[Abstract] Research looks at perceptions and ideals placed upon technological innovation within the computer world that change the way people can market products and services. Research was conducted from news groups, specialist sites dealing with web based marketing and e-commerce, business journals and news articles that developed the argument that the growth of the internet and the World Wide Web has changed the way we market and the concepts placed upon marketing itself.
The internet has created new approaches to the way businesses, organisations and
communities get their message across. As more innovative ideas come into play when
dealing with communication, different perceptions are placed upon the concept of
marketing and thus, implemented into the marketing strategy. This essay will discuss
how the growth of the internet and the World Wide Web have changed the way we
market our businesses and organisations. The discussion will highlight the change in
education about marketing, new business opportunities, new developed marketing
techniques and the advantages and disadvantages of web-based marketing.
Growth of the internet
After only ten years since computers became apparent in the homes of most families, the World Wide Web has rapidly developed, and new ideas have dramatically changed the way businesses sell their products and the way consumers purchase them. A long way has come since the web was an information network populated by universities, scientists and government organisations (kaynama, Keesling, 2000).
Today having a web site is a business necessity “moving into 2004, the online
presence won’t just be part of the business, it will be the business” (Gasperson, 2004).
The growth in the overall business internet use and the web site developments are
mainly driven by marketing strategy. Marketing strategy assists developing the
marketing mix (price, place, promotion, and product) that leads to meeting the needs
of the target market consisting of those who want information or online solutions via
the internet (Adam, Westberg, 1998).
As marketing on the internet becomes more successful, businesses see marketing on
the internet as a new venture. Research found in an article from news.com showed
that the web-based advertising industry recorded revenue of $1.66 billion for the
second quarter of 2003, a 1.7 percent increase over revenue of $1.63 billion reported
for the first quarter of the year (Hines, 2003). These positive results influence the way
businesses and organisations market their ideas. As more and more businesses see
opportunity for greater success, the larger the World Wide Web becomes.
Opportunities for business and new marketing techniques
The internet is a quick and inexpensive way of communication. This advantage allows
businesses and organisations to communicate efficiently from one side of the world to
another. The internet prepares the business to operate on a global dimension, thus
enters them into a world market. Many consumers shop on the net to purchase items
they can’t find locally (Dr Ralf. F. Wilson, 1999). For example, Consumers log onto
eBay and bid for items ranging from socks to chandeliers. Businesses and
organisations have the opportunity to capture a greater proportion of the market and
expand their target market.
The internet provides an opportunity for marketers to develop new products as well as
augmented existing products and services (Adam, Westberg, 1998). Banks are now
enabling their customers to do their banking online. They have created features such
as general banking, loan estimations and checking account balances. This updates the
banking system from just a few years before and customers can now stay at home and
do their banking which makes the service more accessible and available at all times.
Virtual marketing uses the effects of social networks such as chat rooms and file-
sharing networks to help endorse a brand name (Smith, 2004). Even small businesses
are inclined to use the web to endorse their brand name and image as it gets the
message across the world, not just to a small suburban area with limited market share
(Rodgers, 2004). Yahoo is a great example of endorsing brand names, often relevant
businesses are displayed on pages that are of interest and relate to a search created by
the user.
The development of web-based marketing has also allowed businesses and organisations to become more culturally diverse. With global marketing now reachable by any business cultural diversity should be considered when designing new and improved products to reach a greater share of the target market. Nokia recently changed its Latin American sites to be customisable by individual Latin American countries (Gasperson, 2004). Businesses and organisations are admittedly viewing marketing as a way of understanding and implementing cultural differences and preferences.
Businesses and organisations also view marketing on the web as a way of gaining a
competitive advantage over the competition. Using the internet to market a product or
service captures a greater proportion of the market share, thus increasing the
possibilities of raised revenues (Wilson, 1999). IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau)
Greg Stuart states that increased revenue from 2001 to 2003 indicates growing proof
that the online medium is providing a solid opportunity for advertiser and predicts a
continued success (Hines, 2003). Some organisations such as eBay are clearly
recognised throughout the world due to their consistent marketing strategies
implemented solely in the virtual world, attracting customers from every corner of the
planet.
Education
As the concept of marketing falls into a new category of web-based, may new factors need to be taken into consideration. Education institutes are now developing new courses to teach people about marketing strategies on the World Wide Web. “The increasing use of the internet as a versatile delivery medium and an instructional tool will effect the role of marketing educators and the way they teach marketing” (Kaynama, Keesling, 2000). Teachers are now extending the use of computer-based teaching resources to keep students up to date on the fast growing world of web based marketing.
There are many new areas that need to be taught to potential business men and
women. Even though overall revenues are increasing for a majority of businesses
using web-based marketing, marketing a business over the internet is not as simple as
slapping together a few HTML documents, it needs to be taught (Kaynama, Keesling,
2000). “Developing a successful business on the web is just as hard as building a
small business in the local strip mall” (Wilson, 1999).
Web-based marketing is now being taught all over the world to educate people about
changing people perceptions, communication channels, online social networks and
online marketing strategies. As people are making buying decisions based on what
they do or see online, marketing concepts have to be re-invented and taught to
facilitate an effective business (Hines, 2003)
As the internet and the World Wide Web becomes more market oriented, consistent
overview of marketing tactics needs to be enforced to keep up with the change of
consumers perceptions placed upon advertisement and business marketing ideas
(Smith, 2004). In know myself, after awhile you become numb to pop up banners and
flashy gimmicks that seem to be swamping web sites. It can become quite numbing
and annoying after awhile, and I am more likely to ignore them. Educators need to be
aware of many problems also facing marketing on the web to teach a successful
online marketer.
Disadvantages of online marketing
Web-based marketing has sky rocketed in the last couple of years as businesses fight
for market share and increased revenue; however there are also limitations of web-
based marketing that needs to be considered. Capturing an audience on the internet by
using promotional marketing strategies is much harder today as more and more people
are becoming numb to ads on sites and consumers do not trust advertisements that are
places on the pages because most surfers know that there is a lot of junk on the web
(Smith, 2004).
Other marketing strategies now need to be focused upon to attract savvy new
customers. More focus on place; where you market you product, is it trustworthy and
reliable to customers, and the product, what you are actually selling to the customers
(Dr. Ralph. F. Wilson, 1999). Trust is a big issue on the internet and marketers need
to regain it back from the consumers. EBay has a system to gain trust of a consumer
by including ratings of sellers and buyers of the product so the consumer and the
seller know how reliable the other party is.
Many businesses also believe, due to the increased revenue figures for online ads that
they having a high placement with internet search engines will result in many new
clients. It goes far beyond this (Clarke, 2004). Many search engines are gaining a
large profit due to businesses bidding for a high placement on their search results
(Rodgers, 2004). Businesses, as they revamp their concept of marketing into the new
generation of web-based marketing, need to be educated about web-based marketing
tactics to get the most success.
Many businesses are now keeping databases on information about customers so they
can deliver advertisements to their inbox that would match their interests (Chennai,
2002). However, because there is an increasing amount of businesses taking
advantage of this idea, consumers inboxes are becoming flooded with junk that is
usually deleted or put into a separate “junk” file that will automatically be deleted
after a few days. I know myself that junk mail gets annoying so I created a separate e-
mail account just so junk mail so I didn’t have to deal with it on a day to day basis.
Most of these web-based marketing problem areas can be overcome if the changing
concepts of marketing are recognised and incorporated into the business marketing
strategy.
The growth of the internet and the World Wide Web has created changes in many of
the businesses marketing strategies around the globe. I have discusses the changes
that has taken place within the virtual world that has developed new marketing
strategies. The internet has proved to lead to the success for many businesses who
take up the opportunity to use the internet to get their message across and market their
product to the rest of the world. Though, for a business to be successful keeping up
with the changing virtual world and its consumers is vital, that is why education
institutes have changed the way they teach marketing, with new web-based marketing
tactics in mind. The internet is not always the means of success for a business.
Promotion is especially important to rethink when creating advertisements on the
internet; it can create many problem and undesired results.
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