Internet Marketing

Manasi Marfatia
Profile of Online Indians
online user base ia almost 50 million in India
1 in 5 users coming from rural areas.
82% of online Indians come from the urban areas and 18%
from the rural areas. At these levels, the penetration of
internet stands at 4.5% of the total population of India
Almost 9 out of 10 regular internet users accessing the net
from home or place of work do so 'daily' (though only 33% of
cyber cafe based internet users access the net on daily basis).
More importantly, Internet users who access the net from
home tend to be relatively 'heavier' users of the internet as
compared to the 'offline' mediums (TV, newspaper and radio).
Regular internet users tend to be the lightest users of radio,
followed by newspaper and then TV.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2008_Oct_17/ai_n30910224/
Internet usage in India has shown a healthy growth in last one year.
More importantly, it is showing clear signs of evolving and becoming
the 'dominant medium' of interacting with the world for a good
proportion of the regular online Indians. It is increasingly becoming
more and more relevant and meaningful in their 'personal' lives (and
not just their work lives).
However, online buying has not really picked as much this year, making
net more of a 'window shop' rather than an 'online market' in any true
sense of the word (except for the travel products maybe).The fact that
the bulk of Indian consumer mass comes from the vernacular Indian
world, the increasing usage of local language websites is one of the
most important elements of internet usage to watch for in the future.
Availability of relevant and meaningful local language content and
applications on the net, together with affordable access, may become
the biggest enabler (or the biggest limiting factor) in the future growth
of Internet usage in India.
Internet is integration in
itself than a tool of IMC
Why????
Functions of Internet
Advertising
Sales support
Customer service
Public relations
E-commerce
Marketing Functions on the Internet
Building database for email campaign
Designing email campaigns linking customers to web
site information
Creating fun and innovative games to attract and keep
customers coming back to the web site
Creating incentive programs
Translating printed documents, catalogs, brochures,
and newsletters for internet
Adding graphic to the website
E-commerce
Selling goods and services through internet
E-commerce Components
Catalog
Shopping cart
Payment
Issues to consider in E-commerce
Security issues
Purchasing habits
E-commerce Incentive
Financial incentives
Cyberbait
Convenience incentive
Value-added incentive
B2B E-commerce
 It's companies buying from and selling to each other
online. But there's more to it than purchasing. It's
evolved to encompass supply chain management as
more companies outsource parts of their supply chain
to their trading partners.
Cisco is an example of one of the first B2B catalogs
online. Other examples of B2B e-commerce are
intranet services and Web meetings.
International Ecommerce
Using black background and graphics has sinister
connotation in Asia, Europe and latin America
The Thumps-up sign and waving hands are rude
gestures in Latin America and the middle eompsast
Showing woman with exposed arms and legs –
offensive in the middle east
Using a dog as a company logo is successful in Korea
because dogs are used for food.
IMC and Internet
Branding
Brand Loyalty
Customer Support
Customer Service
Direct Marketing on Internet
Internet email
Interactive marketing
Viral Marketing on Internet
 use pre-existing social networks to produce increases
in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing
objectives (such as product sales) through self-
replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of 
virus or computer viruses
How is that happening on internet?
Question
You are a famous high end designer watch
manufacturer. You have observed that the high end
young consumers (your typical target segments) spend
lot of time on facebook. Make some assumption and
come with a strategy to connect with these people
through viral marketing
Internet Design Issues
Poor design
Clueless banners
Slow loading front page
Forcing people to go through numerous screens
Too much verbal information
Too many technical terms
Sites that are hard to navigate
Winning site
Follow a strategic purpose
Easy to access and quick to load
Precise content
Right content
Graphic supports content
Marketing offer to encourage response
Ask for site evaluation
Easy to use navigation links
Balanced use of flashing banner and moving icons
Regularly update the website
Measure the results.
Case
Shelly Loved love. She loved introducing new people to see if any kind
of spark would fire. She had set up several friends who wound up dating
and even marrying each other. Shelly’s other major talent was web
designing. These two skills lead shelly to set up internet dating service.
She created one for LA area. The site was called “Shelly’s connection”.
Shelly’s connection had two twists, 1). The site was designed only for
Local people (LA + Surrounding counties). She was not trying to set up
a national service and 2). Besides simply making high tech
introductions, shelley’s connection offered social events. These
included “evening meet ups”, where people sipping coffee circulated
through the room and meet with 5-10 potential dating partners in a 90
minute time span. Also shelly’s connection had single parties where
invitee were the people who have shown interest in 3-4 potential
partners and have paid the cover charges. Light music (so that people
can talk), snacks, bar etc. was provided in these parties. Shelly’s idea
was to create a fully integrated dating program.
Internet dating services are not new. The typical
problems faced by internet dating services are – 1. unless
properly screened married people signed up to start
dating 2. wrong connotation 3. most dating services have
nationwise coverage. 4. some people shy away from such
services as they feel it will make them look “desperate”.
To combat these problems shelly believes high-quality
advertising campaigns are needed. The ad should clearly
spell out what type of service she offered, warn away
married people, emphasizes that dating and meeting
people are time consuming. Shelly’s connection offers
convenience, help people use their spare time wisely, and
have fun. With help of some VCs she began her
operations.
Questions – (Indian Context)
Do you feel that there are other problems not
considered for creating such company?
Which media to use to promote a “Website”
What should be the ad and effective tag line for
shelly’s connections