Marketing businesses, products and services has become much more complex with the introduction of the internet. In this paper I will attempt to describe the effect of e-business on marketing strategies today, as well as describe the e-business marketing strategies utilized by Kmart, Inc.
The internet is an enormous environment that is advancing and developing at a very erratic pace, and only companies able to adapt will survive. The World Wide Web provides a medium that breaks through geographical boundaries, allows the customer much more control, and has no time restrictions as it is always “open”. According to an article by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, Niche Marketing on the Web, there are three important steps to marketing on the internet; (1) profile your customers, (2) decide where they congregate, and (3) communicate the message where they congregate in a net-acceptable manner (Wilson, 1996).
Bluelight.com, Kmart’s e-commerce site launched in 1999, is a shining example of this philosophy, having accumulated over 3.5 million customers in less than one year. Although Kmart had an obvious advantage with a n existing strong customer base, these shoppers were not internet customers. In an effort to establish a web based customer segment, they targeted these existing customers by placing Bluelight.com CD ROM’s which provided information, special offers, and Blue Light specials on-line, throughout all of their stores. According to Mark Goldstein, CEO of Bluelight.com, “When peopl...
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is shaped like a pyramid. The first level or “base” of the pyramid consists of Physiological needs, such as: breathing, food, water, and sleep. The second level is labeled as Safety, involving security of body, resources, morality, family, and property. The third level includes Love for self, friends, and family, and the fourth level is titled Esteem such as: self-esteem, confidence, achievement, and respect of and by others. The fifth and final level is called Self-Actualization, and consists of creativity, morality, lack of prejudice and spontaneity. Maslow states that to fulfill these needs, you must start from the very bottom and work your way up, and that if your most basic
Maslow believed that there was a hierarchy of five innate needs that influence people’s behaviors (Schultz & Schultz, 2013, p.246-247). In a pyramid fashion, at the base are physiological needs, followed by safety needs, then belonginess and love needs, succeeded by esteem needs, and finally the need for self-actualization. Maslow claimed that lower order needs must be at least partially satisfied before higher level needs are addressed. Furthermore, behavior is dominated by solely one need
E-commerce is an emerging area that encompasses the process of indirectly or directly buying, selling, trading products and services electronically (Yasin, Mario, Czuchry, & Lisboa, 2010). As a result of market placement advancements in the realm of technology, there have been a growing number of organizations that have re-engineered the way in which they operate so as to maintain consistency with the emerging e-business model. The internet has been growing at an unprecedented rate, and as such, the facets of the way organizations perform e-commerce has been changing to meet economic demands. One of the most important factors for an organization is to understand what contributes to effective e-commerce as this provides them a competitive edge. According to a study conducted by eMarketer Inc, the internet has become a dynamic virtual medium for buying and selling services and products and sales have been approximately 32.4 billion in both the public and private sectors in 2005 (eMARKTER INC, 2006). This paper will briefly explore the importance of Canadian e-commerce by closely examining the key trends.
DuBrin, Andrew J. "The Marketing Side of E-commerce." Essentials of Management. Cincinnati: South-Western College Pub., 2000. 520. Print.
E-marketing is a fast growing and rapid platform for any form of business. EBay has been highly successful over recent years and this is a perfect example of an online business. The internal and external environments are constantly changing and in order to keep up with these changes, businesses and organisations must make relevant changes, and generate new strategies to keep up with contemporary developments in e-marketing and to also maintain their position in their market in comparison to their competitors.
In her book, McCue- an advisor to U.S. Government, United Nations, and World Bank organizations on trade development, e-commerce, e-government, and youth issues since 1991– indicates that Internet is used as sales and marketing medium but this sales channel is not as viable as expected because a huge number of competitive websites are growing exponentially. In addition, misunderstanding e-commerce and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can result in ineffective business practices. She also provides handy checklists, detailed outlines of key operating principles, and insider tips of what to do, what not to do and where to find information for building an e-commerce strategy and executing it in an integrated marketing program. This book also has templates and techniques for strategy and addition resources. And more important, the ideas presented here can be used in all organizations, from small to large e-commerce enterprises in this fast-changing world.
Abraham Harold Maslow is a famous humanistic psychologist who, in 1954, identified 5 basic human needs and organised these into a hierarchical pyramid (Mersham and Skinner, 2012). This is a theory of self actualisation and is more famously known as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The development of this pyramid forms part of Maslow’s research focussing on how humans can reach their fullest potential and achieve healthy personalities. The hierarchy of needs can also be used to explain why people behave the way they do, as he, much like other social scientists of his time, believed that needs that remain unsatisfied will inevitably motivate our behaviour. This hierarchy of needs was also an effort to find a link between communication and the satisfaction of our needs.
Marketing is a vital component in the success of businesses. Smaller businesses rely on business advertising, expenses, knowing if the business is networking with the right people, or joining the best organisations which lead to success (EStartup business blog, 2010). Marketing concentrates on customers and what the customers want. Customers are the source of sales and profits. Many small businesses are faced with remarkable hardships due to not developing the right marketing plan (EStartup business blog, 2010). To help these businesses a more appropriate or better marketing plan needs to be designed. Small business internet marketing services can help businesses develop and thrive in a highly competitive market. For the highest quality internet marketing services, hiring an online marketing company to design a customized internet marketing campaign may be advantageous for some businesses (EStartup business blog and contributors, 2010). Identified will be the role that marketing plays in a successful business demonstrated by use of two examples, the importance of developing a marketing plan, and ethical and legal issues that surround marketing practices (EStartup business blog, 2010).
Between Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even LinkedIn, social media is undoubtedly an outlet that engages most online users. However, according to mental health consultants nationally, social media has become an anxiety-provoking factor (Materna 2013). One of the things contributing to social media anxiety is when teens compare themselves to the doctored pictures of friends. Not only are their friends flawless in the photos, but they may be on an exotic vacation. And it seems to make their lazy weekend at home in their bedroom pale in
Business strategies and activities play a very crucial role in the future development of the organization. These strategies become more important, in case of e-business organization such as Amazon.
Since its comet-like boom in the nineties the internet has attracted myriads of companies to do business on this boundaryless media. And the boom does not seem to stop. eCommerceis a catchword, which stands for a whole branch of new types of businesses that mushroomed up in the last couple of years. Retailers, all sorts of companies, even law offices are using the web for their daily business. There seems to be no comparable other way to develop and exploit global markets. The internet is more and more used as a fast, innovative and cost-saving tool to gain and serve customers where they feel most comfortable and relaxed, namely right in their office or at home (Jonscher, 1999, p.204). In the following there are just three examples of companies, which base a significant fraction of their business on the web.
My interest in Accounting and Finance stems from wanting to understand how governments and businesses make their vital decisions to be profitable. Studying this degree, will allow me to gain an understanding of financial accounting, management accounting and taxation providing me with skills to analyse data and develop my decision making. Additionally being able to incorporate different aspects of business alongside the core modules; will give me more knowledge of the world of accounting and finance.
According to Linda Peters (1998), the “Web” presents a fundamentally different environment – both as a medium and as a market – from traditional communication channels perspective. It creates the Marketspace – a virtual realm where products and services exist as digital information and can be delivered through information-based channels (Rayport and Svikola, 1994). The companies and consumers quickly adopted the new concept of the new interactive world for their own benefits. These interactive channels allowed companies to reach new markets or have a greater influence in the existing one’s (i.e. example media companies transferred their newspapers in order to reach new audiences) and the consumers had an opportunity to save time and money by
Shin, N. (2001). Strategies for Competitive Advantage in Electronic Commerce. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 2 (4), pp. 164-171.
Consequently, e-business and especially online shopping is crucial for retail stores. They should provide necessary infrastructure for selling their products online. By taking advantage of e-business not only they can get competitive advantage of online shopping, but the...