Developing an E-Marketing Plan for Kogan: Strategy and Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive e-marketing plan for Kogan, an Australian online retailer. It begins with a SWOT analysis identifying the company's strengths (worldwide presence, dedicated team), weaknesses (poor communication), opportunities (increasing internet connectivity), and threats (cybersecurity). The plan outlines e-marketing strategies based on the 4Ps (Product, Price, Promotion, Place), emphasizing product quality, competitive pricing, social media promotion, and reliable distribution. It also addresses marketing communication strategies, costing and budget considerations, and technical issues related to website content, customer security, coupon codes, multimedia, autoresponders, order forms, access levels, and credit card transactions. The report concludes with a monitoring strategy and a discussion of legal and ethical constraints, aiming to provide a roadmap for Kogan to enhance its market share and customer loyalty.

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Name
Course
Institutional affiliation

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Table of Contents
Swot Analysis..............................................................................................................................................4
Strengths..................................................................................................................................................4
Weaknesses.............................................................................................................................................4
Opportunities...........................................................................................................................................5
Trends......................................................................................................................................................5
Issues identified...................................................................................................................................5
The e-Marketing Schedule - Gantt Chart or Timeline for the e-Marketing Plan..........................................5
The e-Marketing Strategies & Action Plan..................................................................................................6
Product strategies....................................................................................................................................7
Price strategies.........................................................................................................................................7
Promotion Strategies...............................................................................................................................7
Place/Distribution Strategies...................................................................................................................8
Marketing Communication Strategies and Action Plan...............................................................................8
Costing and Budget.....................................................................................................................................9
Technical Issues........................................................................................................................................10
website content & search-ability............................................................................................................10
Customer registration & logging security (for customers and staff)......................................................10
Coupon codes, rewards for old clients, discounts..................................................................................11
Multimedia............................................................................................................................................11
Autoresponders......................................................................................................................................12
Order forms and feedback forms...........................................................................................................12
Access levels to online resources...........................................................................................................12
credit card transactions..........................................................................................................................13
Website hosting & publishing................................................................................................................13
Technical staff (size, requirements).......................................................................................................13
Monitoring Strategy...................................................................................................................................13
Legal and Ethical constraints.....................................................................................................................14
References.................................................................................................................................................14

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Executive Summary
This report is primarily created to come up with a comprehensive report on the creation
and implementation of a marketing plan. This is key in the formulation of marketing strategies
that when applied will lead to the organization achieving its objectives.
The report starts with a brief introduction of the company Kogan. This includes a
description of its humble background. This is followed by a comprehensive analysis of the
company's strengths, weakness, opportunities, and trends. This lays the basis for the proposed
marketing and communication strategies of the company. The report then identifies and analyses
all the technical issues that will be involved in the e-marketing plan. Finally, the report comes up
with a way to monitor the effectiveness of the plan and the legalities that are involved.
Introduction
Kogan is an Australian company founded in the year 2006 by Ruslan Kogan. The
company has over the years grown to cement its place as Australia’s largest online retailer. This
is quite an achievement having in mind that the idea for the company came from a young boy in
his parent’s garage. Some of the products that the company deals in includes, televisions,
computers, smartphones, home appliances such as microwaves, cameras and also eBooks.
With its headquarters at Melbourne Australia, the company prides itself on having a
steady increase in profits since its inception year. The company achieved earnings of over
$3million in its third year, $8million in its fourth year and over $200 million in its seventh year.
This is a remarkable achievement for any company with such humble beginnings. This has led to
the company expanding its businesses in other countries such as the UK in the year 2010. This
move made Kogan become the only Australian company dealing with electronics internationally.
By the year 2015, it had delivered more than 3,000,000 products to clients worldwide.
The company has only four simple objectives. They are:
 To provide the products that customers want
 Provide the products and services at a friendly price
 To ensure the safety of the product.
 To maintain an excellent customer experience.

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Swot Analysis
According to Kotler (1989), A swot analysis is some form of review of a business of a
company in an attempt to try and make sound financial decisions based on the current companies
strengths, weaknesses opportunities, and trends. In this case of Kogan Company, this along with
other analysis will help create an E-marketing plan and a communication plan (Sigala, M.,
2002,pp.83-103).
Strengths
This is the attributes that the organizational has that is helpful in its achievement of its
objectives. The advantages are mainly usually the internal factors that are propelling the
company to greater heights (Sawyer 1979,pp.60-67). The company is an online retail store it
already has one significant strength. That is its presence worldwide. Due to the fact that there is
modernization at the very high rate, most people want to purchase their goods online. This
creates a broader customer base for the company. It is due to this that the company can be
recognized internationally and get quite high rates of return.
Another significant strength is the fact that the company has a group of very dedicated
members who believe in the ideas of the management and do everything possible to make sure
that the company still retains its top spot in Australia's online retail industry and additionally be
able to stamp its ground as a leader worldwide (Hooley 1992, pp.75-89).
Weaknesses
According to Arnould (1989), this is the exact opposite of Strengths. It is the attributes of
an organization that is in line with the Companies aim of achieving its objectives. Even though
Kogan has quite some weaknesses. (The failings are mainly usually internal factors that can be
bettered) One key weakness is the companies poor communication plan. It is due to this that the
company had its first major controversy. This was caused by an advertisement for a particular
product. This led to the Australian competition and consumer commission ordering the company
to change its advertisements. This painted a negative image for the company in the year 2009.

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Opportunities
The opportunities in a SWOT analysis are usually the external factors that can be helpful
in the company plan to achieve its objectives (Sigala2002,pp.83-103). In this case for an online
retail company, the major opportunity here is the ever-increasing connectivity of the world
through the internet. According to Arnould, by the year 2025, 95% of the world would be
connected to the internet. This provides an excellent opportunity for the company to make sure it
reaches most if not all of the 95% of the world's population. It is through this that the company
will be able to create and maintain a stable status in the minds of all consumers worldwide.
Trends
The trends are the external factors that if not taken into consideration may hinder the
company from achieving its objectives. With the business primarily operating over the internet.
It is always a double-edged sword in that there are both benefits and risks (Duncan & Moriarty
1998, pp.1-13). One of the most vital things that the company has to defend themselves against is
Attacks from hackers. As long as a business has online platforms, there is a potential risk that the
company can be hacked. This is dangerous to both the company and the potential customer. Any
information in the company being hacked may cause a lot of mistrust from the customers. In
addition to that, researches have shown that 70% of internet users don’t purchase their products
online due to lack of trust. This is attributed to the numerous scams that are present over the
internet in addition to the few trusted online money transfer services (O'Sullivan,1998).
Issues identified
The definite issues that have been identified in the SWOT analysis are mainly based on
the technological part of the business; this includes the ever-expanding market for online retail
stores and the ever-growing customer base. However, the negative issues that have been
identified relate to both communication and technological security concerned. If the company
can come up with a plan to defend themselves from the problems, they will surely reach greater
heights (Duncan & Moriarty 1998, pp.1-13).
The e-Marketing Schedule - Gantt Chart or Timeline for the e-Marketing Plan
Below is the proposed Gantt chart for the marketing plan.

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review of marketing and communication strategy
analysis of customer logins and credit transactions
evaluation of the implemented plan
11/15/2017 11/25/2017 12/5/2017 12/15/2017 12/25/2017
start
duration in days
The e-Marketing Strategies & Action Plan
Since the company mainly operates on the internet, there has to be a clear strategy for
marketing the goods and services on that platform. These marketing strategies will go hand in
hand with the 4ps of marketing that the company uses. That is Product, Price, Promotion, and
place (Sheth & Sharma 2005, pp.611-622).
The main marketing objective of Kogan is to increase its market share in the Australian
market. Their strategy basically is to focus on obtaining customer loyalty. Since Kogan products
are sourced from handpicked suppliers who sells their brands under Kogans very own brand
label (Shannon,2016). Kogan also focuses on ways to demonstrate that their brand is equal if not
better than the other well known brands of products. In the process of trying to obtain market and
to compete with other well known brands Kogan reduces its prices, this helps them obtain a
fairly larger amount of customers as compared to their biggest rivals. They also do this keeping
in mind and proving to their customers that their products are of good quality despite the lowered
process (Shannon,2016).

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Product strategies
Just because the company Kogan does not have a physical shop doesn't mean that it
should not have methods of ensuring that their customers get the best out of their products. This
means that the company should be able to be accountable for the quality of its products at all
times (Sheth & Sharma 2005, pp.611-622).
For the company to have an effecting e-marketing strategy based on the product, it should
ensure that it displays all the features of the product. In addition to that, the features must be true
in that, the descriptions on the website on the product should be the exact ones of the physical
product. In addition to that, the company should allow customers to write reviews on the product
page on the website. This will help increase the number of people who purchase the product
because most people buy the goods that have already been used by others and therefore are
guaranteed to get maximum satisfaction from them.
Price strategies
This is usually the very first-factor one considers when he/she wants to fulfill a specific
need (Sheth & Sharma 2005, pp.611-622). The fact that the company operates online and offers
delivery services, some customers would not mind having to pay little more for that. However, it
is wiser to make sure that the price of all products is pocket-friendly. This will make many
people who are willing to be able to purchase the product.
In an attempt to market will the company, a strategy of giving price discounts on certain
goods, will be very beneficial. This can be done during certain periods such as during charismas
and new year holidays.
Promotion Strategies
This is the various ways through which the customer may get to know about a specific
product that the company is selling. Over the years there have been multiple methods of
promoting products such as through the TV advertisements, newspapers, and radios (Sheth &
Sharma 2005, pp.611-622).
For an online retail shop such as this, the best method of advertising would be through
the use of social sites (Green & Tull, 1970). With over 500000 million users on Facebook and
other social sites, it provides the perfect platform for companies to market their products. In

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addition to Facebook, there are other social sites such as Twitter and Instagram which have quite
a number of users. It will be wiser for the company to engage their potential clients through these
sites (Sheth & Sharma 2005, pp.611-622).
Place/Distribution Strategies
This identifies exactly where the product is sold and how it reaches the consumer.
Because the company mainly does its operations online, it does not have a physical presence
(Allen, 2001, pp.14-23). However, they are supposed to ensure that the products reach the
customers.
Kogan company should therefore always ensure the client that his or her product will be
safely delivered to them on time. This can be done through collaborations with the customer's
countries of residence couriers. This will help the customer have more confidence in doing
business with the company on a constant basis.
Marketing Communication Strategies and Action Plan
The more marketing of the company is done, the more customers the company gets and
the more the revenues are obtained. This therefore means that the company should ensure it has a
great marketing plan. The marketing plan in this case should be based on how well information
on the company is relayed to the customers. With this it involves advertising, branding and the
public relations with the customers (Webster 1988,pp.29-39).
The fact that Kogan already has a website underlines their intentions to have a wider
market share. The company, however, should be able to communicate to the customers more on
what they need. An example can be the company creating a video link to a YouTube video on
the steps one is required to use in purchasing products from their website. This video will be
extremely helpful to the customer as it will create some sense of trust by the organization,
( Sawyer 1979, pp.60-67).
In addition to that, the company should be able to engage the customers online on their
experiences on the website and on the products that are being offered. This should help the
company collect relevant information on what areas to improve since the customer is by all
chance the number one priority for the company (Webster 1988,pp.29-39).

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The companies should ensure that its website also gives all the relevant information that
the customer requires such as a clear outline of both the features and the uses of a particular
product. This should be done in a simple language that a customer can easily understand.
Costing and Budget
The forecast of profit and loss statement for six months.
(RM) (RM)
Sales
Estimated sales of product 15000.00
Total 15000.00
The cost of expenses
Total price of material (500.00)
Salaries (1000.00)
Marketing (680.00)
Internet connection cost (700.00)
Technology cost (350.00)
Technician cost (270.00)
The total cost of the project (3000.00)
Total Revenue 12000.00

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Technical Issues
website content & search-ability
In an attempt to have very many customers, the company has to ensure they employ SEO.
SEO simply means being first there whenever a customer needs you. This is in line with the goal
of SEO, and that is to be available when potential clients are looking for you. In this case, the use
of Google search results is vital. The fact that most of the people use Google in their operations,
it is essential for any company looking to have a co competitive advantage to make sure it is on
this Google search engine since it is the one which is most widely used (Varadarajan 2009, p296-
312). The organization should also make sure it is available on all the other search engines such
as Bing and Yahoo. Therefore, it creates a sense of trust by the customer, and it will give the
client's confidence that they will be dealing with a market leader (Billy 2015, p76-80).
Apart from being on the search engines. That company should put in place measures to
ensure that the business appears on the first page of all the search engines. This brings about a
sense of credibility that can be achieved through building quality back links to the page by
promoting your content through social media.
Regarding website content, the company should ensure that each page on their website
contains relevant material. This means that all the products should always be updated and a
proper description given. This should also include the presence of different categories of
products in an attempt to make work more comfortable for the customer (Deshpande & Webster
1989, pp.3-15).
Customer registration & logging security (for customers and staff)
The company should ensure that all customers register before purchasing the product.
The registration of the customers should be safe and secure. This can be done through the
creation of a username, passwords with more than eight characters which should be a
combination of both numbers and letters. In addition to that, the customer should always be

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given a temporary access code on their phones whenever they log in to the site before making
any purchase. This will help create confidence in the customer (Smith 2011,pp.158-174).
For the staff members, they should be only being able to log into the company backend
with strict authorization. The different levels of information that the staff members can access
should be controlled and monitored. This includes log histories of all the activities of the staff
members. This will ensure a high level of security and discourage malicious users.
Coupon codes, rewards for old clients, discounts
The system of the company should be able to identify those customers who purchase the
company's products on a frequent basis. Once this is done, the customer should be given specific
privileges such as discounts on products (Haluk 2007, pp.326-342). A policy should be
implemented to allow for this.
In addition to that these frequent customers should be issued with free online magazines courtesy
of the company where they will be informed of any new products that they may be interested in.
Multimedia
With the current trends in the world, it is vital for Kogan to employ the use of different
multimedia forms in its online advertising platforms. This includes the use of advertisements
which not only has the text characters but also audio and visual motions. This can be done
through the creation of both video and audio advertisements then sharing them through online
social platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. This will be beneficial to the company because
the visual and audio forms of advertisements appeal most to online users (Deshpande & Webster
1989, pp.3-15).
In addition to that the company can employ some forms of advertisements that can run on
television. These advertisements will help create awareness of the company by any potential
customer who watches the television (Granitz & Greene 2003 pp.16-30). After that the potential
customer might go online and purchase products from the company’s website. The television
advertising will not only be beneficial to the company as it reaches more customers, but also it
will help the company to build and maintain a high degree of openness ,( Sawyer 1979, pp.60-
67). This is because most customers would want to buy products online from a trusted site. This

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will significantly increase chances of customers beliving in the legitimacy of the company’s
website.
Autoresponders
These are one of the best methods of reaching and conversing with clients. According to
Karna (1995, pp.16-22), Autoresponders are some form of prescheduled emails which are
triggered by the behavior of customers. They are mainly used to engage a particular targeted
group of customers. The company can use this as a method of getting the attention of online
users. Through this then customer can be able to subscribe to the organization's sit (Lado 2004,
pp.573-597).
Through them, the company can continuously remind the consumer of its presence and its
products. This can also be done when having big discounted sales which might attract more
customers (Pires & Rita 2006, pp.936-949).
Order forms and feedback forms
This is the comprehensive forms through which the customer communicates with the
organization. These types are very vital. For the order form, it should be in a way that it engages
the customer. It should ask the detail of the customer's product, the customers country of
residence and specific address, the terms of delivery and the total amount payable.
On the other hand, the feedback forms should be able to get all the necessary information
on the customers experience through the process. Right from the interphase of the website, right
up to the time the product has arrived at the hands of the customer (Lado 2004, pp.573-597).
Access levels to online resources
The company should have to monitor the traffic of both the customers and the employees
on the website. This can be achieved through the creation of different access levels that allow
different people to be able to view various parts of the company's website. The presence of an
administrator who is able to perform the function of overseeing is significant.
For example, the employees can change the number of products available, however, only
the administrator can change the prices. The customer, on the other hand, can just view and