Introduction
E-marketing refers to the use of various marketing techniques through various electronic media such as the internet and can be defined as the process of marketing a brand via the internet . An e-marketing strategy is based on the four traditional P’s (Product, Price, Promotion, and Place) and three additional P’s (People, Process, and Proof) .
There are seven functions of e-marketing which are integral to any e-marketing strategy: 1) Personalization; 2) Privacy; 3) Customer Service; 4) Community; 5) Site; 6) Security; and 7) Sales Promotion .
Seven Steps of an E-Marketing Plan for Australia based web-hosting company:
- Situation Analysis
SWOT Analysis for Australia based web-hosting company
Strengths:
- Flexibility of services for small, mid-sized and large businesses
- Use of latest technology to support services
- Wide range of service portfolio
- Cost-effectiveness
Weaknesses:
- New brand
- Tough competition limits the market share
It shall take time to establish the new brand in the online marketplace and the brand shall face tough competition from leading players such as Skype, google talk, windows messenger, and telstro.com.au.
Opportunities:
- Growing internet subscribers
- Growing IT services market
- Increasing demand for telecom services
The internet subscribers all over the world are increasing with each passing year.
Figure1. Internet Users in the World Source:
Australia has a total of 21,176,595 internet users, which form 0.73% of the total population of 23,630,169 for 2014 which shows a growth of 9% in comparison to 2013c data .
Threats:
- Changing technology
- Tough competition
With the growing internet and technological advancement, there is a need to adapt to changing strategies for internet marketing which include the combined efforts in SEO (Search engine optimization) and social media .
- E-Marketing Strategy
Figure2. E-marketing Strategy Guidelines .
The first step of an e-marketing strategy involves the identification of the most valuable products or services. The Australia based web-hosting company shall delight its customers with a focused range of services which include website hosting services and online conferencing services.
Product: The web-hosting company shall provide a facility for online conferencing or meeting services to its customers, which are small, mid-sized and large business enterprises. The online conferencing facility shall enable its participants:
- Share documents and applications in real time
- Document presentation facilities
- Event recording
- Ability to handle online guests
- Solutions for large online events
- Integration with phone conferencing
- Marketing Objectives
The target market for the Australia based web-hosting company business shall be small, medium and large business enterprises who are looking for cost effective yet secure and enhanced solutions for web conferencing.
The business shall target the hosting and web conferencing services to small, mid-sized and large business enterprises. The key USP of the business shall include: 1) Cost effectiveness, 2) Use of latest technology; 3) Flexibility to meet business needs for small, mid-sized and large businesses and 4) Usage of latest technology tools.
The main aim of the e-marketing strategy is to increase the brand visibility, improve brand reputation and increase the market share.
Product Strategies
A digital product is a bundle of benefits offered by the seller to the consumer which offers a set of tangible benefits based on customer usage and ownership . The product strategies for Australia based web-hosting company shall include the technological advancement of the web conferencing software with continuous testing and improvisation and addition of new features. A key concern for most businesses is security of interactions over the internet and therefore special emphasis shall be laid on providing a secure web conferencing solution for various businesses by the Australia based web-hosting company.
Figure3. Virtual Product Portfolio .
The web-conferencing services offered by Australia based web-hosting company fall in the area of computer based used services. The core product of Australia based web-hosting company shall be web conferencing and hosting services. The augmented product for Australia based web-hosting company shall include the additional features added to web conferencing such as web based recording, security mechanisms and facility to add unlimited guests.
Pricing Strategies
The pricing strategies for the services offered by Australia based web-hosting company shall be:
- Freemium: Free for basic users and paid for premium users who need advanced features and services
- Adware: The Company shall have its advertisement running on the software interface while the software can be used for free for users with basic features. To remove ads, the users need to opt for premium services.
- Market Penetration: The brand shall follow a market share and market penetration strategy by keeping the cost of product lower in comparison to its competitors.
Distribution Strategies
The internet is a vast marketplace and is not limited by boundaries. The websites are accessible by users all over the world. Therefore the distribution strategies adopted by Australia based web-hosting company shall involve the selection of virtual channels to deliver the product or services:
- Website: The users shall be able to access the product and download it through the company website.
- Marketplace: The customers shall be able to buy the product through popular online marketplaces such as EBay and Amazon.
- Affiliates: The brand shall have partnered with affiliate website who shall earn commission on the sale of the software. Affiliates provide a means of achieving greater market penetration online .
Marketing Communication Strategies
The marketing communication strategies for the product of Australia based web-hosting company shall include:
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM): SEM is defined as the process of marketing to internet users through search engine result pages and paid listings . Extensive marketing in popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing shall be done using related keywords to improve brand visibility in the search engines and also on websites to attract business users.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The process of getting traffic organically from search engines is called search engine optimization .
- Social Media Marketing (SMM): Social media marketing is defined as the process of gaining website traffic or brand attention through the social media websites . The services for the business shall be promoted via the social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Myspace to engage users.
Relationship Management Strategies
The relationship management strategies involve the understanding of the needs of the customers’ needs and wants and identification of customers who want to enter into a relationship with the brand and providing them with viable solutions .
The relationships in e-marketing can be primary managed and initiated through email marketing strategies, social media marketing, a question and answer forum and online communities . Therefore Australia based web-hosting company shall adopt various email and social media marketing strategies for customer relationship management.
- Implementation Plan
The E strategy implementation plan shall involve Marketing Mix Strategies which shall include the Product, Price, and Promotion and Distribution strategies. An effective implementation of the e-marketing strategy can be a source of competitive advantage for the firm . Therefore, special importance and attention shall be paid for effective implementation by Australia based web-hosting company.
- Costs & Budgeting
The various costs involved in the e-marketing shall involve:
- Technology Development
- Customer Service Personnel
- Promotion Activities
- Website Hosting and Maintenance
- Website Designing/ Product Designing
.
- Revenues and Profits
The main source of revenues and profits shall be the premium registrations for web conferencing services, from small, medium and large businesses. The business is expected to achieve break even in the second year of its operation.
Subscription Plans
Sales from Number of Subscriptions sold per year (Estimated)
Profits (Estimated)
** Cost is expected to rise each year with business expansion.
- Evaluation Plan
The evaluation plan shall include the measure of ROI (Returns on investments) over a period of time from the day of the strategy implementation. The success of the strategy can be measures through:
- Website traffic statistics
- SEO positioning (The visibility of the product or website in search engines for particular keywords)
- User registrations on the website
Sales from Number of Subscriptions sold per year (Estimated)
Profits (Estimated)
** Cost is expected to rise each year with business expansion.
It should be assessed if the e-marketing strategy was successful in customer retention, building brand visibility and awareness, and increased market share .
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