The Use of Interactive and Internet Marketing in Companies - Term Paper Example

INTERACTIVE AND INTERNET MARKETING Executive summary This is a research on interactive and internet marketing. The research aimed at explaining the importance of internet marketing for the success of any particular business. The main purpose of this research was to study the similarities and differences between B2B and B2C websites and their importance in internet marketing. The websites used in this research are the B2C website for a clothing company known as Zodiac and the B2B website for a CQUniBOOKSHOP. This research found out that internet marketing involves the use of the internet for the selling of good and services for different companies. It was also found out that B2B and B2C websites are some of the websites that are used for internet marketing. The B2B websites are used for the marketing of goods and services between two companies or business people while the B2C websites are used for marketing goods and services to the final consumers. The main difference between these two websites is their target clients while their similarity is that they are both used for business purposes. C2C and B2E websites are also examples of websites that are used in electronic marketing. The C2C websites help in electronic transaction between consumers via third parties while the B2E websites make use of intrabusiness network which allow companies to provide products and services to its employees. The recommendations made in this research include the use of proper language that will help in marketing products and services through the websites. Another recommendation pertains to the use of sufficient research for the two websites in order to ensure that enough details are posted in the websites for efficiency purpose. Table of contents Cover page………………………………………………………………………………….1 Executive summary…………………………………………………………………………2 Table of contents…………………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….4 Literature review…………………………………………………………………………….5 Analysis and evaluation of B2B and B2C websites…………………………………………6 Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………9 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….………10 References…………………………………………………………………….…………….11 INTERACTIVE AND INTERNET MARKETING Introduction Internet marketing is used in both company to company product and services marketing and company to consumer marketing. CQUnibookshop is an example of a B2B website that is used in marketing various types of stationery to bookshop owners (CQUniBOOKSHOP.2010). This website markets stationery to various shops with the stationeries being delivered to the different bookshops allover the world. The Zodiac website on the other hand is a B2C website that is used to market shirts for the Zodiac Company to the final consumers (Zodiac Clothing limited.2010). Internet marketing involves the selling of products through the internet (Jhanvi O. 2011). Internet marketing is essential for the success of any form of business. In the recent past, most businesses have adopted internet marketing in order to reach a larger number of clients. Internet marketing has had a lot of impact on the way companies work because they help the companies to reach a greater number of people at the same time (Rhind G. 2003, pp 65). In addition, companies can now post detailed information about their operation and this enables it the companies to pass information to people in a faster way. The internet has led to faster interactions between companies and their clients. The use of internet marketing leads to the combination of both technological and creative aspects of the internet which include advertising, development, design and sales promotion (Jhanvi O. 2011). Internet marketing allows business to achieve customer engagement. Many companies have websites that allow them to conduct their product marketing. Such websites include business to business website, business to consumer marketing and many others. Internet market is a crucial topic that helps people to understand the impact of the internet on company marketing. In order to create an understanding of this topic, this research will analyze two websites that are used by companies for their internet marketing. The paper will try to analyze the similarities and differences between B2B and B2C. Internet marketing is an important topic that helps people to understand the importance of the internet in the marketing of a company’s products. In addition, this is an interesting because it will expose readers on the various internet marketing used by different companies and their effectiveness. It will also help to find out the importance of internet marketing to the success of businesses and how to adopt it. Literature review There are various websites that are used by different companies for their internet marketing. Internet marketing dates back to 1960s and was first used by the American government together with some private business groups to come up with efficient marketing computer networks (Rowley, J, 2008, 523). Networking technologies were funded by the US and other commercial groups and this led to a global participation in the issue of internet network formation. The internet was later made part of almost every human life in the 1990s. today, a large number of the earth’s population make use of internet and most businesses are now using internet marketing to achieve success in the businesses. Internet marketing is cheaper because the ratio of the cost of reaching the target customers is very low. This medium enables customers to conduct an online research about products and services from different companies. Internet marketing is a medium that helps companies to appeal to their clients faster and efficiently (Singh, S, & Dalal, N, 1999, pp 93). Different companies use different internet marketing strategies depending on the goals as well as cost benefit analysis. Companies that make us of internet marketing are able to measure statistics in a cheaper and easier manner because most aspects of internet selling are tested and measured (Rowley, J, 2008, 534). Although internet marketing has various advantages, it does not give clients an opportunity to taste the advertised goods before making an online purchase. Internet marketing allows companies to distribute objects and services through electronic media. Internet marketing provides an effective communication for businesses and their target customers. Many people have become internet literate and this has increased the demand for the use of internet services. In addition, internet access has also increased because there are many websites that offer internet services. Internet services provide quality information about products and services thus creating a room for electronic transactions (Singh, S, & Dalal, N, 1999, pp 97). Companies that make use of internet marketing require to use proper strategies for the management of their websites. Proper website management makes it easier for a company to provide customer services, satisfactory and loyal services and increasingly personalized content. Website management will involve the recycling of web content, data management and repository and also a consciousness of the effects of organizational change. Websites help to achieve various objectives such as providing information about products, increasing efficiency in the operation of an organization and providing a better channel of communication between a business and its clients (Rhind G. 2003, pp 57). Companies also make use of other websites such as the C2C and B2E websites in their electronic marketing. C2C websites are used between consumers and usually via a third party. One of the examples of C2C transactions is the online auction which allows consumers to post items for sale and allow other consumers bid to purchase the items. The third party normally charges a commission for the transaction. C2C websites are intermediaries between consumers and they do not involve the checking of the quality of the products being sold (C2C.org. 2011). On the other hand, B2E marketing websites make use of intrabusiness network which allow companies to provide products and services to its employees (Myspace Inc. 2003). Companies make use of networks to improve employee related corporate processes. Examples of B2E websites include special employee offers, corporate announcement dissemination and employee benefits reporting. In this connection, companies make use of different websites for their internet marketing. The use of internet marketing includes the use of online advertisements such as emails, interactive pop-up window and links through the website. This form of marketing helps to push direct sales and encourage more customers to buy particular products. Various types of internet marketing are decided for particular individuals. It is essential for every company to choose on the right website to use depending on their target clients. Though a lot of research has been done concerning internet marketing, little is known about the different types of internet market. This paper will discuss B2B and B2C websites and how they help to reach target customers. Analysis and evaluation of B2B and B2C websites B2B and B2C websites are some of the websites that are used in internet marketing. A B2B website is one of the essential websites in internet marketing because it helps international buyers to link with international suppliers (Rhind G. 2003, pp 78). One example of a B2B website can be a plastic bag manufacturing company that supplies papers bags for a sugar company for product packaging. A B2B websites helps two or more businesses in their operation. B2B websites help businesses to conduct transactions and get new business partners through the internet (Philip S. 2002). B2B websites are crucial in internet marketing because they help business people to connect with one another at all time. A B2B website shows the details of the available goods to their suppliers, buyers and exporters and this helps to make transactions easier. When a company gets the details of a partner business company through a B2B website, the company can now conduct the other business through the interface given in the B2B website. On the same note, B2B websites can help suppliers get potential buyers because they can search for buyers through the websites and communicate with those whose requirements can be achieved by their company. In this connection, B2B websites help end the expensive processes of going to different countries in search of business partners. B2B websites are intermediaries used by both exporters and importers to post information on buying and selling requirements (Philip S. 2002). It is a must for a business to post its information on the B2B website otherwise clients will not get it in the search results. Companies require to use either a free membership or premium membership in order to become registered B2B website users. B2C website is a website that is used in businesses to market their goods and services to their end users. It usually involves an online form of marketing that helps companies to sell their services and goods to the final consumers. B2C websites allow the flow of goods and services from businesses to consumers through the use of online services. B2C websites are essential because they consumers to get information about the goods and services that they want. In addition, they also help business people to get customers for their goods and services. B2C websites help clients to contact companies through email or online chats hence providing a faster and an easier communication (Singh, S, & Dalal, N, 1999, pp 94). In addition clients can also browse, search and get catalogue numbers of the goods they want to purchase through the B2B websites. B2C websites can also allow consumers to narrow down their choices by making use of the information provided in the websites. These websites have information concerning every item and this makes shopping a simpler task. It is a must for a B2C website to have a strategy that will enable it to appeal to the emotions of people. In addition, B2C websites that are used to market expensive products need to provide detailed information in order to give their clients a room to evaluate their business (Singh, S, & Dalal, N, 1999, pp 98). Such sites must also be easy to locate online in order to be of good help to the customers. The design of B2C websites can involve customer graphics, domain registration and custom graphics. B2C websites are also used in e-commerce to sell products to consumers. In this connection, B2C websites are essential for the marketing of products and services to the final consumers. B2B and B2C websites have different similarities and differences. These two types of internet marketing websites are different because B2B websites are more complex than B2C websites (Rowley, J, 2008, 534). In addition, the two websites are also different because B2B is for companies while B2C is for individual customers. The main similarity between the B2B and B2C websites is that both websites are used for marketing purposes. However, although B2B websites cannot close sales online, B2C websites help the owners to see the amount of money lost when people wrongly get into the websites. While B2B transactions involve discussions of price, specification and delivery, B2C transactions involve decisions about a certain product, its price and means of delivery (Zhang, P, & von Dran, G, 2000,pp 1252). lastly, sales in B2B websites take longer as compared to sales in B2C websites and this also adds up to their differences. Recommendations B2B and B2C websites are essential in internet marketing. There is need for the improvement of the two types of websites in order to create sufficient marketing services. Since B2B websites involve a lot of negotiations, I recommend a better way of using the websites in order to ensure that they do not require lengthy negotiations hence slowing down the marketing process. I also recommend proper integration of B2B websites with the system of any company in order to ensure their effectiveness (Jones M et al. 2008, 419). For both B2C and B2B websites, I recommend the availability of the internet at all time because the two websites depend on the internet. B2B websites take time to make sales and there is a need to find a way through which B2B sales can be made faster. I recommend a lot of research to be done for the B2B websites in order to allow purchasing to be done easily. B2B websites are required to provide more information about the goods and services being marketed and therefore I recommend the provision of sufficient information on the B2B websites in order to allow people from other companies to have sufficient information regarding that other particular company. The other recommendation that can be made regarding the two types of websites is that both B2B and B2C websites require good content about the particular goods and services in order for the websites to succeed in marketing. In this connection every B2B and B2C website must have sufficient content that will make it complete. I also recommend the use of simple language in a B2C website in order to help individual consumers to interpret the information. On the other hand, I recommend the use of technical language in B2B websites in order to ensure that can be understood by different companies. Both B2B and B2C websites must be able to provide information that will cater for the needs of different people. In this connection, both the two types of websites require to be made with the user’s needs in mind. In order to come up with proper B2B websites, I recommend the use of presale discussions and price negotiations in order to ensure that the product is customized before it is sold (Jones M et al. 2008, 423). In addition, I recommend that B2C websites to be more specific before they sell to the consumers directly. This is essential because it will help consumers to buy the products after getting adequate product description through the B2C websites. Conclusion Internet marketing involves the selling of goods and services through the internet. Internet marketing is essential for the success of nay business. The topic on internet market is crucial because it helps people to understand the importance of internet in the marketing of a company’s products. The use of internet marketing in companies dates back in the 1990s. Some of the websites used for internet marketing are the B2B and B2C websites. B2B websites are used between two companies while a B2C website is used between businesses and the final consumers. It was recommended that the B2B and B2C websites make use of the right details in order to enable clients to achieve the desired results. In addition, proper use of language is essential in all forms of marketing websites in order to allow proper communication. References: Albee A. 2009. B2B website. Back to door optimization. Sys media. Web. Retrieved on 25th July 2011 from http://coldfusion.sys-con.com/node/1095805 CQUniBOOKSHOP.2010. CQUniBOOKSHOP. Web. Retrieved on 27th July 2011 http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au/ C2C.org. 2011. C2C Dairy. Web. Retrieved on 17th August 2011 from http://www.pedal.org.uk/home.htm Jhanvi O. 2011. What is internet marketing?. Web. Retrieved on 25th July 2011 from http://letsbefamous.com/237/what-is-internet-marketing/ Jones M et al. 2008. Creating emotions via B2C websites. Business horizons. 51(5), 419-428 Leopard S. 2006. Denver business journal: B2B vs. B2C marketing. New YORK Myspace Inc. 2003. B2E Aka Beebo. http://www.myspace.com/beeboproducer Philip S. 2002. Seven great B2B marketing initiatives. incisive interactive marketing Rhind G. 2003. Internet marketing. Journal of internet marketing. Feb, 2003, vol.4. No.1 Rowley, J, 2008, ‘Understanding digital content marketing’, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 24(5/6), pp. 517-540. Singh, SN, & Dalal, N, 1999, ‘Web home pages as advertisements’, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 42(8), pp. 91-98. Shukla A. 2011. eGain Transforms B2C websites into interactive shopping destinations. Web. Retrieved on 25th July 2011 from http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/telemarketing-software/articles/186571-ega-transforms-b2c-websites-into-interactive-shopping-destinations.htm Zhang, P, & von Dran, G, 2000, ‘Satisfiers and dissatisfiers: A two-factor model for website design and evaluation’, Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 51(14), pp. 1253-1268. Zodiac Clothing limited.2010. Zodiac Finest Quality shirt markets. Web. Retrieved on 27th JULY 2011 from http://www.zodiaconline.com/aboutus.asp B2E website photo on Beebo A C2C photo CQUnibookshop photo Zodiac website photo Read More