Week Five - Reflection on Learning

This week we focused on 'place' and 'promotion' as part of the marketing mix. We identified online distribution ideas and the different communication tools that various website use. As online promotion is increasing rapidly it is important that we are aware of the ways to communicate and how they are relevant to our core business.

Week Five - Promotion

1. List each of the ten types of promotion and give a real example that you have found for each.
Ten types of promotion and examples of each are:

• Advertising: Poker ads that pop-up when I'm trying to access particular webpages.
• Selling: I receive a link each month from Victoria's Secret to view their online catalogue.
• Sales promotion: StrawberryNet.com offers buyers a discount on every purchase they make. For every purchase is an increase in the discount percentage.
• PR: I receive an e-newsletter from Blackmores listing their most recent products and latest news on health.
• Sponsorship: Whereis.com is sponsored by TomTom.
• Direct email: I receive direct emails from Start To Finish Event Management informing me of upcoming running events.
• Exhibitions: On the University of Exeter website there is a digital exhibition space of the Bill Douglas Centre and includes a comprehensive catalogue of the collections.
• Merchandising: Selling products on eBay.
• Packaging: Adidas places images of its actual collections and products that can be viewed on their website.
• Word-of-mouth: When I find good products online I email friends to tell them about it.

2. Spend some time looking at the National Marketing Awards (UK). Select two of the winners and discuss them in terms of the promotional mix. What communication tools were used in each award?

The two winners that I have selected from the National Marketing Awards are Cadbury's Natural Confectionery Company and Future Talent.

Sales for the Natural Confectionery Company increased by 627% as they used the following communication tools:

• Radio
• Virtual ads
• Facebook page
• YouTube video
• TV channel

Future Talent is a music charity dedicated to finding, funding and nurturing exceptionally talented young musicians in the UK. The communication tools used are:

• Podcasting
• News feed subscriptions
• Press releases
• Press cuttings links
• Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Favourite and email compatible
• Public relations. E.g. website launched by Katharine Kent and Nicholas Robinson at the Cambridge University Concert Hall, with a performance by the Aronowitz Ensemble and the King's College Choir.

3. At first glance, what do you think of Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Hotmail or eBay? Why do they work?

Although these website are not visually appealing, they are successful as they engage and interact with users. They captivate users by interacting, selling or notifying them of new products or updates. They are addictive technologies as they keep users constantly informed. For example, sending emails to the user, Twitter or Status updates, new friend notifications or new product updates. If users are engaged they are more likely to continue to use the technology.

4. Who is Craig? Who cares about his list? Is this a serious business? As a marketer what would your advice to Craig have been ten years ago?

Craig Newmark i a customer service representative and founder of Craigslist. He is a senior web-oriented software engineer, with around thirty years of experience, and has been taught a lot about online community and customer service as customer service founder and rep for Craigslist for eleven years.

Craigslist is a serious business. It is a non-commercial community service with classifieds and discussion forums. It focuses on helping people with basic needs, starting with housing and jobs, with a pervasive culture of trust (http://www.inasinglestroke.com/).

As a marketer, I probably wouldn't have advised Craig to go ahead with his business as he was oblivious to innovation and was stuck in a 1997 mindset. He was not interested in branding, graphic design or money. However, his business seemed to work as he serves more than 45 million people each month, and produces 100 million dollars in revenue annually. His local listings site has helped take down an entire sector of the publishing industry (http://www.wired.com/). His business proves to be successful and I believe he has altered the way marketers think.

5. Include a summary of place that has led to new distribution ideas online.

Place means the place of purchase, distribution and consumption. According to Chaffey et al, the new ideas that have occurred in the online world of distribution are:

• Disintermediation: Removing the middleman.
• Reintermediation: The emergence of new types of middlemen.
• Informediation: Middlemen hold data or information to benefit customers and suppliers.
• Channel confluence: Distribution channels start to offer the same deal to the end customer.
• Peer-to-peer services: Removing both supplier and middleman. E.g. Music service 'Napster'.
• Affiliation: Turn customers into sales people.

Week Four - Reflection on Learning

This week made it obvious that online marketing is in fact much more cost effective to a business than offline marketing. The growth of online advertising is phenomenal. For example, it is predicted that the online advertising in the US will grow from $26.1 billion this year to $45.5 billion in 2012. However, both online and offline marketing work well together as they reach a larger target audience.

Week Four - Marketing Mix Online Variations

1. A decrease in prices is inevitable in an online marketing environment. Do you agree or disagree?

I agree that a decrease in prices is inevitable in an online marketing environment. The Internet is changing pricing for ever (Chaffey & Smith, 2008). Offline marketing activities such as television and magazine/newspaper ads can be very costly. Not only do you need to pay for the actual advertising space, but you also need to pay for the production costs (http://web-2-you.com/). Therefore more and more companies are turning to online marketing.

Many online companies enjoy lower margins by cutting out the middleman. However, pricing is under pressure through continual trends towards commoditisation (new products and services entering the market) and price transparency (both the buyer and the seller know the price). Online pricing gives customers more power which leads to further decrease in prices (Chaffey & Smith, 2008). They are easily able to compare prices at the click of a button.

2. Disintermediation will ultimately lead to channel conflict. Discuss.

According to Chaffey & Smith, disintermediation can be defined as "the removal of intermediaries such as distributors or brokers that formerly linked a company to its customers." By cutting out the middleman, companies can sell direct to their customers and also cut the costs of doing business. However, this can lead to channel conflict. For example, the direct contact component of a sales department may have to compete with other sales channels, such as a telephone, online and mail campaigns. To prevent channel conflict, partners sometimes enact agreements such as deal registration (http://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/).

3. What are the five elements of promotion and what are some examples of combining online/offline promotion?

Advertising

Online: Interactive display ads

Offline: Ad in magazine/newspaper

Public relations

Online: Online editorials/social networks

Offline: "Real life" venues such as conferences and events

Word of mouth

Online: Viral/email a friend

Offline: Speak to a friend in person

Sales promotion

Online: Online loyalty schemes

Offline: In-store rewards such as discount on next purchase

Packaging

Online: Virtual tours/real packaging is displayed online

Offline: View packaging in catalogue/store

Week Three - Reflection on Learning

This week we discovered that it is important not only to use the traditional marketing mix to exploit a product/service, but also to use 'partnerships' as part of the extended marketing mix.

We learnt how to distinguish between online marketing activities and offline marketing activities. Furthermore, by using both methods of marketing it targets a larger and more diverse market. For example, an elderly pensioner who might read the local paper in contrast with a young, Internet-savvy businessman who might go online.

Although dynamic pricing is a great way for companies to have the potential to enjoy greater profitability (http://www.dmnews.com/), sometimes price discrimination can come into effect. For example, an elderly lady who purchases a holiday package well in advance pays full price, whereas a young Internet-savvy user purchases the same package last minute at a discounted rate.

I had troubles formatting my post this week as I initially typed in into Microsoft Word and then pasted it into my blog. Therefore there are large spaces between each question. I tried to rectify it but to no avail.

Week Three - The Marketing Re-Mix

1. Consider a restaurant in Sturt Street Ballarat. Write down all the offline marketing activities you can think of and then start a separate list and write down all the online activities you can think of. What if any were the differences in the lists?
Offline marketing activities:

• Brochures
• Leaflets
• Banner ads
• Coupons. E.g. Get 20% off lunch on your second visit.
• Sponsorship from local sports club
• Publications in local newspaper/magazines
• Word of mouth
• Ad on local radio
• Ads in Yellow Pages, Whitepages and local directory

Online marketing activities:

• Direct email
• Web tiles on relevant websites. E.g. Ballarat tourism websites
• Webpage
• Online menus and bookings
• Testimonials from past patrons
• Attractive photos of the restaurant

Both offline and online methods of marketing communicate the same message, but together target a larger audience. E.g. Not all elderly citizens have access to the Internet, therefore and ad in the local newspaper might be more suitable. There are any major differences between the two, however, offline marketing can sometimes be more tangible (such as brochures and coupons) and online marketing more interactive as it is technology-based.

2. Consider two other products/services of your choice. Write down all the offline/online marketing possibilities you can think of.

Coffee shop in Melbourne CBD

Offline marketing activities:

• Word of mouth
• Attend networking events to spread awareness of the business
• Advertising in free local magazines/newspapers. E.g. City Weekly magazine and MX newspaper
• Billboards at major train stations/tram stops (if the business can afford it)
• Hand out coffee club cards. E.g. On your tenth purchase receive a FREE regular coffee
• Ad in Yellow Pages
• Hang up posters and flyers around CBD
• Get interviewed by local radio station or newspaper
• Use my car as a moving advertisement
• Sponsor a local sports team. E.g. Melbourne Victory
• Have 'customer of the month'. E.g. Hang a plague of the customer in the business to get other patrons excited

Online marketing activities:

• Join professional networking sites. E.g. LinkedIn
• Join social networking sites. E.g. Facebook
• Establish a website
• Use attractive photos such as a steaming and creamy hot latte, or a relaxing lounge area.
• Use inviting colours and soothing tones
• Place testimonials on website
• Draft a press release and include in as a link on website
• Publish the business's creation story online. E.g. 'Rags to riches'
• Send monthly e-newsletters to consumers

New line of soft drink

Offline marketing activities:

• Stands at supermarkets handing out free samples
• Word of mouth
• Radio
• Television ads on weekends/at night time
• Billboards at milk bars and supermarkets
• Sponsor a community event. E.g Fun run
• Media release
• Brochures at cafes/food courts/check-out counters

Online marketing activities:

• Establish a website
• Images of refreshing, thirst-quenching bottle of the new soft drink
• Audio of a 'fizzing' or bubbling' noise in the background
• Online competitions
• Direct emails

3. What makes a great online product from a marketer's point of view? How would you measure success?

From a marketer's point of view, a great online product must successfully fulfill needs of the target market, be easily differentiated from competitors' products, have high growth potential and have high returns in the future. The website must be user-friendly, clear and strong branding and appealing images and text. Success can be measure by how many hits the website receives on a monthly basis and the total revenue the product produces.

4. Preview the pricing of two products and consider some dynamic pricing models.

Dynamic pricing occurs when prices are free to move immediately in response to changes in supply and demand. Advances in computer hardware and software present a new dimension for the use of dynamic pricing (http://www.knowthis.com/)

Product #1: Shoes

Dynamic pricing can be used in a shoe shop where customers' use of loyalty cards triggers the store's computer to access customer information. If customers' characteristics match requirements in the software program they may be offered a special deal or discount on their next purchase of shoes.

Product #2: Airline ticket

Dynamic pricing can be used when airlines only have a few seats left on a flight and want to sell them at the last minute. They can then change the cost of the regular ticketed price for the seat to the discounted rate.

5. What are some of the issues these pricing models raise?

People may view dynamic pricing as 'price discrimination' as consumers can purchase goods or services at different costs. For example, a pensioner may book their airline ticket 21 days in advance, whereas a young traveler who is Internet savvy may purchase their ticket the day before at a heavily discounted rate. Therefore, the pensioner is unfairly charged a different price for the exact same product (http://www.utdallas.edu/).

Virtual Presentation - Topic & Action Plan

1. List the two websites.
The two websites I will be analysing are:
StrawberryNet: http://www.strawberrynet.com/
Commonwealth Bank of Australia: http://www.commbank.com.au/

2. Briefly explain why you think the sites chosen are suitable examples to analyse.

Both sites are suitable to analyse as they facilitate customer transactions. For example, customers using the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) website can transfer money between accounts, pay bills and receive direct deposits. StrawberryNet, however, enables customers to purchase products online. I believe that it is important to analyse the CBA website as it is a popular website used for everyday banking and transactions. Each website entails many components and therefore would be interesting examples to analyse and assess.

3. Describe the nature of business conducted on each site.

The CBA website is a banking institution in the service industry that supports transactional services. StrawberryNet is a retail company that sells online discounted skincare and cosmetics.

4. Provide an action plan describing how you intend to present your findings.

The purpose of this task is to conduct a widespread analysis on two websites from a marketing perspective. I will use my portfolio page to list my analysis and findings. It will be a text-based report with the inclusion of images. The content of my analysis will be as follows:

Target market:

• The segments that have been identified as likely users of the websites.

Online value proposition:

• The unique advantages of being online (e.g. more convenient, cheaper to buy online).


• What makes the sites different from the competitors?


• How do they make a difference to the users' lives?

Design & format:

• Layout


• Colours


• Fonts


• Images

Navigation & functionality:

• The ease/difficulty of navigating between pages.


• Are links important to destinations available?


• Are there broken links that lead to dead pages?


• Is it easy to understand and execute the product purchase process?

Interactivity:

• Are there customer feedback pages?


• Is there provision for question and answers?


• How easy is it to contact the company?


• Are there contact telephone numbers or emails?


• What is the level of responsiveness to complaints and queries?

Product/Service information:

• Is there sufficient information regarding the rules and regulations of purchase?


• Is there explanatory information regarding the purchase process?


• Is product information supplied by the seller/s often misleading or incorrect?

Security/Privacy:

• What are the potential security challenges? (e.g. credit card fraud/computer viruses).


• How do the websites ensure security? (e.g. firewalls/filters).

Company information:

• How do the websites portray the brand of the company? (e.g. providing background information on company history, founders and current employees).

Key findings:

• The main points of interest identified in the analysis.

Suggestions:

• Feedback and ideas to improve the websites from a marketing perspective.

Week Two - Reflection on Learning

This week was a little less overwhelming. I gained a better understanding of the purpose of our blogger and e-portfolio pages.

I found it interesting to learn about Chaffney and Smith's six choices for online marketing, and the purposes of each. These six choices represent what marketers are trying to promote and communicate in their websites, the type of budget they posses and how they want to interact with the consumer.

We also focused on examples of poor marketing and how it can affect the relationship with the consumer. For example, impersonal responses or no response at all to the consumer can damage their perception of the brand.

I discovered that in order for an organisation to be profitable and maintain a sustainable relationship with consumers, they need to pursue the right strategy to build their campaign.

Week Two - Strategic eMarketing

1. Give an example from your own experience of poor e-marketing.
My poor e-marketing experience occurred when I ordered skincare products through a website called 'StrawberryNet'. After I submitted my credit card details, I was told that I would receive the products within the week. To my delight, my products arrived a few days later. However, they weren't the 'Shiseido' brand as promised - they were fake! The problem is that I paid basically the same amount as I would normally in a shop. The only reason why I did it online was for the convenience.

2. List 5 examples of poor e-marketing.
Example #1
Marketers who do not give consumers the option to 'opt out' from receiving email updates/notifications is a form of poor e-marketing. Consumers become frustrated and may disregard the product/service offered altogether.

Example #2
Before webpages go 'live' on the web, Marketers must ensure that the webpage is fully functioning. Marketers who do not take caution may run into various risks such as loss of consumer confidence and reduced profitability as consumers may not return to website due to problems such as faulty payment processing systems.

Example #3
Consumers may associate bulk emails from Marketers as 'spam'. Consumers may delete it or it may automatically be sent through to their spam file, therefore it may be left unread.

Example #4
Websites that are difficult to navigate is a form of poor e-marketing. For example, if a consumer could not locate the contact details of the company on the webpage to enquire about a product, they may get frustrated and not pursue the product. This would result in lost revenue for the company.

Example #5
Consumers who receive impersonal responses or no response at all to their enquiries is poor e-marketing and may damage the brand.

3. Provide one example of each of the six levels of of e-marketing.
Level 0: None

Level 1: http://www.melbournerestaurants.com.au/ This site lists the top ten of Melbourne's restaurants by the following categories: rating, cuisine, speciality, suburb and region. Once you click on a selected restaurant it navigates you directly to their website.

Level 2: http://www.bjsdancecenter.com.au/ This is a simple static information site. It lists general product information, the locations and basic pricing details.

Level 3: http://www.nutshack.com.au/default.htm This 'tasty' and simple interactive website contains pictures of Nutshack's products corresponding with nutrition information, a store locator, FAQs and an option to provide feedback or voice any questions or concerns via email.

Level 4: http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/au The Sri Chinmoy is a website where fitness enthusiasts can view information about a particular event (dates, pricing, location) and register online. The site accepts credit card details and automatically sends a confirmation to the designated email address.

Level 5: http://www.ebay.com.au/ Ebay is a fully-interactive site that supports the entire buying process. It is an online marketplace that provides a relationship with individual customers.