|
eMarketing InformationE-marketing Strategy: 7 Dimensions To Consider (The E-marketing Mix)
by:
Otilia Otlacan
What is e-Marketing?
e-Marketing is still quite a arguable subject to talk about, since no one succeeded to unify the various theories about it; however there is one thing upon which there is no doubt – that e-Marketing 1st appeared under the form of various techniques deployed by pioneer companies merchandising their products via the computer network in the early 90's.
The craze about these new marketing techniques created by e-tailers and supported by the computer network quickly gave birth to a new dimension of what we knew as Marketing: the e-Marketing (electronic Marketing).
There are galore definitions to what e-Marketing is, the simplest and shortest one being developed
by Mark Sceats: e-Marketing is Marketing that uses the computer network as manifestation media. A working definition is that coming from a group of CISCO specialists: e-Marketing is the sum of all activities a business conducts through the computer network with the intention of finding, attracting, winning and holding customers.
e-Marketing Strategy
The e-Marketing Strategy is usually based and built upon the principles that govern the traditional, offline Marketing – the well-known 4 P's (Product – Cost – Promotion – Positioning) that form the classic Marketing mix. Add the extra 3 P's (People – Processes – Proof) and you got the whole extended Marketing mix.
Until here, there are no more aspects to differentiate e-Marketing from the traditional Marketing performed offline: the extended Marketing mix (4 3 P's) is built about the conception of "transactional" and its elements perform transactional functions defined by the exchange paradigm. What gives e-Marketing its singularity is a series of specific functions, relative
functions, that can be synthesized in the 2P 2C 3S formula: Personalization, Privacy, Client Service, Community, Site, Security, Sales Promotion.
These 7 functions of the e-Marketing stay at the base of any e-Marketing strategy and they have a alleviative character, unlike the classic Marketing mix that comprises situational functions only. Alleviative functions of e-Marketing have the quality of moderate, operate upon all situational functions of the mix (the classic 4 P's) and upon each other.
1. Personalization
The fundamental conception of personalization as a part of the e-Marketing mix lies in the need of recognizing, distinguishing a certain client in order to establish relations (establishing relations is a fundamental objective of Marketing). It is crucial to be able to identify our customers on individual level and gather all possible information just about them, with the intention of knowing our market and be able to develop customized, personalized products and services.
For example, a cookie strategically placed on the website visitor's computer can let us cognize vital information concerning the access speed available: in consequence, if we cognize the visitant is exploitation a slow connection (eg. dial-up) we will offer a low-volume variation of our website, with reduced graphic content and no multimedia system or flash applications. This will ease our customer's experience on our website and he will be prevented from departure the website on the reason that it takes too long to load its pages.
Personalization can be applied to any component of the Marketing mix; therefore, it is a alleviative function.
2. Privacy
Privacy is an element of the mix really more connected to the previous one – personalization. Once
we gather and store information just about our customers and potential customers (therefore, once
we perform the personalization part of the e-Marketing mix) a crucial issue arises: that of the way this information will be used, and by whom. A major task to do once
implementing an e-Marketing strategy is that of creating and developing a policy upon access procedures to the collected information.
This is a duty and a must for any conscious seller to consider all aspects of privacy, as long as data are collected and stored, data just about individual persons.
Privacy is even as more important once
establishing the e-Marketing mix since there are galore regulations and legal aspects to be considered regarding collection and usage of such information.
3. Client Service
Customer service is one of the necessary and required activities among the keep functions needful in transactional situations.
We will connect the apparition of the client service processes to the inclusion of the "time" parameter in transactions. Once
switch from a situational perspective to a relative
one, and e-Marketing is mostly based on a relative
perspective, the seller saw himself somehow forced into considering keep and assistance on a non-temporal level, permanently, over time.
For these reasons, we should consider the Client Service function (in its fullest and largest definition) as an essential one inside
the e-Marketing mix.
As we can easily numbers out, the service (or assistance if you wish) can be performed upon any element from the classic 4 P's, therefore its alleviative character.
4. Community
We can all agree that e-Marketing is conditioned by the existence of this impressive network that the computer network is. The simply existence of such a network implies that individuals as well as groups will eventually interact. A group of entities that act for a common intention is what we call a "community" and we will shortly see why it is of absolute importance to participate, to be part of a community.
The Metcalf law (named after Henry m. robert Metcalf) states that the value of a network is given by the number of its components, more exactly the value of a network equals the square of the number of components. We can apply this simple law to communities, since they are a network: we will then conclude that the value of a community rises with the number of its members. This is the power of communities; this is why we have to be a part of it.
The customers / clients of a business can be seen as part of a community wherever
they act (either independent or influenced by the marketer) – therefore developing a community is a task to be performed by any business, even as although it is not always seen as essential.
Interactions among members of such a community can address any of the another functions of e-Marketing, so it can be placed next to another alleviative functions.
5. Site
We have seen and in agreement that e-Marketing interactions take place on a digital media – the internet. But such interactions and relations besides need a proper location, to be accessible at any moment and from any place – a digital location for digital interactions.
Such a location is what we call a "site", which is the most widespread name for it. It is now the time to mention that the "website" is simply a form of a "site" and should not be mistaken or seen as synonyms. The "site" can take another forms too, such as a Palm Pilot or any another hand-held
device, for example.
This special location, accessible through all sort of digital technologies is alleviative all another functions of the e-Marketing – it is then a alleviative function.
6. Safety
The "security" function emerged as an essential function of e-Marketing once transactions began to be performed through computer network channels.
What we need to keep in mind as marketers are the following two issues on security:
- safety during transactions performed on our website, wherever
we have to take all possible precautions that third parties will not be able to access any part of a developing transaction;
- safety of data collected and stored, just about our customers and visitors.
A honest seller will have to consider these possible causes of further trouble and has to co-operate with the company's IT department in order to be able to formulate convincing (and true, honest!) messages towards the customers that their personal details are protected from unauthorized eyes.
7. Sales Promotion
At least but not last, we have to consider sales promotions once
we build an e-Marketing strategy. Sales promotions are wide
used in traditional Marketing as well, we all cognize this, and it is an first-class efficient strategy to accomplish immediate sales goals in terms of volume.
This function counts on the marketer's ability to think creatively: a lot of activity and inspiration is required in order to find new possibilities and new approaches for developing an efficient promotion plan.
On the another hand, the seller inevitably to endlessly keep up with the latest computer network technologies and applications so that he can fully exploit them.
To conclude, we have seen that e-Marketing implies new dimensions to be considered aside of those familial from the traditional Marketing. These dimensions revolve about the conception of relative
functions and they are a must to be enclosed
in any e-Marketing strategy in order for it to be efficient and deliver results.
Just just about the author:
Otilia is a certified Marketing adviser with expertness in e-Marketing and e-Business. She developed and teach her own online course in Principles of Marketing (http://class.universalclass.com/emarketing). You can contact Otilia through her Marketing resources portal at http://www.teawithedge.com
Circulated by Article Emporium
| |
