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IST Journal on Business & Technology, Vol: 7, No: 1, Dec’15, ISSN: 2070-4135

A Framework for eCommerce Marketing in


Bangladesh: A Case of ojonika.com –
Md. MouludeHossain1, Md. AshfaqurRahman1, MahmudaRahman1
Department of Business Administration
Institute of Science & Technology, National University, Bangladesh

Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to explore e-commerce issues particularly for developing an appropriate
framework for ecommerce marketing. The issues that e-commerce faces will be examined through the
marketing mix. The authors consider process as an additional P especially for ecommerce. Exploring the
ideas of product, place, price, promotion and process with their implication in addressing and mitigating
problems of ecommerce is the main focal point of this article. The authors find that the five concepts of
the marketing mix equally play a critical part in the success of e-commerce. Therefore, concentrating on
these concepts will prove to be of the utmost importance as an e-commerce provider.

Key Words: ecommerce, Marketing Mix, Marketing Framework, online shop

Introduction

Technological development in recent decades has opened new perspectives in all aspects of life. In the
economic field, the emergence and widespread use of Information and Communication Technologies
have facilitated the emergence of a new type of commerce, commonly known as ecommerce. It
represented the creation of a new market conducting transactions both in terms of physical meaning (the
electronic environment) and in terms of supply and demand (putting face to face the consumer desires
with the manufacturer's transcend some barriers of space and time). Just like other form of business
different variables of marketing environment – socio-cultural, legal, political, economic and technological
(SLEPT) variables – are dynamic, undergoing frequent changes, and having greater impact on the way
businesses are conducted. Of these SLEPT variables, technology has the greatest impact on business
activities and is an important source of competitive advantage for many companies across different
industries, including retailing. Businesses, to be successful in the dynamic marketplace, must therefore
respond to the changes in these environmental factors. For example, Wilson & Gilligan [1997] argued
that marketers should match the capabilities of the business with the environmental conditions. Similarly,
Pride & Ferrell [2003] suggested that businesses should be proactive and adjust their marketing strategies
to fit changes taking place in the environment. Furthermore, Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel [2006] described
marketers as adapters rather than agents of change. Consequently, many businesses are responding to the
new order in the technology world, the Internet to meet the needs of their dynamic customers. One of
these businesses is retailing firm.

Since that time the Internet has boomed, reaching over 30 million households and organizations around
the world. As the Internet expanded it moved into doing business orientated functions, such as selling
products over the Internet. This concept has become known as e-commerce. E-commerce today represents
a 300 billion dollar industry. This is why it is an important area to be concerned with from a business’s
standpoint. This huge market is an awesome place for organizations to promote themselves and to
contract business through. Since the expansion of e-commerce, organizations have run themselves thin;
the demand from customers is so great, that many sites can’t keep up with the demand. Not being able to
match the demand in the future will destroy the confidence of customers, in this already intangible means
of commerce. For this means of commerce to continue to attract customers and keep them, they need to

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focus on satisfying each customer. On the other hand there is fierce competition and creating demand is
essential for many companies to survive [Lee; 2003]

E-stores offer shoppers certain benefits that cannot be offered by brick-and-mortal (physical) stores, and
these attract a growing number of consumers to online shopping from all over the world. These benefits
are well documented in the extant literature. For example, prior studies have indicated that e-stores offer
online shoppers more diverse product choices, individualized (customized) products, service information,
shopping convenience, 24/7 shopping, time saving, competitive pricing and privacy [Katole, 2011;
Kaufman-Scarborough & Lindquist, 2002].

e-Commerce improves the efficiency and effectiveness of business, government and not profit
organization agencies. The ability of this business conductance all over the world in 24/7. Its major
advantage is online and can save a lot of time and money rather than go outside and spent some extra
money for shopping. However going online does not guaranteed 100% success and it totally depends on
the organization. The lifecycle of e-Commerce business can be presented as below:

The effects of e-commerce are already appearing in all areas of business, from customer service to new
product design. It facilitates new types of information based business processes for reaching and
interacting with customers like online advertising and marketing, online order taking and online customer
service etc. It can also reduce cost in managing orders and interacting with a wide range of suppliers and
trading partners, areas that typically add significant overheads to the cost of products and services [Rajiv
Rastogi]. Businesses are increasingly using the Internet for commercial activities. The ubiquitous nature
of the Internet and its wide global access has made it an extremely effective mode of communication
between businesses and customers [Rowley (2001)]. The growth of Internet technology has enormous
potential as it reduces the costs of product and service delivery and extends geographical boundaries in
bringing buyers and sellers together. In aggregation, electronic commerce, commonly known as e-
commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic
system such as internet and other computer network. Internet is the technology for e-commerce as it

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offers easier ways to access companies and individuals at very low cost n order to carry out day-to-day
business transactions.

Research Objectives

The main objective of this research is to develop a clear understanding about the integrated framework for
eCommerec marketing. Finding a better solution to promote online shops and creating brand experience
among the target customers.

Consequently, the objectives of this research are as follows:-


 To provide a broader understanding of conceptual framework of marketing strategy for
online shops.
 To understand and explain the pattern of Marketing Mix particularly applicable for
eCommerec.
 To illustrate and clarify the most suitable methodologies in order to create better
shopping experience for customers in online.
 To determine dominating factors that drive eCommerec business and finding a better way
to adopt marketing strategies.

By achieving such goals the business practitioners may find a better answer of how to reach more
customers and create experiential shopping pleasure for customers. Besides, it will helps the researchers
and scholars in the field of eCommerec can have a clearer view to set their attitude towards suitable future
research studies and methodologies which in turn will contribute to the related accumulated knowledge in
the field.

Methodology of the Study

Seven offline and five online focus groups of online shop owners, online buyers, online marketing
specialists, payment facilitators were participate who maintains a panel of about 150 million online
stakeholders. We believe the importance of various attributes associated with quality will vary somewhat
depending on the motivation for online shopping. The researchers attended or "lurked" (logged in without
being visible to participants) in all focus groups. The researchers moderated the groups, which were both
audio and videotaped. In the five online groups, a professional moderator ran the groups, while both
researchers "lurked." The online groups are held in real time in a "chat room" format; our youngest
informant was 19 and our oldest was 49.

Online qualitative research methodologies evoke dialogues that are honest, direct, and somewhat less
constrained by social conventions present in traditional focus groups. Online qualitative research is
uniquely suited for engaging Internet savvy respondents. It is especially appealing to those for whom time
is at a premium. It also reaches audiences not generally reached by traditional face-to-face focus groups,
including those in outlying areas and respondents who are home bound.

Theoretical categories both existed a priori and emerged during coding and analysis of transcripts. We
looked for exceptions to our tentative findings. Our primary theoretical categories for this analysis
involve reported goal directed search vs. experiential browsing/buying behavior, as well as the attributes
and outcomes that are associated with those behaviors. A second analysis is currently underway which
identifies the entire attributes online consumers associate with satisfaction and overall transaction quality.

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Literature Review

According to Marcia Jedd, the biggest problem with e-commerce now and in the futureis delivery (Jedd,
2000). Residential deliveries cost delivery companies three times as much as deliveries to business,
because residential areas are less dense (Jedd, 2000). Also dealing with delivery, the residential deliveries
are much more expensive due to inability to create economies of scale (Jedd, 2000). Some experts believe
that information technology is a must in improving logistics and supply chains (Ayers, 1999). In recent
years, numerous types of information systems have been developed to increase efficiency of logistics,
such as warehousing, inventory, and delivery operations (Ayers, 1999).

Although e-commerce separates itself from the traditional retail outlet, it still must compete with them.
For example, when purchasing an item online, the price of the actual good offered is often cheaper online,
but the high cost of shipping decreases the advantage for buying online. If a compact disk cost five dollars
on line and then cost six dollars to ship, it ends up costing about the same amount as priced in local retail
outlets (Wilson, 1999). According to Resource Marketing, their results show that only 10 out of 45 sites
offered fair warranty and return services (Mardesich, 1999). When a customer does find a product that
they want, it is difficult to get a physical grasp of the product (Mardesich, 1999). There is a lot of
intangibility when purchasing online, such as buying items that are sold in sizes. Not being able to try on
products is a barrier that e-commerce must overcome to increase sales to compete with local retail outlets.

The lack automated inventory and shipping systems are problems for e-commerce companies. This lack
of technology really stresses the ability of a firm to meet the demands of customers in a concise time
period. According to a Federal Express executive, many companies will crash before they upgrade to
automation logistic systems (Wilson, 1999). Many of the early e-commerce companies outsource their
order checking and distribution functions (Haywood, 1989). This is proved to be a problem for some
companies because of shipping cost has proved to be a big deterrent of customers buying online and
warehouse and distribution systems were not set up to handle e-commerce business.

Many transactions are done via the Internet, which can take an especially long time. Customers will at
some point forget the transaction if they are required to wait extended periods, especially if the product is
accessible at local retail vendors. Managing the time required for a customer to complete a transaction
affects potential sales (Harvard Business Review, 2000). Many times why customers don’t finish the
transaction is due to extended wait of finalizing the transaction (Harvard Business Review, 2000).

Internet sites can also be hard to find for some patrons, which can deter potential customers from buying
online. Even if the potential customer knows what they want, finding the web site that offers the best
price can be a lengthy task. Using search engines such as Yahoo or Excite can help, but they search in a
very broad manner, sometimes it takes too long to find the web site. This may cause buyers to buy the
product at local retail vendor (Mardesich, 1999). According to Resource Marketing, their research
confirms this problem. In their recent study of 45 search sites, only one third proved to generate relevant
sites (Mardesich, 1999).

eCommerce Business in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the large market in the world as population but the peoples are not well enough for
online market yet. Since 1970 to 2000 can be said that Bangladesh was almost in the darkest in e-
Commerce business. The peoples even never imagine for e-Commerce. They just work in the computer
for assignment for school, colleges and university or can be used in private organization or government.
But it was very rare in the government project.

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Since 2000 the students just waked up and started a revolution with computer work in every department
in the every organization and also it’s going to involve most of the government project too. The peoples
are getting better and better in terms of time. Bangladesh is also going fast and like western or develops
countries. The peoples are doing many things online like read newspaper and doing lots of out sourcing
work and getting very good money and not only himself also giving good remittance to the nation too.
The peoples are specially studying in the private universities and they are very good enough for the e-
Commerce knowledge and uses development.This is very exciting that the private universities are also
giving free laptop to every student and forcing them to jump and learn many things from online. This is
also nice to see that they are doing online business and putting many things on their sites and selling them
easily.

Though eCommerce business in Bangladesh just growing and getting significant concentration for from
2012/2013, the history of eCommerce in Bangladesh is not so short. The first eCommerec site was
www.munshigi.com started by MD. GiasUddin in February, 2000. And if now we look at this industry we
can find that number of entrepreneurs, investors and group of companies are getting involve in this
business. The huge potential and market possibilities make this sector attractive like never before. For a
better view, we may categorize the eCommerce concerns into three different groups:

a) Classified Ad Site
If we go the sites of Bikroy.com or ekhanei.com or the apnardeal.com the most successful e-
Commerce business at present in Bangladesh then you can feels the scents of the e-
Commerce booming. They are also the pioneer of Classified Ad site of Bangladesh.
b) Online Market Place
Online Market Place is a kind of virtual shopping mall, where merchants are enlisted to sell
products and the market place owner generate revenue from sales commission or enlistment
fees. Ajkerdeal.com, kaymu.com.bd, daraz.com, bdestore.com, khubsosta.com are the
examples of online market place.
c) Online Shop
The most popular and standard eCommerce business category is online shop, where people
can by products directly from the shop. Ojonika.com, gadgetbangla.com, inpacebazar.com,
aponzone.com, biponee.com are the few popular online shop example.

Recently in Bangladesh e-CAB (e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh) has started their operation for
provide a common platform for discussing and exchanging views on business conditions and issues, both
domestic and international, affecting companies or organizations involved with E-commerce or online
marketplaces through which trade is facilitated or commenced. e-CAB’s aim also to take action for
preservation of rights and interest especially, of the members of the organization and generally for the
development of the business services who are related with E-Commerce business, nationally and
internationally. To take all steps to support, protest and prevent constitutionally all governmental law or
proceedings imposed against any member of the association. The trade organization shall discharge its
activities considering the state policy and overall public interest and also it shall not arrange participate or
support any activities in contrary to the regulations of the state and subversive to the social peace &
tranquility.

They also collect maintain, distribute or supply all data statistics and other information necessary for the
Email promotion and advancement of business of E-Commerce through letters, circulars, periodicals or
though press and other publicity media and to obtain or develop information books, brochures, visual aids
and education items for members and to distribute them on a pro-data, on profit on loss basis.

This is very clear that the peoples of Bangladesh are going to purchase online like western or Europe.
There are not many sites like western but its increasing day by day in the country and also spreading the

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rest of the district of Bangladesh. The government also taking part of that and taking many projects to
build digital Bangladesh. The peoples can realize that they can save a lot of time for doing online
shopping and also can do others works too. Now a days we can see that people are giving bill online.

Marketing 5Ps for eCommerce

Product

One of the main issues of concern is the intangibility of purchasing online. The intangibility is caused by
not being able to focus on tangible aspects when purchasing online. The customer can’t actually touch or
feel a product, which increases the risk of the purchase. The key to reducing intangibility is creating
tangible cues that the customer recognizes. Creating a positive brand image will reduce the risk (Kurtz,
1998). For example, buying a product that has a quality image will reduce the risk for customers.
Companies need to focus on creating a positive and reliable brand name.

In an e-commerce marketing strategy it is important to remember that information is now its own viable
product. Many of the frameworks reviewed addressed this area. Rayport and Sviokla (1994) discuss
transactions where the actual product has been replaced by information about the product and Evans and
Wurster (1999) discuss navigation as its own business. This change has resulted from technology that has
brought down the cost of collecting and disseminating information about consumers and products. Evans
and Wurster (1999) describe navigation as the process through which shoppers collect information about
products. In the physical world, a shopper who wants to buy something has to manually sift through the
millions of choices. This usually requires a shopper to travel to a store and inspect the products. Unless
they want to travel to various stores, they are limited to the information at one particular store. A
complete search of all offerings would be extremely expensive, time-consuming and practically
impossible. Instead consumers rely on product suppliers and retailers to aid them in the search.

Since products can’t be seen in person, it creates a barrier between the company and the buyer. A possible
way to overcome this factor is through technology. By providing actual pictures of the product, it will
allow the customer to get a better understanding of the products. If the web site has high quality pictures,
it will reduce the perceive risk, which can increase the sales for a company.

Products that are produced in different sizes, such as clothing, create a problem for companies. Customers
that want to buy the product may not because they are not sure how the product will fit. This creates a
problem for the company, it is important to have a lenient return policy, but even more importantly, they
should purchase software that helps in sizing (Mardesich, 1999). This software will allow customers to
input their measurements and the web site will recommend which size is best for them (Mardesich, 1999).
This type of technology will reduce the risk involved, which will increase the number of products sold.

Place

For most companies the place aspects of the marketing mix involve marketing channels. Marketing
channels can be defined as interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or
service available for use or consumption (Kotler,1991). There is a definite need for companies to manage
the relationship with the shipping companies. The bigger the company the more power it possess in the
supply chain. They have the ability to hurt the shipping company by choosing to change shippers. Even
though there are few shipping companies, the online company can claim they will switch, if their quality
of service doesn’t increase. By threatening a switch, it will hopefully create better service for a large
company.

Large companies that use outsourcers should look into instituting their own logistics system. Even though
it is working for the company, it may be reducing profit (Wilson, 1999). Each part of the supply chain

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makes a small profit in the online commerce. The actual sale of the product makes a small profit, the
warehousing makes a small profit, and the packager makes a small profit. Add up these areas and that
means there is a larger profit to be made by taking over these functions (Wilson, 1999). If a company can
do these functions themselves they will increase their profits, because they can do it cheaper than an
outsourcer.

Due to the size of its marketplace, the Internet will have the most profound effect on place in the
marketing mix. E-commerce puts the purchase decision anywhere a connection to the Internet exists. All
of the frameworks reviewed addressed place. Klein and Quelch (1996) discuss the global reach of the
Internet in creating a larger marketplace and the strong growth of a network’s utility based on Metcalf’s
law. Evans and Wurster (1999) discuss reach, the number of eyeballs that view a Web site. They claim
that reach is the most visible difference between e-commerce and the physical world. The Internet will
allow organizations to skip over parts of the value chain.

Price

The Internet will lead to increased price competition and the standardization of prices. Klein and Quelch
(1996) point out two counteracting effects of the Internet on price. First, a supplier can use the technology
to discriminate pricing between consumers, for example, in different countries. However, if they do not
take precautions the consumers may be able to quickly find out about the price discrimination and object
to it. Klein and Quelch (1996) suggest that taken together these factors would lead to increased
standardization of prices across borders. Also, the ability to compare prices across all suppliers using the
Internet and online shopping services will lead to increased price competition. Finally, the price of
providing Internet-based services often contains little or no marginal costs. Economic theory predicts that
the price of a product or service will approach its marginal cost as competition intensifies.

Price is very important when dealing with e-commerce problems. Price can be a key issue when trying to
increase demand or when decreasing demand. Price is definitely a weapon of choice by many companies
(Holden, 1998). The two typical pricing methods are skimming and penetration. Skim pricing is charging
a high price when the product is relatively new, in hope of making more profit. Penetration pricing is
deployed to capture a large market share. The theory is based on creating a large market share, by being
lower than competitors (Holden, 1998). To increase demand, e-commerce companies need to focus on
penetrating the market. This will work best for products that are in the introduction and growth stage
(Holden, 1998). If the product is near the maturity stage, lowering the price won’t increase profits very
much. For relatively new products, offering the product below competitors will increase demand.

Pricing of a product can reduce demand without reducing profit. If an online company is doing very well,
but isn’t able to keep up with the current demand, it may be smart to actually raise the price of the
product. This will do two things; it will keep profits at the same level, but allows the logistics department
to handle the orders more efficiently. If companies can’t keep up with demand, it will reduce the
satisfaction of the customer, which will reduce the loyalty of the customer. A solution to keep customers
happy is by reducing the demand through increasing the price, which will lower the number of purchases.
Reducing the purchases will allow the company to match demand; in return it will be easier to keep
current customers. It is believed that keeping current customers is five times cheaper than finding new
ones (Haywood, 1989). When raising the price, it must be by a marginal amount, enough not to cause
switching of loyal customers. Doing this will allow a company to keep the same profit and manage
demand more efficiently. This solution may want to be done until the company can acquire an automated
system.

Promotion

Some troubles for e-commerce companies are the inability of customers to find the web page. If they
can’t find the web page, it creates a barrier in achieving increased sales. The current technology of search

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engines, such as Yahoo and Excite, are very broad in nature (Mardesich, 1999). When looking for a
specific company it will bring up a vast variety of topics. It takes a while to narrow down the possible
entries to find the intended company (Mardesich, 1999). Reducing the time spent looking for a web site
can increase the satisfaction of the customers. If they must spend twenty minutes looking for a particular
site, they may stop before they find it. A company can use promotion to combat these problems.

The best way to combat the problem is using promotions that give the web site address. If the product is
high involvement, using advertising that is in magazines and newspapers should be efficient. For high
involvement goods, people actively search for possible solutions to their problem. If the product is low
involvement, people will not be actively searching for the product, so promotional activities must be
intense. This can be accomplished by getting a large number of advertisements into television and radio
vehicles. Another possible promotional vehicle is using hyperlinks (Wehling, 1996). Hyperlinks allow a
direct passage from another web site. This makes it very easy to find a particular web site. Hyperlinks are
usually most efficient when implemented on a web site of similar material. In addition, there is no need to
alienate customers or potential customers through promotional tactics. False or unethical marketing as
become an issue in recent years, it isn’t uncommon to find many of these web sites. This can be just
puffery or it can be full blown bait-and-switch tactics.

The Internet provides a low cost way for the manufacturer to build a direct link with the consumer.
Incumbents can use their traditional sources of consumer information (e.g. product testing, focus groups)
in addition to the information that is easily collected from e-commerce sites (e.g. sales information,
customer demographics). Using data mining they can build customer profiles that allow them to offer
distinct promotions that are tailored to their customers. This advantage is at its greatest when the
consumer is interested in detailed product information or the product is marketed as state-of-the-art. Such
rich product information is most useful when the consumer is evangelistic, enthusiastic and the product
has a strong connotative context (Evans and Wurster, 1999).

Branding will continue to play an important role in Internet marketing. As Klein and Quelch (1996) point
out, new users tend to explore sites with familiar brands first. Recent surveys have shown that 46 per cent
of new online shoppers prefer to buy from merchants they had previously bought from off-line. Even 34
per cent of repeat online shoppers preferred the familiar off-line store sites (Kane, 1999). Brands that
equate their products with an experience (e.g. feelings, associations, and memories) will likely be more
effective than brands based on facts about a product. Belief-based brands associate themselves with
attributes such as high quality or reliability. These attributes can be easily proven by an impartial display
of the facts on a navigator’s Web site. Even if the facts confirm the brand, it may only be rendering the
brand redundant. Brands that are associated with a mixture of beliefs and experiences should play up the
experiential side of the brand (Evans and Wurster, 1999).

Process

a) Delivery Process

One of the most challenging and significant factors of online shop in Bangladesh. In most cases
customers do order online to save their time and effort to collect product from outlets. Online
shops need to consider the delivery process as a core part of their whole business process.

b) Payment Process

How customers will pay for the product they buy? Multiple options are available for this. It is the
responsibility of the online shop owners to ensure availability of most convenient payment for
customers. In Bangladesh till now Cash on Delivery (COD) is most popular to customers. bKash
can also be a very good way to use as payment process. Direct Bank Transfer is the most idle but
most unpopular method in Bangladesh.

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c) Authentication Process

When a customer uses his/her credential information for direct bank transfer, how this
information will be secured? How the authentication process would be done? As a online shop
owner, a well secured authentication process must be in action to secure the transaction.

Besides changing the elements of the traditional marketing mix in isolation, some of the most profound
effects of the Internet will come in how the trade-off between elements of the marketing mix operates.
Evans and Wurster (1999) point out that traditionally the amount of products a retailer could carry in one
place (their reach) was inversely proportional to the amount of information they could present about the
product in their promotions (richness). The Internet has eliminated that tradeoff. Internet retailers can
offer many more products than the largest bricks and mortar retailer and provide detailed product
information at the same time(Evans and Wurster, 1999). Warehousing and distribution are no longer part
of navigation and selection. Therefore manufacturers are no longer limited in the size of their market and
the amount of information they can present to consumers through promotions.

Integrated Framework for eCommerce Marketing

According to Rayport and Sviokla (Managing in markets pace, 1994),technology has allowed the
information about a product or service to be separated from the product or service itself. This new market
space has three elements:
a. Content is what is being sold (i.e. what you take delivery of). This can be information, a
service or a physical product
b. Context is how the content is presented for sale. Key to consumer loyalty, once the
consumer is loyal to a particular context, there isa large potential for related transactions
c. Infrastructure describes how the buyer and seller are brought together

Traditionally all three elements would be managed by a single player to develop a brand. Now the three
elements will be segmented and can be managed separately to create brand value.

Klein and Quelch (The Internet and international marketing, 1996) advocates that E-commerce will
develop along two paths: information to transaction (established companies) or transaction to information
(start-ups) Web sites must be built to reduce costs for customers (e.g. customers’ service, transactions) or
to generate revenue from them (e.g. product information, promotions, market research, transactions). E-
commerce should enable buyers and sellers to come together where they previously could not. This is a
critical area of growth for international companies.

Besides the core business process, ecommerce also has major issue on product and site navigation. In case
of online shopping business before the physical product, online shop owners sell the image and content.
For this purpose, the navigation plays a vital role for the same. Evans and Wurster (Getting real about
virtual commerce, 1999) argues that,
 Navigation is now a separate business with three aspects: reach, affiliation, and richness
 Reach refers to the number of different categories and products a consumer interface (e.g.
store, catalog, and Web site) can cover. Reach also refers to the number of customers a
business can interact with
 Affiliation refers to whose interests are most important to the merchant: the customer’s,
the retailer’s or the supplier’s?
 Richness is how much information can be exchanged between a producer and consumer.
Richness has two aspects: customer information and product information

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The present study also focus on the process of doing business online and the level of understanding
required from the customer side. An integrated framework for ecommerce business is presented below:

Framework Product Place Price Promotion Process Customer


Centered
Managing in Content - Infrastructure – Pricing
markets pace what is being how was the based on
(Rayport and sold (what do sale possible? cost
Sviokla, 1994) you take Context - how has no
delivery of?)? is it presented place
for sale?
The Internet and Global reach Standard Global branding Understanding
international Market makers pricing the
marketing global
(Klein and consumers
Quelch, 1996)
Making Tool for Companies can Links
business sense developing skip companies
of and other players in directly to
the Internet delivering an customers,
(Gosh, 1998) new industry value suppliers, and
products and chain other
services Companies are interested
to customers able to parties
dominate the
electronic
channel of an
entire industry
or segment,
control access
to customers,
and set business
rules
Getting real Navigation as Reach Richness Affiliation
about virtual a
commerce separate
(Evans and business
Wurster, 1999)
Defining What is Global Market Competiti Global Branding, Clearly Affiliation,
complete offered to Space in a click ve Pricing unique message define the understanding
process for customer? distance. Reach for through order customer pain
customers How maximum. sustainabl branding. process, point. Making
(Current customers e business delivery customer your
Research) navigate to growth. process advocates.
know the and
product? payment
process.

ojonika.com - : A Case Analysis

About Ojonika

Almost every company has to rethink itsstrategies due to the changes that the Internetbrings. For some,
the implications areobvious, but for others they are not. ojonika.com is Bangladesh based virtual outlet,
from where someone can buy their desired product that suits style. ojonika.com provides Internet-based

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service that enables users to purchase original merchandise such as clothing, footwear, gadgets, gifts,
handicrafts, IT Durables etc. from various fashion and lifestyle brands. Upon placing an order,
ojonika.com shall ship the product and be entitled to its payment for the products and services. The online
shop offer to pay after getting the product in customer’s hand —this (COD) is the most renowned
payment solutions in www based shopping.

 Vision
Our stylish vision is to make the sense of your style with effortless choosing from our
virtual outlet.
 Mission
To afford this vision our mission is to give you a wide range of selections within the
friendly price. Our style is to provide you hassle-free, trendy, and reliable shopping
opportunity at staying in home.
 Value proposition
Ojonika.com’s value proposition revolves around giving consumers the power and ease
of purchasing Life Style & Corporate products online both for Ladies &Gents. Offering
widest range of brands and products on its portal such as in-season product catalog, 100%
authentic products, cash on delivery, and 30 day return policy.
 Brand Identity of ojonika.com
The business motto of the company is ―sense of style‖, which eventually represents the
naming psychology ( is a bangle word which means STYLE). The logo include
a shopping cart at the beginning and the second ―O‖ is mouse shaped that indicates online
(buy at click). Shopping cart means shopping and mouse means online.

Adaptation of Marketing Framework by Ojonika

With quality, value, and convenience mixed right into ojonika’s foundation, it is committed to provide the
best possible shopping experience. The online shop’s major value addition commitments to its customers
are:

a) Interactive Product Demos


Along with the high resolution images in multiple angles customers also get an additional
point of view through detailed video demos for most of its featured products.
b) Price
Ojonika try to ensure pricing be legitimate for its customers. In order to do so, ojonika priced
their products based on cost, with a logical gross margin that seems to be enough to cover its
cost and target net profit margin. Considering the competition of the market, ojonika also
focus on Competitive Pricing of products.
c) Place
Being an online shop, ojonika emphasizes to ensure global reach and connections. Besides
the website, they also making the availability of product more convenient by having outlets
based on Dhaka.
d) Promotion
The promotional activities of ojonika include both online and offline promotion. Ojonika
emphasized on the branding of the shop with some unique brand identity e.g. a mouse in
orange surface, the icon of ojonika now a day. The online promotion includes: Facebook

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IST Journal on Business & Technology, Vol: 7, No: 1, Dec’15, ISSN: 2070-4135

Page Promotion, Boost Post in Facebook, Online Banner Ad, Google Ad Sense, Email blast,
Bulk SMS etc.

Besides the online promotion, ojonika also promote their brands offline by sponsoring
retailer’s signboard, banners, festoons and participating online business and fashion fairs.
e) Process
A complete process is in deployment for making the whole online experience better to its
customers. An online shop requires developing and maintaining a better process to create
brand experience for customers. The definitive process for online shop that established by
ojonika can be figured out as below:
i) Authentication of user
Feel confident while shopping with ojonika because it employs the most secure payment
options through VeriSign Secured Seal Program. Through VeriSign all your personal
information is encrypted by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software every time it is transmitted
over the internet.
ii) 3. 24 x 7 Customer Support
Irrespective of the time of the day, customer can reach the round-the-clock customer care
team for all payment and order related doubts, queries and assistance. A friendly customer
care executives are always glad to help.
iii) Payment Options
To have the money but being unable to pay because the retailer doesn’t accept all forms of
payment is probably the biggest killjoy for a shopper. At Ojonika.com, you can pay however
you want, whenever you want and wherever you want. On your way to checkout, you can
pick from a number of convenient payment options: COD, bKash, Banking Transfer etc.
iv) Delivery Options
Customer can choose delivery option as convenient to you. With reliable home delivery
services ojonika also offer customers to collect product from its outlet. To make sure that you
get your product, our customer service officer will track and call customer until the delivery
is confirmed. In case of any unusual delivery delay customer can also mail to
care@ojonika.com.

Conclusion

It is obvious there is a huge market in e-commerce, and there is a definite need for effective management.
The only way for a company online to be successful in the long run is dealing with problems and making
corrections. With many barriers involved in e-commerce, companies must be able to effectively and
efficiently manage each phase of the marketing mix. Companies can’t afford to just focus on two or three
areas. This is not enough. Focusing on just product and place, will not accomplish goals in the long run.
Each component must be evaluated periodically and managed effectively. The reason why evaluating
each phase periodically, is that with such a diverse and technology driven area, elements are constantly
changing. Scanning the environment is a must to stay competitive and efficient. In conclusion, the
company can only be as good as its weakest link, each area is as important as the other is, integration
among the four areas is vital.

Before designing the mix of marketing offered on a site, a company needs to understand both its products
and its users; average time spent on the sites by users is associated with goal vs. experiential orientation;
thus, using click stream data, companies should be able to estimate the percentage of shoppers and buyers

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who are goal-oriented vs. experiential. Additionally, website design and strategy issues should be based
on motivations and satisfiers for online buyers. For example, online buyers largely do not expect or desire
"high touch" service unless they have questions or problems with customer service, in which case they
expect relatively speedy answers (within 24 hours) responsive to their individual problems. Any features
that increase the sense of user control and freedom, including order tracking, purchase histories, saving
information to facilitate speed in future sessions, and opt-in email notification of new products and special
deals, increase the satisfaction of goal-oriented users. The importance of posting accurate, relevant and
(when requested) comprehensive information about products cannot be overemphasized by e-commerce
sites.

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