The power of Internet Marketing

Hello friends,

I am back with an article to discuss the power of Internet as an effective Marketing tool.
The world is about to reach a population count of 7 billion; 27% people in the world use Internet, the same figure stands at around 5% in India. Google, Facebook, Twitter etc. are rapidly increasing their footprint in the Social Media gamut. Hence, it is the age of internet and high time for Marketers to have an online presence to try and reach out the prospective buyers.

How to create our Online Presence?
We can always start with a website, the website is your online identity. It should be a good looking and easy to use and migrate website. The website should clearly illustrate your message or provide the relevant info you seek to communicate to your prospective customers; it should clearly specify your goals and ideology. The website should be hassle free and easy to use.
Customers reviews and feedback; and evaluations by web designers are two parameters which can be used to judge the quality of a website.

Now, after website provides us an online presence; we need to market ourselves on the internet as well. Internet marketing refers to one or more of the following:

1) Communicate the company's message about itself, its product and services.
2) Conduct research on various demographic needs of prospects/customers.
3) Selling products and services online.

Some of the components of internet marketing are as follows:
Setting up a website, Search engine Marketing, Search engine optimization, email marketing, Banner advertising, e-press releases, blog marketing, article marketing, Social Media Marketing

The underlying principle of using these components is to reach out to the prospective buyers. Social Media is increasingly becoming a very effective marketing tool. We can create Facebook pages, YouTube videos, use Twitter etc. to reach out to the people; one can also pay for Google Listings, or pay per click ads; similarly FB also provides you paid advertising space. Usually a mix of free and paid advertising on Google, FB etc. works out really well for firms. Again it all depends on the kind of product/service to be marketed and the marketing mix and marketing budget of the firm.

For example, i got some ads for ISB Application help in my Gmail inbox, i contacted some of the suggested sites and eventually ended up with the services of one of the Vendor; this was a paid Google ad listing delivered right to my inbox based on my mailing activity. A classic online advertising example.

Effective online Marketing is all about the following:

1) Building a list: This is the generation of traffic or rather targeted traffic; these are the people whom you target to sell your stuff. You can use ads, banners, blogs, social media etc. etc. to generate this traffic.
2) Establish relationship with the list: In this step you direct the traffic to your personal capture page, you get their emails and phone numbers; this is the process of Lead Generation. Now you follow up with this list using emails and telephone and build a relationship with them. This is the start of manifestation of TRUST.
3) Market to that list: Now, you can market to that list and drive them to your primary business.

The advantages of this approach is that it increases your credibility and visibility, the customers are more familiar with you, and provides you an opportunity to command premium prices.

On an ending note; As Kotler says, Marketing is a mix of Creativity and Science; Science ensures safety, it proposes marketing approaches which are less risky; on the other hand Creativity can at times lead to wonders. What is needed for successful marketing is a blend of creativity and science. Use ample science but do not drive out creativity!

Happy Marketing! :)

Strategy or Stunt

Micromax enters TV market

Mobile handset maker Micromax announced its foray into the television segment with the launch of a range of LED TVs priced between Rs. 15,990 and Rs. 1,29,990. The company expects a revenue of Rs. 225 crore from this the TV segment in this fiscal.

"Televisions is a natural progression. As consumers evolve, they want their devices and experience to be smart and personal. We aim to partner the growing aspirations of the digital consumers at all levels," says, Rajesh Agarwal, Micromax Managing Director and Co-founder .

The company is targeting 5-8 percent of revenues (Rs. 140-225 crore) this fiscal from the television segment, he added.

The LED TVs will be initially launched in nine states like Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Rajasthan across 24-inch to 55-inch range. The televisions will be priced between Rs. 15,990 and Rs. 1,29,990.

Micromax, which sells mobile phones and tablet PCs in India, SAARC and the Middle East countries, is aiming to grow overall revenues to Rs 2,800 crore for year ending March 2013.

"In the next one year, we are looking at sales of one lakh units (TVs)...In the next two years, the aim would be to increase the TV segment contribution to 20 percent of the revenues," Agarwal said.

He added that though the overall television market is growing at 15-16 percent, the LED TV segment is witnessing 100 percent. LED and LCD TVs comprise 35 percent of the 17-18 million units market and is a fast growing segment.

The company is targetting 8-10 percent market share of the LED TV market.

Micromax will assemble the LEDs at its new facility in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. It is investing Rs. 100 crore in the plant.

"We have set up an assembly line in Rudrapur, which has a capacity of 2,000 units. This will eventually be ramped up to 5,000 units. The facility will also manufacture tablet PCs and mobile accessories," he said.

A major chunk of the investment has already gone in and in the next 2-3 years, a total of Rs 100 crore would be invested.

For distribution and after sales, the company will use its existing channels. Its also in the process of setting up its own service centres.

Micromax is launching its home theatre range and SMART Stick, using which users can connect to the Internet through their television sets.

"SMART Stick will be priced at Rs. 5000 and will connect to any television with an HDMI port. Its like a dongle and will help users access Internet on their TVs," Micromax Director Mukesh Gupta said.

Amkette and Akai have similar devices available in the market.

Source: NDTV

- Amanpreet.

Marketing Fundas

Marketing Fundas

 

A professor at the Indian Institute of Management was explaining marketing concepts

1. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" - That's Direct Marketing. 

2. You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: "He's very rich. Marry him." - That's Advertising. 

3. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day, you call and say: "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me." - That's Telemarketing. 

4. You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door of the car for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then say: "By the way, I'm rich. Will you marry me?" - That's Public Relations. 

5. You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to ! you and says: "You are very rich! Can you marry me?" - That's Brand Recognition.

6. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. - That's Customer Feedback. 

7. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am very rich. Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband. - That's demand and supply gap. 

8. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say anything, another person come and tells her: "I'm rich. Will you marry me?" and she goes with him - That's competition eating into your market share. 

9. You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you say: "I'm rich Marry me!" your wife arrives. - That's restriction for entering new markets.

SOME BASIC LESSONS OF MARKETING

(In Ref. to Kotler)

 

Lesson 1: R&D must be market-ready

Kotler had a poser for his audience. His question: "If you were the chief marketing officer of your organisation, who would you prefer to be close to? The CEO, CFO, CIO (chief information officer) or the CRO (chief research officer)?" There was no single opinion, so Kotler decided to have the final say. He would have had it, anyways.

According to Kotler, the CMO needs to be close to everybody from the CEO to the CRO. Typically, the CFO does not see logic in investing behind brands because he is not close to marketing. And, there is an 80 per cent failure rate in new products.

"The R&D is farthest away from customers, hence they often get it wrong," he explained. Now, even in research-focused organisations like IT giant Microsoft, "marketing has become the front door and their new product success rate has become higher".

Lesson 2: Number-crunching is more than just calculating market shares

"In B-schools most students choose marketing because they did not like accounts," quips Kotler. He recommends that instead, most marketing professionals must be "clued into finance" so that the other functions in the company take marketing seriously.

"The CMO must demonstrate the return on marketing investment," he says. Kotler recommends the creation of a marketing scorecard that captures the number of new customers added every year, measures the satisfaction level of current customers and indicates the brand health.

Lesson 3: The co-creation mantra

"Make your business a workshop where your customer can draw what he wants," recommends Kotler, adding "marketing is the delivery of experience". His example is the Four Seasons hotel chain that customises hotel rooms for its guests. Whenever possible, the next time the guest visits the hotel, he gets the same room.

"While the aim of business is to create satisfied customers, the truth is companies continue to lose unsatisfied customers."

The message: plug the leaks by exceeding customer satisfaction and customer delight, moving to a higher level - customer astonishment. Kotler feels that iconic brands like Harley Davidson and iPod reach these higher levels.

What else? Devise a net promoter score to track customer satisfaction levels. Round up your most loyal customers. Ask them if they would recommend your products to others and become promoters for your brand. If the number of those promoters is increasing, it's a good score. Otherwise get the point.

Lesson 4: Expand market size

Kotler begins this lesson with the story of Jack Welch, the legendary CEO of General Electric who made it a thumb rule that GE would only operate in businesses where it was a dominant player.

When Welch asked his managers about GE's market share in their business, the executives would give impressive numbers in the range of 50 per cent.

Welch would reply, "I think it's only 10 per cent. We have not tapped the rest of the market." Kotler's point: in your rush to hit the bull's eye, don't miss out on the markets that surround the sweet spot. The dart board is bigger. There are more places to hit.

Lesson 5: Strategic trajectory for Indian brands

Indian companies face two challenges - defending their markets against the invasion of foreign labels. The second is to develop strong global brands themselves.

According to Kotler, the trajectory for Indian brands is to move from being seen as low-cost average quality products, to low-cost superior quality and finally to higher-end products.

He gives the example of Haier, the Chinese consumer durables company, which has successfully acquired a global brand status. In its first stage, Haier fixed quality. In the second stage, the company diversified its product basket from just making refrigerators to mcrowaves, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and other products.

The Introduction

Hello,

My name is Amanpreet, a 22 year old guy, expecting less from this world and wants to give back a lot to the society

I did my B.Tech. in Electrical Engg. from Chitkara University, and joined Wipro Technologies after completion of my degree and now pursuing my PGDM degree from Lal Bahadur Shastri Insittute of Management.

My first Mentor of Marketing is Mr. Samaksh Chadha, My Senior in engineering college and second is Mr. Philip Kotler, the father of Marketing; Latter being more effective because of his various logic, fundas and Marketing principles.

Marketing as per Kotler 
The man who's been called the "messiah of marketing".
 Marketing has undergone a sea change in the three decades. In Mumbai to address a seminar on "Marketing For Results", Kotler says even his 4Ps theory (product, price, place and promotion), that's taught in every kindergarten marketing course, could do with some additions.

"Several Ps are missing. People, packaging...," he proceeds to take class on the A-B-Cs of marketing. The three As that every marketer should swear by are "awareness, availability and access" and the CCDV concept is to "create, communicate and deliver value".

Believing that I would be able to give thrilling and highly intellectual insights of the world of marketing :)

Cheers,

Amanpreet