Marketing for Information Age: Four Major Evolutionary Processes - Coursework Example

Marketing for Information Age and Section # of Four Major Evolutionary Processes LeClaire (2005) suggests that e-Business is based on the idea or the concept that business does not require the traditional brick-and-mortar model, but rather a click-and-virtual model can lead to cost effective and efficient business processes and operations. Subsequently, the first evolution for the advancement of e-business would definitely be the advent of the internetworking that eventually became the internet – the first step towards connecting individuals across the globe, later leading into the development of trading activities over the internet. The concept of the internet is similar to a spider web, and initiated with simple local networks combining various systems in a network, and when the networks of these networks were established, the web grew across the world, embedding in themselves larger chunks of the internetworks. The second major evolution was the websites moving global from a local structure; in the initial phases, websites were local in structure and did not provide international/global access, however, at present, all websites are global because of the structure becoming www (world wide web). This advancement mainly took place in the 90s. Next in line was the attachment of e-commerce to the internet, whereby transacting online became possible via various modes such as credit cards, paypal, etc. Lastly, the growth in mobile commerce i.e. internet and transactions over the mobile phone using GPRS services has brought about drastic evolution in how e-businesses operate, since through this medium, organizations, employees, and management, have all become highly mobile, and static-ness is not needed anymore. The all time availability of business is the fundamental need of businesses today and this is what e-business aims to achieve with maximum efficiency. Individual Contributions to the Information Age Jerry Yang and David Filo – two Electrical Engineers of Standford University presented to the world, the guide to the world wide web – later named as YAHOO. When referred to the history of the internet, the names of these individuals definitely stand out as pioneer or the corner-stone builder of where the world wide web stands today. In accordance with The Chief Yahoos (2008), YAHOO was the first most highly organized portal with various features and functions, including but not restricted to a mail box, brief case, search engine, groups features, travel, financial information and so on. This was the foundation of the modern day information technology laid by these two individuals in the early 2000s. It is true that today YAHOO is not able to compete against today’s masters of the business such as GOOGLE and MSN, but the credit of initiating this business cannot be taken away from YAHOO. The biographical articles as on the Microsoft website clearly suggest that Bill Gates is also one of the prime contributors to where information technology stands today. Though his firm restricts to the world renowned Microsoft but the package Microsoft in itself extends much beyond the simple functions of excel, algorithms of access, and the word processing skills of word; beyond these, Microsoft allows interaction with various e-applications and embedding the same, the simple web tools can be transformed into various critically viable applications that are useful for businesses all across the internet. Despite the fact that Yang and Filo, when compared with Gates, were the pioneers and the later took the information technology one step ahead, the fundamental common facto about these individuals was the fact that they had a vision to pursue and this vision took them far ahead from where they started off. Compare and contrast The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.Inc. for product strategies, place, price, and promotion. Ashish Saihjpal et. al. (2009) suggests that Coke and Pepsi have been arch rivals ever since, and the foregone past depicts their competitiveness and how well their competition was necked against each other. The era of 90s illustrates price wars in various Asian regions, but of late, in the current decade, beyond the scope of price wars, the two beverage giants have rather formulated a coalition ensuring that no more competitors remain in the industry that can take away their share of the pie. Both the companies have almost the same line of products let it be zero-sugar, diet, regular, etc. The product strategy is almost the same coming from the fact that the product line is the same. The placement and pricing are also not much of a comparable variable since their pricing and placement are the same; there would hardly be a convenience store where both these giants are not available. In some areas where one store keeps PEPSI for example, there would definitely be a nearby store having COKE in its refrigerators. The promotional techniques however differ for the two giants. Initially, PEPSI relied more on media stars and actors for its publicity, while COKE generally remained being publicized by sports celebrities. The only sport that is most heavily backed by PEPSI is cricket. Other than this, PEPSI generally stays with its conventional artists, actors, and others for the publicity sake. COKE has mostly been associated with soccer and was a major sponsor of the recent soccer world cup as well. Buying Behavior – Consumers Vs. Organizational Buyers When a purchase is being made, there are certain evaluation mechanisms that are considered. Primarily, the phases of purchasing involve; alternative evaluation, purchase, and feedback. These phases remain same in all forms of purchases; within these, the approach differs when it comes to consumer buying vs. organizational buying. Lake (2009) suggests that within the framework of consumer buying, there are low involvement products and high involvement products. Within the low involvement products, consumers tend to buy off the shelve without much of an interest towards the product for example a hair brush, a tooth brush, a diary, etc. High involvement products, when purchased by a customer, the buyer tends to evaluate various alternatives and the influence of each on the product or service being purchased. The grounds for evaluation may vary from price to quality, features, specs, and benefits, warranty, and so on; some of these variables might be valuable for some individuals, while some might ignore these. Once evaluation has been done, then the customer looks for the convenient place for the purchase of the required product. Certain marketing gurus believe that the purchase of the product does not embark the end of the purchasing cycle but it continues till its consumption or expire of warranty. When it comes to organizational buying, Geo (2009) suggests that there are various policies and procedures that need to be taken care of. On a general note, there are invitations to bid and offer to bid are extended to various vendors and then based on the various variables of consideration, some bids are accepted, and orders are placed. Once deliveries are made satisfactorily, the payments are released. A significant factor in the comparison of the two buying behaviors is the time lag and terms of purchase – organizational buying is generally time consuming and mainly on credit while consumer buying is generally done quickly and is mainly done on cash or equivalent terms. Marketing Strategy This is not an all-consumer product but has specified target audience i.e. the fishers audience. Following is the outline for the marketing strategy of a new fishing reel: Defining Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in the market Defining the competition and the competing products in the market Defining the Product, Pricing, Placement and Promotion Strategy Defining the market segment and segmentation strategy Defining how the market is to be approach True/False 1. False 2. True 3. False 4. False 5. True 6. True 7. False 8. False 9. True 10. True 11. True 12. False 13. True 14. False References James H. Myers (1996) Segmentation & Positioning for Strategic Marketing Decisions. Butterworth-Heinemann Laura A. Lake (2009) Consumer Behavior For Dummies. For Dummies Malcolm McDonald and Ian Dunbar (2004) Market Segmentation: How to do it, how to profit from it. South-Western Educational Pub RICHARD GLAVEE-GEO (2009) ORGANIZATIONAL BUYING BEHAVIOR: FACTORS INFLUENCING INFORMATION CONTROL IN BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETS. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Ashish Saihjpal et. al. (2009) Analysis of Marketing Strategy of Coca Cola and Pepsi. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from web title Web site: www.yahoo.com Jennifer LeClaire (2005) The Evolution of E-Commerce. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from web title Web site: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/40249.html?wlc=1282298692 The Chief Yahoos (2008) David Filo & Jerry Yang. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from web title Web site: http://www.entrepreneur.com/growyourbusiness/radicalsandvisionaries/article197564.html Various (2008) Bill Fates. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from web title Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/ Read More