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.