Unit 1

E-Marketing An Overview

Structure
1.1 Introduction
Objectives
1.2 Definition, History and Features of E-Marketing
Definition of E-Marketing
History of E-Marketing
Features of E-Marketing

1.3 E-marketing: Scope, Benefits and Problems

Scope of E-Marketing
Benefits of E-Marketing
Problems in E-Marketing

1.4 E-marketing Techniques

1.5 Internet Marketing, Digital Marketing and E-marketing
Internet Marketing, Digital Marketing and E-MarketingDifferences
E-Marketing, E-Business and E-CommerceRelationship

1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.0

Summary
Glossary
Terminal Questions
Answers
Case Study

Caselet
Godrej Launches Online Store with Indiatimes
Consumer durables company Godrej Appliances in 2011 declared its
exclusive affiliation with Times Internets online shopping portal
shopping.indiatimes.com. Using this portal, the company opened its
inaugural online store to the public. Currently, Godrej Appliances uses the
services of different multi-brand online portals to sell its products.
Godrej Appliances is aiming at a sales figure of `15 crore through Indiatimes
in its opening year. It expects to reach a revenue figure of `100 crore in the
coming five years through the Indiatimes online stores.
Godrej decided to step into online trade, driven by the desire to penetrate
into the rapidly developing e-commerce market in India. As online shopping
has gained momentum, Godrej wants to connect with its customers through
the online platform. Godrej expects to bring about more value add to its
products with its competence in exclusive products space and
indiatimes.coms proficiency in the online retail space.

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Source: Adapted from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/indiabusiness/Godrej-launches-online-store-with-Indiatimes/articleshow/

16551329.cms (Retrieved on 3 October 2012).

1.1 Introduction
E-marketing means using digital technologies to help sell your goods or services.
Technology has vastly improved the scope of marketers in selling their
products, especially with the growth of the Internet. High-speed networks have
grown rapidly in the past few years. In addition, numerous e-commerce
transactions are being carried out, with many more Web queries a day. This
demand can be effectively handled by large-scale data centres that can take
care of servers catering to related infrastructure like storage, cooling and network
systems. A few Internet companies like Google, and Amazon have huge
datacentres across the world. There is rapid commercialization of these
developments in the field of e-marketing, in which computing is delivered in the
form of a utility on a pay-as-you-go basis. Many firms have invested huge amounts
of capital and lot of time in the implementation and maintenance of computational
resources.
Using the database of companies, the users can access and share huge
amounts of product information in the e-marketing domain.
Firms can focus on their core competencies and reap a number of emarketing benefits like on-demand computing resources, low cost and faster
and cheaper distribution. Thus, e-marketing has been seen as beneficial for the
distribution and product awareness service and is analysed as a potential market
opportunity.
E-marketing has immensely improved the performance and efficiency of
businesses, by creating new markets, by expanding the already existing ones
and by creating favourable business circumstances. It has enhanced the benefits
of competition and strategies for the company. This applied science has received
backing from governments as well as industrial, financial and commercial
sectors.
In this unit, you will learn about the history and features of e-marketing.
You will also know about its scope and benefits. This unit provides a discussion
on the techniques of e-marketing and gives a comparative view of Internet
marketing, digital marketing and e-marketing.

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Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
define the history and features of e-marketing
state the scope and benefits of e-marketing
discuss the techniques of e-marketing
compare Internet marketing, digital marketing and e-marketing

1.2 Definition, History and Features of E-Marketing

Let us now focus on the definition, history and features of e-marketing:

1.2.1 Definition of E-Marketing

E-marketing, or electronic marketing, is the process in which marketing principles
and methods are applied via the electronic media, in particular, through the
Internet. The terms e-marketing, Internet marketing and online marketing, are
often used interchangeably and can generally be regarded as synonymous of
each other. E-Marketing helps a company generate awareness and product
information, as well as handles queries, sales and promotions.

1.2.2 History of E-Marketing

Initially, Websites and e-mails were merely names on online brochures. This
captured the customers attention, as they could send and receive e-mails to and
from the company. More importantly, customers had a new interface to become
familiar with a company the Website. It became a new area of presence. In a
span of 10 years, the Web has become a vital means of collecting e-mail addresses
and contact details of users. Today, Websites are becoming the first points of
contact for many of customers. This was enhanced by Google, which became a
dominant search engine. Thus, search engine optimization came into practice.
Google became an advertising site which earned revenue on the basis of payper-click advertising. Blogs came up and increased the pool of links.
Niche marketers used the strengths of these thousands of blogs for selling
products through affiliate schemes and running pay-per-click advertising. This
increased Internet revenues. Today, marketing is done through social networking
Websites like YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter, which have become new
channels for marketers.
Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets will soon overtake
computers as the primary method of accessing information and interacting on
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the Internet. Companies like Google and Apple are trying to make mobile devices
the new PC for consumers.

1.2.3 Features of E-Marketing

Todays cut-throat competition is making every company proactive in using
information technology (IT) as a means to reach the customer. Thus, e-business
is gaining ground in this dynamic business scenario. At the same time,
companies are also realizing the need to customize themselves according to
the need of the consumers. Thus, customization in e-business is one of the
needs of the dynamic business today, and e-business offers a much better
chance of customization than traditional business. Given the competitive and
dynamic business environment, an organization must adopt certain features in
order to survive and grow. These include the following:
It should make optimum use of Web services.
It must follow Web standards.
It should make use of an interface customization utility for creating the
right environment to use IT for the success of its business.
A business model, especially of an e-business, is not very well understood
by most people. Many companies today talk of the changes from traditional
models to new ones, but very few are aware of what it actually means. A business
model for e-marketing which has been explained here is an example that defines
a way of doing business with IT as its central component. Thus, the business
model is directly related to the revenue of the company. In an e-business model
it is very important to know the value chain one is talking about.
Many business models have come up in the field of e- business although
some of them are more widely in practice. It is now apparent that Internet
commerce today is bringing in additional revenues for companies. Earlier, auction
models were popular, and targeted at a wide array of goods and services.
A firm may not use only one type of model, but opt for a combination of
many models, if found appropriate for e-business revenue generation. The model
that we take up here is the collaborative Click-and-Brick model. This model
emphasizes the relevance of e-business solutions for todays business needs.
Collaborative Click-and-Brick (C&B)
This is one of the key models in the e-business today: (brick-and-mortar) +
(click-and-order) = click-and-brick (C&B).
Also known as the Brick-and-Click model, many companies are looking at
this business model as a key to improve the productivity of their operations.
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Many companies like Archies,Yatra.com, Jabong.com are directing their operation

in line with this digital business model. Also, many Internet-based companies
are trying to bring up a real-world physical channel in addition to their virtual
channel. Through this model, companies are trying to go beyond the click-andbrick pattern, and develop a hybrid online/offline business model that takes into
account physical and online business practices.

Self Assessment Questions

1. ___________ will soon overtake computers as the primary method of
accessing information and interacting on the Internet.
2. The __________ is one of the most commonly practised business models.

1.3 E-Marketing: Scope, Benefits and Problems

1.3.1 Scope of E-Marketing
Before the Industrial Revolution, for all practical purposes, every trade and
exchange consisted of a minimum degree of personal liaisons between vendors
and consumers. This indicated that every vendor was able to fulfil the needs of
his customers, and trade was mostly local in terms of characteristics. With the
Industrial Revolution and growth of international trade, new types of trade
practices came into existence. Later, with the development of communication
technologies such as the Internet, Web-based marketing became popular.
In the beginning, the prime concern of producers and manufacturers were
issues related to logisticstransportation and sale of goods to far-flung markets.
These markets were generally situated far from the place where goods were
manufactured. The highlight here was production. End use and end users were
considered as the final points of the manufacturing and distribution sequence. A
general scenario in Western countries was of very high demand and shortage
of supply. As long as this state of affairs prevailed, Western countries continued
to undergo transformations of spectacular intensification in economic activity
and technological changes. The key for producers still making profits was efficient
production and cost cutting. There was minimum focus on the role played by
consumers in the exchange activities.
At the beginning of the 20th century, it was apparent that marketing on its
own was an integral part of every business process. This was the main reason
behind the establishment of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and
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development of the initial theoretical and practical features of marketing. Long

after this, it was realized how Web-based marketing was the need of the times.
The main area of focus was the need of the consumer.
E-marketing provides an array of benefits to the consumers. It provides a
means to reach customers easily with the appropriate products. The company
can showcase its product, sell it, answer queries through live chats and also
collect feedback from its Website. Given the wide-ranging scope of e-business,
there is hardly any company today that does not have an online presence.

1.3.2 Benefits of E-Marketing

The benefits of e-marketing can be classified into two main categories:
1. Direct benefits
2. Indirect benefits
1. Direct benefits
The efficiency of e-marketing provides direct advantages like minimum
requirement for manual processing and extremely accurate e-marketing
procedures. It also reduces the expenditure on administration. Trading partners
are not required to repeatedly key in information, which makes the trading cycle
faster. This is the reason behind e-marketing traders having better control over
their operations and minimal ambiguity.
2. Indirect benefits
Indirect benefits come from changes in e-marketing, which enables every
business to operate on its own. These benefits are significant and considerable.
E-marketing changes the way businesses are run. Precise benefits include:
reduction in lead time for ordering products, benefits of competition and
comparison, lesser risk of outdated stock, more satisfied customers, more
efficient cash management and improved benchmarking of a standardized and
widespread communication system. These advantages have fuelled and
facilitated more and more e-marketing within and across firms.

1.3.3 Problems in E-Marketing

Since the advantages of potential strategic benefits are not widely known,
businesses have been reluctant to adopt telecommunication applications in
advertising. This problem is more evident in smaller companies that are not
implementing e-marketing schemes as rapidly as was anticipated.

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Sending wrong signals: If the top management resists the adoption of emarketing, it could send a wrong message to some trading partners who have
already accepted and implemented e-marketing. This hinders the ease of
calculating return on investment. More importantly, it hinders business
communication, streamlining processes for efficiency.
Hurting cost: Absence of understanding among trading partners is more obvious
in case an error surfaces. The expense of one partners security is shared by all
others. This has made e-marketing problematic to justify. For e-marketing to
operate effectively, it needs to be maintained well.
Upgraded technology and interconnectivity: E-marketing calls for a high
initial capital expense. Proper interface of e-marketing transactions with the
present information systems for getting maximum benefits of technology is an
expensive affair. It is hard to integrate e-marketing with internal applications due
to low compatibility of hardware/software applications among trading partners.
This is mainly due to technical perceptions that e-marketing technology is
considered a computer system and not a business tool, and, therefore, as a
capital expense and not as a marketing investment. Many vendors providing
connectivity make it even more difficult. The loss of interconnectivity among
suppliers was the most significant problem in the use of e-marketing. Similarly,
the quality of service from the present service providers is often poor.
Standardization: Multiplicity of standards is a problem when implementing emarketing. This is due to the differences in standard documents transferred
between firms. The standardization issue brings in many practicable concerns
among those implementing e-marketing systems such as:
Issues involved in practical implementation of the decided data
communication standards
Disparities in the decided document translation standards
Consistent increase in proprietary standards
Limited human interaction: E-marketing has a significant impact on
organizational culture automation and high-speed processing of large volumes
of transactions. Along with a decrease in the need for human intervention, it has
reduced the opportunity for detection of problems through human interaction.
Security concerns: There are also security concerns related to e-marketing,
which are a result of lack of experience and knowledge of security. Control of emarketing has contributed to unreliable impressions, controversial records and
legal ambiguity in the electronic business domain. Users, both potential and
current, regard unstable information security as a critical flaw.
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Loss of audit trails: It is tough to eliminate loss of audit trails. In addition, manual
processes of auditing are not easy. This environment asks for out-of-the-box
approaches to conducting audit. Though practically, many problems were not
reported, the legality of virtual data warehousing, data as the basis of a contract
and of the effort of a trading partner agreement are still to be tested in courts.
Dearth of high-level management commitment, lesser amount of knowledge,
and awareness of the benefits and uses of virtual data warehousing, and the
lack of interconnection among suppliers were seen as the most significant
barriers to adopting virtual data warehousing. Users were not satisfied and happy
with the flexibility, documentation and security of e-marketing systems.

Self Assessment Questions

3. As international trade grew and ________ Revolution arrived, new types
of trade practices came into existence.
4. The efficiency of e-marketing provides direct advantages like minimum
requirement for __________ processing.
Activity 1
Collect newspaper cuttings demonstrating the contribution of the
government to support e-marketing in India.
Hint: The government is planning to make use of more channels to promote
marketing.
To know more, visit the Website:
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-17/chandigarh/
29669595_1_tourism-infrastructure-tourist-destinations-tourism-promotion

1.4 E-Marketing Techniques

Marketers have used the Internet for various marketing activities. Some of the
activities which can be of help in marketing through the Internet are explained as
follows:
1. Tracking and analysis of Website traffic
Traffic analysis data are crucial in measuring the effectiveness of Internetmarketing techniques and the performance of Websites. Some questions
for the same could be whether:
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(a) there are many clients browsing one particular page.

(b) any changes required to capture the customers interest?
These bits of information available could help in managing traffic and judging
how long visitors are staying on a particular Website.
2. Upload links of companies related to your industry
Adding links of related product could help in increasing prestige of a
business. For example, a person visits the Asian Paints Website, he can
find addresses and contact details of Asian Paints dealers across India.
The Website also provides innovative services like interior decorators or
painter contractors, which could be an added advantage to customer.
3. Informative articles and publications
A company can put informative articles on the Website, which could create
a good image of the company in the eyes of the customers. Press releases
and updates on rising share prices could also help in effective promotion
of the company.
4. Miscellaneous activities like payments
Websites could also be used for miscellaneous activities like payments
and queries. Some Websites have an active chat enabled, wherein
customers can chat with an executive of the company directly. An example
of an active chat from lenskart.com has been given below:

Hello!
We are here to help you!
You want to know *
Order

Product Information

How to Place

Order Status

Under which category does your request fall? *

Lens

Eyeglasses and Sunglasses

Accessories

Contact

Watches

Bags and

Jewellery

E-mail:
Start the chat

Figure 1.1 Payment through a Website

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5. Also, payments through the Internet offer the customers convenience,

thus making them more brand-loyal.
6. Option of buying or selling
Many Websites today display their products and offer online sales to
customers. The products are delivered at the customers doorstep, and
payments are made after the delivery. Many online retailers like inkfruit.com,
which do not even have a physical presence, are actually going for such
marketing activities over the Internet.
The Internet has revolutionized the logistics of services like tours and travels far
more significantly than that for goods. The technology enables multinational
service firms to bring in economies of scope and scale. Many service firms, for
example, Zitz Solutions, a Bangalore-based Internet marketing, search engine
optimization and Web solutions company, are using e-marketing models. Some
of the benefits are:
1. Core competency: Every firm today is trying to achieve one or two core
competencies so that they could beat competitors on some parameter
and attract consumers. This model is a true advantage to the company to
establish its core competency, be it new product development or customer
service. It is seen that when the traditional bricks-and-mortar firm goes
online to become a click-and-mortar one, it enhances its core competency
of reaching out to its customers through online distribution and promotions
to fight competitors. For example, Oxford Bookstore has transformed the
stores brick and mortar infrastructure to a click-and-mortar entity. To
improve the speed and efficiency of its operations and presence, the
company chose the e-commerce model. With a huge database of nearly
1.5 million titles, Oxfords Website gives customers a choice of thirty-nine
questions regarding a book. For titles not listed on its Website, the store
pledges a search result to the customer in 48 hours,
2. Supplier in business: Suppliers are a critical part of the additional model
owners like the e-marketing model of business. In this whole transaction,
dealing with supplier relationships is most important. Thus, through this
model the company ensures a better and problem-free delivery and an
assured supply. Not only is this possible through online transaction, but it
can also ensure discounts and other preferential treatment.
3. Logistics: Not only supplier networks, but many distribution channels that
were used traditionally are still a part of this model. Delhi-based startup
Santa Claus Couriers Pvt Ltd, which operates its last mile logistics business
as Chhotu.in, is one such example.
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4. Developing the brand image: Through e-marketing, the company can

develop a brand image and thus increase brand equity. An ideal example
is Disney.
This company has been spending huge amounts of money in building a
brand.
An online presence like interactions/engagement with fans through
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube adds to this and helps the company in the
same.
5. Dynamism in business: Older firms are able to bring in stability in their
businesses through the click-and-mortar model, with an increased
presence.

Self Assessment Questions

5. __________ data is crucial in measuring the effectiveness of Internet
marketing techniques and the performance of Websites.
6. E-marketing helps a company to develop a brand image and thus increase
__________ __________.

1.5 Internet Marketing, Digital Marketing and E-Marketing

Now we more on to discuss internet marketing, digital marketing and e-marketing
with regard to their differences.

1.5.1 Internet Marketing, Digital Marketing and E-Marketing

Differences
The major difference between Internet marketing and digital marketing is in the
kind of marketing techniques used. Internet marketing makes use of the Internet
and stresses on getting information about products and services for potential
customers, in which a merchant offers a product only through the Internet.
Digital marketing uses all channels available in the digital media for getting
information for customers, which is not limited to the Internet. The digital
marketing sector uses many different digital marketing media channels, such
as:
Banner advertisements on affiliate Websites
Outdoor digital displays
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Websites
Voice broadcast
Video e-mail
Rich site summary (RSS) feed
Blog
Social media marketing: The practice adopted to gain Website traffic or attention
through social media sites is called social media marketing. Its various
programmes create content to catch the attention of readers and encourage
them to share them on the social media networking sites. As messages spread
from user to user, they appear to have come from a dependable third-party and
not from the company or the brand. This type of marketing depends more on
word-of-mouth.
Mobile Marketing: As the term suggests, it is the method of marketing with or
on a mobile/cell phone. It can also be explained as dispensation of information
on products through a wireless network.

1.5.2 E-Marketing, E-Business and E-Commerce Relationship

Generally, the three trends e-marketing, e-business and e-commerce are
used interchangeably. However, there is a fine distinction among the three.
E-business is an extensive entity which deals with the whole compound
system that contains a business. It makes use of the electronic media for its
general or dedicated business activities.
The best description of e-commerce can be framed in terms of business
transactions. Hence, for instance, the electronic transfer of funds, information
or entertainment can be clubbed in the domain of principles of e-commerce. In
technical terms, e-commerce is a part of e-business.
E-marketing is that constituent of e-business which has an electronic
medium for realizing the objects of marketing. In addition to conventional
marketing and business know-how, e-marketing is also based on strategies.
Understanding social media
The social media on the Internet has become crucial in the marketing arena as
more and more people are joining social Websites like Facebook and Twitter.
Examples of some companies who are using this social media effectively are
as follows:

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Walmart engages its customers and stakeholders on Facebook, Twitter,

YouTube, Flickr and Foursquare. The page showcases the product and
location of the Walmart stores. You may like to visit their Twitter and
Facebook accounts: https://www.facebook.com/walmart
https://twitter.com/Walmart
Pepsi offers Pepsi Deals, which are discounts for its eight million
Facebook followers. The companys page is crucial in the form of a usergenerated marketing forum with photos of Pepsi cans or bottles, Pepsi
advertising spots, behind-the-scenes clips from and videos of Dancing
with the Stars choreographer Mark Ballas. You may like to visit their Twitter
and Facebook accounts: https://www.facebook.com/pepsi
https://twitter.com/pepsi
Disney has about 325 million Facebook fans. It has on its Facebook site
photo posts, desktop wallpapers and movie pages that give the consumer
a sense of nostalgia. You may like to visit their Facebook account: https:/
/www.facebook.com/Disney
The Starbucks page shows that it has been accessed by 180,000 people.
The page allows comments for the viewers own Facebook friends, deals,
community service, feedback for upset customers, etc. The page also
helps in managing their Starbucks card or sending e-gifts to friends. You
may like to visit their Twitter and Facebook accounts: https://twitter.com/
Starbucks
https://www.facebook.com/Starbucks
A Googler, who has about 4,600,00 followers, showcases new Google
functionalities like a recent link to an official blog post on how the company
screens out bad ads.
Nike has a family of Twitter accounts, which features 368,000 followers,
specialized accounts for stores like the NikeNYC on Twitter and sports
like Nikebasketball. This allows direct interaction and promotions like Jersey
Chase, etc. You may like to visit the companys Twitter account: https://
twitter.com/Nike
McDonalds has 440,000 followers who can keep tabs on various
promotional deals and events like the Foursquare check-in and
HappyMealChefs contest. It also responds to concerned customers tweets,
free giveaways and McDonalds sponsored events like All American Games.
You may like to visit their Twitter account: https://twitter.com/McDonalds

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Self Assessment Questions

7. The major difference between Internet marketing and digital marketing is
in the kind of ___________ techniques used by both.
8. ___________ is an extensive entity which deals with the whole compound
system that contains a business.
9. In technical terms, e-commerce is a subsection of e-business. (True/
False)
10. E-marketing, e-business and e-commerce are the same. (True/False)
Activity 2
What are the ways a company should use to succeed in e-marketing?
Hint: A company should spread more awareness among corporates and
potential customers, pertaining to the benefits of e-marketing.
To know more, visit the Website: http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/jul/
05inter.htm

1.6 Summary
Let us recapitulate the important concepts discussed in this unit:
High speed networks have grown in the last few decades. Also, there are
thousands of e-commerce transactions with as many Web queries a day.
This demand can be effectively handled by large-scale datacenters.
Some Internet companies like Amazon, Yahoo and eBay have huge
datacenters round the world. There is rapid commercialization of these
developments in the field of e-marketing in which the computing is delivered
in the form of a utility on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Many firms have invested huge amounts of capital and a lot of time in the
implementation and maintenance of computational resources.
E-business is the norm of the day in the present scenario. Customization
in e-business is also one of the needs of the dynamic business.
Todays fierce competition is making every company proactive in IT tactics.
In this dynamic business scenario, it is very important for an organization
to customize to the appropriate needs of the user.

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Leveraging Web services, industry standards and an interfacecustomization utility to create the right environment to drive IT and business
success is the key to the successful running of an organization, using an
e-business model.
Many companies today talk of the change from traditional models to new
ones but very few are aware of what they are talking of. A business model
for e-marketing, which has been explained here, is just defining a way of
doing business with the IT parameter in it. Thus the business model is
directly related to the revenue of the company.
In an e-business model it is very important to know the value chain one is
talking about.

1.7 Glossary
Authentication: The process of identifying an individual based on a
username and password. It is different from authorization, which is the
process of giving individuals access to system objects based on their
identity. Authentication ensures the individual is who he or she claims to
be, but says nothing about the access rights of the individual.
Blog: A personal Website on which an individual records opinions, links
to other sites, etc. on a regular basis.
E-Business: The application of information and communication
technologies (ICT) in support of all the activities of business.
E-Marketing: The marketing of products or services over the Internet.
E-Commerce: The buying and selling of products or services over
electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.
Escrow services: A financial instrument held by a third party on behalf of
the other two parties in a transaction. The funds are held by the escrow
service until it receives the appropriate written or oral instructions or until
obligations have been fulfilled. Securities, funds and other assets can be
held in escrow.
Non-repudiation: In reference to digital security, nonrepudiation means
are used to ensure that a transferred message has been sent and received
by the parties claiming to have sent and received the message.
Nonrepudiation is a way to guarantee that the sender of a message cannot
later deny having sent the message and that the recipient cannot deny
having received the message.
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1.8 Terminal Questions

1. Discuss the history of e-marketing.
2. Categorize the features of e-marketing.
3. Explain the collaborative Click-and-Brick model.
4. Describe the scope of e-marketing.
5. What are the benefits of e-marketing?
6. Write a note on the techniques of e-marketing.

1.9 Answers
Self Assessment Questions
1. Cell phones
2. Brick-and-Mortar (BAM)
3. Industrial
4. Manual
5. Traffic analysis
6. Brand equity
7. Marketing
8. E-business
9. True
10. False

Terminal Questions
1. Initially Websites were just a name on online brochures. This captured
customer attention, as they could send and receive emails. In a span of
10 years the Web has become a vital means of collecting email addresses
and contact details of users. For more details, refer sub-section 1.2.2.
2. Todays fierce competition is making every company proactive in IT tactics.
For more details, refer sub-section 1.2.3.

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3. This is one of the key models in the e-business age: (brick-and-mortar) +

(click-and-order) = click-and-brick (C&B). For more details, refer subsection 1.2.3.
4. Before the period of the Industrial Revolution, for all practical purposes,
every trade and exchange development consisted of a minimum degree
of personal liaisons between vendors and consumers. For more details,
refer sub-section 1.3.1.
5. The benefits of e-marketing can be classified into two main categories
direct and indirect. For more details, refer sub-section 1.3.2.
6. Marketers have used the Internet for various marketing activities. For more
details, refer section 1.4.

1.10 Case Study

Testing the Market
Fresca currently leads UKs other leading grocery retailers, in terms of
market share. To study this, we should first do a thorough competitor analysis
of the market in which Fresca is operating.
Fresca used automated event-triggered messaging so that its customers
can take on routine purchases. There is also a touch strategy that follows
the communications channel as different events in the customer lifecycle.
The steps of the same are as follows: In the first step the customer first
registers on the site. In auto-response, which is the second step, an email
is sent to offer phone assistance and a discount of 5 on the first purchase
for trial of the product. Next, the customer first purchases online. The order
is confirmed immediately. Five days after purchase, there is an email sent
with a link to find the online customers satisfaction, which talks of the quality
of service of the product and its delivery system. After two weeks, a direct
mail offering service usage, a next 5 discount on purchases is sent, to
encourage the customer to use the Website again. Additionally, this is
accompanied by a generic monthly e-newsletter and a bi-weekly alert, along
with a regular 5 discount for the next shop and the quarterly mailing of
coupons. In case dormancy detected, then a reactivation email with a survey
questionnaire is sent to the customer to find out the problems.
Frescas online product strategy
In the year 2005, Fresca.com took 150,000 grocery orders a week, along
with products like e-diets and music downloads.
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In May 2005, the company further improved Fresca.com, which then had
30,000 customers for DVD rentals. Additionally, home delivery services for
bulk wine and white goods were started.
It also took forward the concept of e-village that became a learning
experience with additional options like message boards and community
advisers.
Fresca offered broadband and dial-up ISP services, but Fresca.com
concentrated on more traditional services like Fresca Telecom fixed-line
services, which brought in 1 million customers in the first year.
Fresca also introduced a music download service, in which they achieved
10 per cent market share. In addition to this, the sale of MP3 players was
started on the Web.
Customer Relationship Management to support its e-business
strategies
Fresca tied up with good CRM vendors and implemented its unique customer
loyalty programme that is being used in 12 of its stores. This has been
called the Fresca Club Card Program, which stresses on customer view.
The same has been made based on information about customer
preferences. As a result of this, profits soared and Fresca reigned supreme.
Here, the company build its own customer retention and customer loyalty
by-product.
Strategies for coping with variations in online buyer behaviour and
loyalty
Fresca has been creating a user-friendly and simple-to-navigate Website.
Fresca has placed their navigational links on separate frames so that they
could be permanently visible, while scrolling in the main text area. This helps
the reader to conceptualize their option on the site at any time. In this way
the site simplifies browsing, which can be done by categorizing products
into separate sections. Thus, consumers can browse the virtual store and
also add the needed product to their virtual shopping baskets and pay by
debit/credit card.
The company has taken care of the speed of use and ease of access,
which are by far dominant motivating factors for the online purchase. Fresca
helps customer make an electronic shopping list which could get saved
and recalled at a later time. Thus the consumer does not have to select the
same items every week.

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The same has made successful for the customer, who can access services
when their physical premises are closed.
With the same, the customers can access the Website at their leisure
from the comfort of their homes. Thus they can make more rational choices
in purchasing of goods. Additionally, this also became a good opportunity
for disabled people to shop in a traditional manner.
The company gets benefits from e-commerce like reduced operating costs
on rent, rates and labor and thus it can pass the same as price deductions
to the consumer. Fresca has offered computers on their Website at the
same price but with a free printer in case one purchases online. Lower
prices with the option of comparing products have been the major reasons
why 39 per cent of Americans are shopping online.
Also, here companies like Fresca reduce the need for staff. Software is
starting to replace employees. This also become a corporate social
responsibility with environment agencies as Fresca Websites give
substantial amount of information online. The company also publishes the
minutes of its meetings on its Website. Thus the common man can also
participate in the Open Board meetings for the community issues.
Also, Fresca publishes a large amount of information like the company aims
and objectives and responsibilities to customers, suppliers and investors
on its Website. Also crucial environmental issue like the organic farming
has been put on its Website. Thus the Website also becomes a crucial
public relations tool.
Frescas Website contains a rather large collection of news release articles
that talk of the companys activities over the past few years.
Internet fraud has grown even faster than the Internet. Thus the chances of
crime over the Internet in case the buyers and sellers do not know each
other are increasing. Also, Fresca would have to educate the public about
the ethical and legal issues and thus e-commerce is highly important for
the company to be adjusted for.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think there could be any major problems if Fresca was to launch
an e-store in a country like India?
2. Do you feel the e-commerce Website of Fresca should be supported
by physical stores too? Explain why.
Source: Adapted from http://www.123helpme.com/tesco-case-study
view.asp?id=167672 (Retrieved on 3 October 2012)
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References
Kotler Philip, Kevin Lane Keller, (2006); Marketing Management. Prentice
Hall.
Baalbaki I B, N Malhotra, (1993); Marketing Management Bases for
International Market Segmentation: An alternative Look at the
Standardization/Customization Debate.
E-Reference
http://www.sba.gov/content/email-marketing (Retrieved on 3 October 2012)

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