Module - (Level 6) Managing and Using Marketing E-Marketing Involve Me Identify the advantages of having a website for marketing purposes. You may wish to think about your own organisation's website of that of another organisation you are familiar with. Feedback Here are some points you may have thought of: allows customers and potential customers to make purchases at any time allows customers to access information about the organisation at any time supports marketing initiatives and promotes company and brand awareness provides a shop, information centre and customer service - a one-stop convenient service 24x7 customers can visit your site whenever they want, at a time that is convenient to them allows an organisation to publish time-sensitive information (e.g. news about special offers, price reductions, new products and services) immediately allows customers to provide feedback (electronically) to the organisation on all aspects of the organisation’s products, services, systems, procedures, etc. enables customers to contact the organisation electronically (e.g. email, web chat) and receive a quick response. Tell Me Trends The key points from the statistics from the Office of National Statistics e-commerce survey for 2012 show the following for the UK: e-Commerce sales represented 18% of business turnover in 2012. Sales by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) made up two-thirds (67%) of total ecommerce sales in 2012, with the remainder (33%) from website sales. Website sales (£164 billion) represented 6% of business turnover in 2012, up from5% (£133 billion) in 2011. 95% of businesses had broadband Internet and 82% had a website. In 2012, 43% of businesses used social networks with almost a quarter (23%) using social media to respond to customer opinions, reviews or questions. The trend of growing online transaction is accelerating in certain sectors. Internet marketing is a huge growth area, and the Internet has transformed customers’ views on convenience, speed, choice, product information, price and service. Websites A website not only provides an opportunity for customers to buy on-line (and not all websites do), but, more importantly, it is a great marketing opportunity. Here are some of the opportunities that can be exploited through e-marketing: It allows an organisation to market its goods and services and achieve unrivalled market reach. Anyone from anywhere can view your website. It helps an organisation to build and retain customer loyalty – because customers feel part of a community. It enables an organisation to build brand consciousness – especially if customers visit their website regularly. In addition to websites, today other powerful e-marketing methods include the use of social networks such as facebook, twitter. Through these networks you can share interesting product information, photos, videos, ads (viral content) and reach large networks. Viral marketing is using these social networks to raise the awareness of your product or brand. Show Me Just about every business, in the twenty-first century, has a website. Sometimes the website is for information purposes only, to raise the profile of the company. But where a company is engaged in e-marketing, then the website must be designed to be attractive to potential customers and facilitate e-commerce. And, of course, your website must be found by customers! It must be visible and be listed high on search engine results. Here are some important considerations. Be focused on the objectives of your website Companies spend large amounts on websites. However, research suggests that many websites fail to deliver the benefits hoped for. Some are not even viewed by their targetaudience - they just aren't visible. To be successful, be focused on the purpose of your website, whether that be in raising the profile of your organisation or in selling your products online. Know what exactly you want your website to do. Set clear website objectives. Here are some pointers for setting website objectives: Define a clear website objective What do you want your website to do primarily? Is it to … Sell products and services? Establish credentials? Generate leads? 2.Design with customer focus Be very clear on who you are trying to reach - your target audience. Then imagine yourself as the type of customer/user you are trying to attract to your site. Develop and design the website with this type of customer in mind. The online experience you provide should be centred on customer preferences. 3.Set standards for usability, accessibility, design and performance Poor usability, accessibility and performance are some of the reasons why people visit websites and leave it, never to return. Once a user has had a bad experience (e.g. poor performance or inability to navigate the site intuitively), they are unlikely to return to your site. So set standards in these areas and regularly review the site. Aesthetics, accessibility, simplicity are critical in website design. 4.Set performance goals and measure performance Measure performance in key areas. Again think through the eyes of typical users in your target audience. Identify the likely paths they will follow through the website to do whatever it is they want to do (see objectives), and measure performance through each of these paths. Set performance goals and measure progress against these goals. e-Metrics and Web Analytics focus on Internet audience measurement and analysis. By gathering and analysing web usage data, web designers can improve the satisfaction of website objectives. Show MeOnce you are clear on your website objective, you must design (or have your website designed) with the customer in mind. Design with customer focus Attractive graphics Today, customers are sophisticated and discerning. It’s no longer enough to have a website – it is necessary to have an attractive website. If you have graphic design or Internet design staff in your organisation then they may be able to produce a visually interesting site. If in doubt, leave it up to the experts and employ a specialist company to do the design work. Interesting, relevant information It is extremely important that the information displayed on a website is both accurate and up-to-date. In addition, if customers feel that they can learn something new every time they visit your organisation’s site, then they will be more likely to visit more often. For example, this can be anything from a new recipe to a new application of technology. People, generally, like to acquire new information, especially if it is free. It is also a good idea to provide links to other relevant sites. Added value Many organisations add value to their website by offering visitors something extra. For example, software websites often allow you to download releases of software - this adds value as it is convenient and instantaneous. Other sites give you access to interesting articles, e.g. best practices, management topics or case studies using product technology. Secure shopping One of the barriers for customers doing business over the Internet is still security. This is a particular issue for sites with e-commerce capability. There is an element of risk and the security aspects must be given the highest priority to gain the confidence of customers. Seek advice from website security consultants to ensure you get this right. Marketing the website It is important to realise that, although the website is a tool for marketing an organisation and its products/services, the website itself must be marketed; otherwise customers and potential customers will not even be aware that it exists. The success of marketing on the web is dependent on getting good visibility when customers do searches through search engines such as Google. Ensure your website is registered with all the major search engines and web directories and that search engines return your website when customers look for information such as your product. The discipline for getting high visibility on search engine results is knows as search engine optimisation. Show Me MoreA well-designed, attractive website is important but is not sufficient to ensure success in emarketing. You must market your website and ensure it is found by buyers. It is essential in e-marketing to get your website noticed and raise its visibility on the Internet for your target audience. How, then, can you position your website so it is found at critical points in the buying process by would-be customers? Search engine optimisation is the discipline of raising the visibility or position of a website. It is the process by which you maximise the chances of being found by your target audience when they use search engines (e.g. Google). This involves, amongst other things, the use of relevant keywords in website design - keywords that customers are likely to use when searching for products such as the one you are marketing. Involve Me Find out the basics of Search Engine Optimisation at: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2259693/SEO-Basics-8-Essentials-WhenOptimizing-Your-Site Note that keyword strategy (use of the most relevant keywords) is not only important in the website but should be integrated across all online and off-line channels, such as social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and TV/radio. If your organisation markets products on-line, check your website as well as other online and off-line channels. Identify the keywords that are used and explain why they have been chosen, as well as their relevance to your targeted customers. Feedback Customers use keywords to search for information on products, services and companies. When defining keywords in your website (as well as in other online and offline channels), use customer research knowledge and define keywords that are relevant and most likely to be used by your target users. Here are some guidelines on how to undertake keyword research to ensure relevance http://www.marketade.com/old/keyword-research.htmlShow Me More Customer relationship management Customer relationship management (CRM) is the process of understanding your customers’ needs and developing personalised relationships with them to cultivate loyalty. CRM involves: interacting with customers to find out their preferences providing customers with choices about the kinds of service they receive offering customers the web content that they prefer and are most interested in Customer relationship management is important because, according to research carried out by BMW Limited, it costs six times as much to attract and sell to a new customer than it does to keep an existing customer. Retaining existing customers is not only cost effective, but is good business practice. Customer relationship management encourages customers to be loyal. My managing customer relationships well and "intelligently", customers feel valued, appreciated and respected. Customers will be willing to take the time to provide information about themselves and their needs if they feel that, in the future, an organisation will use that information to provide a faster, more efficient, more personalised service. Successful e-commerce companies take customer relationship management very seriously. We look at Amazon.com as an example of what CRM can achieve: When a customer makes a first online purchase on Amazon they are required to provide their e-mail address, geographical address, payment details (e.g. credit card), dispatch preferences (standard or 24-hour delivery, etc.) so that delivery of the ordered items can be made, and Amazon can take payment for the goods. On subsequent orders, this retained information saves the customer the time and trouble of repeatedly providing the same information, and also gives customers the sense they are a preferred customer. Within minutes of placing an internet order the customer receives confirmation, via email, that the order is being processed. Twenty-four hours after the order has been placed the customer receives, via e-mail, information regarding the status of the order - whether or not the goods have been packed and shipped, and when the customer can expect delivery. Amazon also keeps a record of customer orders and creates a 'recommended for you list', based on a customer’s previous selections. In this way related products that are of potential interest to the customer are promoted. Successful e-commerce companies go to considerable lengths to ensure that customers feel they are valued and regarded as individuals with individual needs, likes and dislikes. Their objective is to manage the relationship with their customers so well that customersremain loyal. Loyal customers are unlikely to defect to a competitor. Instead they will, probably, continue to buy; may even increase the levels of purchases and will, almost certainly, tell others about their customer experience. Involve Me Reflect on how your organisation is using the Internet to promote customer relationship management. In what ways can it be improved? Prepare a briefing for your Manager and review with him/her.