Sunday, August 23, 2009

Reflection on learning- Marketing in a wired world

This week covered the topic ‘Marketing in a wired world’. This week discussed the 4P’s which are:
· Product
· Price
· Place
· Promotion

And the 4 C’s which are:
· Cost
· Communication with company
· Customer needs and wants
· Customer convenience

Online brand option are:
· Migrate traditional brands online
· Extended traditional brand
· Partner with a traditional brand
· Create a new digital brand

There are different purchase methods of digital products. The methods are purchase, rental or subscription and pay per use.
This topic discussed four places which are:
PLACE 1: Place of purchase
PLACE 2: New channel structure which is disintermediation, reintermediation, countermediation.
PLACE 3: Channel conflict
PLACE 4: Virtual organisation.

Lastly promotional tools which can be used are:
· Advertising
· Sales promotion
· Personal selling
· Public relations
· Direct marketing

Week 4: Marketing in a wired world

1) A decrease in prices is inevitable in an online marketing environment. Do you agree or disagree?
When discussing the statement a decrease in prices is inevitable in an online marketing environment there are many different opinions to this statement. In the lecture slides there are two views which are pro and con for this issue.

View 1 is decreased prices inevitable and View 2 which is decrease in prices is unnecessary. In my opinion I have mixed feelings about this issue. Generally when purchasing a product online there is a conceived notion that the price of the product would be cheaper than buying the product in store. Ideally when purchasing products online seem to be cheaper because of the wait time for the product. Instead of buying the product in store at the exact time of purchase and having the product, the product needs to be ordered and the consumer needs to wait.

On the other hand a decrease in prices is unnecessary because consumers buy the products online because it’s more convenient. There is a perceived notion which is that the prices are the same and does not really matter. The notion is that buying products online are easier and less time consuming because you can just purchase which ever item you want without leaving your home.

Overall marketing online is cheaper than marketing offline because the company website and other mediums are less expensive than offline marketing. Offline marketing which is generally television, radio, magazines and newspapers are more expensive in the long run then online marketing.

Overall I agree in which that a decrease in prices are inevitable because most consumers have the idea that buying products online means cheaper prices.

2) Disintermediation will ultimately lead to channel conflict. Discuss.
When discussing disintermediation first of all have to define what this actually means. Disintermediation is “removing the middleman”. Ideally this means that companies make transactions directly to the customer instead of using such intermediaries as retailers. An example would be buying a laptop through the company such as Dell instead of buying the product through a shop called Harvey Norman.

The lecture slides discussed channel conflicts. In this situation channel conflict can depend on:
· Communication channel
· Distribution channel to intermediaries
· Direct sales channel to customer
· Or a combination of all.

When discussing disintermediation leading channel conflict ideally the idea of disintermediation is to cut out the intermediaries to decrease confliction. By cutting out the middle intermediaries such as broker or wholesaler this decreases the chance of “lost in translation”. So when there is an issue with a product or missing the delivery the business can track where the issue is because there is no middle area. Such as when making a purchase through an online supplier such as Dell, if the product is not delivered within the cited time then the consumer can call the company and the company will know when the product was sent to be delivered and would be able to fix up the situation. When there are intermediaries such as wholesaler or retailer there is more of a chance that when a product is lost, the time to find where and who made the mistake will take longer to fix the situation.

On the other hand disintermediation could lead to channel conflict in which the company has to promote and sell the product through different mediums. This is because selling direct from the company can be harder than selling through intermediaries. Intermediaries such as retailer can sell products in different locations and increase the product recognition. Channel conflict can become an issue if the company has a tough time selling the product direct. The communication channel can become an issue if the company only uses the company website. If the company only uses their company website then the company may not have a large recognition factor causing major difficulty.

Overall disintermediation has potential to cause channel conflict but ideally the use of disintermediation is to prevent that.

3) What are the five elements of promotion and what are some examples of combining online/offline promotion?
The five elements of promotion are:
· Advertising
· Sales promotion
· Personal selling
· Public relations
· Direct marketing

Advertising is when a company tries to sell a product. Advertising ideally is to “persuade and to inform” (Tutor2u, n.d). Examples of online advertising are websites, social websites. Examples of offline promotion are television, radio, magazines, billboards and newspapers.

Sales promotion is when types of packages are made to increase sales. Examples of online promotion are sales on the businesses website which state a promotional deal such as buy online and receive a 10% discount or multiple purchases. Offline promotion is like in store sales promotion which is like discounts or special deals.

Personal selling is ideally when a customer is approached or receives assistance by a sales representative in person or verbal conversation.

Public relations are when a business receives publicity for free. An example would be videos made on you tube such as someone using the product or talking about it. Another example would be a reporter writing an article about the service or product of a business. Another example is the television report on the business.

Direct marketing is when there is a relationship between the company and the individual (Tutor2u, n.d).

Ideally when combining online and offline promotion this is generally through the company’s website combining the products selling online and offline. An example would be selling a product such as an ipod in store during a sales promotion and linking the sales promotion to the online website to increase sales. The online and offline promotions have to be consistent. The reason for combining both online and offline is because this allows consumers to look for specials or prices which reflect the instore and online presence.

References:
Tutor2u.(n.d). Promotion. Retrieved August 23, 2009 from: http://tutor2u.net/business/marketing/promotion_factors.asp
Lecture slides by Ian Knox.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Reflection on learning on topic 3- Remix

This week has covered the topic of the effects of the remix. This week covered online and offline marketing of products/services showing their similarities and differences. The powerpoint covered the marketing mix of the 7 ‘P’s.
· Product
· Price
· Promotion
· People
· Process
· Physical evidence
· Partnership
This weeks questions covered dynamic pricing models and offline and online marketing of products such as Hepburn Spas and Subway. This topic demonstrated how marketing differs for different services and products also demonstrating how pricing can be flexible and customised depending on the product or service.

Week 3: Remix

(1) Consider a restaurant in Sturt Street Ballarat. On the discussion page write down all the offline marketing activities you can think of and then start a separate list and write down all the online activities you can think of.
When looking at restaurants in Sturt Street the only main restaurant which I can remember is La Porchetta. La Porchetta is a large chain which can be found in different parts of Australia. When looking at the offline marketing activities of La Porchetta there are a few different methods La Porchetta has used to spread recognition of the brand.

Offline marketing:
· Television advertisement
· Radio advertisement
· Newspaper adverts
· Coupons
· Signs
· Word of mouth

Online marketing:
· Website
· Restaurant websites
· Social websites such as facebook become a fan.

What if, any were the different in the lists?
The differences are basically how they advertise using different methods. By using television, radio and newspaper advertising this is similar to using the internet it is just a different type of method to get recognition. The website gives a lot of information about the restaurant and allows consumers to check out information which relates to their needs. Adverts such as the radio and television refer to viewing the website which brings a link to online and offline marketing.

(2) Consider two other products/services of your choice. Write down all the offline/online marketing possibilities you can think of.
When considering two different products or services I have chosen two services. The two services are Hepburn spas and Subway. These two services are different in which one is a fast food chain and the other is a relaxing spa resort. By having two different services this should demonstrate a few similarities and differences of online and offline marketing.

Hepburn Spas:

Online marketing:
· Hepburn Spas has a website which describes all the different treatments which consumers can have when going to the resort. This online marketing details how much each treatment costs and where the spa is located.
· Online advertisement would be a connection with the location such as when going to Daylesford what you can do.

Offline Marketing:
· Brochures
· Tv adverts
· Radio adverts
· Newspaper adverts
· Magazines
· Tv specials such as Getaway and travel type of shows.
· Word of mouth

Subway:
Online marketing:
· Subway has an official website which states their locations, menu, frachises and trading hours.
· Online competitions
· Restaurant information such as when googling locations and places to eat.

Offline marketing:
· Tv adverts
· Radio adverts
· Coupons
· Newspaper adverts
· Magazine adverts
· Billboards
· Location signs

(3) What makes a great online product from a marketers point of view? How would you measure success?
A great online product in a marketers view would be a product which can be sold. An example of a tough online product to sell would be space. Consumers can not touch it or even use it for different things. A great online product would be something which a consumer can see and decide whether they want the product or not. Even a service can be good to sell such as a holiday which can be demonstrated through pictures and moving description of the destination. A good product to sell online would be something which consumers want or can be influenced to want. In my opinion success would be measured through how many hits the website has had. For example marketers can measure how many people have been on the website which would be a good indication to whether the website is being viewed. Another way to measure success would be increase in sales after introducing the online presence.

(4) Preview the pricing of two products and consider some dynamic pricing models.
Going with the same theme of Hepburn Spa and Subway there are different pricing models which can be used to price products.
According to Sadhana there are five different pricing models. Which are:
· Inventory based model
· Data driven models
· Machine learning models
· Game theory model
· Simulation model.
Looking at Subway and their rolls costing on average of $6 for a 6inch sub this is an example of inventory based model because Subway dispels coupons for cheaper subs to bring in more sales. This demonstrates product sales and customer sales. Hepburn Spas on the other hand ideally is the same model but is different in the sense that their pricing is not a flexible pricing strategy but a customised. Hepburn Spas are customised pricing which means they have a particular price such as a treatment package can range from $140. This differs from Subway which is flexible and constantly changing to suit consumers such as through coupons (Sadhana, 2005).

(5) What are some of the issues these (pricing) models raise?
Some of the issues which these models raise are what if the product does not fit these certain categories? These five models are broad but do not cover all aspects of business decisions on pricing. Products being flexible and customised priced can also change because of consumer demand. Also the demand and supply can change which changes the pricing of products. If products/services do to make money they the business will also lose money.


References:

La Porchetta.(2005). La Porchetta Restaurant. Retrieved August 16, 2009 from: http://www.laporchetta.com.au/home/

Hepburn Spas.(2009). Hepburn Spas. Retrieved August 15, 2009 from: http://www.hepburnspa.com.au/hepburn_spa_australia.html

Subway.(2009). Subway Restaurants. Retrieved August 15, 2009 from: http://www.subway.com.au/content.asp

Sadhana.(2005). Dynamic pricing models for electronic business. Retrieved on August 15, 2009 from: http://www.ias.ac.in/sadhana/Pdf2005AprJun/Pe1337.pdf

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Reflection of learning on topic 2- Strategic eMarketing:

Week two focused on Strategic e-marketing. This topic discussed types of online businesses, consumer needs, objectives of e-marketing. This week’s questions referred to poor e-marketing and how this can affect businesses. There are six choices of online marketing. These choices show the different levels in which businesses can choose to market their product or services.

Week 2: Strategic eMarketing

1. Give an example from your own experience of poor eMarketing.

One example of poor eMarketing which has affected me is when I was looking for a television series. When looking at the website with the product stated a different price then the instore price was selling at. The website stated that the store which I was to retrieve the series from did not have the series in stock. The DVD was selling $10 cheaper on the website then instore. This was rather frustrating because when buying something I rather know the price before hand and having a website is much easier to know prices and what’s in stock. To have the website being misleading makes things very annoying.


2. List 5 examples of poor eMarketing.
Five examples of poor eMarketing are:

· Poor navigation- When a website is not easy and simple to navigate then this is an example of poor eMarketing.

· Impersonal emails- When signing up for a website, the website can send out group emails which are impersonal. Consumers generally do not appreciate receiving spam type of emails which may not concern them. If a consumer is to receive emails an example of good eMarketing is if the consumer received emails concerning items which are of interest. An example would be if I was interested in a TV series such as Supernatual a website could send me out a notification about the new season is coming out.


· Broken links- Broken links are an example of poor eMarketing. If a consumer is on a website and tries to navigate onto another page and the link is broken then this is a disadvantage to the company. If the link is broken then the consumer has to look at another website because they cannot go onto another page or the link just doesn’t work.

· Security- Security is a big issue for eMarketing. If a consumer views a website to be untrustworthy then a consumer will not make a transaction with the website meaning the business would not get business. A website has to be trustworthy because when putting personal information on a website the website has to have security. Security is a major factor because no consumer wants their personal information all over the internet for other people to see.

· Updated information- A website when dealing with eMarketing has to have their information up to date so their products and prices are not misleading. If a website has information on the website which are out of date consumers can assume that products and pricing are the same which can be misleading. Websites have to be updated to show current stock and prices.


3. Provide one example (from Ballarat or your experience) of each of the six levels of eMarketing. List these on your blog page with a brief description of each. You need to work this one out it is important that you understand the different types. Of course there is also Mobile marketing which we will examine later.The following information was based on the week 2 powerpoint presentation.

The six different levels of e-marketing are:

Level 0: Level 0 is when there is no e-marketing

Level 1: Level 1 is a basic web presence: This is ideally when a website has a list of businesses which someone can click on to view their website. An example would be the website Menulog which lists restaurants in Melton and allows the consumer to click onto a page to view the information.

http://www.menulog.com.au/melton_vic

Level 2: Level 2 is a Simple static information site. This is a website which contains information about a destination. For example the hanging rock website which has information about the destination and what consumers can do when they go to Hanging rock.

http://www.hangingrock.info/

Level 3: Level 3 is a Simple interactive site. These are websites which consumers can look up information on the website and make enquires. These websites allow consumers/users to locate information which they search for. An example would be the Ballarat University. The Ballarat website allows people to go onto the website search for information which they want. For example if a uni student wanted to search for semester information they can type it into the search and pick the most relevant website.

www.ballarat.edu.au

Level 4: Level 4 is an Interactive site supporting transactions with users. Level 4 represents websites that deal with transactions. Such websites as Jb hifi deal with showing a list of products consumers can buy online.

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/


Level 5: Level 5 is Fully interactive site supporting the whole buying process. An example of such a website would be eBay. eBay deals with consumers who find something which they are interested in buying and purchase the item online.
http://www.ebay.com.au/

Reference:
Week 2 powerpoint

Reflection of learning on topic 1-eMarketing:

Week one focused on the differences between e-marketing and e-business. This week focused on what is e-marketing. This topic discussed the legal, technological and market related factors affecting e-marketing. The three main markets concerning e business are consumer, business and government markets.