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Markete2.3: E-marketing

In this modern age of internet almost every progressive business have web presence, some of people think that website is just a commercial requirement but others think that it is mandatory to run their company activities. These different theories about internet have been discussed a lot in recent marketing literature. In the past decade marketers have been arguing about the role of internet in marketing. In the start marketers used internet as communication tool but as time passed they realized the true potential of internet and the idea of e-marketing evolved. Smith and Chaffey (2005) give a short and basic definition of E-marketing as “Achieving marketing objectives through use of electronic communication technology”. According to Hoge (1993), Electronic marketing (EM) is the transfer of goods or services from seller to buyer that involves one or more electronic methods or media. E-Marketing began with the use of telegraphs in the nineteenth century. With the advent and mass acceptance of the telephone, radio, television, and then cable, electronic media have become the dominant marketing force.

Hoge’s (1993) idea of E-marketing is simple but it does not touch the important aspect of customer relationship. Strauss and Ansary (2006) defined E-marketing in there latest book as the use of information technology in the process of creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers, and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stake holders. This explanation tells that e-marketing is not only about selling products or providing services through IT but it is lot more than that. It is not just traditional marketing using the information technology tools but it’s a strategic model to achieve brand value and provide customer satisfaction. On marketconscious.com (2006), the author simply stress on having a website URL in marketing effort, he recognize that even a conventional marketing effort like magazine or radio adverts are considered as e-marketing if they are promoting a website. (www.marketconscious.com/dict2.htm, 2006) this is a arguable description of e-marketing as internet is not the only medium for e-marketing. A very complete definition of e-marketing has been given on an educational website; it says “Moving elements of marketing strategies and activities to a computerized, networked environment such as the Internet. It is the strategic process of creating, distributing, promoting, and pricing goods and services to a target market over the Internet or through digital tools”. (aede.osu.edu/programs/e-agbiz/pageglossary/main.html, 2006)

From above definitions, idea of E-marketing can be derived as type of marketing in which objectives are achieved through use of electronic communication tools like internet, interactive TV and mobile phones. Generally people do confuse e-marketing with online or internet marketing, where online marketing is just limited to the use of internet technology to attain marketing objectives.Dave Chaffey (2002) defines E-marketing as “Applying Digital technologies which form online channels (Web, e-mail, databases, plus mobile/wireless & digital TV) to contribute to marketing activities aimed at achieving profitable acquisition and retention of customers (within a multi-channel buying process and customer lifecycle) through improving our customer knowledge (of their profiles, behavior, value and loyalty drivers), then delivering integrated targeted communications and online services that match their individual needs. (http://www.wnim.com/archive/issue2904/emarketing.htm, 2006). Chaffey's definition reflects the relationship marketing concept, it emphasis that it should not be technology that drives e-marketing, but the business model. It also stresses that E-marketing is most effective when used with other conventional communication channels. He also reckons that any communication or messages to the customer must be personalized and each buyer must treat distinctly. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Marketing, 2006)

2.3: The e-Prefix

There is so many E’s circulating in the text that it is quite a confusing matter, E-commerce, E-marketing, and E-business etc. Smith and Chaffey (2002) say that there are many terms with e-prefix and many different interpretations. Within any organization, developing a common understanding for terms such as e-commerce, e-business and e-marketing, and how they interrelate is important to enable development of a consistent, coherent strategy. E-commerce is commonly thought to include e-tailing, online banking and shopping - it involves transactions where buyers actually buy and shoppers actually shop (Smith, 2002). Others suggest e-commerce is any transaction such as a support enquiry or an online catalogue search. Hanson (2000) explains that different activities over the internet can be grouped according to their type. He says,” Specific benefits are put forward for business use of the Web. These may be grouped as productivity based and revenue-growth based”. (Hanson, 2000)

Most scholars perceive e-commerce as trade over the internet. A definition, available at merchantseek.com says “E-commerce is the processing of buying and selling via the Internet.” (http://www.merchantseek.com/glossary.htm, 2006) .Powernet.co.uk also recognize internet as the medium used in e-commerce, “E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web.” (http://www.powernet.co.uk/client/general/glossary.shtml).
Another common misconception is that e-business is part of e-commerce, which is not true. Smith and Chaffey (2002) quoted David Siegel in their book as “It has been said that 'the days of e-commerce are numbered as companies realize the advantages of e-business” (David Siegel). It reflects the true potential of e-business, Strauss and Ansary (2006) finds e-business far bigger than e-commerce. They reckon e-commerce as subset of e-business (Strauss and Ansary, 2006, P3). They also quote Gartner group defining e-business as continuous optimization of a firm’s business activities through digital technology. The thought of e-business emerge as the conducting of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. Either the transaction of business over an electronic medium or any that conducts its business over an electronic medium such as the Internet.

The literature makes us think about the difference between e-business and e-marketing. Lets put it straight, e-marketing is not just internet marketing. Internet marketing is subset of e-marketing, Imber and Betsy-Ann (2000), defined Internet Marketing as the process of building and maintaining customer relationships through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas, products, and services that satisfy the goals of both buyers and sellers.

Strauss and Frost (2003) explain in their book that e-business has a broader prospective, It involves automation of all the business process in the value chain - from procurement or purchasing of raw materials, to production, to stock holding, distribution and logistics, to sales and marketing, after sales, invoicing, debt collection and more. It includes e-marketing and e-commerce. And e-marketing is at the heart of e-business...adding value to products, widening distribution channels, boosting sales and after sales service, while getting closer to customers and understanding them better. There could be three alternative relationships between e-banking, e-commerce and e-business.

(i) E-marketing has some overlap with e-commerce and e-business.
(ii) E-marketing is broadly equivalent to e-commerce and e-business.
(iii) E- marketing encompasses e-marketing and e-commerce, but e-marketing involves more processes then e-commerce. (Strauss and Frost, 2003)

2.5: The scope of E-marketing:

As Smith and Chaffey (2002) describes in his book (E-marketing excellence: The heart of business), e-marketing invites marketing online whether via web sites, banner ads, opt-in email, interactive kiosks, interactive TV, mobiles or m-commerce, e-tools, It involves getting close to customers, understanding them better and maintaining a dialogue with them. It is broader than e-commerce since it is not limited to transactions between an organization and its stakeholders, but includes all process related to the marketing concept. Dynamic dialogue is at the heart of good marketing and is easily facilitated by e-marketing as it builds on the database (of customer and prospects) and creates a constant flow of communications between customers and suppliers and between customers themselves. Dynamic means what it says, dynamic does not mean static web pages. It’s a two-way flow of communication - an ongoing discussion between customer and supplier. Remember that e-marketing also involve using electronic communications to manage the internal marketing process and better understand customers including marketing research and analysis.

David Siegel says “E-marketing is not about building a website, but building a web business.... harmonizing the power of customers” ' Siegel (2000)

Europeans are spending more money online as well. For instance, Europe's largest discount carrier, easyJet Airline Co., sold $80 million more tickets online in the six months ended March 31, 2002 than it did a year earlier (Reinhardt and Passariello, 2002).

“The key to success is to develop e-marketing strategy beyond the basic website interface as a "brochure on-line", to a much more integrated philosophy throughout the organization. This success can be achieved by developing a set of e-commerce competencies relating to factors such as innovation, finance, productivity, human resource management and quality. Investigation of e-business decision making should uncover factors such as inertia and lack of interest, together with resource-based issues such as the perceived lack of time available to develop these new sets of competencies” these are the words of Chaston (2001) who stresses on importance of e-marketing as a complete business strategy.

In marketing the e-Business, authors Lisa Harris and Charles Dennis (2002) clearly recognize that most businesses need to run both brick and click operations in the foreseeable future and those significant problems exist in organizing, implementing, integrating and measuring such dual operations. The authors' stated goal is demonstrating "the benefits of e-marketing as a tool for improving efficiency and effectiveness rather than for business revolution.”

Different authors have different views about the implementation of e-marketing and there are many different ‘schools of thought’ about the way e-marketing should be intergraded within the traditional business model, but one thing has everyone’s consent that e-marketing can help create a business which is customer led...where the customer participates through a constant dialogue, expressing interests, requesting products and services, suggesting improvements, giving feedback...where ultimately, the customer drives the business.

2.6: E-marketing: The Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the “managerial process developing and maintaining a viable fit between the organizations objectives, skills, and resources and its changing market opportunities” (Kotler, 2003, p.89). Mc2consulting.com gives another definition of Strategic planning as Long-term plans based on the organizations overall business objectives. Strategic plans are typically multiple years and reach out 5 or 10 years (or more) using Scenarios or other planning methods that identifies Assumptions, Risks, and Environmental factors. (http://www.mc2consulting.com/riskdef.htm, 2006)

Strauss and Ansary (2006) recognise the importance of strategic planning in E-marketing and state that like every other marketer, online firms use strategic planning to achieve in a number of high level areas, such as growth, Competitive position, Geographic scope or any other objectives.

Next : Literature review Part 4

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