Marketing Initiatives for Cerebral Palsy League - Essay Example

? Marketing Initiatives for Cerebral Palsy League October 2, Executive Summary Marketing initiatives that are on the Internet are able to continue with the expansion of businesses while providing new outlets for those interested in the approaches used within a business. When looking at the Cerebral Palsy League, there is a specific association with changing the website to promote the services and efforts of the company. This paper will examine the efforts of the League with their online presence and the association which is a part of the new initiatives for the League. This consists of changing the performance levels with the e-marketing mix and the association that is a part of the website navigation and performance. Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..4 Background of the Cerebral Palsy League………………………………………………...4 Problems with the Company and Online Presence………………………………………..5 Goals and Objectives……………………………………………………………………...5 Target Marketing Strategy………………………………………………………………...6 Price……………………………………………………………………………….7 Place……………………………………………………………………………….8 Promotion………………………………………………………………………….9 Product…………………………………………………………………………...11 Monitoring and Evaluation………………………………………………………………11 Budget……………………………………………………………………………………12 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….13 References………………………………………………………………………………..14 Introduction Reaching to the right target market through a website changes the association which many have to a specific organization. For a non – profit organization, this shows the validity of the program and the organization which it carries. Without the right website approach there is the inability to create the right approach to the needs of the consumer. The Cerebral Palsy League is a non – profit website which requires a plan that approaches the necessary needs of consumers while offering more interaction with those visiting the website. Planning and identifying new e-marketing considerations allows the customers to have a different approach to the presence while attracting more individuals that recognize the legitimacy of the website while having a stronger foundation of trust when working with the organization. Background of The Cerebral Palsy League The Cerebral Palsy League is a non – profit organization located in Australia. The main goal is to assist children and adults who are suffering from Cerebral Palsy and other related physical disabilities. Currently the League supports over 5,000 families with support and services during each phase of Cerebral Palsy. The services provided by the company include incorporating basic motor skills, such as walking, talking and other movements. This expands into other alternatives for education and learning and creating alternatives to live independently. The combined goals are incorporative of personal care with technologies, equipment and personal relationships in the League. The goals that are associated with the website include three calls to action with clients who need assistance, support with donations and referrals to health practitioners, clients and families (Cerebral Palsy League, 2011). Problems with the Company and Online Presence The concepts that are associated with the Cerebral Palsy League are able to help with a variety of services and areas of support. The importance of this is one which the League wants to expand to include an online store as a part of the presence. However, the main objectives, services and needs are not being shown through the website or main services provided. If one goes to the website, there isn’t the ability to navigate in the correct manner for support of the organization or to become involved while receiving help. If an online store is going to incorporated, as recommended, then there won’t be support from the outside community. This is partly because of the lack of interaction and connections to the website. This is also because the target market is going to link to individuals looking for assistance, as opposed to donors in the community. The gaps that are within the website then include a lack of the right interaction and calls to action and the inability to expand into the community being interested in supporting those who need the assistance. To improve this, there is the need to re-evaluate the current presence with the objective of placing in the new online store and building the marketing objective with this as the main goal. Goal and Objective The goal of this marketing plan will be to expand the current presence of the website with the overall goal of changing the marketing plan for an online store and more calls to action with those interested in the organization. The final e-marketing plan will reach the objectives of: improve the current website for easier interaction and navigation expand the target market to donors and those interested in the website alter the approach to include an online store while enhancing the presence of the website create an expanded marketing plan to grab attention of interested donors in the region These objectives will provide a different initiative with the need to expand the market, add the online store and to have more interaction and traffic as a part of the website. Target Marketing Strategy The basis of the target marketing strategy is from the e-marketing mix. This is based on the four basic components of marketing, including price, place, product and promotion, as seen in figure 1. Figure 1: Marketing Mix While there is a similar approach to the e-marketing mix, there are also other components which are specific to the Internet. The concept of marketing alters with techniques and functions which are required for the Internet, including the website development, navigation, promotion areas and the extra portals which are used for those using the main marketing mix. Combining these elements with the main marketing mix for the company then builds a different approach to the adaptation to new needs for the company (Kalyanam, Mcintyre, 2002). Price: The first component to consider with the marketing of the website is the price. The price in traditional terms is based on having a basic set of prices that define a product with quality or with the needs of the consumer. For the Internet, this expands into the relationships which are built with consumers and how this fits into the price which is offered. The price involves moving beyond the traditional needs and into personalized expectations reflected on the website. The price also becomes a way of building trust and relationships with consumers on the website (Constantinides, 2006). The website of the Cerebral Palsy League is missing price components that guide the different target segments. Users are directed to more information or basic programs. There is also a segment at the top of the main page for a “donate now” or for help in donating in different ways. Purchasing tickets, going into rebate programs and other initiatives are available. However, there isn’t a way to build trust with the prices and there is a question of what and how to donate. On the front page, an extra donation guide should be given instead of one button. The “how you can help” in the menu item is also unclear with how to donate and where the money goes. Combining this with direct relationships to where the money goes offers visitors with different ways to donate and can be used with promotional development. When adding in the e-store, a separate menu item can be used with direct links for ‘online shopping’ on the front page to direct initiatives with pricing for the website. Place The second component that is a part of the website is the place. The main association which needs to be a part of the place is the behavioral marketing that is a part of the Internet. Different social portals, media associations and concepts attract the right target market to the website. For instance, search engine rankings allow those who are familiar with different concepts to directly find the place of the website. Other areas are inclusive of online communities and social networks that are associated with the placement of the website. Building links and creating areas such as blogs, podcasts and other areas for the website also offers new capabilities for those looking for promotions and ideologies on the Internet (Boone, Kurtz, 2011). The placement of the League can be improved both with the internal components of the website and the navigation into other portals. The current website requires calls to action and areas of interaction for the target market. When individuals go to the website, there is the ability to create a direct relationship to how to contribute. When the shopping area is added into, there will be the ability to easily offer more to those that are a part of the website. The placement can then expand into a target market of individuals looking for online artwork and to help and donate to organizations which are offering different components to the website. To do this, there needs to be an expansion of the portals to go outside of those interested in Cerebral Palacy. However, this can move into other areas for links, information, Web 2.0 interactions and advertisements that connect to the main program. The Web 2.0 chart in figure 2 is some of the various areas that the placement can be added into for the League. The figure includes basic ways to expand the placement of the market while reaching different areas to offer a place for those with Cerebral Palacy and others who are interested in supporting the initiatives of the organization. Figure 2: Portals for Placement (Rosetta Aba Services, 2006). Promotion The third component to be looked into is the promotion of the website. The promotion follows with the placement of the company while having the promotion based on advertisements that are a part of the new initiatives. The main approach with promotion is one which needs to expand once the online store is advertised and re-designed on the website. The promotion should expand the target market to both users who are looking for services and interested donors. The main approach will be to combine with advertisement campaigns used on various portals with the ability to implement new portals for promotion. For instance, advertising the artwork of the online store can expand into helping those with the disability while going into areas that are already interested in the solution. The main advertisement can then go into a variety of portals that are a part of the website promotion (Pride, Ferrell, 2006). Figure 3 shows how the promotion can be expanded to ensure that the target market expands to donors, as opposed only to those interested in the services of the League. Figure 3: Website Promotion (Rosetta Aba Services, 2006). Product The last consideration with the e-marketing mix is the product and how this needs to be approached with the needs of those in the community. The product needs to reflect donations, tickets and the other concepts currently on the website, combined with the online store available. Each of these should have alternative advertising campaigns added into the various product areas. To enhance this more, relationship marketing can be used to find donors and those interested in contributing. Relationship marketing adds in personalization to the marketing mix while providing a new way of connecting to those interested in donating to the group. Asking for involvement through direct marketing, social media and email then provides new opportunities for those interested in supporting local initiatives for the disease. More then connecting, there is the need to add in direct initiatives to ask for involvement. Interaction on websites to social connections then adds into promoting the products available while gaining support of the community (Harker, Egan, 2006). Monitoring and Evaluation The requirements to launch are inclusive of: 1. Changing the dynamics of the website for easier interaction 2. Direct links to shop online and contribute 3. Direct information on the services offered and how these help 4. Expansion of the portals used for both indirect and direct marketing 5. Expansion to the target market of donors interested in assisting the community 6. Initial advertising campaigns for the launch of the online store and for products and services offered by the company After building the main strategy and initiatives through the website and portals, monitoring and evaluation will take place. The main ideology will be to monitor activity on the website with the use of traffic analysis concepts. The evaluation will include the place where the user comes from, interaction on the website and connections to the advertisements (Leiming, 2004). As the links and directories are looked into there will be an evaluation of whether these go to the right area and create a boost in the budget for the website. The concept used will follow the D – T Model, shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: D – T Model (Kim, Jung, 2007). The evaluation chart will combine with the analysis that monitors the input section while showing how this links to the process. The final determination will then be from the user performance and company changes which occur over time and which link back to the input and process of the website. Budget The budget for the re-launch of the website will be as follows: Initial Website Re-design Website re-design to e-commerce site 4,500 Upgrade to unlimited pages 2,000 Integration with online payment methods 3,500 Extra hours of design 2,400 Intel based server for website content 15,000 TOTAL 27,400 Promotions and Advertising Search Engine Optimization and Maintenance 4,000 Content and Directory Building 12,000 / year Web 2.0 Advertising Campaign Launch 4,500 Web 2.0 Advertising Maintenance / month 2,000 / month Offline Advertising 3,000,000 TOTAL 3,023,000 TOTAL: 3,050,400 Conclusion The ability to create the right presence with a website changes the way in which many are able to create their overall identity online. When looking at the Cerebral Palsy League, there is a direct association with how many are able to look at the support required. Looking at the e-marketing initiatives is one which requires re-examining the website and the associations that are a part of the alliance. Combining this with different models and initiatives for a new launch of the league will provide more support in getting donors and in creating more interaction on the website so the support with the group continues to grow. References Ahn, T, Ryu. (2007). “The Impact of Web Quality and Playfulness on User Acceptance of Online Retailing.” Information and Management 13 (1). Boone, Louis, David Kurtz. (2011). Contemporary Marketing New York: Cengage Learning. Brodie, RJ, H Winklhofer, NE Coviello. (2007). “Is E-Marketing Coming of Age? An Examination of the Penetration of E-Marketing and Firm Performance.” Journal of Interactive Marketing 71 (8). Cerebral Palsy League. (2011). Background to the Organization. Constantinides, E. (2006). “The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards the 21st Century Marketing.” Journal of Marketing Management 22 (3). 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