The advent and advancement of science and technology has proved to be a boon for almost all sectors and fields of life, profession and business. In this paper we shall concentrate on the benefits that businesses have due to this advancement in science. Internet is supposedly one of the best gifts that science has given to mankind. Within the internet also there have been numerous innovations and e-marketing is one of them.
Prior to the initiation of internet, marketing was done in a limited area but if in case it was to be done in vast areas and different countries the cost of marketing was very high. Internet has provided the best mode of advertising and garnering business. The small business owners have been benefitted the most.
The small business owners have limited resources and funds and as such they cannot afford hefty advertisement bills. Internet provides them with an economic and effective medium for promoting their products. In this paper we shall discuss the advantages and the different tools of e-marketing but first let us understand what e-marketing is all about.
E-marketing, or electronic marketing, is nothing but an amalgamation of our ancient marketing ethics and the recent or modern technological instruments. So it can be said that e-marketing is applying marketing skills through electronic medium or the internet to be more precise. It has been observed that the transactions of people who use e-marketing for promoting their business have increased manifold.
Advantages of e-marketing
The first and the foremost advantage of e-marketing is that it is a very low-cost medium. A person who desires to do e-marketing has to simply make a website of his/her company and mention all the details in that. This doesn’t cost much.
Secondly, the business owner can reach a large number of audiences through e-marketing without any extra cost. It should be understood that in the earlier marketing process, expenses used to be incurred every time sales persons went out on a marketing spree.
A single person, sitting on his/her computer, can handle numerous customers at a time. Moreover, the response is also fast because there are options of online chatting as well and deals can be finalized in one sitting. If the customers want pictures of products, the same can be uploaded within seconds.
Earlier, it was very difficult to know details about competitors. But today, one can have not only the names of competitors but their financial reports as well. Before commencing business with any party, its credibility can be known through the internet.
E-marketing allows business owners to have a global approach. New markets can be identified and surveyed. Even new customers and/or partners/agents can be found. And all this is for a very nominal price.
A proper track record of the e-marketing campaign can be maintained and after analyzing the data if some improvements are required they can be made. Details of customers who visit a website can be obtained.
Good rapport can be built with the customers by being prompt in attending to their queries. Earlier it used to take unnecessary time and there can be found instances where due to the delay in replying, deals were called off. But as of today the scenario has changed and such problems don’t exist provided the business is being done in sincere manner. Such action on your part will enhance the brand image of your company. “A regularly updated website with well-written content that maintains people’s interest is essential to showing people exactly how your business is distinctive – and how you offer the best value to your clients” (Wong, 2009).
Social networking websites such as Face book, Twitter, and LinkedIn have also proved to be an asset for business owners. Since the profiles are interlinked, a post on one profile is viewed by many. So a sort of social currency gets built up and this currency may bring great fortune if handled properly.
Such social networking websites often reveal information that won’t be available on the search engines. Even people whom you don’t know, see your website and may leave useful comments. It has become a trend for business houses to have at least one profile of their businesses in one of the social networking website.
Since everything is done online, the payment part is also not left behind. There are many online payment gateways through which instant payment can be sent and received. There are two plus points in these kinds of payments. Firstly, the business owner gets a better conversion rate and secondly, there are no intermediaries such as banks that may charge commission and hence reduce the profit margin.
The world is huge and there are different time zones. If there is day in India, it is night in the United States of America. The office timings are also different. So as per the difference in the time zone, it is very difficult for offices in these two countries to conduct official business during their respective office hours.
If internet would not have been there, business between these two countries would have been either over the telephone or through letters. Now among these two, one is a costly affair (telephone) and the other is time consuming (letters). But due to internet, business is conducted smoothly and people work from home or they send emails from their offices.
Tools of e-marketing
The first step and perhaps the most important one is to develop a user-friendly website with product relevant content. Your website should be a reflection of your business. Nothing should be left behind. Even the minutest detail can do wonders at times. “Customers and potential customers research decisions based on what they read on the web. Search engines rank your business based on what you publish. All SEO consultants agree that content is king” (Bnetcentric, 2011).
Keywords are the key to success of an e-marketing campaign. A keyword is what a prospective customer types in the search engines in order to find his/her desired product. You should identify the right keywords for your website content. These keywords should be related to your line of business.
While identifying keywords, the customer’s mindset or way of thinking should also be considered. It means you should be able to imagine what words a person can think of while thinking of your product. Google Adwords can prove to be of great help. You can keep a track of your keywords through Word Tracker whereby you may know as to how many times a particular keyword has been clicked. This way, you can add or delete your keywords.
Apart from identifying proper keywords, their placement is also very important. You should include your main keywords in the URL of your website. All the page headings should have the keywords. Even the content of your website should include the keywords.
Another important aspect to be considered while building a website is that a sitemap page should always be included because it is only because of this page that the search engines will be able to search all the pages of the website.
Once the website is built and the same is available online, the next step is to maintain a constant vigil on the performance. Performance is measure by the number of visitors on the website. Google Analytics is an important tool for getting such information.
You should also take initiative to advertise your website online. Pay-per-click is the best option wherein you have to pay according to the number of clicks made by visitors. This is on a bid basis. You may also set up a monthly limit so as not to increase your monthly budget for this purpose. Google Adwords provide the best solution for this purpose. On the search results pages, the listings on the top and on the right side are such advertisements.
As mentioned earlier in this paper, social networking websites are a great source of free advertisement. You should have accounts on such profiles viz., Face book, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. This will promote your business as in a chain reaction.
Another important tool of e-marketing is the mass emailing. “Marketing to email affords businesses, brands and organizations the unique opportunity to take advantage of already established communication channels in a convenient, non-intrusive, uncomplicated fashion” (EXA, n.d.).
It’s a usual practice by mass email senders to make such emails attractive by including images. But it should be understood that today is the time of smart phones and people can read emails that are text-only. So while writing mass emails no images should be added. But if at all you feel that images are an important part of your email, “Make sure your email text content makes sense for readers, even if the images are not displayed.
Never ever insert email images that are supposed to be downloaded from the web, as they are automatically blocked by most email client software programs” (Emailaddressmanager, n.d.). Also, “Very few people care to look at messages automatically stored in junk/spam folders. Anti-spam filters can easily be triggered by the email ‘From’ field, subject line, content, file attachments or emailing frequency” (Emailaddressmanager, n.d.).
There are certain points that should be considered while sending emails. The subject of your email should not include trendy words like ‘free’, ‘money’, ‘love’, ‘amount’, etc., and the subject should be written in the lower case. Images that have to be downloaded from the net should not be included in your email.
Your emails should be personalized to the maximum extent possible. “Inserting a person’s name into an email increases open rates by as much as 10%” (Emailaddressmanager, n.d.). Your emails should be short and to the point. “You have a 10 second window to grab the customer’s attention so focus their attention on the main points of the email” (Ehow, 2012).
Opting for listings in prominent search engines is also a good option. Such listings are charged. So when a customer types what he/she needs, and if it matches with your keywords, your website will be flashed in the initial pages.
Banner advertisements can also be a good option. In order to place your banner advertisements, you should identify such websites that are similar to your products and have a great number of visitors.
As is human tendency, customers visiting those websites will definitely want to look what you offer. “When considering a website, social media network or newsletter for your ad, look at factors such as traffic, search engine placement, external linking (how many places link to it), quality of current ads and types of messages being presented in current ads” (Polman, n.d.).
Polman further suggests that, “The most successful ads use words that relate to the customer. Use ‘You’ and ‘Yours’ and never put the focus on ‘Me’, ‘Mine’, ‘Our’, ‘my’ or ‘We’. Create several emotional words associated with the product –fun, comforting, relaxing…” (Polman, n.d.).
You can have your own blog as well. Blogs are a common trend nowadays and people get their customers’ unbiased views about their products. You can also update your blog with new products. Blogs can be promoted via the social networking websites.
Finally, market customization is also a must for the success of an e-marketing campaign. By market customization it is meant that you should identify the market for your products and concentrate on that particular area. Market customization should be done taking into consideration various factors such as, “Demographics, income level, behavior, interests, affiliation, and occupation” (HBR, 2005).
“More people admit to the fact that internet marketing and an online presence can provide a more trustworthy image of self or business online. It has helped in new customer acquisition and growth even in the challenging times of recession” (Sheley, n.d.)
References
Bnetcentric. (2011). Why content is so important?. Web.
Ehow. (2012). How to create an effective e-marketing campaign. Web.
Emailaddressmanager. (n.d.). Email marketing – Best practices. Web.
EXA. E-marketing campaigns. Web.
HBR. (2005). Market customization: Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Web.
Polman, P. A 5 step internet marketing plan that’s affordable and effective. Web.
Sheley, B. Advantages of internet marketing. Web.
Wong, M. (2009). 10 Advantages of online marketing vs. traditional media. Web.