E-marketing Purposes - Essay Example

Name Tutor Institution Date E-marketing The internet has widely been in the forefront in providing global marketers with information thus forming the basis of today’s communication. Today, many organizations are indulging in e-marketing as a way of getting access to a large number of customers. E-marketing also referred as internet marketing is defined as marketing through the use of internet (Chaffey, P23). The interactive measure created by e-marketing in terms of immediate response thus creating a certain uniqueness as opposed to traditional marketing. This kind of marketing widely ties a creative aspect of design that comprises of sales and advertising through the use of internet. E-marketing purpose/objectives After relevant consultation with relevant personnel, there are several key objectives or purposes linked to e-marketing that will form the focus of the e-marketing strategic plan. Smith (p30) asserts that, these objectives are very essential since there are seen to be compatible with existing business strategies, values and directions within an organization. According to Chaffey (p25), objective that are in line with the desired e-marketing strategic plan include; Increase in business sale as compared to the use of traditional marketing Reducing marketing costs such as transport fee, advertising materials and time required Building stronger customers loyalty Shortening the existing sales cycle within organizations thus efficiency in business operations Since e-marketing is automated, time is saved The above stated objectives makes e-marketing most immediate, cost effective and flexible marketing tool in today’s global business world (Smith, p30). Development of an e-marketing strategy The development of the e-marketing strategy is the key step in attaining effective and reliable results to any business that wants to go online. This follows four steps which include: planning, accumulation, activation and measurement. To begin with, the business has to plan. This is the most crucial but most neglected part of the development of the e-marketing plan if the business wants to attain the desired outcomes. The firm should be able to develop the goals of the campaign. Among the goals that the campaign should aim at is to be able to encourage the customers to visit the website. The best way to achieve the best in the development of the goals of the e-marketing strategy is through the utilization of the key performance indicators. The business is to assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with the website. It is also vital for the business to develop the strategies and tools that will be used in the assessment and evaluation of the e-marketing site (Waters, p43). Secondly, the business is to accumulate the content and the material that will be included in the site. The information that will be accumulated and designed to be uploaded on the website are what will be able to distinguish your business from the others. The information that will be uploaded should be able to reflect the objectives of your business. The information should be clear and attractive to the reader as most of the consumers do not spend much of their time on the net. The information to be created on the website should be valuable, creative, and interesting for the targeted audience (Steinfield, p65). The main aim of creation of content is to be able to create content that is sticky thus having the audience to visit the site more frequently. The business firm should be willing to listen to what the customers say or want. The firm should be ready and willing to set aside their ingrained command style of control of delivering messages and be ready to open their senses and ideas to what their customers really want, think, say and feel. A survey should be conducted to identify the consumers ideas and what they are interested in. the site should be able to have more information that is generated by the consumers. It is vital for the site planner to identify the appropriate content to be uploaded on the site. An effective evaluation to determine the source of the content is vital. This will be able to determine whether the information already exists or it has to be generated. The generation of the content depends highly on the planning and planning that the firm has accomplished. The content should be able to meet the designed objectives (McFarlane and Piatkiewicz, p76). Thirdly, with the planning and the accumulation process having been effectively accomplished, the firm is set to activate or promote the e-marketing strategy. The firm should choose an online marketing vehicle and components to launch the product. This could be through banner advertising or Search engine marketing which are the commonly used in the e-marketing strategy. Lastly, the firm is to develop a measuring tool to assess the effectiveness of the strategy. This will enable the firm to update it in order to meet the needs of the consumer. This will involve the establishment of tracking tools that will be able to assess the number of persons that accessed the site and their opinions on it. The tracking tools should also be able to enable the consumers and visitors to the website to comment on the content as this will be an effective way to collecting their needs (Navarro, p55). Evaluation of website marketing objectives in relation to e-marketing strategy After developing an e-marketing strategy, it is very essential to come evaluate website marketing objectives so that they can be in line. The most common and effective way of evaluating the designed objectives is by use of key performance (Valentin, p35). These performs greatly assists organization to measure how their organizational goals and aims are progressing depending on the nature of the designed strategy. After thorough evaluation of e-marketing strategy, it is essential to note that objective and aims of e-marketing plan is the key step in the measure of successful website campaign. The following objectives are related to website marketing; Delivering quality services and goods within consumer reach( consumer will only be interested in distinguishing features in an organization website) Providing adequate information to a client and provide a positive dialogue by use of internet thus strengthening customer loyalty Listening is very essential for all marketers, the use of internet is not exceptional in the fact that one should design a command and control strategy to ensure effectiveness in communication. *Appendix 1 contains the time frame for the development of the e-marketing strategy. It is very important that once the e-marketing plan has been executed, organizational management should find time to read and respond to blogs. These blogs enable one to get a clear view of what a customer needs (Valentin, p30). If most customers are asking questions about the organization location then, the strategy should go ahead and came up with a map in its plan for customer satisfaction. Recommendation and evaluation of the website design An attractive website is important in drawing attention of the viewers. It is therefore the obligation of the organization management to appoint an email brain team that is capable of designing a website that meets all the requirements needed and at the same time creates a competitive standard. By undertaking extensive research the team should be in a position to collect information regarding the needs of the customers in order to customize the website that brings out optimum returns from the e-marketing effort. The information about the consumers that needs to be obtained include their perception about the company, the age bracket of majority of the targeted population, status of the clients, their preferences among other personal details (Reynolds, p98). After obtaining the above details, it is important for the email brain team to embark on collection of email addresses of the customer s from the website or from the customers themselves. The e-marketing account should be inclusive of the customer database and any other information pertaining to the customers. The step that follows is the designing of the website promotions. It is the objective of the effort to maximize sales by targeting a large population f the customers and hence promotion is an appropriate tool to do so. The success of a website will depend on the inclusion of details such as discounts on the products, special offers, development of new products and services, appraisals from other clients and any other information that is relevant to the customers (Goldschmidt, Junghagen and Harris, p125). An important objective of the email brain team is to design a website that provides value to the viewers. However, it should ensure that in engagement of in such practices at the expense of the company’s profitability. This means that the project should be done at a minimal cost that does not hurt the company in any way. Other features that might make the website to stand above other e-marketing websites include free gifts, discount upgrades, buy 2 get 1 free and payment terms that are flexible (Reynolds, p78). To conclude, having a website is a direct tool to advertising the company; it provides a direct route to marketing and sales. It forms a direct link between the company and the clients by tracking responses and assessing comments posted on the website and subsequent reactions on them help improve on the services offered. Having a website is an added advantage to obtaining fast responses to offers. For instance the company may choose to limit the number of offers and hence motivate more customers to run after the offer before they are finished. The company may also use the website as a tool to dispose of inventory that is long overdue (Trepper, p89). To meet this strategy, last minute offers with last minute offers may be posted on the website. Included on the website are customers newsletters, aimed at maintain long lasting relationships with customers as well as create customers loyalty. It is a great way to inform existing customer on new product developments as well as launch new products to receptive audience. Work Cited Chaffey, Dave. Total e-marketing: maximizing your results from integrated e-marketing. Amsterdam : Elsevier, 2006, pp 23-45. Smith, P.R. and Chaffey, D. 2001 E-Marketing excellence: at the heart of e-Business. Butterworth Heinemann: Oxford, UK. Valentin, E. ‘The marketing concept and the conceptualization of marketing strategy’ , Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Fall, 1996, 16–27. Navarro A. (2001). Effective Web Design (2nd ed.). Sybex. McFarlane, C, and Piatkiewicz, W, (2001). Branding strategy for a high-tech company with multiple channel partners and segments. (Research Project, Simon Fraser University, 2001 ). Steinfield C. (Ed.). (2003). New directions in research on e-commerce. West Lafayette, Ind.: Purdue University Press. Waters J. (2003). The Real Business of Web Design. Allworth Press. Goldschmidt S., Junghagen S., and Harris U. (2003). Strategic affiliate marketing.Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Pub. Reynolds J. (2004). The Complete E-Commerce Book: Design, Build, & Maintain a Successful Web-based Business (2nd ed.). CMP Books. Trepper C. (2000). E-Commerce Strategies: Mapping Your Organization's Success in Today's Competitive Marketplace. Microsoft Press. Appendix 1 E-marketing strategy development time frame Activity/Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Market Research x x x Material Accumulation x x Promotion of site x x Activation of site x x x Measurement and Evaluation x x x x x x x x x x x Read More