind these hypotheses. Qualitative research seeks to find
out what potential consumer perceptions and feelings exist around a given
subject. This research can often be used to advise the design of
quantitative research, which relies on numerical data to demonstrate
statistically significant outcomes.
The Internet is a useful tool for both primary and secondary research, and
can be used to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. In fact the
communities on the Web can be viewed as one large focus group, regularly
and willingly sharing their opinions on products, markets and companies.
Today, organisations transacting online have a wealth of research
information freely available to them, and sophisticated tools for gathering
further data. Market research should produce information that leads to
actions
5.3.2 How to conduct a Qualitative Survey
A variety of techniques from online chats to video logs can reveal how
people feel about your product or service and how you can improve it to
make more money.
Visualise: Just as you head off to work you get a text message asking if
you've had a cup of coffee. You reply "no." About 20 minutes later you
receive another text asking "did you have your coffee yet?" You reply "yes"
this time. Now you receive a series of texts about when and where did you
buy the coffee—a corner store Starbucks or company cafeteria. What brand
or flavour did you choose—regular or Hazelnut? Why did you choose it?
How do you feel now that you've had that first cup? Will you have had a
second or third cup come lunchtime? Later in the week when you're at the
local grocer, you take out your cell phone to take a picture of the one
pound of ground French Roast coffee you just purchased so you can post it
online.
Brave new world of qualitative research where companies can catch or

capture their customers' behaviours in the moment using modern
technology. It could be a single person doing online journaling or a video
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log about a product or issue, a moderator directing conversations in an

online chat room, or webcam gathering of people in Hollywood Squares
game show-like fashion.
It's a different spin on the traditional focus group. Social media is playing a
bigger role. "We are even monitoring whole online communities; we have a
targeted representative find out what selected individuals are saying in
their social networks," says Peg Moulton-Abbott, a certified professional
research consultant and principal of Newfound Insights, a Virginia Beach-
based market research firm. Such tech-oriented research is generally
skewed towards a younger twenty-something demographic. But more
importantly it speaks to how market researchers are sprouting new
methods of qualitative study as an outgrowth of old techniques.
Comparatively speaking, fifty years ago qualitative research was done in a
big city like New York or Washington, DC with focus groups conducted
inside women's homes, notes Moulton-Abbott. A one-way mirror was
installed and adverting guys would be on the receiving end, she explains.
The homemaker would host the meeting with a group of women who would
talk about soap or some other consumer product.
According to the Qualitative Research Consultants Association, qualitative

research can help business owners identify customer needs, clarify
marketing messages, generate ideas for improvements of a product,
extend a line or brand, and/or gain perspective on how a product fits into a
customer's lifestyle.
Qualitative research can help entrepreneurs to understand their customers'

or clients' feelings, values, and perceptions of a particular product or
service. Business owners won't have to wrack their brains over how to
conduct the nitty-gritty aspects of market research if a professional is
hired. But here are some general guidelines and what to expect on how
qualitative research is handled.
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How to Conduct Qualitative Market Research: Determine What You

Want to Study
• Do you want to investigate a current or potential product, service or

brand positioning?
• Do you want to identify strengths and weaknesses in products?
• Understand purchasing decisions?
• Study reactions to advertising or marketing campaigns?
• Assess the usability of a website or other interactive services?
• Understand perceptions about the company, brand and product?
• Explore reactions to packaging and design?
Qualitative (qual.) research is usually contrasted against Quantitative

(quant.) research. Quant asks closed-ended questions that can be
answered finitely by either "yes" or "no," true or false or multiple choices
with an option for "other." It is used to collect numerical data, employing
such techniques as surveys. Whereas, qual. asks open-ended questions
that are phrased in such a way that invite people to tell their stories in
their own words. Methods used to collect data include field observations,
personal interviews and group discussions. The job of a qual. researcher is
to design and deliver data that drives results.
5.3.3 How to Conduct Quantitative Market Research: Understand

What Methodology will be used.
Typically qual. researchers don't use experimental methods such as field

trials or test markets, Stake maintains. "Not many use really highly-
developed psychometric (e.g., personality or psychological tests) or
econometric (e.g., economic statistics) indicators." Qual. researchers
generally rely on methodologies rooted in ethnography (e.g. field or
participant observation) and phenomenology (e.g., understanding life
experiences using written or recorded narratives). Market researchers
partner with professional recruiters to identify and screen qualifying
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customers or consumers who in turn receive an honorarium for their

participation in the study.
You should rely on a market research firm to choose the best fit for you
based on: what is it that you need to learn and who is your target audience
demographically, where they are geographically, and what are their lifestyle
behaviours or time constraints, says Kristin Schwitzer, president of Beacon
Research, a qual. firm that specialises in innovative online methods, based
in Annapolis, Maryland. Conducting qualitative research is about asking the
right people the right questions in the right format, says Hannah Baker
Hitzhusen, vice president of qualitative research at CMI, a market research
firm in Atlanta. What qual. researchers do is very much on the front end, it
is discovery or exploratory work. "For a qual. study, we generally do a
discussion guide to make sure we cover certain topics or issues," says
Hitzhusen. Qual. is generally used for small sample groups, because, "you
want to spend a lot of time with the participants, maybe 90 to 120
minutes. Quant. usually uses a larger sample size of people and a smaller
amount of time, 15 to 30 minutes (for someone to fill out a
questionnaire)," she explains.
Quantitative research gathers data that can be statistically analysed to

determine results. Data must be formally gathered, and should be collected
to test a hypothesis as opposed to determine a hypothesis. Qualitative data
can be more difficult to quantify. Typically, because base sizes are smaller
and not necessarily representative of the market under investigation (as it
can be more expensive and time consuming to gather and analyse the
data), qualitative data cannot be taken as quantified. It is however
valuable in aiding a researcher in interpreting the market perspective. It is
possible to combine approaches, producing data that can be used both
qualitatively and quantitatively.
When both qualitative and quantitative research are used, usually

qualitative research takes place first to get an idea of the issues to be
aware of, and then quantitative research tests the theories put forward in
qualitative research.
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5.3.4 How to conduct Quantitative Survey
How well do you know your customers? Here are some tips to accurately
surveying your clients and putting that data to good use.
Will your customer choose you over your competitor? Should you target a
different demographic market? Are people satisfied with your employees?
Online Market research is the only effective way to obtain the answers to
questions like these.
In conducting quantitative research, businesses (usually along with the

help of qualified market researchers) create surveys and send them out to
a group of respondents. Analysts interpret the results, treat them as data,
and present an answer to the company's initial questions. Once the
questions have been answered, marketers will take the synthesised
information obtained and create strategies that will ultimately lead to a
more successful, profitable brand or product. In this sense, market
research is not merely an expense to your business; it can be a useful
investment.
Conducting Quantitative Market Research: Deciding What’s Right for

Your Business
In its most basic interpretation, quantitative research makes use of

questionnaires and surveys to reach a sample in order to understand a
specific question a company has. Unlike qualitative research, quantitative
researchers do not use focus groups or interviews; rather, they collect a set
of quantifiable data to assess customers' desires, perceived needs, and
opinions.
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5.3.5 Difference between Quantitative and Qualitative marketing

research
Table 5.1: Difference between Quantitative and Qualitative

Marketing Research
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

Assumptions Assumptions
• Reality is socially constructed • Social facts have an objective reality
• Subject matter is most important • Method is most important
Variables are complex, Variables can be identified and
• •
interwoven, difficult to measure relationships can be measured
• Insider’s point of view • Outsider’s point of view
Purpose Purpose
• Context of issues • Generalisation
• Interpretation • Prediction
• Understand perspectives • Explain causes
Approach Approach
Ends with hypotheses for further
• • Begins with hypotheses
research
• Inductive • Deductive
• Searches for patterns • Analyses components
• Seeks complexity • Seeks consensus, the norm
• Makes minor use of numerical • Reduces data to numerical indices
indices
Researcher Role Researcher Role
• Personal involvement, partial • Detachment, impartial
• Empathetic • Objective
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5.4 INTERNET MARKET RESEARCH STRATEGIES
Many online businesses start with the expectation of earning huge profit
without even realising that you should build an Internet Marketing strategy
in order to achieve a place in the global markets.
5.4.1 How to plan an Internet Marketing strategy
In order to develop an Internet Marketing strategy, at first you need to

determine who your target customers are. Then, you need to decide
whether you’ll offer your own or sell someone else’s product and service. It
is also quite important to decide the competitive advantage of the product
that you’re planning to offer.
You can follow these steps in order to develop a unique online marketing
strategy.
Research online: You need to do an online research to find out what

strategies are employed by your competitors. It will help you to analyse
their strengths and weaknesses as you’ll have to target what they’re not
able to offer. You need to search how you can advertise your product to
your target customers. Therefore, you need to find out what the main
concerns of your target customers are and where they usually visit in order
to find the products.
Develop a strategy: Online research will help you to decide what to offer
so as to attract your target visitors to your website and then turning them
to customers. Make sure you calculate how much you can afford. You need
to use an Internet Marketing strategy according to your affordability.
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5.5 INTERNET MARKET RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
The following techniques can be used to gather market information with

the help of a few mouse clicks and keystrokes:
1. Keyword Search: You know how to do a simple Web search using

search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Take that a step farther by
searching for "keywords" that people would use to find your type of
products or services on the Internet. See how much interest there is in
these keywords — and how many competitors you have in this market.
Keyword searches can also help remind you of product niches that you
might not have considered. There are other reasons to conduct keyword
searches. ‘First, you’re going to be reminded of product niches that you
might not of thought of, says Jennifer Laycock, editor-in-chief of Search
Engine Guide, an online guide to search engines, portals and directories.
‘Second, these services will also give you a guesstimate of how many
existing sites already use that phrase’ Laycock continues. ‘How many
existing sites already offer that product.’ WordTracker and Trellian’s
Keyword Discovery are popular keyword search engines.
2. Competitor Links: A traditional search engine can also help you check
out your competitors, their prices, and their offerings. Try typing
‘link:www. [competitor's name.com’ into Google to find out how many
other sites link to your competitor's website. ‘It is a great way to see a
competitor's link development and PR campaigns,’ says Shari Thurow,
Web expert and author of the upcoming book Search Engine Visibility.
‘Is the competitor promoting a product or service similar to your
own’ ‘Maybe you can get publicity because you have a new or better
product.’
3. Read Blogs: Blogs are updated much more regularly than traditional
websites and, therefore, they can be another gauge of public opinion.
Search blogs by using blog-specific search engines, such as Technorati
or Nielsen BuzzMetrics' Blog pulse. Blogs tend to move at a faster pace
and be more informal in tone, so you’re more likely to pick up
conversation about a new product type or need on a blog than on a
standard website.
4. Conduct Online Surveys: Another way to gauge public opinion is

through online surveys. While not as scientific as in-person or phone
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surveys that use a random sampling of the population, online surveys

are a low-cost way to do market research about whether an idea or a
product will be appealing to consumers. Now many companies offer to
conduct online research for you or give your company the tools to carry
out your own surveying. Some online survey companies include EZ
questionnaire, KeySurvey, and WebSurveyor.
Picture 5.2: Source: kindlebar.com
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5.6 ONLINE RESEARCH PANELS AND COMMUNITIES
There are a variety of types of market research tools — both offline and
online — those are used by many large businesses and can be available to
small and mid-sized businesses. When these techniques involve people,
researchers use questionnaires administered in written form or person-to-
person, either by personal or telephone interview, or increasingly online.
Questionnaires may be closed-end or open-ended. The first type provides
users choices to a question ("excellent," "good," "fair") whereas open-
ended surveys solicit spontaneous reactions and capture these as given.
Focus groups are a kind of opinion-solicitation but without a questionnaire;
people interact with products, messages, or images and discuss them.
Observers evaluate what they hear. Major categories are as follows:
1. Audience Research: Audience research is aimed at discovering who is

listening, watching, or reading radio, TV, and print media respectively.
Such studies in part profile the audience and in part determine the
popularity of the medium or portions of it.
2. Product Research: Product tests, of course, directly relate to use of

the product. Good examples are tasting tests used to pick the most
popular flavours -- and consumer tests of vehicle or device prototypes
to uncover problematical features or designs.
3. Brand Analysis: Brand research has similar profiling features ("Who

uses this brand?") and also aims at identifying the reasons for brand
loyalty or fickleness.
4. Psychological Profiling: Psychological profiling aims at construction

profiles of customers by temperament, lifestyle, income, and other
factors and tying such types to consumption patterns and media
patronage.
5. Scanner Research: Scanner research uses checkout counter scans of

transactions to develop patterns for all manner of end users, including
stocking, of course. From a marketing point of view, scans can also help
users track the success of coupons and to establish linkages between
products.
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6. Database Research: Also known as database "mining," this form of

research attempts to exploit all kinds of data on hand on customers —
which frequently have other revealing aspects. Purchase records, for
example, can reveal the buying habits of different income groups — the
income classification of accounts taking place by census tract matching.
Data on average income by census tract can be obtained from the
Bureau of the Census.
7. Post-sale or Consumer Satisfaction Research: Post-consumer

surveys are familiar to many consumers from telephone calls that follow
having a car serviced or calling help-lines for computer- or Internet-
related problems. In part such surveys are intended to determine if the
customer was satisfied. In part this additional attention is intended also
to build good will and word-of-mouth advertising for the service
provider.
5.6.1 Online surveys
When developing online surveys you can combine qualitative data with
quantitative data – it just depends on how the questions are asked.
Conducting surveys online allows for data to be captured immediately, and
data analysis can be performed easily and quickly. By using email or the
Web for conducting surveys, geographical limitations for collecting data can
be overcome cost effectively.
Developing technology also allows for sophisticated and user-friendly

surveys to be compiled. For example, as opposed to indicating impressions
on a sliding scale, respondents can indicate emotional response.
5.6.2 Developing surveys: Asking questions
The success of a survey in gathering useful data is largely determined by

the design of the survey, and particularly by the questions that are asked.
A survey can comprise of any number and types of questions, and these
should be structured in such a way that more complicated questions only
appear once users are comfortable with the survey.
Be careful when creating questions that you do not introduce bias by

asking leading questions. Example of leading question bias:
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Example question: We have recently introduced new features on the

website to become a first class web destination. What are your thoughts on
the new site?
Replace with: What are your thoughts on the changes to the website?
5.6.3 Types of Survey Questions
Questions in the survey should be brief, easy to understand and, most of

all, easy to answer.
1. Open-ended Types: Open-ended Questions allow respondents to

answer in their own words. This usually results in qualitative data.
Example: What features would you like to see on the website for the e-
Marketing textbook?
2. Closed-ended Types: (Multiple choice – one answer or multiple

answers). These questions give respondents specific responses to
choose from. This results in quantitative data. Example: Do you use the
e-Marketing textbook website? Choose one that applies.
• Yes
• No
What features of the e-Marketing textbook website do you use? Check all
that apply.
• Blog
• Case studies
• Free downloads
• Additional resources
3. Ranked or Ordinal Questions: These questions ask respondents to

rank items in order of preference or relevance. Respondents are given a
numeric scale to indicate order. This results in quantitative data.
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Example: Rate the features of the e-Marketing textbook website, where

1 is the most useful and 4 is the least useful.
• Blog
• Case studies
• Free downloads
• Additional resources
4. Matrix and Rating Types: These types of questions can be used to

quantify qualitative data. Respondents are asked to rank behaviour or
attitude. Example: The e-Marketing textbook website is a useful tool for
further studies.
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Strongly
Disagree Neutral Agree Strong Agree
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5
Or
Strongly
Strong Agree
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5
The eMarketing textbook website is a useful tool for further studies.
Rating scales can be balanced or unbalanced. When creating the questions

and answers, choosing balanced or unbalanced scales will affect whether
you are collecting data where someone can express a neutral opinion or
not.
Balanced
Very
Poor Poor Average Good Very Good
1 2 3 4 5
Unbalanced
Poor Average Good Very Good Excellent
1 2 3 4 5
As the researcher, you know what’s in it for you in sending out a survey:
you will receive valuable data that will aid in making business decisions.
But what is in it for the respondents?
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5.6.4 How to obtain responses?
As the researcher, you know what’s in it for you in sending out a survey:
you will receive valuable data that will aid in making business decisions.
But what is in it for the respondents? According to Survey Monkey (a
prominent survey website), the ways in which the surveys are
administered play a role in response rates for surveys and these can be
relative:
• Mail: 50% adequate, 60-70% good to very good
• Phone: 80% good
• E-mail: 40% average, 50-60% good to very good
• Online: 30% average
• Classroom pager: 50+% good
• Face to Face: 80-85% good
There is a train of thought that paying incentives is not always a good

thing. Amongst less affluent or educated respondents, it may predispose
them to feel that they need to give so-called “good” or “correct” answers
which may bias your results. Alternatively, you may attract respondents
who are in it just for the reward. One approach could be to run the survey
with no incentive with the option to offer one if the responses are limited.
Designing the survey so as to assure respondents of the time commitment,
and privacy implications, of completing the survey can also help to increase
responses.
5.6.5 Steps to Conduct Research Surveys
As with all things e-Marketing, careful planning goes a long way to

determining success. As market research can be an expensive project, it is
important that planning helps to determine the cost vs. the benefit of the
research. Qualitative Research and Secondary Research are critical steps in
determining whether a larger scale research project is called for. Bear in
mind that many tasks that fall under the umbrella of research should be
ongoing requirements of e-Marketing activities, such as Conversion testing
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and optimising and Online reputation management. Polls and small surveys
can also be conducted regularly, and non-intrusively, among visitors to
your website.
1. Establish the goals of the project: What you want to learn from
Secondary research can be used to give background and context to the
business problem, and the context in which the problem can be solved.
It should also be used to determine alternative strategies for solving the
problem, which can be evaluated through research. Qualitative
research, particularly using established online research communities,
can also help in determining what the business problems are that need
to be solved. Ultimately, determine what are the actions you will be
considering after the research is completed? and what insights are
required to make a decision on those actions?
2. Determine your sample: Whom you will interview, you do not need to
survey the entire population of your target market. Instead, a
representative sample can be used to determine statistically relevant
results. In selecting a sample, be careful to try to eliminate bias from
the sample. Highly satisfied customers, for example, could give very
different results to highly dissatisfied consumers.
3. Choose research methodology: How you will gather data, the

Internet provides a multitude of channels for gathering data. Surveys
can be conducted online or via e-mail. Online research panels and online
research communities can all be used for gathering data. Web analytics
can also be used to collect data, but this is passive form of data
collection. Determine what will provide you with the information you
need to make decisions. Be sure whether your research calls for
qualitative or quantitative data as this determines the methodology as
well.
4. Create your questionnaire: Keep the survey and questions simple

and ensure that the length of the survey does not overwhelm
respondents. A variety of questions can be used to make sure that the
survey is not repetitive. Be sure when creating the questions that you
keep your goals in mind: don’t be tempted to try to collect too much
data, or you will likely overwhelm respondents.
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5. Pre-test the questionnaire, if practical: Test the questions. Test

questionnaires to determine if questions are clear and that it renders
correctly. Ensure that test respondents understand the questions, and
that they are able to answer them satisfactorily.
6. Conduct interviews and enter data: Ask the questions, run the
survey! Online surveys can be completed by respondents without your
being present, you just need to make sure that you get it in front of the
right people. A survey can be sent to an e-mail database or can be
advertised online.
7. Analyse the data: Produce the reports and remember that quantitative
data must be analysed for statistical significance. The reports should aid
in the decision-making process and produce actionable insights.
5.7 SUMMARY
Internet Marketing Research is "the function that links the consumer,

customer, and public to the marketer through information — information
used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems;
generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing.
The task of marketing research (MR) is to provide management with

relevant, accurate, reliable, valid, and current information. Marketing
managers make numerous strategic and tactical decisions in the process of
identifying and satisfying customer needs.
In this chapter we have discussed the role of Internet Marketing research

in managerial decision making by using the framework of the "DECIDE"
model: this model conceptualises managerial decision making as a series of
six steps, which we have discussed previously.
We have discussed in detail Online Marketing research characteristics. Here

we have seen that Online Marketing research is objective and is relatively
low in cost. We have seen that
Online market research is an important tool which many of the market

research companies utilise to draft the data and stats into furnished market
research reports.
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Consumer Market research is divided into Qualitative and Quantitative

marketing research. Both methods stated above have been discussed in
great detail to provide you with an insight on Online Consumer Market
research.
Here we have discussed methods of planning an Internet Marketing

strategy and also discussed the steps in order to develop a unique online
marketing strategy. Four Internet Marketing strategies that will help you to
advertise your product and service online have also been discussed, which
are: Search Engine Optimisation, Affiliate marketing, Social marketing,
Business directory listings.
Online Research panels and communities and Online Surveys have also
been discussed in detail. Snapshots of ratings have been provided to give
you a practical insight into online survey methodologies along with
techniques of obtaining the right responses online.
Finally we have discussed Steps to conduct research surveys which provide

you with a step-by-step guide to create and conduct effective online
surveys from scratch.
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1. Write a short note on marketing managers making numerous strategic

and tactical decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying
customer needs?
2. Enlist and describe the steps in the DECIDE model.
3. Describe the role of a market research company.
4. In consumer targeted marketing, who becomes the central focus of the

organisation’s strategy?
5. What can reveal how people feel about a product or service and how
you can improve it to make more money?
6. What are the types of questions asked in Qualitative (qual.) research?
7. Why is Qualitative data more difficult to quantify? Give reasons.
8. What are the types of online marketing strategies?
9. Describe the concept of “Scanner Research”.
10.Write a short note on the types of survey questions.
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A MCQ Identify correct answer from following options:
1. The DECIDE model conceptualises managerial decision making and

Stands for___________
a. Decision
b. Definition
c. Consumer research

stands for___________
a. Decision
b. Collect information
c. Consumer research

stands for___________
a. Evaluate
b. Decision
c. Develop
4. Quantitative research gathers data that can be statistically analysed to

determine results.
a. True
b. False
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5. In its most basic interpretation, quantitative research makes use of

questionnaires and surveys to reach a sample in order to understand a
specific question a company has. Unlike qualitative research,
quantitative researchers do not use focus groups or interviews; rather,
they collect a set of quantifiable data to assess customers' desires,
perceived needs, and opinions.
a. True
b. False
Answers
1. (b) 2. (b) 3. (a) 4. (a) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
172
ONLINE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS
Chapter 6
Online Consumer Behaviour Analysis
Learning Objectives
• Understand the concept of online customer behaviour
• Learn about the concept of Consumer Satisfaction
• Define the Indian Perspective of customer behaviour
• Get a clear picture of the aspect of Online Reputation Management
173
Structure:
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Understanding the Online customers
6.2.1 Online Pricing Strategy
6.2.2 Perception of Product Information Online
6.3 Online buying behaviour
6.3.1 Online marketer’s persuasion tools
6.3.2 Web experience: definition and importance
6.4 Aspects of Consumer Satisfaction
6.4.1 Technology Factors
6.4.2 Shopping Factors
6.4.3 Product Factors
6.5 Concept of Online Reputation Management
6.5.1 Role of Social media
6.5.2 How does Online Reputation management work?
6.6 Attributes of Online Shopping
6.7 Summary
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6.1 INTRODUCTION
Online shopping behaviour (also called online buying behaviour and

Internet shopping/ buying behaviour) refers to the process of purchasing
products or services via the Internet. The process consists of five steps
similar to those associated with traditional shopping behaviour. In the
typical online shopping process, when potential consumers recognise a
need for some merchandise or service, they go to the Internet and search
for need-related information. However, rather than searching actively, at
times potential consumers are attracted by information about products or
services associated with the felt need. They then evaluate alternatives and
choose the one that best fits their criteria for meeting the felt need. Finally,
a transaction is conducted and post-sales services provided. Online
shopping attitude refers to consumers’ psychological state in terms of
making purchases on the Internet.
These studies have all made important contributions to our understanding

of the dynamics of online shopping field. However, there is a lack of
coherent understanding of the impact of relevant factors on online
attitudes and behaviour and an inconsistent identification of relevant
independent and dependent variables. This makes comparisons of different
studies difficult, applications of research findings limited, and the prospect
of synthesising and integrating the empirical literature in this area elusive.
Companies who conduct business online, or whose entire business is tied
to the web, have many things in common.
Most notable is that they collect large and constantly growing amounts of
data they need to analyse and report on. Understanding customer
behaviour, segmenting customers for market targeting, assessing the
effectiveness of advertising or marketing campaigns, optimising websites,
or a host of other questions may mean the difference between business
success and failure.
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6.2 UNDERSTANDING THE ONLINE CUSTOMERS
Companies in online advertising, marketing, publishing or other web-

related service providers may have a greater challenge in terms of data
volume as well as the need to provide fast insight to their customers as
part of their service. Off-the-shelf web analytics products don’t provide the
detailed data or enable the flexible reporting, what-if analysis or predictive
analytics that online businesses require, particularly when the website data
needs to be enriched with other enterprise data sources for a more
comprehensive story. This means building analytic applications that meet
your unique requirements.
Online consumers are time conscious and are often willing to gamble with
their money rather than time as it is impossible to recover lost time, where
a moderate financial loss can be compensated. Consumers will appreciate
businesses, which value for customer’s time by employing technology,
tools, information and customer service.
6.2.1 Online pricing strategy
Online pricing strategy may strongly affect consumers in a number of

ways. Part of the research paper on consumption decisions and personal
rules focuses on pricing consistency impact in online environment.
Consumers expect online prices to be lower or equal to those in the
physical stores. Increase in choice contributes to a more active research
process and more prominent selective criteria. Failing to satisfy their
expectations can reduce their interest in the product and direct their
research toward better-priced product with similar or matching features.
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Chart 6.1: Expectations from online pricing and payment options
Chart 6.2: Privacy and security
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Chart 6.3: Physical Proof
6.2.2 Perception of Product Information Online
When buying products and services online, consumers face two

fundamental differences: removal of physical presence and (as a
compensation) abundance and versatility of product information. In other
words, a physical product has been replaced by product information.
Due to rapid growth in technology, information collection and organising

has become a rather feasible activity and more consumers are turning
towards their own research “pulling” the information than information
being “pushed” to them as that would be the case in most forms of non-
interactive media.
One of the main emerging characteristics of online users is the growing

lack of patience (Chart 6.4). Lack of patience is especially prominent when
a consumer engages in product research, feature and price comparison.
This has been tested with a focus group and the survey results confirm that
this is still the case. A majority of interviewed individuals stated that they
are willing to wait only up to five seconds for a page to load.
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Chart 6.4: Amount of time consumers are willing to wait for a page
to load
a moderate financial loss can be compensated.
Consumers will appreciate businesses, which value for customer’s time by

employing technology, tools, information and customer service.
Having to inquire about a certain product due to lack of information

available on the website delays the transaction, however most participants
were willing to wait extra time for a human response to an online inquiry
(Chart 6.5).
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Chart 6.5: How long are consumers willing to wait for a reply to an
online inquiry?
A sales person can interrupt a customer in a physical store while they are
engaged in their initial research. This is particularly harmful if occurring
prior to the stage when the customer is ready to buy or even ask any
meaningful questions. Removing consumers from their ‘safety zone’ can
delay or cancel the purchase.
Online stores have an obvious advantage in this case. The absence of the
sales person allows website visitors to research products in their own time
and pace, with no external pressure or time restrictions. After receiving a
satisfactory level of information, consumers either make a further inquiry
or complete their purchase.
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Chart 6.6: Consumer opinions towards place of purchase
A website can traditionally be seen as a place of purchase, however, for

consumers it is also a store, a brochure and a sales person, and is
expected to serve quickly and perform well. Survey results show that the
quality of presentation and information breakdown can affect consumer
attitude towards the product and buying confidence. For example, basic
quality standards are necessary in order to create consumer trust (speed
and structural integrity). Second most prominent factor seems to be
simplicity of the check-out process. Majority of participants have stated
that they prefer not to fill out long registration forms.
Survey participants responded best to the product information available on

the actual product description page.
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As visible from the Chart 6.7, consumers favour almost all timesaving tools
such as:
• Pop-up descriptions
• Photo galleries
• Product summaries before full product information
• Product comparison
An interesting observation is that most interviewed consumers considered

automated product suggestions either irrelevant or unnecessary, therefore,
most would not follow such leads. An example of this would be Amazon’s
“Customers who bought this item also bought the following…” and eBay’s
“Related products” section. Instead, members of this consumer group
choose to do their own independent research, compare their own findings
and read other people’s reviews and recommendations. In addition, very
few consumers were willing to read FAQs, as they tend to appear too
generic and broad, therefore, requiring extra effort to find the required
piece of information.
Chart 6.7: Consumer Opinions towards Place of Purchase – Part 2
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6.3 Online Buying Behaviour
Understanding the mechanisms of virtual shopping and the behaviour of

the online consumer is a priority issue for practitioners competing in the
fast expanding virtual marketplace. This topic is also increasingly drawing
the attention of researchers. Indicative of this is the fact that more than
1200 relevant academic papers were published by now. Given the
continuous expansion of the Internet in terms of user numbers, transaction
volumes and business penetration this massive research Endeavour is not
surprising.
More than 60 per cent of Internet users in several countries already buy
products and services online while more than 75 per cent of US net users
regularly buying online.
These developments are gradually transforming e-commerce into a

mainstream business activity while at the same time online consumers are
maturing and virtual vendors realise the importance and urgency for a
professional and customer-oriented approach.
Yet the Internet meltdown at the end of the 1990s and plenty of more
recent anecdotal and empirical evidence indicate that many online firms
still do not completely understand the needs and behaviour of the online
consumer.
As in the case of traditional marketing in the past, most of the recent

research and debate is focused on the identification and analysis of factors
that one way or another can influence or even shape the online consumer’s
behaviour; a good deal of research effort is focused on modelling the online
buying and decision-making process. While many researchers do not see
any fundamental differences between the traditional and online buying
behaviour, it is often argued that a new step has been added to the online
buying process: the step of building trust or confidence.
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6.3.1 Online Marketer‘s Persuasion Tools
Exposure of customers to the company’s marketing can affect the decision-

making by providing inputs for the consumer’s black box where information
is processed before the final consumer’s decision is made. Online
marketers can influence the decision making process of the virtual
customers by engaging traditional, physical marketing tools but mainly by
creating and delivering the proper online experience, the Web experience:
a combination of online functionality, information, emotions, cues, stimuli
and products/services, in other words a complex mix of elements going
beyond the 4Ps of the traditional marketing mix. In the diagram 6.1 given
below a new category of controllable elements – the Web experience – has
been added to the factors influencing the online consumer.
Forces Influencing the Online Consumer’s Behaviour
Diagram 6.1: Factors affecting the online consumer’s behaviour
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Identification and classification of the Web experience elements is

necessary for an all inclusive picture of the controllable factors likely to
affect or even determine the outcome of the virtual interaction. The
classification can help marketing practitioners to recognise and better
understand the nature and potential of their online marketing tools. It can
also contribute to the ongoing theoretical debate on online consumer’s
behaviour by summarising the prevailing ideas of researchers and
identifying issues for further research.
6.3.2 Web experience: definition and importance
Several academics and practitioners have identified the “online shopping

experience” or “virtual experience” as a crucial e-commerce marketing
issue. The online shopping experience is defined as a process of four
stages describing the successive steps of an online transaction.
The Web experience embraces elements like searching, browsing, finding,

selecting, comparing and evaluating information as well as interacting and
transacting with the online firm. The virtual customer’s total impression
and actions are influenced by design, events, emotions, atmosphere and
other elements experienced during interaction with a given Website,
elements meant to induce customer goodwill and affect the final outcome
of the online interaction. It should be noticed here that the Web experience
is important not only for Websites marketing products or services but also
for sites targeting customers interested in informational content (news,
weather, sports etc.), sites acting as online intermediaries and generally to
all types of Internet ventures competing for the attention of the online
public.
The Web experience as a major parameter of customer influence is crucial

not only for dot.com-type firms but also for multi-channel vendors. For
traditional firms expanding their business with Internet presence, the
quality of online experience they deliver is an issue requiring special
attention: poorly designed and dysfunctional Websites are a potential
threat not only to the company’s virtual aspirations but also a hazard for
their physical activities.
The definitions used in describing the main building blocks of the Web
experiences, as basis of the classification are the following:
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Chart 6.8: Web Experience Building Blocks: Literature References Per

Sub-category
Web Experience: Main Building Elements
Functionality factors: Factors enhancing the online experience by

presenting the virtual client with a good functioning, easy to explore, fast,
interactive Website. Functionality includes “Usability” and “Interactivity”
elements.
Psychological factors: Websites must communicate integrity and

credibility in order to persuade customers to stop, explore them and
interact online. Psychological factors are those playing a crucial role in
helping online customers unfamiliar with the vendor or unfamiliar with
online transactions to overcome fears of fraud and doubts as to the
trustworthiness of the Web-site and vendor.
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Content factors: Factors referring to creative and marketing mix related

elements of the Website. These factors exercise a direct and crucial
influence on the categories neither reflects any hierarchical ranking nor is
meant to be associated with any particular steps of the decision-making
process
6.4 ASPECTS OF CONSUMER SATISFACTION
Customer Satisfaction is critical for establishing long-term client

relationships and, consequently, is significant in sustaining profitability. As
a result, a fundamental understanding of factors impacting online customer
satisfaction is of great importance to e-commerce.
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Customer Satisfaction is the consequence of experiences during various

purchasing stages:
• Needing something,
• Gathering information about it,
• Evaluating purchasing alternatives,
• Actual purchasing decision, and
• Post-purchasing behaviour.
During information gathering, the Internet offers consumers extensive

benefits, because it reduces search costs, increases convenience, vendor
choices, and product options. However, online consumers are dependent
upon the Website information as a replacement for physical contact with
salespersons. As a result, consumers make inferences about the
attractiveness of a product based on:
1. Information provided by retailers, and
2. Design elements of the Website such as ease and fun of navigation
6.4.1 Technology Factors
Technology factors include the qualities of a website that ensure

functionality of the site, including: security, privacy, and usability/site
design. Technology factors deal with the consumer’s perceptions of their
interaction with the B2C website and the Internet merchant responsible for
that website. Three features of each attribute (security, privacy, and
usability/site design) will be evaluated using a conjoint analysis to get a
preferred feature within each attribute as well as determining an overall
ranking of each attribute, including an overall importance score.
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Security: Security threat can be define a as a circumstance, condition, or

event with the potential to cause economic hardship to data or network
resources in the form of destruction, disclosure, modification of data,
denial of service, and/or fraud, waste, and abuse. Many consumers are still
reluctant to release payment card information to online merchants, fearing
a loss of control over their accounts. Merchants and financial institutions, in
turn, are concerned about the costs associated with online charge backs
and fraud. To alleviate customers’ fears, many B2C Websites offer alternate
forms of payment (e.g. telephone ordering) and/or accounts with ID’s and
passwords found that the presence of security features on an e-commerce
site was important to consumers, and discuss how consumers„ security
concerns may be addressed by similar technology protections as those of
the business, such as encryption and authentication. In this study, the
features evaluated within the attribute of security include:
1. Whether the site provides encryption,
2. Whether the site requires the user to set up an account with an id and
password, and
3. Whether a confirmation screen is displayed after the completion of the

purchase to ensure accuracy.
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Privacy: Privacy in e-commerce is defined as the willingness to share

information over the Internet that allows for the conclusion of purchases .
B2C Websites gather information about visitors via explicit modes (e.g.
surveys) and implicit means, providing the necessary data for decision-
making on marketing, advertising, and products.
A Business Week/Harris poll of 999 consumers revealed that privacy was

the biggest obstacle preventing them from using Websites, above the issue
of cost, ease of use, and unsolicited marketing. An IBM Multi-National
Consumer Privacy survey showed that 80% of the U.S. respondents felt
that they had lost all control over how personal information is collected and
used by companies. Seventy-eight per cent had refused to give information
because they thought it was inappropriate in the circumstance, and 54%
had decided not to purchase because of concerns over the use of their
information collected during the transaction.
Study by Forrester Research supports these findings, showing that two-

thirds of consumers are worried about protecting personal information
online. To address issues of privacy, many Websites display privacy
policies. Also, independent companies (e.g. TRUSTe) can verify, audit, and
certify privacy policies. In this study, the features evaluated within the
attribute of privacy are:
1. The use of a privacy statement
2. The merchant’s policy on selling customer information to third parties,

and
3. The use of cookies to collect personal information.
Usability/Site Design: Navigation, product information, and site design

are critical to e-satisfaction. Thus, a key to building a usable Website is to
create good links and navigation mechanisms. An advantage of the
Internet is its capacity to support interactivity for users. Fast, interactive,
uncluttered, and easy-to-navigate sites with quality searching capabilities
should be perceived more favourably by consumers. The features
evaluated within the attribute of usability and site design are:
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Providing a user-friendly interface
An interactive site, and
Possessing adequate searching capabilities.
6.4.2 Shopping Factors
Shopping factors focus on customers’ feelings and perceptions during and

after the shopping experience. The prototypical online consumer leads a
wired lifestyle and is time starved, suggesting that online shoppers may do
so to save time.
This indicates that the overall convenience of the shopping experience is

very important as well as the amount of time it takes for the product to be
received. Trust is of importance during the actual shopping experience
because if the consumer does not trust the merchant to make good on
their purchase a transaction will not take place. Three features of each
attribute (convenience, trust, and delivery) will be evaluated using a
conjoint analysis to get a preferred feature within each attribute as well as
determining an overall ranking of each attribute, including an overall
importance score.
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Convenience: Convenience is often found to be the most important

determinant in retail store patronage and many forms of shopping such as
catalogue and Internet shopping. E-commerce gives an individual the
opportunity to economise on time and effort by making it easy to locate
merchants, find items, and procure offerings.
B2C sites should be designed so that consumers minimise time finding the
product or information. Websites should there for remake it more
convenient to buy standard or repeat purchase items (such as Amazon’s
one-click-to-purchase approach). Convenience includes the overall ease of
finding a product, time spent on shopping, post purchase service, complete
contact information, and minimisation of overall shopping effort. The
features evaluated for convenience will include:
Overall ease and fun of the shopping experience,
Post-purchase customer service, and
Ability to look up detailed product information and to make price

comparisons.
Trust and Trustworthiness: Trustworthiness is the perception of

confidence in the e-marketer’s reliability and integrity. Buying decisions are
partly based on trust in the product, salesperson, or company. Internet
shopping decisions involve trust between customers and merchants, and
their computer systems prior research has identified and validated many
elements of trustworthiness, such as ability, benevolence, and integrity.
The ability of a merchant is reflected in its ability to handle sales

transactions, and the expertise to generally conduct business over the
Internet. The consumer must have faith in the ability of the merchant and
their system. Integrity is evidence of the Internet business’s honesty and
sincerity. For trust to exist, the online consumer must perceive the Internet
business as being reliable and as having integrity. In this study, the
features evaluated within the attribute of trust/trustworthiness are:
The customer’s faith in the merchant and their computer system,
The Internet merchant’s perceived reliability and integrity, and
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The overall minimisation of the customer’s worries and regrets.
Delivery Time: Delivery time is the total time between order placement
and delivery, which includes: dispatch, shipping, and delivery. Dispatch is
the amount of time necessary for an order to go from initial order
placement to being shipped out. During shipping the purchase is in transit
from the merchant’s warehouse to the shipping company’s distribution
facility. Delivery is the amount of time necessary for the package to go
from the distribution centre to the customer’s door. Customers must be
made aware of delays to minimise disappointment when the delivery date
isn’t met. Satisfaction is partially dependent upon expectations being met.
The features of the attribute delivery time to be evaluated are:
Overall minimisation of the delivery time,
The customer being made aware of any potential delays in shipping, and
Providing customers a tracking number for their shipment.
6.4.3 Product Factors
Product factors pertain to the qualities of the product or service for sale.
Often, products purchased online are no different than those purchased at
brick and mortar stores. Customers choose between competing products
depending upon which offer the best value.
Factors determining this include merchandising, overall product value, and

availability of product customisation. Product factors deal with consumers’
perceptions of the actual product being purchased. Three features of each
attribute (merchandising, product value, and customisation) will be
evaluated using a conjoint analysis to get a preferred feature within each
attribute as well as determining an overall ranking of each attribute,
including an overall importance.
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Merchandising: Merchandising is defined as the factors associated with

selling offerings online separate from site design and shopping
convenience. Merchants who have offered a wide variety of products and
selections seem to be more successful. Jarvenpaa and Todd claim that it
may be that consumers expect e-commerce to offer a wider product
variety because of the reach of the Internet and the potential to track
down specialty goods and services.
Superior product assortment results in positive perceptions of customer

satisfaction especially if the customer wants an item that isn’t widely
available. The features of the merchandising attribute to be evaluated are:
Offering extensive product assortment and variety
Offering exclusive and specialty products, and
Offering seasonal products.
Product Value: Minimising product cost and maximising product quality

are major factors in e-commerce success Total cost includes product cost,
taxes, shipping, Internet, and travel costs Quality is an intrinsic property of
a product. Product quality is the expected standard of product or service
excellence. Brands and retailers that are well known and well regarded
from the traditional channels may translate to quality on an online channel.
The question becomes how consumers will assess product quality when
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they are unfamiliar with the retailer or the product brand to provide
independent evaluations of goods and services to convince consumers of
the quality of the merchandise sold by the Internet merchant on the web.
Thus, the end result for the consumer should be a feeling of gratification
with the purchase once completed. The features of the product value
attribute to be evaluated are:
(1) Post purchase feeling of customer gratification

(2) Perceived product quality, and
(3) Overall product cost.
Product Customisation: Product customisation is the users’ ability to

customise products according to personal preferences. For example,
configuring a computer and related product features directly on a
merchant’s Website. Customisation is one of the great advantages of online
shopping, allowing what some have termed a segment of one, where each
customer is unique in his or her tastes, choices, and acquisitions.
The features of the product customisation attribute to be evaluated in this

study are:
(1) Offering a customisable product

(2) Offering online configuration capabilities, and
(3) The number of options that are available for the product.
6.5 CONCEPT OF ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Online conversations are taking place all the time: about politics, about
IPL, about a pet dog, about just about anything. People everywhere are
engaging in and creating blogs, videos, mashups and more. It’s called
consumer generated media (CGM), and it’s big news for any company or
personality today. We’ve learned about the tools of social media and the
importance of word of mouth when it comes to viral marketing. Consumers
trust each other, and search engines find that trust very relevant.
Increasingly, CGM is showing up in the top results of the SERPs (search
engine results pages).
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The use of social media has equipped consumers with a voice and a
platform, and the ability to amplify their views. The connected nature of
the Internet makes these views easy to share, and the accessibility of
social media tools makes it easy for other consumers to respond. Whether
positive, negative or just slightly off-centre, consumers are making their
views known.
Added to this, is the rising prevalence of CGM in search results. Entries

that companies have no control over are ranking highly in brand search
results. A Google search on “brand name + complaints” will display a whole
lot more CGM.
A company’s reputation can make a difference to its bottom line.

Companies seen to engage with their customers; who appear honest and
transparent and who listen to their consumers, benefit from a growing fan
base of loyal customers who can then turn into passionate spokespeople.
Companies who ignore the voices of their customers will see diminishing
loyalty, and a growing resentment among the vocal online consumers.
Companies, and individuals, need to listen to what is being said about
them, and learn how to respond to and engage with their consumers in this
world of shifting power.
6.5.1 Role of Social Media

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social media tools makes it easy for other consumers to respond.
Whether positive, negative or just slightly off-centre, consumers are

making their views known. Added to this, is the rising prevalence of CGM in
search results. Entries that companies have no control over are ranking
highly in brand search results.
A Google search on “brand name + complaints” will display a whole lot

more CGM. Online reputation management uses the tools of the Internet to
monitor and analyse a brand’s reputation and to engage in conversation so
as to influence its reputation. On the Web, reputation matters. Many
communities have their own reputation management for members, such as
Amazon, Digg and Reddit. This is based on the feedback given by other
community members, and affects the success of that member’s ability to
transact within the community. Generally, participation, engagement and
response are all used to rate a member’s reputation. Websites which place
an emphasis on the reviews of the community, such as IMDB.com for
movies or Amazon.com for books, have algorithms which determine their
most trusted reviewers, and they base some of their rankings on the
opinions of that part of their community.
6.5.2 How does Online Reputation management work?
When shifting to the greater community of the Internet, participation,

engagement and response remain key factors in determining a company’s
reputation.
Step 1: Listening – Monitoring the Buzz
Focus groups are not required for gauging customer sentiment on the
Internet. It’s all out there, connected via hyperlinks and crawled regularly
by search engine spiders. Keywords make it relatively simple to listen to
the chatter online. Customers are not using channels designated by a
company to talk about that organisation, but the good news is that the
Internet makes it easy for a company to use the channels that customers
have selected.
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ORM Keywords: ORM allows a company to track mentions of itself, its

staff, its products, its industry and its competitors. In fact, the tools allow
for the tracking of anything; it just comes down to deciding what is
relevant to you. It is also important to track common misspellings, all
related companies and all related websites. Tracking the names of people
key to a company can high-light potential brand attacks, or can
demonstrate new areas of outreach for a company.
Brand names, employee names, product names and even competitor

names are not unique. To avoid monitoring too much, identify keywords
which will indicate that a post has nothing to do with your company, and
negative match that keyword in your searches.
Step 2: Analysing – What’s being said by whom
As an Internet marketer, the first step in looking at who is saying what is to

take stock of the messages being sent by your own company. This
includes: all websites and domains owned by a company, all blogs
maintained by employees (whether company blogs or personal blogs) and
all blogs maintained by ex-employees. An audit should give an idea of the
content that is available to the public and what that content is saying. With
regular RSS updates declaring that selected keywords have been used in
some form of social media, a growing list is being created of mentions
surrounding a brand. They vary in terms of positivity or negativity and
influence. Not all mentions require action from a company. Some require
drastic measures to be taken. But all, no matter how quiet or how loud, are
an indication of consumer sentiment. Whether a post is positive, negative
or indifferent can be quickly assessed by reading it.
Influence can be a little harder to establish. Indicators such as traffic, links

and subscriber numbers can all assist in assessing the influence of a blog.
To be able to monitor reputation over time, it can be a good idea to

aggregate the information into a spreadsheet or database along with the
factors mentioned above. It is necessary to determine what is important to
the reputation of the company you are monitoring, and perhaps adapt
factors accordingly.
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Step 3: Influencing – Engaging in and Leading the Conversation
The best way to show that you are listening is by responding. Online, there
are many channels available to companies to respond to the conversation
and to become an active participant in it. Complaints are from stakeholders
who have had dealings with a company. By complaining, this customer is
giving the company the opportunity to make things right and is probably
indicating where the company can improve.
Responding: This involves recognising that consumers dictate the

channels of communication, and that a company needs to go to the
consumer, not the other way around. When responding, be transparent and
honest. Remember that emails can be reproduced on blogs.
At all times, remember that you are engaged in conversation, not a

dictation. Understanding the mechanisms of virtual shopping and the
behaviour of the online consumer is a priority issue for practitioners
competing in the fast expanding virtual marketplace. This topic is also
increasingly drawing the attention of researchers.
199
6.6 ATTRIBUTES OF ONLINE SHOPPING
Customer satisfaction is critical for establishing long-term client

relationships and, consequently, is significant in sustaining profitability. As
a result, a fundamental understanding of factors impacting online customer
satisfaction is of great importance to e-commerce.
Customer satisfaction is the consequence of experiences during various

purchasing stages:
• Needing something,
• Gathering information about it,
• Evaluating purchasing alternatives,
• Actual purchasing decision, and
• Post purchasing behaviour.
200
During information gathering, the Internet offers consumers extensive

benefits, because it reduces search costs, increases convenience, vendor
choices, and product options.
However, online consumers are dependent upon the Website information as

a replacement for physical contact with salespersons. As a result,
consumers make inferences about the attractiveness of a product based
on:
Information provided by retailers, and
Design elements of the Website such as ease and fun of navigation
6.7 SUMMARY
Online shopping behaviour (also called online buying behaviour and

products or services via the Internet. Companies in online advertising,
marketing, publishing or other web-related service providers may have a
greater challenge in terms of data volume as well as the need to provide
fast insight to their customers as part of their service.
Online marketers can influence the decision-making process of the virtual

beyond the 4Ps of the traditional marketing mix.
Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a market

into different homogeneous groups of consumers. Companies in online
advertising, marketing, publishing or other web-related service providers
may have a greater challenge in terms of data volume as well as the need
to provide fast insight to their customers as part of their service.
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their money rather than time. A sales person can interrupt a customer in a
physical store while they are engaged in their initial research.
Understanding the mechanisms of virtual shopping and the behaviour of
the online consumer is a priority issue for practitioners competing in the
fast expanding virtual market place.
For traditional firms expanding their business with Internet presence, the
quality of online experience they deliver is an issue requiring special
attention: poorly designed and dysfunctional Websites are a potential
threat not only to the company’s virtual aspirations but also a hazard for
their physical activities.
The overall convenience of the online shopping experience is very

important as well as the amount of time it takes for the product to be
received. Three features of each attribute which are convenience, trust,
and delivery will be evaluated using a conjoint analysis to get a preferred.
Review Questions (Browse Internet Search Engine and for various sites)
1. What do you understand by Attributes of Online Shopping?
2. How do we use customer survey or experience online?
3. How do we create social networking policy?
4. How can we use social media tools such as face book, Instagram to our
customer online?
5. What are Attributes of Online Shopping?
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1. Identify Attributes of Online Shopping
a. Search Engine
b. Structure
c. Consumer Characteristic
d. (c) and (b) of the above
2. Identify Attributes of Online Consumer satisfaction:
a. Search Engine
b. Technology
c. Product
3. The Web experience as a major parameter of customer influence is

crucial not only for dot.com-type firms but also for multi-channel
vendors. Identify various factors affecting web experience
a. Content
b. Technology
c. Search Engine
d. All of the above
4. Shopping factors focus on customers’ feelings and perceptions during

and after the shopping experience.
a. True
b. False
5. Product customisation is not the users’ ability to customise products

according to personal preferences.
a. True
b. False
Answers
1. (c) 2. (c) 3. (a) 4. (1 ) 5. (b)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
204
INTERNET MARKETING STRATEGIES
Chapter 7
Internet Marketing Strategies
Learning Objectives
• Understand the Concept of Online Customer Behaviour
• Learn about The Concept of Consumer Satisfaction
• Define the Indian Perspective of Customer Behaviour
• Get a clear Picture of the aspect of Online Reputation Management
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Structure:
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Segmenting and Targeting Online Customers
7.2.1 Business Government and Customer Market
7.2.2 Important Geographic and Demographic Segmentation
7.2.3 Psychographic and Behavioural Segmentation
7.2.4 Targeting Online Customers
7.3 Differentiation Dimensions

7.3.1 Product Differentiation
7.3.2 Services Differentiation
7.3.3 Personnel Differentiation
7.3.4 Channel Differentiation
7.3.5 Image Differentiation
7.4 Differentiation Strategies

7.4.1 Environment Site atmospherics
7.4.2 Building trust
7.4.3 Efficient and Timely Order Processing
7.4.4 Pricing
7.4.5 CRM
7. 5 Enhancing Customer Experience
7.6 Foundation for Positioning
7.7 Summary
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7.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses how business unit strategy is linked to marketing

strategy and the major role played by Internet in linking and aligning these
two to achieve goals.
This chapter also explores the basic concept of marketing strategy and how
marketing process of pure online companies differs from that of brick and
mortal firms that have decided to move online.
A key message of this chapter is that three components of traditional

marketing strategy – segmentation, target market selection and
positioning still apply in the online environment.
Most markets can be usually divided into subunits of customers or

consumers who are similar in where they value within product category.
This may be in terms of their cost to serve or characteristics that make

them accessible to a particular marketing programme. This process is
known as segmentation and these subunits or groups of customer are
called market segments. Market segment can actually be any size from one
to millions of customer.
The important point is because the technology of Internet marketing allows

companies to easily tailor market mixes for targeting individuals. One
reason why segmentation is so important online is because changing of
demographics of Internet user. As the Internet eliminates boundaries in
geography, firms can communicate and each segments of customer
previously difficult to access. As the base of Internet is ever increasing,
there will be an increasing marketing opportunities.
Segmentation will be paramount in enabling new economy firms to catch

indication of new trends in rapidly changing market. Market targeting is the
process of selecting the market segments that are most attractive to the
firm. While all marketers do not agree on a common definition of
marketing strategy, the term generally refers to a company plan that
allocates resources in ways to generate profits by positioning products or
services and targeting specific consumer groups.
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Marketing strategy focuses on long-term company objectives and involves

planning marketing programs so that they help a company realise its goals.
Companies rely on marketing strategies for established product lines or
services as well as for new products and services.
Hence, marketing involves establishing a company vision and definition and

implementing policies that will enable a company to live up to its vision or
maintain its vision. Marketing strategy is the process of planning and
implementing company policies towards realising company goals in
accordance with the company vision. Marketing strategies include general
ones such as price reduction for market share growth, product
differentiation, and market segmentation, as well as numerous specific
strategies for specific areas of marketing.
In line with global trends, the Indian consumer is increasingly consuming

the content on Internet platforms.
This trend is observed for all type of content including news (text), music
(audio), or video. Increasing internet penetration and mobile device
proliferation and convenience of consuming the content anytime, anywhere
are the key drivers for this trend.
Out of the total time spent on Internet media by youths, about 21% of the
time is spent on audio and video entertainment. Spending per month by
users on Internet media especially entertainment is expected to grow by
2.5 times by 2020. A similar trend is expected for the time spent on
consuming the Internet media services.
This trend decides the Internet Marketing Strategy for next 15 years to
come
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7.2 SEGMENTING AND TARGETING ONLINE CUSTOMERS
Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a market

into different homogeneous groups of consumers.
Market consists of buyers and buyers vary from each other in different
ways. Variation depends upon different factors like wants, resources,
buying attitude locations, and buying practices. By segmentation, large
heterogeneous markets are divided into smaller segments that can be
managed more efficiently and effectively with products and services that
match to their unique needs. So, market segmentation is beneficial for the
companies serving larger markets.
Types of Market
There are three types of market as shown in the Diagram 7.1
Business
Government
Consumer
Diagram 7.1: Types of Market
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The Business market involves the marketing of products to business,

government or institutions for use of the business operation as components
in the business products, or for resale.
The online Business to Business (B2B) marketing is huge because large

number of industries and business houses are connected to Internet. With
globalisation, there is wide scope of negotiations exist before finalising
orders in business. For example, a Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS)
required for computers is available at very low cost in Taiwan than in India.
Similarly Japan is bulk manufacturers of printers, CDs and Display units
Computer manufacture in India like HCL, can fix up item rate contact for
certain period with these OEM suppliers.
This is B2B transactions. Consider FedEx, the package delivery firm,

maintains huge database of business customer’s shipping behaviour and
account information. Its customers can schedule a package pickup using
the website. Track the package and pay shipping online. Many times
shipping order is automatically triggered when a consumer is buying a
product which is linked with FedEx. Information technology created
tremendous impact on B2B market, yet business that sell online face
increasing competition due to globalisation.
7.2.1 Business Government and Customer Market
Government Market: Business wishing to sell to government faces

challenges unique to this market. Government agencies have many rules
and sign contracts, issue licenses for qualifying as registered sub-
contractor. Government agencies are particular about timely delivery.
Government websites announce there buying need in advance to bidding
process. Research and Development department in defense sector has
huge requirement in developing specialized Electro Mechanical parts which
are imported and needs to be indigenised. This requirement on all three
sectors of army and many industries only survive on defense requirements.
Consumer Market: The consumer market involves marketing goods and

services to end consumer. The consumer market is represented by all the
individuals and households that purchase products, goods and services for
their own consumption. There is an increase in the consumer market each
year. Their spending patterns can influence the economy. Consumers
perceive any form of non-store buying as riskier than retail store buying.
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Reducing risk for Internet and other non-store buyers, therefore, requires
offering one or more “risk-reduction strategies” such as a money-back
guarantee, well-known brands, and/or price reductions. When these
strategies are used (particularly the first and second options), consumer
acceptance of the Internet as a distribution channel increases dramatically.
Effect of the Internet on Marketing Strategy Formulation:
The Internet has and will continue to affect marketing strategy for new
economy firms in four broad ways:
1. Finer gradation of segmentation: With declining cost of information

gathering and processing on the Internet, firms will be more accurately
segment customers, through better data gathering tools.
2. Faster cycle time for marketing strategy development: Marketing

strategy will also be affected by the increased speed with which
marketers can gather information through the Internet.
3. Increased accountability of marketing efforts: As information

becomes quicker and easier, so too does tracking marketing efforts. As a
result, accountability for good marketing strategy will increase, making
marketing strategy more transparent.
4. Increased integration of marketing strategy with business

strategy: Finally, marketing strategy will increasingly become
integrated into the different functions of the organisation, so that
marketing strategy will necessary become more aligned with business
strategy
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7.2.2 Important Geographic and Demographic Segmentation
There are number of variables involved in consumer market segmentation,

alone and in combination. These variables are shown in the Fig 7.6
Geographic and Demographic Segmentation:
In geographical segmentation, market is divided into different geographical

units like:
1. Regions (by country, nation, state, neigh).
2. Population Density (Urban, suburban, rural).
3. City size (Size of area, population size and growth rate).
4. Climate (Regions having similar climate pattern).
In Demographic Segmentation, market is divided into small segments

based on
Age Gender Income

Education Occupation Social Class
Generation Family Size Family Life Cycle
Ethnic Group/Race Home Ownership Nationality
Religion
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Demographic factors are most important factors for segmenting the

customers groups. Consumer needs, wants, usage rate these all depend
upon demographic variables. So, considering demographic factors, while
defining marketing strategy, is crucial. Consumers can be segmented
according to one variable, such as religion, lifestyle or generation. Internet
survey will be of great help or analysing the market segments.
For example, CarPoint found through segmentation that 17 per cent of

Internet users were intimidated by or dissatisfied with car buying process,
and that another 10 per cent sought greater information on cars...This
segment showed greater interest in the car point concept of buying used
and new cars online.
7.2.3 Psychographic and Behavioural Segmentation
In Psychographic Segmentation, segments are defined on the basis of

social class, lifestyle and personality characteristics. Psychographic
variables include:
1. Interests
2. Opinions
3. Personality
4. Self-Image
5. Activities
6. Values
7. Attitudes
A segment having demographically grouped consumers may have different

psychographic characteristics.
In Behavioural Segmentation, the market is divided into segments based

on consumer knowledge, attitude, use or response to product. Behavioural
variables include:
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a. Usage Rate
b. Product Benefits
c. Brand Loyalty
d. Price Consciousness
e. Occasions (holidays like Mother’s Day, New Year)
f. User Status (First Time, Regular or Potential)
Behavioural Segmentation is considered the most favourable segmentation

tool as it uses those variables that are closely related to the product itself.
Finding the right blend of segmentation variables that are both actionable
and meaningful is difficult; in practice, a company is often forced to trade
one variable to another. In the online world this tradeoff is easier than in
offline world because firms can quickly collect data that are both actionable
and meaningful.
Though a registration form that asks customer for basic demographic

information (such as income, age, gender etc.) or real time tracking of
customer click streams on both search data and final purchase behaviour,
online companies have access to rich source of segmented data.
“Clickographics” the observation of an online customer’s behaviour using
click stream data, is an interesting example of a behavioural variable that
tends to be highly meaningful and actionable. Server logs can capture
every step a customer takes while surfing company’s website.
Careful click stream analysis allows accompany to identify and

communicate with its target customer. Amazon.com, one of the most
successful online retailers are effectively merchandising its goods online,
keeps tracks of its entire customer.
Business Market can be segmented on the bases of consumer market

variables but because of many inherent differences like:
a. Businesses are few but purchase in bulk,

b. Evaluate in depth.
c. Joint decisions are made
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Business market might be segmented on the bases of following variables:
a. Company Size: What company sizes should we serve?
b. Industry: Which industry to serve?
c. Purchasing approaches: Purchasing-function organisation, nature of

existing relationships, purchase policies and criteria.
d. Product usage.
e. Situational factors: Seasonal trend, urgency: should serve companies

needing quick
f. order deliver, Order: focus on large orders or small.
g. Geographic: Regional industrial growth rate, customer concentration,

and international macroeconomic factors.
7.2.4 Targeting Online Customers

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Online Marketer’s Persuasion Tools
Exposure of customers to the company’s marketing can affect the decision

making by providing inputs for the consumer’s black box where information
is processed before the final consumer’s decision is made. Online
marketers can influence the decision making process of the virtual
beyond the 4Ps of the traditional marketing mix.
The prime medium of delivering the Web experience is the corporate

Website, the interfacing platform between the firm and its online clients
7.3 DIFFERENTIATION DIMENSIONS
Differentiation is the act of designing a set of meaningful differences to

distinguish the company's online offering from competitor's offerings. Four
types of industries identified by BCG matrix are:
1. Volume Industry: Only a few but very large competitive advantages are
possible. The benefit is proportional with company size and market
share. Notable example is construction industry.
2. Stalemated Industry: In this type there are only few opportunities and
the benefit from each is small. The benefit is also not proportional to the
size or market share.
3. Steel industry: It is hard to differentiate the product or decrease its

manufacturing cost.
4. Fragmented Industry: In this type, there are many opportunities, but

the benefit of each of them is small. Benefit does not depend on size or
market share.
5. Specialised Industry: In this type, the opportunities are more and

benefit of each opportunity is high. The benefit is not related to size or
market share. Five Dimensions of Differentiation Regarding the tools of
differentiation, five dimensions can be utilised to provide differentiation.
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Diagram 7.3: Dimensions of Differentiation
7.3.1 Product Differentiation
Product differentiation is an important e-marketing strategy, limitless

assortment of products that a company can offer. Product differentiation
also includes customisation and bundling of products and services. The
typical online auction today offers a battery of goods and services, not just
collectibles.
The low cost, potential sales volume, and subsequent economies of scale
associated with online auctions suggest that a cost leadership strategy may
be appropriate for some online sellers. Cost leadership is a strategy
whereby a firm’s strategic focus is on creating and sustaining a relative
cost advantage. By keeping costs lower than their competitors (either
through technology advantages or scale economies), cost leaders can
minimise market prices and increase market share across broad customer
segments. Important Parameters for Differentiating a Product
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1. Quality: Performance and conformance.
2. Performance: The performance of the prototype or the exhibited

sample.
3. Conformance: The performance of every item made by the company

under the same specification.
4. Design and Style: Internet marketing may have major effect on how the
product is presented.
Marketers design most product packing to appeal to customers, eye

catching, compete with other customer. Products purchased directly online
will be directly shipped to customer and thus never appear on retailers’
shelves. As a result these products might not require the expensive
colourful packing. Other parameters include Durability, Reliability and
Reparability of a product.
7.4.1 Differentiating a Product

Share of E - Commerce, USA
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
$0 $100B $200B $300B $400B $500B
GMV
Source: SEC Edgar, Katy Huberty @ Morgan Stanley
Diagram 7.4 Product Differentiation
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Source: SEC Edgar, Katy Huberty @ Morgan Stanley.
Diagram 7.5 R and D spend on Differentiation by Amazon
7.3.2 Services Differentiation
Customer service is enhanced by the ability to receive customer feedback

through e-mail 24 hours a day. Another aspect of service differentiation is
products ordered online. Many departmental stores and food joints offer
their free home delivery of products offered online. Other services like
online banking; trading, paying bills are very popular.
Awareness of ordering online by the customer for your product is

generated by media advertising. Due care is taken for ordering ease and
delivery of product on time, every time. Installation and Customer training
is also play very important role in case of sophisticated electronic products
such as computers, microwave oven etc. Computers need installation of
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various system softwares and utilities such as MS Office, Antivirus. There is

wide scope of arranging training programmes and seminars in which
customer consulting is needed.
7.3.3 Personnel Differentiation
Personalised service and one-to-one relationship between customer and

supplier required skilled sales personal. The Internet allows companies to
develop one-to-one relations to deliver their products through low cost
channel. This automates the process and removes the expensive human
element; it also results in cost reduction. Few other parameters involve:
Competence, Courtesy, Credibility, Reliability, Responsiveness and
Communication Amazon's business strategy uses broad differentiation to
attract customers. The company’s goal is to stand out as a leader in the
industry, providing unique services and opportunities for its customers. Two
of these services that are keys in Amazon's differentiation approach are my
Amazon and About Me Amazon also attempts to differentiate itself from its
competition by creating a user-friendly and more reliable site.
The business model used by Amazon is based on the belief that the
company should act as a support system responsible for maintaining a
trading environment that is helpful and appealing to sellers and buyers
Amazon's business model incorporates trust and safety programmes, cost-
effective and convenient services, and the philosophy of strong community
affinity to help it act as a facilitator of trade. The business model developed
by Amazon allows the company to set forth the ways in which it will follow
through on its goals for customers and the business alike.
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Product Finding (Facebook/Instagram) = Started @ Personalised Discovery

in Feed
Payment
Online Store
Online Payment
Fraud Prevention
Purchase Financing
Customer Support
Finding Customers
Delivering Product
Source: Facebook (5/18), Instagram (5/18)
Diagram 7.6
7.3.4 Channel Differentiation
The main important part of channel differentiation is coverage. The

Internet doubles up as the location and time free distribution and
communication channels. Customer may order any type of product, any
time and shipment to any location in world. Using Internet as medium,
performance of the channel in ease of ordering, service, and personnel is
improved a lot.
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For example, in banking domain, online banking, mobile banking plays a

vital role in increasing customer satisfaction. This is also true in financial
transactions in share market and mutual funds. Internet becomes entire
distribution channel for Internet products especially Audio and VDU Music
CDs.
7.3.5 Image Differentiation
First let us create a distinction between identity and image – Identity is

designed by the company and through its various actions company tries to
make it known to the market. Image is the understanding and view of the
market about the company. An effective image does three things for a
product or company.
1. It establishes the product's planned character and value proposition.
2. It distinguishes the product from competing products.
3. It delivers emotional power and stirs the hearts as well as the minds of
buyers. The identity of the company or product is communicated to the
market by:
a. Symbols.
b. Written and audiovisual media.
c. Atmosphere of the physical place with which customer comes into

contact, and
d. Events organised or sponsored by the company.
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Source: The Internet Archive, Amazon.
Diagram 7.7
7.4 DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGIES
These strategies are of particular importance on Internet because

marketing strategy often revolves around the company’s image and
product information available on the web. This asset of a strong brand
image can also help a company attain “ownership” of a product or services.
Naukari.com has essentially gained ownership of online job searchers. The
company offers wide range of services to both employers and employees.
Shaadi.com is very popular site for matrimonial offers large database for
brides and bridegroom. When we look for online books purchase
Amazon.com is recognised as a leader on the web. Six differentiation
strategies are unique to online business.
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Environment
Trust
Pricing
User-generated Content
Timely Order Processing
Customer Relation Management
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7.4.1 Environment (Site Atmospheric)
Website need to provide visitors with a positive online environment to visit,

search, purchase and pay online with a stroke of key. Visitors need
accurate information about products and services they offer. Website is to
be designed to take care of all culture and provide ethical information for
user. Every organisation, company, individual or brand Website is a
Marketing Public Relation Tool because it serves as electronic brochure,
including current product and company information.
Google maps is one of the most successful Google products with over
billion active users looking for the addresses or directions on their devices.
Using Google maps. enhance your marketing strategy for locating you
website. Local quest can be something like this Restaurants near me of
product or services any thing can be vary well tracked by Google maps
SEO.
7.4.2 Building Trust
To build the trust is the key issue in Internet marketing. Since customer
has to pay online, their personal information is tracked for service. For this
reason trust building should be integral part of a website’s marketing
strategy. Defining and maintaining the privacy policy is very important for
non-branded companies. Maintaining the balance between privacy and
personalisation will increase comfort level of your customers. Trust will
increase if company is using safe and encrypted payment process.
Customers are more comfortable if there is local office or responsible

person who can be contacted. However this may not be problem for
branded products.
Trust is important in C2C transactions, such as on e-bay. This company

assists with feedback system with buyers and seller after each transaction.
Travel sites gives customer ratings for hotels.
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7.4.3 Efficient and Timely Order Processing
If the online company follows through on its promises, it is more likely to

build customers loyalty. This is true with travel companies. The ease of
ordering is prime importance for customers. One way to assure customers,
is to provide automated emails and SMS alerts.
7.4.4 Pricing
For web market pricing is a main differentiation strategy, since it eliminates

all overheads of distributors and dealer’s. When product is offered on web,
companies tend to offer lots of discount and home delivery through
recognised courier. If online payment terms are not acceptable for
customer, option of collecting payment by courier against receipt of goods
is also available.
7.4.5 Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A more popular approach with the recent application of information

technology is to focus on individual or one-to-one relationships with
customers that integrate database knowledge with a long term customer
retention and growth strategy.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a comprehensive strategy

and/process of acquiring, retaining, and partnering with selective
customers to create superior value for the company and the customer. It
involves the integration of marketing, sales, customer service, and the
supply-chain functions of the organisation to achieve greater efficiencies
and effectiveness in delivering customer value.
Many companies offer price discounts. When the customer compares price
as one parameter for same product from two different companies,
Customer Relationship Management becomes more prominent. Retailers
store customers data of purchased goods and call back to them at new
arrivals of goods they are interested. Innovative schemes are planned
during festival and off-season for attracting new customers and converting
them prospective customers. If budget is constraint, small advertisement
in popular local newspaper indicating details on website also help in
generating customers. A proper data base is maintained for sending
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reminders to existing customers. A CRM framework is shown in diagram

7.9.
Business Case Example:
Without a Differentiation Strategy, You Risk a New Product Failure.
Picture 7.3
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7.5 USER GENERATED CONTENT (ENHANCING CUSTOMER

EXPERIENCE)
Social media sites like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook have differentiated

themselves by inviting customers to upload video clippings content and
Photos. In the blogosphere, micro media sites twitter.com began a new
product category by allowing very short blog posts. Twitter posts can also
be sent by SMS. The key is to trust customers, listen to them, and respond
to their suggestions.
The lack of a differentiation strategy for one company caused their

investors to be very concerned.
The company was in big trouble! This company focused on home

networking and had developed a system to deliver high-speed signals over
existing phone wiring. After about two years of selling their product and
millions of dollars in venture funding, they only had a few field trials and a
lone contract to resell their product, with virtually no revenue produced. A
new product failure in the market was a real possibility here. We quickly
looked at the usual suspects:
a. Technology issues,
b. The product not working as advertised,
c. Limited feature set, competition,
d. Cost,
e. Differentiation strategy,
f. Target market,
g. The sales effort.
Home phone wiring is readily available in most homes and apartments,

particularly the U.S. But, telephone outlets are not necessarily in every
room. Also, in some cases, the phone wire has other signals on the line
such as Internet Subscriber.
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Line (DSL) for broadband access. Added to that is the fact that many
newer homes are built with fewer phone jacks.
Lack of Vision and No Differentiation Strategy is Risky Although the product

worked well, the value proposition was not strong enough for the market
segment they were targeting.
This company targeted primarily telephone companies for their consumer

market segments. Yes, it solved the problem of moving high-speed signals
around the home, which is critical to the mission of telephone companies.
But it wasn’t compelling.
There were many specific problems, listed below, however, it all started
with the inability to understand where the market was headed and how
fast it would get there. In other words, the founder and management did
not observe and react fast enough to unfolding market events. The
competition certainly was moving more rapidly.
This added up to a very poor differentiation strategy. Providing seamless

Internet access and video anywhere in the home was and is a top priority
for telephone and cable providers. This company’s solution worked, but the
lack of vision and marketing strategy planning became a recipe for a new
product failure. The key issues broke down to:
1. The product cost in the Rs. 2000 to Rs. 3000 range and there was no
way an average consumer would be able to install it by themselves – by
telephone company standards this is not very positive;
2. Telephone companies view themselves as being in the service business,

not the product business, and want to push as much of the cost of a
service onto their customers or partners. They knew that consumers
would not pay that much;
3. But the real cost was really higher because it required a professional
installation. In fact, it was worse because depending on the wiring
topology of the house, the exact equipment configuration would change.
This only served to drive up the installation cost – the phone company
installer needed to carry enough inventory on the truck to account for
this, install times could vary greatly, resulting in variable costs for time
and the product instead of the fixed costs their financial people prefer;
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4. Also, telephone companies deal in huge numbers, hundreds of thousand

if not millions for everything they do - easy and uniform installs is the
way they like to go. Not the case here;
5. Another roadblock was Wi-Fi. Telephone companies love Wi-Fi, believing

it can give consumers broadband coverage throughout the house;
6. Lastly, the company was positioning their solution against Wi-Fi instead
of as a complementary solution to Wi-Fi, to fill in the gaps in coverage
that frequently occur. Wi-Fi has become a clear choice among
consumers, so this was like saying that your favourite aunt is ugly! To
add insult to injury, the company had finally come out with a Wi-Fi
module that could be optionally added on to their telephone outlet, but
it was an old flavour of Wi-Fi. Good idea, bad execution.
The lesson from this business case example is that the company did not
understand the market and how fluid it is. They designed and built a
product that worked wonderfully but still didn’t solve the real problems of
the target market, much less in a way that made the buyer.
In fact, they targeted the wrong market segment – it should have been the
small to medium sized commercial building market, although that had its
own set of issues, but was much more viable for this solution. You need a
differentiation strategy starting at day one, well before you’re ready to take
your product or service to market. A solid differentiation strategy will
improve your odds for success.
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7.6 FOUNDATION FOR POSITIONING
Positioning is the result of differentiation decisions. It is the act of

designing the company's offering and identity (that will create a planned
image) so that they occupy a meaningful and distinct competitive position
in the target customer's minds.
Positioning is identifying a market niche for a brand, product or service

utilising traditional marketing placement strategies. Also positioning is
defined as the way by which the marketers create impression in the
customers mind.
Positioning is something (perception) that happens in the minds of the

target market. It is the aggregate perception the market has of a particular
company, product or service in relation to their perceptions of the
competitors in the same category. It will happen whether or not a
company's management is proactive, reactive or passive about the on-
going process of evolving a position. But a company can positively
influence the perceptions through enlightened strategic actions.
While a company can create many differences, each difference created has
a cost as well as consumer benefit. A difference is worth establishing when
the benefit exceeds the cost. More generally, a difference is worth
establishing to the extent that it satisfies the following criteria.
1. Important: The difference delivers a highly valued benefit to a sufficient

number of buyers.
2. Distinctive: The difference either isn't offered by others or is offered in a

more distinctive way by the company.
3. Superior: The difference is superior to the ways of obtaining the same

benefit.
4. Communicable: The difference is communicable and visible to the

buyers.
5. Preemptive: The difference cannot be easily copied by competitors.
6. Affordable: The buyer can afford to pay the higher price.
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7. Profitable: The Company will make profit by introducing the difference.
The end result of positioning is the creation of a market-focused value

proposition, a simple clear statement of why the target market should buy
the product.
Example: CarDirect.com positions itself as “America’s No. 1 way to buy

cars online”. This strategy is primarily a positioning on features/services,
because the firm is saying, in effect that is unique in executing this
particular service. By differentiating itself through its instant, guaranteed
low prices along with its full service financing facilities and capabilities,
CarDirect.com is able to create a position that helps it increase the
perception that is trying to build.
Product or Service
In marketing, product differentiation is the process of distinguishing a

product or offering from others, to make it more attractive to a particular
target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products as
well as a firm's own product offerings.
The e-marketers goal is to build a strong and defensible position on one or

more bases that are relevant and important to the consumer. Firms can
position on the basis of product or service attributes. Attributes are
features such as colour, comfort level, ingredients as far as product and
speed of response spares etc. as services is concerned.
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Generally, the product positioning process involves:
1. Defining the market in which the product or brand will compete (who
the relevant buyers are).
2. Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the

product 'space'.
3. Collecting information from a sample of customers about their

perceptions of each product on the relevant attributes.
4. Determine each product's share of mind.
5. Determine each product's current location in the product space.
6. Determine the target market's preferred combination of attributes

(referred to as an ideal vector).
7. Examine the fit between:
8. The position of your product
9. The position of the ideal vector.
10.Interest and start a conversation, you'll know you're on the right track.
How does the Internet affect Product and Services?
To understand how marketers can take advantages of the Internet and how
offline and online products and services differ, it is useful to classify
products into four general categories based on whether they are goods or
services and on their primary purpose. The first two categories are
products or services whose purpose is to deliver core benefit directly on
Internet. The third is Internet services that exist primarily to sell distribute
products that are delivered off-line.
The fourth is Internet services that are used to argument product offerings.
In each of these categories, the Internet presents companies with unique
opportunities to enhance their product offering.
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Technology
In the technology sector, classic branding is somewhat at odds with the

nature of the product – the intellectual content is high and not easily
understood, and the buying audience comprises of a select group of
people, small in number but high in buying power. When looked at from a
volume perspective, high-tech sales are puny compared to the consumer
products market. But from a price per unit perspective, high-tech sales
generally have a huge rupees value.
In the technology sector, intellectual content is very high. Cost of product

increases with advanced technology. However, there is always a select
group of people, small in number but high in buying power. When looked at
from a volume perspective, high-tech sales are small as compared to the
consumer products market. But from a price per unit perspective, high-
tech sales generally have a huge rupees value. Within the technology
community, there is serious disagreement and even discord as to which
comes first and which is more effective – the brand or the position.
Positioning on basis of technology shows that firm is on cutting edge. This
attribute is especially important for online marketers.
Benefits
Benefits are the customer’s perspective of what features will do for them.
Benefit positioning is generally a stronger basis for positioning because of
its customer orientation in answering the question:
1. What will this product do for me?
2. How long it will work without breakdown?
3. What is mean time between failures?
4. Are services provided free of cost for certain period?
These are some of questions, posed by customers and decide how your
product is positioned with your competitor. Intel offers a three years
warranty for its mother board used in computers. Add examples: polo.com,
millerlite.com, huggies.com
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Competitor
The brand differences are usually minor; they can be merely a difference in
packaging or an advertising theme. The physical product need not change,
but it could. Differentiation is due to buyers perceiving a difference; hence
causes of differentiation may be functional aspects of the product or
service, how it is distributed and marketed, or who buys it. The major
sources of product differentiation are as follows:
1. Differences in quality which are usually accompanied by differences in

price.
2. Differences in functional features or design.
3. Ignorance of buyers regarding the essential characteristics and qualities

of goods they are purchasing.
4. Sales promotion activities of sellers and, in particular, advertising

differences in availability (e.g. timing and location).
5. The relationships between profits and product differentiation reveal that

both.
McDonald's and Burger King are better off avoiding close competition if the
market area is large enough. However, in small market areas, McDonald's
would prefer to be located together with Burger King rather than have the
two outlets be only a slight distance apart.
Integrator
This strategy is particularly important online because customers want

convenience and one stop shopping, similar to the mall concept. Some
companies want to be known for providing all the necessary information
about product category, industry, etc.
A Portal is a website which offers the same integrator concept. Microsoft

has created its own sites plus acquisitions and affiliations, such as Microsoft
Xbox, Microsoft CarPoint, MSN, Pocket PC and others.
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Repositioning:
In volatile markets, it can be necessary – even urgent – to reposition an

entire company, rather than just a product line or brand.
When Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley suddenly shifted from

investment to commercial banks, for example,
The expectations of investors, employees, clients and regulators all needed

to shift, and each company needed to influence how these perceptions
changed. Doing so involves repositioning the entire firm.
This is especially true of small and medium-sized firms, many of which

often lack strong brands for individual product lines. In a prolonged
recession, business approaches that were effective during healthy
economies often become ineffective and it becomes necessary to change a
firm's positioning. Upscale restaurants, for example, which previously
flourished on expense account dinners and corporate events, may for the
first time need to stress value as a sale tool
Diagram 7.12 Source: Twitch (3/18)
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Repositioning a company involves more than a marketing challenge. It

involves making hard decisions about how a market is shifting and how a
firm's competitors will react. Often these decisions must be made without
the benefit of sufficient information, simply because the definition of
"volatility" is that change becomes difficult or impossible to predict.
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7.7 SUMMARY
• Online shopping behaviour (also called online buying behaviour and

products or services via the Internet.
• Companies in online advertising, marketing, publishing or other web-

part of their service.
• The use of social media has equipped consumers with a voice and a
• Online marketers can influence the decision making process of the virtual
customers by engaging traditional, physical marketing tools but mainly
by creating and delivering the proper online experience, the Web
experience: a combination of online functionality, information, emotions,
cues, stimuli and products/services, in other words a complex mix of
elements going beyond the 4Ps of the traditional marketing mix.
• Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a market

into different homogeneous groups of consumers.
• Companies in online advertising, marketing, publishing or other web-

part of their service.
• Differentiation is the act of designing a set of meaningful differences to

distinguish the company's online offering from competitor's offerings.
• For web market pricing is a main differentiation strategy, since it

eliminates all overheads of distributors and dealers. When product is
offered on web, companies tend to offer lots of discount and home
delivery through recognised courier. Customer Relationship Management
is a comprehensive strategy and process of acquiring, retaining, and
partnering with selective customers to create superior value for the
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company and the customer. It involves the integration of marketing,

sales, customer service, and the supply-chain functions of the
organisation to achieve greater efficiencies and effectiveness in delivering
customer value.
• Positioning is the result of differentiation decisions. It is the act of

designing the company's offering and identity (that will create a planned
image) so that they occupy a meaningful and distinct competitive
position in the target customer's Minds.
Browse Internet Search Engine and for various sites
1. What are Differentiation Strategies used in Internet Marketing?
2. How internet affects product and services? Explain with suitable

examples.
3. How does differentiation differ from positioning?
4. Why should e-marketers try to invite user generated content?
5. What factors differentiate your product from the competition? Explain

with examples.
6. How can we add credibility to our online presence?
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1. Identify Types of Market for Online Shopping
a. Search Engine
b. Structure
c. Consumer
2. Differentiation is the act of designing a set of meaningful differences to

distinguish the company's online offering from competitor's offerings.
Types of industries identified by BCG matrix are:
a. Technology
b. Volume
c. Product
3. Market segmentation can be defined as the process of dividing a market

into ……
a. Different homogeneous groups of consumers

b. Different heterogeneous groups of consumers.
4. In Demographic Segmentation, market is divided into small segments

based on demographic variables like:
a. Age
b. Gender
d. (a) and (b) of the above
5. In Psychographic Segmentation, segments are not defined on the basis

of social class, lifestyle and personality characteristics.
a. True
b. False
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6. The business model used by Amazon is based on the belief that the
company should act as a support system responsible for maintaining a
trading environment that is helpful and appealing to sellers and buyers.
a. True
b. False
Answers
1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (a) 4. (d) 5. (b) 6. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
242
ONLINE PRODUCT OFFERING AND PRICING
Chapter 8
Online Product Offering And Pricing
Learning Objectives
• What factors differentiate your product from the competition
• Product as model and how it contributes to customer value
• Key factors in e-marketing enhanced product development
• Impact of Internet on pricing strategies
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Structure:
8.0 Introduction
8.1 Basic Building Blocks
8.1.1 Product as Model
8.1.2 Product Properties
8.1.3 Creating Customer Value Online
8.1.4 Product Benefits
8.1.5 Enhanced Product Development
8.1.6 Taxonomy of Internet Products
8.1.7 Product Mix of Marketing
8.2 Pricing Strategies
8.2.1 Buyers and Sellers Perspective
8.2.2 Pricing Strategies
8.2.2.1 Economics of Pricing
8.2.2.2 Fixed and Dynamic Pricing
8.2.2.3 Branding and Segmented Pricing
8.2.2.4 Promotional Pricing
8.2.3 Advanced Pricing Strategies
8.2.3.1 Volume Discount
8.2.3.2 Two part pricing
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8.2.3.3 Dynamic Pricing
8.3 Internet Marketing Centric Product Development:
8.4 Customer Co Design
8.5 Product Assortment:
8.5.1 New concept of product offering
8.5.2 OEM
8.5.3 Third party offering
8.6 Impact of Internet on pricing strategies:
8.7 Factors Affecting Online Pricing:
8.7.1 Market structure
8.7.2 Internet Shopping agents
8.7.3 Payment options
8.8 Summary
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8.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter examines the impact of Internet on products and product

development as well as services offered. The Internet has given rise to new
dimension of form of products and services. Once the marketplace
opportunity and value of proposition have been identified, the next step is
to develop product. Even firms with no Internet products and services are
turning to the Internet as a part of their product development efforts.
Aside from making some pricing strategies more prevalent, the Web has
also affected the importance of choosing correct pricing strategies, by
allowing customers to be better informed and more vocal. There are
numerous forums and discussion boards where members discuss their
experience with providers. For example, your customer in Mumbai can
complain or spread praise about you to a potential customer in Calcutta.
This means the customer cannot only make a better decision before
purchasing, but can also better spread the word (both praise and
complaints) after the purchase. For these reasons, the Web has made it
more important that you remain competitively priced with your competition
and maintain sensible pricing practices.
Combined, smart use of both the Internet and available pricing strategies
can help boost your company’s the bottom line. Thus while this chapter
concentrates on Internet products specifically, its content are highly
relevant for offline marketers and online marketers alike.
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8.1 BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS
The product satisfies buyer’s specific wants or needs. The basic building
blocks are as follows:
1. Core function Benefit: The core Function benefit is the most

fundamental value offered by the product. Consider the product Mobile
phone as shown in picture 8.2.
The core benefit is communication and sending messages. However, core

benefit is not a point of differentiation that buyer uses to distinguish
between the products.
2. Basic Product: The basic product refers to the minimum product

offerings, needed to deliver the core benefit a customer expects to
obtain. For a mobile phone, basic product includes calling and sending
messages facility. Basic products are differentiated from one another by,
how well they maintain customer expectations.
3. Augmented product: An augmented product delivers features that go

beyond a customer or buyer’s minimum expectations. Augmenting the
product allows affirmation to further differentiate its offering from those
of its competitor and establish a compelling basis of comparison for
prospective buyers.
The distinction between an augmented product and a basic product is

based on expectation of customers in those particular markets, also
depend upon country.
Built in radio, Recording facility and Camera are standard features in

higher end mobiles provided by almost all manufacturers. CD player
becomes standard features in luxury cars. However, if one company
provides projector facility on mobile, it is augmented product until others
develop that facility.
Several factors should be taken into account when deciding whether to

implement a product augmentation strategy. Depending on the pricing,
each augmentation can add cost...Additional cost should only be added
to the basic product when the augmentation offers a differentiation that
a buyer will value.
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8.1.1 Product as Model
Product marketing involves making decisions about what mix of products

the company will offer to implement, the firms choice of positioning, and
target market. The term product includes items such as tangible goods,
services, ideas, people and places. All of these can be marketed on the
Internet. A product as a model is shown in Fig. 8.3 given diagram. Product
is shown at the centre surrounded by core and basic services. Outside layer
is that of competitive services offered by manufacture. This model holds
good for services also. Travel services are good example.
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Amazons business model is designed to:
1. Create and maintain a person-to-person trading community in which,

buyers and sellers can readily and conveniently exchange information
and goods.
2. Function as a facilitator that supports trading.
3. Maintain a competitive trading environment with trust and safety

programmes, cost-effective and convenient services, and strong
community affinity.
4. Revolve around three profit centres: The domestic business, the

international business, and payments.
8.1.2 Product Properties
Product augmentation on the Web can be done in a variety of ways and at

different times. For example, when a customer logs into an e-tailor such as
Amazon.com, it provides him or her with a series of services such as
recommendation, electronic coupons, complementary product sales, and
information.
In other words, even though the customer logs into the Website to buy a
book, a set of services are offered to enrich his or her buying experience.
Note that consumers on the Web are usually not charged for these
accompanying services, and, in fact, consumers today are getting used to
more of these services without actually paying for them. Therefore,
vendors are now faced with a situation in which consumers have begun to
expect a default set of services during any product purchase. Thus, many
services that might have been part of the augmented product are
increasingly becoming part of the expected product today; for instance, not
many customers may be willing to buy a CD without reviews or
personalisation services being offered by the e-tailor.
The number of these services on the Web may be limitless, and an infinite
number of new services can be introduced, therefore, always extending the
notion of the potential product.
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Therefore, in order to compete effectively, online e-tailors need to offer at

least the number of services that constitute the expected product.
However, not every vendor is equally capable of offering every service that
makes up the expected product, and, moreover, this capability is intrinsic
to a firm and is dependent upon its technical human resources and ability
to manage technology outsourcing. Even if the services do not generate
revenue, online vendors will need to incorporate the costs incurred in
creating the expected product in their pricing strategy.
8.1.3 Creating Customer Value Online
Today‘s citizens and stakeholders demand fast, accurate, and consistent

answers from government agencies—and they will clearly express their
dissatisfaction if those expectations are not met. To make matters worse,
customers now expect to be able to deal with agencies across a multitude
of communications channels, including phone, e-mail, the Web, mobile
devices, social media, and brick-and-mortar offices. A great customer
experience, after all, is primarily about delivering the right knowledge to
the right place at the right time. By getting better at delivering that
knowledge, agencies can significantly improve services while driving down
costs.
For creating customer value on line, best practices can be summed up in

eight simple steps:
1. Establish a knowledge foundation.
2. Empower your customers.
3. Empower your frontline employees.
4. Offer multichannel choice.
5. Listen to your customers.
6. Design seamless experiences.
7. Engage customers proactively.
8. Measure and improve continuously.
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Customer experience is more than just a buzzword. It refers to the real,

everyday interactions between agencies and their constituencies. Agencies
that deliver a superior customer experience are fulfilling a key aspect of
their mission; agencies that deliver a substandard customer experience are
not. The experience is important whether the customer is a citizen,
employee, veteran, business, or other agency.
Step 1: Establish a Knowledge Foundation
Obviously, agencies can deliver knowledge only if they have knowledge.

More precisely, they can deliver knowledge effectively and efficiently only if
they are effective and efficient in the way they accumulate, manage, and
provide access to knowledge. If knowledge exists only between the ears of
subject matter experts, if it‘s scattered across disparate documents and
databases, or if it‘s accumulated haphazardly, agencies will have a difficult
—if not impossible—time delivering it wherever and whenever it‘s needed.
Step 2: Empower Your Customers
With a rich, continuously self-improving knowledge foundation in place,

agencies can take the critical step of providing customers with highly
effective self-service. This is typically done via the Web but can also include
voice self-service.
With Web self-service, customers can quickly and easily pinpoint the
information they need in the knowledge foundation without assistance.
Ideally, they should be provided with a variety of ways to do this—including
keyword searches, plain language queries, and category-based browsing.
Most agencies have discovered that it‘s especially helpful to maintain a Top
Answers list of the most popular current topics. This approach enables the
largest-possible number of customers to find the most-accessed up-to-date
knowledge they need without actually having to search.
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Step 3: Empower Your Frontline Employees
An agency‘s frontline employees need to be knowledge-empowered as well,

so that even relatively inexperienced staff members will be able to assist
customers who call, e-mail, or walk into a local office as if they were
veteran subject matter experts. Frontline employees need instant access to
the knowledge foundation too. In fact, they typically need to access an
even broader range of knowledge than customers do. This includes
1. Extended subject matter knowledge: Agency employees need to be

able to access the same knowledge that an agency makes available to
its customers via online self-service.
This ensures that customers get consistent, accurate, and up-to-date

answers regardless of how they contact the agency. Employees can also
be provided with additional knowledge that may not be appropriate for
online posting but is essential for serving customers effectively.
2. Customer knowledge: Frontline employees should also have as much

knowledge as possible about the customers they‘re assisting. This
knowledge—which can include information such as the benefits the
customer is currently receiving or the status of an active application—is
usually available in one or more databases, which can be readily
integrated into whatever screen employees view while helping
customers. With this single view of the customer, employees can help
customers more effectively in less time. Putting such customer-specific
knowledge at employees‘ fingertips also increases first-call resolution
and boosts employee morale.
3. Interaction context: Frontline employees can also better serve

customers if they‘re provided with knowledge about the context of
customer interactions. This is achieved when employees can view any
recent previous interactions with the customer.
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Step 4: Offer Multichannel Choice
Customers today expect and demand service through whatever

communication channel happens to be the most convenient for them at
any given time.
They may check an agency‘s Website for information, send an e-mail with
a question about their particular situation, and then follow up by making a
phone call or walking into an office.
Agencies that don‘t have a good strategy in place for dealing with channel
bouncing customers won‘t be able to serve them effectively and will often
wind up operating far less cost-effectively than they otherwise could. To
successfully serve customers across multiple channels, agencies must:
1. Apply a common knowledge foundation across all channels. If customers

get one answer over the phone and another from the Website, they
won‘t trust either source—and they definitely won‘t perceive the
experience as positive. Agencies need to leverage a single knowledge
foundation across all of their communication channels.
2. Manage all channels in a common manner. As noted in step 3, frontline

employees need to be able to see whether the customer they‘re helping
has recently interacted with the agency about the same issue through
another channel. Also, frontline staff will want to avoid sending out an
e-mail in response to an issue that‘s already been resolved in a previous
phone call.
These examples highlight the importance of not treating each channel as a

fragmented silo of communication but instead managing all channels in a
common manner.
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Step 5: Listen to Your Customers
Customers want to be heard—and they want agencies to act on their input.

Agencies also have a big stake in listening to their customers, because they
can improve the customer experience only if they know where it falls short.
There are several ways to capture customer input. One is to do batch

surveys on a periodic basis. This approach can be useful when considering
potential changes to services or for performing broad evaluations of agency
performance. However, periodic surveys help agencies discover problems
only after they‘ve occurred. They also tend to be relatively generalised and
unfocused.
Step 6: Design Seamless Experiences
One of the most frustrating experiences a customer can have is dealing

with one part of an agency that doesn‘t know what another part of the
agency is doing. This can happen when the department that qualifies
individuals for the distribution of a benefit has inadequate communication
with the department that subsequently manages the distribution of that
benefit—or when the personnel who process a customer‘s application are
unable to answer questions about associated fees and surcharges.
Step 7: Engage Customers Proactively
To deliver a truly exceptional customer experience, government agencies

must respond well when customers contact them. However, they also have
to take the initiative and contact customers themselves.
This type of proactive communication answers questions before they‘re

raised and addresses problems before they occur. Agencies that are
proactive about customer communications also reduce costs—because
they‘re often able to pre-empt numerous separate phone calls and e-mails
through a single, well-crafted outbound message. Several aspects of
proactive communications are particularly important for optimally
enhancing the customer experience. These include:
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1. Segmentation: Not all messages should go out to every customer

every time. Agencies generally need to be selective sending customers
only information that‘s relevant to their particular needs. They do this
by using their customer data to segment communications by relevant
attributes such as demographics, geography, current and historical
activity, or explicitly expressed preferences.
2. Personalisation: Communication with customers should always be as

personalised as possible. This personalisation can be as simple as using
the recipient‘s name in a greeting. However, it can also be extended to
other aspects of the customer‘s relationship with the agency: types of
services, account balances, upcoming deadlines, and so on. This kind of
p e r s o n a l i s e d c o n t e n t c a n i n c r e a s e t h e va l u e o f p r o a c t i v e
communications to customers and enhance their overall experience by
giving them the sense that they are more than ‘just a number’ to the
agency.
3. Timing and frequency: Customers do not want to be inundated with

communications. Thus, agencies need to be smart about the frequency
and timing of communications with customers. It doesn‘t help to tell a
customer on the 24th of the month about a programme that is available
only until the end of the month.
Step 8: Measure and Improve Continuously
A superlative customer experience isn‘t just a matter of putting better

service mechanisms in place. It‘s also achieved by continuously measuring
and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of those mechanisms. This
means that agencies must have ways of measuring the quality of the
customer experiences they deliver—and must set specific objectives for
process improvement.
There are various ways to measure customer experience. One is to use

traditional objective metrics such as first-contact resolution rates (FCR),
average call times, average time to resolve an inquiry, and transfer/
escalation rates. Another way to measure customer experience is by
soliciting subjective evaluations from customers. Evaluations can also be
performed with customer experience scorecards such as the one in the
appendix to this paper.
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The metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) an agency uses will

depend on its mission and objectives. There are, however, some general
principles that all agencies should apply as they pursue continuous
customer experience improvement:
1. Clearly communicate performance goals: People are more likely to

achieve performance goals if they understand exactly what those goals
are. Metrics and KPIs should, therefore, be clearly explained.
2. Make metrics visible: Desktop dashboards and whiteboard displays

can help frontline employees track their own progress toward agency
goals by creating an immediate feedback loop connecting behaviour
with results.
3. Reward achievement: Agencies may be limited in their ability to

provide bonuses or other financial incentives for performance—but they
can still recognise and reward it. Competitions between internal teams
also provide a fun and effective way to motivate employees to meet
concrete, achievable goals.
4. Set new goals: Goals should be periodically reviewed and adjusted as

new performance levels are reached and customer expectations
continue to rise. The performance of other agencies may also be a
factor, as emerging best practices reveal just how well agencies are able
to perform. Competition for online customers and dollars has never
been fiercer. Firms must employ strategies that result in customer value
(value=benefits-cost). Value may be the entire product experience, the
mental beliefs and attitudes held by customers, the customer
expectations, or the perceived pricing strategies.
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8.1.4 Product Benefits
1. Product Benefits: The advent of the Internet created a new set of

consumer desired benefits. As Internet technology evolves, user needs
change and opportunities expand. Users expect effective Web
navigation, quick download speeds, and site organisation.
2. Attributes: Product attributes can include overall quality and specific

features. Product features can include colour, taste, style, size, and
speed of service. The Internet has created a market of mass
customisation available at rock bottom prices.
3. Branding: A brand could be a name, a symbol, or other identifying

information. That information can be trademarked to legally protect it
from use by others.
4. Brand Equity: The intangible value of a brand measure in dollars.

Several factors contribute to the value of a brand, most notably popular
culture trends.
5. Brand Relationship: Brand relationship deals with how consumers

view and interact with the company. Firms strive to have a relationship
in which customers live, breath, wear, and talk about their brand.
6. Branding Decisions for Web Products: Companies must decide if

they should use the existing brand or create new brands for the online
business.
7. Using Existing Brand Names on the Web: Companies may choose to

use this strategy if the brand is well known and has strong brand equity.
Creating New Brands for Internet Marketing – The first step in creating a
good brand is the name. The name should be short, memorable, easy to
spell, and capable of translating well into other languages.
8. Co branding: When two different companies put their brand names on

the same product
– CNN co brands with Sports Illustrated as www.cnnsi.com
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9. Internet Domain Names: Much time and money are spent developing
powerful, unique brand names for strong brand equity.
10.Anatomy of a URL: Uniform Resource Locator or Internet Protocol (IP)

address. Firms must decide on top level domains, transfer protocols,
and the website address name.
11.Registering a New Domain Name: Many firms offer site names for
$35 per year, however, 97% of words in the dictionary have already
been registered. If firms have similar names, they must develop
alternative domain names.
12.Support Services: Successful companies recognise the importance of

customer service. Click-and brick organisation‘s combine online and
offline service to maximise the customer experience and minimise
downtime and frustrations.
13.Labelling: Labels identify brand names, sponsoring firms, and product

ingredients. For online companies, labels are comprised of product
usage, product features, and other information.
14.E-Marketing Enhanced Product Development: The complexity of

Website and online offerings are growing exponentially. Online
developers must now combine Internet text, graphics, video, and audio.
They must integrate front-end customer service operations with back-
end data collection and fulfilment methods to deliver product.
15.Customer Co design: The Internet has spawned several successful

and unusual business partnerships for business and consumer
collaboration. Firms are encouraging and soliciting the input from
strategic partners and consumers alike in development of their
products, services and Website.
16.Electronic Input: Savvy firms monitor the customer input

electronically and revise and refine products and services to meet their
customers‘ needs. One new technology used is called clipping services in
which companies are hired to search the Internet for product and
company discussion. Internet Properties Spawn Other Opportunities The
Internet is the great information equalizer, which means fierce
competition, lots of product imitation, and short product life cycles.
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Firms are forced to create, develop, and release new innovations in a

matter of days or hours, rather than months.
8.1.5 Enhanced Product Development
1. New-Product Strategies for E-Marketing: Firms may offer one

product/service and focus their organisation around the success of that
product/service, or use an already successful product/service mix to
exploit the Internet and gain online success.
2. Product Mix Strategies: Product mix strategies can be categorised

into six new product strategies. These categories are: discontinuous
innovations, new-product lines, additions to existing product lines,
improvements or revisions of existing product lines, repositioned
products, and me-too-lower-cost products. Each category will be
discussed in greater detail in the outline.
3. A word about ROI: When introducing a new product/service either

online or offline, marketers needs a way to gauge the success or failure
of their new Endeavour. Return on investment is one way for marketers
to determine this.
8.1.6 Taxonomy of Internet Products
The taxonomic classifications focus on three variables: the Purpose of

people‘s search on the Internet, the Method people use to find information,
and the Content of the information for which they are searching.
These taxonomies are useful for understanding people‘s activity on the

Web and for developing ecologically-valid tasks to be used when studying
Web behavioural. The taxonomic classifications are a formalisation of our
original why, how, and what questions focusing on the Purpose of people‘s
search on the Web, the Method people use to find information, and the
Content of the information for which they are searching.
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Purpose of Taxonomy:
What is the primary reason for the respondent‘s search?
1. Find: Use of the web to:
a. Download information
b. Get a fact
c. Get a document
d. Find out about a product
2. Compare/Choose: Use of the web to evaluate multiple products or

pieces of information in order to help the respondent make a decision.
3. Understand: Use of the Web to help the respondent to understand

some topic; generally includes locating facts or documents.
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Method Taxonomy:
How did the respondent find the information? What was the respondent‘s
goal?
a. Explore: General searching for information. The search is not triggered

by a particular goal.
b. Monitor: Repeated visits to specific websites to update information. The

search is not triggered by a particular goal; it is a routine behaviour.
c. Find: Searching for a particular fact/document/piece of information.

Search is triggered by a goal.
d. Collect: Searching for multiple pieces of information.
Searcher is open to any answer, not looking for a particular one. A goal
drives the A goal drives the searcher‘s behaviour.
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Content Taxonomy:
For what type of information is the responded searching?
1 Business 2 Education
3 Finance 4 Job Search
5 Medical 6 Miscellaneous
7 News 8 People
Product Info &
9 Purchase (I/P) 10 Travel
a. Computer
b. Vehicles
c. Download
d. Other
8.1.7 PRODUCT MIX OF MARKETING
Marketing mix is originating from the single P (Price) of microeconomic

theory McCarthy offered the “marketing mix”, often referred to as the ‘4Ps’,
as a means of translating marketing planning into practice Marketing mix is
not a scientific theory, but merely a conceptual framework that identifies
the principal decision making managers make in configuring their offerings
to suit consumers‘ needs. The tools can be used to develop both long-term
strategies and short-term tactical programmes.
The idea of the marketing mix is the same idea as when mixing a cake. A
baker will alter the proportions of ingredients in a cake depending on the
type of cake we wishes to bake.
The marketing mix concept also has two important benefits. First, it is an
important tool used to enable one to see that the marketing manager‘s job
is, in a large part, a matter of trading off the benefits of one‘s competitive
strengths in the marketing mix against the benefits of others. The second
benefit of the marketing mix is that it helps to reveal another dimension of
the marketing manager‘s job.
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All managers have to allocate available resources among various demands,

and the marketing manager will in turn allocate these available resources
among the various competitive devices of the marketing mix. 4Ps delimits
four distinct, well-defined and independent management processes.
Despite the consistent effort by many physical businesses to deal with the
4P in an integrated manner, the drafting but mainly the implementation of
the P policies remains largely the task of various departments and persons
within the organisation.
Even more significant thought is the fact that the customer is typically
experiencing the individual effects of each of the 4Ps in diverse occasions,
times and places, even in case that some companies take great pains to
fully integrate their marketing activities internally. However, a study by
Rafiq and Ahmed suggested that there is a high degree of dissatisfaction
with the 4Ps framework.
The concept of 4Ps has been criticised as being a production-oriented

definition of marketing, and not a customer-oriented. It‘s referred to as a
marketing management perspective. Lauterborn claims that each of these
variables should also be seen from a consumer‘s perspective. This
transformation is accomplished by converting product into customer
solution, price into cost to the customer, place into convenience, and
promotion into communication, or the 4Cs.Möller highlighted 3-4 key
criticisms against the Marketing Mix framework:
1. The Mix does not consider customer behaviour but is internally oriented.
2. The Mix regards customers as passive; it does not allow interaction and
cannot capture relationships.
3. The Mix is void of theoretical content; it works primarily as a simplistic

device focusing the attention of management.
4. The Mix does not offer help for personification of marketing activities.
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A review of another article, “Revision: Reviewing the Marketing Mix” found

that:
• The mix does not take into consideration the unique elements of services
marketing.
• Product is stated in the singular but most companies do not sell a

product in isolation. Marketers sell product lines, or brands, all
interconnected in the mind of the consumer.
• The mix does not mention relationship building which has become a
major marketing focus, or the experiences that consumers buy.
• The conceptualisation of the mix has implied marketers are the central
element. This is not the case. Marketing is meant to be ‘customer-
focused management’.
The preceding propositions lead to the e-marketing taxonomy portrayed on

a cube in Diagram 8.6. Functions that do not moderate other functions as
much (no overlapping) are shown on the surface of the cube. The
overlapping functions are placed in the lower part of the cube to convey
that they operate mainly by moderating any of the functions on the surface
in addition to moderating each other.
The resulting e-marketing mix is expressed in the following acronym: 4Ps

+ P2C2S3, where P stands for product, price, place, promotion,
personalisation and privacy; C stands for customer service and community;
and S stands for site, security and sales promotion functions (following the
distinctions drawn in van Waterschoot and Van den Bulte are as described
in the traditional marketing mix. We note that most of the new elements
are considered essential from an e-marketing perspective and overlap
across the other elements.
We are able to classify all e-marketing tools based on their function to one
of the e-marketing mix elements. Diagram 8.7 presents this classification.
The e-marketing functions allow the categorisation of tools that are
otherwise hard to categories or have a tendency to be arbitrarily
categorised. For example, consider registries and wish lists. Many retailers
consider these ‘services’ that are offered to the customer.
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However, as per our analysis, registries and wish lists allow customers to
communicate their preferences to other customers; in other words, they
are a community function. Merchants and buyers often provide
recommendations based on their expert judgment and knowledge, and
retailers tend to classify them under assortment. However, our analysis
suggests that these are simply communications and hence should be
classified under the promotion element. Furthermore, even if a
recommendation were personalised, it would still be a communication,
except with personalisation moderating it. Again, thinking in terms of e-
marketing functions provides a basis for the categorisation.
Diagram 8.6 The Internet Marketing Mix 4Ps + P*P*C*C+ S*S*S
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Diagram 8.7 Classifying Internet Marketing Tools
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8.2 PRICING STRATEGIES
Setting prices is a key challenge for firms, and the fact is that prices are
often set in a universal manner. Firms have wide variety of potential pricing
strategies and price points to consider when deciding how to best
implement profit maximising strategies.
The Internet has strongly influenced old economy pricing strategies;

moreover, it has created an entirely new category of pricing tools for new
economy firms to use.
8.2.1 Buyers and Sellers Perspective
The meaning of price depends on the viewpoint of the buyer and the seller.
Each party to the exchange brings different needs and objectives. Buyers
always keep his budget in mind. He is prepared to pay extra for quality,
brand or an affair price. Both parties must agree or no sales take place.
Buyer View
Price searching customer behaviour may be conditioned by coupling the

business knowledge of a customer (for example, tracking online behaviour,
previous transacting behaviour and so on) with the good or service. The
state of familiarity or comfort with transacting benefits the customer and
mitigates the price searching motivation. When customers become familiar
and comfortable with a shopping site, their incentive to shift to other sites
for a lower price is reduced.
Today‘s buyer is quite sophisticated to understand. The seller cost may not
include some hidden elements such as transport, tax etc. When displayed
on line, these prices are fairly clear but difficult to compare best price
offered by two competitors.
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1. Buyers often enjoy many online cost savings: The Net is

convenient. It is open 24/7 so that user can shop any time, from
anywhere. Email is the connecting link for communication. This allows
you to tap new markets and compete globally with only a small
investment. This can be particularly useful for niche providers,
companies whose products can be posted easily, or businesses that are
looking to expand geographically but cannot afford to invest in new
offices or businesses.
2. The net is fast and costs less: A properly planned and effectively
targeted Internet marketing campaign can reach the right customers at
a much lower cost than traditional marketing methods. You can build a
website for as little as a few hundred Rupees or send-mail for a fraction
of a rupee.
3. Self service saves time: Customers can track shipments, pay bills,
trade securities, handle many other activities without waiting for
salesman.
4. One stops shopping: Tractable, Measurable results Marketing by e-

mail or banner advertising makes it easier to establish how effective
your campaign has been. If someone clicks on a banner advert, or a link
in an e-mail or on a website, you can see how they arrived at your
website. This detailed information about customers‘ responses to your
advertising allows you to assess the effectiveness of different
campaigns.
5. Integration saves time: Various Portals allow users to find quickly

whatever they are looking for. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, Alta
Vista are popular for getting almost any information on earth! They are
best expert systems for intellectuals.
6. Personalisation: If your customer database is linked to your website,

then whenever someone visits the site, you can greet them with
targeted offers. The more they buy from you, the more you can refine
your customer profile and market effectively to them. A great example
of this is Amazon‘s website which suggests products based on your and
other people‘s previous purchases.
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Buyer Control
The shift in power from seller to buyer affects many e-marketing

strategies, including pricing. For example, what is known as reverse
auction in which buyers set the prices for product and sellers decide to
accept these prices. Online sellers are more willing to negotiate than their
offline counterparts.
Buyers power online is also based on the huge quantity of information and
products available on the Web. It is kind of an arms race between
merchant technology and consumer technology. In the B2B market, one
study found that car dealers pay significantly more for use automobiles
online than they do offline.
Seller View
Sellers view price as the amount of money they receive from buyers,
unless they are making better exchange. Seller costs for producing the
goods or services represent the pricing floor, under which no profit is
made. Above that floor, marketers have the freedom to set a price that will
draw buyers from competing offers between cost and price is profit.
Important considerations for any checkout facilities include
• It must be easy to use
• Constantly available
• Following from the previous point
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The Pricing Pentagon Framework
Five elements are summarised in the image for today‘s blog entry: The
Pricing Pentagon.
Each point in the pentagon influences the pricing of a service offering. The
logic is simple: The better your understanding of each variable, the more
effective and profitable your service pricing will be.
1. Costs: It is impossible to pursue any pricing strategy without

understanding the cost line. What are the costs you will incur to deliver
the solution or service at the customer site? Regardless of your pricing
strategy, the objective is to make the cost component as accurate and
tangible as possible. The better you understand costs, the greater
chance you have of pricing services profitably.
Financial
2. Financial Objectives: What revenues and profits does the company

expect to receive from the service offering? With no target profit model
in mind, financial objectives for a service offering must be debated on a
case by case basis and can end up all over the place.
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3. Competitor’s Price: If the service you are offering is available from

other companies (and more than likely it is), it is helpful to understand
what those companies are charging. As always, it is risky to determine
appropriate pricing in a market vacuum.
4. Customer’s Price Point: What is the customer willing to pay for the
service? Such a simple and obvious question yet, not an easy one to
answer. The salient point is that the more you understand about the
customer‘s price sensitivity, the better your target pricing will be.
5. Value: Where a customer finds value in your service should clearly

influence how you position that service. Value influences final pricing.
Do you have a clear sense of what value the customer receives by
purchasing the service? One of key tactics to profitable service pricing is
to accurately assess the benefits the customer receives from the service
and the total costs incurred to deliver that service. The more tangible
you can make both the benefits and the costs, the clearer the value of
the service becomes.
8.2.2 Pricing Strategies
There are five pricing strategies which we are going to discuss in the
following section.
These strategies are shown in the diagram 8.9 below
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8.2.2.1 Economics of Pricing
With these five variables in mind, there are three distinct approaches you
can take to create pricing for a service offering:
a. Cost Based Pricing,
b. Value Based Pricing, and
c. Market Based Pricing.
Each pricing approach requires different levels of mastery regarding the

five variables. Each approach has strengths and weaknesses. Cost based
pricing is the low effort approach but it results in the minimal required
profits—pricing does not exploit the true value of a service. Also, cost
based pricing creates the highest amount of market risk. Your service may
simply be over priced and deliver little value. Value based pricing takes
more effort but increases profit potential because you are now exploiting
the value line by matching price to value.
Value based pricing also has less market risk than cost based pricing.
Market based pricing requires the most effort but rewards you with the
greatest potential of owning the market.
At this point in time, our data tells us a vast majority of service

organisations pursue a brute force, cost based pricing strategy. Even when
projects are bid with a fixed price, they are often structured in a time and
materials fashion. In other words, the service provider still approaches the
project from a cost basis and does not base the fixed price on the value of
the project to the customer. Economists recognise four types of markets,
presenting different pricing challenge.
1. Pure competition: This market consists of many buyers and sellers

trading in uniform commodity such as food grain, onion etc. Product
differentiation play little or no role, so sellers in this market do not spent
much time on marketing strategy.
2. Monopolist competition: This market consists of many buyers and

sellers who trade over a range of prices rather than single market price.
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A range of product occurs because sellers can differentiate their offering

to buyers.
3. Oligopolistic competition: This market consists of a few sellers who

are highly sensitive to each other‘s pricing and marketing strategies. If a
company drops its price by 10% or offers free gift, buyers will quickly
switch over to this supplier.
4. Pure monopoly: This market consists of one seller, whose prices are
usually regulated by the government
This market structure distinction is extremely important for online sellers

because if price transparency eventually results in a completely efficient
market, sellers have no control over online prices.
8.2.2.2 Fixed and Dynamic Pricing
Fixed pricing occurs when sellers set the prices and buyers must take it or
leave it. With fixed price everyone pays same price.
Fixed-price selling establishes a set sales price for an item, and the
purchase is made when a buyer comes along to pay that price; no haggling
nor competition from other would-be buyers.
By contrast, dynamic selling is characterised by the back-and-forth bidding

that ensues when an item is offered up for bid in an auction. The starting
bid price, or "opening bid" amount, is established and potential buyers
offer to pay that price or go beyond it through incremental bids. The
highest bidder emerges as the victor in the competitive purchasing
experience.
Many buyers were originally drawn to the online auction experience not
only by the goods they desired but also by the excitement and suspense of
the "game." Sellers found they could tally up some incredible profits when
they offered goods to an audience of prospective buyers, those who would
tug and tussle over an item that could only have one owner at the
auction's close. Often, the game itself drove prices higher—since nobody
wants to lose sometimes establishing final values well beyond an item's
usual market value. Sellers have considered the following factors when
determining if dynamic pricing is best for a particular sale:
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• If items like yours are consistently selling at an acceptable price, allow

bidders to enjoy the back-and-forth bidding experience along the way.
• Items of little or no value to a seller might spark a "Why not?" or "I

haven't seen one of those in years!" response from bidders, so let them
decide whether it's trash or treasure.
• Items that are in high demand at a time when supply is low will generally
spark an old-fashioned bidding war, generally bringing home a healthy
final price.
And if you're uncertain about the value of your item but willing to let the
market decide, take the bidders to task and see what happens. You might
be pleasantly surprised.
8.2.2.3 Branding and Segmented Pricing
The role of brands and branding in the new economy that is characterised
by digitisation and globalisation are attracting considerable attention. The
challenges for branding in online environments relate to: the message
capacity of Web pages, the need to integrate branding and marketing
communications across different channels, the trend towards organisational
value propositions, brands as search keys, and the opportunity to link and
develop brand positions, globalisation, and the increased engagement of
the public sector with branding.
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In a world of information overload, brands become ever more important,

because they save the customer time, by reducing their search costs. This
position can be further developed by Arguing that brand building will be
increasingly important in providing continuity and customer commitment in
a fast moving marketplace.
In an electronic shopping environment where physical interaction is

reduced and product qualities and benefits must be distilled and captured
in a way that can be communicated over the wires, online branding may be
increasingly important. Others argue that with the wealth of information on
the Web at their fingertips, coupled with intelligent agents and search
engines to help them locate the information, products and services that
they need users will no longer need to rely on the shorthand of brand.
Instead they will gather detailed information on products and services and
make their own judge judgments on the suitability of a product making
brands superfluous.
In a crowded Internet marketplace, the role of the brand symbol has

reasserted itself. A unique Brand name has an important role to play as a
keyword in the search process. Unique brands those are well known and
are not generic terms can be very effective as key words used with Search
engines. Even more important is the link between domain name and brand.
Consistency between domain name and brand name can reinforce
familiarity with the brand, and strengthen the message links between
channels.
Segmented prices uses the internet properties for mass customisation

automatically devising pricing based on order size and timing, demand and
supply levels, and other preset decision factors. Segmented pricing at
individual level is easier online because sophisticated software and large
database permit firms to set rules and make price changes in nanosecond
even as a buyer is clicking on webpage.
The firm must take care not to upset customers who learn they are getting
prices differences from their neighbours. Thus e-marketers employing
segmentation must use customer accepted reasons such as giving discount
on new or loyal customers or adjusting shipping fees for purchase sent to
outstation locations.
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With geographic segment prices a company sets different prices when

selling a product in different areas. An online seller often tracks where user
resides because server logs register the user‘s IP address. Prices of Dell
computer with same configuration are different in US and UK and India.
This difference is because the manufacture faces price escalation and,
therefore, reflects the higher cost of transportation, tariffs and other costs
selling in the country.
8.2.2.4 Promotional Pricing
Many online retailers have turned to promotional pricing to encourage first

purchase, encourage repetitive business and close a sale. Most promotions
carry an expiration date that helps to create sense of urgency. Promotional
prices can be highly targeted through e-mail messages and research shows
high customer satisfaction with Internet purchases.
Use of the Internet as a tool for communicating directly to customers is

increasing. Furthermore, Internet users value the medium as a tool for
learning about a company‘s products and services, as well as for buying.
Websites can provide nearly all the functions of traditional marketing

communications except perhaps personal selling. Like advertising, they are
informative and persuasive. Like direct mail and infomercials, they ask for
and process the order. And like public relations, they can help influence a
company or brand image. The real-time information on pricing and delivery
options can be especially important to customers making buying decisions.
As compared to traditional company websites, however, an online auction

site offers additional sales promotional opportunities. Regardless of the
target of the offer, however, most sales promotion takes the form of a
special or reduced price for a specific good, which is always a possibility
with an online auction.
The sales promotion potential of online auctions can greatly enhance a

firm‘s overall promotional offering in that the excitement of the bidding
process, the special offers and/or price deals provided during the bidding
process can serve as an acceleration tool in the purchase process.
Comparable to a contest, game, or sweepstakes offer in traditional sales
promotion programmes, online auctions involve the customer actively in
the brand and can create high levels of attention and excitement.
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8.2.3 Advanced Pricing Strategies
Price Discrimination: When applied to pricing, the word discrimination

refers to practicing of charging different prices to different people for the
same product, based on willingness to pay. Pricing strategies are classified
into three categories:
a. First Degree Price discrimination gets the customer exactly what they
are willing to pay for an item. This implies that in order to charge each
customer, firm must know each customer‘s demand curve which is
unrealistic.
b. In Second Degree Price discrimination, the firm is trying to ascertain

how much consumers are willing to pay not for the first unit of goods
but each additional goods.
c. Third Degree Price discrimination is by far the most common type of

price discrimination. It involves classification by category, according
their willingness to pay. Price discrimination by age is often used in
many places like theatres, hotels for children and senior citizens. Hotels
charge price discrimination for members, government servants etc.
8.2.3.1 Volume Discount
Pricing strategies that decrease price as quantity purchased increased are

d e s i g n e d t o c a p t u r e i nve r s e p r i c e / q u a n t i t y r e l a t i o n s h i p t h a t
consumers‘ have for products. Volume discounts are based on the
customer‘s total purchase at any one time.
For example, steel manufacturers grant auto companies substantially lower

prices than they offer for other industrial buyers because auto industries
use such a large volume that they could easily operate their own mills.
Pizza Restaurants offer buy two get one free or buy coupons for five and
get six. Volume discount structure is solely depending upon seller to
recover his investment in the product and breakeven point.
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8.2.3.2 Two Part Pricing
In an effort to better capture what consumers are willing to pay for an

increased number of goods, firms often use two part pricing strategy. This
strategy is composed of a fixed fee and associated variable charge for each
purchased items. Two part pricing can be demonstrated in the following
example: For a music company:
• Fixed cost of producing a CD is Rs. 30.
• Variable Cost is Rs. 20.
• Profit margin is Rs. 10.
• Selling cost is Rs. 60.
• Two part pricing.
• Member registration charges Rs. 100 one time.
• For registered member CD cost Rs. 50 up to five numbers, Rs. 40 for

next 10 numbers.
• For others Rs. 60 up to five numbers, Rs. 50 for next 10 numbers.
• Fixed cost remains same whether you manufacture 100 numbers or 1000
numbers.
• You can offer discount on variable prices.
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8.2.3.4 Dynamic Pricing
Dynamic pricing is one of the most significant contributions the internet

has made on pricing strategy. In the view of new economy forecasters view
auctions as a key programming strategy. It is included in many service
industry like Airline and hotel.
8.3 INTERNET MARKETING CENTRIC PRODUCT

DEVELOPMENT
The Internet has introduced a new level of flexibility to the product

development process.
“Learn as you go” and “Sense and respond” are the common credos among
many Internet firms.
Flexible product development is predicated upon concurrent work and a

modular approach, which delays commitment to a final design
configuration until last possible moment. A streamlined product
development process enables by the Internet includes five steps as shown
in the Diagram 8.10 below:
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The Internet has particularly affected the product development process in

following areas:
Continuous customer Input
All products must be built a deep understanding of current or future needs

and continues reliable customer feedback. It is beneficial for a company to
develop a detailed plan for encouraging customer feedback early in
development process. The Internet is an ideal vehicle for this type of
communication because of its relatively immediacy, low cost, and high
degree of interactivity.
Product design and communication Tools
Continued advance in Internet technology are likely to increase role that

the Internet plays in rapid product development. New Internet tools such
as 3 D representations and video conferencing.
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Experimentation and testing of products
Computer aided design, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and other

advanced technologies allow companies to readily take advantage of real
time market data. In the online world, marketers can evaluate various
products offering by conducting online marketing experiments. Internet
surveys are useful for testing feedback of products.
8.4 CUSTOMER CO-DESIGN
Customers are actual users of the product. They know the drawbacks and
shortcomings in product design. They can give the best feedback for
engineering and research for improvement of quality of product.
Customers help in designing the customer products that deliver value. For
example, Microsoft encourages user to report bugs in software. Dell
Computers also gets involved in getting feedback from customers when
they develop new product. The Internet technology allows this type of
collaboration across international borders as well.
For example, Software development can be outsourced. Many software

developers encourage to download and use their software for certain period
and offer their feedback for finalising their product. Many ready software
components (ready programmes) are available on net, which can be
downloaded and customised by user.
Netscape set objectives for improving their Net browser, allowed Internet
user to download free for testing purpose. After six months of customer
feedback, they release next version.
The LEGO Group, a toy maker, allows consumer to download software for
creating virtual LEGO designs. Consumers then upload their designs and
robots to the LEGO gallery.
Many authors post their draft copies of their books on blog for and
feedback comments from readers. This dialog helps to improve final book.
Good marketers look for innovative ideas on net, even setting own blogs
for sole purpose of gathering customer’s ideas and input.
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Customer referrals and offering commission are changed to Mouse click

payment and word of mouth is changed to ‘Word of mouse’ in Internet
world.
8.5 PRODUCT ASSORTMENT
The number of products or product variants carried in a particular line has

been limited by,
1. Manufacturing constraints
2. Uncertainty about customer demands
3. Specialised attributes and features
4. Demand in particular geographical area
For products offered on Internet, the ease of meeting these constraints and
preferences are simple and delivering anywhere has lead to increase in the
number of product variants.
Bundling: Sometimes companies offer different combination or bundles of

product to customers. Bundling is often simple way to appeal to and serve
different customers segments. For example a laptop is sold to student’s
category with preloaded educational audio-video software, or it can be
bundled with pen drive, printer or scanner. Bundling different products is
also very common in super market and malls.
Complementary products: Some products are of very little use unless

complementary products are available. Complementary products can offer
basic functionality, additional functionality, tools or other enhancement that
improve the value of product. For example, Camera and role (this becomes
historical with Internet camera now!), Mobile and SIM Card. The Internet
makes it easy for customers to learn about availability of complementary
products. Desktop and laptop manufacturers like IBM, Wipro, HCL adds lots
of complementary products in software area or operating systems so that
users prefer their software and choose particular hardware.
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Aggregated Product Demand: Many manufacturers are able to retain

products in their product lines that would not be profitable if marketed to
limited geographic areas or through distributing channels requiring greater
volume. The marketing is profitable since Internet is global.
8.5.1 New concept of product offering
Many new concepts, such as YouTube, Myspace and Twitter, primarily used
for social networking are also used for other key marketing strategies.
Firms such as Microsoft, added Internet products to an already successful
product mix.
Welingkar Distance Education has developed We-Tube on their website for

interacting with students where lectures from experience faculty are
displayed in video form, a concept similar to YouTube. These lectures are
on latest topics which are not covered in routine syllabus.
This is new concept to develop Internet library on Internet so that

education becomes global and registered students can refer view these
lectures anytime and anywhere in world.
8.5.2 Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)
An original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or

components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that
purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that
originally manufactured the product. OEMs rely on their ability to drive
down the cost of production through economies of scale. Also, using an
OEM allows the purchasing company to obtain needed components or
products without owning and operating a factory.
Given the situation of high price competition and low search cost in
electronic markets, finding the drivers of price premium is critical to the
sustainability and profitability of online businesses. Also manufacturers can
use the latest techniques and tools for production.
OEM is originally defined by IBM to refer to “a manufacturer of equipment

that may be marketed by another manufacturer.” The term was used in the
early 1960s and 70s in reference to value-added resellers. This concept is
also widely used in Japan, China and Korea. Oki Data and Fujustu are
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Manufacturers of Printers in large scale. Samsung is pioneer in VDU tubes

and LCD displays. Many Indian companies import printers from these
companies as OEM product in their product range.
There are many Furniture Manufacturers in China, huge Indian market

finds these OEM in China very competitive in price and quality and import
them. OEM products can be utilised at several different levels of industry.
For example, assume a fictitious company, "Grand Music," makes popular

sound cards, and wants to introduce a DVD player to the marketplace. Not
making DVD players themselves, they enter into a contract with Sony to
supply OEM DVD players to them. Grand Music receives the Sony-
manufactured DVD players in bulk, affixes their own logo to the players,
bundles them with their sound cards, and they are repackaged as "Grand
Music DVD and Sound Card."
Taking this basic concept a step further, assume that a local computer
manufacture ‘Indiana’ wants to use Grand Music's DVD package in PC clone
systems they are building. They contact Grand Music and enter into a
contract to buy the DVD/sound card combo in bulk, or OEM. They will be
shipped to the Indiana minus the expensive retail packaging, at a
substantial savings. The Indiana will install the packages in their PC clones,
along with other OEM products, from motherboards to CPUs and hard
drives. Even the operating system will be OEM, for example, from
Microsoft. When the Indiana is finished they can offer a PC clone with
brand name components and software ‘Indiana’ at a competitive price.
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8.5.3 Third party offering
Third-party marketing is a consulting service provided to clients who need

the expertise of seasoned marketing professionals.
Third-party marketing firms, also known as third-party distributors, employ

experienced investment marketing and sales experts. These individuals
raise assets for client funds through their relationships within distribution
channels, including institutional investors, broker-dealers, investment
platforms, financial advisors and high-net-worth individuals.
Many online third-party marketers work with their clients on a commission-

only basis, but some have strong marketing backgrounds and charge a
moderate retainer while also taking a percentage of the fees on assets
raised. The importance of whether a third-party marketer has helped with
marketing, public relations, database completion or selecting a new
assistant portfolio manager pales in comparison to the importance of how
successful a third-party marketing firm is at raising assets for its client.
There are exceptions, but most marketers are evaluated almost exclusively
on their ability to raise assets.
Third party e-mail marketing solutions know that making sure your e-mail
is delivered is the most important step in the email marketing process.
Third party solutions have formed relationships with all of the major ISPs
and white listed their sending IP addresses. However, client e-mail will still
be marked as Spam by some recipients and certain IP addresses have the
possibility of being blacklisted. Third party solutions will simply rotate
sending IPs to make sure that your e-mail is delivered and contact the ISP
to put their spammed IP address back on the white list.
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8.6 IMPACT OF INTERNET ON PRICING STRATEGIES
Setting prices is a key challenge for firms, and the fact is that prices are
often set in a universal manner. Firms have wide variety of potential pricing
strategies and price points to consider when deciding how to best
implement profit maximising strategies.
The Internet has strongly influenced old economy pricing strategies;

moreover, it has created an entirely new category of pricing tools for new
economy firms to use.
Dynamic or Flexible pricing strategies
Dynamic pricing has revolutionised Business to Business (B2B) and

Consumer to Consumer (C2C) transaction and has created new
opportunities for Business to Consumer (B2C) firms.
In the narrowest sense, price is the amount of money charged for product
or service. More broadly, price is the sum of all the values (such as money,
time, energy, and psychic cost) that buyers exchange for the benefit of
using goods or services.
8.7 FACTORS AFFECTING ONLINE PRICING
The seller’s perspective on pricing includes both internal and external

factors. Internal factors are the firms Strength and Weakness from its
SWOT analysis. It can be market mix, overall pricing objectives, cost and
overheads involved in manufacturing product, advertising, business
promotion and marketing the product.
Marketers begin by setting overall pricing objectives from among those

that are profit oriented, market oriented or competition oriented. The
objectives of competition based pricing are to price according to what
competitors charge for similar products. Successful companies use an
integrated and consistent marketing mix policy.
Dell Computers sells relatively high priced servers, desktops and laptops
through dealerships, supported by its website. Customer can select any
configuration of hardware and software depends on his need and more
important budget. Highly educated customers often live in urban areas use
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this website, price it and then talk to dealer through email. The Internet is
only one of the several sales channels and must be used in supplement
with other marketing mix.
Many companies offer more discount on online purchase from website thus
creating awareness about their products and offerings. This is true in many
Travel Companies and Airlines. Practices vary widely by products, services
and industry. External factors are the market structure, competition, and
buyer’s perspective. The seller’s leeway to set prices varies with different
type of markets.
8.7.1 Market structure
Economists recognise four types of markets, presenting different pricing

challenge.
Pure competition: This market consists of many buyers and sellers trading
in uniform commodity such as food grain, onion etc. Product differentiation
play little or no role, so sellers in this market do not spent much time on
marketing strategy.
Monopolist competition: This market consists of many buyers and sellers

who trade over a range of prices rather than single market price...A range
of product occurs because sellers can differentiate their offering to buyers.
Oligopolistic competition: This market consists of a few sellers who are

highly sensitive to each other’s pricing and marketing strategies. If a
company drops its price by 10% or offers free gift, buyers will quickly
switch over to this supplier.
Pure monopoly: This market consists of one seller, whose prices are usually
regulated by the government.
This market structure distinction is extremely important for online sellers

because if price transparency eventually results in a completely efficient
market, sellers have no control over online prices.
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8.7.2 Internet Shopping agents
Internet Shopping Agents (ISAs) allow consumers to freely search many

online retailers and buy at the lowest price. One would expect these ISAs
to subject sellers to intense price competition that results in uniform low
prices. Yet, Internet retailers have joined these ISAs.
Furthermore, the prices charged by inside retailers can vary substantially.

We examine the impact of ISAs on market competition. An ISA creates
differentiation in the pricing strategies of ex-ante identical retailers: Some
retailers join the ISA due to mass of consumers that they can potentially
win, while others stay out and extract surplus from their loyal consumers,
while others stay out and extract surplus from their loyal consumers.
The equilibrium inside pricing is such that the average price charged can
increase or decrease when more retailers join, depending on whether or
not the reach of the ISA is independent of the number of joining retailers.
Shopping agents like Price Scan (www.pricescan.com) facilitate consumer
searches for low prices by displaying the result in comparative format.
8.7.3 Payment options
Electronic money, also called e-money or Internet cash, is a system that

uses Internet and computers to exchange payments electronically. It can
be used in offline or online transactions, using Internet to transfer money
between buyer and seller accounts.
Credit Cards and Smart Cards, PayTM
Over the years, credit cards have become one of the most common forms
of payment for e-commerce transactions.
Increased security measures such as the use of the card verification

number (CVN) which detects fraud by comparing the verification number
on the printed on the signature strip on the back of the card with the
information on file with the cardholder's issuing bank.
Also online merchants have to comply with stringent rules stipulated by the
credit and debit card issuers (Visa and MasterCard) this means that
merchants must have security protocol and procedures in place to ensure
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transactions are more secure. This can also include having a certificate
from an authorised certification authority (CA) who provides PKI
infrastructure for securing credit and debit card transactions.
Despite this widespread use in North America, there are still a large
number of countries such as China, India and Pakistan that have some
problems to overcome in regard to credit card security. In the meantime,
the use of smartcards has become extremely popular.
A Smartcard is similar to a credit card; however, it contains an embedded

8-bit microprocessor and uses electronic cash which transfers from the
consumers’ card to the sellers’ device. A popular smartcard initiative is the
VISA Smartcard. Using the VISA Smartcard you can transfer electronic
cash to your card from your bank account, and you can then use your card
at various retailers and on the Internet.
There are companies that enable financial transactions to transpire over

the Internet, such as PayPal. Many of the mediaries permit consumers to
establish an account quickly, and to transfer funds into their online
accounts from a traditional bank account (typically via ACH transactions),
and vice versa, after verification of the consumer's identity and authority to
access such bank accounts.
Electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) is a fairly new technique

that allows consumers to view and pay bills electronically. There are a
significant number of bills that consumers pay on a regular basis, which
include: power bills, water, oil, Internet, phone service, mortgages, car
payments etc. EBPP systems send bills from service providers to individual
consumers via the Internet. The systems also enable payments to be made
by consumers, given that the amount appearing on the e-bill is correct.
The original EBPP method is a direct withdrawal from a bank account
through a bank such as Scotia bank. Other service providers such as
Rogers Communications and Aliant additionally, accept major credit cards
within the bill payment sections of their websites. Teleplay Incorporated
offers "Teleplay for Business", a software application that allows businesses
to import electronically presented bills, pay them and store the presented
image for audit purposes. The biggest difference between EBPP systems
and the traditional method of bill payment is that of technology. Rather
than receiving a bill through the mail, writing out and sending a cheque,
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consumers receive their bills in an e-mail, or are prompted to visit a

website to view and pay their bills.
Three broad models of EBPP have emerged. These are:
1. Consolidation, where numerous bills for any one recipient are made
available at one Website, most commonly the recipient's bank. In some
countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the postal
service also operates a consolidation service. The actual task of
consolidation is sometimes performed by a third party and fed to the
Websites where consumers receive the bills. The principal attraction of
consolidation is that consumers can receive and pay numerous bills at
the one location, thus minimising the number of login IDs and
passwords they must remember and maintain.
2. Biller Direct, where the bills produced by an organisation are made

available through that organisation's Website. This model works well if
the recipient has reasons to visit the biller's Website other than to
receive their bills. In the freight industry, for example, customers will
visit a carrier's Website to track items in transit, so it is reasonably
convenient to receive and pay freight bills at the same site.
3. Direct e-mail delivery, where the bills are e-mailed to the customer's
inbox. This model most closely imitates the analog postal service. It is
convenient, because almost everyone has e-mail and the customer has
to do nothing except use e-mail in order to receive a bill. E-mail delivery
is proving especially popular in the B2B market in many countries.
Major providers of outsourced bill production services have developed

facilities to process bills through consolidation, biller direct and e-mail
delivery services, thus enabling major billers to have all their bills, paper
and electronic, processed through the one service. Niche service
providers in many countries provide one or two of these models, but
generally do not integrate with paper bill production.
4. The e-wallet Indians‘ preference for using debit cards over credit cards
continues among the e-wallet users. Net banking is also popular ahead
of credit card. In a sense, India‘s traditionally low credit card
penetration has been overcome with a generation of users jumping to e-
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wallets without using credit cards. BHIM is the least-used payment

channel, highlighting the need to market it.
The e-wallet market had witnessed rapid growth over the last one year. e-
wallet usage is addictive, about 4/5th of the monthly users, use them
weekly. Usage is driven by ease of use, discounts, and sheer ubiquity of
the e-wallets. Mobile bill payment and online shopping are the biggest
spend categories for e-wallets. People spend INR 4,286 per month on an
average through their e-wallets.
PayTM corners 3/4th of the market by value and volume, leaving other
players – FreeCharge, PhonePe and MobiKwik – far behind. PayTM has a
chance of being category-defining (like Xerox in copiers), with 96% of all e-
wallet users having installed the PayTM App. There is not much difference
in usage or market share by metro, age or gender.
The e-wallet market has witnessed rapid growth and expanded the
Internet payments usage by over 33%. Of the total e- wallet user
base, 30% of the users didn‘t use any other Internet transaction method.
If not for the explosion of e-wallet usage (most likely brought about by the
November 2016 demonetisation), a majority of these 30% users wouldn‘t
be using any form of Internet payment at all.
While e-wallet itself has become a powerful new Internet channel, e-wallet
users‘ preference of other payment channels is not very different from non
e-wallet days. Amongst e-wallet users, debit card was the most used,
followed by Internet banking, credit cards and BHIM (the RBI‘s e-payment
app). Keeping in mind that most bank users automatically get a debit card
and net banking access, it is no surprise that these take the top two slots.
PayTM is the most used e-wallet in terms of value as well as

volume of transactions, by a wide margin. 77% of respondents rated
PayTM as their most transacted e-wallet by value. The others were far
behind. PhonePe was second at 13%, MobiKwik at 7% and FreeCharge at
2%. Citrus, Ola Money and Oxigen had negligible shares. The story is not
too different by volume of usage.
96% of all e-wallet users have installed the app, clearly indicating
the success of PayTM’s mass media outreach. 40% of the respondents
had installed PhonePe; 30% MobiKwik. Tez by Google is fast catching up
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with 24% having installed it. FreeCharge was installed in 23% of the
respondents‘ phones and Jio Wallet in 15%. BHIM installations were quite
low at 14% behind the 6 private plays – PayTM, PhonePe, MobiKwik, Tez,
FreeCharge, Jio Wallet.
In terms of average spend, PhonePe and OLA Money had the highest
average monthly spends of INR at 6,500 each.
MobiKwik had INR 5,623 and PayTM had the lowest of the four at INR
4,264. A huge majority of the new users, who tend to spend less than
average, would be beginning their ePayment journey with PayTM, pushing
down the average spends.
E-wallet usage is driven by offers. 57% of the PayTM users attribute

offers as the driving force behind them using e-wallets. However, other
companies are even more dependent on offers – MobiKwik at 80%
and PhonePe at 85%. Mobile bill payment is the most frequent
activity on e-wallet apps. Online shopping and bill payment are
next at about 66% each. Buying movie tickets, ordering food and
transferring money (nearly 50% each) are also big usage categories for e-
wallets. Cab payment, flight/rail bookings are also made by a large
proportion of users (nearly 40% each).
When it comes to spending by value, mobile payment (28%), online

shopping (21%) and utility payment (16%) are the biggest spend areas.
Private money transfer (8%), movie ticket purchase (7%) and food
payment (6%) are a few other usages.
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8.8 SUMMARY
The Internet has given rise to new dimension of form of products and
services. Once the marketplace opportunity and value of proposition have
been identified, the next step is to develop product. Combined, smart use
of both the Internet and available pricing strategies can help boost your
company’s the bottom line.
The basic building blocks are as follows:
• Core Benefit
• Basic Product
• Augmented product
The term product includes items such as tangible goods, services, ideas,
people and places. A brand is much more than its graphic and verbal
representation in marketing materials. The Internet has introduced a new
level of flexibility to the product development process. A streamlined
product development process enables by the Internet includes five steps:
Identification
— Concept Development
— Development plan
— Iterative development
— Testing and launch
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Customer referrals and offering commission are changed to Mouse click

payment and word of mouth is changed to “Word of mouse” in Internet
world. The number of products or product variants carried in a particular
line has been limited by
• Manufacturing constraints
• Uncertainty about customer demands
• Specialised attributes and features
• Demand in particular geographical area
• Firms such as Microsoft, added Internet products to an already successful

product mix.
• Economists recognise four types of markets, presenting different pricing

challenge.
• Pure competition
• Monopolist competition
• Oligopolistic competition
• Pure monopoly
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(Browse Internet Search Engine and for various sites)
1. What factors differentiate your product from the competition? Explain

with examples.
2. Explain Product as model and how it contributes to customer value.
3. What are Key factors in e-marketing enhanced product development?
4. Explain factors affecting on line pricing and Impact of Internet on pricing

strategies.
5. What do you understand by “OEM” Explain with suitable examples role

of Internet in using OEM products.
6. The role of brands and branding in the new economy that is

characterised by digitisation and globalisation? Discuss with examples.
1. The product satisfies buyer’s specific wants or needs. The basic building
blocks are___________
a. Basic Product
b. Augmented product
c. Packing of product
2. Amazons business model is designed to___________
a. Create and maintain a person-to-person trading community

b. Technology Create and maintain a person-to-person trading
community
c. Maintain a competitive trading environment
d. All of the above
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3. Identify pricing strategies which are used for Internet marketing
a. Price level
b. Value Creation
c. Value Communication
d. All of the above
4. Price searching customer behaviour may be conditioned by coupling the

business knowledge of a customer
a. True
b. False
5. In a world of information overload, brands become ever more

important, because they save the customer time, by reducing their
search costs
a. True
b. False
Answers
1. (d) 2. (d) 3. (d) 4. (a) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
298
ONLINE DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
Chapter 9
Online Distribution Channel
Learning Objectives
• Assess the Significance of the Internet to the Modern Marketing Concept
• Get a Chronological Perspective of Marketing on the Internet
• Understand the Difference and Benefits of Digital over Traditional

Marketing
Structure:
9.1 Distribution Channel Overview

9.1.1 Channel intermediaries
9.2 Intermediary Models
9.2.1 Brokerage
9.2.2 Agent
9.2.3 Online retailing
9.3 Distribution Channel Logistical Functions
9.4 Distribution Channel Metric

9.4.1 B2B market
9.4.2 B2C market
9.5 Summary
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9.1 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OVERVIEW
Marketers are concerned about distribution because it involves point of

purchase decisions and whether or not the customer receives a product or
service satisfactory. A distribution channel is a group of independent firms
that work together to transfer product and information from supplier to the
consumer.
It is composed of following participants:
1. Producers: Manufacturers and their suppliers, or originators of product

or services.
2. Intermediaries: Firms that match buyers and sellers and mediate the
transactions among them.
3. Buyers: Consumers or users of product or service.
The structure of the distribution channel can either make or impede

possible opportunities for marketing on Internet. If the transaction is
automated the consumer can save money by performing some of the
distribution functions.
Four major elements combine to form a company’s channel structure, and

will affect Internet marketing strategy:
1. Types of online channel intermediaries,
2. Length of online channel,
3. Functions performed by members of channel, and
4. Physical and informational systems that link the channel members and
provide for coordination and management of their collective effort to
deliver the product or service.
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9.1.1 Channel Intermediaries
Whether offline or online, if the consumer cannot find a place where he or

she can complete the transaction, then regardless of the quality of the rest
of the marketing mix, the marketing will be a disaster and sales will
plummet. This is why channel management, especially the management of
distribution channels, is crucial to those in marketing.
Unlike decisions regarding products, pricing, or promotion, distribution

decisions require both intra-organisational as well as interorganisational
skills. The product's path to the market frequently involves interaction with
external agencies or intermediaries that bridge the gap between the point
of production and the point of sale. Intermediaries can be well understood
according to their business models. Most e-businesses turn out to be
variation on existing marketing concepts but technology makes them more
effective or efficient.
For some digital products like software or music, the entire distribution
channel may be Internet based. Non-digital products must be shipped by
courier using web based interface. Logistic companies such as Fed-Ex take
care of shipment and to reach customers safely. Customers can track their
shipment online.
Functions of an Intermediary: Deciding whether to use an intermediary

in the distribution channel depends on many factors, but essentially it
involves determining whether the needs of the consumer can successfully
be met by the available resources and skills of the producer. The three
basic functions performed by an intermediary in the distribution channel
are:
1. Transactional: This function involves adding value to the distribution

channel by bringing in the intermediary's resources to establish market
linkages and customer contacts. The intermediary either directly
undertakes the marketing and sales function or helps to establish buyer-
seller relationships by serving as a link between the manufacturer and
the retailer.
2. Logistical: This function involves the physical distribution of goods. It

involves sorting and storing supplies at locations within the reach of the
end customer. It also breaks up the bulk production of the manufacturer
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into smaller portions and may include the transportation of smaller

shipments to intermediaries or retailers further down the channel of
distribution.
3. Facilitating: Although often confused with logistics, the facilitating

functions of intermediaries supplement the entire marketing flow of the
product and are separate from logistics. The facilitating functions
include financially supporting the marketing chain by investing in
storage capabilities. They may include facilitating sales by helping the
consumer buy even when he or she does not have cash (through
financing plans, purchase agreements, etc.).
Together, these functions performed by the intermediary ensure market

coverage, reduce the cost of market coverage, increase the availability
of cash flow in the distribution channel, and increase end-user
convenience. A producer can bypass an intermediary by elimination or
substitution, but the tasks performed by the intermediary cannot be
eliminated. Channel Intermediaries include:
1. Wholesalers buy product from manufactures and resell them to

retailers.
2. Online retailers buy product from manufacturers or wholesalers and sell

to consumers.
3. Brokers facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers without

representing either party. They are market makers and do not take title
to goods.
4. Agents usually represent either buyer or seller, depends upon who hires
and pays them. They facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers
but do not take title to the goods. Manufacturing agents represent
sellers whereas purchasing agents represents the buyer
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9.2 INTERMEDIARY MODELS
Three main intermediary models are in common use on the internet:
Brokers
Online Retailing Agent
Diagram 9.1: Common Intermediary Models on the Internet
9.2.1 Brokerage
Whether a company sells products or services to consumers, other

businesses, or both, there are many different ways to approach the
marketplace and make a profit.
Business models, of which the brokerage model is simply one, are used to
describe how companies go about this process. They spell out the main
ways in which companies make profits by identifying a company's role
during commerce and describing how products, information, and other
important elements are structured.
Just as there are many different industries and types of companies, there
are many different kinds of business models. While some are simple,
others are very complex. Even within the same industry, companies may
rely on business models that are very different from one another, and some
companies may use a combination of several different models.
General business models by themselves do not necessarily map out a

company's specific strategy for success. Strategic marketing plans, which
are a specialised type of business model, are used for that purpose.
Aggregators are brokers that bring business owners or consumers together
to get better rates on things like long-distance telephone service.
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The key concept is group purchasing, which enables individual businesses

or consumers to get better rates than they could obtain on their own.
9.2.2 Agent
Internet Shopping Agents (ISAs) allow consumers to costless search many

online retailers and buy at the lowest price. One would expect these ISAs
to subject sellers to intense price competition that results in uniform low
prices.
Intelligent agents such as shopping bots are essentially software

programmes that operate unattended on the Internet. Consumers use
them to search for product and pricing information on the Web. Each
shopping boot operates differently, depending on the business model used
by its operator.
9.2.3 Online Retailing
E-tailing (or electronic retailing) is the selling of retail goods on the

Internet. It is the most common form of business-to-consumer (B2C)
transaction. The year 1997 is considered the first big year for e-tailing.
This was when Dell Computer recorded multimillion dollar orders taken at
its Website. Also, the success of Amazon.com (which opened its virtual
doors in 1996) encouraged Barnes and Noble to open an e-tailing site.
Security concerns over taking purchase orders over the Internet gradually
receded.
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Diagram 9.2 Source: Flurry Analytics State of Mobile 2017 (1/18).
Internet Retailing or e-retailing covers retailing using a variety of different

technologies or media. It may be broadly be a combination of two
elements:
1. Combining new technologies with elements of traditional stores and

direct mail models.
2. Using new technologies to replace elements of store or direct mail retail.
Internet retail also has some elements in common with direct mail
retailing. For example, e-mail messages can replace mail messages and
the telephone, that are used in the direct mail model as means of providing
information, communication and transactions while online catalogues can
305
replace printed catalogues. As with direct mail businesses, critical success

factors include:
1. Use of customer databases,
2. Easy ordering,
3. Quick Delivery, and
4. Operational elements that the Internet retail model shares with both the
retail store and direct mail models include:
a. Billing of customers
b. Relationships with suppliers
There are, therefore, many elements that Internet retail and more
traditional retail models have in common. Indeed many of the most
successful Internet retailers have been those that have been able to
successfully transfer critical elements from traditional retailing to the
Internet, such as customer service and product displays.
Guide to E-Retailing Resources: To help e-retailers find the right solutions

and service providers to take their Internet retail businesses to the next
level, the publishers of Internet Retailer –the most trusted source of
journalistic information on web-based retailing–comes the Guide to E-
Retailing Resources.
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This The Guide to E-Retailing Resources provides strategic data on all

competitors in the following segments of the solutions market:
• Affiliate Marketing
• Content Management
• Customer Service
• Delivery Services
• E-Commerce Systems
• E-mail Marketing
• Fulfilment Services
• Order Management
• Payments Processing
• Performance Monitoring
• Research Studies/Books
• Researchers/Consultants
• Returns Processing
• Search Engine Marketing
• Site Search Solutions
• Supply Chain Solutions
• Web Analytics
• Web Design/Hosting
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Table 9.1
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9.3 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL FUNCTIONS
This section deals with the functions of distribution channels which include:
Logistical Functions.
Logistical Functions include physical distribution activities such as

transportation and inventory storage, as well as the function of aggregating
a product. Logistic functions are often outsourced to a third-party logistic
specialist.
The Internet economy allows an organisation to position itself at an

appropriate level of the supply chain depending on the nature of its
business. Three distinctive logistical streams exist in the Internet economy
and all the three streams have evolved out of the need for creating the
maximum value for the customers. Disintermediation is the process by
which the logistical stream is shortened leading to better responsiveness
and lower costs. On the other hand, Internet based business also calls for
new forms of intermediation. Infomediaries and metamediaries seek to add
value to the logistical stream by addressing certain problems arising out of
information overload and transaction cost inefficiencies.
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Diagram 9.3 On-demand content ecosystem
Source: Deloitte Analysis
Content providers (content aggregators, labels, and content right holders)

and the technology platform providers that enable the digital delivery of
the content form the essential parts of the ecosystem for the services like
music and video streaming. Distribution channels for on-demand content
service has been dominated by app stores and telecom players that
provide wider reach through their WAP sites to their customer base in past.
However, new OTT players are now coming up with innovative models to
increase their distribution reach towards targeted audience through e-
commerce, retail, OEMs partnerships, etc. Similarly, for creating service
awareness while the players are investing in traditional marketing channels
i.e. TV, Print, Radio and digital campaigns, there is an increased inclination
towards social media, and search engine marketing. For service
monetisation payment channels, mechanisms and the ad-mediation
platforms play a key role. TV is no longer the only way to make brands,
both advertisers and creators are seeing success in resonance through
digital programming and thus ad-mediation platforms become critical.
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Many of the brands have also started reaching to the on-demand content
service providers for targeted ads.
9.4 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL METRICS
The company must consider its effectiveness in terms of reaching target

market segments efficiently and enriching them to purchase online.
What is B2B and B2C Marketing?
These terms were coined to differentiate Internet commerce businesses

that sold to primarily to consumers versus those whose market are other
businesses. These terms have expanded their definitions to refer to any
business who sells primarily to the end customer (B2C) or to other
businesses (B2B), both online and offline. Although the marketing
programmes are the same for each type of business (events, direct
marketing, internet marketing, advertising, public relations, word of mouth
and alliances), how they are executed, what they say, and the outcome of
the marketing activities differ.
The first step in developing your marketing strategy for B2B is similar to
the first step in a B2C strategy; identify who the customer is and why they
need to hear your message. From there, the marketing activities diverge.
9.4.1 B2B Market
Businesses that Sell to Businesses: B2B:
1. Relationship driven,
2. Maximise the value of the relationship,
3. Small, focused target market,
4. Multi-step buying process, longer sales cycle,
5. Brand identity created on personal relationship,
6. Educational and awareness building activities, and
7. Rational buying decision based on business value.
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The B2B market has two primary components: e-frastructure and e-

markets. E-frastructure is the architecture of B2B, primarily consisting of
the following:
1. Logistics: Transportation, warehousing and distribution (e.g., Procter

and Gamble);
2. Application Service Providers: Deployment, Hosting and Management of

Packaged Software from a Central Facility (e.g., Oracle and Linkshare);
3. Outsourcing of functions in the process of e-commerce, such as web-

hosting, security and customer care solutions (e.g., outsourcing
providers such as eShare, NetSales, iXL enterprises and universal
access);
4. Auction solutions software for the operation and maintenance of real-

time auctions in the Internet (e.g., Moai technologies and OpenSite
technologies);
5. Content Management Software for the facilitation of Website Content

Management and Delivery (e.g., interwoven and ProcureNet); and
6. Web-based Commerce Enablers (e.g., commerce one, a browser-based,

xml enabled purchasing automation software).
9.4.2 B2C Market
Businesses that Sell to Consumers (B2C)
1. Product driven,
2. Maximise the value of the transaction,
3. Large target market,
4. Single step buying process, shorter sales cycle,
5. Brand identity created through repetition and imagery,
6. Merchandising and point of purchase activities, and
7. Emotional buying decision based on status, desire, or price.
One interesting aspect of B2C marketing, however, is that many companies

have realised the importance of loyalty. Amazon, Best Buy, and Staples
combine merchandising and education to keep customers coming back.
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Add great customer service, and you get a winning combination. Example
of B2C:
• Dell Selling me a laptop, and

• Mc Donald’s selling me a Big Mac
The B2B Buyer vs. the B2C Buyer: The business buyer is sophisticated,
understands your product or service better than you do, and wants or
needs to buy products or services to help their company stay profitable,
competitive, and successful. Marketing copy must talk to a sophisticated
audience. Your typical reader has a high interest in – and understanding of
– your product (or at least of the problem it solves). Therefore, writing
marketing copy is more complex and requires research to ensure you
deliver the necessary information to the buyer.
The B2B Buyer vs. the B2C Buyer
The business buyer is sophisticated, understands your product or service

better than you do, and wants or needs to buy products or services to help
their company stay profitable, competitive, and successful. Marketing copy
must talk to a sophisticated audience. Your typical reader has a high
interest in – and understanding of – your product (or at least of the
problem it solves). Therefore, writing marketing copy is more complex and
requires research to ensure you deliver the necessary information to the
buyer.
The B2C buyer is usually looking for the best price and will research the
competition prior to shopping. Another factor that does come into play,
however, is whether the buyer trusts the retail outlet, either the store front
or on the Internet. Although you can find the products on the Internet at
many different price points, many consumers will still buy from a trusted
source. In that respect, B2C marketing needs to convince the person to
buy and build trust and loyalty with their customers.
Both buyers are interested in quality customer service. B2B customer

service comes into play prior to ever making that first sale and begins with
a customer‘s very first contact with your company, whether you call them
or they call you. B2C customer service helps build customer loyalty where
customers will be willing to pay a slightly higher price to know that they
can return the product easily and can trust the source they are dealing
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with. In other words, customer service is critical and although may not be
considered — marketing bad customer service can render all of your
marketing efforts useless.
9.5 SUMMARY
Marketers are concerned about distribution because it involves point of

purchase decisions and whether or not the customer receives a product or
service satisfactory.
A distribution channel is a group of independent firms that work together

to transfer product and information from supplier to the consumer. It is
composed of following participants:
• Producers
• Intermediaries
• Buyers
Four major elements combine to form a company’s channel structure, and

will affect Internet marketing strategy
• Types of online channel intermediaries
• Length of online channel
• Functions performed by members of channel
• Physical and informational systems that link the channel members and
provide for coordination and management of their collective effort to
deliver the product or service.
Intermediaries can be well understood according to their business models.

The three basic functions performed by an intermediary in the distribution
channel are:
• Transactional
• Logistical
• Facilitating
314

strategies.
3. “The role of brands and branding in the new economy that is

characterised by digitisation and globalisation. Discuss with examples.
4. Explain Three major functions of distribution channel.
5. How Internet is affecting distribution channel length?
1. Identify best practices for creating customer value on line.

(a) Offer multichannel choice
(b) Empower your frontline employees.
(c) Consumer Characteristic
(d) (a) and (b) of the above
2. Identify pricing strategies from following:

(a) Value creation
(b) Pricing Structure
(c) (a) and (b) of the above
(d) None of the above
3. A distribution channel is a group of independent firms that work

together to transfer product and information from supplier to the
consumer. Identify participants from following:
(a) Intermediaries
(b) Buyers
(c) Producers
(d) All of the above
315
Answers : 1. (d) 2. (c) 3. (d)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
Video Lecture
317
CREATIVE E-MAIL MARKETING
Chapter 10
Creative E-Mail Marketing
Learning Objectives
• Benefits of E-mail Marketing
• What are E-mail Marketing Software
• Legal Aspects of E-mail Marketing
• Issues to Keep in Mind
• Steps to a Successful E-mail Marketing Campaign
• How to Use E-mail Marketing
318
Structure:
10.1 Introduction
10.2 E-mail Marketing Benefits
10.3 Value of E-mail
10.4 How to use E-mail Marketing
10.5 Steps to a Successful E-mail Marketing Campaign
10.6 Dos and Don‘ts of E-mail Marketing
10.6.1 Dos of E-mail Marketing
10.6.2 Don‘ts of E-mail Marketing
10.7 Legal Aspects of E-mail Marketing
10.8 How to Choose an E-mail Marketing Solution
10.9 How E-mail Marketing Software Works
10.10 Outsourcing vs. Licensing
10.11 Summary
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10.1 INTRODUCTION
Picture 10.1: Source: woodmarcom.com
Picture 10.2: Source: fastonlinemoney.org
E-mail marketing is one of the most confusing part of digital marketing

mix. some people call it bulk mail, some people call it mass mail and some
are even confused between mass mail and e-mail marketing. E-mail
marketing is very old marketing channel and it’s also changing very fast. E-
mail is one of the most preferred communication channel for marketing
after SMS and growth of whatsapp and other marketing channels.
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E-mail remains the most important communication techniques for building

customer relationship. E-mail is a word of mouse tool when consumers
communicate about products with each other. At its core, e-mail marketing
is a tool for customer relationship management (CRM). Used effectively,
this extension of permission based marketing can deliver one of the
highest returns on investment (ROI) of any e-marketing activity.
Many companies have turned to cost-effective online communication

methods such as e-mail marketing to reach and engage their customers.
Looking ahead, companies will continue to invest in e-mail marketing.
According to well-established research companies such as Forrester and
Jupiter Research, e-mail marketing spending runs into the billions both in
the United States and in Europe.
Implementing an effective e-mail marketing communication platform

involves multiple tasks, such as building a permission-based list of
recipients, managing the list, defining relevant content in the right format,
delivering the message and evaluating the results.
With best e-mail marketing practices, companies will experience the return
on investment required to justify expenditures. Marketers rate email to in-
house lists as among the most effective forms of online advertising.
According to the early-adopter online marketers, e-mail marketing to in-
house lists is among the top three best performing online advertising
tactics.
Despite spam, almost 80 per cent of consumers subscribe to receive

messages from companies. Permission-based commercial e-mail is relevant
to a majority of customers. Simply put, e-mail marketing is a form of direct
marketing which utilises electronic means to deliver commercial messages
to an audience. It is one of the oldest and yet, still one of the most
powerful of all marketing tactics. The power comes from the fact. That it is:
• Extremely cost-effective due to a low cost per contact

• Highly targeted
• Customisable on a mass scale
• Completely measurable
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Furthermore, e-mail marketing’s main strength is that it takes advantage

of a customer’s most prolific touch point with the Internet… their inbox. E-
mail marketing is a tool for building relationships with both existing and
potential customers. It should maximise the retention and value of these
customers, which should ultimately lead to greater profitability.
10.2 E-MAIL MARKETING BENEFITS
Picture 10.3 Source: akshatinfotech.com
1. E-mail is Inexpensive: E-mail is far less expensive on a cost-per-

contact basis than other advertising options, including banner ads, print
advertising, and telemarketing.
2. E-mail creates quick response Cycles: E-mail cuts response times

down from as much as six to eight weeks for direct mail to as little as
48 hours in most cases.
3. E-mail marketing campaign results are Measurable: Campaign

success can be measured using software designed to record responses
or sales that are attributable to e-mail marketing efforts. Reports can be
generated on the number of e-mails opened by your recipients (open-
ups) and the number of times your embedded links were clicked (click-
through). By being able to quantify the success of campaigns while in
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progress, marketers can quickly adjust strategies to strengthen

response rates.
4. E-mail has wide Reach: E-mail is the most widely used facet of the
Internet and is part of many people's daily routine. It is a
communication medium with an exceptionally large audience that allows
recipients to immediately act on messages.
5. E-mail Drives Website Traffic and Registration: E-mail is an

effective way of driving people to your Website. Links may be embedded
within messages, quickly directing customers to your site. With any
luck, this increased Website traffic will then lead to increased Website
registration. You may then follow up by providing your customers with
personalised and targeted content.
6. E-mail strengthens brand awareness and builds Customer

Relationships: Regularly delivered e-mail messages that contain
properly titled subject lines and logos reinforce company and product
awareness. E-mail creates an interactive connection with customers and
nurtures long-lasting, quality relationships.
7. E-mail Can Be Highly Customised: When e-mail lists work together

with customer databases, even large-volume campaigns can be
customised so that messages include specific customer data. Database
integration also allows select customer groups to receive messages
appropriate for only a portion of database entries (for example, ZIP
Code-, gender-, or income-based mailings can be easily selected and
targeted for delivery).
8. E-mail Saves Time: Compared to traditional direct marketing, e-mail

marketing campaign administration is efficient and saves time and
money.
9. E-mail is Easy to Implement and Requires Limited Resources: E-

mail campaigns can be quickly implemented and executed with only
minimal software, hardware and personnel investments.
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10.3 VALUE OF E-MAIL
Let's take into consideration this situation:
Your company is planning to distribute a newsletter to customers,

prospects, and other interested parties, and it is your job to decide how to
accomplish this task. The monthly newsletter will contain many regular
features, including articles, advice, and industry news. You have two
options to distribute the newsletter: You can print the newsletter and snail-
mail it to recipients - after all, this is how company newsletters have been
distributed for many years. This is still an effective option, but have you
considered the many benefits of sending your newsletter via e-mail? In
addition to saving costs (including paper, printing, and postage), e-mail
allows you to do things that you would not otherwise have been able to do
if you chose print format.
If you choose to e-mail the newsletter and select an advanced software

programme to manage the mailing, you will be able to measure what
sections of the newsletter are most popular with readers. When you send
an e-mail newsletter, recipients click on embedded links to retrieve articles
they wish to read. These clicks are measurable and provide you with
valuable information that can, in turn, be used to tailor future newsletters
to best suit readers' interests.
However, if you choose print format to deliver the newsletter, there is very
little you can do to quantify what portions of the newsletter are popular
and are being read. E-mail makes a difference. This is why more and more
organisations and companies are turning to e-mail to conduct marketing
initiatives.
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10.4 HOW TO USE E-MAIL MARKETING
As e-mail has evolved, marketers have discovered clever ways to take

advantage of its usefulness. Some common ways companies have
integrated e-mail into their communication efforts include:
1. Sending newsletters and building an online community: Pearson

Education (NYSE: PSO), which provides an online resource for
technology information, uses FLC® to manage more than 200
newsletters to subscribers about topics ranging from digital marketing.
These newsletters have enabled Himalaya Publication to build a strong
IT community that subscribers can depend on for up-to-date technology
news.
2. Sending conference announcements, guides and tickets:

Stockholm International Fairs is the leading exhibition and congress
centre in Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea region. The company started
using FLC ® edu to provide conference announcements, tickets, and
pre-registration opportunities to exhibitors and attendees using e-mail.
International Fairs has achieved campaign cost savings and improved

information distribution to exhibitors and visitors. The number of
conference registrations has also increased thanks to the mailings.
3. Database Integration: A unique advantage of e-mail marketing is the

ability to customise messages. This is achieved through integration with
your customer database. By incorporating customer demographic
information stored in your database, you are able to study customers'
histories and buying habits in order to more effectively target and
customise your messages. For instance, if you sellout door gear, you
may configure your e-mail marketing software to send offers for
discounts on overstocked raingear to customers with zip codes in the
Pacific Northwest, or likewise send those who reside in the deserts of
Arizona similar offers on sunglasses.
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Picture 10.4: Source: pagetrafficbuzz.com
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10.5 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL E-MAIL MARKETING

CAMPAIGN
1. Gather a List of Subscribers: In order to begin any e-mail marketing

campaign, you must first compile a list of e-mail addresses from those
who have agreed to receive your messages. This is known as opt-in1 e-
mail marketing and is a very important part of your campaign.
Building a quality permission-based e-mail list will achieve more desirable

results. Be upfront about how secure your subscriber's information is,
whether or not you will be sharing that information with a 3rd party, and
specific instructions on how your subscribers can opt out of your list. So,
with those concerns out of the way, where do you begin? A logical place to
start gathering addresses is with:
Current Customers who may have previously provided you their e-mail
addresses and given you permission to send messages. Depending on how
your business operates, there may be opportunities to collect your
customers' e-mail addresses through purchase orders or other forms. Or,
perhaps e-mail communication may already be the most common way you
correspond with your clients, and therefore, a perfect opportunity exists to
ask them if they would like to receive newsletters or other offers.
Opt-in and opt-out are concepts that have been developed to identify two
kinds of privacy mechanisms and adapted to permission e-mail. The opt-
out method of e-mail marketing involves giving consumers the option of
not receiving promotional messages after they have already received a
message. Under this system, messages can be sent until an individual asks
not to receive messages (i.e., the individual "opts out"). With the opt-in
method, consumers do not receive promotional messages unless they have
actively agreed to receive such messages. Under this system, e-mail
cannot be sent unless the individual has expressly given permission.
Today, e-mail solution providers and consumer protection agencies

recommend the double opt-in procedure as a further step to prevent
unsolicited e-mail messages. After a respondent checks the permission
box, an automated e-mail message is sent to the provided e-mail address
to certify that the person did in fact provide permission to receive e-mail.
The address holder must then respond, typically within a given time period,
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to receive future mailings. This process ensures that others cannot sign up
unwilling third parties for membership through online forms.
Prospective Customers whose e-mail addresses may be obtained through

sign-ups on your Website or in-store locations (known as Point-of-Presence
collection). Advanced e-mail list management software has the ability to
interact with your Website so visitors may automatically subscribe to
newsletters without your having to perform this function manually.
A good method to encourage Website visitors to sign up for your newsletter

or be included in your list is to offer them something they would not
otherwise receive without being a subscriber. For example, offer members
incentives like special discounts, coupons, gift certificates or access to
products before release to the general public. White papers are also an
inexpensive means of showing recipients that your company is serious
about its business.
2. Develop the Content and Format of Your Message: Messages

should be crafted according to the results you wish to achieve. What are
your goals for this campaign?
Generating sales? Branding? Driving site traffic? Generally, you should

create a strong message that reinforces your brand, describes your
products or services and clearly establishes how customers should contact
you. The subject line is possibly the most important element of an e-mail
message. Create a powerful subject line by combining an action phrase
with a response-boosting incentive. An example of a good subject line
would be:
SUBJECT: Last Minute Fare Specials for Weekend Getaway.
At this point you may wish to consider in what format your message will be
sent: text-only, HTML, or MIME/Multi-Part format.
HTML mail has the ability to strengthen your message by combining

graphical images (like your company or brand logo) with text. Studies
differ greatly whether HTML or text is more popular overall. Still, it is
advisable to allow subscribers to choose their desired form at themselves.
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Recipient format preference can be stored in your database much like you
would store other preference and demographic information.
A MIME or Multi-Part specification is intended to allow you to send

messages in both text and HTML format. The recipient's e-mail programme
then displays the format it can best view.
3. Getting Your Message Out: As your e-mail marketing operations

evolve and your mailings grow in size, it will become apparent that the
task is too complex and requires too much manpower for your current
system to handle. Select software that is capable of managing your lists
as they grow and can measure the effectiveness of your campaign. Your
software should have the ability to automatically remove bounced or
undeliverable e-mail addresses from your list, as you may find the task
of manually removing such addresses very time consuming and tedious.
Message Format Testing
After crafting your message, it is important to test it to make sure it

displays properly in many common e-mail clients. Set up your own
accounts using popular commercial providers, such as AOL, Yahoo!, and
Hotmail. Send yourself or your colleagues the test message to determine if
formatting problems exist. Please note that not all e-mail recipients are
capable of receiving or reading HTML messages. Furthermore, it is not
recommended to "sniff," a questionable method that attempts to determine
whether recipients are capable of receiving HTML e-mail, as this procedure
simply examines a computer's settings and not necessarily the program
used to read e-mail.
Testing is particularly important if you are sending HTML mail. Ensure that
your HTML message is viewable in all major e-mail clients and that the
HTML code is standards-compliant. Pay close attention to how images are
rendered. This is particularly important now that many e-mail clients
automatically block all external images in the message viewer until the
recipient clicks a button to explicitly allow them or adds the sender to the
address book. If you are not technically savvy, it is advisable to consult
your staff Webmaster or a professional in this field.
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Scheduling Delivery
A valuable feature of advanced e-mail marketing and e-mail list

management technology is the ability to schedule delivery for a specific
time and date. This feature ensures that your message arrives in
subscribers' inboxes at an opportune time.
If you can determine whether you have a recipient's home or work e-mail
address, scheduled delivery becomes even more valuable. If you have a
worldwide audience, use a time zone correction feature, available in
sophisticated software programmes, to properly place your message in
inboxes during an appropriate time.
Marketers have generally been more successful when they schedule home
users for weekend delivery, the time they are most likely to recreationally
check their e-mail. Likewise, scheduling deliveries to 'work' recipients
Tuesday through Thursday has been shown to be more effective, to avoid
overloaded Monday in boxes and distracted Friday employees.
4. Evaluate and Revise Your Campaign: For best results, create a pilot
campaign that tests the effectiveness of your message on a select
portion of your database. Measure the results from the trial, make
adjustments and test another group. Refine your message until you feel
comfortable enough to launch a full campaign.
Once you have sent your final message to recipients, you can begin to
measure campaign results. Monitoring responses enables you to determine
the quality of your recipient lists and the effectiveness of e-mail content.
Email marketing programmes are capable of recording whether recipients
opened up the message, and if they did, whether or not they clicked on the
embedded links included. By being able to quantify these activities, you
can measure the success of campaigns and, if necessary, make
adjustments to achieve higher conversion rates. This is a key component of
an e-mail marketing campaign.
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Issues to Keep in Mind
1) Spam
One of the most used words in the e-mail marketing industry today is
"spam," or unsolicited commercial e-mail. Unfortunately, because e-mail
marketing is relatively inexpensive, unscrupulous culprits have flooded in-
boxes with unwanted junk mail. There are several measures you can take
to stem the tide of spam and stay clear of problems:
a. Follow national laws regarding the use of commercial e-mail.
b. Use a recognisable domain that states your company or product

name. Also use authentication standards such as SPF, Sender ID, and
Domain Keys so that your recipients can verify that the message did
originate from your domain.
c. Avoid using CAPITAL letters, bombastic wording, or gratuitous

punctuation such as exclamation points in the subject line of your
message.
d. Use clearly stated wording and action verbs to identify the objectives
of your message to subscribers.
e. Provide clear instructions about how a subscriber may opt out of

membership.
f. Refer to your local market's codes of conduct to assure that you

follow the guidelines of e-mail marketing. This is particularly
necessary when operating in or sending messages to Europe.
2) Viruses
Nothing will bring your e-mail operation to a grinding halt and generate
more ill will from customers than inadvertently sending subscribers a
computer virus. Preventing an accidental outbreak is quite easy; however,
if you choose software with built-in virus protection and an attachment
filter that scans all messages and attachments for viruses before they are
sent to subscribers.
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3) Privacy
One of the biggest advantages of e-mail marketing is its ability to measure

campaign effectiveness on the individual recipient level, unlike other
advertising mediums such as print or television ads. However, your
marketing objectives may not necessitate individual result gathering.
Moreover, subscribers may not give their permission to perform such tasks,
or your ability to do so may be curtailed by laws in certain jurisdictions.
Therefore, it is important to understand what level of tracking procedures
to implement in your campaign.
Personal Tracking involves associating each individual event (such as

click-through or open-up) with the specific recipient who triggered it. If this
method of measurement does not fit your marketing objectives, you may
wish to choose Anonymous Tracking or Blind Tracking, which measure
events but don‘t associate them with a specific recipient.
Picture 10.5
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10.6 DOS AND DON’TS OF E-MAIL MARKETING
In this section we are going to have a look at some of the Dos and Don‘ts
of the E-mail marketing. The Dos includes the things that are to be kept in
mind while marketing your product via Email, while the Don‘ts are the
things to be avoided.
10.6.1 Dos of E-mail Marketing
1. Know your national laws and local guidelines for e-mail marketing and
ensure that you follow them.
2. Build your list internally, even if it takes time, so the quality of your
recipient list remains at a high level.
3. Keep an accurate audit of how your company received permission to

contact the subscribers of the lists; keep in mind that some people
forget they signed up to receive information.
4. Make membership to your e-mail deliveries valuable by offering deals

that non-members cannot receive.
5. Make sure that your company's name (or product name) is clearly
identified in the domain name that appears in the "Sender" line of the e-
mail.
6. Use clearly stated words that describe what you want customers to
respond to in both the "Subject" line and the body of your message.
7. Provide recipients with a clear way to contact you for more information,
including telephone number and e-mail address.
8. Provide subscribers with clear instructions of how to be removed from

future mailings.
9. Plan mailings for specific, opportune times so subscribers are expecting

your messages and are in a position to respond.
10.Personalise messages with recipients' names and tailor them for

different target segments.
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11.Choose software that can perform as your opt-in e-mail lists grow, scan
outgoing messages for viruses and measure the effectiveness of your
campaign.
10.6.2 Don’ts of E-mail Marketing
1. Send messages to those who did not request to receive information.
2. Purchase or rent lists from brokers who are not reputable and who
cannot provide current, verifiable double opt-in permission.
3. Use exclamation points, capitalised letters, or other blatant marketing

techniques that are synonymous with spammers.
4. Send irrelevant offers to members of your database. For example, if you

run an online travel agency, do not send special airfare incentives that
originate from airports that do not correspond with the zip codes
members have provided.
5. Overload recipients with too many emails; only offer truly special deals.
6. Cram too many messages into a single email or send large attachments
that may clog subscribers' inboxes.
7. Neglect to test messages, especially HTML messages. In particular, test

how images are rendered in common email clients since many
automatically block all external images in the message viewer until the
recipient clicks a button to explicitly allow them or adds the sender to
the address book.
8. Rely on your e-mail programmes spellchecker. Alway’s have colleagues

proofread your message for spelling and grammatical errors.
9. Sell or rent your e-mail lists to other organizations unless you have
been given explicit permission to do so.
10.Expect that every campaign will be an immediate home run; crafting

quality messages takes time and requires feedback.
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10.7 LEGAL ASPECTS OF E-MAIL MARKETING
Over the last couple of years, both the United States and the European
Union (EU) have adopted legislation that establishes requirements for
those who send commercial e-mail messages. Below is a summary of
Federal U.S. and EU laws.
CAN-SPAM (United States)
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited

Pornography and Marketing) "covers email whose primary purpose is
advertising or promoting a commercial product or service" (FTC Website,
"Facts for Business"). The CAN-SPAM Act took effect on January1, 2004.
CAN-SPAM is based on the principle of opt-out. In other words, commercial

e-mail messages can be sent to a person until the individual explicitly asks
to be removed from further mailings. Commercial e-mail messages that are
covered by the law need to include a return e-mail address or other type of
Internet-based response mechanism that allows the recipient to ask for
further communications to cease. That request must be honoured.
1. It bans false or misleading e-mail header information. The "From", "To",

and sender information, including e-mail address and originating domain
name, must be accurate.
2. It prohibits the use of deceptive subject lines to mislead the recipient

about the content of the e-mail message.
3. Commercial e-mail messages must include a clear notice that it is an

advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can unsubscribe
(opt-out) from further communication. In addition, commercial e-mail
messages must also include the sender's physical postal address
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Guidelines for E-mail Going Out to Customer Groups
• Subject line - Clear, concise and professional statement of what the e-

mail is about.
• Outline for the e-mail - A snapshot of everything important the reader

needs to know, then the detail for those who will delve more deeply, and
then summarise what, if any, action is requested. (Tell them what you
are going to tell them, then tell them, then summarise what you told
them and what to do).
• Introductory sentences - Include who the target audience is, what the
issue/service/ alert is, and what action is being requested and by when.
• Acknowledgment of IS&T - If this is a service, alert or information

message, make sure to acknowledge that if it is coming from IS&T (team
name optional) and any other areas of the Institute or vendors who
collaborated on the work.
• Benefit to the clients - Why do they need to know this? What’s in it for
them? Why should they take the steps we recommend?
• Links - Use links to longer documentation or details that might be of

interest to the reader but not necessary to the goal of the message. This
will keep the e-mail shorter and increase the likelihood of the recipients
reading it and understanding the message. A link may be preferred to a
large attachment.
• Formatting - Use white space to set off key pieces of content. Given the
number of e-mail clients used at MIT, consider how your e-mail might
look in a different client, such as a plain-text client. Consider avoiding
styled text in e-mail. Avoid repeating e-mail headers in the body of the
e-mail. In addition, don’t forget to check your spelling, punctuation and
grammar check.
• Signature Blocks - E-mail going to broad customer groups must close

with some kind of signature block that clearly identifies the sender, the
department name and contact information.
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Picture 10.6 Sample e-mail send by Birla Sun Life to author
10.8 HOW TO CHOOSE AN E-MAIL MARKETING SOLUTION
As the industry continues to grow, more and more vendors will offer
products and services to satisfy the demand. How then can you be certain
that your investment in e-mail marketing software and services will be
sound? Here are a few key questions to consider before you decide to
purchase an e-mail marketing solution:
1. Will the software scale as my needs Increase?
Most likely, one goal of your e-mail marketing agenda will be to expand
your list and perhaps create additional lists. If you purchase an e-mail list
management solution and maintain a single mailing list with 1,000
subscribers, the product may not have the capability to function when your
success dictates that you run five lists with 10,000 subscribers each. Set
realistic expectations for where your e-mail marketing operation will be in
one to two years from when you make the initial purchase, and determine
whether the product will have the ability to handle the additional workload.
Keep in mind that some software products can be purchased in increments
and increased in capacity over time.
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2. Can the software be integrated with other key applications?
Imagine spending thousands of dollars on an e-mail marketing solution

only to find that it will not work in conjunction with your database or other
key applications. If you have previously invested heavily in customer
database capabilities, finding e-mail marketing software that seamlessly
integrates with your database will save time and money.
3. Does the vendor offer evaluation kits?
Savvy IT professionals will evaluate a product on a trial basis before

recommending it. Take advantage of the opportunity to evaluate e-mail
marketing software before purchasing to ensure that it performs as
advertised.
4. How quickly will I be up and running?
Installing any new technology product should be as painless a process as

possible. Often, businesses cannot afford to tie-up resources for extended
periods of time during installation procedures. Have your organisation's
technical staff review the product's installation manuals to determine how
much time and resources will be required to install the software or find out
if the company offers installation/configuration services.
5. Will the vendor be there for me after purchase?
E-mail marketing software is sophisticated, and often marketers find that

they are not taking full advantage of every feature. Extended training
courses may be necessary to ensure that your organisation is getting the
most out of its investment. Also inquire about the vendor's support
policies, which should cover any technical difficulties you may encounter.
6. Does the vendor offer both licensing and hosting services?
Marketers often want to outsource their e-mail marketing operations to

companies that offer such services before bringing them in house.
Outsourcing is a sound temporary solution, especially for small companies
that may not have the hardware, personnel or capital to license software
initially. This arrangement also provides a trial period for marketers to
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determine if the software is worthy of licensing, which is typically a more

cost-effective solution in the long run.
7. Am I getting my moneys’ worth?
E-mail marketing software and services are among the most cost-effective
solutions your company will invest in.
However, vendors vary greatly in price and the features they offer. Have a
clear idea of what features and functions you demand, and evaluate many
different products. Also determine whether licensing or outsourcing makes
the best business sense for your company.
10.9 HOW E-MAIL MARKETING SOFTWARE WORKS
Although many marketers prefer to concentrate less on the technical side

of e-mail marketing and more on the content of the messages, it is
important to have a basic understanding of how e-mail marketing software
works. In order to efficiently conduct an advanced e-mail marketing
campaign, it is essential to employ professional e-mail list management
software.
The software must be installed on a server with a dedicated connection to

the Internet. Your Website and database then communicate directly with
the software. When someone visits your company Website and signs up to
receive your newsletter, the software will automatically add the e-mail
address to an e-mail recipient list for future mailings. Your e-mail list
management software should have the ability to automatically handle all
subscriptions and sign-offs as well as bounced e-mail messages. The
software should also be capable of connecting to your database and pulling
out specific information. This information can then be inserted into
messages to create personalised mailings. More advanced software,
capable of measuring campaign results, will provide your organisation with
better opportunities to strengthen your marketing efforts.
The ability to track e-mail responses is an important part of an e-mail

marketing campaign because it allows you to determine how effective your
campaign has been. By being able to rapidly quantify results, marketers
can make instant adjustments to their campaigns and achieve optimal
results.
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The average mail server cannot deliver the volume of e-mail that you may
one day require. The quality of your e-mail delivery system determines the
rate at which e-mail is delivered. Your company may find it worthwhile to
invest in faster and more robust e-mail delivery software to guarantee that
your e-mail is delivered as efficiently as possible.
10.10 OUTSOURCING VS. LICENSING
Before selecting a solution, you must evaluate which arrangement will best
suit your needs: outsourcing or licensing. If you choose to license the
software, you will conduct all operations on your premises. Without
sourcing, e-mail marketing operations (all functions except content
creation) are hosted and run by another company that has expertise in
that field.
Table 10.1: Outsourcing vs. Licensing
Outsourcing Licensing
Increased control – the freedom to have

Smaller investment of time. complete control over the software and
its functions.
Lower initial investment – no Security – no risk to you that the vendor
need to buy hardware or will go out of business or declare
software. bankruptcy.
Low human resource Messages may be sent according to your
investment. schedule.
Once you are regularly delivering a

certain number of messages, it becomes
more cost-effective to license than
Quick setup. outsource; ask your provider for a
threshold number of messages that
reflects the point at which licensing
becomes more cost-effective.
Source: www.lsoft.com
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10.11 SUMMARY
E-mail remains the most important communication techniques for building

customer relationship. E-mail is a word-of-mouse tool when consumers
communicate about products with each other.
E-mail Marketing Benefits
• E-mail is inexpensive.
• E-mail creates quick response cycles.
• E-mail Marketing Campaign results are measurable.
• E-mail has wide reach.
• E-mail drives website traffic and registration.
• E-mail strengthens brand awareness and builds customer relationships.
• Email can be highly customised.
• E-mail saves time.
• E-mail is easy to implement and requires limited resources.
How to Use E-mail Marketing?
• Sending newsletters and building an online community — Pearson

Education (NYSE: PSO)
• Sending conference announcements, guides and tickets — Stockholm

International Fairs
• Sending announcements and improving communities — United Way

offering reminder services
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Steps to a Successful E-mail Marketing Campaign
1. Gather a List of Subscribers
2. Develop the Content and Format of Your Message
3. Getting Your Message Out
• Message Format Testing

• Scheduling Delivery
4. Evaluate and Revise Your Campaign
Issues to Keep in Mind
• Spam
• Viruses
• Privacy
• Personal Tracking
Before selecting a solution, you must evaluate which arrangement will best
suit your needs: outsourcing or licensing. If you choose to license the
software, you will conduct all operations on your premises. Without
sourcing, e-mail marketing operations (all functions except content
creation) are hosted and run by another company that has expertise in
that field.
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1. Name five rules for effective email marketing
2. Explain legal aspects of email marketing
3. You are involved in marketing campaign of a software company, explain

what steps you will take for effective e-mail marketing.
4. You are marketing a Distance Education institute. Send e-mail to your

friend informing about salient features of your institute.
5. What factors to be considered while choosing an E-mail Marketing

Solution
A MCQ Questions Identify correct answer from following options
1. Identify Benefits E-mail Marketing___________

(a) Results are Measurable
(b) E-mail has wide Reach
(c) Drives Website Traffic
2. Identify Steps to a Successful E-mail Marketing Campaign

(a) Gather a List of Subscribers (b) Evaluate your Campaign
(c) Revise your Campaign (d) All of the above
3. Identify Dos of E-mail Marketing

(a) Know your national laws
(b) Keep an accurate audit
(c) 1 and 2 of the above
(d) Purchase or rent lists from brokers who are not reputable
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4. Send messages to those who did not request to receive information

(a) True (b) False
5. Personalise messages with recipients' names and tailor them for

different target segments
(a) True (b) False
Answers
1. (d) 2. (d) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
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SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO) AND WEB ANALYTICS
Chapter 11
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Web
Analytics
Learning Objectives
• The process of making a site "search engine-friendly"
• The basic concepts of Search engines
• How to develop SEO friendly Website
• How Google analytics work
• SEO Outcome Metrics
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Structure:
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Search Engine Optimisation
11.3 Search Engines Basics
11.3.1 Search engines as Reputation Aggregators,
11.3.2 Natural search,
11.3.3 Paid/Vertical and Keyword search
11.4 Developing an SEO friendly Website
11.5 Web Analytics
11.6 Google Analytics
11.7 Performance measurement of content assessment
11.8 Engagement Metrics
11.9 Summary
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11.1 INTRODUCTION
Search engine marketing is also known as inbound marketing by some

people. Search engine marketing means you use search engine as your
primary marketing channel. Search engine marketing contains SEO and
search advertising. Many people or institutes are confusing people with
connecting SEM with PPC which is not true.
With millions of people performing millions of searches each day to find

content on the Internet, it makes sense that marketers want their products
to be found by potential consumers. Search engines use closely guarded
algorithms to determine the results that are displayed. However,
determining what factors these algorithms take into account has lead to a
growing practice known as search engine optimisation.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the practice of optimising a web site

so as to achieve preferred ranking on the search engine results pages
(SERPs). Someone who practices SEO professionally is also known as an
SEO (search engine optimiser).
SEO can be split into two distinct camps: white hat SEO and black hat SEO
(with some grey hat-wearers in between). Black hat SEO refers to trying to
game the search engines.
These SEOs use dubious means to achieve high rankings, and their
websites are occasionally black-listed by the search engines. White hat
SEO, on the other hand, refers to working within the parameters set by
search engines to optimise a web site for better user experience. Search
engines want to send users to the website that is most suited to their
needs, so white hat SEO should ensure that users can find what they are
looking for.
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11.2 SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
From a search engine perspective, Search Engine Optimisation is the

process of making web pages easy to find, easy to crawl and easy to
categorise. From a webmaster perspective,
Search Engine Optimisation involves not only that, but also to make those
pages rank high for certain keywords or search terms.
To produce relevant search results, search engines must keep their ranking
algorithms secret. As webmasters and search engine optimisation
professionals learn to predict search engine behaviour, search engines need
to evolve and update their algorithms to stay always one step ahead of the
most savvy webmasters and SEOs if they want their results to remain
relevant.
Search Engine Optimisation -- the process of making a site "search engine-

friendly" — also known as "SEO" – is probably the most important aspect
of website design. Many commercial websites are designed and set up by
people who know little or nothing about search engine optimisation — how
to give the search engines what they need to see when they index your
site. This long page contains the information (or links to it) that web
designers should know about optimising a website for the search engines.
The most important thing to know about search engines is that ‘search
engines only index text’. Make that your mantra while designing and
optimising your website. They don't index images well, and they don't
index Flash well. Although there are some exceptions to that rule, as
search engines are becoming more intelligent and more able to index files
such as PDFs and the captions of graphic files, and some of the text in a
Flash file — for all practical purposes just remember that rule: Search
engines only index text and you won't go too far wrong in search engine
optimisation. Designing and building a website is only one aspect of
bringing your business online.
There are a lot of small things you can do when designing or re-designing a
site to get better rankings in the search engines — and every little bit helps
in the end result. There is no one magic thing you can do to get top
placement at a search engine for your website. But you can do a bunch of
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small things that will add up to excellent placement in the search engines
for the key words you select that are relevant to your web pages.
You can and should optimise more than one page of your website for the
search engines; it's not something you do on just one page and skip doing
on the rest of the site. You can optimise your home page for your single
most important keyword phrase and other pages for different key word
phrases. If you sell different products on different pages, each page can be
optimised for that particular product.
That's a good way to organise it. We recommend search engine

optimisation on at least a dozen main pages of your site, for the best
effect. Don't bother optimising pages on which you do not have public
content, or pages such as a "contact us" or "privacy policy" or "copyright
info" pages. (No one will be searching for your copyright info.) The pages
you want to optimise are the pages you want people to find — those pages
with content about your service or product– whatever you are selling.
With billions of websites on the Internet, it’s just as important that you
ensure people can find your website. And, since most website traffic still
comes from search engines and directories – 98% of Internet users claim
they use search engines regularly – you may want to focus your initial web
marketing efforts on search engine optimisation.
Search engines such as Google and Yahoo index billions of web pages and
rank them according to complex algorithms that assess a page’s
accessibility, its relevance based on specific search terms or keywords, and
importance indicated by the number of sites that link to it.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) refers to the work that is done to a

website to ensure it gets noticed and ranked highly by search engines.
Ideally, you want to strive for a top ten ranking, because studies have
shown that most search engine users don’t scroll past the first page of
results. Keep in mind, SEO is not an exact science, and as such, SEO
specialists often use slightly different methods. That said, generally, SEO
includes:
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1. Building a website using “search engine friendly” coding techniques that

minimise the use of Flash and frames.
2. Researching appropriate search terms – called “keywords” or “keyword

phrases” – that fit the target market.
3. Incorporating keyword-rich content into a website’s domain name, meta

tags, title tags, alt tags, headings and overall content, and ensuring that
content is updated regularly.
4. Submitting the website address to search engines.
5. Developing a reciprocal linking strategy with other websites to grow

quality inbound links to the site Submitting your Site to Search Engines
and Directories.
The question is often asked: Do I have to submit my site to engines/

directories for the search engines to find me? The answer is, yes and no.
Some engines will find and list your site on their own, some require you to
register, and others offer a combination of both. Further, some registration
procedures are free and some require that you pay to be listed.
In short, there are two kinds of search engines out there.
1. Crawler-based search engines, like Google, are those that your

website, index relevant content and keywords, and follow link. The
software will look for patterns or repetition in your content in order to
determine the website’s purpose. These engines do not require you to
do anything other than upload your “optimised” website to the Internet
and wait for them to find it.
Since it may take a few months for the engines to crawl your site
naturally, however, they also offer you the opportunity to submit your
URL (website address) in the hope of being ranked more quickly. Failing
that, you can always purchase paid placement in some engines such as
Google and Overture.
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2. Human-powered directories, like Yahoo’s Directory, are those that

use humans to index website listings. These engines are actually called
directories and require you to submit your URL and wait for the
directory editors to assess and index your site based on perceived
relevancy. Sometimes this procedure is free, and sometimes you have
to pay a fee for the privilege of being reviewed.
Here is a list of the most popular search engines and directories you’ll want
to consider:
• Google – www.google.ca or www.google.com
• Yahoo – www.yahoo.ca or www.yahoo.com
• MSN – www.msn.com
• Teoma -ww.teoma.com
• Overture – www.overture.com
• Open Directory – http://dmoz.org/
11.3 SEARCH ENGINES BASICS
The first basic truth you need to know to learn SEO is that search engines
are not humans. While this might be obvious for everybody, the differences
between how humans and search engines view web pages aren't. Unlike
humans, search engines are text-driven. Although technology advances
rapidly, search engines are far from intelligent creatures that can feel the
beauty of a cool design or enjoy the sounds and movement in movies.
Instead, search engines crawls the Web, looking at particular site items
(mainly text) to get an idea what a site is about. This brief explanation is
not the most precise because as we will see next, search engines perform
several activities in order to deliver search results – crawling, indexing,
processing, calculating relevancy, and retrieving.
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1. SEO is long term strategy
2. SEO is part of inbound marketing and Search Engine Marketing
3. SEO gives you better ROI compared to other channels.
Search Engine Optimisation is difficult, complex and time consuming. But,

delivers better results if implemented properly Search advertising is
another popular channel of Internet marketing. Search advertising is often
confused with PPC. Search advertising is about paid advertisement in
search engines.
1. Search advertising is paid advertising
2. Typically advertiser will pay per click
3. Display advertising is also part of search advertising sometimes
4. Google Ad words is one of the most popular platform for search

advertising
Social media marketing is about using social networking platforms and

social media websites for marketing. Social media marketing is now
becoming popular due to increase in internet users and social networking
users. Social media marketing is about promoting business using social
networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Quora,
LinkedIn and many such popular social media networking website.
In all above platform search engine plays vary important role to identify
correct information for user.
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How search engines work?
1. First, search engines crawl through the Web to see what is there. This
task is performed by a piece of software, called a crawler or a spider (or
Googlebot, as is the case with Google). Spiders follow links from one
page to another and index everything they find on their way. Having in
mind the number of pages on the Web (over 20 billion), it is impossible
for a spider to visit a site daily just to see if a new page has appeared or
if an existing page has been modified, sometimes crawlers may not end
up visiting your site for a month or two.
2. What you can do is to check what a crawler sees from your site. As
already mentioned, crawlers are not humans and they do not see
images, Flash movies, JavaScript, frames, password-protected pages
and directories, so if you have tons of these on your site, you'd better
run the Spider Simulator below to see if these goodies are viewable by
the spider. If they are not viewable, they will not be spidered, not
indexed, not processed, etc. - in a word they will be non-existent for
search engines
Picture 11.1 Spider simulator
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3. Spider Simulator. After a page is crawled, the next step is to index its
content. The indexed page is stored in a giant database, from where it
can later be retrieved. Essentially, the process of indexing is identifying
the words and expressions that best describe the page and assigning
the page to particular keywords. For a human it will not be possible to
process such amounts of information but generally search engines deal
just fine with this task. Sometimes they might not get the meaning of a
page right but if you help them by optimising it, it will be easier for
them to classify your pages correctly and for you – to get higher
rankings.
4. When a search request comes, the search engine processes it – i.e. it

compares the search string in the search request with the indexed
pages in the database. Since it is likely that more than one page
(practically it is millions of pages) contains the search string, the search
engine starts calculating the relevancy of each of the pages in its index
with the search string.
5. There are various algorithms to calculate relevancy. Each of these

algorithms has different relative weights for common factors like
keyword density, links, or metatags. That is why different search
engines give different search results pages for the same search string.
What is more, it is a known fact that all major search engines, like
Yahoo!, Google, Bing, etc. periodically change their algorithms and if
you want to keep at the top, you also need to adapt your pages to the
latest changes. This is one reason (the other is your competitors) to
devote permanent efforts to SEO, if you'd like to be at the top.
6. The last step in search engines' activity is retrieving the results.

Basically, it is nothing more than simply displaying them in the browser
– i.e. the endless pages of search results that are sorted from the most
relevant to the least relevant sites.
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11.3.2 Search engines as Reputation Aggregators
“Aggregator” is the buzzword of choice for the various online companies

that gather information from fragmented marketplaces into a single portal
to make life easier for everyone.
A classic example is the online airline and hotel reservations niche in which
Priceline (Nasdaq: PCLN), Travelzoo (Nasdaq: TZOO) and Expedia (Nasdaq:
EXPE) “aggregate” pricing and availability from the various airlines and
hotels onto one website so travellers have all the information they need to
make complex decisions.
Other examples are Groupon (privately held), which is a coupon and local
deals aggregator and OpenTable (Nasdaq: OPEN) is a restaurant
reservations aggregator.
With Google's reach into the entire world's data and its recent push into
the reservations space, it has indeed become the ultimate aggregator.
Hidden Costs of Online Reservations
Most consumers naively think there is no cost when reservations for

Flights/Hotels/Events/ Restaurants are done online via such aggregators.
That’s because the reservation transaction cost is paid by the airlines,

hotels, or restaurants.
The customer doesn’t usually even see the charge.
Companies like Priceline and Travelzoo get a fee for each reservation they
make, as does Ticketmaster. And OpenTable charges each restaurant a
surprisingly high $1.00 per seated diner for reservations made through
their website.
Changes in technology relationships that reduce the overhead of these

“hidden reservation costs” ultimately help the consumer. The Google/ITA
combination is one such change that will, no doubt, help accomplish that
goal.
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Restaurant and Events Bookings Too
Unknown to many is the fact that ITA Software has functionality that can
be used for restaurant and event bookings. ITA Software says for travel
destination pages, companies “can combine bookable tours, attractions and
events; free activities and events; restaurant bookings and reviews,
bookable ground transportation services; airport guides; weather reports;
travel guide content, and other information sources” to increase customer
loyalty and attract commissions for ancillary services.
So in its purchase of ITA, Google now has that capability in-house.

Compared to complicated airline flight reservations, for Google to now offer
a restaurant reservation system is much less complex (e.g. How many
diners? What time?).
11.3.2 Natural search
Natural search also called organic search, is a search marketing strategy

involving optimising a Website so it appears as close to the first search
engine results page as possible. Natural search is critical because with
more than 2 billion search engine queries each day, 62 per cent of
searchers will click on a link in the first page of Search Engine Results
Pages (SERP) and 90 per cent click on links within the first three pages.
11.3.3 Paid/Vertical and Keyword search
Pay per click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on websites,

where advertisers pay their host only when the ad is clicked. With search
engines, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their
target market. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather
than use a bidding system.
Cost per click (CPC) is the sum paid by an advertiser to search engines and
other Internet publishers for a single click on their advertisement, which
directs one visitor to the advertiser's website.
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Picture 11.2 Source: freepayperclick.biz
The three most common ways in which Online Advertising is purchased are
CPM, CPC, and CPA.
• CPM (Cost Per Mille), also called “Cost Per Thousand (CPT), is where
advertisers pay for exposure of their message to a specific audience. “Per
mille” means per thousand impressions, or loads of an advertisement.
However, some impressions may not be counted, such as a reload or
internal user action.
• CPV (Cost Per Visitor) is where advertisers pay for the delivery of a
targeted visitor to the advertiser’s website.
• CPV (Cost Per View) is when an advertiser pays for each unique user
view of an advertisement or website (usually used with pop-ups, pop-
under and interstitial ads).
• CPC (Cost Per Click) is also known as Pay per click (PPC). Advertisers
pay each time a user clicks on their listing and is redirected to their
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website. They do not actually pay for the listing, but only when the listing
is clicked on. This system allows adver tising specialists to refine
searches and gain information about their market. Under the pay per
click pricing system, advertisers pay for the right to be listed under a
series of target rich words that direct relevant traffic to their website, and
pay only when someone clicks on their listing which links directly to their
website. CPC differs from CPV in that each click is paid for regardless of
whether the user makes it to the target site.
• CPA (Cost Per Action) or (Cost Per Acquisition) advertising is

performance based and is common in the affiliate marketing sector of the
business. In this payment scheme, the publisher takes all the risk of
running the ad, and the advertiser pays only for the amount of users who
complete a transaction, such as a purchase or sign-up. This model
ignores any inefficiency in the sellers’ website conversion funnel.
❖ Similarly, CPL (Cost Per Lead) advertising is identical to CPA

advertising and is based on the user completing a form, registering
for a newsletter or some other action that the merchant feels will lead
to a sale.
❖ Also common, CPO (Cost Per Order) advertising is based on each

time an order is transacted.
❖ CPE (Cost Per Engagement) is a form of Cost Per Action pricing

first introduced in March 2008. Differing from cost-per-impression or
cost-per-click models, a CPE model means advertising impressions
are free and advertisers pay only when a user engages with their
specific ad unit. Engagement is defined as a user interacting with an
ad in any number of ways.
❖ Cost Per Conversion describes the cost of acquiring a customer,

typically calculated by dividing the total cost of an ad campaign by
the number of conversions. The definition of “Conversion” varies
depending on the situation: it is sometimes considered to be a lead, a
sale, or a purchase.
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In contrast to the generalised portal, which seeks to drive a high volume of

traffic to one site, PPC implements the so-called affiliate model that
provides purchase opportunities wherever people may be surfing. It does
this by offering financial incentives (in the form of a percentage of
revenue) to affiliated partner sites. The affiliates provide purchase-point
click-through to the merchant. It is a pay-for-performance model: If an
affiliate does not generate sales, it represents no cost to the merchant.
Variations include banner exchange, pay-per-click, and revenue sharing
programmes.
Websites that utilise PPC ads will display an advertisement when a keyword
query matches an advertiser's keyword list, or when a content site displays
relevant content. Such advertisements are called sponsored links or
sponsored ads, and appear adjacent to or above organic results on search
engine results pages, or anywhere a web developer chooses on a content
site.
Among PPC providers, Google Ad Words, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and

Microsoft ad Centre are the three largest network operators, and all three
operate under a bid-based model. Cost per click (CPC) varies depending on
the search engine and the level of competition for a particular keyword.
The PPC advertising model is open to abuse through click fraud, although
Google and others have implemented automated systems to guard against
abusive clicks by competitors or corrupt web developers.
Determining cost per click: There are two primary models for determining
cost per click: flat-rate and bid-based. In both cases the advertiser must
consider the potential value of a click from a given source.
This value is based on the type of individual the advertiser is expecting to

receive as a visitor to his or her website, and what the advertiser can gain
from that visit, usually revenue, both in the short term as well as in the
long term. As with other forms of advertising targeting is key, and factors
that often play into PPC campaigns include the target's interest (often
defined by a search term they have entered into a search engine, or the
content of a page that they are browsing), intent (e.g., to purchase or
not), location (for geo targeting), and the day and time that they are
browsing.
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Flat-rate PPC
In the flat-rate model, the advertiser and publisher agree upon a fixed
amount that will be paid for each click. In many cases the publisher has a
rate card that lists the CPC within different areas of their website or
network. These various amounts are often related to the content on pages,
with content that generally attracts more valuable visitors having a higher
CPC than content that attracts less valuable visitors. However, in many
cases advertisers can negotiate lower rates, especially when committing to
a long-term or high-value contract.
The flat-rate model is particularly common to comparison shopping

engines, which typically publish rate cards. However, these rates are
sometimes minimal, and advertisers can pay more for greater visibility.
These sites are usually neatly compartmentalised into product or service
categories, allowing a high degree of targeting by advertisers. In many
cases, the entire core content of these sites is paid ads.
Bid-based PPC
In the bid-based model, the advertiser signs a contract that allows them to
compete against other advertisers in a private auction hosted by a
publisher or, more commonly, an advertising network. Each advertiser
informs the host of the maximum amount that he or she is willing to pay
for a given ad spot (often based on a keyword), usually using online tools
to do so. The auction plays out in an automated fashion every time a
visitor triggers the ad spot.
When the ad spot is part of a search engine results page (SERP); the
automated auction takes place whenever a search for the keyword that is
being bid upon occurs. All bids for the keyword that target the searcher's
geo-location, the day and time of the search, etc. are then compared and
the winner determined. In situations where there are multiple ad spots, a
common occurrence on SERPs, there can be multiple winners whose
positions on the page are influenced by the amount each has bid. The ad
with the highest bid generally shows up first, though additional factors
such as ad quality and relevance can sometimes come into play.
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In addition to ad spots on SERPs, the major advertising networks allow for

contextual ads to be placed on the properties of 3rd parties with whom
they have partnered. These publishers sign up to host ads on behalf of the
network. In return, they receive a portion of the ad revenue that the
network generates, which can be anywhere from 50% to over 80% of the
gross revenue paid by advertisers.
These properties are often referred to as a content network and the ads on
them as contextual ads because the ad spots are associated with keywords
based on the context of the page on which they are found. In general, ads
on content networks have a much lower click-through rate (CTR) and
conversion rate (CR) than ads found on SERPs and consequently are less
highly valued. Content network properties can include websites,
newsletters, and e-mails.
Advertisers pay for each click they receive, with the actual amount paid
based on the amount bid. It is common practice amongst auction hosts to
charge a winning bidder just slightly more (e.g. one penny) than the next
highest bidder or the actual amount bid, whichever is lower. This avoids
situations where bidders are constantly adjusting their bids by very small
amounts to see if they can still win the auction while paying just a little bit
less per click.
To maximise success and achieve scale, automated bid management

systems can be deployed. These systems can be used directly by the
advertiser, though they are more commonly used by advertising agencies
that offer PPC bid management as a service. These tools generally allow for
bid management at scale, with thousands or even millions of PPC bids
controlled by a highly automated system. The system generally sets each
bid based on the goal that has been set for it, such as maximise profit,
maximise traffic at breakeven, and so forth. The system is usually tied into
the advertiser's website and fed the results of each click, which then allows
it to set bids. The effectiveness of these systems is directly related to the
quality and quantity of the performance data that they have to work with -
low-traffic ads can lead to a scarcity of data problem that renders many bid
management tools useless at worst, or inefficient at best.
Example of keyword “Distance Education” in Google search leading to

Welingkar Distance Education on first page of search.
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Picture 11.3
11.4 DEVELOPING AN SEO FRIENDLY WEBSITE
Assembling an SEO friendly website design is not rocket science, but there
is a methodical way to go about doing it. We've compiled a list of the most
important things that a SEO friendly website design needs in order to have
a solid foundation for its search engine optimisation campaign.
The process of creating a successful search engine optimisation campaign

can be compared to the construction of a new building - without a solid
foundation (SEO friendly website design), the building (your website) won't
be sturdy or safe to occupy. Ultimately, the risk of the building collapsing
(your website SEO campaign failing) significantly increases because of a
poorly constructed foundation...
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The SEO Friendly Website Design List
The following list, organised by importance - from most important to least

important (but still important), covers all of the basic (and some of the
more advanced) methods to effectively and efficiently optimise your
website design for SEO:
1. Don't use Flash

2. The foundation of the foundation: keyword research
3. Density of researched keywords in document text; don't hide text
4. Researched keywords in anchor text (the text that contains a hyperlink)
5. Images (including researched keywords in 'alt' tags, no text in images)
1. Don’t use Flash
There is a reason why we have two things NOT to do at the very top of our
list: Integrating Flash and frames into a website design that requires SEO
is like using gasoline to try to put out a fire: it’s just plain stupid. Don't use
Flash, here’s why:
Search Engine Spiders Don't Index Flash
All of that juicy textual content that you want people to find and eventually
read is worthless to Search Engine Spiders. When the spiders crawl your
website, any Flash files that the spiders stumble upon will be ignored -
including all of the content inside. If your entire website is built using
Flash, then you're committing what is commonly referred to as 'SEO
suicide'. Using Flash (especially for your entire website) is the worst thing
that you can do and should be avoided at all costs.
2. Don't Use Frames
Search Engine Spiders have a difficult time crawling through a website that
uses frames. Many Search Engine Spiders will receive the following
message when visiting a website designed using frames:
'Sorry! You need a frames-browser to view this site.'
If you can't already tell, using frames can be just as bad as building a
website using Flash. None of the content inside of your frames is index able
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by the Search Engine Spiders — all they see is that error message. Unless
you're optimising your website design for 'Sorry! You need a frames-
browser to view this site.' you will not rank well in search engines that do
not support frames.
3. The Foundation of the Foundation: Keyword Research
When optimising your website design for the search engines, keyword
research is an integral step. If you're optimising your website for the wrong
keywords, then your target audience will not find you in the search engine
which means your SEO campaign will not be very effective.
There are a number of ways to research the keywords that your target
audience is searching for - we've included two:
• Wordtracker
• Overture
Wordtracker: Wordtracker is a popular and effective keyword research

tool used by some of the most respected engine optimisation professionals
in the business today. Wordtracker offers a very large 340 million +
keyword data-base from which you can discover what your target audience
is entering into search engines and how many times each keyword has
been entered. There are many beneficial features that a Wordtracker
membership includes (yes, it costs money, but it is worth every penny).
Some of these features include:
❖ Competition search: Allows you to find the keywords with the least
number of competing websites; the less websites competing against your
keywords, the easier it will be for your website to rank higher for them.
❖ Misspelling search: As the name implies, Wordtracker allows you to

search for common misspellings of your targeted keywords so that you
can optimise a few pages of your website and obtain the extra traffic
from the misspelled words.
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Overture: Overture is the free solution to keyword research. Although not

as efficient as Wordtracker, Overture still is an invaluable keyword research
tool when used correctly. Many will argue about whether the results from
Overture are accurate, but since the tool is free, it is better than nothing.
4. Density of Researched Keywords in Document Text
Using the researched keywords in your document's body that are included
in your andlt;titleandgt; tag, andlt;metaandgt; tags, URL file and folder
names is another great way to boost the chance for success of your SEO
friendly website design. When integrating the researched keywords into
your document's body, be sure not to 'stuff' the keywords by using them
too many times. Doing so will make the body text unreadable and seem
nonsensical. More importantly, the Search Engine Spiders could penalise
you for stuffing keywords in your web pages.
To make sure that you're not abusing the repetition of the researched
keywords, use a keyword density analyser tool. Enter in a keyword or
keywords phrase that you are optimising a web page for, enter in the URL
of the page, and submit. This tool will not only scan the body text of your
document, but it will also scan the andlt;titleandgt; tag, andlt;metaandgt;
tags, URL, and more. If the keyword is reported as being used more than
7% in the body text, then go back and edit the body text of that web page
so that the keyword density of the researched keyword is between 3% and
7%.
Note: Be sure that your body text is not the same colour (or close to the
same colour) as its background text. Commonly referred to as 'hidden text'
by the search engines, this could result in your website being penalised or
even banned from the search engine results pages altogether.
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5. Researched Keywords in Anchor Text
Using researched keywords in the anchor text of your hyperlinks is another

crucial step in creating a SEO friendly website design. If an optimised web
page is about blue fighter jets, then be sure to make the hyperlink anchor
text read:
'Blue Fighter Jets'
Not only do including descriptive, researched keywords in your hyperlinks

make it easier for visitors to know what they should expect to find when
following a certain hyperlink, but it also tells the Search Engine Spiders
what a web page is about. Using researched keywords in your anchor text
is even more important when another website links to your web page. This
carries a great deal of weight for search engines in determining how
'important' a web page is and ultimately how high it should be ranked in
the search engine results pages.
6. Images: 'Alt' tags, No Text in Images
Finally, the last two things to remember when creating a SEO friendly
website design are to use 'Alt' tags for images and also to keep textual
information out of images.
'Alt' tags
A Search Engine Spider is not smart enough to determine what an image is

about. To help the spiders by providing additional information from your
website that they can index, include an 'alt' tag for each image that you
use. Additionally, if possible, use the researched keywords in the alt tags.
Keep text out of Images
Aside from your logo, text should not be included inside of an image. Not
only does it increase the size of the image (which means longer download
times), but it also makes all of the text inside of the image useless from an
SEO perspective. Instead, use CSS layers (the z-index attribute) in your
CSS stylesheet to position text on top of the image. Although you don't
have as many font choices, your image will download more quickly and the
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text on top of the image will be crawlable and index able by the Search
Engine Spiders.
11.5 WEB ANALYTICS
Web Analytics is the methodological study of online/offline patterns and

trends. It is a technique that you can employ to collect, measure, report,
and analyse your website data. It is normally carried out to analyse the
performance of a website and optimise its web usage.
We use web analytics to track key metrics and analyse visitors‘ activity and
traffic flow. It is a tactical approach to collect data and generate reports.
Importance of Web Analytics
We need Web Analytics to assess the success rate of a website and its
associated business.
Using Web Analytics, we can:
• Assess web content problems so that they can be rectified
• Have a clear perspective of website trends
• Monitor web traffic and user flow
• Demonstrate goals acquisition
• Figure out potential keywords
• Identify segments for improvement
• Find out referring sources
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Web Analytics Process
The primary objective of carrying out Web Analytics is to optimise the

website in order to provide better user experience. It provides a data-
driven report to measure visitors‘ flow throughout the website. Take a look
at the following illustration. It depicts the process of web analytics.
• Set the business goals.
• To track the goal achievement, set the Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
• Collect correct and suitable data.
• To extract insights, Analyse data.
• Based on assumptions learned from the data analysis, Test alternatives.
• Based on either data analysis or website testing, Implement insights.
11.6 GOOGLE ANALYTICS
Google Analytics is a freemium analytic tool that provides a detailed

statistics of the web traffic. It is used by more than 60% of website
owners.
Google analytics helps you to track and measure visitors, traffic sources,
goals, conversion, and other metrics (as shown in the above image). It
basically generates reports on
• Audience Analysis
• Acquisition Analysis
• Behaviour Analysis
• Conversion Analysis
• Let us discuss each one of them in detail.
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Audience Analysis
As the name suggests, audience analysis gives you an overview of the

audience who visit your site along with their session history, page-views,
bounce rate, etc. You can trace the new as well as the returning users
along with their geographical locations. You can track:
• The age and gender of your audience under Demographics.
• The affinity reach and market segmentation under Interests.
• Language and location under Geo.
• New and returning visitors, their frequency, and engagement under

Behaviour.
• Browsers, Operating systems, and network of your audience in

Technology.
• Mobile device info under Mobile.
• Custom variable report under Custom. This report shows the activity by
custom modules that you created to capture the selections.
• Benchmarking channels, locations, and devices under Benchmarking.

Benchmarking allows you to compare your metrics with other related
industries. So, you can plot what you need to incur in order to overtake
the market.
• Flow of user activity under Users flow to see the path they took on your
website
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Acquisition Analysis
Acquisition means ‘to acquire.‘ Acquisition analysis is carried out to find out
the sources from where your web traffic originates. Using acquisition
analysis, you can:
• Capture traffic from all channels, particular source/medium, and from

referrals.
• Trace traffic from AdWords (paid search).
• See traffic from search engines. Here, you can see Queries, triggered
landing pages, and geographical summary.
• Track social media traffic. It helps you to identify networks where your
users are engaged. You can see referrals from where your traffic
originates. You can also have a view of your hub activity, bookmarking
sites follow-up, etc. In the same tab, you can have a look at your
endorsements in details. It helps you measure the impact of social media
on your website.
• See which plug-ins gave you traffic.
• Have a look at all the campaigns you built throughout your website with
detailed statistics of paid/organic keywords and the cost incurred on it.
Behaviour Analysis
Behaviour analysis monitors users‘ activities on a website. You can find

behavioural data under the following four segments:
❖ Site Content: It shows how many pages were viewed. You can see the
detailed interaction of data across all pages or in segments like content
drill-down, landing pages, and exit pages. Content drill-down is breaking
up of data into sub-folders. Landing page is the page where the user
lands, and exit page is where the user exits your site. You can measure
the behavioural flow in terms of content.
❖ Site Speed: Here, you can capture page load time, execution speed, and
performance data. You can see how quickly the browser can parse
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through the page. Further, you can measure page timings, user timings,
and get speed suggestion. It helps you to know where you are lagging.
❖ Site Search: It gives you a full picture of how the users search across
your site, what they normally look for, and how they arrive at a particular
landing page. You can analyse what they search for before landing on
your website.
❖ Events: Events are visitors‘ actions with content, which can be traced
independently.
Example: downloads, sign up, log-in, etc.
Conversion Analysis
Conversion is a goal completion or a transaction by a user on your website.

For example, download, checkout, buy, etc. To track conversions in
analytics, you need to define a goal and set a URL that is traceable.
• Goals – Metrics that measure a profitable activity that you want the user
to complete. You can set them to track the actions. Each time a goal is
achieved, a conversion is added to your data. You can observe goal
completion, value, reverse path, and goal flow.
• Ecommerce – You can set ecommerce tracking to know what the users
buy from your website. It helps you to find product performance, sale
performance, transactions, and purchase time. Based on these data, you
can analyse what can be beneficial and what can incur you loss.
• Multi-channel funnels – Multi-channel funnels or MCF reports the

source of conversion; what roles the website plays, referrals‘ role in that
conversion; and what all slabs did when users pass through landing page
to conversion. For example, a user searched for a query on Google
search page, he visited the website, but did not convert. Later on, he
directly typed your website name and made a purchase. All these
activities can be traced on MCF.
• Attribution – Attribution modelling credits sales and conversions to

touch points in conversion tracking. It lets you decide what platforms or
strategy or module is the best for your business. Suppose a person
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visited your website through AdWords ad and made no purchase. A

month later, he visits via a social platform and again does not buy. Third
time, he visited directly and converted. Here, the last interaction model
will credit direct for the conversion, whereas first interaction model will
assign credit to paid medium. This way, you can analyse what module
should be credited for a conversion
11.7 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT OF CONTENT

ASSESSMENT
Effective Content Marketing has always been based a well organised

content strategy, defined targets, and constant analysis of the results.
It's an optimisation platform to test and validate changes and the present
look of your webpage. It also determines which layout to finally go with. It
uses A/B Testing, Multi-page, and Multivariate Testing to improve and
analyse your website.
A wonderful feature of Optimise is that you do not need to be a technical

expert. You just need to insert a deployed code provided by Optimise in
your HTML. After putting it, you can trace anything, take any action, and
make any changes in your website.
Optimise provides you administrative and management functionality to let

you create account, organise projects, and experiment. This facility helps
you in tracking clicks, conversions, sign-ups, etc.
You are allowed to run tests and use custom integrations with Optimise
interface. All you need is:
• Set up an account on Optimise and add a generated script.
• Once you are done with it, select your test pages. It implies the factors
you want to run test on.
• Set Goals. To set goals, click on the flag icon at the top right of the page
and follow up the instructions. Check metrics you are looking for. Click
Save.
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KISS metrics is a powerful web analytics tool that delivers key insights and
user interaction on your website. It defines a clear picture of
users‘ activities on your website and collects acquisition data of every
visitor.
You can use this service free for a month. After that, you can switch on to
a paid plan that suits you. KISS metrics helps in improving sales by
knowing cart-abandoned products. It helps you to know exactly when to
follow up your customers by tracking the repeat buyers activity slot.
Crazy Egg is an online analytics application that provides you eye-tracking

tools. It generates heat maps based on where people clicked on your
website. Thus, it gives you an idea on where to focus. It lets you filter data
on top 15 referrers, search terms, operating systems, etc.
To use Crazy Egg, a small piece of JavaScript code needs to be placed on

your site pages.
Once the code is on your site, Crazy Egg will track user behaviour. Your
servers will create a report that shows you the clicks on the pages you are
tracking. You can review the reports in the dashboard within the member‘s
area of the Crazy Egg site. Setting up Crazy Egg is a quick and easy task.
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11.8 ENGAGEMENT METRICS
You need to find a few key metrics for your business. You have a website
and it has a tracking code in it. Now, you need to make sure what are you
going to measure. Analysing may help you retain your customer and hold
them. What to Measure
Audience
Page views – Page views is the number of views of a page. Multiple page
views are possible in a single session. If page views is improved, it will
directly influence AdSense revenue and average time on website.
Bounce rate – Bounce rate reflects the percentage of visitors returning

back only after visiting one page of your website. It helps you to know how
many visitors do so. If the bounce rate of a website increases, its
webmaster should be worried.
Pages per session – Pages/session is the number of pages surfed in a

single session. For example, a user landed on your website and surfed 3
pages, then the website pages/session is 3.
Demographic info – Demographic data shows Age and Gender. With the
help of Demographic Info, you can find the percentage of Male/Female
visitors coming to your website. Analysing the ratio of this data, you can
make a strategy according to genders. Age group data help you find what
percentage of age group visiting your website. So, you can make a
strategy for highest percentage of age group visitors.
Devices – This data shows the devices info. In devices info, you can easily
find how many percentage of visitors come from mobile, how many come
from desktop, how many come from tablets, etc. If mobile traffic is high,
then you need to make your website responsive.
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Acquisition
• Traffic sources – In the acquisition, you have to check all your sources of
the traffic. Major sources of the traffic are:
• Organic traffic is the traffic coming through all search engines (Google,
Yahoo, Bing....)
• Social traffic is the traffic coming through all social media platforms (like-
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, ...)
• Referral traffic is the traffic coming through where your website is linked.
• Direct traffic is the traffic coming directly to your website. For example,
typing the URL of your website, clicking on the link of your website given
in emails, etc.
Picture 11.4
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Conversion Funnels
Conversion funnels is the path by which a goal (Product purchase, Lead

form done, Service contact form submitted, etc.) is completed. It is a
series of steps covered by the visitors to become customers. It is explained
in the “Bertus Engelbrecht’s” image, given below. If more numbers of
visitors are leaving the website without any purchase, then you can use
conversion funnels to analyse the following:
Why are they leaving the website?
Is there any problem with the conversion path?
Is there any broken link in the conversion path or any other feature that is
not working in the conversion path
Analysis Using Segmentation
When you are done with your segments (collected the data from
segments), then the next step is analysis. Analysis is all about finding the
actionable item from the data.
Example
Let’s map a table for analysis.
Picture 11.5
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Dashboard Implementation
In Google analytics, you can create dashboards according to your

requirements. Dashboards are used for finding data. With the help of
dashboards, you can quickly analyse the data. In dashboard, you have to
create widgets as per your requirements.
The following image shows how to create a dashboard
Picture 11.6
Types of Dashboards
You can create dashboards according to your requirements. Following are

the main types of dashboards:
SEO dashboard
Content dashboard
• Website performance dashboard Real time overview dashboard

Ecommerce dashboard
• Social Media dashboard
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• PPC dashboard
In every dashboard, you have to create widgets. Widgets are form in

graphical or in numbers.
For example, if you want to create a dashboard for SEO, you have to create
a widget for the total traffic, for the organic traffic, for the keywords, etc.
You can analyse these metrics with the help of SEO dashboard.
If you want to create a dashboard for website performance, then you have
to create a widget for website avg. page load time, Website server
response time, Page load time for mobile, and Check page load time by
browser. With the help of these widgets, you can easily analyse the website
performance.
Metrics for Every Dashboard
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – Organic traffic, Website total

traffic, Keyword used in Organic, Top landing pages, etc.
• Content – In content dashboard, you have to monitor traffic for blog

section, Conversion by blog post, and Top landing page by exit.
• Website Performance Dashboard – Avg. page load time, Mobile page

load time, Page load time by browser, and Website server response time.
• Real Time Overview Dashboard – In real time overview, you can set a
widget for real time traffic, Real time traffic source, and real time traffic
landing pages.
• Ecommerce Dashboard – In ecommerce total traffic, Landing by

products, and Total sale by products.
• Social Media Dashboard – In social media traffic by social media

channel, Sale by social media, most socially shared content.
• PPC dashboard – In pay per click (PPC) dashboard, you need to include
clicks, impressions, CTR, converted clicks, etc.
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Conversion is when a user visits your page and performs an action, for
example, purchase, sign-up, download, etc.
Goals
Goals are used in analytics for tracking completions of specific actions.

With the help of goals, you can measure the rate of success. Goals are
measured differently in different industries.
For example, in an e-commerce website you can measure the goal when a
product gets sold. In a software company, you can measure the goal when
a software product is sold. In a marketing company, goals are measured
when a contact form is filled.
Types of Goals
Goals can be divided into the following categories:
• Destination Goal – Destination goal is used to find page views of a

website. Put a destination URL in the destination field to complete your
goal.
• Duration Goal – You can measure the user engagement with the help of
duration goal. You can specify hours, minutes, and second field to
quantify the goals. If a user spends more than that much of time on the
page, then the goal is completed.
• Event Goals – You can measure user interaction with your event on the
site. It is called as event goals. You must have at least one event to
compose this goal.
• Pages/session Goal – You can measure the user engagement with

pages/session goal. First, you have to specify how many page views/
session counts as goal complete. Then, with the help of goal metric, you
can analyse how many goals are completed.
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11.9 SUMMARY

to be found by potential consumers.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the practice of optimising a website so

as to achieve preferred ranking on the search engine results pages
(SERPs). Someone who practices SEO professionally is also known as an
SEO (search engine optimiser).
How search engines work?
First, search engines crawl the Web to see what is there. This task is
performed by a piece of software, called a crawler or a spider
After a page is crawled, the next step is to index its content.
When a search request comes, the search engine processes it – i.e. it

compares the search string in the search request with the indexed pages in
the database
There are various algorithms to calculate relevancy. Each of these

algorithms has different relative weights for common factors like keyword
density, links, or metatags.
The last step in search engines' activity is retrieving the results. Basically,
it is nothing more than simply displaying them in the browser.
“Aggregator” is the buzzword of choice for the various online companies

that gather information from fragmented marketplaces into a single portal
to make life easier for everyone.
Natural search also called organic search, is a search marketing strategy

involving optimising a Website so it appear as close to the first search
engine results page as possible.
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Pay Per Click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on websites,

where advertisers pay their host only when the ad is clicked.
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the sum paid by an advertiser to search engines
and other Internet publishers for a single click on their advertisement,
which directs one visitor to the advertiser's website.
Assembling an SEO friendly website design is not rocket science, but there
is a methodical way to go about doing it. Methods to effectively and
efficiently optimise your website design for SEO:
1. Name two ways that Websites can use general search engines for
increasing traffic
2. Why Google is called reputation engine?
3. Why are key words are important?
4. Explain how search engine works?
5. List 6 types of Search Engines and use any keyword of a product or

services, compare results
6. Change the keyword you choose in question five with more details and
compare results
7. You are involved in Website Design. What parameters you will ask your
design team for SEO Friendly website.
8. What is search engine optimisation?
9. How do we get higher/better search ratings?
10.Where can we find subscribers to send an e-news letter by e-mail?
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1. Identify Search Engines from following list

(a) sify.com
(b) google.com
(c) altavista.com
(d) 2 and 3 of the above
2. From a search engine perspective, Search Engine Optimisation is the

process of making web pages
(a) Easy to find
(b) Easy to crawl
(c) Easy to categorise.
3. Effective Content Marketing has always been based

(a) Constant analysis of the results
(b) Defined targets
(c) Well organised content strategy.
4. Web Analytics is the methodological study of online/offline patterns and

trends.
(a) True
(b) False
5. Pay Per Click (PPC) is an Internet advertising model used on websites,

where advertisers pay their host only when the ad is clicked
(a) True
(b) False
Answers : 1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (c) 4. (a ) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
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COMMUNICATION TOOLS
Chapter 12
Communication Tools
Learning Objectives
• Integrated Marketing Communication Components
• Community building principles and social networks
• Building an Online Brand
Structure:
12.1 Integrated Marketing Communication

12.1.1 IMC Components
12.1.2 Marketing mix component
12.1.3 Importance of IMC
12.1.4 4 Ps vs. 4 Cs
12.1.5 Effective Communications Elements
12.1.6 Promotions Opportunity Analysis
12.1.7 Benefits of IMC
12.2 Marketing Public Relations
12.3 Community Building Principles
12.3.1 Community Building Online Events

12.3.2 Blogs
12.4 IMC Metrix
12.5 Summary
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COMMUNICATION TOOLS
12.1 INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and

integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, functions and
sources within a company into a seamless programme that maximises the
impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost.
A management concept that is designed to make all aspects of marketing

communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and
direct marketing work together as a unified force, rather than permitting
each to work in isolation. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a
process for managing customer relationships that drive brand value
primarily through communication efforts. Such efforts often include cross-
functional processes that create and nourish profitable relationships with
customers and other stakeholders by strategically controlling or influencing
all messages sent to these groups and encouraging data-driven, purposeful
dialogue with them. IMC includes the coordination and integration of all
marketing communication tools, avenues, and sources within a company
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COMMUNICATION TOOLS
into a seamless programme in order to maximise the impact on end users

at a minimal cost.
This integration affects all firms' business-to-business, marketing channel,

customer focused, and internally directed communications.
All of these communications tools work better if they work together in

harmony rather than in isolation. Their sum is greater than their parts -
providing they speak consistently with one voice all the time, every time.
This is enhanced when integration goes beyond just the basic

communications tools. There are other levels of integration such as
Horizontal, Vertical, Internal, External and Data integration. Here is how
they help to strengthen Integrated Communications. Horizontal Integration
occurs across the marketing mix and across business functions - for
example, production, finance, distribution and communications should work
together and be conscious that their decisions and actions send messages
to customers.
While different departments such as sales, direct mail and advertising can
help each other through Data Integration. This requires a marketing
information system which collects and shares relevant data across different
departments.
Vertical Integration means marketing and communications objectives must

support the higher level corporate objectives and corporate missions.
Check out the Hall Of Fame later for more about missions.
Meanwhile, Internal Integration requires internal marketing - keeping all

staff informed and motivated about any new developments from new
advertisements, to new corporate identities, new service standards, new
strategic partners and so on.
External Integration, on the other hand, requires external partners such as

advertising and PR agencies to work closely together to deliver a single
seamless solution - a cohesive message - an integrated message.
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COMMUNICATION TOOLS
Picture 12.1 Model for Communication Migration
12.1.1 IMC Components
1. The Foundation: Corporate image and brand management; buyer

behaviour; promotions opportunity analysis.
2. Advertising Tools: Advertising management, advertising design:

theoretical frameworks and types of appeals; advertising design:
message strategies and executional frameworks; advertising media
selection. Advertising also reinforces brand and firm image.
3. Promotional Tools: Trade promotions; consumer promotions; personal

selling, database marketing, and customer relations management;
public relations and sponsorship programmes.
12.1.2 Marketing mix component
The Internet has changed the way business is done in the current world.
The variables of segmentation, targeting and positioning are addressed
differently. The way new products and services are marketed have changed
even though the aim of business in bringing economic and social values
remain unchanged. Indeed, the bottom line of increasing revenue and
profit are still the same.
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COMMUNICATION TOOLS
Marketing has evolved to more of connectedness, due to the new

characteristics brought in by the Internet. Marketing was once seen as a
one way, with firms broadcasting their offerings and value proposition. Now
it is seen more and more as a conversation between marketers and
customers. Marketing efforts incorporate the "marketing mix". Promotion is
one element of marketing mix. Promotional activities include advertising
(by using different media), sales promotion (sales and trades promotion),
and per sonal selling activities. It also includes Internet marketing,
sponsorship marketing, direct marketing, database marketing and public
relations. Integration of all these promotional tools, along with other
components of marketing mix, is a way to gain an edge over a competitor.
The starting point of the IMC process is the marketing mix that includes
different types of marketing, advertising, and sales efforts. Without a
complete IMC plan there is no integration or harmony between client and
customers. The goal of an organisation is to create and maintain
communication throughout its own employees and throughout its
customers.
Integrated marketing is based on a master marketing plan. This plan

should coordinate efforts in all components of the marketing mix. A
marketing plan consists on the following steps:
1. Situation analysis
2. Marketing objectives
3. Marketing budget
Integrated marketing communications aims to ensure consistency of

message and the complementary use of media. The concept includes online
and offline marketing channels. Online marketing channels include any e-
marketing campaigns or programmes, from search engine optimisation
(SEO), pay-per-click, and affiliate, and e-mail, banner to latest web related
channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, podcast, Internet Radio,
and Internet TV. Offline marketing channels are traditional print
(newspaper, magazine), mail order, public relations, industry relations,
billboard, traditional radio, and television.
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COMMUNICATION TOOLS
A company develops its integrated marketing communication programmer

using all the elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and
promotion). Integrated marketing communications plans are vital to
achieving success. The reasons for their importance begin with the
explosion of information technologies. Channel power has shifted from
manufacturers to retailers to consumers.
Using outside-in thinking, Integrated Marketing Communications is a data-

driven approach that focuses on identifying consumer insights and
developing a strategy with the right (online and offline combination)
channels to forge a stronger brand-consumer relationship. This involves
knowing the right touch points to use to reach consumers and
understanding how and where they consume different types of media.
Regression analysis and customer lifetime value are key data elements in
this approach.
12.1.3 Importance of IMC
Several shifts in the advertising and media industry have caused IMC to
develop into a primary strategy for marketers:
1. From media advertising to multiple forms of communication.
2. From mass media to more specialised (niche) media, which are centered
on specific target audiences?
3. From a manufacturer-dominated market to a retailer-dominated,

consumer controlled market.
4. From general-focus advertising and marketing to data-based marketing.
5. From low agency accountability to greater agency accountability,

particularly in advertising.
6. From traditional compensation to performance-based compensation

(increased sales or benefits to the company).
7. From limited Internet access to 24/7 Internet availability and access to

goods and services.
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12.1.4. 4 Ps vs. 4 Cs:
Picture 12.2 Source: amusedwriter.blogspot.com
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4 Ps vs. 4 Cs:
1. Not PRODUCT, but CONSUMER: You have to understand what the

consumer's wants and needs are. Times have changed and you can no
longer sell whatever you can make. The product characteristics have to
match the specifics of what someone wants to buy.
2. Not PRICE, but COST: Understand the consumer's cost to satisfy the
want or need. The product price may be only one part of the consumer's
cost structure. Often it is the cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost
of conscience of what you buy the cost of guilt for not treating the kids,
etc.
3. Not PLACE, but CONVENIENCE: As above, turn the standard logic

around. Think convenience of the buying experience and then relate
that to a delivery mechanism. Consider all possible definitions of
"convenience" as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and
needs.
Convenience may include aspects of the physical or virtual location,

access ease, transaction service time, and hours of availability.
4. Not PROMOTION, but COMMUNICATION: Communicate, many mediums

working together to present a unified message with a feedback
mechanism to make the communication two-way. And be sure to include
an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth
and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind. How
many ways can a customer hear (or see) the same message through
the course of the day, each message reinforcing the earlier images?
Effective Communications Elements:
The goal of selecting the elements of proposed integrated marketing

communications is to create a campaign that is effective and consistent
across media platforms. Some marketers may want only ads with greatest
breadth of appeal: the executions that, when combined, provide the
greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments.
Others may only want ads with the greatest depth of appeal: the ads with
the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational points
within each. Promotions Opportunity Analysis:
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A major task that guides the way in creating an effective Integrated

Marketing Communications plan is the promotions opportuni ty analysis. “A
promotions opportunity analysis is the process marketers use to identify
target audiences for a company’s goods and services and the
communication strategies needed to reach these audiences”.
12.1.5 Effective communications elements
The goal of selecting the elements of proposed integrated marketing

communications is to create a campaign that is effective and consistent
across media platforms. Some marketers may want only ads with greatest
breadth of appeal: the executions that, when combined, provide the
greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational moments.
Others may only want ads with the greatest depth of appeal: the ads with
the greatest number of attention-getting, branded, and motivational points
within each. Although integrated marketing communications is more than
just an advertising campaign, the bulk of marketing dollars is spent on the
creation and distribution of advertisements. Hence, the bulk of the
research budget is also spent on these elements of the campaign. Once the
key marketing pieces have been tested, the researched elements can then
be applied to other contact points: letterhead, packaging, logistics,
customer service training, and more, to complete the IMC cycle.
12.1.6 Promotions Opportunity Analysis
A major task that guides the way in creating an effective Integrated

Marketing Communications plan is the promotions opportunity analysis. “A
promotions opportunity analysis is the process marketers use to identify
target audiences for a company’s goods and services and the
communication strategies needed to reach these audiences.”
A message sent by a marketer has a greater likelihood of achieving the

intended results if the marketer has performed a good analysis and
possesses accurate information pertaining to the target audience.
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There are five steps in developing a promotions opportunity analysis:
Conduct a Communication Market Analysis:
1. Competitors,
2. Opportunities,
3. Target markets,
4. Customers, and
5. Product positioning.
Establish Communication Objectives:
1. Develop brand awareness,
2. Increase category demand,
3. Change customer belief or attitude,
4. Enhance purchase actions,
5. Encourage repeat purchases,
6. Build customer traffic,
7. Enhance firm image,
8. Increase market share,
9. Increase sales, and
10.Reinforce purchase decisions
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Create Communications Budget:
Several factors influence the relationship between expenditures on

promotions and sales:
1. The goal of the promotion,
2. Threshold effects,
3. Carryover effects,
4. Wear-out effects,
5. Decay effects, and
6. Random events.
12.1.7 Benefits of IMC
Although Integrated Marketing Communications requires a lot of effort it

delivers many benefits. It can create competitive advantage, boost sales
and profits, while saving money, time and stress.
IMC wraps communications around customers and helps them move

through the various stages of the buying process. The organisation
simultaneously consolidates its image, develops a dialogue and nurtures its
relationship with customers.
Building a successful online community is not as simple as putting a link on

a website and hoping folks will drop by. As with most e-business strategies,
research and planning precede success.
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A seven-step programme for IMC
1. Observe: Visit local media hangouts for Web users on the topics
interest in the industry of the company interested in starting a social
media community. For example fair and lovely brand manager would
track conversions among users and company analysis at blogs and
websites to find the largest and most active community.
2. Recruit: Find Internet users who want to talk about the industry and
recruit them for joining the new social media properly.
3. Evaluate platforms: Decide whether the format should be a blog,

vertical search site pure online community, or social network.
4. Engage: Plan-ways to get the community members to talk and upload

content.
5. Measure: Identify metrics that will measure the success of the effort.
For example no. of comments placed on the blog.
6. Promote: Plan-ways to advertise and build a buzz in the social media

with reputation aggregators so the new community attracts users.
7. Improve: Use the metrics to continuously improve the community.
Internet Advertising
The purpose of Internet advertising is the same as in other types of

advertising, i.e. to convince customers to purchase a specific good or
service. Therefore, it is considered as an alternative (or supplementary)
means to the traditional methods of advertising. Customer knowledge of
this alternative means is quickly increasing.
Electronic advertising is an attempt to release information on the Internet

in order to establish a relationship among vendors and buyers. Internet
advertising can also aim at strengthening the position of a specific brand in
the market (brand building) or attempt to evoke direct response from
consumers.
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This latter type of advertising has great advantages compared with other
advertising means, such as television or radio that do not support bi-
directional communication and transactions. Moreover, Internet advertising
can be defined as every form of commercial content, available through the
Internet and designed by a company, in order to inform consumers of a
good or a service.
The most common way of advertising through the Internet is the so-called
"brochure ware", which refers to the use of a company's official website to
show its products and business activities.
Advantages offered by advertising are direct communication and

interaction with users, the possibility to offer personalised or, at least,
adapted mass messages, the consumer's ability for direct criticism, the
broad number of potential customers and, consequently, the low cost of
advertising messages per viewer/ user. In the other end, the disadvantages
are that certain ways of measuring advertising message effectiveness are
not commonly accepted, the lack of technological standards to ensure the
time efficiency of messages, the easiness to offer advertising content, and
the dependence of advertisements on advertised product technology, web
means of exposure and the receiver of the message. In many cases,
viewers have the option to deactivate incoming advertising messages, a
fact that re-determines the effectiveness of a company's cooperation with
advertising agencies
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12.2 MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS
Public relations consist of activities that influence public opinion and create
goodwill for an organisation. Public relations is used to create good will
among a number of different public including company shareholders, and
employees ,the media, suppliers and the local community as well as
consumers and business buyers.
Marketing public relations include brand related activities and non paid,
third party media coverage to positively influence target market. MPR
activities include Website and Portal content itself, online events and many
ways to build a buzz online.
12.3 COMMUNITY BUILDING PRINCIPLES
Building a successful online community is not as simple as putting a link on

a website and hoping folks will drop by. As with most e-business strategies,
research and planning precede success. Larry Weber suggests a seven step
programme.
1. Observe: Visit local media hangouts for Web users on the topics
interest in the industry of the company interested in starting a social
media community. For example Fair and lovely brand manager would
track conversions among users and company analysis at blogs and
websites to find the largest and most active community.
2. Recruit: Find Internet users who want to talk about the industry and
recruit them for joining the new social media properly.
3. Evaluate platforms: Decide whether the format should be a blog,

vertical search site pure online community, or social network.
4. Engage: Plan ways to get the community members to talk and upload
content.
5. Measure: Identify metrics that will measure the success of the effort.
For example no. of comments placed on the blog.
6. Promote: Plan ways to advertise and build a buzz in the social media
with reputation aggregators so the new community attracts users.
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7. Improve: Use the metrics to continuously improve the community.
Picture 12.3 Source: watblog.com
12.3.1 Community Building Online Events
This new economy has three distinguishing characteristics:
• It is global,
• It favours intangible things—ideas, information, and relationships,
• It is intensely interlinked.
These three attributes produce a new type of marketplace and society, one
that is rooted in ubiquitous electronic networks. Networks have existed in
every economy.
What’s different now is that networks, enhanced and multiplied by

technology, penetrate our lives so deeply that “network” has become the
central metaphor around which our thinking and our economy are
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organised. Unless we can understand the distinctive logic of networks, we

can’t profit from the economic transformation now under way.
New Rules for the New Economy lays out ten essential dynamics of this
emerging financial order. These rules are fundamental principles that are
hardwired into this new territory, and that apply to all businesses and
industries, not just high-tech ones. Think of the principles outlined in this
book as rules of thumb.
Like any rules of thumb they aren’t infallible. Instead, they act as beacons
charting out general directions. They are designed to illuminate deep-
rooted forces that will persist into the first half of the next century.
These ten laws attempt to capture the underlying principles that shape our
new economic environment, rather than chase current short-term business
trends. Of course; all the mouse clicks in the world can’t move atoms in
real space without tapping real energy, so there are limits to how far the
soft will infiltrate the hard.
But the evidence everywhere indicates that the hard world is irreversibly
softening.
Therefore, one can gain a huge advantage simply by riding this conversion.
To stay ahead, you chiefly need to understand how the soft world works—
how networks prosper and grow, how interfaces control attention, how
plentitude drives value—and then apply those principles to the hard world
of now. The tricks of the intangible trade will become the tricks of your
trade.
The new economy deals in wispy entities such as information,

relationships, copyright, entertainment, securities, and derivatives.
Because communication—which in the end is what the digital technology
and media are all about is not just a sector of the economy.
Communication is the economy.
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12.3.2 Blogs
Blogs are online diaries, or journals, frequently updated and presented in

chronological order on Web pages. These are extremely useful in building
online communities.
A blog (a blend of the term web log) is a type of website or part of a

website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries
of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics
or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.
Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a
blog.
Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even
message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that
distinguishes them from other static websites.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others

function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text,
images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its
topic.
The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an

important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although
some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photo blog), videos (video
blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is
another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity. Blog usage spread
during 1999 and the years following, being further popularised by the near-
simultaneous arrival of the first hosted blog tools:
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There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of
content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written.
1. Personal blogs: The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary

by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal
bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never
read. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they
become a way to reflect on life, or works of art. Blogging can have a
sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the
mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive
following. One type of personal blog, referred to as a microblog, is
extremely detailed and seeks to capture a moment in time. Some sites,
such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings
instantaneously with friends and family, and are much faster than
emailing or writing.
2. Corporate and organisational blogs: A blog can be private, as in

most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs used internally to
enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally
for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate
blogs. Similar blogs for clubs and societies are called club blogs, group
blogs, or by similar names; typical use is to inform members and other
interested parties of club and member activities. Some blogs focus on a
particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs (also known as
travelogs), house blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs,
niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often
referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. Two common types of genre
blogs are art blogs and music blogs. A blog featuring discussions
especially about home and family is not uncommonly called a mom
blog. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose
of spamming is known as a Splog.
3. By media type: A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one

comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of
sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a
photo blog. Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called
tumblelogs. Blogs that are written on typewriters and then scanned are
called typecast or type-cast blogs; see typecasting (blogging).
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A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog
By device: Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to

compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA
could be called a mob log. One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam,
an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video,
and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device
to a website. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video
together with text was referred to as surveillance. Such journals have been
used as evidence in legal matters.
Picture 12.4 Source: modernl.com
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12.4 IMC METRIX
A Metric is a number.
That is the simplest way to think about it. Technically a metric can be a
Count (a total) or a Ratio (a division of one number by another). Examples
of metrics that are a Count are Visits or Page views.
Examples of a Ratio are Conversion Rate (a quantitative metric) or Task

Completion Rate (a qualitative metric). This is a crude way to think about it
but. . . Metrics almost always appear in columns in a report / excel
spreadsheet. This is what metrics look like in your web analytics tool:
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Metrics form the life blood of all the measurement we do. They are the
reason we call the web the most accountable channel on the planet.
It is possible that some Analytics Tool Goals directly measure your business
objectives or goals.
Usually though Analytics Tool Goals do not rise to the strategic importance
so as to measure either your business objectives or your goals.
For example only one of the above, Subscribers, is an actual goal

("increase persistent reach") for me that lines up directly with a business
objective ("effective permission marketing").
Dimension
A dimension is, typically, an attribute of the Visitor to your website. Here's

a simplistic pictorial representation.
Picture 12.6
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The source that someone came from (referring urls, campaigns, countries
etc.) is a dimension in your web analytics data.
So is technical information like browsers or mobile phones or (god save

you if you are still doing daily reports on) screen resolution or ISP used.
The activity a person performed such as the landing page name, the
subsequent pages they saw, videos they played, searches they did on your
website and the products they purchased are all dimensions.
Finally the day they visited, the days since their last visit (if returning
visitor) the number of visits they made, the number of pages they saw are
all dimensions as well.
I know, I know, they sound like metrics. But they are, as the definition
says up top, attributes of the visitor and their activity on your website.
This is a crude way to think about it but… Dimensions almost always

appear in rows in a report/excel spreadsheet.
Dimensions allow you to group your data into different buckets and they
are most frequently used to slice and dice the web analytics data.
In your web analytics tools you'll bump into dimensions when you are
either creating custom reports (love this!) or doing advanced segmentation
(worship this!).The chooser things look like this.
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Picture 12.7
In Yahoo! Web Analytics they are called "Groups" or "Group Selection" but
they are the same thing: Dimensions.
There are many long and complicated definitions of dimensions. There are
some nuances that I have simplified. But I hope that this definition and
explanation helps you internalise this key concept in web analytics.
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Segments: A segment contains a group of rows from one or more

dimensions. In aggregate almost all data is useless (like # of Visits).
The best way to find insights is to segment the data using one or more
dimensions (like # of Visits from: USA, UK, and India as a % of All Visits).
You segment by dimensions and report by metrics.
Here are some examples of segments I use in my Google Analytics

account:
Picture 12.8
Checkout the dimensions I am using to segment my website traffic to

understand performance better.
Analysing people just from North Carolina (because there was an ad

campaign targeted just to NC).
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People who spend more than one minute on the site.
People who click on the link to go to Feed burner to sign up for my RSS
feed.
People who come from images.google.com and smart mobile phones.
People who visit from one source, Wikipedia, AND only one page on
Wikipedia (the bounce rate article).
These are just a few of the 28 advanced segments I have created in my

analytics profile.
And I am not even a real business.
Think of how many segments I would analyse to truly analyse my Key

Performance Indicators to understand causes of success or failure of my
Business
Objectives!
The Analysis Ninja rallying cry: Segment or Die!
So now you know the seven most fundamental, yet critical, things you
need to know about online analytics.
If you feel that you did not understand it all, please go back and re-read it.
You are very welcome to ask questions or for clarification via comments.
Whatever it takes, make sure you are able to internalise this.
Web Analytics Measurement Framework
Let's say I am responsible for the National Council of La Raza (a wonderful

organisation I support). Here is how the measurement framework could
possibly look for me. . .Business Objective:
Attendance at immigration rallies. Goals:
Increase web sign ups.
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Key Performance Indicators:
NCLR Sign-ups for NCLR Action Alerts
Individual Memberships
Target:
Action Alert: 14,000 per month
Memberships: 4,800 per month
Segments:
Acquisition: Organic search, Email campaigns, Mid-western US states.

Behaviour: Visits to conversions (Action Alerts, Memberships).
All this before I cracked open any web analytics tool.
I have a framework I can use to ensure that the work I do is focused on

what's important to the organisation, what good or bad looks like in terms
of performance and finally I have a segmentation plan ready to do the
preliminary analysis of the data.
No fishing expeditions. No data puking. No begging people to pay attention

to data!
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12.5 SUMMARY
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is the coordination and

integration of all marketing communication tools, avenues, functions and
sources within a company into a seamless programme that maximises the
impact on consumers and other end users at a minimal cost.
Integrated marketing is based on a master marketing plan. This plan

should coordinate efforts in all components of the marketing mix. A
marketing plan consists on the following steps:
Situation analysis
Marketing objectives
Marketing budget
This 'Relationship Marketing' cements a bond of loyalty with customers

which can protect them from the inevitable onslaught of competition. The
ability to keep a customer for life is a powerful competitive advantage.
Online Internet Advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet

and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing
messages to attract customers.
A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or combination of these

which is used to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of
sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
The role of brands and branding in the new economy that is characterised
by digitisation and globalisation are attracting considerable attention.
Taking the organisational perspective the challenges for branding in online
environments relate to: the message capacity of Web pages, the need to
integrate branding and marketing communications across different
channels, the trend towards organisational value propositions, brands as
search keys, and the opportunity to link and develop brand positions,
globalisation, and the increased engagement of the public sector with
branding.
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In a crowded Internet marketplace, the role of the brand symbol has

reasserted itself. A unique brand name has an important role to play as a
keyword in the search process. Unique brands that are well known and are
not generic terms can be very effective as key words used with search
engines. Even more important is the link between domain name and brand.
Consistency between domain name and brand name can reinforce
familiarity with the brand, and strengthen the message links between
channels. Example naukari.com or shadi.com.
Managers need to take a systematic approach to the development of

brands in the online marketplace. A model for an online brand development
process is proposed, and its stages are discussed below. It is, however,
important to remember that this model focuses on what the business can
do to build the brand. Ultimately, a brand is only as good as the brand
image that it generates in the minds of consumers.

strategies.
3. “The role of brands and branding in the new economy that is

characterised by digitisation and globalisation.” Discuss with examples.
4. Explain Three major functions of distribution channel.
5. How Internet is affecting distribution channel length?
6. What is difference between brand advertising and direct response

advertising?
7. What role is played by brand while brand as search keys? Illustrate with
examples.
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1. Identify best practices for creating customer value on line.
(a) Offer multichannel choice

(b) Empower your frontline employees.
2. Identify pricing strategies from following:
(a) Value creation

(b) Pricing Structure
3. A distribution channel is a group of independent firms that work

together to transfer product and information from supplier to the
consumer. Identify participants from following:
(a) Intermediaries
(b) Buyers
(c) Producers
4. Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is a process for managing

customer relationships that drive brand value primarily through
communication efforts.
(a) True
(b) False
5. The Web page is not just another channel designed to increase visibility
and access; it is rapidly becoming the shop window for many players in
the information industry.
(a) True
(b) False
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Answers:
1. (d) 2. (d) 3. (d) 4. (a ) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
chapter
Summary
PPT
MCQ
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USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR INTERNET MARKETING
Chapter 13
Using Social Media For Internet Marketing
Learning Objectives
After going through this chapter you should be able to know:
• Define and explain the concept of Social Media Marketing
• Discuss the benefits of Social Media Marketing
• Enlist and describe the categories of Social Media Marketing
• Describe in detail the social influence factors driving successful Social

Media Marketing
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Structure:
13.1 What is Social Media Marketing?
13.2 Understanding the existing Social Media Paradigm
13.3 Scenarios: special blend of social media and traditional marketing
13.4 Techniques to blend social media with traditional marketing
13.4.1 The Role of Social Media in Niche Marketing:
13.5 Marketing on Facebook
13.6 Marketing on LinkedIn
13.7 Marketing on YouTube
13.8 Inbound Marketing: Through Blogs
13.9 Corporate Blogging Essentials
13.10 Introduction to Micro blogging through Twitter
13.11 WorldPress Blogging
13.12 Leveraging Twitter to Enhance Business Growth
13.13 Social Media Marketing Best Practices
13.14 Summary
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13.1 WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?
The online world continues to change rapidly, and strategies that worked
last year 2017 won‘t necessarily again work this year 2018 and future
years to come!.
It recommends judicious use of Facebook Internet marketing, leveraging

influencers, using video over static images, live streaming, and user
generated content.
Social media has been a buzz word from the last few years now in the
Internet world. It has helped a number of online businesses to constantly
contact their users in a very effective way. In this age, if a business is not
using right marketing strategies or not changing strategies, it can extinct.
So, it has become important to embrace technology and enjoy the rewards.
It is possible for a business to have an online presence all on own but it is

much sensible idea to hire social media marketing consultants in India to
help get good visibility. This is because they know exactly where to focus to
bring in more traffic to create a win-win situation for the business.
Nowadays, for any more or less important purchase, it has almost become
vital to learn about the brand, product or service, and compare it with the
equivalent of competing brands before considering purchasing it. While
potential consumer do so, they interact with friends, Google the products,
search on Twitter and read experiences of those who have used the brand,
product or service earlier.
This section will analyse the Social Feedback Cycle, taking into account the
effects of Social Media on consumers‘ buying behaviours, comparing it to
the classic purchase funnel for traditional media.
The Internet has now become the most common tool that consumers use
to find information on products and services that they are considering
buying. Besides opinions of friends and family, people use the Internet as
first source of information when making a major purchase decision.
Whether they like it or not, people are holding conversations on the
Internet about the products and services they have used, sharing both
good and bad experiences and feedbacks.
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Indeed, word-of-mouth is considered to be the most trusted source of

information. Therefore, Social Media largely affects customers‘ purchase
decisions, because consumers usually seek other opinions and
recommendations. Indeed, 78% of global consumers declare that they
trust and believe other customers‘ recommendations for products and
services more than any other medium. This is mainly due to the fact that
consumers are seen as more objective than the companies‘ own marketing
message.
When one examines definitions of social media, several criteria emerge.
They are:
Internet-based but not totally so. Meetup.com, for example, uses the
Internet to set up local face-to-face meetings. The Internet is the
organising agent but communication is personal.
1. User-Generated and Published Information: However, users often

republish information they have discovered elsewhere, so user
generation is loosely defined. ·
Community sharing – posts and comments, file sharing, community of

interest. Community interest varies by individual and group. Some blogs,
for example, spark hundreds of comments. Others generate none.
The community of interest can be active or passive.
2. Multimedia: Blogs, podcasts, video, photos, forums, Internet

messaging, texting. The internet subsumes all audiovisual and print
media because it can transmit them. Social media, by extension makes
use of all media forms.
There is even a growing possibility of hectic communication – the

mechanical simulation of touch — across the Internet, which social
media will adopt once it is fully developed.
3. Immediate: It takes less and less time for one to publish on social
media. With a service like Twitter or Internet messaging, it is a matter
of seconds – the time it takes to type or speak. Social media can be –
and often are –live.
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4. Collapsed Geographically: There is no distance in social media. One

can follow the Tweets of another who is half-way around the world or
‘friend’ other thousands of miles away or blog to anyone on any
continent who is interested in what you have to say.
5. Incorporate old and new Internet technologies: Social media

incorporate all of the technologies developed over those time spans
from e-mail through forums, instant messaging, file sharing, video
transmission and more.
Social networks are communities of people who typically share a common

behaviour, idea, interest or activity. A social network indicates a graph of
relationships (social familiarities) within a group of individuals (people,
organisations). Social networking sites have increased in the last decade.
The most popular social networks include Facebook, MySpace and
LinkedIn, Twitter What‘s App , Instagram are vary popular for messaging.
They facilitate communication by providing a variety of ways for users to
interact with each other like e-mail or instant message.
Social networks provide a medium for people to interact with others who
are influential and make recommendations about products and services.
These sites can improve lots of business activities, including: word-of-
mouth marketing, market research, general marketing, idea generation
and new product development, co-innovation, customer service, public
relations, employee communications and reputation management.
Social Media Marketing is marketing that focuses on people, not products.

The products can be presented by the company with as many qualitative
features and promotional tools as possible, but what really matters is the
comments and appreciations left by the customers. People provide the
content, and this is the reason why Social Media Marketing is so scary and
challenging for marketers. They do not control the marketing content
anymore.
Negative word-of-mouth can be spread worldwide in a couple of minutes

only. With the explosion of Internet-based messages transmitted through
the Social Media, they are now a main factor in influencing many aspects of
consumer behaviour, such as awareness, consideration, information
gathering, opinions, attitudes, purchasing decisions and post-purchase
evaluation.
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To make your social marketing venture a success, you need sizzling

content.
Ideas, if they need to be put across, must be wrapped in a package of

infotainment.
Your content must have the power to cut through the layers of cynicism in
people today and make an impact. It helps to address people who you
know are sympathetic about the cause that you are looking to uphold. You
get that added advantage on social media platforms where you know your
target readers better.
The effects of Social Media are really important as a social feedback loop is
created through the use of Social Media and will highly influence the
consideration stage of the purchase channel. For the past fifty years, media
was largely concentrating on awareness, because awareness drives
demand, and on point-of-sale, affirming pending purchases or shifting
them to a competing brand. The consideration process through which
consumers evaluate purchase options has been under-utilised by too many
marketers.
1. Know your AUDIENCE (really!) and put them at the centre of every
decision you make. Social marketing begins and ends with your target
audience. In order to understand why your audience isn‘t doing what
you want them to do, you must understand what barriers are getting in
their way. Understand also that you are not the target audience!
2. It‘s about ACTION. The process of heightening awareness, shifting

attitudes, and strengthening knowledge is valuable if, and only if, it
leads to action. Be clear in what you want your audience to do.
3. There must be an EXCHANGE. If you want someone to give up, or

modify, an old behaviour or accept a new one, you must offer that
person something very appealing in return. In commercial marketing,
there are tangible exchanges (give me a $1 and I‘ll give you a Pepsi)
and intangible exchanges (by drinking Pepsi, you‘re also receiving
everything that goes with the image of the brand).
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Social media marketing services in India and the world over can be utilised
to gain maximum visibility, improved sales and better brand awareness.
Companies offering different types of Internet services use a number of
Social media marketing platforms to help businesses promote their
business. Some of these social media sites include:
Facebook – Facebook is the most popular Social media marketing

networking site on the Internet. Social media marketing consultants in
India help businesses share their business information along with products
details, photos, videos, and useful content with large number of people. By
using this platform, it becomes very easy for a business to measure the
demographics and interests of their prospective customers. The brand page
of a business will have more and more friends and fans and will get more
recognition in market.
Twitter – Twitter allows businesses to broadcast short messages to their

followers, customers and prospects. Mainly, this social networking site is
used to publicise promotions and launch new products and events.
Professional Internet agencies help businesses to take help of this site in
the best possible way to promote their products and services.
LinkedIn – LinkedIn is used by businesses to share business information

with others in the same target industry. It allows them to join groups
related to their industry and get relevant valuable suggestions from other
professionals in the same field.
Reaching out to so many people has never been so easy for businesses
before. Today, businesses can hire the services of Social media marketing
services in India to promote their products and services to large number of
people who are interested in their services. These professionals are experts
in their field and have the appropriate knowledge to implement the right
marketing strategies. Social media marketing services in India are no
doubt, the most innovative way to make one's business or presence visible
in the market.
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13.2 UNDERSTANDING THE EXISTING SOCIAL MEDIA

PARADIGM
Nowadays, Social Media Marketing is widely used by businesses because it

represents a cost-effective marketing solution. The Social Media Marketing
tools can be used largely for free and very easily, in comparison with other
promotional tools. The main purposes of using Social Media Marketing are
the amplification of word-of-mouth marketing, market research, general
marketing, idea generation and new product development, co-innovation,
customer service, public relations, employee communications and
reputation management. Indeed, social networks can increase product and
brand awareness, web traffic, customer loyalty, but also improve the
company‘s Search Engine Optimisation, and even increase the success of
new product launches.
Social Media Marketing can be using unconventional means to achieve

conventional goals, through the use of creativity, community, and
relationships instead of big budgets to achieve marketing objectives. These
methods are powerful guerrilla marketing strategies. Every marketer is
now armed with highly effective online communications tools that enable
him to garner the same level of influence that many large corporations
have. Therefore, Social Media Marketing is a great change in the world of
marketing Advertisement and promotions can be sent to every corner of
the world today using Social media marketing (SMM).
For every business using Social Media Marketing, the challenge is to find on
which Social Media channels its audience and customers spend their time
and hold conversations. Also, people usually visit several Social Media Sites
instead of sticking to only one. By reading, listening and analysing their
target audience‘s activities, marketers will be able to determine where,
when, who and how the consumers are interacting in the Social Media
Universe. It will also help marketers to define who the influencers are and
which role they play in the online community: whether they are
networkers, everyday users, trendsetters, reporters or opinion leaders.
Marketing presents many significant benefits for the companies‘ success.

Social Media platforms foster communication around brands and products,
enhancing positive as well as negative word-of-mouth around a business
and its products and services. Any message or piece of information shared
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on the Social Media channels can be seen by thousands of people in an

extremely short period of time.
With the Social Media, once a customer has purchased the brand, product
or service, he will use it, experience its advantages and disadvantages and
form its personal opinion. He will then obviously talk about its personal
experience with this brand, product and service on the Internet, and more
particularly the Social Media platforms.
These people will be in the second stage of consideration in the purchase

channel. They will look for information about the brand, product or service
on the Internet, and will quickly and easily find the content generated by
the customer who has Social media marketing has indeed made a real
impact in the present day. It is safe to say that it has revolutionised
business completely. The alternatives offered are a budget friendly way of
communicating and disseminating information. Here are some of the
benefits that social media may provide:
1. Direct communication: Social Media Marketing facilitates one to one

communication between the company and its customers. At any point,
organisations are free to ask for feedback and suggestions for ways to
improve their services and products. This factor brings about proper
customer engagement.
2. Brand exposure and awareness: The main benefit acquired by

businesses implementing Social Media strategies represents the increase
in brand exposure. Brand exposure occurs when the customer becomes
aware of a product, service or advertisement through at least one of
their five senses, whether or not they paid attention to it. Thanks to the
Social Media platforms, new brands can establish themselves and foster
awareness. For existing brands, Social Media platforms also raise
awareness. The brands‘ visibility is increased thanks to their presence
on the large variety of Social Media channels, but also thanks to the
word of mouth that is automatically expanded around the brand.
Companies can heavily use Social Media Marketing to build their brand‘s
reputation and enhance their popularity. This is also called online
reputation management.
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3. Ability to advertise more effectively: Setting up pages and profiles

on Social Media channels offers many opportunities for advertising and
for the brand to be seen and reached by its audience. Exposure is the
first step for new brands. Without any exposure, the company will just
fail its launch. Moreover, the marketer can use Social Media channels to
promote their products and services. The brand‘s Social Media pages
provide the opportunity to present the products and services in a more
interactive way. Consumers will have the choice of reading or not
products‘ description, watch photos and videos, and read reviews and
comments about these products.
4. Cost effective: One of the biggest advantages of Social Media

Marketing is that it is extremely cost effective. Social Media Marketing is
a promotional tool that does not need high advertising costs or an
extremely high amount of time. It is a strategy of doing good and
costless business marketing. If a company is aware of where its target
audience is interaction in the Social Media landscape, a small
investment is enough to get a Social Media strategy started and the
returns can be amazing. If compared to other offline promotional
activities Social media is relatively inexpensive because of its viral
characteristics. By little investment in generating content a lot can be
achieved. Social Media Marketing guarantees relatively low costs,
effectiveness and measurability. Besides, Social Media encourages short-
term success when looking at increasing exposure and targeted traffic
for instance. However, Social Media optimisation will also offer long-
term results such as building trusted relationships with the customers.
5. Save up on time: Ever need to reach out to your customer round the
clock or vise-versa? Social Media Marketing is that tool which is
available 24/7 for all 365 days. With various tools available most of the
work can happen on a weekend or on the go using just a smart phone.
6. Increasing Organisational visibility: Social Media Marketing

increases brand awareness by extending the online presence of the
products and brand. When Social Media platforms are widely used by a
business, it becomes extremely important to measure the impacts of
Social Media Marketing on brand awareness.
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This can be done with social media metrics. Tap into the potential market
on sites like Twitter and LinkedIn to find you your right customer. Make
efforts to spread the word about your company and make the best of the
exposure. Building an optimised social media presence to increase the
brands‘ online awareness has become an absolute must for Internet
marketing.
Besides, Social Media signals are beginning to play an important role with
organic rankings. With Social Media Optimisation (SMO), businesses can
get a hefty boost in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) initiatives.
Therefore, it goes without saying that making sure that brands receive the
proper exposure is important to companies. There are many Social Media
sites out there where marketers and their brand can receive the proper
exposure in order to build brand awareness.
All the traffic generated from Social Media channels can improve the
consumer‘s perception of the brand. People trusts company more when
they are being referred from people they know. Social Media is all about
building trustworthy relationships. Businesses can get traffic straight from
the content they publish on their Social Media pages and from the people
who have read the content, like it, share it and talked about it online.
7. Leads generation: Leads are defined as potential customers or sales

prospects. With the millions of users connecting everyday on the
different Social Media sites, every business is bound to have some
prospective customers somewhere on these sites. But how are
businesses supposed to find these potential customers?
Social Media Sites will drive targeted visitors back to the company‘s
website. The more channels the company is using, the more back links
and interested referrals will point back to the website. In order to define
targeted traffic, we should provide a definition of traffic first. Traffic
occurs whenever a person visits a website. There are lots of techniques
for getting traffic to websites and they can easily get thousands of
visitors every day. However, unless this traffic is targeted, the visitors
will probably not be interested and purchase the product or service.
In contrast, targeted traffic is traffic that reached a website thanks to an

interest in the product or service offered. Targeted traffic is when the
audience reads an ad for a product or service that a brand is promoting
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on its website and they are actually interested in purchasing that

product, and so they click this link to go to the company‘s website. One
of the biggest advantages that advertising through Social Media can offer
marketers is the ability to specifically target customers based on a
variety of different factors. Social Media sites are storing all kinds of data
on their users, such as age, gender, geographical location, interests, and
many other pieces of information.
8. Effective monitoring of competitors: Besides, Internet and Social

Media has completely transformed the way market research and
competitor monitoring is being accomplished. Thanks to the amount of
data left in the archive of the Social Media channels, information about
the target audience and the competitors is easily accessible. Therefore,
Social Media highly facilitates market insights.
9. Target specific Information: The data available on the Social Media

channels also directly concerns the target audience. Indeed, analysing
the data of the people interaction on the Social Media channels provide
marketers with demographics and behaviour characteristics of their
consumers. Although marketers may not have the ability to control what
goes on with Social Media, they can definitely learn from it. They can
study what is taking place and learn from it. Social Media can thus be
compared to one big ongoing focus group that provides constant insight
into consumer perceptions on brands. It helps understanding the target
audience, its characteristics, and its needs and expectations. This
information influences the Social Media marketing strategy of the
company, helping to improve it.
Marketers will use the best marketing techniques and design the most
adequate marketing message to reach directly their target market.
Finally, Social Media channels offer the opportunity to test the marketing
campaigns and gather feedbacks before spending the money on trying to
reach the target market as a whole. This will help the company getting a
better understanding of what will reach the target audience more
effectively. In summary, Social Media Marketing does clearly offer many
opportunities to businesses in regards to their market research, whether
it is aiming at competition monitoring, marketing strategies testing or
target market understanding.
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The seven types of Social Media channels affecting businesses will be the
following:
1. Social Networks: e.g. Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Google+…
2. Blogs and Microblogs: e.g. WordPress Blogger, Twitter…
3. Content Communities or Media Sharing Sites (Video/Audio/

Photo/Presentations): e.g. Flickr, YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo,
Picasa, Pinterest, Slideshare…
4. Wikis or User Generated Content (UGC): e.g. Wikipedia, WikiTravel,

World66…
5. Social Bookmarking and News Sites: e.g. Digg, Reddit, Diigo,

Delicious, Google Reader…
6. Discussion Forums and Message Boards: e.g. Phorum, Yahoo

Groups, PHPbb…
7. Social Events: e.g. Eventful, Meetup
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13.3 SCENARIOS: SPECIAL BLEND OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND

TRADITIONAL MARKETING
Blending social media with your traditional marketing practices is highly

effective as well. Your potential customers are bombarded with marketing
in virtually all aspects of their life – it is important that your business is
noticed as a great choice when that prospect is ready to make a decision.
Marketing encompasses multitudes of strategies and tactics.
Here are a few scenarios to consider when looking for that special blend of
social media and traditional marketing:
New website – announce your new website through Facebook, Twitter

and also through a post card mailer to increase your website traffic.
Photography – the use of images is a long standing marketing practice.

By leveraging images in social media and creating multimedia posts your
photography investment can go much further.
Article “teaser” – publish a brief article in your local newspaper or trade

magazine that discusses a particular problem that your business can
address. But do not give away ‘all’ of the clues or answers. Instead refer
them to your social media accounts for more information.
Analytics and tradition – social media analytics can tell you what
demographics are attracted to your brand. From there you can tailor your
print, radio and television ads to that audience.
Contests and sweepstakes – a very effective blend of marketing is to

launch a contest on your social media site such as Facebook, and reference
that contest in all of your materials. Include in your sales flyers, on your
voice mail, with your customer service reps, and in your email newsletters.
Surveys – leverage social media to get existing customer feedback as well

as acquire information about prospective customers. Also include an offer
to take the social media survey on your store receipts or in your email
newsletters. Why is the combination of social media and traditional
marketing so effective? There are two primary reasons:
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Timing is everything – and blending the methods increases your

likelihood of being available at the right time and place for your target
market.
Ease of use – Not everyone reads everything that is on printed paper, and
many do not want to take the time to fill out an info card then mail it. If
they glance at the card, and then happen upon your business through
social media, you can have them fill out the form online, which makes it
easier for you as well as your target customers.
The right blend of traditional marketing with a social media approach gives
your business a delicious boost that will bring your target audience to your
door.
13.4 TECHNIQUES TO BLEND SOCIAL MEDIA WITH

TRADITIONAL MARKETING
Successfully marketing a small business today takes a multipronged

approach. The latest studies show that most small business owners still
rely on traditional channels to produce effective, reliable results. But other
marketing methods – and social media marketing in particular are growing
rapidly. If blended properly with traditional ads, the combined effort can
supercharge your sales.
It‘s not a contest between different ways to market. You don‘t have to
choose one or the other. Today‘s customers cross easily between online and
offline worlds. Your goal is to reach them and reinforce your message in
both places, giving you greater control over your message. How can you
effectively divide your time and resources so that you participate in the
places that make the most sense for your business? Part of your research –
listening to what‘s being said online –includes who is talking about you and
where the conversations are taking place.
It‘s also important to blend channels because each one plays a different
role in influencing how customers discover you and make their purchase
decisions. For example, a print ad might stimulate a customer to want to
learn more about what you offer, causing them to search social media for
more information. The number of influencers is growing as more and more
people publish content online. It‘s no longer about how many people did
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we reach, it‘s have we reached the right people who want to engage and
communicate with us.
This means that large networks are not always the best place to
concentrate on. There are many small social networks built around a group
that is passionate about a subject. Find the ones that are relevant to your
company or organisation.
Here are seven ways to blend social media with traditional marketing:
Make print a social driver: If you are like many other small businesses
and your Facebook page is becoming your main online hub, print and other
traditional marketing tools can be used to help drive people to your page.
Promote your Facebook address on counter cards, posters, invoices,
receipts, brochures, napkins and menus. Post your Twitter address in the
window. Put your social media listings on everything from cups to coupons.
Showcase social mentions in print: Use your print ads to showcase

what others are saying about your business, products or services through
Facebook, review sites, Twitter or elsewhere. This helps amplify the buzz
about your business and can generate (or reinforce) all-important word-of-
mouth.
Capture the cross-promotional power of QR codes: These handy

devices are an ideal tool for integrating print ads with your Internet
presence. The website DexSocial.com has helpful articles on QR code
basics for small business.
Create an offline promotion with an online benefit: For example, a

cosmetics store can offer a free makeover along with a photo of the
customer (with your brand or logo in the background) that the customer
and you can use on Facebook or other social media sites. A photography
business might do something similar.
Build engagement and lists with e-mail signup sheets or opt-in

cards. Customers are sometimes reluctant to provide an e-mail address,
so this works best if combined with a promotion or when they are enjoying
a product or service you‘ve just provided. Remember that most customers
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– even your most loyal – will not join your social media circle on their own.
They need to be asked or nudged by you. You can also use print to
promote rewards for customers who take certain actions online – such as
liking you on Facebook or sharing your posted content with others.
Get everyone in your business involved: Every employee should be

trained to inform customers of your social media presence and to
recommend they visit you on Facebook. Think of it as pure one-on-one
offline marketing.
Cross-sell continuously online and offline: Each time you use a

marketing channel, mention the other channels you are using and what
you are doing there. For example, your e-mails, direct mail promotions and
yellow pages ads should all mention how to find you on social media. On
the flip side, your Facebook page and Twitter tweets can tell people to be
on the lookout for a special offer that‘s coming through another channel.
13.4.1 The Role of Social Media in Niche Marketing
What do golf clubs, Japanese animation, and tattoo parlours have in

common?
These items are not being advertised towards the general population, but
for a small subset of customers who are deeply interested in a certain
product category.
They are all niche products. The idea behind niche marketing is the long-
tail rule. Simply put, niche markets have high potential for businesses
because there is much less competition than a mainstream product. More
often than not, niche consumers can be more loyal to your brand and your
products.
How Does Social Media Affect Niche Marketing?
Social media has been a tremendous boon for niche marketers, as potential
customers are much easier to find and advertise to directly. Traditional
means of advertising like billboards and television ads are no longer suited
for niche companies. Traditional advertising is generally designed for
targeting the masses. For niche products, it is necessary to specifically
reach people who are interested in what you are selling.
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Social media helps you engage with your target market in ways that were
impossible in the past. Furthermore, the reach of niche companies is
greatly increased through the sharing of content through social media
networks.
Unfortunately, this causes an increase in competition in the market. Social

media is a tool available to everyone, so it becomes so important for your
company to capture your customers before your competitors do.
ROIs of Social Media Marketing
Although social media marketing drastically changes the playing field for
businesses, it is still necessary to have realistic marketing goals and ROIs.
However, since niche marketing covers many different social media
networks, specific ROIs may vary from business to business.
Here are five general ROIs from using Social Media Marketing:
1. Increase user engagement (through user comments, likes, shares, etc.).
2. Gain a better understanding of your followers through communicating

with your audience.
3. Reach new customers through the networks of your fans.
4. Differentiate yourself from your competitors.
5. Increase sales for your business.
Niche Social Networking Targeting Devoted Industry Fans:
Niche Social Networks are more targeted and typically smaller versions of
the major Social Media Websites online today. They are highly effective at
targeting the fanatical, dedicated audiences of a particular interest or
industry. The very nature of the Internet has made it possible for people to
band together, to create an online community dedicated to their shared
passions.
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Overcoming geographic limitations, Niche Social Networks allow people to

discuss and share their mutual interests and passions in an inclusive
community setting. Choose an interest area, something related to what
your company specialises inland odds are there is already a niche social
network full of passionate people enthusiastic about the topic. Are you an
artist looking to share your work and learn from others?
Deviant ART allows members to create profiles, set up galleries, and build
a fan base through their community. Do you work in publishing or are you
an author? Good reads is a niche social community devoted to sharing
book recommendations and information. Is your brand looking to reach an
audience of parents, or moms? Social sites like Café Mom and Spoonful are
where you need to be.
Foodies of the world are also uniting online, taking their reviews, recipes
and discussions to sites like Food Gawker and Food spotting. These are just
a few of the thousands of niche Social Media Communities out there that
harness the passionate dedication of a group, and generate great results
for brands.
How do they work?
In much the same way that larger Social Media Communities allow
members to interact and share, Niche Social Networks do the same thing,
just on a more specialised playing field. Micro Communities are an effective
and important way to reach the people who are already interested in your
brand's line of work, while reaching large audiences on general Social
Media.
Websites is important, targeting dedicated people on specific niche online

Websites will drive the right people to your Website. These Websites are
great ways to build your brand awareness with those already passionate
about your industry. Niche Social Networks allow you to pursue targeted
branding opportunities with the influential voices talking about your
industry.
As with all Social Media platforms, it is important to remember that Niche

Social Networks will not tolerate spam. Even though the members of these
online niches are obviously interested in your industry and probably your
brand, it doesn't mean they want to receive your sales pitches in their
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communities. You need to distribute worthwhile, creative resources to get

their attention and dedication.
The possibilities seem limitless within niche Social Media Communities. But
you can do more harm than good when you try to take advantage of them.
How do you know which ones are worth it?
Social Media Marketing is a time consuming, long-term approach to

marketing. Knowing which Websites to target can be tricky, and if you
choose the wrong ones, you can waste valuable time and resources.
13.5 MARKETING ON FACEBOOK
Current statistics show Facebook has more than 1.23 billion active users,
62% of whom log in on a daily basis. 1. In addition, the average U.S.
consumer spends 35 minutes per day on Facebook. 2. which simply means
that you need to be marketing your brand on Facebook. Facebook offers
one of the best advertising platforms available today. Facebook pages are a
free tool that allows brands to post content and interact with consumers
while also showing how much they care about consumer‘s opinions and
complaints in front of an audience. Facebook advertisements allow for
brands to target consumers based on a wide variety of filters such as:
geography, age, education, and a huge selection of interests. Video
advertisements do very well on Facebook, and can be targeted to
seamlessly integrate with consumer feeds and play automatically.
Facebook is a tool for connecting people with those around them. As with
any social media tool, marketers have an opportunity to use Facebook to
expand their online footprint and directly engage with customers and
prospects.
Think your customers are not on Facebook? There are tens of thousands of
work-related, collegiate, and high school networks. According to
InsideFacebook.com, approximately two thirds of U.S. Facebook users are
outside of the college demographic, and users age 26 to 64 make up more
than half of Facebook‘s U.S. user base.
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Picture 13.1
Need to expand your reach to potential customers? You can do that on

Facebook, too, by specifically targeting people who have the same
demographics and interests as your current audience. Additionally, you can
upload your current e-mail list to find people who are similar to your
existing customers.
Why it matters: Attention will always be the name of the game. Facebook
has become an ideal advertising platform for brands to maximise return on
investment. Well targeted advertisements on a platform with massive
viewership and interaction is a goldmine for marketers and brands alike.
The best way to utilise the platform is to use Facebook to find new
prospects, get their e-mail addresses and contact information, and then
message them outside of Facebook with your own regular e-mail
campaigns.
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Personal vs. Business Accounts
On Facebook, Profiles are meant for people, and Pages are meant for
businesses. To fully engage and leverage Facebook‘s features, you should
create a personal profile. Do not create a personal Profile for your
business. Profiles are for people; Pages are for businesses. Facebook has
built significant functionality specifically for businesses, and all of this
functionality is only available for Pages. We‘ll talk about Pages more in a
later section.
There are a few key differences between Business Pages and Personal
Profiles:
Pages allow you to designate multiple administrators so you can have more
than one person help manage the account. In addition, if one of your
administrators leaves the company, you can still have control over the
Page.
Pages are, by default, public, and are starting to rank in Facebook and
public search results.
Pages are split into different categories (local businesses, brands,

musicians) that help you get listed in more relevant search results.
Personal profiles have friends, which require mutual acceptance, whereas

anyone can become a fan of your Page without needing administrator
approval.
Social media is about establishing and building relationships, whether they

are personal or business connections. In many cases, you may find that
some connections will blur the lines between the personal and business
realms. It is also important to be transparent and authentic when using
social media to market a business. People like to connect with people, not
faceless brands. Furthermore, it is these personal connections that will lead
to business, referrals, and word of mouth marketing for your company.
If you are concerned about exposing portions of your profile to these

different connections – perhaps you still don‘t want your business
connections to see your personal photos – fortunately, Facebook allows you
to customise your privacy settings to control who sees which portions of
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your profile. Facebook also recommends the setting you should use
depending on who is viewing your profile. To edit your privacy settings,
click on “Account”, then “Privacy Settings”.
Visibility of every aspect of your profile (photos, contact information,

education information)
can be controlled via the Profile privacy settings. You can set each section
to be viewable by:
Everyone
Friends of Friends
Friends Only
Custom: Customise who (which networks, friend lists, or specific friends)

can or cannot access a portion of your profile.
A great (advanced) way for customising your privacy settings is to set up

Friend Lists. Friend Lists are a way of organising your friends into relevant
groups. There are a few benefits of creating Friend Lists:
Customise privacy settings by Friend List
View News Feed updates by Friend List filters
Invite Friend Lists to events (must be list of max 100 people) Send
messages to Friend Lists (must be list of max 20 people).
More to come – Friend Lists are an under-used feature that is coming into
play more across Facebook.
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Facebook for Business Best Practices:
1. Be interactive, fun and helpful. When people reach your Facebook page,
they are looking for some kind of interaction. Don‘t disappoint them. As
an example, a hardware company offered their Facebook fans links,
applications, and engaging information, and within a short time, they
added 26,000 fans.
2. Embed videos on your Facebook page. There is no reason why you

should send people to YouTube to watch your videos. Keep them right
on your page with embedded videos.
3. Create a connection between Facebook and the outside world. I recently

read a case study about how sales reps worked with local retailers to
promote their events through Facebook updates and photos. Consider
something similar.
4. Create contests on Facebook. Contests are a fun and engaging way to

encourage participation from fans and even generate new fans. For
example, in order to enter a contest, one company asked people to
comment on a thread announcing a giveaway in Facebook.
5. Integrate traditional advertising with Facebook. The Facebook icon/logo

is well known. Add it to your print ads to promote your Facebook
presence. Another great idea is to use traditional ads to promote
contests that encourage people to sign up on your fan page.
6. Use Facebook to grow your e-mail list, and vice versa. Use your e-mail
newsletter to boost awareness of your Facebook page. In addition,
promote your e-mail newsletter to your existing Facebook fans. The end
result will be growth in your e-mail list and your Facebook fan base.
7. Introduce new products on Facebook first. People who sign up to be fans

of your Facebook page are likely your most loyal evangelists and
customers. Reward them by giving them information about a new
product/service/feature before everyone else. If you do it right, they will
help you promote it to others.
8. Welcome new page visitors. When thinking about Facebook, a new

metric comes to mind: visitor-to-like. As a B2B company, you ultimately
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want to maximise the percentage of people who visit your Facebook

Page and click the "Like" button. One important way to achieve this goal
and establish expectations with new fans is to implement a 'welcome'
landing page that invites new visitors to Like your Page. Technically,
there are many ways to execute this.
9. Integrate social content on your Facebook Page. Facebook is the

gateway to the Internet for many people. They use it as a home base.
In fact, one in eight minutes on the Internet is spent on Facebook.
Because Facebook has become such an online home for people, it is
important to incorporate content from other social channels like YouTube
and SlideShare to extend the life and reach of that content.
10.'Like' other businesses’ Facebook Pages. Remember that social media is,
well, social. By Liking the Pages of business partners, valued vendors,
and customers, Facebook will notify the administrators of those Pages.
In return, some of them may also decide to Like your Page, which will
also expose it to the individual fans of their Pages. Think of this as
leveraging Facebook for co-marketing efforts.
Picture 13.2 Source: Curalate Consumer Survey 2017 (8/17). Note: n = 1,000 USA
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13.6 MARKETING ON LINKEDIN
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. Founded

in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for
professional networking. As of 2nd August 2012 LinkedIn reported it had
175 million+ professional members in over 200 countries and territories
around the world. They surpassed 5.3 billion professional-oriented
searches in 2012. That alone should be enough to get you thinking about
adding LinkedIn to your marketing strategy. But more than that, LinkedIn
has some unique features to get you and your business / brand seen by
your target market.
This list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:
A contact network is built up consisting of their direct connections, the

connections of each of their connections (termed second-degree
connections) and also the connections of second-degree connections
(termed third-degree connections). This can be used to gain an
introduction to someone a person wishes to know through a mutual
contact.
It can then be used to find jobs, people and business opportunities

recommended by someone in one's contact network. Employers can list
jobs and search for potential candidates.
Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of
their existing contacts can introduce them. Users can post their own photos
and view photos of others to aid in identification.
Users can now follow different companies and can get notification about
the new joining and offers available. Users can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs
which they would like to apply for.
The "gated-access approach" (where contact with any professional requires

either a pre-existing relationship or the intervention of a contact of theirs)
is intended to build trust among the service's users. LinkedIn participates
in EU's International Safe Harbour Privacy Principles.
LinkedIn also allows users to research companies with which they may be
interested in working. When typing the name of a given company in the
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search box, statistics about the company are provided. These may include
the ratio of female to male employees, the percentage of the most
common titles/positions held within the company, the location of the
company's headquarters and offices, or a list of present and former
employees.
The feature LinkedIn Answers, similar to Yahoo! Answers, allows users to

ask questions for the community to answer. This feature is free and the
main difference from the latter is that questions are potentially more
business-oriented, and the identity of the people asking and answering
questions is known.
LinkedIn is very SEO friendly. Make your profile nice and keyword rich and
you could very well find your LinkedIn profile at the top of Google!
Secondly it is a great Lead generation tool. Join or start groups to tap into
the huge community of users who are looking for professional advice.
It increases your brand visibility and won‘t eat up half the time you spend
on Facebook or twitter. An hour a day making connections, commenting in
your groups and posting interesting updates will be enough for you to grow
a huge base of connections and catapult your business.
There are many more reasons, including the very visible social proof on
your profile page in the form of endorsements and recommendations, the
fantastic facility to showcase your experience, talents and expertise, the
ability to add business pages with featured products, create huge targeted
groups and loads more.
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Business Generation by setting up of a correct profile
The whole point of LinkedIn is to make connections and engage with those
connections in a meaningful way. Unlike Facebook and twitter where your
profiles are based on the content you‘ve been sharing, LinkedIn is very
much more focused on who you are, what you do, what you can do for
others and your experience and expertise.
Remember LinkedIn was originally setup as a recruitment network and still

is the top recruitment network on the web. Therefore, your profile is like
your resume. You are in effect telling people why you are the ideal
candidate for them.
Now transfer that into the B2B world and the effect is just as powerful.
Someone types my name or does a search for Social Media experts and the
first thing they land on is my ‘resume’. A full page telling them, why I‘m
the ideal person to teach them how to run their social media campaigns.
Leveraging the SEO friendly nature of LinkedIn
LinkedIn is very SEO friendly, so utilising your profile to add relevant

keywords may well get you found on the first page of Google. You must
remember though that Google is changing its algorithms all the time and
moving much more towards social proof. So you need to add to your
keyword rich profile; great engagement, lots of likes, endorsements,
recommendations and connections. Keyword stuffing may work in the
LinkedIn search (and it does), but it won‘t hold much weight on its own in
Google rankings anymore.
Positioning
Creating a benefit driven summary, showcasing your experience and

expertise, plus adding your specialties and skills (plus a few more great
tips I‘m going to be giving you), will begin to position you with credibility
and authority in your industry or niche. Add to that the all-important social
proof element and it won‘t be long before you will have positioned yourself
as the go to expert in your particular arena. Now before you start thinking
this is beyond your reach or sounds too much like hard work, LinkedIn
lends itself beautifully to building up connections and getting that social
proof quickly and easily and it all starts with an awesome profile.
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Step-by-step guide to writing an effective summary:
Begin with a brief introduction to you and what you currently do / offer.
Follow up immediately with how you can help the visitor (always write as if
you‘re speaking to one person - the person visiting your profile).
Add some credentials. Why you‘re the best person to help them with this
particular issue? What others have said etc.? Offer a free gift - this link will
lead to an option form.
Add a personal paragraph, so they can get to know the person behind the
business.
Add a list of your specialties - add some great keywords here!
As you‘re writing your summary please remember your objective at all

times. You are trying to compel people to connect with you, contact you
and / or engage with you. Introspect and ask yourself these key questions:
Is your summary compelling enough?
Have you looked at other profiles in your niche and surveyed their
summaries? How can you make yours better, more benefit driven, more
compelling?
LinkedIn Projects
The Projects provide an opportunity for the marketers to open up and tell
people what they are working on. Marketers can write about a new sales
plan or organising a webinar or event, building some new software,
launching a new product line. Whatever it is, add it to projects, add some
great and relevant keywords and lots of anticipation and excitement. This
is a chance to get people excited about your business and showcase your
innovation. Here‘s how to add projects;
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Skills and Expertise
What‘s great about adding your skills and expertise is, once again it‘s a
fantastic opportunity for you to use relevant keywords. Some time back
LinkedIn introduced endorsements. You may have seen them if you have a
LinkedIn account already.
When you add skills and expertise now people get the opportunity to
endorse you for each or every one. So if someone truly believes you are an
expert in one or more of your skills all they have to do is click a button and
their face will pop up next to your keyword giving you that all important
social proof. Here‘s the best bit, all you have to do to start getting
endorsements is get out there and endorse others. It‘s the law of
reciprocation. As soon as you endorse someone they will get a notification
and they will be asked if they want to endorse you.
Now, please note, if you are not an expert in any of the areas you have
included and have absolutely nothing to back it up, this isn‘t going to work.
Groups
LinkedIn supports the formation of interest groups. The majority of the

largest groups are employment related, although a very wide range of
topics are covered mainly around professional and career issues, and there
are currently 128,000 groups for both academic and corporate alumni.
Groups support a limited form of discussion area, moderated by the group

owners and managers. Since groups offer the ability to reach a wide
audience without so easily falling foul of anti-spam solutions, there is a
constant stream of spam postings, and there now exist a range of firms
who offer a spamming service for this very purpose. LinkedIn has devised
a few mechanisms to reduce the volume of spam, but recently took the
decision to remove the ability of group owners to inspect the e-mail
address of new members in order to determine if they were spammers.
Groups may be private, accessible to members only or may be open to
Internet users in general to read, though they must join in order to post
messages.
To build a truly vibrant and influential profile on LinkedIn, you will want to
take advantage of the applications that are available.
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Slide-Share
Use this application to bring in presentations that I've uploaded to Slide-

Share. It gives me a chance to show my expertise visually. Also, you can
embed video or audio into your Slide-Share presentation that will
automatically play when someone visits your LinkedIn Profile. This can
certainly be an effective way to make your profile stickier. Most likely, if the
visitor hears your voice they will scroll down to this part of your profile.
Reading List by Amazon
We are what we read. Don‘t miss this opportunity to create a window into
your passions and interests by showcasing and reviewing your latest reads.
Alternatively, when you are searching through profiles on LinkedIn for

potential connections and introductions, you can glean the same insight
about others if they have this application installed
My Travel and Events
Personally, I love these two applications because they give me the

opportunity to showcase the part of my schedule that mostly involves
connecting! I want my connections to see where I‘m traveling and also the
events I‘m attending.
Don‘t miss any opportunities to meet a LinkedIn connection face-to-face.
WordPress or Blog Link
With these applications, you can automatically pull blog posts into your
profile. If you are taking the time to create great content on your blog, you
must get it out into the world.
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Polls
The LinkedIn Polls application allows you to essentially conduct your own
research, either simply within your own network or to a more targeted
audience of professionals, which is a paid resource. I have found Polls to be
an effective tool for understanding my audience. You must make sure that
your poll is simple to understand and that your questions are compelling.
Otherwise, you may not get much response.
LinkedIn helps you find valuable people and informs you of the mutual
connections you have with them.
Connect with your direct, first degree network.
Upload your contacts from Outlook, webmail like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo,
AOL, or other address books. You can do this via the “Add Connections”
tab. Then you can log in to your email and find who has a profile on
LinkedIn.
Look at the contacts, which are now available in “Imported Contacts”

(under “Contacts” in the menu on the left).
The people who are already on LinkedIn have a small blue icon with the
letters ‘In’. Since they are already using LinkedIn, they will be open for a
connection with you. Select them.
Write a semi-personal message to them. First check “Add a personal note

to your invitation.”
Then replace the standard “Hi, I‘d like to add you to my network” message
with something related to how you know them. You can‘t make it too
personal when you use this method because you have selected several
people.
Add previous colleagues and classmates to your network. While you are
waiting for people to accept the invitations you sent, you can add more
people to your network via a different method.
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Again, you are first focusing on the people who are already on LinkedIn
because they will be more open to accept your invitation.
Use the tools LinkedIn provides for retrieving colleagues and classmates.
Since LinkedIn works with the information in your profile, it is important

that you already have completed the information about the companies you
have worked for and the schools and universities you‘ve attended.
Look up your current and past colleagues’ profiles on LinkedIn.
You can also do this via the same menu and then clicking on the
‘Colleagues’ tab. Here, you will see all the companies that you have listed
on your profile, as well as how many people from each company are
already
LinkedIn members
Click on one of the companies listed. You will get a list of people. Select the
people you know.
Write a personal message to them if you are going to invite them one-by-
one or write a semi-personal message if you want to invite them in
batches. Repeat this for all your previous companies. Now do the same for
the people with whom you went to school or college via the tab
‘Classmates’.
Fill Your Network With Valuable NEW Connections for Your Business
LinkedIn is a great tool to find new customers, suppliers, partnerships,

experts, and other people that would be valuable to add to your network.
LinkedIn offers several ways to find specific types of people. But before
being able to use LinkedIn successfully, it is important to create a good
definition of your target groups. Once you have defined your targets, here
are some strategies to help you find them:
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Browse the networks of your immediate network
You can do this by visiting someone‘s profile and looking at their

connections on the right-hand side. If you see someone interesting, invite
that person to connect.
Use the “advanced search” option to search for people
If you find someone with whom you‘d like to connect, see if you share any
mutual connections. Ask that connection if he or she can make an
introduction to the new person. Please remember that what you are now
doing is building a relationship. Don‘t sell at this stage.
Join groups that your target market joins
This will give you a genuine opportunity to interact with individuals of those
groups and will help you increase your visibility.
People will start to contact you.
Save your people searches and create an alert
If you set up an alert, LinkedIn will send you an e-mail every week with
new prospects.
Follow your network’s updates and your contacts’ interactions
As you watch who your network interacts with, you might notice
opportunities for building valuable relationships. If someone mentions
someone interesting, ask for an introduction.
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13.7 MARKETING ON YOUTUBE
Monitoring Success on YouTube
Uploading a video to YouTube is just the start of a continuing process. You

need to measure the effectiveness of each of your videos to learn how you
can improve the next one. YouTube provides its own performance-tracking
tool that examines the key metrics for all videos on its site. YouTube
Analytics puts some of the most important metrics right on the video
viewing page. More detailed metrics are presented when you click the
Analytics button beneath each video. Tracking the performance of the
videos posted to the company's YouTube page can be done in the following
manner:
1. Track views: The first metric marketers look at is also the most basic:
measuring the number of people having viewed your video in a given
period of time. YouTube also enables the analysis of the demographic
composition of those views, by gender, age and location. How many
views is a good number? It depends on the goals. If the video gets a
million views overnight, that's the sign of a viral video. But not every
business needs or wants such huge viewership. For certain types of
videos and businesses, a total of 100 views might be good -- as long as
they're from the targeted audience. You have to judge performance
based on your own parameters, and with realistic expectations.
2. Track traffic sources: You can more effectively promote your videos if
you know how viewers found them. They can be linked to from other
videos, searched for on the YouTube site or connected through another
source.
For example, if you find that the majority of viewers discover a video
by searching on YouTube, you know you need to optimise future videos
for search. YouTube Analytics can help you by showing the keywords
that were searched for, so you can include the most popular ones in
the descriptions of subsequent videos.
You also can use the traffic sources metric to determine why a
particular video didn't perform well. Look at how viewers did – or more
important, didn't – find the video. If, for example, a video didn't pull
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well via search, then you know you need to pay more attention to
keywords in future video descriptions.
3. Track engagement: Merely viewing a video isn't enough. You want

viewers to engage with it, talk about it and share it with friends. To help
you monitor engagement, YouTube offers a number of different reports.
You can track how many people subscribe to your YouTube channel,
how many likes and dislikes a given video received, how many people
have given it a "favourite" tag, how many comments were received
about it and how many times it was shared on Facebook, Twitter and
Google+.The greater the level of engagement with your video, the
better you're connected with your customers and the more word-of-
mouth promotion they're likely to provide.
4. Track audience retention: Just because someone starts a video, it

doesn't mean he or she will watch all the way through. Audience
retention is an important metric showing how long, on average, viewers
watch each video and when they lose interest and tune out. YouTube‘s
audience retention metric lets you see viewership on a second-by-
second basis. It's a useful tool for fine-tuning your videos and producing
ones that pack a punch from beginning to end.
If you find that most of your viewers are watching only the opening
moments of your video, you know you're not grabbing them. If a large
percentage of viewers quit watching at a later point in the video, you
can try to determine what turned them off at that juncture.
5. Track conversions: YouTube Analytics can't help you here. You will
have to examine the number of conversions a video generates on your
own linked-to website. The conversion metric, of course, depends on
what type of response you want. Is the video designed to generate
sales, or is it meant to drive traffic to your website? If you hope to boost
revenue, you would simply measure how many sales you made to video
viewers who linked to your site. You might find that a video with a
relatively small viewership actually delivers a higher conversion rate –
and that's true success.
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13.8 INBOUND MARKETING: THROUGH BLOGS
Since 2006 inbound marketing has been the most effective marketing
method for doing business online. Instead of the old outbound marketing
methods of buying ads, buying e-mail lists, and praying for leads, inbound
marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your
company and product, where they naturally want to be. By aligning the
content you publish with your customer‘s interests, you naturally attract
inbound traffic that you can then convert, close, and delight over time.
There are four essential actions (Attract, Convert, Close, Delight) inbound
companies must take in order to obtain visitors, leads, and customers.
Provided at the bottom are the tools companies use to accomplish these
actions. (Note the tools are listed under the action where they first come
into play, but that‘s not the only place they‘re applicable! Several tools, like
blogs and e-mail, can be essential in several stages of the methodology.)
The Basic Structure of a Blog
Blogs are normally made up of the following main elements:
1. Dashboard: This is the back-end area of your blog where you make
changes and edits. This area is only accessible to logged in blog
administrators, editors, authors, contributors or subscribers.
2. Theme: Usually one of the first things bloggers do is pick out a theme.
This is the template or look of the blog that people see when they visit
your blog. This is what gives it your personal touch.
3. Theme layout: Blog themes normally include a header, a content area

(for your posts), and sidebar area (for your widgets) and come in
several standard layouts:
• Single column with no sidebar (widgets are located at the bottom of

the blog)
• Two Column – normally a wide column for content and narrower

sidebar
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• Three Column – with sidebars side-by-side on one side of the blog or

either side of the wider content column
• Four Columns – one content column and three sidebars. The content
column is often the same width as the other columns.
This type of layout tends to be cluttered looking and less suited to reading
lengthy content.
• Header: The header is the area at the top of a blog where the blog title,
graphics, and possibly navigational links appear. Using your own custom
image header means you can obtain a much more customised look and
feel adding your ‘own personal touch’ to your blog.
• Posts: Posts are where you normally publish the latest update or new
article on a blog. They are commonly displayed in reverse -chronological
order with the most recent post at the top of the page. Most of the
content published on a blog is normally written as Posts. E.g.,
information on what‘s happening in your classroom, assignment
instructions, and homework and discussion topics are normally published
as Posts and not on Pages. Blogs are designed to have only one Post
page which normally displays on the homepage of the blog.
• Comments: Posts commonly allow readers to publish comments on the

posts they read. This is where the reader can share their thoughts,
connect with the blogger and interact with other readers.
• Pages: You normally use pages for information that you want to share
with your readers but don‘t expect to update frequently. Not all blogging
software includes the ability to add Pages. The most common type of
page you‘ll find on a blog is an About Page.
• Sidebar: The location and even existence of sidebars depend on your

theme. Some themes even have three or more sidebars. You can add
and rearrange widgets in your sidebars using your blog dashboard. The
most common theme layout is two columns with one sidebar and on
content area.
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• Widget: These are the blocks that make up sidebars. Popular widgets
include the ability to subscribe to a blog, user statistics, and suggested
links.
Picture 13.3
• RSS: RSS is an acronym which stands for Really Simple Syndication. In

simple terms, RSS is a simple and effective way of keeping in touch when
new information is added to a website without having to visit the website
to check for new updates. For example, whenever your favourite blogger
publishes a new post it is automatically sent to your Feed reader. Sites
with RSS feeds are normally indicated with the word RSS and/or the
orange RSS icon.
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Micro-blogging can be regarded as a tool which can support a community

of practice by providing a forum for work-related discussions and informal
chat.
What Is Video Micro-blogging?
Video micro-blogging is the multimedia equivalent, whereby short video

posts can be published. The best-known example of a video micro-blogging
service is Seismic.
Micro-blogging through Twitter
A superficial look at Twitter might lead to the conclusions that micro-

blogging services such as Twitter provides nothing more than trivial
content and has no relevance to the information professional. However,
many Twitter users who have chosen to spend time in exploring its
potential benefits. Twitter, like blogs, can be used for a variety of purposes
although it also has the potential to be used as a communications medium,
with Twitter users asking questions and discussing issues. In this respect
Twitter has some parallels with chat rooms. But as with chat rooms, instant
messaging, e-mail and Websites such tools can be counter-productive if
used for inappropriate uses and if used excessively or to the detriment of
other work activities.
Developing good practices for micro-blogging
A simplistic response to potential misuses of micro-blogging tools would be

to ban its use. However, this approach would result in staff missing out on
the benefits of making use of informal contacts and your Organisation
exploiting the benefits described above.
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Picture 13.4
If you feel there is a need to establish a policy covering use of micro-

blogging you might wish to ask whether you trust your staff to use such
technologies in an appropriate fashion. Also if you feel there is a need to
implement such policies remember that staff can misuse their time at work
in other ways which do not need access to technologies. Perhaps the best
advice would be to ensure that you keep up-to-date with examples of
effective use of micro-blogging and ways of appreciated its benefits.
Managers should also encourage their staff to be innovative
Blogs on all standard blogging platforms automatically include RSS feeds

and don‘t necessarily use words or an icon to indicate the presence of the
RSS feed. For all Edublogs, the RSS feed is found by going to
yourblog.edublogs.org/feed. RSS lets you do lots of cool stuff including
adding latest updates from your favourite blogs (or news websites) to your
own site using RSS widgets like FeedWind‘s RSS widget.
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13.9 CORPORATE BLOGGING ESSENTIALS
Many organisations have faced in recent years as they consider whether

their own blog content will be of value to their bottom line. While it
depends on your organisation and what specifically you focus on and hope
to achieve, blogging can be a great opportunity for some organisations to
enter the social media world, present their company as people rather than
marketing or P.R. and create a unique opportunity to get their name out
there. But before you jump headfirst into blogging with your organisation,
it's important you weigh the pros and cons and develop a strategy
highlighting what exactly you'd like to achieve. For those who have made
the decision to "blog full speed ahead" here are just a few pointers to help
your organisation create compelling and buzz worthy content that's sure to
grab the reader's attention.
Grab the readers' attention immediately – Start your post off with
something provocative that will make your audience want to read and learn
more. This is not a new strategy, as journalists have known for years that
you only have a few sentences to pique the readers' interest. Pick up any
newspaper and read the first few sentences of any article. Time is limited,
especially in the working world, so start of your post off strong.
Breakup your text with bullets and numbered lists – If there is a way
to organise your post with bullets and numbers, do it! This makes it easier
for readers to skim over your post and get a general idea of what the blog
is about before they decide if they want to read it in full.
Keywords matter – For the sake of search engine optimisation (SEO), the
keywords and phrases you use matter significantly, especially in the title of
your blog post. Try to brainstorm phrases you might want associated with
your blog or company's website. You can even try searching phrases before
you write a title to see if anyone else has claim to them.
Write about what you know – Everyone's an expert in something —

what are your areas of strength? What do you have to share with the world
that you think others would find valuable?
Write about what you know, what you are passionate about, or what you
feel most compelled to tell others. You've got the megaphone, use it
wisely!
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Refer to other blog posts and articles – Mentioning other people's

content can not only creates a "starting point" for your own blogs but it is
also a great social media practice and way to get other authors' attention.
Find something that caught your eye and you'd like to comment on? Write
a blog post about it. You don't have to agree with the other post you are
referring to — some of the best posts I've read have been rebuttals to
other blogs.
What do you read – Shape your own blog posts and articles around
things that you find interest in reading. Read blogs related to your industry
and see what information you find most valuable. Chances are someone
else will find the topic just as valuable.
Be controversial – Not every blog needs to be controversial, but certainly

don't avoid it if you think what you are saying might ruffle some feathers.
Not only does controversy grab a reader's attention but it will encourage
them to leave comments or feedback if they disagree.
Ask questions – Encourage interaction. Write something that will get

people enthusiastic about commenting. Blog posts can take on a life of
their own when lots of people respond and comment.
Sharing is caring – The work doesn't stop once you finish writing your
blog. It's important to actively drive traffic to your blogs. Whether you
share by e-mail, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, it's a great way to get your
content out there and in front of others. What good is a blog that no one
ever reads? You can also share your content with various blog aggregators,
or even pitch a guest post on blogs with a similar audience.
Check back and often – It's important to check in on your blog from time
to time and see if there are any new comments you should respond to.
Some commenting systems will also allow you to set up alerts when
someone else has commented. You can also see what's being said about
your blog on Twitter by searching for a link to your blog at
search.twitter.com.
It's important to remember that if you're just starting a corporate blog that
these things take some time to be truly successful. Like anything else, you
have to build up an audience, and that's something that will take time, no
matter who you are or how stellar your content may be. Some of the
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saddest websites on the Internet are corporate blogs that have been
abandoned after only a couple blogs have been written. Post on the
regular, share your content and people will come.
13.10 INTRODUCTION TO MICRO-BLOGGING THROUGH

TWITTER
What Is Micro-blogging?
Micro-blogging is defined in Wikipedia as “a form of blogging that allows

users to write brief text updates (usually 130 characters) and publish
them, either to be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group which can be
chosen by the user. These messages can be submitted by a variety of
means, including text messaging, instant messaging, and e-mail, MP3 or
the Web”. Popular examples of micro-blogging services include Twitter and
FriendFeed. In additional the status feature of social networking services
such as Facebook provides another example of micro-blogging.
What Benefits Can Micro-Blogging Provide?
Rather than seeking to describe potential uses of micro-blogging tools such

as Twitter, it may be preferable to provide analogies for their use. As
described at micro-blogging tools such as Twitter can be regarded as:
The bar where everybody knows your name. An interactive business card.
A room of experts who can respond to your queries. A room of friends who
can listen to your concerns.
A room of strangers who can sometimes surprise you.
A Internet water cooler, particular useful for home workers to share office
gossip. Other potential benefits include:
Listening into announcements, discussions or informal conversations about

your organisation or the services provided by your organisation.
Providing business intelligence related to your peers, your funders or, in

some circumstances, perhaps, competing organisations.
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13.11 WORLDPRESS BLOGGING
WordPress is an open source Content Management System (CMS), which

allows the users to build dynamic websites and blogs. Wordpress is the
most popular blogging system on the web and allows updating,
customising and managing the website from its back-end CMS and
components.
What is Content Management System (CMS)?
The Content Management System (CMS) is a software which stores all the
data such as text, photos, music, documents, etc. and is made available on
your website. It helps in editing, publishing and modifying the content of
the website.
Features
• User Management: It allows managing the user information such as

changing the role of the users to (subscriber, contributor, author, editor
or administrator), create or delete the user, change the password and
user information. The main role of the user manager is Authentication.
• Media Management: It is the tool for managing the media files and
folder, in which you can easily upload, organise and manage the media
files on your website.
• Theme System: It allows modifying the site view and functionality. It

includes images, stylesheet, template files and custom pages.
• Extend with Plugins: Several plugins are available which provides

custom functions and features according to the users need.
• Search Engine Optimisation: It provides several search engine

optimisation (SEO) tools which makes on-site SEO simple.
• Multilingual: It allows translating the entire content into the language

preferred by the user.
• Importers: It allows importing data in the form of posts. It imports

custom files, comments, post pages and tags.
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Advantages
• It is an open source platform and available for free
• CSS files can be modified according to the design as per users need.
• There are many plugins and templates available for free. Users can
customise the various plugins as per their need.
• It is very easy to edit the content as it uses WYSIWYG editor (What You
See Is What You Get is a user interface that allows the user to directly
manipulate the layout of document without having a layout command).
• Media files can be uploaded easily and quickly.
• It offers several SEO tools which makes on-site SEO simple.
• Customisation is easy according to the user's needs.
• It allows creating different roles for users for website such as admin,
author, editor and contributor.
Disadvantages
• Using several plugins can make the website heavy to load and run.
• PHP knowledge is required to make modifications or changes in the

WordPress website.
• Sometimes software needs to be updated to keep the WordPress up-to-

date with the current browsers and mobile devices. Updating WordPress
version leads to loss of data, so it a backup copy of the website is
required.
• Modifying and formatting the graphic images and tables is difficult
The WordPress Dashboard is a first screen which will be seen when you log
into the administration area of your blog which will display the overview of
the website. It is a collection of gadgets that provide information and
provide an overview of what's happening with your blog. You can customise
461
your needs by using some quick links such as writing quick draft, replying
to latest comment, etc.
Dashboard can be categorised as shown in the following snapshot. Each of

these categories are discussed in the following sections:
Picture 13.5
13.12 LEVERAGING TWITTER TO ENHANCE BUSINESS

GROWTH
Twitter is a short message communication tool that allows you to send out
messages (tweets) up to 130 characters long to people who subscribe to
you (followers).
Your tweets can include a link to any web content (blog post, website page,
PDF document, etc.) or a photograph or video. If a picture is worth a
thousand words, adding an image to a tweet greatly expands what you can
share to beyond the 130-character limit for tweets.
462
People follow (subscribe) to your Twitter account, and you follow other
people. This allows you to read, reply to and easily share their tweets with
your followers (retweet).
How Twitter Is Unique
In the social media world, Twitter falls into the category of Microblogging
tools because of the short, disconnected messages it distributes. Other
Microblogging tools include Tumblr, FriendFeed and Plurk.
Twitter shares some features with the most common social media tools
(Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube). However, the
differences really define Twitter.
Facebook: A tweet is like a short Facebook status update. However, with

Twitter, every tweet arrives at every follower‘s feed, unlike the filter of
Facebook‘s EdgeRank.
Pinterest: Twitter allows you to share photographs and provide

commentary in your tweet. However, with Twitter, it‘s much easier to have
conversation around a shared image than with the comment feature on
Pinterest.
LinkedIn: A tweet is like a short LinkedIn status update. While LinkedIn is

based on trust relationships (and two-way agreements), Twitter allows you
to follow anyone, including strangers. This is helpful when you target
potential customers.
Google+: A tweet is like a short Google+ status update. Twitter also

allows you to organise people into lists that organise conversations similar
to Google+ groups.
YouTube: A tweet can contain a link to a video. However, Twitter doesn‘t

allow you to create a channel or organise your videos for easy location and
commentary.
463
13.13 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING BEST PRACTICES
Facilitating Conversations
Word of mouth has long been a critical part of marketing, and is proving
useful in Social media marketing as well. Peer reviews, opinions, and
comments are now the number one influencer prior to purchase or decision
online. Not only do you want people engaged with you, but also you want
them talking positively about you to each other. Facilitating these
conversations should be your ultimate goal. Make it easy for them –
provide excellent content that they will want to share and discuss. Then
give them tools to make it easy to do this: send to a friend buttons, share
this, bookmark this, subscribe, discuss, comment, like, and tweet buttons.
Since word of mouth, online conversations, reviews, and comments are
regarded as the most trusted forms of information today, getting people to
talk about your product is the goal.
Donning the role of a Visionary
• Social media should offer five key aspects that support open innovation:
• Better interaction with customers, consumers and other partners
• Idea generation and feedback loops for the ideas that are being
developed
• Business intelligence that helps you better understand your ecosystem
• Identification of new people who can assist in your innovation efforts
• Branding, promotion and marketing of innovation outcomes as well as

corporate innovation capabilities
Many social media skeptics do not see much value in this today. This is fair
enough asset is indeed hard to find good cases and evidence on such
efforts, but please remember that we are still in the very early phases on
this intersection of social media tools and open innovation. As years pass
by we all get more experience with tools and services that continue to
develop at a fast pace and in directions that are hard to foresee. Corporate
innovation leaders need to look years ahead and also to be the visionaries
464
in their companies as well as in your industry. Expose your employees and

your external stakeholders to social media and learn as you go. Yes there
will be initiatives that do not work and you might feel as the only one
playing in the sandbox, but others will join, you will adapt and the
experiences gained can bring competitive advantages in the short, mid and
long-term.
Similarly, if you are working in an entrepreneurial environment, you need

to stay abreast of what is happening in the social media/open innovation
space because of the opportunities that might arise for you to introduce
yourself into the innovation ecosystem of corporations that are looking for
the types of solutions you can offer. With more and more corporations
adopting social media as a way to reach out to potential partners, the
world of opportunities open to entrepreneurial companies will grow and
grow.
Adding value
One starting place for determining how to use social media to add value to
your innovation efforts is to consider what you hope to achieve. This list
can give you some inspiration for developing objectives for your use of
social media:
Psion gets better access to and interaction with their stakeholders through
their IngenuityWorking.com community. SAP gets similar benefits with
their SAP Community Network.
A key benefit of crowd sourcing initiatives like Dell Idea Storm or prize
competitions like Cisco‘s I-Prize are idea generation and feedback loops on
ideas and projects.
Twitter is a great tool for doing business intelligence on an industry,

competitors or to get a better understanding on how the innovation
community or ecosystem talks about your company.
Marketing and promotion of projects and innovation outcomes is an already

established way of using social media, and scores of companies do this.
465
13.14 SUMMARY
Social networks are communities of people who typically share a common

behaviour, idea, interest or activity. A social network indicates a graph of
relationships (social familiarities) within a group of individuals (people,
organisations). Social networking sites have increased in the last decade.
The idea behind niche marketing is the long-tail rule. Simply put, niche
markets have high potential for businesses because there is much less
competition than a mainstream product. More often than not, niche
consumers can be more loyal to your brand and your products.
Although social media marketing drastically changes the playing field for
businesses, it is still necessary to have realistic marketing goals and ROIs.
However, since niche marketing covers many different social media
networks, specific ROIs may vary from business to business. informal tags
instead of the traditional browser-based system of folders, although some
services feature categories/folders or a combination of folders and tags.
A blog (a truncation of the expression web log) is a discussion or

informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of
discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order
(the most recent post appears first).
Media sharing sites allow marketers to share photos, videos, and

broadcasts. Media sharing sites are more limited in scope in how
companies interact with consumers. They tend to be more promotional
than reactive.
Wiki acts as a tool for the creation of collaborative work by diverse

individuals. It provides a mechanism to author and edit articles
collaboratively through a web browser. Knowledge base expands as
centralised, shared repositories are created, which evolve, expand and
improve incrementally over time.

to be found by potential consumers. Search engines use closely guarded
algorithms to determine the results that are displayed. However,
466
determining what factors these algorithms take into account has lead to a
growing practice known as search engine optimisation.
1. What are Emerging trends in social networking?
2. What are Types of Blogs and how effectively they are used for Internet
marketing?
3. How Twitter is used for Internet marketing?
4. How LinkedIn is different from twitter social networking site.
5. What is twitter and do for business?
6. How can we use twitter for market research?
7. What is Facebook fans and why do we need them?
8. How we can use Facebook to market our business/products/services?
9. How we can use LinkedIn to market our business/products/services?
10.How we can use YouTube to market our business/products/services?
11.How do we get connected with unknown people on Facebook, Twitter

and LinkedIn?
467
1. What are examples of Online Social Networks?
(a) LinkedIn
(b) Sify
(c) MySpace
(d) (c) and (a) of the above
2. What are examples of Online Social Networks?
(a) Twitter
(b) Sify
(c) Facebook
3. Identify types of blogs:
(a) Personal
(b) Google
(c) LinkedIn
4. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) refers to the work that is done to a

website to ensure it gets noticed and ranked highly by Search Engines.
SEO includes:
(a) Coding techniques

(b) Keywords
(c) (b) and (a) of the above
(d) Customer record
5. RSS is an acronym which stands for Really Simple Syndication.
(a) True
(b) False
Answers
1. (d) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (c ) 5. (a)
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REFERENCE MATERIAL
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INTERNET MARKETING

Sub Code - 652

Program Design and Advisory Team

Prof. B.N. Chatterjee Mr. Manish Pitke

Prof. Kanu Doshi Prof. B.N. Chatterjee

Prof. Dr. V.H. Iyer Mr. Smitesh Bhosale

Prof. B.N. Chatterjee Prof. Vineel Bhurke

Prof. Venkat lyer Dr. Pravin Kumar Agrawal

Prof. Dr. Pradeep Pendse Mrs. Margaret Vas

Prof. Sandeep Kelkar Mr. Anuj Pandey

Prof. Dr. Swapna Pradhan Course Editor

Prof. Bijoy B. Bhattacharyya Prof. B.N. Chatterjee

Mr. P.M. Bendre Course Coordinators

Mr. Ajay Prabhu Ms. Kirti Sampat

Mr. A.S. Pillai Mr. Kishor Tamhankar

COPYRIGHT © by Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research.

NOT FOR SALE. FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.

1st Edition, April 2019

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A Senior Professor in Management with a wide range of experience in the

He has served International Computers Indian Manufacture (ICIM) for

He is instrumental in developing various educational modules of Welingkar

At present, in addition to his own consultancy, he has taken up teaching

He has developed innovative student focus methods of learning and

He is author of books— Management Information System, Human Resource

Prof. Nitin C Kamat is Manging Director of Finesse Learning Consultants.

He conducted “Teachers Training Seminars” on e-learning and using

His mission is “Digital Literacy” at all levels UG to PG and adult also,

1 Basics of Internet Marketing 6-29

2 Environment Analysis and Strategy Development 30-61

3 Internet Marketing Plan Creation 62-98

4 Websites and Portals — Your Internet Marketing Hub 99-141

5 Internet Marketing Research 142-172

6 Online Consumer Behaviour Analysis 173-204

7 Internet Marketing Strategies 205-242

8 Online Product Offering and Pricing 243-298

9 Online Distribution Channel 299-317

10 Creative E-mail Marketing 318-345

11 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Web Analytics 346-384

12 Communication Tools 385-415

13 Using Social Media for Internet Marketing 416-469

• After going through this chapter you should be able to know:

• Assess the Significance of the Internet to the Modern Marketing Concept

• Get a Chronological Perspective of Marketing on the Internet

• Understand the Difference and Benefits of Internet over Traditional

1.2 The Internet Marketing Basics

1.3 Role of World Wide Web

1.4 Benefits over Traditional Marketing

1.6 Recent trends in Internet marketing

1.8 Self Assessment Questions

1.9 Multiple Choice Questions

In the present scenario, this answer varies dramatically for different

The significance of the Internet is relatively low in the manufacturing

Things to Remember about Internet marketing

First and most importantly ~ Internet Marketing is not free or cheap.

1. Internet marketing is complex

2. Internet marketing is a concept. It’s not a product or service or

4. Don’t just start Internet marketing activities without having a proper