Project For Principles & Practice of Direct Marketing TYBMM-SEM-VI (April-2012) FORMULATE DIRECT MARKETING PLAN For any

y Product of your choice, taking into consideration the following points: 1] Product Offerings:

Write your USP. Write down what your product offers to prospects. List promotions methods you will employ.

2] Lead Generation: A. Demographic Profile of Our Target Customers Location: _______________________________________________________ Age: ___________________________________________________________ Generation: (e.g., baby-boomers, Generation X): ________________________ Income: ________________________________________________________ Gender: ________________________________________________________ Nationality/Ethnicity: _______________________________________________ Marital Status: ___________________________________________________ Household Size: __________________________________________________ Occupation/Employment status: _____________________________________ Industry (if B2B): _________________________________________________ Religion: ________________________________________________________ Language: ______________________________________________________ Education: ______________________________________________________ Organizational Memberships: _______________________________________

Other: __________________________________________________________ B. Psychographic Profile of Our Target Customers Activities ________________________________________________________ Interests ________________________________________________________ Opinions ________________________________________________________ Attitudes ________________________________________________________ Values _________________________________________________________ C. Your Target Customers Key Problems, Desires and Needs _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

3] Database Development :

Government Reports Census Reports. Private Reports Sales person, Yellow Pages, Trade Shows, Websites etc. Commercial Publications Business magazines, Fashion magazines. Point of Sale External Sales Record. Sales Data Internal Sales Record.

4] Methodology Followed: Logo ___________________________________________________________ Business Cards ___________________________________________________ Stationary _______________________________________________________ Brochures/Flyers __________________________________________________ Website/Blog _____________________________________________________

Newsletter _______________________________________________________ Catalog _________________________________________________________ Mail Order_______________________________________________________ Telemarketing____________________________________________________ Print Advertisements _______________________________________________ Direct Response TVC______________________________________________

DIRECT MARKETING

Historically, direct marketing was referred by names like direct mail, mail order, direct response. Today these areas are recognized as aspects of direct marketing. A committee of Direct Marketing Association (DMA) developed the most widely accepted definition of direct marketing Direct marketing is an interactive system of marketing which uses one or more advertising media to affect a measurable response or transaction at any location Other Definitions: Direct marketing is any activity that creates and exploits a direct relationship between a firm and its individual customer. Direct marketing is any promotional activity that creates and exploits a direct relationship between an organization and its prospects or customers. Three key elements of this definition:

Interactive Marketer and prospective customer engage in two-way communication. Measurable Allows marketers to identify specific communication that prompted response, which in turn provides an opportunity to know exactly which communication

the customer responded to including whether it was a sale or a request for more information. Any Location It is not necessary for prospects to visit retail outlets. The contact can be made by mail, over the phone, by fax or online via a PC.

Direct marketing is a channel businesses to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as print, television, radio, infomercials, home shopping network, mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, catalog distribution, promotional letters etc. Regardless of the medium the goal of direct marketing is always a response, a successful offer persuades prospects to return coupon, dial phone number or place an online order through internet. Direct marketing messages emphasize a focus on the customer, data, and accountability. Characteristics that distinguish direct marketing are: 1. Marketing messages are addressed directly to customers. Direct marketing relies on being able to address the members of a target market. Addressability comes in a variety of forms including email addresses, mobile phone numbers, Web browsers, fax numbers etc. 2. Direct marketing seeks to drive a specific "call to action." For example, an advertisement may ask the prospect to call a free phone number or click on a link to a website. 3. Direct marketing emphasizes trackable, measurable responses from customers regardless of medium. Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers because its positive results can be measured directly. For example, if a marketer sends out 1,000 solicitations by mail and 100 respond to the promotion, the marketer can say with confidence that campaign led directly to 10% direct responses. This metric is known as the 'response rate and it is one of many clearly quantifiable success metrics employed by direct marketers. Requisites For Successful Direct Marketing 1] Comprehensive and Updated Database A comprehensive, reliable and updated database is essential for success of DM. Analysis has shown that lack of proper database is the primary reason for several failures in DM programmes. 2] Careful & Close Targeting of Prospects Ultimate aim in DM is to target the customers on an individual basis. 3] Product Guarantee & Warranty DM proves particularly effective when it is backed by service guarantee, likewise product warranty too improves its effectiveness. Consumers should feel free to return the product if it falls short of their expectations e.g. all product of telly Shopping Network are backed by satisfaction cum money backed guarantee.

4] Backroom Websites Backroom logistics should be perfect example once the response start flowing in, there must be a mechanism for attending to them promptly. Fast delivery of product is the most vital part.

Direct Marketing Drivers:

Environment has become very complex. Bargaining power of the consumer has increased. Market has become very competitive. Cost of marketing a product has increased. Advertising cost is very high. Toll free phones, willingness to accept orders at night & commitment to customer service have made consumer respond favorably to direct marketing. Consumer life-style has changed. Today consumers look out for teleshopping, home shopping and online shopping. Globalization has further promoted direct marketing.

Benefits of Direct Marketing:

Home shopping is fun, convenient & hassle free. Its saves much of are valuable time. Introduces customers to large variety of products at a time. Comparative shopping is possible by browsing through mail catalogue & on line shopping. Customers can order goods for themselves and for others also. Sellers also benefit, as they personalize and customize messages. Building continuous relationship with each customer e.g. Parents of newborn babies may receive periodic mailings describing new clothes, toys & other products as the child grows. For e.g. Nestles baby food division continuously builds a database of new mothers & sends personalized packages of gifts and advice at the key stages in the babys life. Direct Marketers can measure the response to their campaign to decide which of them have been more profitable.

Limitations of Direct Marketing:

Acquisition of data of individual customers may be difficult Direct marketing is effective only when all information about the individual customers is available. It may be difficult to acquire this data, as people would be reluctant to part with personal information.

The customers could be exposed to information overload In todays rich business and personal environment everyone is bombarded with all types of data. Daily people receive letters, voice mails, catalogues etc. Welcome and unwelcome information approach the senses through the radio, television, telephone, books etc. Direct marketers are perceived to be contributing to this overload. Requires highly skilled staff to analyze each customer profile In direct marketing communications, individual customers should be addressed by name & tile. Also information from database is used to produce specific appeal based on consumers personal characters and past purchase behavior. This would be possible only if the staff employed is highly competent to carry out this accurately. Customers service rather than customer loyalty is more important in direct marketing.

Planning Process in Direct Marketing 1] Acquisition (recruiting new customers) This involves

Deciding what kind of customers you want. Finding out who they are, how many of them there are and where they are. Understanding what motivates them. Determining which media to use to talk to them. Developing communications and executing campaign.

2] Database Marketing (storing and manipulating customer information)

Obtaining relevant customer information. Storing the information in a usable, retrievable format. Enhancing & Analyzing this information over time. Selection of key target segments of customers for campaigns. Recording sales and response.

3] Retention

Giving your customer services and product quality that meets or exceeds their expectations. Maximizing the length of the relationship with customers. Communicating regularly to your customers, at the right time. Deepening the relationship with your customers by encouraging them to buy different types of products, top upgrade and renew.

Direct Marketing Channels

Direct marketers can use number of channels for reaching individual prospects and customers. Such as: 1] Face-To-Face Selling The oldest form of direct marketing is the field sales call e.g. Eureka Forbes. Today most industrial companies rely heavily on a professional sales force to locate prospects, develop them into customers, and grow the business or they hire manufactures representative and agents to carry out the direct-selling task, many companies use direct-selling force like insurance agents, stockbrokers and distributors etc.

2] Group Selling A] Exhibitions The aim here is merely to put products on show to a large number of customers and excite their interest. One can ask consumers showing interest to give their name and address to stand or stall staff and trigger visit to an outlet where they can buy the product. Especially in B2B exhibitions are used as an integral part of the contact strategy. Prospective or existing customers are targeted through database or rented lists. They are invited to the exhibition and perhaps asked to confirm their attendance. An appointment with stand staff may even be booked and after the exhibition, there may be a follow-up contact through sales force or telephone or mail. To attract new customers exhibition has proven successful companies like Opel, Honda, Tata and many more often demonstrate complex technical concepts through exhibition as many customers can see the demonstration at one location.

An exhibition is an activity that is conducted by an organization with an objective to promote and publicize a particular product or service which would ultimately result in the sale of the product / generate business for the organization. The aim here is merely to put products on show to a large number of customers and excite their interest. A product that is being promoted by the print or electronic media can only provide a fixed information. A potential customer cannot extract any additional or extra information from this type of product promotion. Product promotion through exhibitions allows a customer to literally touch and try the product while allowing the organization to gather specific inputs from the customer, which could prove to be extremely useful in customizing their products according to the tastes and preferences of the customer. Exhibitions also facilitate an immediate and personal connection between buyers and sellers. One can ask consumers showing interest to give their name and address to stand or stall staff and trigger visit to an outlet where they can buy the product. Especially in B2B exhibitions are used as an integral part of the contact strategy. Prospective or existing customers are targeted through database or rented lists. They are invited to the exhibition and perhaps asked to confirm their attendance. An appointment with stand staff may even be booked and after the exhibition, there may be a follow-up contact through sales force or telephone or mail. To attract new customers exhibition has proven successful companies like Opel, Honda, Tata and many more often demonstrate complex technical concepts through exhibition as many customers can see the demonstration at one location.

Most exhibitions start off as trade exhibitions and then after the first week or so when all of the trade business has been conducted they are usually opened to the public. The public usually pays an entry fee that brings in revenue for the exhibition organizer and helps to pay for the costs of actually staging the exhibition. The general public may have an actual interest in the products and services being exhibited for example Clothes Shows, Motor Shows and Home Exhibitions.

B] Trade Shows

Many industries and professions sponsor trade shows and exhibits. This gives an opportunity for direct contact and distribution of literature among prospects. The exhibits should be so projected that the customers are lured to book orders on the spot. Trade shows is the answer for the growing demand of businesses when it comes to effective and cost effective advertising. For companies who will exhibit at a tradeshow for the first time, it is ideal if you will plan for the show. Planning can ease the burden of the whole trade show exhibition. When you plan, you're able to prepare for the show and do what's supposed to do. This also involves the use of some well thought-out strategy that will facilitate you to a wellexecuted trade show promotion. Remember an effective strategy is crucial in attracting prospects. You can stay on top of the competition if you're efficient in securing the interest of prospects. To make the most of your trade show exhibit, you should utilize some publicity in your trade show promotion. Most trade show organizers perform some promotional activities that could perk up any kind of trade show exhibit. These promotional activities are usually associated with media such as press releases or newsletters. You can do your own publicity plans by getting in touch with the media connected with the show. Promotional activities are vital in the business plan for through these activities you can be assured of a booming trade show promotion.

Trade show displays can benefit a lot to generate leads during a trade show. The following points will make sure your trade show display provides maximum impact.

q Check Limitations Each trade show is different in terms of space, so the space reserved for the booth is not always well suited for different kinds of displays. Help of an event organizer should be taken so as to inquire about the size of the table, booth and display of posters/banners. Most of the trade shows have the limit on the acceptable height of displays. Try to know the booth limitations, if any, so that you can adequately prepare for the trade show. q Plan Your Display Before The Show The type of displays you will use at your booth should be based on your budget and objectives for the trade show. Promote a new product/ services recently launched by your company and design in such a way that it features the new product while making sure it is consistent with your company branding.

q Design For The Purpose Attendees may only pass once through your booth so try not to limit the attention you attract. Make sure that your display serves its purpose by taking their contact information. The trade shows display should inspire attendees to speak with your staff and request further information. q Try & Make A Fast First Impression Decorate trade show booths with bright, colorful displays and banners, to grab the attention of attendees. It should also make a lasting impression that drives them to seek additional information and speak with your staff. If your display doesnt make this impression fast, you will be wasting money and a valuable opportunity. It is very challenging to be distinct from the crowd. C] Sales Seminars (soft sell approach) and other company-sponsored special events Where a concept is described and perhaps audio-visual techniques are used to demonstrate it in action. Awareness and training events are aimed to educate customers so that they can appreciate the value of your company offering. In sporting events many companies reward customer for loyalty which further cement relationship.

3] Direct Mail Direct mailing is the use of the postal service to distribute promotional material directly to a particular person, household or firm. Direct mail marketing involves sending an offer, announcement, reminder, or other item to a person using highly selective mailing list and send out millions of mail pieces each year (letters, flyers). Direct mail can be used effectively in both acquisition and retention of customers. Today, nearly every mailing to prospects and customers has the name of the target person along with is or her address. This personalization is possible because of computing power and massive database. Computer programs produced personalized mails by feeding names and addresses on to letters and other pages such as those in magazines. This creates the illusion of a personal contact between the seller and a target market for e.g. ICICI, HDFC, Citibank, charitable institutions, clubs etc. Direct mail has no editorial environment, many mails look like offers. When prospects open direct mail piece thinking its an important notice from bank or some urgent message from the government only to find that the envelope contained an offer fro a new magazine or insurance plan. Direct mail obtains higher response rates than any other medium used in direct marketing due to its ability to be personal, selective and flexible to deliver a custom message free of competing advertising.

Mailing List The success or failure of any direct response marketing effort completely hinges on the quality of the mailing list.

You can have the most incredible products or services, make the most attractive offer ever, and execute award-winning creative. But, if youre not getting them in front of the eyes and into the hands of the right audience, your direct response marketing effort will fail. Completely. Consumer Mailing List purchase includes:

Name Address City State Zip Age Dwelling (House) Type Estimated Current Home Value (ECHV) Estimated Income Gender Homeowner Status Length of Residence Marital Status Net Worth Model Person Type Purchase Amount Ranges Telephone Area Code

Business Mailing List purchase includes:

Annual Sales Amount Business Type Executive Title Code Location Type Number of Employees Ownership Indicator Standard Industry Code Years in Business

Things to consider when creating your Email List:

Consumer Household Income Presence of Children Homeowner/ Renter Direct Mail Responder Lifestyle Selects Magazine Subscriber- provide title Business Annual Revenue

Number of Employees Industry Contact Title Trade Show Attendees Trade Publications Subscriber- provide publication title

4] Direct response Television Commercials Todays revolution in direct marketing is most evident in the very way direct-response commercials look, implying that the audiences react mainly to the creative approach of what they see. However, like any other form of advertising, direct-response commercials seek to communicate with members or target markets, benefits are described, a set of supporting reasons for why the product delivers those benefits is explained. These reasons establish the credibility (derived from demonstration and testimonials) of the product and the offer and may be linked to attributes of the product such as how it works or how its made or designed. Direct-response advertisement are designed to provoke a specific action from the prospects to place an order by calling a toll-free phone number or write for more information e.g. Asian Sky Shop, Home Shop18, Tele-brands etc.

5] Direct Response in Print Media Magazines and newspapers convey messages on printed pages to mass audiences or highly segmented audiences, depending on which specific publication is selected. Making magazine and newspapers advertising work, direct response magazine and newspaper space advertising must ask the reader to do something. Advertisement must present enough information to stimulate a purchase decision or generate an inquiry, which will be followed up by mail or a personal sales call e.g. Asian Paints, Berger Paints, McDonals, Dominos, etc that contains a heavy volume of direct response advertisements.

3 Little-Known Tips for Creating Direct Response Print Ads Tip 1: Call to Action First, start with a call to action. The very first line at the top of your ad should be a call to action. It should tell the customer what you want them to do and when you want them to do it. Be clear and direct. Your call to action should be exciting to both you and the reader. Some examples of a call to action catch phrase are: "Sign Up Today! "Register Now! "Come In Today!"

As you can see, each one of the examples directs the customer to do something specific and tells the customer when to do it. Remember, even though we are told not to believe everything we read, most of us still do. Tip 2: Create a Headline The next step is to create a headline. A headline should explain to the reader what your particular business provides. Potential customers shouldn't have to read any further to be able to understand what your business is all about. A good headline should be able to answer these two questions: What is the service or product? And who does it benefit? Some examples of headlines are: "Automotive Services for Foreign Car Owners "Children's Clothing for Ages 0 to 6 Years "Hair Styles and Cuts for All Ages" Clearly, these headline examples tell the customer what it is that these businesses do and whom they do it for. After the call to action grabs the reader's attention, the next thing a customer wants to know if this service or product is something they have interested in or have a need for. Tip 3: Turn Your Ad Upside Down q By now you see that the name of your business hasn't even been mentioned. That is no mistake. The only reason a potential customer needs to know the name of your business is to contact you. (And even then, all they truly need is your phone number and web address.) The name of a small business tends to only be important to the owner. It isn't as if your business has a brand name like McDonald's or Macy*s. When you do not have a household name (like big corporations do), boldly headlining your print ad with your business name is fruitless. q So, instead, turn that ad upside down! Start with a catch phrase, then a headline and continue with pictures of happy customers partaking in your services or enjoying products in your facility. Finally, list the specific products or services you offer and finish with a benefits box. A benefits box explains what the benefits of utilizing your business are. (Include benefits that your competitors don't list or don't offer.) At the very bottom of your ad include the business phone number, web address, name and physical address.

6] Catalogs The word catalogue has been derived from the Greek word Katalogos meaning to list. The first catalog (listing of books) was produced in Europe in the 15th Century by Ben Franklin. Catalogues are most often both verbal and visual listings of products for sale. Products are pictured with informational copy designed and worded to entice the reader to buy. Sophistication of design, photographs, artistic work layouts and glossy paper have transformed it

into fully customized and ready to entertain, educate and sell with the flip of pages. Catalog marketing is a specialized branch of direct marketing. Catalog marketing is based on interactivity, or one-to-one communication between the marketer and the prospect or customer. Catalogs always include response devices, and catalogers are able to measure the response to any and every mailing they make. It is safe to say that most at-home shopping takes place through catalogs.

Types of Catalogs: Catalogs are first classified according to whether they are for consumers (mass circulations) or business organizations (limited circulations)

Consumer Catalogs- Consumer catalogs are distinguishable by the types of items they carry, the target markets they want to reach, and the quality of their appearances and design. The specialty catalogs carry items ranging from clothing to food are designed to cater to specific tastes associated with life style preferences including differences in interest activities, attitudes and values etc. Tout operator, Food and hotel industries often use consumer catalogues. Business-to-Business Catalogs These catalogs are mailed often to a select list of prospects or to those buyers who have placed an order during a fixed period of time. Over the last decades business-to-business catalogs are becoming more colouful, glossy, and well designed for e.g. Omega Stationay, Kores Stationary, Siemens etc. These catalogs sell items such as office supplies, computer accessories, electronic products etc.

Tips For Catalogue Design 1. Make sure your catalog reflects your brand identity. If your catalog looks different than your store, which looks different from your website, you have a problem. Customers should enjoy the same brand experience wherever they shop. That demands more than just using your corporate colors. Translating your brand personality across all media helps assure customers that they will receive the same quality and service everywhere. 2. Don't take square-inch analyses too literally. Many companies determine the success of a catalog by calculating the sales per square inch on a page. This ratio provides useful insights, but it should not be taken at face value. Cramming more merchandise on a spread doesn't add up to higher sales if the effect is off-putting. Those who want a spread to "work harder" may find that overall sales will actually rise by featuring fewer items. 3. Think in terms of the whole, not the pieces. A common mistake is focusing on what goes on a page rather than the visual impact of the catalog as a whole. This can lead to tedious lookalike spreads. Like a musical score, catalogs benefit from pacing and surprise - simple images, closeups of details, wide angles, full-bleed photographs, lifestyle shots and the like sustain viewer interest and keep them turning to the next page.

4. Know your customer. Understanding who you are selling to is essential for selecting your merchandise, styling your photographs, describing the product in the right tone of voice, and developing your mailing list. It will determine the image you present, whether urban or rural, high-style or wash-and-wear. 5. The most expensive product doesn't have to be the biggest object on the page. Keep in mind that the goal is not to sell one product, but to make the whole catalog sell. By making the editorial concept of the catalog more interesting, people spend more time with it and, as a result, more things in the catalog tend to sell. 6. Avoid making pages overly complex. Most catalogs are by nature busy - with eight to 10 products per spread. If you shoot all products with complex propping, you magnify the busyness and confuse the reader. So when presenting complex photographs, limit the number used and make them large enough to be clear. 7. Don't rely on supplied photographs. Cutting costs by using manufacturer-supplied product photographs usually ends up with a mixed-bag of lighting, styling and photo quality. The catalog looks disjointed and, sometimes, less reputable. It may show the product, but it doesn't support the brand. The look and feel of the design must reinforce who you are. Individual products will come and go, but the survival of your brand depends on communicating in a cohesive and consistent voice. 8. Include an order form. Since so much actual ordering is done by phone or on the company's website, some catalogers believe that an order form is unnecessary. But research has shown that shoppers like to use the printed order form to list and organize their purchases and gather the information they need. Especially for phone-in orders, this allows the operator to handle calls more accurately and efficiently. 1. 9. Don't sacrifice production value. Catalog shoppers can't examine merchandise firsthand, so they base their trust on what they can feel and see-the quality of the design, photography, paper and printing. When budgets get tight, these details often get cut first, since companies reason that if the products are the same, people won't notice. They do. Keep in mind that presentation communicates the integrity of the products and the credibility of the brand and, ultimately, has the greatest impact on sales.

7] Email and the Internet The internet provides marketers with the ability to interact with people far more. Its main benefits the direct marketer include the complementary use besides other more classic direct marketing methods to supply further information. It also provides a platform for information on benefits and services for new potential prospects and a means to apply online or request more information, ask questions or register online. It can be refreshed regularly, which can be far cheaper than updating a catalogue. Banner ads can be placed on complementary sites to attract your chosen target audience to your site to increase response as well as awareness of your campaigns and offers. The internet due its progressive and innovative nature, lends itself well to similar approaches. Therefore creativity and interactivity are key to

achieving and maintaining cut-through in this highly competitive medium e.g. Amazon.com, Bazee.com, Rediff, Yahoo etc. 8] Telemarketing Telemarketing involves the use of the telephone and call centers to attract prospects, provide service by taking orders and answering questions. Telemarketing helps companies increase revenue, reduce selling costs, and improve customer satisfaction. The telemarketing objective is to reach customers in a personalized, cost effective interaction that meets customer needs. A well-planned telephone marketing program is a carefully thought-out and controlled activity in which the persons called have been identified as actual or potential of a firms target market, thus, telemarketing helps build and maintain satisfactory customer relationships. No marketing tool can match the cost-effectiveness, flexibility, control, and speed of the telephone; it takes more than just good telephone to get good results. A telemarketing firm must have qualified telephone operators who have been well trained in the use of telephone as a marketing tool. This includes training in proper voice modulation, listening skills, persistence and patience. Companies use call centers for inbound telemarketing (receiving calls from customers) and outbound telemarketing (initiating calls to prospects and customers). Companies carry out following types of telemarketing:

Selling Telemarketing based selling involves outgoing or outbound service for a firms product or service. Selling by telephone is the most profitable telemarketing application. With existing customers, it can be used to elicit re-orders, sell additional products or services or increase the volume of products purchased. Setting Qualified Appointments Involves calling prospects, qualifying then, and setting appointments for sales people. Sales people have a variety of duties, they must perform as part of their jobs, including preparing and giving face-to-face to presentations, writing proposals, and completing paperwork. As a result they may have relatively little time to prospect actively for new customers. A trained telemarketer who does little else besides set appointments for salespeople usually becomes more and more proficient and can often outperform salespeople in this role. Generating Lead Advertisements A lead-generating program provides a source of information about prospects who have expressed an interest in the product or service offered by a firm. As a result, the prospect is contacted by a sales representative or is sent more information to stimulate a sale. To ensure the success of lead-generating programes, the firm needs to manage a database of every lead. Sales representatives should fill out a contact form after each appointment and each follow-up call. Data from these forms become part of the database. Surveying Some firms use telemarketing surveys to gather market data about customers and prospects, including information about who makes the decisions in the household purchases or business, what the customers product needs are, and any product purchasing plans. This activity generates lead advertisements by identifying potential candidates for future selling. The information collected through survey is entered in a database for future reference.

9] Inserts Many publications offer to place flyers, inserts for direct marketers. Some readers find it irritating, but many respond well as they are the first thing in the journal that they see and thus have an effective impact. For direct marketers it means that your message is isolated from the run of the journal and has the opportunity to stand out more effectively. Prepaid reply cards & free phone response numbers make it easy for prospects to respond.

10] Videotext & Interactive TV Here the customers TV set is linked with a sellers catalog by cable or telephone lines. Consumers can place orders via a special keyboard device connected to the system. Much research is now going on to combine TV, Telephones and computers into interactive TV.

11] Short Messaging Service (SMS) SMS is written text service, which is send from mobile or from computers to mobile or from digital set-top box to mobile. This is often called message to mobile. As this channel is fairly new, it has the benefit of increased cut-through and impact on its audience who may still be receiving product or service information through SMS for the first time. With SMS comes the promise of personal and local marketing that is both interactive and immediate. However, because this is a personal channel, care should be taken to ensure the message is targeted to the right person, at the right time, with the right offer, or else the message can be lost.

Database Marketing Meaning A database is your own private weapon in the battle for business. Its a source of information usually computerized compiled about your own customers, past and present, also people you have reason to believe are genuine prospects. You place into as many appropriate specifics as you can, including information about past purchasing patterns and whatever else may be relevant to making a sale. For example, some products or services might suggest keeping track of customers birth dates, and mailing to them around that time. Your database will help you identify your most responsive targets, and send out appropriately targeted messages.

Definitions

The sum total of all information that an organization keeps. It could thus comprise information stored in various computers, files, CDs/DVDs/Pen drive, Hard disk, and even hand written data such as letters and memos. A marketing database is an organized collection of comprehensive data about individual customers, prospects that is current, accessible and actionable for such marketing purpose as lead generation, lead qualification, and sale of a product or maintenance of customer relationship. A marketing database is a comprehensive collection of data serving multiple applications, allowing timely and accurate on demand retrieval of relevant data and having a data management system independent of applications.

The database provides a feedback loop. It answers six questionsv Who The identity of the customer. v What The type of transaction. v When The frequency of transaction. v Why Provocation for the transaction. v Where The channel used by the customer for transaction. v How much The value of each transaction.

Consumer Database Contains information on almost every household. The most popular selections include:

Age. Income. Occupation. Dependents. Homeowner. Renter. Residential Address. Contact Numbers. Credit Card. Computer. Vehicle. Hobbies.

Business Database

Company Name. Employee Size. Sales Volume. Contact Detail.

Real Estate Database

New Homeowners or New Movers. Home Value. Equity Homeowners.

Database Characteristics 1] Allow users to build new database. There should be a separate record for each customer. 2] Each customer record should contain all the relevant information & other access details. 3] This information should be available to all departments of the company involved n the Database Marketing Programs. 4] The aim of the organization should be to have a routine usage of this database.

Categories of Database 1] Platform There are several products in the market, each designed to run on a different platform. There are PC-based products such as Dbase, Access, and Paradox, Oracle, Sybase, SQL400. In case of organization requiring a much greater storage capacity can use mainframe database management systems such as DB2 and IDMS (Integrated Database Management System).

2] Database Functions

Master Customers File This database stores essential customer information such as the name, address, and purchase history of a given individual. Operational Database This database is concerned with the management of service transactions containing data such order, shipping, and accounting records. Marketing Database The marketing database will also contain profile of each customer. In this case of consumer database with other variable such as geodemographic or lifestyle data, it will also contain details of each customers response to promotional activity.

3] Database Architecture How the database will be built

Sequential Files For customer data to be accessed and reported on it must be stored in very specific format along the lines depicted. Each customer record must be created and data entered according to these particular specifications. An individual customer in the file, it would seem sensible to search the name field for the individual we were interested in. Sequential file database have the merit of being relatively low cost, particularly in terms of their initial development, and the technology is well proven having been used successfully for a number of years.

Relational Database Relational database first emerged in the early 1980s and products such as Oracle were welcomed by direct marketing industry. A relational database should really be regarded as a serried of groups of tables.

Steps in Developing a Database

A] Data Collection Where to get the data and information? The most efficient way to narrow option is to look at the advantages of each source of data. Generally, as the data and information become more personalized to your business and more accurate, they also become harder and more expensive to obtain. Heres a list of common sources of customer information:

1] Government Reports Country, State and City government all produce demographic reports based on geographical locations. You can easily find such information as how your community has changed over the years and what the government experts feel trends in major industries will be.

Demography can be defined as the general science of studying human population. It is the statistics of the population that is subject to change in accordance with aging, birth, death, migration etc. The demography of any place helps to gather information about the population, religion, language and ethnicity of that place. India demographics occupy 2nd rank among the world's most populated countries. With its current population of more than 1.21 billion people (As per Census of India 2011), the country is estimated to surpass China and be the leading populous country in the world. The total population of the nation is growing at the rate of 1.41 %. Similar to any other demography, Indian demography even projects varied information regarding the country.

Population:

Total: 1, 210, 193, 422 Females: 5, 86, 469, 174 Males: 6, 23, 724, 248

Density of Population: 382 per sq. km. Decadal growth (2001 - 2011): 1, 81, 455, 986 Decadal growth rate (2001 - 2011): 17.64 % Birth rate: 20.97 births/ 1, 000 population Growth rate: 1.344 % Death rate: 7.48 deaths/ 1, 000 populations Fertility rate: 2.62 children born/ woman

Life expectancy at birth:

Total: 66.8 years Female: 67.95 years Male: 65.77 years

The state-wise details of India's population and area can be gathered from the following table:

Name of state Area in sq. km. Population (As per Census 2011) Density per sq. km. Andhra Pradesh 2, 75, 045 84, 665, 533 308 Arunachal Pradesh 83, 743 1, 382, 611 17 Assam 78, 438 31, 169, 272 397 Bihar

94, 163 1, 03, 804, 637 1, 102 Chhattisgarh 1, 35, 191 25, 540, 196 189 Goa 3, 702 1, 457, 723 394 Gujarat 1, 96, 024 60, 383, 628 308 Haryana 44, 212 25, 353, 081 573 Himachal Pradesh 55, 673 6, 856, 509 123

Jammu and Kashmir 2, 22, 236 12, 548, 926 56 Jharkhand 79, 714 32, 966, 238 414 Karnataka 1, 91, 791 61, 130, 704 319 Kerala 38, 863 33, 387, 677 859 Madhya Pradesh 3, 08, 245 72, 597, 565 236 Maharashtra 3, 07, 713 1, 12, 372, 972

365 Manipur 22, 327 2, 721, 756 122 Meghalaya 22, 429 2, 964, 007 132 Mizoram 21, 081 1, 091, 014 52 Nagaland 16, 579 1,980,602 119 Orissa 1, 55, 707 41, 947, 358 269 Punjab 50, 362

27, 704, 236 550 Rajasthan 3, 42, 239 68, 621, 012 201 Sikkim 7, 096 6, 07, 688 86 Tamil Nadu 1, 30, 058 72, 138, 958 555 Tripura 10, 486 3, 671, 032 350 Uttar Pradesh 2, 40, 928 1, 99, 581, 520 828 Uttarakhand

53, 483 10, 116, 752 189 West Bengal 88, 752 91, 347, 736 1, 030

2] Private Reports There are many companies that provide detailed information on population based on pin code telephone prefix. Unlike the government data, they will give more precise information on education level, age, income, type of employment and other statistics that can help a business pinpoint trends that could affect marketing efforts.

Mailing List (India) Pvt Ltd (MLA India) is a part of direct marketing partners with Asia and international DM (Direct Marketing) Companies Services offered by MLA:

Forms Processing Processes industries forms right from healthcare, insurance, finance, online etc and also create image based forms. File Conversion Conversion of files received any format into one single usable format or even in excel format. Data Conversion Data conversion from single field into fixed field format. Data present in single field is split into different fields such as first name, middle name, last name, Add1, Add2, Add3, City, State, Pin code, Country etc. Data Cleaning Files containing invalid data including junk data are passed through hygiene process. Data Append Helping in updating in-house database by appending change in address, phones numbers, email address etc.

One more Database Marketing Company is www.ebusiness-indya.com

3] Trade Associations Many trade associations conduct yearly surveys to determine trends in their industry. These will help to know how industries are changing, who the key players are and whats expected for the future. Theyre perfect starting place, so dont ignore them.

Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association. Association of Synthetic Fiber Industry. All India Small Scale Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. Ayurvedic Drug Manufacturers' Association. All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation. All India Garments Manufacturers' & Wholesalers' Association. Cement Manufacturers' Association. Indian Council of Ceramic Tiles & Sanitary ware. Indian Soft Drinks Manufacturers' Association. Indian Confectionery Manufacturers' Association etc,

4] Point of Sale Point of sale (POS) or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs. A "checkout" refers to a POS terminal or more generally to the hardware and software used for checkouts, the equivalent of an electronic cash register. A POS terminal manages the selling process by a salesperson accessible interface. The same system allows the creation and printing of the receipt.

5] Surveys Surveys are a wonderful way to find out exactly what your customer are thinking about. The larger the samples the more one can extrapolate (extract) the results. Open-ended Questions:

Permit respondents to answer in their own words. Are particularly useful in probing and offer insights into how people think rather than in finding how many people vote for a particular attribute.

Sentence completion is also used here, the interviewer presents an incomplete sentence and the respondent completes the sentence. For example I choose Cadburys Dairy Milk because . At times a completely unstructured question is also used. This is a question that respondents can answer in an unlimited number of ways. For example What do you think about todays Reality Shows telecasted on Entertainment Channels.

Closed-ended Questions:

For close-ended questions, the respondents are provided all the possible answers, they have to choose an answer within this framework. Examples: o Questions eliciting Yes-or-No answer. o Questions with multiple choice answers (a, b, c). o Questions that elicit the degree of agreement/disagreement of the respondent to the statement. o Questions that ask respondents to rank a product, say on a five point scale (1 5).

6] Focus Group - A carefully planned discussion to obtain perceptions of a defined interest area. Approximately seven to ten people with common characteristics relating to discussion topic.

To collect qualitative data To determine feelings, perceptions and manner of thinking of participants regarding products, services, programs or opportunities Attitudes and perceptions are developed in part by interaction with other people To promote self-disclosure among participants It's dangerous to take "customers" for granted

Systematic Notification Procedures:

Set meeting times for interviews. Contact potential participants by phone or in person (2 weeks before meeting time). Send a personalized invitation Phone (or contact) each person the day before the focus group

Lets take a look at the data that is typically held in a comprehensive marketing database

Typical Customer Record Field Data Consumer Name Ram Kumar Bajpayee House Name The Woodlands Street or Road Niranjan Road Town or City Bangalore Postal Code 500 003 Gender Male Data of Birth 02/10/75 Age 29 Married N No of Childrens N

Geodemographic (Desirable residential area) Indicator Bungalow Lifestyle Trendy Education Post Graduate Media Preference Direct Mailers Date of Contact 16/03/2012 Response Y Orders 3 Items Returns N Complaints N Method of Payment Credit Card

Business Data

Personal Details. Nature of Business.

Size of Business. No. of Employees. Turnover. Department. Job Title with Job code and Job description. Phones/Fax Nos. and e-mail details

B] Database Management Main Stages in Database Management: 1] Manage Data Source There are two main sources of data i.e. internal and external. External data is defined as that obtained as a compiled list from outside the company which could be census report, publications, Rotary club memberships, mailing list provider companies etc. Internal data from customer files, from order and return records, from sales force contact reports, servicing reports, application forms etc.

2] Manage Data Entry In majority of companies data about customers rarely goes direct from the customer onto a marketing database. It may first arrive at the company via a sale mode and be recorded in sales register. Details are passed to accounts and then perhaps on to billing, who send the bills out. Information goes back to stock control, to let them know their stock of the product bought is reduced by one. Validation of record is very necessary which includes:

Checking product against invalid code nos. Address checking can be done using the Postal Address File (PAF) or companies own database. Carrying out audits for counts for customers and other data entries. Doing a sanity check i.e. pull of 100 records at random and do a visual inspection. De-duplication is the act of ensuring that the database does not contain duplicate records of the same customer. Merge-Purge Merge purge Is similar to de-duplication, but with merge purge you are merging two files perhaps two external or one external and your own internal database into one. You therefore want to make sure you do not have the same customer twice in the final file. Its important to avoid mailing twice to same customer, it is very important to make sure that existing customers are not mailed with an offer aimed at new prospects. For example an offer of How about our Gold Card at no annual fee? would not go down too well with existing full-fee-customers if it were mailed to them by mistake. Because de-duplication and merge are both long processes, match key systems are used to speed up the process. A match key is the shorthand key with few characters, lifted from the name, address and postcode, which define the rest of the customer record. Stone and Shaw (1988) recommended use of 14 character match keys. Match keys are compared to see if they are the same or different. Those that are the same may be output by the computer for visual inspection.

Steps to Merge Duplicate Records: 1. Use the Contact Search Centre to locate the duplicate records. 2. Decide which record you would like to keep. It is best to keep the record that is most up to date based on the fields in the top half of the record. 3. Now select the record in the Contact Search Centre you would like to keep, it is essential you select this record first. 4. Now select the duplicate record, holding Ctrl down while you select. You should now have two records selected:

5. Next go to Tools > Data Management > Merge/Purge Records > Merge Tagged Records

3] Managing Database The decision on whether to manage the marketing database in-house or make use of an expert outside supplier i.e. a data bureau will be affected by various factors. The best course of action is often to set up the database initially in in-house, which would allow the staff to gain experience of managing the data.

Management Advantages Disadvantages

In-House

A personalized approach is possible. Day to day control. Data can be moved easily Experience gaining for internal staff High cost of development. Lack of internal expertise. Name address handling is difficult.

Bureau

Easier to enforce service-level agreements. Share costs of hardware and software. Experience Staff Conflicting demands from other clients. On-line access sometimes becomes difficult.

Keeping up-to-date data The problem with data is that it decays over time, and so funds has to be spend keeping it up to date. A certain percentage of the population moves every year, people die, people change their names, address, get married etc. The problem of changing data in business-to-business work is even more acute because of the rapidity with which managers change jobs. Customers whose records become out of date in this way are known as gone-aways and are a cause of great concern to direct marketers. The last thing you would want is to waste money by mailing people who no longer live at that address, to get peoples names wrong, or cause distress to relatives by mailing someone who has recently died. To minimize these problems Verify data against the electoral roll, periodic record audits, get bureau assistance etc.

Benefits of Database Marketing

1] Understanding Customers The customer knowledge and feedback developed through the database marketing helps to develop an effective strategy for long-term customer retention. Long-term customers add vital stability to a company. Most companies have a base of regular customers, but few know why those customers keep coming back. Quality, price, constant delivery, convenience, these are some the factors that could explain why a customer continues to buy from a companies. Use database marketing techniques:

Which market sectors do customers and prospects fit into?

How many are in each sector? What product do they buy? What other products could be offered to these sectors? Which sector offers the best growth opportunities? Who are the key customers in each sector?

Having this customer profile on a single database is a starting point, which can then be used to provide sales and marketing people with information they need to put campaigns and programs into action.

2] Managing Customer Service Understanding your customer is the first step to developing positive, long term relationship with them. The customer information held on the database can be used in several ways:

To customer handling by making the information available to staff responsible for sales, enquiries, helpline, order processing, complaints, services or other customer facing activities. To improve understanding of the customers purchasing life cycle. Every product goes through a life cycle and this can give important clues to the additional products and services a customer might need. Customers needs change as they progress through the life cycle. This may help companies in introducing new products, making the best use of it or prepare for a change. To identify opportunities to offer customers a range of other products or services modified to their individual needs. Database marketing not only influences purchasing, it can encourage repeat purchase and provide a valuable opportunity for selling related products and services. For example companies which market financial products have an immediate opportunity to sell other services to already existing customers. Database marketing offers an opportunity to build customers for life.

3] Understanding Market The company may already carry out market research, regularly, or on ad-hoc basis. But by integrating market research findings with the others information on the database, a more sophisticated view of the market place can be built as a basis for future segmentation strategies. These are some of the key questions, which can be addressed through the database:

What are the key market sectors for different products in our portfolio? Which are the growth sectors and which are static or declining? What shares of the market do we and our competitors hold? Which sectors are more profitable? Which sectors are crowded and which have not been exploited? What are the characteristics of our main market sectors?

Do any other sectors share similar characteristics?

This information helps to decide where to allocate sales and marketing resources to achieve the most effective return. It can also help to identify new market sector that offer attractive opportunity. Database marketing provides information about trend and changes in the market and that, in turn enables to plan product development in lines with those needs. Understanding the markets changing needs helps to deal issues such as:

What direction should new product development take? What is the likely timetable for new product development? What are the customers new product plans and how can they be contributed towards?

4] Understanding Competitors Competitors assessment is easily overlooked. Competitive information can be valuable on future planning strategies and responding quickly to threats. The database can be used as a focal point for gathering information on competitive activity and pass the information to key marketing people. These are some of the issues that can be reviewed through the database:

Key competitor by sector. Competitive market share and trends. Competitive pricing levels. Competitive promotional activity and expenditure. Details of customers lost by competitors. Media coverage of competitors.

5] Managing Sales Operation If direct sales operations are important to the company, database can help to improve sales force performance through sales report information. The database provides the sales force with wide range of information that builds a complete picture of customers and the way they respond to sales and marketing initiatives. The database can be used to provide the following information:

Customer profile and contact information. Customer purchasing history. Any known problem. Direct marketing initiatives and the responses.

The database can also be used to improve sales force control by providing reports and information on team and individual performance, sales costs and the effectiveness of sales

support programs. This information can be used as a basis for allocating sales resources, training, and territory planning and developing other forms of support such as telesales. The database can be used to provide the following information:

The performance of different sales representatives. The overall performance of sales team. The comparative performance of sales channels as field sales and telesales. The impact of marketing campaigns on sales performance.

6] RFM Analysis Recency, Frequency, and Monetary (RFM) values define a firms best customers, that is, those who are most likely to purchase again because they have bought most recently, bought most frequently, or spent a specified amount of money

Analyzing and ranking customers according to their purchasing patterns How recently (R) a customer has ordered How frequently (F) a customer orders How much money (M) the customer spends per order

RFM Score

The program first sorts customer purchase records by the date of their most recent (R) purchase The program then divides the customers into five groups and gives customers in each group a score of 1 to 5.

The top 20% of the customers having the most recent orders are given an R score 1 (highest).

The program then re-sorts the customers on the basis of how frequently they order.

The top 20% of the customers who order most frequently are given a F score of 1 (highest).

Finally the program sorts the customers again according to the amount spent on their orders. The 20% who have ordered the most expensive items are given an M score of 1 (highest).

Downside of Database Marketing

Building and maintaining a customer database requires a large investment in computer hardware and software database, analytical programs, communication links, and skilled personnel. It is difficult to collect the right data, especially to all company requirements. Building a database would not be worthwhile in the following cases: o Where the product is a once in a lifetime purchase. o Where the unit sale is very small (e.g. Cadbury chocolates). o Where the cost of gathering information is too high. o Difficult in getting everyone in the company to be customer oriented and to use the available information.

Internet Marketing The internet is the greatest database-marketing vehicle ever invented. It is beginning to attract attention as a marketing channel and advertising medium. So far, only a comparatively small number of advertisers have experimented with this medium, but an increasing number of companies are investigating in it. The internet allows use of more sophisticated multi-media techniques, provided the medium is appropriate and the advertiser has the budget. Customer convenience is essential in this regard, and it offers users 24 hour access, so round the clock online ordering is possible. Internet marketing is also referred to as online marketing or E-Marketing, here marketing is done through 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, are both unique qualities of Internet marketing. Internet marketing ties together creative and technical aspects of the internet, including design, development, advertising and sales. Internet marketing methods include search engine, email, display advertising, interactive advertising and so on.

Definition and Scope Internet marketing is the process of growing and promoting an organization using online media. Internet marketing does not simply mean 'building a website' or 'promoting a website'. Internet marketing strategy includes all aspects of online advertising products, services, and websites, including search engine marketing, public relation, social media, market research, email marketing, direct sales etc. The Internet marketer selects the best of these vehicles, given the organization's goals and audience. Among the earlier users of the internet are companies like financial services companies, Tours & Travel companies, companies handling customers enquiries, companies handling railway & Flight reservations, Recruitment consultancies etc.

Using Cookies, the marketer can recognize a customer whenever they return to their website, and greet them by name as in Welcome back, Mr.Nitin This recognition opens a whole new world of relationship-building possibilities. The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and

possibly prepare customized web pages for them. When you enter a website using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom Web pages. So, for example, instead of seeing just a generic welcome page you might see a welcome page with your name on it. On website, when the submit button is pressed, the screen says, Thank you for your order, Mr.Rahul. and describes what that order was. While Nitin is reading this message he hears Youve got mail, which is an email from the company thanking him for the order and telling him what to do if he wants to change or cancel it, next he gets a series of additional emails like your order will be shipped, couriered, followed by (after few days) did your order arrive satisfactorily?, What was your opinion about the product and the ordering process?.

Companies are learning that the response to any advertisement or offer should include both a toll free number and a web response option. There are several important reasons for this:

The cost of web response is very low as compared to phone or direct mail. Customers and not put on hold. They can dial up at any hour of the day or night. They can get an email confirmation. They can print a confirmation of their order. Customers enter their data directly into the web, which can be directly connected, to the customer database. This means that the marketers reaction to their response can be instant by thank you e-mail. That cannot happen with any of the other response mechanism

Conducting Online Database Marketing Marketers can conduct online database marketing in four ways: 1] Creating Electronic Online Presence A company can establish online presence in two ways, it can by space on a commercial online services or it can open its own website:

Buying a location on commercial online services involves either renting storage space on the online services computer or establishing a link from the companys own computer to the online services shopping mall. The online services typically design the storefront for the company and introduce it to their subscribers. For these services, the company pays the online service an annual fee plus a small percentage of companys online sales. In addition to buying a location on online services, or as an alternative, most companies have now created their own websites. These sites vary greatly in purpose and contents.

The most basic type is a corporate type websites designed to build customer goodwill and to supplement other sales channel rather that to sell the companys product directly. Corporate websites typically offer a rich variety of information and other features in an effort to answer customer questions, build closer customer relationship and generate excitement about the product. They generally provide information about company history, its mission, product and services it offers, current events, company personnels, financial performance and employment opportunities etc. Finally, the site might also provide opportunities for customers to ask questions or make comments through email before leaving the site. Other companies create a marketing website. These websites are design to engage customer in an interaction that will move them closer to a purchase or other marketing outcome. Such sites might include a catalog, shopping tips, promotional features such coupons, contest etc. Companies aggressively promote their marketing websites in print and broadcast advertisements and through banner displays that pop up on other websites. Consumers can find websites for buying almost anything. Business to business marketers also makes good use of marketing websites. Creating website is one thing and getting people to visit the site is another thing. The key is to create enough value and excitement to get consumers to come to the site, stick around and come back again. This means that companies must constantly update their sites to keep them fresh and exciting. Doing so involves time and some expense, but its necessary if the online marketing wish to cut through the increasing online clutter.

2] Placing Advertisements Online - Companies can use online advertising to build their brands or attract visitors to their websites. Online ads pos up while surfing online services or websites. Such ads will include banner ads, pop up windows, tickers, road blocks users must pass through to get to other screens they wish to view. Toyota operates a marketing website at www.toyota.com once a potential customer clicks in, the carmaker wastes no time trying to turn the inquiry into a sale. The site offers many entertainment and useful information, from cross country tour guide, tips for driving with kids, to event such as golf skills, car racings. But the site is also loaded with more serious selling features, such as detailed information of current Toyota models, dealers location with maps and dealers web links. Visitors who want to go further can use the shop@toyota feature to choose a Toyota, select accessories, price, than contact a dealer and even apply for credit or they fill out an online order form for broachers and a free interactive CD ROMS that shows off the features of Toyota models. The chances are good that before the CD ROM arrives a local dealer will call the prospects for a test drive. 3] Using E-mail A company can encourage prospects and customers to send questions, suggestions and even complaints to the company via email. Such list provide and excellent opportunity to introduce the companies its products to new customers and to build ongoing relationships with current ones. Using the list online marketers can send out customer newsletter, special product or promotion offers, warranty renewals etc. This has many advantages like:

Keeping customers posted on new products. Ongoing personalized dialogue with website visitors. Proactively getting customers satisfaction and testimonials.

Prospects follow up and requesting more information. Keeping track of all contacts and email communication.

4] Webcasting Webcasting is an automatic downloading of customized information of internet to recipients PCs affording and attractive channel for delivering internet advertising or other information content. Webcasting is also known as push programming, affords an attractive channel through which online marketers can deliver their internet advertising or other information content. For example American Online offers a feature called Driveway that will fetch information, web pages and email based on members preferences and automatically deliver it to their PCs.

Arkadin Conferindia Webcast enables companies to stream audio and video over the Internet just like radio or TV broadcasts. Complementing your existing audio and web conferencing event with a cost-effective webcast gives you the power to deliver high-impact, multimedia presentations to anyone with a PC and a web browser. The results You'll maximize the visual impact and extend the reach to those who can't attend the live event. Benefits of Webcasting

Increase the size of your audience. Extend your reach to any location. Extend the life of your event with an archived version for viewing on-demand Benefit from the ability to reach your audience under any conditions Provide interactive communications Add impact to any presentation with PowerPoint slides Share information with customers, potential customers, employees, stockholders, business partners and the public

Rapid growth of Online Marketing Internet search engines such as Yahoo, Google give consumers access to varied information sources, making them better informed and more perceptive shoppers. In fact, online buyers are increasingly creators of product information and not just consumers. Today 40 million households are dialing into the internet. The electronic commerce explosion is all around for example if any individual wants to buy a 35mm camera, he turns on computer, logs on to Google.com clicks on 35mm camera and a list of all the major camera brands appears on the screen along with detail information. Some of the other elements include:

1] Display Advertisements

Display advertising is graphical advertising on the World Wide Web that appears next to content on web pages, email, etc. These ads, often referred to as banners, come in standardized ad sizes, and can include text, logos, pictures, or more recently, rich media. Rich media, synonymous for interactive multimedia, is enhanced media that utilizes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity content for active participation from the recipient of the advertisement. You may picture display advertising like magazine or newspaper ads, just online and - like TV commercials - with the possibility of moving from static to interactive, flash and video.

2] Social Media Marketing in India

Face book Face book fan page is something we all have seen. Once a person becomes a fan on your fan page, your updates appear on his profile. Obviously, until he decides to remove himself from the fan page. A number of custom applications can be built on the fan page. Companies have even started using the fan page for e-commerce and competitions for promoting their brands. Orkut Orkut is the 5th most popular site in India) is a dying social medium, it still remains a major social network as far as India is concerned. It still has the highest number of user accounts for a social network in India. Make sure you monitor the discussions going on about your brand. If you really think your brand could influence Orkut. Twitter - Everybody seems to have a twitter account these days. Companies like Dell have used twitter to do good business. However, there are still a lot of small companies which are trying to figure out how this thing works. My advice to them would be just try it out first. The only way to learn what is happening on twitter is to get busy using it. The small businesses using twitter have to understand that twitters reach is truly global. Find out twitter audience in your vicinity using services like Nearby Tweets and target them. Also make sure you have information going out continuously on twitter, or else your tweet will be nowhere to be seen on your followers wall. As a matter of fact, it is said somewhere that Indian companies have still not deciphered Twitter. I must say that its high time they start understanding the concept of two-way communication on Twitter. LinkedIn - is more of a professional social networking platform. To embrace LinkedIn, create an account and try to see how everyone else is getting involved in it. LinkedIn already has3.4 million users in India and has an office in Mumbai (Bandra-Kurla Complex. LinkedIn, in the years to come can be a major replacement for the job finding and posting sites. You even have facilities to upload your resumes, create groups and polls. Most of the alumni-meets these days happen through LinkedIn. For business networking, LinkedIn is the way to go. Now that your twitter account can also be integrated with your LinkedIn account, there is a little bit of conversation going on there too. Make sure your LinkedIn account is very neat, whether you are a company or an individual. Outlook 2010 will have LinkedIn integration.

3] Interactive Marketing Interactive marketing is a one to one marketing process that reacts and changes based on the actions of individual customers and prospects. This ability to react to the actions of customers and prospects means that trigger based marketing is dramatically more effective than normal direct marketing. Interactive marketing is called by many names as event based marketing, event driven marketing, even trigger based marketing, but it is all the same idea: reacting to what the customer is doing and driving up marketing effectiveness. Where would you use interactive marketing? When you ask people about trigger based marketing they generally think of reacting to some trigger in the customer relationship, such as asking for a loan payout figure for a bank loan. Customers asking for this information may be looking to refinance their loan. The request should trigger some action on your part to try to stop them from leaving. However, with the growth of inbound marketing and lead nurture campaigns interactive marketing is applicable to all organizations:

Business to business and Business to consumer High transaction and low transactions businesses. Consumers to Consumers (Olx.com where buyers meet sellers)

The challenges of Online Database Marketing Online marketing offers great promise for the future. Yet despite all types of hype and promise, online marketing will become a full and complete business model for some companies such as Amazon.com, eBay.com, Yahoo, and Netscape, and direct marketing companies such as Dell Computers. But for most of the companies online marketing will remain just one important approach to the marketplace that works alongside other marketing approaches.

Some challenges that online marketers face:

Although expanding rapidly, online marketing still reaches only a limited market space. Moreover, many web users do more window browsing than actual buying. Many prospects in India are not computer savvy; this makes online marketing less effective for selling ordinary products. The internet offers millions of websites and a overwhelming volume of information. Thus navigating the internet can be frustrating, confusing and time consuming for prospects. In this chaotic and cluttered environment many web ads go unnoticed or unopened.

Consumers still worry that crooked snoopers will spy on their online transactions or intercept their credit card numbers and make unauthorized purchases. In turn companies doing online business fear that others will use the internet to invade their computer systems for the purpose of commercial espionage or even sabotage. SPAM Unsolicited e-mail, often of a commercial nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailings lists or individuals are referred to as SPAM or Junk e-mails. E-mail that is not requested is also known as unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) or unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE) or gray e-mail or just junk e-mail. Spam is used to advertise products or to broadcast some political or social commentary. Like viruses, spam has become a plague on the internet as thousands of unwanted messages are transmitted daily to almost every e-mail recipient. Unfortunately for users and fortunately for spammers as an advertising medium, spam does produce results. Even if few users reply, it is still cost effective since e-mail is a very inexpensive way to reach people. Why do they do it? Suppose out of 2,000 spam messages, one person clicks the link, and the spammer makes 1 dollar, if a million spams were sent that day, the spammer made 500 dollars, and the job might have taken 30 minutes to set up. That means only few hours per week could yield 1 lakh dollar a year. However, consistent revenues are not guaranteed, but some spammers make lot of money. As spam filtering becomes more sophisticated, spammers have to send even more spam to make the same money, but email lists can be purchased for very little or even hijacked, and there is a thriving ancillary business of selling list to spammers. In order to alleviate some spam, ISPs (Internet Service Provider) have added an enormous number of servers doing nothing more than spam filtering. The CAN-SPAM act in the U.S became law on January 1, 2004, which provides severe penalties for spammers, if they can be located.

Spam e-mails may contain anything from harmless, unwanted commercial advertising to e-mails used for scamming people:

Advance Fee Fraud Spam - These e-mails contain claims that the recipient has won a lottery or needs to help a banker, typically in a third-world country, settle an account. In both cases, the recipient needs to pay up-front fees to collect the money. these scams can cost an unwary person thousands of dollars. Spam Fishing - These are fraudulent e-mails that allegedly originate from a bank or online payment service. They usually include warnings of imminent account suspension or possible fraudulent activity. The recipient is asked to click on a link, which looks like a legitimate site but is simply a copy designed to capture personal information. Image Spam - Instead of text, these messages are created and saved as a .jpg or .gif files. The image file gets around text-based spam filters. This type of spam is commonly used to advertise "pump and dump" stocks or fraudulent online pharmacies. Blank Spam: These messages come through empty; the body of the email is usually missing, and sometimes the subject is missing. Even though there is no message in the email, it is still considered spam, as it is sent out in bulk to people who do not want it. The spammer uses this technique to determine which e-mail addresses in a database are still

valid. Blank spam may also have a worm, such as the VBS.Davinia, B e-mail worm that uses HTML code to download other files onto an unsuspecting person's computer. For many people, the internet is a source of concern as well as amazement. Users are discovering websites, chat rooms (Facebook), bulletin rooms are not completely private communication vehicles. Users will trade personal data for online convenience and service, but they want to know how a company will keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Todays best privacy policies share four traits: o Notice and disclosure They explain how information is gathered and how it will be used. o Choice and consent - They let user decide whether they want to receive e-mail solicitations. o Data quality and access They explain how data is updated and give users access to make sure captured data is accurate. Some let users update their own information. o Data security They explain measures taken to safeguard personal information.

Despite these challenges online marketing will prove to be a powerful tool for building relationships, improving sales, communicating company and product information, and delivering products and services more efficiently and effectively.