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E-Marketing is often used synonymously with terms such as Internet Marketing, or Online Marketing, however, in its most simple form the term refers to any form of electronic marketing. As the world continues to modernise and become more electronically dependent there is little in the marketing world which is not influenced or manipulated by an electronic instrument. Therefore a more specific term is needed to explain new media.
With fast paced developments in marketing, the term is now recognised as any form of internet based marketing, explaining the interchangeability possible with the terms mentioned above. The transience of the phrase E-Marketing reflects how rapidly the phenomenon of internet related marketing is travelling. The internet is at the forefront of dramatic changes in the way we live our lives and it should therefore be at the forefront of the collective mind of all companies.
Helping the Little Fish in the Big Pond
The internet allows anyone with an internet connection the ability to publish information to a large number of respondents. Smaller companies would previously have been subjected to a limited audience because of the substantial costs attached to mass media channels such as television advertising. The comparatively small costs of developing a website mean that small organisations no longer have a geographical limit set on their audience.
As mentioned above, the internet has meant that consumers have, and are continuing to change their buying behaviour. The internet allows consumers to purchase in many different ways and therefore allows many more companies, especially smaller ones, the opportunity to respond to consumer needs. Not only does the internet allow for adapting consumer behaviour but also for an increasing amount of products and services to be offered.
Interactivity between consumer and producer has become more fluid. Organisations can now quickly receive feedback, which can be utilised by an organisation to improve more quickly. This two way communication channel can make a company more adaptable to market changes and therefore more successful. For smaller organisations the development of a rapport is arguably more important because there is a more significant reliance on returning customers. This is due to due to a lack of expenditure available for marketing events.
The internet makes it possible for immediate responses to media that impacts a receiver. It is possible to purchase an item with a single click. If necessary, it is also possible to minimise any risk associated with the purchase of a product because almost all information, especially that concerned with cognitive decision making is made readily available by the internet. For small organisations this is important because it means that many people have access to detailed information about the company which would have been inaccessible.
The ability to astutely target the correct audience is considerably increased by the use of the internet. As a result, smaller organisations are able to significantly reduce costs by channelling their efforts toward a minimal customer base.
The internet can be seen as a tool that bridges the gap between the larger and smaller companies. Making the seemingly small fry, look a lot bigger.
4 comments:
I totaly agree with you and more since the tools are arrived to help us to manage it.
28 February 2010 at 18:35I also agree, but the one thing that SMEs often miss, is the knowhow within the company to analyse or gather online-data from the target market. So they have to outsource it, and that costs money, certainly when you want to maintain your data and keep it up to date.
28 February 2010 at 19:53But its true, when you're able to do that, it closes the gap.
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Hello Owen, 1st of all, sorry for the delay in commenting, got some IT issues ... Allow me to be a bit surprised by this article, or, let me ask a simple, probably stupid, question: what internet facilities are major brands as Coca-Cola, MacDonald’s using? ... Right none ... Why? ... Because in their global remit, the internet has still no meaning what so ever. 90% of their customer base has no internet connection, those 10% that have, spend in average less than 10% of their time on the net... thus yes, the attention they can get is close to... You can apply a rather similar, factual logic to almost all of the "little fish" in whatever pond, as their natural customer base, their product offerings, etc... simply does not fit the internet, and most likely never will...
4 March 2010 at 10:40It is true that there is a distinctive segment of businesses for which the internet is already (and this will further increase) a very valuable component of their marketing mix, but even then it will probably (with the exception of true internet companies) never be the sole or dominant portion. Thus let's remain real about what the internet is & can offer to companies at large: an extremely interesting medium to develop creative, innovative sales & communication channels, promote distinctive products to (still) selective customer segments, etc... but that’s all. Don't understand me wrong, on a global scale this is already a multibillion $ business, but the basic economic rules on supply / demand, economy of scale, etc... “suppose” will always play, and as such, one (marketers in particular) should protect most of the little fish to dream that one day they could become the next Google, Amazon by using the internet ... or they will be bankrupt even before their “dream” really starts... Disagree, too provocative? Happy to see views of the others ...
*To prevent any confusion this blog is run by a team of marketing students, therefore any item posted is a collaborative piece*
8 March 2010 at 16:49Post a Comment