MODULE 1: OVERVIEW OF THE INTERNET

UNIT 1: INTERNET CONTENTS:

1.0 Introduction

The Internet is a global network of billions of computers and other electronic devices. With the
Internet, it's possible to access almost any information, communicate with anyone else in the
world, and do much more. You can do all of this by connecting a computer to the Internet, which
is also called going online. When someone says, a computer is online, it's just another way to
connect to internet.

Meaning of Internet

The Internet has transform the computer and communications world like nothing before. The
invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented
integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a
mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction
between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location. The Internet
represents one of the most successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and
commitment to research and development of information infrastructure. Beginning with the early
research in packet switching, the government, industry and academia have been partners in
evolving and deploying this exciting new technology. .

3.2. Internet as a Business driver

The Internet is said to be both over-hyped and undervalued. It has the capacity to change
everything—the way we work, the way we learn and play, even, maybe or the way we sleep.
What is more, it is doing so at far greater speed than the other great disruptive technologies of
the 20th century, such as electricity, the telephone and the car.

While the media have concentrated on just a few aspects of the web—the glamorous consumer
side of content and shopping on the one hand, and the extremist rantings on the other—
something much more important is happening behind the scenes: e-business. The Internet is
turning business upside down and inside out. It is fundamentally changing the way companies
operate, whether in high-tech or metal-bashing. This goes far beyond buying and selling over the
Internet, or e-commerce, and deep into the processes and culture of an enterprise.

Some companies are using the Internet to make direct connections with their customers for the
first time. Others are using secure Internet connections to intensify relations with some of their
trading partners, and using the Internet’s reach and ubiquity to request quotes or sell off
perishable stocks of goods or services by auction. Entirely new companies and business models
are emerging in industries ranging from chemicals to road haulage to bring together buyers and
sellers in super-efficient new electronic marketplaces. The Internet is helping companies to lower

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costs dramatically across their supply and demand chains, take their customer service into a
different league, enter new markets, create additional revenue streams and redefine their business
relationships.

Supply chain management is also being made more efficient and firms can significantly reduce
inventory costs. For example, an American bank Goldman Sachs, has estimated that in the
electronics components industry these factors have already contributed to procurement savings
of up to 40%. As the Internet contributes to the lowering of operating costs, Goldman Sachs
estimates business to business e-commerce could cause a potential increase in the level of output
by an average of 5% in developed nations’ economies over the next 10 years. However, a
possible counter argument might be made that the Internet offers even greater potential for cost
savings and productivity gains in more tightly regulated economies where rigid labour and/or
inefficient capital markets exist. (Allen, 2000)

It is also possible to state that emerging economies could be prime beneficiaries of e-commerce.
As the Internet reduces transaction costs and the economies of scale possible through vertical
integration, there could be a decline in the optimal size of the firms.

Relationship between internet and business and the impact

There is no doubt that the Internet - constituting an easy-to-access, world- wide network - has
already had a significant effect on the conduct of international business and that this impact,
despite the recent downturn in Internet-related businesses, is likely to continue, changing many
aspects of international business in the future, although not necessarily in ways, and at the speed,
that might have been expected looking ahead from the middle of the boom. Even in the boom, it
was becoming clear that international expansion through the Internet posed many problems that
did not have simple 'virtual solutions': for example, distributor relations could be seriously
impaired by moves to bypass distributors in favor of direct dealing via the Internet; and Internet-
based international retailers were already facing difficulties in expanding operations without
establishing an old- style presence in foreign markets (Petersen et al, 2002) The electronic
linking together of individuals, institutions, and companies in a worldwide web has created an
unprecedented public data base that heralds the ultimate realization of the information.

Effect of Internet on Firms’ Internationalization Capacity;

1. Technology/Production Economies resources:

On the demand side, it is apparent that I&CT advances have provided a strong impetus for firms
to become involved in international business operations - along with the fact that the Internet has
greatly enhanced firms' ability to spot international business opportunities. On the supply side,
internationalization implications of I&CT advances are less unidirectional. As far as technology
and production economies are concerned the impact of I&CT advances on internationalization
differs significantly between producers of 'traditional' physical goods and producers of digital

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information goods. Digital information goods (henceforward referred to as "e-products")
typically are characterized by high fixed costs and negligible marginal costs, so that after having
incurred up-front investment costs, the producer has a strong incentive to offer the e-product to
as many customers as possible. . Thus, the cost structure of e-products encourages the producer
to achieve global scale economies. Moreover, e-products often are subject to "network
externalities", by which the utility that the individual customer derives from the e-product
increases as the total number of other users increases (Shapiro/ Varían 1999). Together, scale
economies and network externalities provide a strong incentive for e-product providers to expand
beyond the home market

2. Human Resources;

The Internet has had important effects on the way in which people are managed within
international companies. The ability of companies to develop global operations increasingly via
the Internet depends on staff being able to initiate and carry through a range of new activities and
deal with a variety of new technologies. This will place major demands on the human resources
function to find the appropriate staff, either inside or outside the organisation. already improved
conditions for expatriation and short term assignments by making it much easier for the
expatriate and his/her family to keep in contact with their networks back home. With the
Internet, however, conditions for virtual assignments have improved significantly as well.

3. Financial Resources;

ICT advances in general have been important drivers of the convergence costs of capital of firms
during the last decade. Because of this process of transition from independent national financial
markets to a more integrated, globalized market international firms have, all else being equal,
lost competitive advantage vis-domestic firms operating in what previously may have been high-
cost capital markets. The creation of transparency across markets, ICT advances, and the Internet
has reduce the disadvantage of foreignness in terms of being unknown to local stores. If the
Internet has the effect of increasing the pace of internationalization - for example, opening a
wider range of foreign markets that can be served, the ability to finance expansion may become a
critical issue, particularly for new Internet-related ventures in the post "Internet bubble” world.
The Internet should facilitate greater transparency about financing options on an international
basis, thereby adding to pressure for lowering the cost of capital across countries. This could be
an important consideration for Internet-related new ventures given the variability of markets for
new venture finance.

4. International Strategy/Organizational Structure and Processes;

Whereas I&CT advances have supported firms' strategies of multinationalism and

transnationality (Bartlett/Ghoshal 2000), the advent of the Internet seems to have placed pressure
on international companies for increased global integration and coordination (Roche 2000). The
expectation at the height of the Internet boom was that international companies would experience

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a stronger need for global standardization because of increased transparency across national
markets (Roche 2000). This, in turn, would force international firms toward stronger central co-
ordination and control mechanisms, involving closer integration of their dispersed activities. As
an example of Internet-induced transparency, pricing policies in different national markets would
need to be brought more closely into line (Roche 2000). Inevitably, such a change would force a
whole range of adjustments throughout the international company in areas such as purchasing,
supply chain management, and marketing programmes. As a reflection of this move towards
centralization, some international companies introduced websites for the corporation and for
international operating companies in non-English speaking countries, such as Denmark, the
website would normally be in English. The centralization bias of the Internet has been reinforced
by the perceived strategic importance of online sales by international companies so that the
direction and control of developments have been driven by headquarters - it has been being too
important to leave to the various subsidiaries. This has been applied to testing in the marketplace
of online sales of existing as well as new product.

Importance of internet in the society

The Internet is important to the society as it adds another resource to enhance businesses,
education and entertainment. Many people in today’s generation are relying in the internet to do
a lot of different tasks. In fact, wherever you go these days, you can see people holding some sort
of gadgets and using the internet to play games or search things that they want. But of course, the
internet is not just about entertainment. It’s also useful in many other things as well.

Today, many students are using the internet to do research and complete their assignments. Since
the internet is full of information, most students use this as a source of education. In fact, there
are now even online programs and courses available, which people can easily access to study and
learn other things even while they’re at the comfort of their homes.

Years ago, if you wanted to find something out, you would have to run to a public library and
look through a pile of books, which is very tiring and time-consuming. But now, with just a few
clicks of your mouse, you can already get any information you need. Years ago, when you also
wanted to buy something, such as food, shoes, or any items, you would go to a shop or restaurant
to get that thing you need. But now, you can easily Google the product you want and have it
delivered directly to your door! In fact, you can now even pay your bills and file your taxes
online.

Hiring people, you need is also made much easier with the use of internet. Internet is also very
important when it comes to communication. Before, when people wanted to speak with someone
who lives in a distant place, they would have to reach a phone and make a phone call. If they
don’t have any access to a phone, they would write a letter, which usually takes a few days to
arrive. But now, there are emails and social media, wherein you can instantly send messages to
your loved ones. You can even make a video call and see the person even if he or she is at the

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other side of the world. This advantage also benefits other industries as well, particularly the
entrepreneurs and business owners. If before, business owners would have to travel overseas to
speak to a client, now they can make negotiations even if they are at the comfort of their own
office.

UNIT 2: MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION CONTENT

What is Mobile Communication?

Mobile communication is basically talking, texting or sending data or image files over a wireless
network. An example of mobile communication is seng an email from a computer or a smart
phone using a wireless network at home or in your local coffee shop.

The system used for mobile communication to work is called GSM (Global System for Mobile
Communication). This is any radio telephone capable of operating while moving at any speed,
battery operated and small enough to be carried around by a person. The system has different
facilities.

The different types of mobile communication systems are:

Two-way radio; Mobile two-way radios are one-to-many communication systems that operate
in half-duplex mode, i.e., push to talk. The most common among this type is citizen band (CB)
radio, which uses amplitude modulation (AM). It operates in the frequency range of 26-27.1
MHz having 40 channels of 10 kHz. It is a noncommercial service that uses a press-to-talk
switch. It can be amplitude modulated having double-sideband suppressed carrier or single-
sideband suppressed carrier.

Public Land radio; is a two-way FM radio system, used in police, fire and municipal agencies.
It is limited to small geographical areas.

Mobile phone; Mobile telephones offer full-duplex transmission. These are one-toone systems
that permit two simultaneous transmissions. For privacy, each mobile unit carries a unique
telephone number.

Amateur (HAM) radio; Amateur (HAM) radios cover a broad frequency band from 1.8 MHz
to above 30 MHz These include continuous wave (CW), AM, FM, radio tele-printer, HF slow-
scan still picture TV, VHF or UHF slow-scan or fast-scan TV, facsimile, frequency-shift keying
and amplitude-shift keying. ( Linton, 2017)

What is telecommunication?

Telecommunication is basically the transmission of signs, signals, messages, words, writings,

images and sounds or information of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electromagnetic
systems. It occurs when the exchange of information between communication participants

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includes the use of technology. The technology used to communicate are called
Telecommunication networks.

A telecommunication network is a collection of terminal nodes, links are connected to enable

telecommunication between the terminals. The transmission links connect the nodes together.
Each terminal in the network usually has a unique address so messages or connections can be
routed to the correct recipients. The collection of addressed in the network is called the address
space. There are different types of telecommunication networks. They are as follows;

Computer Networks; ARPANET, Ethernet, Internet, Wireless networks.

 Public switched telephone networks (PSTN)

 Packed switched networks

 Radio networks

 Television networks

Relationship between mobile and Telecommunication

Mobile communication technologies have enabled a seamless interaction between people and the
global network. Businesses can now use these technologies to effectively run their operations
and connect with their customers effortlessly from far around the globe. The mobile
telecommunications industry has grown rapidly over the last three decades representing one of
the most intriguing stories of technology diffusion. Since 2002 mobile subscribers have exceeded
the number of fixed lines globally. The process to achieve what fixed phones have struggled to
do for more than 120 years took less than a fifth of the time for mobile networks.

In fact, mobile telecommunications deeply affect the way users interact and have significant
externalities for the economic activities for which they are used. There is widespread anecdotal
evidence about the surge of new companies and business models with worldwide brands linked
to the sector (e.g. Nokia, Vodafone) and the appearance of new modes of communication such as
'personal reachability'. Because of the lower access cost to the user compared to wired
telecommunications, linked with the solution of the problem of creditworthiness of customers
through prepaid cards, the technology could reach completely new segments of the population
particularly in developing countries.

Mobile communication technology includes devices such as cellular phones, Wi-Fi enables
hand-held devices and wireless laptops that can connect through Wi-Fi or with a cellular
connection

It is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of mobile communication

technology for a business;

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Advantages of mobile communication technology

Sharing Information; the Internet has helped broaden communication channels by connecting
people all over the world through a single computer network. with handheld communications
devices, business professionals can instantly share information with clients and vendors
regardless of where they are.

Less Down Time; because many business professionals are connected to clients and business
associates through cellular devices, there is no down time anymore. Business managers, small
business owners and professionals are always on call to clients because of the ability of clients to
reach business professionals through cellular phone calls, texting or emails. The same mobile
communication tools that can make a business easier, can also make business a burden when
they take away time off.

Disadvantages of mobile communication technology;

Cybercrime; Cybercriminals exploit communication technology to steal financial information

and perpetrate identity theft. They do this by installing illegal spyware on peoples’ computers
without their consent, or by exploiting security vulnerabilities on online merchants’ websites to
steal customers’ bank and credit card details.

How mobile telecommunication is important to an E-business

Telecommunication is an important tool for businesses. It enables companies to communicate

effectively with customers and deliver high standards of customer service. Telecommunication is
also a key element in teamwork, allowing employees to collaborate easily from wherever they
are located. Mobile telecommunication gives companies the opportunity to introduce more
flexible working by allowing employees to work efficiently from home. The introduction of
smartphones gives employees new levels of productivity and capability on the move.

Customer Service; The telephone remains an important element of a customer service strategy.
By using call management techniques, you can handle incoming calls quickly, even when lines
are busy, and you can route calls to employees with the right skills to deal with the inquiry.
Alternatively, you can offer callers the ability to choose from a range of options, such as "Press
'1' for Accounts," or Press '2' for Sales." You can also use the telephone to contact customers
proactively, following a service call, for example, or after a purchase.

Collaboration; Collaboration between different departments can help your company improve
performance in projects such as new product development, customer relationship management
and quality initiatives. According to consultancy McKinsey & Company,

(Linton, 2017)collaborative, complex problem solving is the essence of the work of many
employees. Telecommunication helps your project teams maintain momentum and make
important decisions, even when all members cannot attend meetings. Absent members can join a

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teleconference or a Web conference if they have a smartphone or computer with Internet
connectivity.

Remote; If your employees in sales, technical and service teams spend a large portion of their
working days with colleagues, visiting customers, working at home or traveling, mobile
telecommunication can help them maintain essential contact and work productively on the move.
The Yankee Group Enterprise Mobility Survey found that 40 percent of respondents regarded
more than a third of employees as remote or mobile workers.

Smartphones; The increasing sophistication of smartphones makes mobile telecommunication

an integral part of a wider communication capability. Employees can use the same
telecommunication device to access data, send and receive emails, work on documents or
participate in multimedia conferences. According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index Study,
data-intensive applications are the main component of the growth in communication network
traffic.

UNIT 3: OVERVIEW OF E-BUSINESS

What is E-Business?

Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to a wide range of online business activities for
products and services. It also pertains to “any form of business transaction in which the parties
interact electronically rather than by physical exchanges or direct physical contact.”

E-commerce is usually associated with buying and selling over the Internet, or conducting any
transaction involving the transfer of ownership or rights to use goods or services through a
computer-mediated network. Though popular, this definition is not comprehensive enough to
capture recent developments in this new and revolutionary business phenomenon. A more
complete definition is: E-commerce is the use of electronic communications and digital
information processing technology in business transactions to create, transform, and redefine
relationships for value creation between or among organizations, and between organizations and
individuals. (Wilson, 2017)

Three Main Types of E-business

1. Business to Consumer (B2C); The most widely recognized form of e-business, B2C is the
exchange of information, products or services taking place between a business and a consumer
over the internet. As the internet develops, B2C is continually changing the way consumers
acquire information, the way products are compared against one another and the way in which
they are purchased. An example of a B2C only site is amazon.com. Ae.com is an example of a
B2C site housing a physical location as well.

2. Business to Business (B2B); The largest form of e-business in terms of money spent is B2B.
Business-to-business allows trading to take place between businesses, using a low-cost sales

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channel for the sale of goods and services and is responsible for constantly changing corporate
buying habits. An example of a B2B site would be a car part company selling parts to a car
dealership, another company, rather than directly to consumers.

3. Business to Government (B2G); B2G is the online exchange of information and transactions
between businesses and government agencies, also known as e-government. B2G allows
government agencies and businesses to use electronic means to conduct business and interact
with each other over the internet. An example of a B2G site would be one that offers electronic
tax filing.

Importance of e-business

E-business is important for the following reasons;

Costs; Operational costs such as maintenance of inventory and transaction costs have reduced
thanks to e-business. Electronic invoicing has increased invoice-processing efficiencies, created
transparency in ordering, streamlined payment processing and reduced costs incurred by the
purchase of paper invoices. The number of employees has reduced as customers order their
products online and pick them up or arrange for them to be delivered for a fee. Search costs for
high-quality products and services have been reduced, as customers can easily find them on
company websites.

Marketing; Companies using e-business have a wider online presence. They can advertise their
products and services either on their websites or by hosting them on other domains. These
advertisements have been customized to cater to the individual needs of their customers,
enabling them to reach their clients at a more personal level. Companies also find that Internet
marketing is cost effective, as they pay Internet advertising agencies only when customers view
their page.

Communications; Adoption of e-business has improved communication in the hypermarket

industry. The use of email has enabled companies to respond better and faster to customer issues.
Improved customer service has nurtured better relations between retail outlets and customers,
ensuring that they remain loyal to the outlets. Companies using websites in the hypermarket
industry can offer after-sales services to their clients without the need for a physical presence or
storefront. Constant communication of improvements in a company's products enhances its
brand for customers.

Revenues; Companies that have adopted e-business have a faster product development cycle,
enabling them to respond quickly to market needs. They take advantage of being market leaders
to increase revenues before their competitors can enter the market. Inventory tracking enables
companies to reduce overstocking and understocking, thereby releasing cash needed for
maintenance of stock for other purposes, as well ensuring sales aren't lost because products are
out of stock.

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E-business models

An E-business model describes, as a system, how the pieces of a business fit together with
emphasis on competition and organizational dynamics. The adoption of a successful e

business model may make it possible to increase competitiveness in the marketplace. New
business models have appeared on the markets, modifying the nature of company internal and
external business processes. These new forms of conducting business have affected traditional
management techniques taught on management courses and no sector has been left untouched. In
this new context, it is important to acknowledge the importance of e-business models. They are
the new keys to increasing a company’s competitiveness in the marketplace by improving its
current value added. The following are the different types of e-business models used;

 Portals; this is an e-business model that people use as a launching pad to enter the web. This
was the first model of the Internet. It is a specially designed website that brings information from
diverse sources, like emails, forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually each
information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displaying information (a portlet);
often, the user can configure which ones to display.

 E-tailing; this is a popular model utilized by retail organizations for transactions with other
companies. Organizations can act as intermediaries between producers and potential buyers to
create added value

 Auction; this plays an intermediary role between buyers and seller. This model of one seller
to one broker to many buyers is more concerned with filling a gap in the marketplace than with
mere content.

 Value-chains; this business model groups together partner companies that consult each other
through an organized process in the making of a product with very high added value. The main
objective is to maximize the creation of added value through an efficient operational process.

 Barter; this model allows goods and services to be exchanged without money. The Internet
enables a business owner to barter tangible or intangible products with another company. For
example, a company can make its warehouse space profitable by offering another company the
possibility of storing its products there temporarily. The second variation of this model is the
most virtual. In this case, companies or people with access to this e-business model are members
of different associations or companies. This type of site favors shared expertise and knowledge.

 Buying groups; this model is a buying group for several business owners, which allows
greater negotiating power. The model is especially useful for the smaller business unable to get
the benefits of economy of scale. When businesses are joined together into a buying group, the
new entity plays the role of intermediary for research and negotiation with suppliers. It can also

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provide the distribution of product catalogues as well as the management of commercial and
financial transactions and the delivery of merchandise.

 Integration; this can either be vertical (according to a specific industry or market) or

horizontal (according to an organizational function or process). A differentiation strategy is
required if the website is to attract and retain new and existing buyers and sellers. (Wilson, 2017)

UNIT 4: WEBSITE DESIGN CONTENT

Meaning of website

A website, or simply a site, is a collection of related web pages, including multimedia content,
typically identified with a common domain name, and published on at least one web server. A
website may be accessible via a public Internet Protocol (IP) network, such as the Internet, or a
private local area network (LAN), by referencing a uniform resource locator (URL) that
identifies the site.

Websites have many functions and can be used in various fashions; a website can be a personal
website, a commercial website for a company, a government website or a nonprofit organization
website. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, ranging from
entertainment and social networking to providing news and education. All publicly accessible
websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web, while private websites, such as a
company's website for its employees, and are typically a part of an intranet. (Wilson, 2017)

The usefulness of websites to a business

The following are the usefulness of a website to a business;

i. Your small business will gain credibility; Today, more and more consumers use the internet
to search for the products or services they need. Your small business will gain credibility by
having a website. Without one, potential customers will go to your competitors that do. If you
already have a website but it is "home-made", having it professionally redesigned will provide
your business with a professional image which will inspire even greater confidence. For home-
based businesses, this is particularly beneficial since you do not have a store front to promote
your products or services

ii. A website saves you money; As a small business owner you probably think you can't afford a
professional website, but you can't afford NOT to. Although the cost of designing a website
varies, once it's up and running, a website for a small business generally costs under $100 a
month and, in some cases, as little as $20. Compared with the cost of a newspaper ad, when you
consider the potential market you can reach with a website, it is a very cost effective way to
promote your business.

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 iii. It will enable you to keep your customers informed; Think of your website as being your
online brochure or catalogue. It is much easier and quicker to update information about your
products and services on your website than in print material, making it an effective way of letting
your customers know about the arrival of new products, upcoming events, special promotions, or
any new services you now offer. Unlike print ads which quickly become outdated, your website
can provide current information and news.

iv. It is always accessible; A website is available to both your regular and potential customers
24/7/365 providing them with the convenience of reviewing your products and services when
your store or office is closed. With today’s busy lifestyles, this is a great selling point when
making a purchase decision.

v. A website makes it possible to target a wider market; Whether you provide products or
services, your website will provide an alternative location to sell them. As a retailer, a website
(e-Commerce) is a great place to sell your products to a wider market; even services can be made
available globally

vi. It provides a medium on which to showcase your work; No matter what type of business
you’re in, a website is a great place to showcase your work. By including a portfolio or image
gallery, as well as testimonials about your work, you can demonstrate what makes your business
unique.

vii. A website saves you time; Providing information to your customers takes time, whether it’s
on the phone, face-to-face, in a brochure, or in emails. With an online catalogue you can provide
lots of information about your products and services. Once your website is up and running, it is
available to your customers indefinitely, saving you time.

viii. It improves customer service; Maybe you sell environmentally friendly products and
would like to share tips on how to recycle, or perhaps you’re an accountant and want to give
your clients advice on how to simplify their bookkeeping practices. By including a FAQ page,
adding articles or uploading newsletters to answer all your customers' questions you can keep
them up-to-date.

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MODULE 2: INTERNET ADVERTISEMENT UNIT 1: OVERVIEW OF INTERNET
ADVERTISEMENT UNIT 2: ONLINE SHOPPING UNIT 3: E-PAYMENTS

UNIT 1: OVERVIEW OF INTERNET ADVERTISEMENT CONTENTS

Web Banner

A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web. This form of online
advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to
a website by linking to the website of the advertiser. The advertisement is constructed from an
image (GIF, JPEG, PNG), JavaScript program or multimedia object employing technologies
such as Silverlight, Java, Shockwave or Flash, often employing animation or sound to maximize
presence. Images are usually in a high-aspect ratio shape (i.e. either wide and short, or tall and
narrow) hence the reference to banners. These images are usually placed on web pages that have
interesting content, such as a newspaper article or an opinion piece. (Sullivan, 2006)

The web banner is displayed when a web page that references the banner is loaded into a web
browser. This event is known as an "impression". When the viewer clicks on the banner, the
viewer is directed to the website advertised in the banner. This event is known as a "click
through". In many cases, banners are delivered by a central ad server. When the advertiser scans
their log files and detects that a web user has visited the advertiser's site from the content site by
clicking on the banner ad, the advertiser sends the content provider some small amount of money
(usually around five to ten US cents). This payback system is often how the content provider is
able to pay for the Internet access to supply the content in the first place. Web banners function
the same way as traditional advertisements are intended to function: notifying consumers of the
product or service and presenting reasons why the consumer should choose the product in
question, although web banners differ in that the results for advertisement campaigns may be
monitored real-time and may be targeted to the viewer's interests

Many web surfers regard these advertisements as highly annoying because they distract from a
web page's actual content or waste bandwidth. Of course, the purpose of the banner ad is to
attract attention and many advertisers try to get attention to the advert by making them annoying.
Without attracting attention it would provide no revenue for the advertiser or for the content
provider. Newer web browsers often include options to disable pop-ups or block images from
selected websites. Another way of avoiding banners is to use a proxy server that blocks them,
such as Privoxy.

Display Advertising

Display advertising is a type of advertising that may, and most frequently does, contain graphic
information beyond text such as logos, photographs or other pictures, location maps, and similar
items. In periodicals, it can appear on the same page with, or a page adjacent to, general editorial
content; as opposed to classified advertising, which generally appears in adistinct section and

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was traditionally text-only in a limited selection of typefaces (although the latter distinction is no
longer sharp).

Display advertising uses static and animated images in standard or non-standard sizes called web
banners as well as interactive media that might include audio and video elements. Flash by
Adobe (originally Macromedia, which was bought by Adobe) is the preferred format for
interactive ads on the internet. Display ads do not have to be rich in images, audio or video. Text
ads are also used where text is more appropriate or more effecsctive. An example of text ads are
commercial SMS messages to mobile devices users.

Interactive Advertising

Interactive Advertising is the use of interactive media to promote and/ or influence the buying
decisions of the consumer in an online and offline environment. Interactive advertising can
utilize media such as the Internet, interactive television, mobile devices (WAP and SMS), as well
as kiosk-based terminals.

Interactive advertising affords the marketer the ability to engage the consumer in a direct and
personal way, enabling a sophisticated and dimensional dialogue, which can affect a potential
customer's buying decisions particularly in an e-commerce environment. Perhaps one of the most
effective implementations of interactive advertising is so-called viral marketing. This technique
uses images, texts, web links, Flash animations, audio/video clips etc., passed from user to user
chain letter-style, via email. A notable example of this is the Subservient Chicken, a campaign by
Burger King to promote their new line of chicken sandwiches and the "Have It Your Way"
campaign. Interactive advertising is also assuming other avatars, such as online directories for
brands. These directories presently perform a complementary role to conventional advertising,
helping viewers recall and compare brands primarily seen on television. Response is mediated
usually through forms and click-to-call technologies. (Bhargava, 2006)

Contextual Advertising

Contextual advertising is a form of targeted advertising for advertisements appearing on websites

or other media, such as content displayed in mobile browsers. The advertisements themselves are
selected and served by automated systems based on the content displayed to the user.

How Contextual Advertising Works

Contextual advertising is targeted to the specific individual visiting a website (or page within a
website). A contextual advertising system scans the text of a website for keywords and returns
advertisements to the webpage based on what the user is viewing. The advertisements may be
displayed on the webpage or as pop-up ads. For example, if the user is viewing a website
pertaining to sports and that website uses contextual advertising, the user may see advertisements
for sports-related companies, such as memorabilia dealers or ticket sellers. Contextual

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advertising is also used by search engines to display advertisements on their search results pages
based on the keywords in the user's query.

Impact

Contextual advertising has made a major impact on earnings of many websites. Because the
advertisements are more targeted, they are more likely to be clicked, thus generating revenue for
the owner of the website (and the server of the advertisement). A large part of Google's earnings
is from its share of the contextual advertisements served on the millions of webpages running the
AdSense program.

Contextual advertising has attracted some controversy through the use of techniques such as
third-party hyperlinking, where a third-party installs software onto a user's computer that
interacts with the Web Browser Keywords on a webpage are displayed keywords as hyperlinks
that lead to advertisers.

Agency Roles

There are several advertising agencies that help brands understand how contextual advertising
options affect their advertising plans. There are three main components to online advertising,
namely;

 Creation – what the advertisement looks like;

 Media planning – where the advertisements are to be run; and  Media buying – how the
advertisements are paid for.

Contextual advertising replaces the media planning component. Instead of humans choosing
placement options, the function is replaced with computers facilitating the placement across
thousands of websites.

Social Media Optimization

Social media optimization (SMO) is a set of methods for generating publicity through social
media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS
feeds, adding a "Digg This" button, blogging and incorporating third party community
functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or YouTube videos. Social media
optimization is related to search engine marketing, but differs in several ways, primarily the
focus on driving traffic from sources other than search engines, though improved search ranking
is also a benefit of successful SMO. (Sullivan, 2006)

Social media optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where
word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in
social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with

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blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blog sphere and special
blog search engines such as Technorati.

Reasons to Adopt Social Media Marketing

The inflow of social media has skyrocketed over the past few years. Being present on social
media platforms is an indispensable form of marketing and not one to be ignored. The benefits of
connecting to social media platforms are vast; increases exposure and traffic, generates leads,
reduces marketing expenses, improves your online search ranking, grows your customer base
and develops loyal fans.

By learning where your audience is, on which platforms they are active and what platforms they
are searching on is fundamental in identifying how to further grow your business.

The top social media platforms where users are most active include Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pin Interest.

The following are key benefits why firms should adopt social media platforms;

1. Targets your audience more efficiently; Knowing your audience is key for any business
industry to grow more effectively. Not only does social media achieve this, but also has the tools
to specifically target demographic variables of your intended audience; using customer’s
personal information (e.g. gender, age, relationship status, language). Understanding your target
audience can help you shift your marketing strategy efficiently, but also discover new uncharted
opportunities and analyze your audience’s movements, interactions and behaviors.

2. Expands your target audience and brings in new ones; Social media platforms allows users
to like, comment and share your page thereby creating free advertising to expand your business
reach and bring in potential customers.

3. Allows instantaneous feedback from customers; Social media platforms allow immediate
feedback from customers; whether they are negative or positive. This provides valuable insight
to customer’s perspectives; allows you to either enhance your product/service to better suit your
customer’s needs or learn that customers are satisfied with your businesses offerings. This avoids
the tedious task of calling your customers or sending out emails to ascertain their level of
satisfaction.

4. Increases website traffic, search ranking and generating leads; The more followers, likes,
comments and sharing that occurs on your social media platforms, increases your search ranking
ability. Creating blogs and linking your businesses activities to your social media accounts
further improves your visibility online and traffic to your website. It is important to maintain
regular updates, videos and images as well as interactive and compelling content to drive this
more effectively. The more active you are on social media the more leads you generate towards
your company. However, make sure that the content provided is stimulating and provides the

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information and demand required by your customers. The intention here is to build future
connections and increase word-of-mouth.

5. Cost effective; For new start-up companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs, creating brand
awareness on a limited budget can often be challenging. Social media is a great way to increase
brand awareness at little to no costs compared to other traditional advertising and marketing
methods. This allows businesses to maximize their return on investments without breaking the
bank. The more time and energy put in investing in social media will provide a greater impact to
your businesses growth instantaneously.

6. Develops customer service relations and loyalty; The direct interaction between you and
your customer is a key feature of social media platforms. It allows you to develop a direct bond
with your customers and create a supportive network. The instant back and forth communication
you get with social media helps establish trust and builds a loyal fan base. Loyal customers
advocate your brand and can drive instant traffic to your business through social media.
Furthermore, social media fosters direct communication with customers, in turn validating their
value. This can lead to customers to recommending the company’s product or service to others.
At times, customers can encounter dissatisfaction and make this public. However, if customers
feel that their voice has been heard and their negative experience has been quickly rectified and
resolved, a once dissatisfied customer can regain confidence, trust and loyalty.

7. Builds brand awareness and exposure; This is what social media platforms does best:
increases your brand awareness and exposure. You basically have access to many millions of
potential customers signed up to these social media platforms at your disposable. Social media
gets your business to be active visually and engagingly.

Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is the practice of promoting products and services using digital distribution
channels to reach consumers in a timely, relevant, personal and cost-effective manner. Whilst
digital marketing does include many of the techniques and practices contained within the
category of Internet Marketing, it extends beyond this by including other channels with which to
reach people that do not require the use of the Internet. Because of this non-reliance on the
Internet, the field of digital marketing includes a whole host of elements such as mobile phones,
sms/mms, display/banner ads and digital outdoor.

Previously seen as a stand-alone service it is frequently being seen as a domain that can and does
cover most, if not all, of the more traditional marketing areas such as Direct Marketing by
providing the same method of communicating with an audience but in a digital fashion.

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E-Procurement

E-procurement (electronic procurement, sometimes also known as supplier exchange) is the

business-to-business or business-to-consumer purchase and sale of supplies and services through
the internet as well as other information and networking systems, such as Electronic Data
Interchange and Enterprise Resource Planning. Typically, e-procurement Web sites allow
qualified and registered users to look for buyers or sellers of goods and services. Depending on
the approach, buyers or sellers may specify costs or invite bids. Transactions can be initiated and
completed. Ongoing purchases may qualify customers for volume discounts or special offers. E-
procurement software may make it possible to automate some buying and selling. Companies
participating expect to be able to control parts inventories more effectively, reduce purchasing
agent overhead, and improve manufacturing cycles.

E-procurement is expected to be integrated with the trend toward computerized supply chain
management. E-procurement is done with a software application that includes features for
supplier management and complex auctions. E-Bay's tools for its sellers have similar features.

There are six main types of e-procurement:

 Web-based ERP (Electronic Resource Planning): Creating and approving purchasing

requisitions, placing purchase orders and receiving goods and services by using a software
system based on Internet technology.

 E-MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operating): The same as web based ERP except that
the goods and services ordered are non-product related MRO supplies.

 E-sourcing: Identifying new suppliers for a specific category of purchasing requirements

using Internet technology.

 E-tendering: Sending requests for information and prices to suppliers and receiving the
responses of suppliers using Internet technology.

 E-reverse auctioning: Using Internet technology to buy goods and services from a number of
known or unknown suppliers.

 E-informing: Gathering and distributing purchasing information both from and to internal and
external parties using Internet technology.

The e-procurement value chain consists of Indent Management, eTendering, eAuctioning,

Vendor Management, Catalogue Management, and Contract Management. Indent Management
is the workflow involved in the preparation of tenders. This part of the value chain is optional,
with individual procuring departments defining their indenting process. In works procurement,
administrative approval and technical sanction are obtained in electronic format. In goods
procurement, indent generation activity is done online. The result of the stage is taken as inputs

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for issuing the NIT. Elements of e-procurement include Request for Information, Request For
Proposal, Request for Quotation, RFx (the previous three together), and eRFx (software for
managing RFx projects). (Bhargava, 2006)

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages include getting the right product, from the right supplier, at the right time, for the
right price and the right quantity. E-procurement has the advantage of taking supply chain
management to the next level, providing real time information to the vendor as to the status of a
customer's needs. For example, a vendor may have an agreement with a customer to
automatically ship materials when the customer's stock level reaches a low point, thus bypassing
the need for the customer to ask for it. A major disadvantage of this type of agreement could be
that the vendor has the power to take advantage of the customer by knowing more information
about the customer than they would have if the customer was in a normal supply chain
management structure.

UNIT 2: ONLINE SHOPPING CONTENTS

History of Online Shopping

Since about 1990, online shopping has emerged into every corner of life, linking people to the
culture of capitalism in frequent and daily ways. It lets us buy what we want, when we want at
our convenience, and helps us to imagine ourselves buying, owning, and having positive
outcomes by the goods available out there on the web. Shopping has been a way of identifying
oneself in today's culture by what we purchase and how we use our purchases. Online shopping
has always been a middle to high class commodity since its first arrival on the internet in society.
In 1990, Tim Berners-Lee created The World Wide Web Browser. A few years later in 1994
other advances took place such as Online Banking, after that, the next big development was the
opening of an online pizza shop by Pizza Hut. In that same year Netscape introduced SSL
encryption to enable encryption over the data transferred online which has become essential for
online shopping. In 1995, Amazon started up with online shopping, then in 1996, eBay opened
for online shopping as well. The idea of online shopping pre-dates the World Wide Web for
there were earlier experiments involving realtime transaction processing from a domestic
television. The technology, based on Videotex was first demonstrated by Michael Aldrich in
1979 who designed and installed systems in the UK, including the first Tesco pilot system in the
1980s. (Cummings, 2006)

. Trends and Predictability in Online Shopping

One third of people that shop online use a search engine to find what they are looking for and
about one fourth of people find websites by word of mouth. Word of mouth has increased as a
leading way that people find websites to shop from. When an online shopper has a good first
experience with a certain website sixty percent of the time they will return to that website to buy

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more. Books are one of the things bought most online, however clothes, shoes and accessories
are all very popular things to buy online. Cosmetics, nutrition products and groceries are
increasingly being purchased online. About one fourth of travelers are buying their plane tickets
online because it is a quick and easy way to compare airline travel and make a purchase. Online
shopping provides more freedom and control than shopping in a store.

According to sociological perspective online shopping is arguably the most predictable way to
shop. One knows exactly what website to go to, how much the product will cost, and how long it
will take for the product to reach them. Online shopping has become extremely routine and
predictable, which is one of its great appeals to the consumer.

Logistics

Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly, or do a search
across many different vendors using a shopping search engine. Once a product has been found on
the web site of the seller, most online retailers use shopping cart software to allow the consumer
to accumulate multiple items and to adjust quantities, by analogy with filling a physical shopping
cart or basket in a conventional store. A "checkout" process follows (continuing the physical-
store analogy) in which payment and delivery information is collected, if necessary. Some stores
allow consumers to sign up for a permanent online account so that some or all this information
only needs to be entered once. The consumer often receives an e-mail confirmation once the
transaction is complete. Less sophisticated stores may rely on consumers to phone or e-mail their
orders (though credit card numbers are not accepted by e-mail, for security reasons).

Payment

Online shoppers commonly use credit card to make payments, however some systems enable
users to create accounts and pay by alternative means, such as:

 Debit card

 Various types of electronic money

 Cash on delivery (C.O.D., offered by very few online stores)

 Cheque  Wire transfer/delivery on payment

 Postal money order

 PayPal

 Google Checkout

 Moneybookers

 Reverse SMS billing to mobile phones

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 Gift cards

 Direct debit in some countries

Some sites will not allow international credit cards and billing address and shipping address
should be in the same country in which site does its business. Other sites allow customers from
anywhere to send gifts anywhere. The financial part of a transaction might be processed in real
time (for example, letting the consumer know their credit card was declined before they log off),
or might be done later as part of the fulfillment process. While credit cards are currently the most
popular means of paying for online goods and services, alternative online payments will account
for 26 percent of e-commerce volume by 2009. (Wilson, 2017)

Product Delivery

Once a payment has been accepted the goods or services can be delivered in the following ways.

 Download: This is the method often used for digital media products such as software, music,
movies, or images.

 Shipping: The product is shipped to the customer's address.

 Drop shipping: The order is passed to the manufacturer or third-party distributor, who ships
the item directly to the consumer, bypassing the retailer's physical location to save time, money,
and space.

 In-store pickup: The customer orders online, finds a local store using locator software and
picks the product up at the closest store. This is the method often used in the bricks and clicks
business model.

User Interface

It is important to take the country and customers into account. For example, in Japan, privacy is
very important and emotional involvement is more important on a pension’s site then on a
shopping site. (Cummings, 2006) Next to that, there is a difference in experience: experienced
users focus more on the variables that directly influence the task, while novice users are focusing
more on understanding the information. There are several techniques for the inspection of the
usability. The ones used in the research of Chen & Macredie (2005), are: Heuristic evaluation,
cognitive walkthrough and the user testing. Every technique has its own (dis-)advantages and it
is therefore important to check per situation which technique is appropriate. When the customers
visited the online shop, a couple of factors determine whether they will return to the site. The
most important factors are the ease of use and the presence of user-friendly features.

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Convenience

Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and many consumers have Internet access
both at work and at home. A visit to a conventional retail store requires travel and must take
place during business hours. Searching or browsing an online catalog can be faster than browsing
the aisles of a physical store. Consumers with dial-up Internet connections rather than broadband
have much longer load times for content-rich websites and have a considerably slower online
shopping experience. Some consumers prefer interacting with people rather than computers (and
vice versa), sometimes because they find computers hard to use. Not all online retailers have
succeeded in making their sites easy to use or reliable.

Information and Reviews

Online stores must describe products for sale with text, photos, and multimedia files, whereas in
a physical retail store, the actual product and the manufacturer's packaging will be available for
direct inspection (which might involve a test drive, fitting, or other experimentation). Some
online stores provide or link to supplemental product information, such as instructions, safety
procedures, demonstrations, or manufacturer specifications. Some provide background
information, advice, or how-to guides designed to help consumers decide which product to buy.
Some stores even allow customers to comment or rate their items. There are also dedicated
review sites that host user reviews for different products. In a conventional retail store, clerks are
generally available to answer questions. Some online stores have real-time chat features, but
most rely on e-mail or phone calls to handle customer questions.

Price and Selection

One advantage of shopping online is being able to quickly seek out deals for items or services
with many different vendors (though some local search engines do exist to help consumers locate
products for sale in nearby stores). Search engines and online price comparison services can be
used to look up sellers of a product or service. Shoppers find a greater selection online in certain
market segments (for example, computers and consumer electronics) and in some cases lower
prices. This is due to a relaxation of certain constraints, such as the size of a "brick-and-mortar"
store, lower stocking costs (or none, if drop shipping is used), and lower staffing overhead.
Shipping costs (if applicable) reduce the price advantage of online merchandise, though
depending on the jurisdiction, a lack of sales tax may compensate for this. Shipping a small
number of items, especially from another country, is much more expensive than making the
larger shipments bricks-and-mortar retailers order. Some retailers (especially those selling small,
high-value items like electronics) offer free shipping on sufficiently large orders.

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UNIT 4: E-PAYMENTS CONTENTS

1 Debit Card

A debit card is a plastic card which provides an alternative payment method to cash when
making purchases. Functionally, it is similar to writing a cheque as the funds are withdrawn
directly from either the bank account (often referred to as a cheque card), or from the remaining
balance on the card. In some cases, the cards are designed exclusively for use on the Internet, and
so there is no physical card. The use of debit cards has become wide-spread in many countries
and has overtaken the cheque and in some instances cash transactions by volume. Like credit
cards, debit cards are used widely for telephone and Internet purchases. This may cause
inconvenient delays at peak shopping times (e.g., the last shopping day before Christmas),
caused when the volume of transactions overloads the bank networks. In some countries the
debit card is multipurpose, acting as the ATM card for withdrawing cash and as a cheque
guarantee card. Merchants can also offer "cashback"/"cashout" facilities to customers, where a
customer can withdraw cash along with their purchase.

2 Wire Transfer

Wire transfer is a method of transferring money from one entity to another. A wire transfer can
be made from one entity's bank account to the other entity's bank account, and by a transfer of
cash at a cash office

Process

Bank wire transfers are often the most expedient method for transferring funds between bank
accounts. A bank wire transfer is affected as follows:

 The sending bank transmits a message, via a secure system (such as SWIFT or Fed wire), to
the receiving bank, requesting that it effect payment according to the instructions given.

 The message also includes settlement instructions. The actual transfer is not instantaneous:
funds may take several hours or even days to move from the sender's account to the receiver's
account.

 Either the banks involved must hold a reciprocal account with each other, or the payment must
be sent to a bank with such an account, a correspondent bank, for further benefit to the ultimate
recipient.

Regulation

Bank transfer is the most common payment method in Europe, with several million transactions
processed each day. Debit cards are used extensively to pay in stores, while monthly bills are
usually paid with a direct transfer (by cellular phone or Internet, or at the bank or an ATM). In
2002, the European Commission relegated the regulation of the fees that a bank may charge for
23
payments in Euros between European Union member countries down to the domestic level
resulting in very low or no fees for transfers within the Eurozone; wire transfers between this
zone and external areas can be expensive. In the United States, domestic wire transfers are
governed by Federal Regulation J and by Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code.
(Bhargav, 2006)

Security

Bank-to-bank wire transfer is considered the safest international payment method. Each account
holder must have a proven identity. Chargeback is unlikely, although wires can be recalled.
Information contained in wires is transmitted securely through encrypted communications
methods. The price of bank wire transfers varies greatly, depending on the bank and its location;
in some countries, the fee associated with the service can be costly. Wire transfers done through
cash offices are essentially anonymous and are designed for transfer between persons who trust
each other. It is unsafe to send money by wire to an unknown person to collect at a cash office:
the receiver of the money may, after collecting it, simply disappear. This scam has been used
often, especially in so-called Nigerian letters, also called advance fee fraud or 419 scams.

Methods

Western Union

One of the largest companies that offer wire transfer is Western Union which allows individuals
to transfer or receive money without an account with Western Union or any financial institution.
Concern and controversy about Western Union transfers have increased in recent years, because
of the increased monitoring of money-laundering transactions, as well as concern about terrorist
groups using the service, particularly in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Although
Western Union keeps information about senders and receivers, some transactions can be done
essentially anonymously, for the receiver is not always required to show identification.

United States

Banks in the United States use SWIFT to make payments to banks in other countries. Domestic
bank-to-bank transfers are conducted through the Fed wire system, which uses the Federal
Reserve System and its assignment of routing transit number, which uniquely identify each bank.

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MODULE 3:CONCEPT OF MARKETING
UNIT 1: OVERVIEW OF E-MARKETING

Services Electronic marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the Internet,
including design, development, advertising, and sales. Electronic marketing methods and
strategies encompass a wide range of services:

i. Affiliate marketing

ii. Behavioral marketing

iii. Cause marketing

iv. Contextual advertising

v. Customer relationship management (CRM) marketing

vi. Digital marketing

vii. Display advertising

viii. E-mail marketing

ix. In-text advertising

x. Interactive advertising

xi. Internet news releases

xii. Lead scoring

xiii. Newsletter marketing

xiv. Online market research

xv. Online reputation management (ORM)

xvi. Search engine marketing (SEM)

Electronic marketing does not simply entail building or promoting a website, nor does it mean
placing a banner ad on another website. Effective electronic marketing requires a comprehensive
strategy that synergizes a given company’s business model and sales goals with its website
function and appearance, focusing on its target market through proper choice of advertising type,
media, and design. Electronic marketing also refers to the placement of media along different
stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine
optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, email marketing and Web 2.0 strategies. In

25
2008, The New York Times working with comScore published an initial estimate to quantify the
user data collected by large Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with
company websites in addition to the hits from ads served from advertising networks, the authors
found the potential for collecting upward of 2,500 pieces of data on average per user per month.

Business Models Electronic marketing is associated with several business models:

 E-commerce – goods are sold directly to consumers or businesses;

 Publishing – the sale of advertising;

 Lead-based websites – an organization generates value by acquiring sales leads from its
website. There are many other business models based on the specific needs of each person or
business that launches an Internet marketing campaign.

Differences from Traditional Marketing

One-to-one approach The targeted user is typically browsing the Internet alone, so the marketing
messages can reach him personally. This approach is used in search marketing, where the
advertisements are based on search engine keywords entered by the user.

Appeal to specific interest Electronic marketing places an emphasis on marketing that appeal to a
specific behavior or interest, rather than reaching out to a broadly-defined demographic. “Off-
line” marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, sex, geography, and
other general factors. Online marketers have the luxury of targeting by activity. For example, a
kayak company can post advertisements on kayaking and canoeing websites with the full
knowledge that the audience has a related interest. Electronic marketing differs from magazine
advertisements, where the goal is to appeal to the projected demographic of the periodical.
Because the advertiser has knowledge of the target audience – people who engage in certain
activities (e.g., uploading pictures, contributing to blogs) – the company does not rely on the
expectation that a certain group of people will be interested in its new product or service.

Advantages Electronic marketing is relatively inexpensive when compared to the ratio of cost
against the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small
fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The nature of the medium allows consumers to
research and purchase products and services at their own convenience. Therefore, businesses
have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly. The
strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and cost-
volumeprofit (CVP) analysis.

Electronic marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively.
Nearly all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The
advertisers either pay per web banner impression, per click (PPC), per play (PPP), or per action
accomplished. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more

26
appealing to the audience. The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately
because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, visit a
website, and perform a targeted action. Such measurement cannot be achieved through billboard
advertising, where an individual will at best be interested, then decide to obtain more information
later.

Electronic marketing as of 2007 is growing faster than other types of media because exposure,
response, and overall efficiency of Internet media is easier to track than traditional off-line media
– using web analytics for instance – Electronic marketing can offer a greater sense of
accountability for advertisers. Marketers and their clients are becoming aware of the need to
measure the collaborative effects of marketing (i.e., how the Internet affects in-store sales) rather
than soloing each advertising medium. The effects of multichannel marketing can be difficult to
determine, but are an important part of ascertaining the value of media campaigns.

Limitations

E-marketing requires customers to use new technologies rather than traditional media. Lowspeed
Internet connections are another barrier. If companies build large or overlycomplicated websites,
individuals connected to the Internet via dial-up connections or mobile devices may experience
significant delays in content delivery. From the buyer’s perspective, the inability of shoppers to
touch, smell, taste or “try on” tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting.
However, there is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to reassure customers by having
liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services. A survey of 410 marketing
executives listed the following barriers to entry for large companies looking to market online:
insufficient ability to measure impact, lack of internal capability, and difficulty convincing senior
management.

Security Concerns

Information security is important both to companies and consumers that participate in online
business. Many consumers are hesitant to purchase items over the Internet because they do not
trust that their personal information will remain private. Encryption is the primary method for
implementing privacy policies. Recently some companies that do business online have been
caught giving away or selling information about their customers. Several of these companies
provide guarantees on their websites, claiming that customer information will remain private.
Some companies that purchase customer information offer the option for individuals to have
their information removed from the database, also known as opting out. However, many
customers are unaware when their information is being shared, and are unable to stop the transfer
of their information between companies if such activity occurs. Another major security concern
that consumers have with e-commerce merchants is whether they will receive exactly what they
purchase. Online merchants have attempted to address this concern by investing in and building
strong consumer brands (e.g., Amazon.com, eBay, Overstock.com), and by leveraging

27
merchant/feedback rating systems and e-commerce bonding solutions. These solutions attempt to
assure consumers that their transactions will be free of problems because the merchants can be
trusted to provide reliable products and services. Additionally, the major online payment
mechanisms (credit cards, PayPal, Google Checkout, etc.) have also provided back-end buyer
protection systems to address problems if they do occur.

Effects on Industries

E-marketing has had a large impact on several previously retail-oriented industries including
music, film, pharmaceuticals, banking, flea markets, as well as the advertising industry itself. E-
marketing is now overtaking radio marketing in terms of market share. In the music industry,
many consumers have been purchasing and downloading music (e.g., MP3 files) over the
Internet for several years in addition to purchasing compact discs. By 2008 Apple Inc.’s iTunes
Store has become the largest music vendor in the United States (US.). The number of banks
offering the ability to perform banking tasks online has also increased. Online banking is
believed to appeal to customers because it is more convenient than visiting bank branches.

Currently over 150 million US adults now bank online, with increasing Internet connection speed
being the primary reason for fast growth in the online banking industry. Of those individuals who
use the Internet, 44 percent now perform banking activities over the Internet. Internet auctions
have gained popularity. Unique items that could only previously be found at flea markets are
being sold on eBay. Specialized e-stores sell items ranging from antiques to movie props. As the
premier online reselling platform, eBay is often used as a price-basis for specialized items.
Buyers and sellers often look at prices on the website before going to flea markets; the price
shown on eBay often becomes the item’s selling price. It is increasingly common for flea market
vendors to place a targeted advertisement on the Internet for each item they are selling online, all
while running their business out of their homes. .

UNIT 2: E-MARKET OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS CONTENT

What is E-Marketing Opportunity Analysis?

Market-opportunity analysis is an essential tool for those who plan to launch businesses, whether
startups or new ventures within an existing business. While it does not guarantee a venture’s
success, the process of thinking through the conditions that define opportunity attractiveness
increases the likelihood of pursuing a solid idea. Not doing opportunity analysis, or doing it
poorly, increases a venture’s chance of failure It is important to understand the potential impact
that a new technology might have on the market. A Market Opportunity analysis is an
application of forecasting techniques to the market factors that may influence the demand for a
product identified as a market opportunity. The main aim of a Market Opportunity Analysis is to
help guide the process of better understanding of the most important market segments, how fast
the opportunity is growing, what the key sustainable differentiations are and why these are
important.

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Before a firm can deeply explore a marketing opportunity analysis for an e-market, they should
consider it will differ from the analysis in a traditional marketplace. Mohammed et al (2003), and
some analysts believe that the two analyses differ in the following ways:

 Competition occurs across industry boundaries rather than with industry boundaries.

 Competition developments and responses are occurring at an unprecedented speed

 Competition occurs between alliances of companies rather than between individual

companies

 Consumer behaviour is still in the early stages of being defined, thus it is easier to influence
and change consumer behavior

 Industry value chains or systems are rapidly being reconfigured

Marketing Opportunity Analysis Framework/Steps

There are six steps that a firm can go through to begin the opportunity framing of its potential e-
market. These steps will create a sufficient base of knowledge and perspective to frame a
winning business model and establish a solid foundation for making a well-informed go/nogo
decision. The following are the steps that a firm should satisfy to frame market opportunity, as
well as the benefits of each step.

i. Step 1: Investigate opportunity in an existing or new value system: opportunity identification

and analysis is attached to an existing or new value system. The value system can be thought of
as the entire chain of suppliers, distributors, competitors, buyers, and intermediaries that bring an
existing offering to market. In an e-market, the starting point for opportunity identification is
when someone believes that the value system can be reinvented. The first step is essentially to
identify which marketthat the company wants to enter. In an e-market the business arena is
defined from within or across an industry value chain or value system. Start the exploration by
looking for a set of activities ripe for positive transformation, either within a firm or across
activities conducted by multiple firms. Firms can look at the value system with a lens that yields
ideas about new business possibilities. A firm can look for one of three things; a trapped value,
new-to-the-world value and a hybrid value (combination of both trapped and new-to-the-world
values. The benefit of this step is that it helps identify previously unexploited areas of potential
market value for further analysis.

Step 2: Identify unmet or undeserved needs: New-value creation is based on doing a better job
of meeting customer needs. Customers will switch from their old supplier only if the new
company does a better job of meeting some set of needs. Companies can use the customer
decision process to determine these unmet or undeserved needs. The customer decision process
is an organizing framework to look systematically for unmet or undeserved needs. The process
maps the activities and the choices that customers make in accessing a specific experience within

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a value system. The benefit is that the process may help to generate new ideas about unmet or
undeserved needs iii

. Step 3: Determine target customer segments: To be effective and efficient, it is important for a
company to know which customer groups are most attractive, which groups the company should
pursue, which groups the company should not emphasize, and what offerings to present to which
target segment. Customer segmentation must be actionable and meaningful. Simple market maps
profiling the segments will identify where the money is, how well competitors serve the
segments and where the undeserved customers are. The main benefit of this step is that it allows
a company to craft an offering that will appeal to the target customers.

. Step 4: Assess resource requirements to deliver the offering: Having determined the initial
customer focus of the business, the company should stake out the capabilities and technology
needed to deliver the benefits of the offering. The management team should identify at least three
or four resources or assets that make up a winning resource system that it can bring to bear,
create, or provide through business partnerships. This resource system is central to delivering
new benefits or unlocking trapped value, the core of the company’s value story, and should hold
the promise for measurable advantage when compared with the current and prospective players
in the targeted marketplace. A resource system is a discrete collection of individual and
organizational activities and assets that, when combined, create organizational capabilities. In
opportunity assessment, a company must be realistic about any missing capability gaps. The
main benefit of this step is that it identifies existing resource strengths and weaknesses needing
to be addressed internally or with partners to bring offering to market.

v. Step 5: Assess competitive, technological, and financial attractiveness of opportunity: there

are nine factors in four areas that marketing teams can assess to determine the character and
magnitude of the opportunity;

 Competitive intensity; competitor mapping that shows direct and indirect competitors;
strengths and weaknesses.

 Customer dynamics; levels of unconstrained opportunity; segment interaction; and the likely
rate of growth

 Technology vulnerability; impact of the penetration of enabling technologies; and new

technologies on the value proposition

 Microeconomics; estimate of the size or volume of the market; and level of profitability.

The main benefit of this step is that it determines the character and magnitude of the opportunity
and also it establishes barriers to entry and potential rewards.

Step 6: Conduct go/no-go assessment: An opportunity framework can be seen as the first draft of
a business plan. It should clearly state the value proposition and target customers. It should

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demonstrate the benefits of these customers and estimate the magnitude in financial terms of the
opportunity, identify key capabilities and resources. The management must decide whether to
proceed to defining the specific value proposition and designing a business model. This is the
first of several go/no-go decision gates. The main benefit of this step is to determine whether the
opportunity is attractive enough to pursue

UNIT 3: DEVELOPING AN E-MARKETING PLAN CONTENTS

The Four Ps of Marketing To help you accomplish this aim, your marketing plan should include
strategies typical of any marketing plan. The plan should especially include what marketers dub
as the four P's of Marketing:

 Product  Price  Place  Promotion

Review your plan. Make certain it contains the strategies listed below and on the next page and
then determine how these strategies will be applied by you. Include a brief explanation for each
strategy.

Describe your Target Market;

 By age

 By sex

 By profession or career

 By income level

 By educational level

 By residence

Identify and describe your customers (target market) by their age, sex, income/educational
levels, profession/career and residence. Know your customers better than you know anyone -
their likes, dislikes and expectations. Since you will have limited resources target only those
customers who are more likely to purchase your product. As your business grows and your
customer base expands, then, you may need to consider modifying this section of the marketing
plan to include other customers.

Identify your Competition

 By market research data

 By demand for product

 By your nearest direct and indirect competitors

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 By the strengths and weaknesses of competitors

 By an assessment of how competitor’s businesses are doing

 By a description of the unique features of your product

 By the similarities and dissimilarities between your product and

 By a pricing strategy for and comparison of yours and the competition's.

Identify the five nearest direct competitors and the indirect competitors. Start a file on each
identifying their weaknesses and strengths. Keep files on their advertising and promotional
materials and their pricing strategies. Review these files periodically determining when and how
often they advertise, sponsor promotions and offer sales.

Describe your Product Try to describe the benefits of your goods from your customer's
perspective. Emphasize its special features - i.e., the selling points. Successful business owners
know or at least have an idea of what their customers what or expect from them. This type of
anticipation can be helpful in building customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Develop a Marketing Budget

 For your advertising and promotional plan

 For costs allocated for advertising and promotions

 For advertising and promotional materials

 For a list of advertising media to be used

Operating an effective marketing plan requires money, so you will have to allocate funds from
your operating budget to cover advertising, promotional and all other costs associated with
marketing. Develop a marketing budget based on the cost for the media you will use, and the
cost for collecting research data and monitoring shifts in the marketplace.

Describe Location (Place)

 description of the location

 advantages and disadvantages of location.

Again, try to describe the location of your business from your customer's perspective. Describe
its assets – i.e., the convenience, whether public transportation is accessible, the safety aspects -
street lighting, well-lit parking lot or facility, decor, etc. Your location should be built around
your customers, it should be accessible and should provide a sense of security.

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Develop Pricing Strategy

 pricing techniques and brief description of these techniques

 retail costing and pricing

 competitive position

 pricing below competition

 pricing above competition

 price lining

 multiple pricing

 material costs

 labor costs

 Overhead costs.

Although your pricing strategy may be based on the strategy devised by others, you should study
this plan and the strategies used by competitors. That way you will acquire a thorough
understanding of how to price your product, and you can determine if your prices are in line with
competitors, if they are in line with industry averages and what adjustments you can make to
bring them in line. The key to success is to have a well-planned strategy, to establish your
policies and to constantly monitor prices and operating costs to ensure profits. Keep abreast of
changes in the marketplace because these changes can affect your bottom line.

3.8 Develop an Effective Promotional Strategy

 advertising media

 print media (newspaper, magazine, classified ads, Yellow Pages advertising, brochure)

 radio

 television

 networking

 business cards

 tee shirts, hats, buttons, pens

 Internet.

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Develop a promotional strategy that uses various media for promoting your business. Monitor
the different media identifying those that most effectively promote your business. Concentrate on
developing material for these formats that clearly identifies your services, its location and price.
Since financial institutions weigh the soundness of your marketing plan when deciding whether
your business is a good risk for their money, it is important that you prepare and present credible
market data that shows there is a need in the community for your business and that demonstrates
your ability to compete.

i. Start with a web promotion plan and an effective web design and development strategy. ii. Get
ranked at the top in major search engines, and practice good Search Optimization Techniques. iii.
Learn to use E-mail Marketing effectively. iv. Dominate your marketing niche with affiliate,
reseller, and associate programs. v. Request an analysis from an Internet marketing coach or
Internet marketing consultant. vi. Build a responsive opt-in e-mail list. vii. Publish articles or get
listed in news stories. viii. Write and publish online press releases. ix. Facilitate and run contests
and giveaways via your website. x. Blog and interact with your visitors.

UNIT 4: ONLINE STRATEGY FORMULATION CONTENTS

.1 Internet Marketing Strategy: What can it do for You? Having an Internet marketing strategy
gives you a measurable and definitive way to target your market and position your business so
that those looking for what you have to offer are finding you easily. This is only the first level of
the sales process, but it is vital to the success of your online business, but remember traffic
marketing is not sales. Traffic can be increased by search engine optimization, using pay per
clicks, or marketing your site in advertising campaigns. After completing the marketing step
which brings the traffic you must then turn your attention to selling to your visitor once they get
there. How are you approaching those prospective clients and customers that are visiting your
site? Are you persuading them to take the action that you want them to take? Have you defined
what it is that you want them to do? Perhaps you want them to; Buy a product? Request more
information? Subscribe to your newsletter or request a free report?

There are proven methods and tactics that you can use online to increase your conversion rate
and get that prospect to become a customer or client. If you haven't taken time to plan your
Internet Marketing Strategy you have made a costly mistake that could be draining to your
business and costing you customers. Consider this "What is the annual worth of one customer to
you?" Is it $25, $250, or perhaps $2500? If having an Internet Marketing Strategy would help
you cultivate and convert just 1 new customer each week would planning that strategy be worth
it to you? Truth is that Internet Marketing differs in many degrees from traditional

brick and mortar marketing, but there are a few strategies that remain the same and must be
present for your online marketing to be successful. For example, consider the following:

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The key question we must ask ourselves here is “How can you provide that human interaction to
potential clients and customers so that you are able to move that client or customer through a
successful sales process?”

Internet Marketing Strategy: Why is it Important?

Would you start a business without a business plan? Would you place your yellow pages’ ad in
an irrelevant category just to see if anyone would call? Would you pay thousands of dollars to
have a billboard ad created and placed where there is no traffic? If you are among most business
owners you probably answered no to all the above questions. Businesses are very careful when it
comes to spending marketing dollars, but truth is most businesses have neglected the most
effective marketing tool that they have which is the strategic planning of their internet presence.

 Minimal sales and conversion.

 Traffic to the site is not as expected or hundreds of dollars are being paid for traffic leads but
still there is no conversion from that traffic.

 Subscriptions to reports or newsletters that you offer are slim to none.

 You have received only minimal requests for services or products by email or telephone since
your site launch.

How could these problems have been avoided? An Internet Marketing Strategy can help position
you to your target and niche market as well as increase conversion by following the five levels of
the sales process mentioned below. While the answer seems simple the process is a bit more
involved but vital to the success of a business that is about to launch online. zine, helpful report,
or informative audio are all effective premiums. But, your premium should be directly related to
the services

you provide and serve to increase your professional credibility. Names acquired from
promotional gimmicks or unknown sources seldom turn into paying clients. .

Become an Online Center of Influence

We all know people who command rapt attention whenever they speak. Others want to listen to,
learn from, and emulate them. They are centers of influence, a distinction you can pursue online
by developing the following qualities:

 Share inside knowledge with your target market;

 Participate, listen, contemplate, and offer thoughtful responses;

 Be willing to voice an opinion;

 Assume leadership positions in your industry.

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Certainly, experience counts. But this is not the only prerequisite to becoming an online center of
influence that will earn you the distinction of 'trusted advisor' within your target market. Start by
making your Web site a resource for your industry, feature lots of useful information, including
articles, links, downloadable files, customer resources, and anything else of use to your target
market. Be generous and give, give, give!

Create a Virtual Podium with Tele-classes

Tele-classes are a great way for businesses to develop a virtual reputation. They can be promoted
easily by email, and provide information to prospects, clients, and customers all over the world,
with minimal cost and effort. Business coach and tele-class leader Michael Losier set up a tele-
class about exhibiting at trade shows: 'I had 60 students in my first class, which was very
profitable, and many later hired me as a consultant." Also, it may be just as effective and less
effort to participate as a guest lecturer in another professional's class ratherthan producing your
own tele-class.

Build Online Relationships

Most business networking used to happen when we recommended an associate, swapped

business cards, or connected with colleagues over lunch. But increasingly, social networking is
migrating to the Internet. Through social networking Web sites and online discussion lists,
entrepreneurs can access virtual communities of prospects and associates while developing
virtual "platforms" to generate leads and sales and establish themselves as recognized experts. .

Networking on the Internet

Networking is one of the most effective ways to find clients for any consulting or professional
services business. But if you limit your networking to only what you can do in person, you will
be missing out on a huge number of possibilities. Networking is more than entering a room full
of people and exchanging business cards. It's creating a pool of contacts with which you can
exchange clients, referrals, resources, ideas, and information. Networking can happen by phone,
by mail, over coffee, and increasingly, over the Internet. The growth of the Internet has created
many new ways to network without ever leaving your home or office. Pick a topic, any topic,
and there will be multiple web sites and online communities devoted to it. Almost any type of
Internet presence offers opportunities for networking. In your favorite search engine, type the
name of your profession or specialty, e.g. "interior design" or "marketing communications." Or,
if you have a clearly defined target market, you can use that, e.g. “baby boomers” or
“biotechnology.” Skip the sponsored links or banner ads and focus on the detailed results. What
you will find is the following:

Professional Associations and Schools - Many association or school sites provide member
rosters, resource pages, back issues of newsletters, event calendars, and bulletin boards or
discussion lists. Not all the features will be restricted to members or students.

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Resource Sites and Online Communities - These include directories of people in the
profession, vendors, articles, event calendars, bulletin boards, discussion lists, live chats, and
links to even more resource sites.

Publications - Magazines and newsletters maintain sites that offer everything from back issues
to complete online communities.

Job Postings - These may appear on any of the above sites, and often include opportunities for
independent professionals, not just those looking for full-time employment.

Colleagues and Competitors - Colleagues and competitors may be the same people, depending
on your relationship with them. Their sites will tell you more about them and their work, and
may offer many of the same features as resource sites.

Potential Clients – Their sites will tell you about the work they do, current and upcoming
projects, and even the names of executives and managers. Also, if you subscribe to an online
service offering interactive "channels," like America Online, CompuServe or MSN, there may be
an entire area dedicated to your profession or target market. Some of these resources are
available to non-members as well. Now, how can you use all this information to network? Here
are some of the most common ways:

Bulletin Boards - These are web pages where you can view and post questions and comments
on a specific subject. Answering a posted question is an excellent way to demonstrate your
expertise, become known to the people who frequent the board, and get to know others in your
field. Don't be overly self-promotional when posting, just include a signature line at the end of
your post, e.g. "Ingrid Gustafson, Nordic Design." If you see someone else on the board who you
would like to get to know in a collegial way, e-mail them. But never directly approach for
business the people you find there. You might find yourself banned from membership.

Discussion Lists – These are like bulletin boards, but are e-mailed to members of the list daily,
weekly, or whenever a new posting arrives. When posting to these lists, you can include more
information about yourself in a signature box at the end of each e-mail. Keep it short, but include
some reason for people to get in touch with you outside the list, such as, "Subscribe to my free
newsletter," or, "Visit my web site for a free resource guide." In addition to locating discussion
lists through search engines as described above, you can find them through online community
hosts such as Yahoo Groups or MSN Groups.

Live Chats – Many online communities sponsor real-time chats on specific topics. Participating
in these chats is an excellent way to meet people interested in the subject being discussed. Chat
rooms that require membership are best, because you are more likely to encounter professionals
seriously interested in the topic instead of people just looking for a date. Attending chats
featuring a guest speaker can be more valuable than you might think. If you ask a question
during one of these, do not be surprised if people contact you by e-mai

37
during or after the chat to offer you more resources related to your question. You can make the
same type of contacts when you are the one who has something to offer.

Articles – Notice who is writing them and who is being written about. These people are likely to
be leaders in your field, or at least highly visible. That makes them good contacts for you. Send
them an e-mail complimenting them on the article and suggesting you get acquainted for mutual
benefit. Make a specific suggestion about what you can offer, e.g. referrals or resources.

Others in Your Field – These may be colleagues, competitors, vendors, or potential clients.
Approach them collegially with ideas about how a relationship could benefit you both, such as
exchanging referrals, pooling resources, links on each other's web site, or trading endorsements
or articles in each other's e-zine.

If you cannot find a board, list, chat, or site with the exact focus you want, consider starting one
of your own. While hosting one of these communities takes time and effort, it will also put you
in the center of the network that forms around it instead of on the outskirts.

Strategies to Boost your Online Sales

There is really no deep secret about increasing sales through the Internet. You drive traffic by
creating more sales leads. When these newbie shoppers show up, you engage them and convert
their interest into a transaction. But all that is much easier said than done. Here are specific ways
to build sales momentum and to make your online store crackle and then pop.

UNIT 5: MARKET COMMUNICATION AND BRANDING CONTENT

What is market communication and the importance of Integrated Communication.

Communication at its simplest, is about delivering a message. While companies have

traditionally had options for delivering both personalized and interactive messages to customers,
the Internet now enables a business not only to target its advertisements and to personalize its
communications but also to engage in nearly constant two-way dialogue with its customers. With
this powerful new set of tools, firms can interactively and personally communicate with users to
move them from awareness to commitment, and in some cases, to dissolution.

While the Internet introduces new possibilities, it does not change the fundamental principles of
marketing communication. Marketers must still choose specific communication objectives, plan
and execute the communications campaign, and measure results. The Internet does, however,
change the game in crucial ways. Already it has created a new communications context for all
companies. Consumers’ expectations are higher because of the capabilities they have
experienced on the Internet and that intensifies the need for firms to concentrate on managing
communications with users. Internet customers expect easy interactions with a high degree of
customization.

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Importance of Integrated Communication

Integrated marketing is essentially a synergy between traditional marketing communications

tools and Internet tools to pass on a message to Customers. In any discussion about marketing
communications, even if it relates to an E-business, the traditional marketing communication
drivers must be included in said discussion. The Internet does not replace existing channels,
rather, it is a powerful addition that should be utilized in an integrated approach to marketing
communication. Traditional and Interactive marketing methods are converging as it becomes
apparent that an integrated approach is crucial in today’s world. Effective campaigns will mix
online ads with traditional communications options, and will integrate strategies across the
various Internet tools.

The Internet wears many hats, it can be a distribution channel, an advertising vehicle, or a
customer service vehicle, each of which plays a part in marketing communications. As this trend
continues, there will be significant implications for marketing communications within these
media. Wireless devices and broadband access are two vehicles that facilitate such convergence,
and already they are gaining widespread acceptance. Marketers will have to discover how to best
take advantage of these tools, and most agree that integrated communications is the best solution.

To be effective, an Integrated Marketing communication approach requires support at the highest

corporate level. High-level coordination is also imperative to ensure that marketing
communications adhere to the marketing strategy and positioning objectives that define the target
audience and value proposition for the firm’s offering.

Role of Internet in a marketing communications campaign.

The Internet can play a role in virtually every stage of the campaign, from identifying the target
audience to evaluating the performance of the campaign. The Internet’s most important strengths
as a powerful marketing tool include the characteristics of being interactive and individual, and
its measuring and tracking capabilities.

Interactivity and Individualization will help firms to move users through the relationship stages
efficiently and smoothly. By utilizing the online marketing communications levers in an
interactive and individual way, firms can streamline the progression of the customer relationship
in ways never possible. For example, a banner ad can generate awareness and exploration due to
the interactivity that a click-through provides

. The opportunity to communicate to users via the Internet in a more personalized and interactive
manner is itself a significant boon to marketing communications.

Communication types and steps in the communication process.

Marketing communications, which include all the points of contact that the firm has with its
customers can be grouped into four categories;

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 Mass Offline: marketing levers include television, radio, outdoor ads, point-ofpurchase
displays, public relations and print media including newspapers, magazines, brochures,
newsletters, and yellow pages.

 Personal Offline: the levers include telemarketing, direct mail, sales force, and customer
service.

 Mass Offline: levers include websites, banners, interstitials, rich media, search engines,
listings, classifieds, and sponsorships.

 Personal Online: levers include personalized websites, dynamic ad placement, interactive

television, wireless devices, e-mail, and customer service.

Steps in the Communication Process;

To successfully build and execute a marketing communications campaign, a firm needs to

establish the best way to use the appropriate levers. The starting point for any communications
campaign should be the segmentation, targeting and positioning choices made as part of the
marketing strategy. The process of planning a communication campaign in accordance with
marketing strategy has six stages;

 Identify the target audience: at the start of a campaign, the first thing that a firm must do is
to identify the target audience. Having questions such as who is the potential customer, whose
need is being met by the product and who is willing to pay for it, drive the customer research that
determines the audience that is best to target. Generally, this information is obtained in one of
three ways; from experience, from demographics, or from tracking previous behavior.
Demographic information can be obtained through original customer research or through
customer-research firms. Also, the Internet has made tracking consumer behavior easier and less
expensive and developing target audiences based on Internet tracking is becoming a promising
reality. By keeping track of the webpages that users visit, time spent on specific webpages, ads
and links clicked on, and purchases made, marketers can develop an extremely valuable
database.

 Determine the communication objectives: before creating the communication, its intent
must be clear. The message should focus on developing one of the four customer relationship
stages. If the firm or the offering is new to the target audience, the message should build
awareness. Once an overall objective is set for an integrated marketing campaign, individual
goals should be set for each of the media elements in the campaign. Traditionally,
communications have been classified according to whether they are intended to, build awareness,
knowledge, and preference or; provide an immediate stimulus to purchase

 Develop a media plan: developing a media plan involves choosing the right media for the
message and deciding how to use them. The media plan must be consistent with the target

40
audience; consistent with the communication objective and; the different parts of the plan must
fit together well.

 Create the message: creating the message requires significant planning and analysis. One of
the first things to consider is the communication theme. The target audience must be receptive to
the theme and must be consistent with the objective that has been determined. The theme of a
message designed to promote awareness may need to be adjusted when it comes time to focus on
the later stages of the customer relationship. The theme should also be consistent with the
offering’s function and with brand personality.

 Execute the campaign; once the content for the integrated marketing communications
campaign is ready for distribution, the firm can take the final steps to execute the campaign. It
will need to buy media placements and consider whether to participate in a partnership with
other marketers. It will also need to distribute the execution materials to the media.

 Evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign; the evaluation process begins as soon as the
message is distributed. Each element of the campaign should be evaluated against its objectives.
In addition, the synergy of the integrated messaged in the campaign should be evaluated to
determine whether the messages and the media are integrated optimally. In the case of the
messages that are targeted to individual consumers, the evaluation should include a look at
whether the communication method and content are consistent with the customer’s history.

What is a brand and brand equity?

A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify
the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the
competition. Brand equity on the other hand is a combination of assets that can be viewed from
both firm and customer perspective. It is basically a combination of consumer responses and
benefits.

Consumer responses can take two forms; brand awareness and brand associations. Brand
awareness refers to the strength of a brand’s presence in the consumer’s mind. A brand with high
brand awareness is more likely to be recollected-either prompted by an advertisement or unaided
by the firm. Brand associations refer to the connections that consumers make to the brand. These
associations can usefully be categorized in terms of strength, valence and uniqueness.

Researchers recommend that marketer measure consumer perceptions with a combination of

techniques such as depth interviews, focus groups, thought listing, visual techniques, projective
techniques and rating scales.

E-marketing programs can be used to create brand equity through website design, the brand
name and logo, the types of services that are offered, cobranding arrangements and so on.

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What is the Seven-step branding process?

;  Step 1; Clearly define the Brand Audience; branding strategies will be ineffective without a
clear specification of the target audience for the offering.

 Step 2; Understand Target Customers; From the broad description of the target customer, it is
frequently useful to describe a composite prototypic customer who can bring the target customer
segment to life.

 Step 3; Understand the Competition; the competitive environment is also critical given the
need to provide relative or superior value to target customers.

 Step 4; Design compelling brand intent; the brand intent brings to life the value proposition or
cluster. Value propositions or clusters tend to focus on high-level customer benefits. Here, firms
are looking for a description of how the brand should be interpreted from the customer’s
viewpoint.

 Step 5; Identify key leverage points in customer experience; this step requires the firm to
move from the strategic notion of brand intent to the tactical notion of marketing levers-prices of
products, customer interface, mix of online versus offline communications-that will activate the
customer.

 Step 6; Execute the branding strategy; principles of good execution include integrity,
consistency, patience and flexibility.

 Step 7; Establish feedback systems; branding strategies rarely work out exactly as planned,
and so it is important to have regular feedback systems in place.

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