Question.1 Explain the features and benefits of e-marketing.

Answer : E-marketing, also referred to as online marketing or internet marketing, is marketing that uses the Internet. The Internet has brought many unique benefits to marketing, including low costs in distributing information and media to a global audience. The interactive nature of Internet media, both in terms of instant response, and in eliciting response at all, are both unique qualities of Internet marketing. E-marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the internet, including design, development, advertising and sales. E-marketing methods include search engine marketing, display advertising, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, interactive advertising and viral marketing. E-marketing is the process of growing and promoting an organization using online media. E-marketing does not simply mean building a website or promoting a website. Somewhere behind that website is a real organization with real goals. E-marketing strategy includes all aspects of online advertising products, services, and websites, including search engine marketing, public relations, social media, market research, email marketing, and direct sales. The E-marketer selects the best of these vehicles, given the organizations goals and audience. E-Marketing can also be defined, as a subset of e-Business that utilizes electronic medium to perform marketing activities and achieve desired marketing objectives for an organisation. Internet Marketing, Interactive Marketing and Mobile Marketing for example, are all a form of e-Marketing. Scope and features of e-marketing Advantages of E-Marketing Some of the benefits associated with E-marketing include the availability of information. Consumers can access the Internet and learn about products, as well as purchase them, at any hour, any day. Companies that use Internet marketing can also save money because of a reduced need for a sales force. Overall, E-marketing can help expand from a local market to both national and international market places. Compared to traditional media, such as print, radio and TV, Internet marketing can have a relatively low cost of entry. Since exposure, response and overall efficiency of Internet media is easy to track, through the use of web analytics for instance, compared to traditional "offline" media, Emarketing can offer a greater sense of accountability for advertisers. Following are some of the other advantages of e-Marketing: Reduction in costs through automation and use of electronic media Faster response to both marketers and the end user Increased ability to measure and collect data Opens the possibility to a market of one through personalization Increased interactivity Limitations of E-Marketing Since E-marketing requires customers to use newer technologies than traditional media, not all people may get the message. Low speed Internet connections can cause difficulties. If companies build overly large or complicated web pages, Internet users may struggle to download the information on dial up connections or mobile devices. E-marketing does not allow shoppers to touch, smell, taste or try-on tangible goods before making an online purchase. Some ecommerce vendors have implemented liberal return policies and in store pick up services to reassure customers. Disadvantages of e-Marketing Lack of personal approach Dependence on technology Security, privacy issues Maintenance costs due to a constantly evolving environment Higher transparency of pricing and increased price competition Worldwide competition through globalization Security concerns

For both companies and consumers that participate in online business, security concerns are very important. Many consumers are hesitant to buy items over the Internet because they do not trust that their personal information will remain private. Recently, some companies that do business online have been caught giving away or selling information about their customers. Several of these companies have guarantees on their websites, claiming customer information will be private. By selling customer information, these companies are breaking their own, publicized policy. Some companies that buy customer information offer the option for individuals to have their information removed from the database (known as opting out). However, many customers are unaware that their information is being shared and are unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies. Security concerns are of great importance and online companies have been working hard to create solutions. Encryption is one of the main methods for dealing with privacy and security concerns on the Internet. Encryption is defined as the conversion of data into a form called a cipher. This cipher cannot be easily intercepted unless the program or company, which completed the encryption, authorizes an individual. In general, the stronger the cipher, the better protected the data is. However, the stronger the cipher, the more expensive, encryption becomes. Effects on Industries E marketing has had a large impact on several industries including music, banking and book publishing not to mention the advertising industry itself. In the music industry, many consumers have begun buying and downloading music files (e.g. MP3s) over the Internet instead of simply buying CDs. More and more banks are offering the ability to perform banking tasks online. Online banking is believed to appeal to customers because it is more convenient than visiting bank branches. Online banking is now the fastest-growing Internet activity. The increasing speed of Internet connections is the main reason for the fast-growth. Internet auctions have gained popularity. Unique items that could previously be found at flea markets are being sold on eBay instead. eBay has also affected the prices in the industry. Buyers and sellers often look at prices on the website before going to flea markets and the eBay price often becomes what the item is sold for. More and more flea market sellers are putting their items up for sale online and running their business out of their homes. The effect on the ad industry itself has been profound. As Advertisers increase and shift more of their budgets online, it is now overtaking radio in terms of market share. The cost to acquire a customer is lower with E-marketing than with traditional marketing however cost are rising as more companies take traditional budgets and push it to E-marketing avenues. Search engine marketing for example, which is part of E-marketing, continues to grow at tremendous rates. Email marketing also grows. Web analytics is a growing aspect of E-marketing, as there is more accountability than in the history of advertising.

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Question.2 Discuss the e-marketing principles. Answer : The principals are e-marketing is following 1. Dead ends this principle tells that marketers should provide the customer a reason why they should come to you for purchase. E marketers should not be satisfied with building the website only. Setting up a website is like construction a store at the dead end of the street, the website should have relevant information, attractive graphics and convincing layouts. But all these will not help if the website is not encouraging the customers to purchase. the website will be of no use when it does not fulfil its purpose of marketing. Therefor, marketers before construction their websites should decide how to attract traffic. The activities which help in attracting traffic for some action should be clearly determined. 2. Giving and selling - it is human tendency to expect something more than what they actually pay for. This principle highlights that fact that people while shopping online expect something extra. Hence the best principle for attracting the customers is to offer something free to them but try to sell something else. This process can be explained with an example in few steps

With the help of the site, marketers should attract customers Encourage awareness on product and services Marketers need not offer a real product freely. It can be any valuable information. Once they are ready to purchase marketers an sell. essential principle of web marketing . Customers will not purchase anything from marketers if they dont trust you. Similarly, marketers will have no business if any dont trust the customers. There are numbers of ways to assure trust. Somme of them are. Sell popular brands Display privacy of the organisation Offer guarantees that can be fulfilled.

3. Trust Web marketing is based on only one critical things that is trust. Trust as many experts express, is the

4. Push and pull this principle pulls customers to the web sites with the help of the attractive content. With the help of mails. Information can also be pushed to the customer regularly. There are a number of ways to do this. One of the way is by using opt- in programs like newsletters and updates about sales. It is always advised that marketing campaigns should have an active element since the websites are comparatively inactive. This will assist in attracting the customers towards the product and inspiring them to purchase what the marketers offer. 5. Niche marketing - In the web marketing industry, niche marketing has emerged as a very important part. One important fact in online marketing for marketers is to know their niche. It is not sufficient only to know but they should be in a position to market directly to them. It is a recognised fact that to be successful, especially with an online business, you need to know your niche, and market directly to them. It is and added advantage for a small business if the niche is found,. It will give sufficient leverage against competition. A particular corner of any big or small business can be focused by finding the niche. It also limit the completion and helps in identifying the customer. To identify the nice one has to : Start business with a business plan to recognise the purpose and define it. Structure the website and marketing strategy based on the vision outlined.

These principles play a major role in developing and e- marketing business and establishing a successful online marketing strategy. Not only it ensures new customers, but also helps in retaining the old and present customers. .

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Question.3 Differentiate marketing mix and e-marketing mix. Answer : Marketing Mix The primary goal of marketing is to optimise the marketing mix, offering the best possible combination of the four P's to maximise the effectiveness of marketing efforts. The variables known as the four P's of the marketing mix are: Product Product is the mix of all the features, advantages, and benefits that you offer to your target market. It may include certain characteristics such as quality, packaging, after sales support, customer services etc. In order to ensure that your customers are gaining the full benefits of your product, you can consider the following questions. What is the core benefit your product offers? For instance, customers who purchase mobile phones buy more than just a phone; they purchase the ability to keep in touch. What does the actual product include? This includes branding, additional features and benefits that provide differentiation and ensures that customers will purchase your product over the competitors. What non tangible benefits can you offer? Factors to consider at this point may include after sales service, warranties, delivery etc. Price

Price relates to the pricing strategy of your products or services. It may include discounts, trade in allowances and credit terms to adjust for the competitive situation in order to bring the price into line with the buyer's perception of the value of the product. Businesses may use different pricing strategies based on different situations. These are listed following: Premium Pricing - is used where a business may feel that there is a substantial competitive advantage for its products. Such high prices may be charged for luxurious products such as rare automobiles, first class airline services etc. Penetration pricing - may be used where a business would set a price lower than the general market price in order to increase sales and market share. Once this is achieved, the prices would be increased. Penetration pricing would normally be most suitable for products with high price sensitivity whereby a small change in price would result in a large change in demand. Skimming Pricing - involves setting a high initial price relative to the prices of competing products. Price Skimming works best for prestigious products since buyers tend to be more prestige conscious rather than price conscious. Due to the initial high prices, the skimming strategy may also enable the organisation to recover its product development costs at an early stage. Once the product has been in the market for a short period, most businesses tend to lower prices over time making the product available to a wider market. Competition Pricing - involves setting prices in comparison with your competitors. This pricing strategy is one of the most common strategies used by small retail businesses as an attempt to avoid price wars and still maintain a stable level of profit. Place Place refers to where the sales are to be made and how the products will be distributed. It includes: channels of distribution, the extent of market coverage, managing inventories, transportation and logistics. Put simply, Place involves all activities that deliver the product to your target customers. Organisations that facilitate the movement of products from the manufacturer to the final user of the product are known as intermediaries. The common types of intermediaries include: Retailers: Those companies that sell mainly to consumers and determine the final selling price of the product. Wholesalers: Those companies that purchase merchandise in bulk from producers and resell mainly to businesses, the government and other retailers. Agents and brokers: Those firms do not take the title or ownership of goods and services but facilitate the sale of products from the manufacturer to the end user and take a commission upon the sale of goods. With the rapid advancement of internet technology and increasing broadband uptake there is currently a move towards selling goods online particularly with the increased use of e-commerce technology. As the internet facilitates a geographically dispersed market, firms are now able to reach a wider audience with a low setup cost. Promotion Promotion refers to the promotional activities that communicate the merits of your product to your target market in an attempt to persuade them to purchase it. It may include various methods of promotions such as direct marketing, advertising, personal selling, sales promotions etc. E- marketing Mix e-Marketing is still quite a controversial subject to talk about, since no one succeeded to unify the various theories around it; however there is one thing upon which there is no doubt - that e-Marketing first appeared under the form of various techniques deployed by pioneer companies selling their products via the internet in the early 90's. The frenzy around these new marketing techniques created by e-tailers and supported by the internet rapidly gave birth to a new dimension of what we knew as Marketing: the e-Marketing (electronic Marketing). There are many definitions to what e-Marketing is, the simplest and shortest one being formulated by Mark Sceats: eMarketing is Marketing that uses the internet as manifestation media. A working definition is that coming from a group of

CISCO specialists: e-Marketing is the sum of all activities a business conducts through the internet with the purpose of finding, attracting, winning and retaining customers. 1. Personalization The fundamental concept of personalization as a part of the e-Marketing mix lies in the need of recognizing, identifying a certain customer in order to establish relations (establishing relations is a fundamental objective of Marketing). It is crucial to be able to identify our customers on individual level and gather all possible information about them, with the purpose of knowing our market and be able to develop customized, personalized products and services. For example, a cookie strategically placed on the website visitor's computer can let us know vital information concerning the access speed available: in consequence, if we know the visitor is using a slow connection (eg. dial-up) we will offer a low-volume variation of our website, with reduced graphic content and no multimedia or flash applications. This will ease our customer's experience on our website and he will be prevented from leaving the website on the reason that it takes too long to load its pages. Personalization can be applied to any component of the Marketing mix; therefore, it is a moderating function. 2. Privacy Privacy is an element of the mix very much connected to the previous one - personalization. When we gather and store information about our customers and potential customers (therefore, when we perform the personalization part of the eMarketing mix) a crucial issue arises: that of the way this information will be used, and by whom. A major task to do when implementing an e-Marketing strategy is that of creating and developing a policy upon access procedures to the collected information. This is a duty and a must for any conscious marketer to consider all aspects of privacy, as long as data are collected and stored, data about individual persons. Privacy is even more important when establishing the e-Marketing mix since there are many regulations and legal aspects to be considered regarding collection and usage of such information. 3. Customer Service Customer service is one of the necessary and required activities among the support functions needed in transactional situations. We will connect the apparition of the customer service processes to the inclusion of the "time" parameter in transactions. When switching from a situational perspective to a relational one, and e-Marketing is mostly based on a relational perspective, the marketer saw himself somehow forced into considering support and assistance on a nontemporal level, permanently, over time. For these reasons, we should consider the Customer Service function (in its fullest and largest definition) as an essential one within the e-Marketing mix. As we can easily figure out, the service (or assistance if you wish) can be performed upon any element from the classic 4 P's, hence its moderating character. 4. Community We can all agree that e-Marketing is conditioned by the existence of this impressive network that the internet is. The merely existence of such a network implies that individuals as well as groups will eventually interact. A group of entities that interact for a common purpose is what we call a "community" and we will soon see why it is of absolute importance to participate, to be part of a community. The Metcalf law (named after Robert Metcalf) states that the value of a network is given by the number of its components, more exactly the value of a network equals the square of the number of components. We can apply this simple law to communities, since they are a network: we will then conclude that the value of a community rises with the number of its members. This is the power of communities; this is why we have to be a part of it.

The customers / clients of a business can be seen as part of a community where they interact (either independent or influenced by the marketer) - therefore developing a community is a task to be performed by any business, even though it is not always seen as essential. Interactions among members of such a community can address any of the other functions of e-Marketing, so it can be placed next to other moderating functions. 5. Site We have seen and agreed that e-Marketing interactions take place on a digital media - the internet. But such interactions and relations also need a proper location, to be available at any moment and from any place - a digital location for digital interactions. Such a location is what we call a "site", which is the most widespread name for it. It is now the time to mention that the "website" is merely a form of a "site" and should not be mistaken or seen as synonyms. The "site" can take other forms too, such as a Palm Pilot or any other handheld device, for example. This special location, accessible through all sort of digital technologies is moderating all other functions of the eMarketing - it is then a moderating function. 6. Security The "security" function emerged as an essential function of e-Marketing once transactions began to be performed through internet channels. What we need to keep in mind as marketers are the following two issues on security: - security during transactions performed on our website, where we have to take all possible precautions that third parties will not be able to access any part of a developing transaction; - security of data collected and stored, about our customers and visitors. A honest marketer will have to consider these possible causes of further trouble and has to co-operate with the company's IT department in order to be able to formulate convincing (and true, honest!) messages towards the customers that their personal details are protected from unauthorized eyes. 7. Sales Promotion At least but not last, we have to consider sales promotions when we build an e-Marketing strategy. Sales promotions are widely used in traditional Marketing as well, we all know this, and it is an excellent efficient strategy to achieve immediate sales goals in terms of volume. This function counts on the marketer's ability to think creatively: a lot of work and inspiration is required in order to find new possibilities and new approaches for developing an efficient promotion plan. On the other hand, the marketer needs to continuously keep up with the latest internet technologies and applications so that he can fully exploit them. To conclude, we have seen that e-Marketing implies new dimensions to be considered aside of those inherited from the traditional Marketing. These dimensions revolve around the concept of relational functions and they are a must to be included in any e-Marketing strategy in order for it to be efficient and deliver results.

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Question.4 Explain e-marketing plans and strategies. Answer : 1. Get Targeted A fundamental but sometimes overlooked marketing tenet is to "fish where the fish are." In other words, invest in those specific, targeted media where you know your customers and prospects will be exposed to your message. Research shows that virtually all engineering, technical and industrial professionals now use the Internet throughout their work process.

The same holds true in most business-to-business markets. However, the Internet is vast, and the fish you are looking for may be using specific Web sites where the content is directly related to their information needs. Work with your media partners to identify and target those sites. 2. Measure Performance While it's always the right time to purge marketing programs that don't perform, it may be time to scale back any marketing plans whose results you can't measure or are unsure about. In other words, reallocate and "right-size" marketing budgets to measurable programs. Online programs -- which are built around delivering visibility, impressions, clicks, leads and customers -- are easy to measure. 3. Think Integration Integrated marketing means your marketing strategy takes advantage of multiple media, resources and customer touch points to create a whole that's greater and more effective than the sum of its parts. The more that marketing efforts are integrated and comprehensive, the greater impact you can achieve in gaining visibility in your market, qualified leads and sales. 4. Maintain Frequencies and Consistency The benefits of regular visibility in the market tend to compound over time as more prospects recognize your company. This improves your opportunity to get on a prospect's short list of potential vendors and also shortens the sales cycle. A consistent online presence where your customers and prospects are looking for information -- including Web sites, directories, search engines and e-newsletters -- will help your company stay visible as well as provide measurable lead generation benefits via online contact. 5. Push and Pull Your Way to Success Most marketing can be classified as either push or pull: companies push their message out through tactics such as direct mail, advertisements and e-newsletters; and they also establish a presence in online directories, Web sites and search engines to pull customers in real-time when prospects are searching for information, products and services like those your company offers. Rather than struggling over whether to allocate resources to push or pull marketing, seek out a media partner that has your target audience captive and can offer both push and pull programs under an integrated program. 6. Focus on Quality Over Quantity If marketing efforts focus solely on quantity over quality, fewer leads will convert, more sales resources will be wasted, and sales people will begin to distrust marketing's lead generation programs. Commit to programs where quality is a key attribute: programs that can deliver interested prospects, provide prospect contact information, and offer reports of program performance. 7.Seek Assistance From Media Partners The economy is likely forcing you to make harder and smarter decisions about allocating budgets. While you may be facing challenges, you don't have to face them alone. Ask media partners to demonstrate how their marketing solutions help your company achieve the strategies mentioned above. Ask them: Do they have your target audience's attention? Can they keep your company visible to prospects and customers at all times? Do they offer a variety of integrated marketing solutions aligned with your goals? Can they provide both visibility and lead generation? Do they deliver targeted; quality leads with full contact information? Do they provide reports you can use to measure the performance of your marketing and justify your marketing investments?

During challenging times or when thing are going well, industrial marketers need to clarify goals and create a tailored, integrated marketing solution that complements your current media mix and extends your company's ability to compete and win business in the market. Utilize a wide range of e-media advertising and marketing solutions. Consider keyword ads, e-mail marketing, searchable product catalogs, banner ad networks and industry-leading e-newsletter advertisements. Figure out the right combination, and you will deliver the right message at the right time to the right audience and integrate with your traditional marketing efforts. The Marketing Strategy: The key elements of a marketing strategy are the target market, position and4Ps. Target Market: When we analyzed the environment, we saw that there were existing and emerging marketsegments. When we identified opportunities, we saw some segments that seemed especially promising.Finally, in our issue analysis, we picked the opportunity, or segment, which best matched the strengths andweaknesses of our firm.Once we have chosen a segment, it becomes our target market, the group to whom we direct our marketingefforts. Like a segment, it can be defined by demographics (females, 25 to 44, employed full-time, marriedwith children under 10), psychographics (highly involved in gardening, strongly agree that I spend mostweekends in the garden), geography (suburban residents in northeastern states) or product-related (drinkstwo cases of soft drinks a week).Business markets can be similarly defined small businesses with medium photocopy needs that place particular value on reliability. Large companies like Amazon, e Bay and AOL Time Warner are busily gobbling up the mass market and the high-traffic sites, so other marketers really need to know their stuff. Only with a clearly defined specialized site will you be able to draw any traffic. Only if you understand the people who would want to visit your site will you be able to attract them. Nobody is going to stumble upon your site by accident. They are going to go to it believing it has some thing of interest and value to them. If they are fanatical gardeners, they would probably be delighted that you have more varieties of gardening articles than anyone else in the world, and that you have information on what shade they require, which plants should be planted in which geographic areas, and etailed histories of each variety. On the Web, its not what you want to take that will draw traffic; its what you have to give. Position: Thanks to our deep environmental scan, thoughtful consumer behaviour analysis and solid SWOT analysis, we have a very clear idea of where we fit into the marketplace. This allows us to defineour position. If we do a good job here, the rest is relatively easy. Your position is the distinctive image you want consumers to have of your company. (That may not match the image they do have! Nike, for instance, may have a position of being the nice people who help you getand stay fit with great clothing and shoes; their image might be one of exploiters of third-world labour whodupe consumers into paying too much for mediocre products through manipulative advertising.) The 4Ps: With a clear position, we can develop the famous 4Ps of marketing. This refers to: Product, which includes the physical attributes, such as colour, shape and design, as well as intangibles such as brand, reputation, customer service, warranties, return policies and support. Price, which must match product positioning; if it is high quality, we expect a high price, while low prices suggest low quality. Place, which is where people actually buy. It could be a store, the Web, through a sales rep or whole saler.It too must match the product premium products sell through premium locations. Promotion, which includes everything from advertising and sales promotion through personal selling and public relations.

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Question.5 Determine the organisational structure in e-marketing. Answer : Internet Marketing manager - The internet marketing manager I responsible for all the strategies that are related to the companys web marketing efforts. This person is a member of senior management . some of the activities of the internet marketing director are to : Set strategies for the website. Prepare a budget for the website. Take decisions on web marketing programs and the development program of a site.

It is better to give the decision making part to this person. Democracy often delay in making decision. This person should be given the power to take quick decision by considering the budget and strategy plan that has been approved. The internet manager is responsible for all offline and online marketing efforts. Internet project manager - This person reports to the director of the organisation . one of the chief responsibilities of the internet project manager is to coordinate all activities of the wen team . Some of the other responsibilities are to : Handle schedules, action plans , development timeframes and meeting coordination Bring the process of web marketing into a concrete plan.

Internet marketing specialist An internet marketing specialist takes the responsibility of leading the traffic to the website with the help of all means like. Search engines Pay for click Email marketing Affiliates Ads Links exchanges Offline marketing Collecting customers feedback Analysing the collected data and reporting the statistics and suggestions to the web marketing team.

Website research specialist The tasks of this person are :

This person works closely with the web design and development team. Web content writer the designation itself explains the major function of the person . Apart from writing the web content , a writer has to : web. Photography and other media specialist This person is responsible for Photo Video Web cams Interactive tours Pod casts and all other media presentation of content on the website Write for email campaigns Write a script for online videos and pod casts, interview key people in the organisation . So as to write effectively for the

Graphic designer The major sk of a graphic designer is designing the graphinc and artistic element sof a website including the : Logo Navigation systems Content placement Photo placement and all other graphic elements on the website.

Technology and development engineers the key responsibility of this person is to look after the tructure of the website and its operations including : Technology platform Hosting Ecommerce HTML Coding How updates are made and all dey technology functions

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Question.6 Discuss the role of marketing information systems in e-marketing Answer :

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