E-ommerce and Marketing - Assignment Example

E-commerce and Marketing By Table of contents Introduction 2. Social media a. Facebook b. Twitter c. Google+ 3. Promotion strategies to adopt a. Mail order marketing b. Product give ways c. Customer appreciation events d. Use of contests e. Use of online video on you tube 4. Considerations before adopting a social media for marketing 5. Conclusion E-commerce and Marketing Introduction Due to the current stiff competition and unrealistic environment, it is a challenge for small retailers to compete with established businesses. Therefore the online trading has turned up to be the secret weapon and it has enabled the small retailers at least have a healthy competition with the larger retailers and the websites have allowed the small retailers who are independent get online. Their limitations have now been less noticeable. With online promotion, the small scale retailers are able to compare themselves with the big retailers hence avoiding unfair competition. The aim of this paper is to examine the importance of social media marketing. The different elements of social media have been highlighted and discussed. The paper also discusses the promotion strategies which Xazha a small scale retailer in United Kingdom is supposed to adopt so as to maximize their profits. Lastly the paper also includes the factors which the small scale enterprise is supposed to consider before adopting the promotion strategies. Social media Its application in marketing has highly increased and it is being used as a base for client development. The insight of marketing through the social media has shifted in a very high rate and it is no longer seen as a trendy but as a flexible means. The big three sites which are ; Facebook, twitter, and Google have become a part and parcel of any business whereby each retail is seeking for a place in the traditional and modernized market place (Jaffrey, 2011). According to a report released in the year 2012, almost 60% of the marketers are spending time online focusing on promoting their products. It was also found out that 43% of the people who are in the age group of (20-29) are spending approximately 10 hours or more in a week on the social Medias. Most of them are chatting or just browsing. 58% of the businesses which use the social medial for promoting their products have been reported to increase their sales in the previous three years (Jaffrey, 2011). Facebook The site is mainly used by the youths. They find new friends and view their friend’s pictures among other activities. However, Facebook has been adopted for advertising. The businesses are creating Facebook pages which the Facebook users are in a position to view. The businesses can then use the pages they have created to promote their products, build, the organization’s brand as well as offering deals (Jaffrey, 2011). Twitter Just like face book, twitter started being used as a tool for social networking. Friends could keep in touch with the friends but currently the media has been used as a tool for marketing. It operates in almost as similar way with Facebook but it is a little bit different. The media uses 140 tweets which are seen in the homepage of the users who are followers of the account. Twitter can be used by businesses to market their products, attract customers through releasing the special offers, releasing news and new information concerning the enterprise. Hash tags is a very common word in twitter which is followed by a pound sign and it means that the followers who are searching for information from the particular page can be engaged in the account through simply fixing the harsh tag to the specific concepts in ones’ business tweets(Jaffrey, 2011). Google Goggle is very new in this field but it is becoming an essential element for the businesses and the aim for using it is to increase the presence of businesses in the world of social media marketing. Google possesses characteristics which help a business use the models in it in the same way the Facebook and twitter Medias are used. The media also includes some other facets which Facebook and twitter do not. Google has got the option of “promote” which allows one to customize the promotional content through developing many different groups of followers who can be marketed to differently. The “measure” feature provides the interested businesses with interactive measurements of how to use the Google page. Tutorial for businesses are also offered in the Google and it offers guidelines on how its features are used (Jaffrey, 2011). Promotion Strategies to adopt As a small business in United Kingdom dealing with chemo hats, cancer scarves, chemo scarves, hats for cancer patients and chemo headwear, there is need for Xazha to adopt the social media marketing tools above. Though the business has been using internet previously to promote their products, their profits will rise high if they use Facebook, twitter and Google+ to advertise. Mail order marketing This enterprise is supposed to use mail order marketing because the customers who come to a business are not supposed to be overlooked. They may have already decided to buy a product or products. What is important in this case is getting the personal information of these clients. The enterprise can then offer a free service or product for the personal information. The clients familiar with the enterprise will represent the audience who are targeted. Product give ways The enterprise can also use the strategy for product give ways as well as providing the potential customers with a chance to sample a particular service or product are mainly the methods which are used by a company. Through this, the customers are enticed the public to buying your product. Those who sample the products will attract to purchasing that product. Customer appreciation events Another promotional strategy which Xazha can use is the customer appreciation events where by the customers are provided with refreshments which are freely provided and door refreshments hence attracting the customers to the store. The enterprise is supposed to put a lot of emphasis on the appreciation part of the event without the customers necessarily buying anything. That can easily attract the current customers as well as the potential customers. Use of contests The enterprise can also use contests to promote their products. They should make rules that during the contest there will be no selling. What is supposed to be done is putting a logo and a name in a place where the public can see and then start the contest. People like winning prizes and many people will be attracted to the contest where the product will be promoted. Use of online video on you tube Use of vide on you tube will increase the number of customers as they will directly view what is offered. When the use of you tube video is linked with the use of website, the customer will view the product and can also comment his views or even make an order. Considerations before adopting a social media for marketing However, there are some factors the shop is supposed to consider before implementing the use of these tools. First, there should be trained personnel who have got the knowledge and skills to use the tools especially in the case of use of social media. The enterprises should therefore have enough money to employ these personnel. Secondly, the company should be ready to incur the expenses of online advertising and should therefor budget for that. The company should also keep some money aside to train their employees in case a new technology on the social media marketing tool emerges. During recruitment Xazha should consider hiring trained personnel which will be much easier as they will directly go to their jobs. Offering training programs for the employees can also be an essential strategy for the enterprise. The small scale retailers are in a position of enhancing the experience of customers through ensuring that they back-office in order. Whenever the questions of the customers are confidently answered then the difference between the sale and loss custom is experienced. Questions may always arise on the next step after an order has been taken. When retail has been able to automate an order, pass it to the shipping, then the management of inventories, accounts and later to communicate with customers is a process which is very vital. A centralized system is very important in any business and it will grant the small businesses a general view of their business performance where they will be in a position to resolve emerging issues easily. Though the large businesses are the only ones which are likely to adopt the technology, it has been made more affordable to the small businesses by Software –as-a Service (SaaS) Conclusion It is important for the small businesses to continue embracing the new technologies which will change their working processes as well as enhancing the customer experiences more. Using the correct means of advertising is fruitful. Proper promotion helps in increasing the number of customers and hence the profits. There is a lot of hope in the small business sector because according to a research which was recently carried out, there is a lot of love for the social media for the small businesses. The small businesses are likely to benefit more from the social media marketing as compared to other means of marketing. The peers, customers and the potential customers are provided with a chance to communicate with the marketers who provide all the information which is relevant about the products. The marketers should however be very careful as they give that information so that they do not disclose the secrecy of the company. Reference Jaffrey, J. (2011). Social media and marketing. KTH. Read More