Unit 30 Assignment on Internet Marketing

Introduction

In the Unit 30 Assignment Internet Marketing present business scenario communication plays important role in the effective running of the organisation. Without effective communication it becomes complex and difficult to execute all the activities in the organisation effectively and achieve higher productivity and profitability. There are various technological aspects which are helping in making the communication better and effective in the organisation. These technologies are making the communication economic and effective which ultimately decreasing the cost of production. Internet marketing is using in the organisation and is an effective and most economic tool of communication. This is providing opportunities to the company by reducing the time consumed in the communication and reduces the level of communication and gives a direct path to communicate any information and feedbacks.  In this report we will study about the different attributes and merits and demerits of the internet marketing in the context of organisations and their growth. Wal-Mart is a UK based company doing its business in FMCG sector is using the internet marketing effectively which is taken in the report and acting as e-marketing manager we will study on the methods to improve the internet marketing and online presence of the company (Athwal, et. al 2014).

           

Task 1 and Task 2:

P1. Understand marketing through the internet.

In this task of the report we will understand about the role of internet in the marketing of the company. Different attributes of internet marketing and its advantages and disadvantages in the growth of the organisation will be analysed in the following task by taking example of the company of UK, Wal-Mart FMCG Company (Athwal, et. al 2014).

P 1.2 Evaluate the internet marketing mix.   

Every organisation adopts tools of marketing mix strategy for making it more effective and increase the productivity of the company. Marketing mix is the strategies and tools to be used to take effective decisions make a proper plan for the marketing process of the company. Internet marketing mix includes all the decisions related to online marketing of the company. Traditional marketing mix includes 4P’s of marketing mix which are price, place, product and promotion. But the modern approach of marketing mix is using 7P’s which is an extension in the 4P’s and 3P’s are added which are people, process and physical evidence. Walmart is using the modern and extended approach of marketing mix to make the internet marketing more effective. These tools can be explained as follows (Burton, et. al 2011).

• Product- In the internet marketing the product can be defined as the goods and services traded over the internet. Evaluation of this marketing mix is done by analysing the requirement to diversify and expend the range and variety of products. There can be done online research to identify the need to introduce new product and to change any existing product.
• Price- In the internet marketing and online trading it becomes easy to maintain transparency in the price of the product and services. Internet marketing enables the customisation of the pricing and adoption of different pricing models and policies to make it effective to attract the customer.
• Place- Place can be defined as the distribution channel of the product and services. Internet marketing focuses on maximising the reach of the products and services. The evaluation can define the requirement of expansion of the channels.
• Promotion- In this advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations and direct marketing are included.
• People- This refers to the effectiveness of the staff and their relationship in the internet marketing (Burton, et. al 2011).
• Process- This includes all the elements included in the internet marketing like order process, payment process, delivering and return process, complaint and feedback process.
• Physical Evidence- In the online marketing the physical evidence can be treated as the response and feedback of the customers.

 

P 1.3 Compare internet marketing tools – e-tools      

There are different Internet marketing tools which can be defined as e-tools are used by organisations to make the process of internet marketing more effective. These tools are Interactive digital television (IDTV), Internet Protocol television (IPTV), digital radio, mobile devices, Wireless application protocol (WAP) and Interactive self- service kiosk. Word Press Blog, Tweeterfeed, Pixetell, You tube, Metricaly, Google+, RSS feed are some other e-tools for effective marketing (Gilaninia, et. al 2011).

Walmart is using different e-tools for marketing in which the main is its website for e-commerce which is the main platform for the digitalisation of the company. The company is providing mobile app to make it easy to use the online services for the customers and expand the access of the company and its products. The company is having its pages on Facebook and twitter to influence and make aware customers about the company. Wireless application tool is using by the company for providing all the information and service massages on the mobiles of the customers. Walmart is providing interactive self- service kiosk to make the information and feedbacks accessible by the customers. The company is also collaborating with other online applications to expand the reach of the company’s product. The company is still doing its 80 % selling in person. The online marketing is not effective and is not developed appropriately in the company.

                        Screenshot 1 Website of Walmart

                        Screenshot 2 Facebook page of Walmart

                        Screenshot 3 twitter of Walmart

                                    Screenshot 4 You Tube page of Walmart

                        Screenshot 5 Google page of Walmart

P 1.4 Examine interactive order processing.

The interactive order processing of Walmart is a step by step process which starts from selecting the products from the different product categories available online according to the requirement of the customers. In the second step the product quantity is selected in the cart of the customer. Then the customers have to ensure they have logged in there account and in the fourth step the customer selects the payment and delivery conditions and provides their address and other information. In the final step payment is made after ensuring all the details by using debit or credit card and net-banking (Research and Markets,  2011).

   

                        Screenshot 6 order processing of Walmart

P2. Be able to use the internet for promotion using digital marketing communications

Search engine optimisation is important element of internet marketing. These tasks will explain about the ways a search engine works and there is a sample email and newsletter of Walmart that defines how effective the customer relations are of the company.

P 2.1 Demonstrate the mechanics of search engine marketing

The internet marketing is all about effective communication of the company and its products and services over internet. This can be done by setting and creating website of the company and this is possible by optimising the search engine marketing (SEM). This is a tool which is used for the promotion of the company online and helps the company to be digitalised. Search engine optimisation (SEO) increases the visibility of the website of the company and enhances the reach of the company over the internet. The search engine marketing can be effectively done by using search engine optimisation, Pay per click (PPC) and other tools of the online marketing. This is an effective and cost effective technique of the online marketing and helps in generating new customers and increases the goodwill of the company by word of mouth. The advantages of the search engine marketing are that there is no registration fee for the registering on search engine. The disadvantage of the search engine management is that it is time consuming and there are chances to get other websites approached by the customers. Search engine is a robot system work on algorithm ranking to manage the pages (Scott, 2013).

P 2.2 Write the copy for a suitable opt-in email marketing newsletter

The company is using the opt-in email marketing newsletter for effectively communicate with the customers of the company to maintain level of online public relations. The following are the example of the email and newsletter using by the company (Tsatsou, 2016).

To: John45@gmail.com

CC:

Subject:  Walmart August 15 % off

Dear John smith,   We are pleased to inform you that the company is offering 15 % off on the purchase in the month of August 2016 for all the new customers.   In cash the opportunity and all benefit of the offer and be customer of the company. For registering and more information from the website and collect your coupons.      Thank you for signing up with us.   Best regards, Walmart and Team   Need Help?

                        Screenshot 7 Newsletter Sample

P 2.3 Follow guidelines for best practice in online public relations

Every organisation must have effective public relations to enhance the trust and loyalty of the customers towards the company. Internet marketing is focused on the appropriateness of the communication of information with the customers. Online public relations are essential to ensure the effective communication between the company and its customers. Effective public relations help to establish image of the company and its products in the market. The customer satisfaction level is also increased due to effective resolution of their complaints. Advantage of the online public relation is that it eliminates borders and expands the reach of the company and its customers. It is a cost and time effective technique to maintain relations with the customer. Different websites and social sites uses these technologies to criticise the organisation and some communities and areas are far away from online marketing due to lack of resources and this makes it complex process. Wal-mart is using emails and online survey and online market ranking for identifying the views and feedbacks of the public and makes them satisfied (Weiss, et. al 2015).   

P 2.4 Demonstrate how businesses can use new digital media communities, e.g. file-sharing sites

Digital media communities are helping the organisations to make the public aware about the company and its products and services. The customers are retaining for long term by satisfying them effectively and gaining their loyalty. The existing and potential customers get influenced by the digitalisation and access of the company is expended by the help of the digital media. These digital media communities are having advantages like cost and time effectiveness and disadvantages like negative responses about the company and its products and services. Walmart is using different digital media like Google, twitter, Facebook and you tube (Yu, 2013).

TASK 3 and 4

P3.  Be able to produce market research to support customer relationship management

This task is focused on the retail giant Wal-Mart which is a multinational corporation with a chain of hypermarkets and supermarkets in various countries. For every organisation it is important to understand the needs and demands of the customer first so that they can be fulfilled and the customer can be satisfied which is the most important objective of the organizations. It enhances the loyal consumer base because the ever changing needs of the customers get fulfilled. To achieve this objective Wal-Mart conducts market research so that it can know about the changing trends in the customer demands (Beard, 2013)

P 3.1 Conduct secondary market research

 Secondary market research is the one where secondary sources are referred to carry out the research. Secondary sources are those which are already been referred by people for their use. These may include journals, articles, research papers, websites and more. Wal-Mart may use these resources in order to fulfil the demands of the customers and make a loyal consumer base (Kumar & Maan, 2014).

Secondary sources like the research papers on customer preferences and needs are used by Wal-Mart to know about the factors which influence the needs and demands of the consumers and what all factors raise desire in the consumers for a particular product or service. It helps in collecting the qualitative information regarding the strategies which can be useful for increasing the satisfaction level of the customers and to build loyalty in them by providing the value products/ services to them. Wal-Mart is known for its discounted services i.e. the customers can buy from there in bulk which are sold by Wal-Mart in lower prices and many more benefits are also provided by the retail giant in the form of Loyalty points on making any purchase which can be redeemed after wards by the customers. Wal-Mart is also high in technology. It maintains the right information through latest and updated technologies to record the customer preferences and buying behaviour. A huge database is maintained which is used in identifying that the customers are inclined towards which type of products and services and what should be provided to them which can fulfil their demands and satisfy them. This is done or recognized through the purchase history of the consumer (Haber, 2013).

Loyalty rewards Program by Wal-Mart

The proper use of innovative technologies is been made by Wal-Mart. It has its own mobile applications which are helpful in getting the orders from more and more customers and is used to get the feedback from the customers which help the organisation to make changes and improvement in their services (Madden, 2012). This helps in maintaining the Customer Relationship Management properly by the company.  Also various types of data and trends in consumer choice and preferences are taken from many websites available online on internet like Google insight and trends, online researches and more. Theses websites can be used by Wal-Mart to assess the current trends in the customer’s needs and then fulfilling them to achieve satisfaction in the customers and to achieve loyalty in the customers. Both the qualitative and quantitative data can be taken from these online tools. So, all the above points discussed shows that marketing research is of very much importance to the big organisation like Wal-Mart and it helps in managing and satisfying the customers through excellent quality of goods and services and by keeping in mind what a customer actually requires (Eugene, Anderson, Fornell, Claes, Mazvancheryl, & Sanal, 2004)

Google Insights and Trends

P 3.2 Design an online survey

Online survey can be referred to the questionnaire which is to be filled up by the target audience over the internet. Here Wal-Mart designs online survey to know the tastes and preferences of its customers so that they can be met up by the company to satisfy the customers. This survey evaluates the products and services of Wal-Mart in terms of price, quality, value or satisfaction of the customers. Wal-Mart designs its online surveys and then posts it to its official website and many other websites to attract the attention of the purchasers and to gain information from them. The survey includes the expectations of the customers, their choices and their experiences with the company (AGBOR, 2011). The customers fill up the surveys and they are provided gift vouchers or discounts at the stores in return. A survey includes open and close ended questions like the ones given below:

Close ended question

• Wal-Mart provides huge variety of products and services which cater the needs and demands of the customers properly.

1. Highly agree
2. Agree
3. Neutral
4. Disagree
5. Highly Disagree (Brace, 2010)

 Open ended question

• What technique (according to you) should be adopted by Wal-Mart to increase the satisfaction level of the customers?

These questions are included in the questionnaire and are asked by the target customers through online websites. The main motive of this survey is to know the current trends and satisfaction level of the customers so that it can help the company to understand the various needs of the customers and to fulfil those needs. With the help of this, the sales volume of Wal-Mart can boost up. The survey has been designed by the marketing professional development of the company though online tools and a target population are chosen. The data collected though online platforms will be analysed by taking the randomly chosen questionnaires in a particular sample size. These are analysed by various statistical tools and then on the basis of the findings, reports are prepared which helps in the decision making by the company (Brace, 2010).  Below given is the sample customer satisfaction survey by Wal-Mart:

Online Survey

Have you ever made any purchase from Wal-Mart?

• Yes
• No
• Maybe

Wal-Mart offers products and services which provides value for money.

• Highly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Highly disagree

How much satisfied you are by using the products or services of Wal-Mart?

• Highly satisfied
• Satisfied
• Neutral
• Dissatisfied
• Highly dissatisfied

Wal-Mart provides high quality of products.

• Highly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Highly disagree

The services by staff of Wal-Mart are excellent

• Highly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Highly disagree

According to you, which is the best retailer in terms of value, quality and pricing from which you make purchases. State Reason.
The offers or promotions by Wal-Mart are suitable for you.

• Highly agree
• Agree
• Neutral
• Disagree
• Highly disagree

Rate your overall experience at Wal-Mart

• Excellent
• Good
• Average
• Bad
• Poor

P 3.3 Demonstrate the use of electronic customer relationship marketing

Customer relationship marketing (CRM) is used for managing the relations with the customers electronic CRM can be referred to the tools or methods which can be used with the help of internet to achieve strong relations between the business and the customers. These tools can be websites, emails or online surveys. Wal-Mart develops E-CRM techniques which help it in building a strong bond with the customers with the help of the integration of process, people and technology. E-CRM is gaining importance due to change in the focus of business from profit making to the customer satisfaction. E-CRM adopted by Wal-Mart includes the building of huge database of the consumers of the business to get their loyalty status and the idea about the patterns of buying which will help Wal-Mart in providing the products and services to the customers which cater to their needs appropriately. This helps in building the loyalty and customer satisfaction. Wal-Mart records the preferences, choices and buying patterns so that the suggestions can be made to the consumer. This will also help Wal-Mart to develop the promotional strategies. E- CRM should be adopted by Wal-Mart but the rules and laws for data security and protection in UK should be followed properly (Pokalsky, 2014).

Task 4

P4. Be able to  design an internet marketing plan

For developing an internet marketing plan, situational analysis is important to be done which can be done through SWOT analysis and PEST analysis of Wal-Mart. This helps in analyzing the competitive position in the industry and how Wal-Mart can position itself can be determined.

SWOT analysis (Wal-Mart)

Strengths:

• It adopts innovative technology
• Maintenance of Good CRM
• Popular brand name in the market
• Provides value to customers
• Strong presence in the industry

Weaknesses:

• It has lawsuits related to labour
• Employee turnover is high
• Weak relationship with the communities

Opportunities

• Growth in retail industry
• Rise in purchasing power of people
• Increase in shopping from supermarkets
• Expansion in the emerging economies like India
• Product varieties can be enhanced

Threats

• High legal complications and regulations in the industry
• High competition in the industry
• Protests from local communities (Zairi, 2000)

PEST Analysis (Wal-Mart)

Political factors	Government Stability and relationships with other countries Tax rates
Economic factors	Unemployment rate Retail spending by people
Social factors	Rapid population growth Increase in spending by families
Technological factors	Use of It software’s for CRM Website for Online shopping  (Kumar & Maan, 2014)

Competitor analysis: This shows that the retail industry is the fastest growing industry and there are many competitors of Wal-Mart like Tesco, ShopKo, Costco, Aldi and more. The competitors are different country and Wal-Mart has different position in every country (Madden, 2012).
Wal-Mart has different motives for which the campaign would run. The motives are like to manage the market share in the industry, to increase the customer satisfaction and to know the buying patterns of the customer, to meet the competition in the industry. For online marketing, Wal-Mart can use official websites, social media, emails or advertisements on other websites. These methods are chosen by Wal-Mart on the basis of costs incurred and their effectiveness. The feedback for making improvement in products and services is taken through online surveys (Beard, 2013).

P 4.2 Create a presentation on pay per click advertising

Conclusion

The Unit 30 Assignment Internet Marketing is a detailed study of the importance of the Internet marketing in the productivity and growth of the company and different aspects and attributes are also explained in the report. Study of the effective e-tools and techniques have done in the study to manage the online marketing and building goodwill of the company in the market by satisfying the customers and retain them for long in the company. Analysed study of a UK based company Walmart has been done in the report to make the study more practical and understandable.

References

AGBOR, J. M. (2011). The Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality: a study of three Service sectors in Umeå. Umea: UMEA University.
Athwal, L., Marchuk, B., Laforêt?Fliesser, Y., Castanza, J., Davis, L. & LaSalle, M. 2014, "Adaptation of a Best Practice Guideline to Strengthen Client?Centered Care in Public Health", Public Health Nursing, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 134-143.
Beard, R. (2013). Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service. The Complete Guide To Customer Expectations .
Burton, S. & Soboleva, A. 2011, "Interactive or reactive? Marketing with Twitter", Journal of Consumer Marketing,vol. 28, no. 7, pp. 491-499.
Eugene, W., Anderson, Fornell, Claes, Mazvancheryl, & Sanal, K. (2004). Customer Satisfaction and Shareholder Value. Journal of Marketing .
Gilaninia, S., Esfaghansari, M.G. & Mousavian, S.J. 2011, "Comparison of adaptive internet and traditional marketing mix the willingness to buy cultural products",Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research In Business, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 964.
Haber, J. (2013, May). 8 Ways to Strengthen Online Retailer Supply Chains. Inbound Logistics.
Kumar, S., & Maan, S. (2014). Status and Scope of Online Shopping: An Interactive Analysis through Literature Review. International Journal of Advance Research in Computer Science and Management Studies .
Madden, P. (2012, March 15). Digital retail: A sustainability opportunity? theguardian .
Pokalsky, T. (2014). Customer satisfaction and loyalty research. SSRS.Research Refined.
Research and Markets: Three Top Internet Marketing Strategies for Hospice - Hospice Marketing Training Program 2011, , Normans Media Ltd.
Scott, D.M. 2013, The new rules of marketing & PR: how to use social media, online video, mobile applications, blogs, news releases, and viral marketing to reach buyers directly,4th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey;Hoboken, N.J;.
Tsatsou, P. 2016, "Digital technologies in the research process: Lessons from the digital research community in the UK", Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 61, pp. 597-608.
Weiss, E.H. & Books24x7, I. 2015;2005;, The Elements of International English Style : A Guide to Writing Correspondence, Reports, Technical Documents, and Internet Pages for a Global Audience, Routledge, Hoboken.
Yu, L.J. & Ai, H.L. 2013, "Research on the marketing mode of searching engine based on E-commerce environment", Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Zurich, pp. 2846.
Zairi, M. (2000). Managing Customer Dissatisfaction Through Effective Complaint Management Systems. The TQM Magazine .