Enhancing Sales and Profitability through Effective Online Marketing Techniques

This assignment discusses the role of online marketing in sales and profitability of a business. The study suggests that Next Plc, a UK-based retailer, should adopt online marketing techniques to retain its old customers and increase sales and profitability. Additionally, it recommends that regular meetings be held between marketing managers and employees to enhance online marketing activities. Future research areas include exploring the role of online marketing in influencing consumer behavior, impact of social media marketing on buying behavior, and similar studies in other retail sectors.

Research
project
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tittle aim and objectives .................................................................................................................3
1.1 Rationale of research..............................................................................................................3
1.2 Background of the study........................................................................................................3
1.3 Literature review ...................................................................................................................4
1.4 Proposed research methodologies..........................................................................................5
2.1 Resources required to carry out the research.........................................................................5
1.5 Gantt chart .............................................................................................................................6
2.1 Validity of research ...............................................................................................................7
Task 2: project implementation ......................................................................................................7
2.3 and 2.3 Conducting the research............................................................................................7
3.1 Factors affected achievement of the project .......................................................................13
3.2 Data analysis .......................................................................................................................13
3.3 Recommendations ...............................................................................................................15
References......................................................................................................................................16
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TITTLE AIM AND OBJECTIVES
Aim:
“To assess the role of online marketing in increasing the sales and profitability of
organization”- A study on Next Plc
Purpose of research
The main purpose of this research to assess the role of online marketing in increasing the
sales and profitability of organization. Further the researcher will find out, how online marketing
enhanced the sales of and what are some techniques of online marketing which has been adopted
by Next Plc
Objectives:
 To determine the concept of online marketing
 To asses the impact of online marketing on sales and profitability of Next Plc To recommend the effective ways through which Next Plc can better develop effective
online marketing strategies
Research questions
 What is the concept of online marketing?
 How online marketing impacts the sales and profitability of Next Plc?
 What are the the effective ways through which Next Plc can better develop effective
online marketing strategies?
1.1 Rationale of research
The main aim behind carrying out this study is to assess the role of online marketing in
increasing the sales and profitability of organization. Marketing help businesses to create
awareness of products and services in the mind of customers. Further it also assist in generating
need and demand among people in market. The growing use of internet all across the world has
provided an cost effective platform for marketing. This is one of the major reason why company
has started to look for modern marketing tools rather than going for the costly traditional tools of
marketing.
1.2 Background of the study
In modern era, social media has emerged as one of the biggest platform for promoting
and marketing products. Most of the businesses have already adopted the strategies of social
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media marketing in their operations. One of the main advantage of this is that it helps companies
to create awareness regarding their products and services among the minds of customers. In
order to asses the role of online marketing on sales and profitability of organization, Next Plc
will be chosen. It is a British multinational clothing, home products and footwear retailer. The
organization has adopted various kind of online marketing practises which has directly affected
its sales and profitability.
Factors contributed in the selection of research
One of the major factor is that the use of internet is increasing at a very fast pace and now
many big brands has started using the same for marketing and promotion of their products and
services. Another factor which has contributed in selection of this research is that the
competition among businesses operating in retail has become very intense. Thus, it has become
very difficult for companies to achieve higher sales and adequate profits.
1.3 Literature review
Concept of online marketing
As per the view of Rouziès and et. al., (2005) one of the biggest development has been
the emergence of internet as a platform for marketing and promotion of products ( Rouziès and
et. al., 2005). One of the main benefit of online marketing is that it is very cost effective and
businesses can easily promote their products and services to large audience. Online marketing is
the advertisement and promotion of products which is done with the help of internet. Some of the
major techniques of online marketing includes email marketing, social media marketing and
online advertisement. According to Baker and Sinkula, (2009) now organizations have started
to take information such as email id of their customers (Baker and Sinkula, 2009). Further
information such as special offers, discounts etc. is provided to them with the help of email. On
the other hand, ads are also displayed on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The
advantage of this is that when individual's are using social media sites, they came across by the
advertisement of companies and become aware about the products and services offered. The use
of online marketing activities among business is increasing day by day.
Impact of online marketing on sales and profitability
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Malhotra, (2008) has stated that online marketing has a direct impact on the sales and
profitability of companies (Malhotra, 2008). The ads and promotions carried out internet
develops need and demand of products among the people in market. This is one of the main
reason why organizations are now focusing more on increasing their online marketing activities.
According to Sheth and Sharma, (2008) when existing customers receives information via mail
about the offers and new products launched by company, then it creates a sense of satisfaction
among them (Sheth and Sharma, 2008). In addition to this, it also enhances their loyalty and
encourage them to repeat purchase which directly increase the sales of businesses. As per the
view of Flavián, Guinalíu and Gurrea, (2006) sales can be increased only when more
awareness about products and services is created in the market (Flavián, Guinalíu and Gurrea,
2006). Thus, the online marketing promotes the product to large audience and motives them to
buy the same. Bart and et. al., (2005) has evaluated that the traditional marketing techniques
were limited to a particular area or market but online marketing has no boundaries (Bart and et.
al., 2005). The reason why online marketing increases sales and profitability is that it helps in
both attracting new customers and retain old ones. The advertisement and promotion on social
media sites and internet creates brand awareness and assist organizations to have new customers
(E-marketing, 2010). On the other hand, when companies deliver emails regarding new
products, modification in existing products to their existing customers, it creates a sense of
satisfaction among them and encourage them to be loyal. This results in increasing sales from
both new and old customers which further increases the profits of companies.
1.4 Proposed research methodologies Research design- Descriptive design will be used in order to carry out this research . The
reason behind selecting this design is that it will assist in carrying out the research
thoroughly. Research approach- In this study, inductive approach will be used as the information
will be obtained from marketing employees of Next plc. regarding its impact of online
marketing on sales and profitability.
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 Research philosophies- In the present study, interpretivism philosophy will be used as
the findings of study will be interpreted. As per the nature of the study, interpretivism
philosophy is most suitable and accurate. Data collection- The primary data will be collected from 10 marketing employees of
Next Plc. with the help of a well structured questionnaire. On the other hand, secondary
data will be gathered from journals, online sources and books. Data analysis- Qualitative technique of data analysis will be used in which graphs and
tables will developed to obtain accurate and more reliable findings.
 Sampling- Purposive sampling method will be used which is a part of probabilistic
sampling. The sample size will be 10 marketing employees of Next Plc. The selected
sample size and method will help in getting some reliable and accurate information
regarding the topic of study.
2.1 Resources required to carry out the research
The scholar will required some human, financial and technological resources to carry out
the entire research in best possible manner. The financial resources will be required to collected
data from various sources whereas technological resources will help in interpretation of data.
1.5 Gantt chart
Activities/
week
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th
Drafting of
research
proposal
Determining
the aim and
objectives of
study
Critical
review
Identification
and selecting
method of
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data
collection
Determining
research
methodologies
Collecting
primary and
secondary
data
Writing down
the findings
Data analysis
Conclusion
and
recommendat
ions
Final
Submission
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2.1 Validity of research
The present research will be valid in all the aspects as the data will be gathered from
valid sources. In order to collected secondary data all the books and journal published after the
year 2000 will be taken into consideration. On the other hand, only authentic sources will be
taken to collect data from online sources. Thus, it can be stated that the entire research will be
reliable as well as valid.
TASK 2: PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
2.3 and 2.3 Conducting the research
In order to carry out the study in best possible manner, survey method and questionnaire
has been used by the researcher. The main aim behind carrying out this study is to asses the
impact of online marketing on sales and profitability of company. Thus, a survey has been
conducted for collecting information regarding the same and a well structured questionnaire has
been used to gather data. Other than this, qualitative data has been collected and the findings has
been presented with the help of various themes.
Theme 1:
Does Next Plc has adopted online
marketing techniques
Number of
respondents Percentage
Yes 9 90
No 1 10
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Theme 2:
Which effective online marketing
techniques has been adopted by the
company Number of respondents Percentage
Email marketing 3 30
Social media marketing 2 20
Online advertisement 1 10
All of the above 4 40
9
Yes No
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Does Next Plc has adopted online marketing techniques

Theme 3:
Online marketing has enhanced the sales of Next Plc. Number of respondents Percentage
Strongly agree 3 30
Agree 3 30
Neutral 2 20
Disagree 1 10
Strongly disagree 1 10
10
Which effective online marketing techniques has
been adopted by the company
Email marketing
Social media marketing
Online advertisement
All of the above

Theme 4:
Do you think the techniques of online
marketing is a cost effective
Number of
respondents Percentage
Yes 8 80
No 2 20
11
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Online marketing has enhanced the sales of Next Plc.

Theme 5:
The techniques of online marketing is helpful
in influencing consumer behavior Number of respondents Percentage
Strongly agree 4 40
Agree 2 20
Neutral 1 10
Disagree 2 20
Strongly disagree 1 10
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Do you think the techniques of online marketing is a
cost effective
Yes
No

Theme 6:
Online marketing has increased the
profitability of the company Number of respondents Percentage
Strongly agree 3 30
Agree 3 30
Neutral 2 20
Disagree 1 10
Strongly disagree 1 10
13
Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
The techniques of online marketing is helpful in influencing
consumer behavior
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3.1 Factors affected achievement of the project
Time and cost were the two major factors which has affected the achievement of the
project. The researcher was having limited time and it was not easy to collected information from
10 marketing employees of Next plc. It was very difficult to collected data personally from 10
employees individually. Other than this, the amount of financial resources available were also
limited which has affected the project.
3.2 Data analysis
Theme 1: Next Plc has adopted online marketing techniques
The findings of study highlights the fact that Next Plc has adopted online marketing
techniques in order to promote and advertise its products and services. Out of the total 10
marketing employees, 90% of the respondents agree with this fact. The respondents stated the
according to the change in marketing environment, the company has also changed its marketing
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Online marketing has increased the profitability of the company
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly disagree

strategies and has adopted some modern marketing tools and techniques. There are only 10% of
total respondents which disagree with this fact.
Theme 2: Company has adopted various techniques of online marketing
From the information collected it has been observed that Next Plc do not focus on one
particular technique and it has adopted various techniques of online marketing. Out of the total
10 marketing employees, 40% has agree that the company is using emails marketing, social
media marketing and online advertisement. 30% of the respondent said that the company is using
email marketing whereas 20% agree that it has adopted social media marketing. The remaining
10% said that, it is using online advertisement techniques to promote its products over internet.
Theme 3: Online marketing has enhanced the sales of Next Plc.
The findings of study reflects the fact that online marketing has enhanced the sales of
Next Plc. 30% of the total 10 marketing employees strongly agree with this fact whereas the
other 30% have agreed with the same. 20% of the total respondents were neutral and they were
not able to determine whether online marketing has enhanced the sales or not. 10% of the
employees were disagree and the remaining 10% were strongly disagree. Further they said that
there are other factors which has increased the sales.
Theme 4: Online marketing is cost effective
From the information collected, it has been found that online marketing is very cost
effective as compared to the other traditional techniques of marketing. Out of the total 10
respondents, 80% agree with this fact. Further they said that promoting and advertising on
internet is very cheap and it also assist in reaching large audience in short span of time. Only
20% of the respondents were not agree with the above stated fact and said that online marketing
very time consuming and costly.
Theme 5: Techniques of online marketing assist in influencing consumer behaviour
The findings of study highlights that, the techniques of online marketing directly
influences the behaviour of consumer. 40% of the total 10 marketing employees strongly agree
with this fact whereas the other 20% agree with the same. The respondents said that when people
see the ad of company's new products, discounts and other offers while chatting on social media
or surfing on internet or through emails, they are encouraged to buy the products. 10% of the
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respondents were neutral and 20% were disagree whereas the remaining 10% were strongly
disagree.
Theme 6: Online marketing has increased the profits of Next Plc.
The information gathered reflects the fact that online marketing has increased the profits
of company. Out of total 10 respondents 30% strongly agree with this fact whereas other 30%
were agree. Further they said that online marketing has create awareness among the minds of
people in market regarding the products and services offered. This has resulted in enhancing
sales which directly increased the profitability.
3.3 Recommendations
From the findings of the study, it can be recommended that one of the most important
thing which Next plc. Is required to take care of is the issues related to safety and security. The
company is using various techniques of online marketing and thus, it has to ensure the fact that
its information is remained secured. Other than this, it is also recommended that, the company is
required to update the information provided at regular intervals. At the time of marketing
through email, it is required by the company to take care of its existing customers also. It has
been observed that most of the marketing activities are carried out to attract new customers, thus,
it is suggested that, the company should also use online marketing activities to retain its old
customers. It can be stated that, sales and profitability can be increased only when the existing
customers are loyal. On the other hand, it can be also recommended that Next Plc should
arranged meetings at regular intervals of its marketing managers and employees regarding how it
can enhanced its online marketing activities.
Future areas of research
The study was based on the role of online marketing in sales and profitability of business.
Future retail sectors was taken into consideration and in future the same study can be carried out
with other sectors such as automobiles, banking etc. Other than this, future researches can be also
carried out on topics such as role of online marketing in influencing consumer behaviour or
impact of social media marketing on buying behaviour.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Baker, W. E. and Sinkula, J. M., 2009. The complementary effects of market orientation and
entrepreneurial orientation on profitability in small businesses*.Journal of Small
Business Management. 47(4). pp. 443-464.
Bart, Y. and et. al., 2005. Are the drivers and role of online trust the same for all web sites and
consumers? A large-scale exploratory empirical study. Journal of marketing. 69(4). pp.
133-152.
Flavián, C., Guinalíu, M. and Gurrea, R., 2006. The role played by perceived usability,
satisfaction and consumer trust on website loyalty. Information and Management. 43(1).
pp. 1-14.
Malhotra, N. K., 2008. Marketing research: An applied orientation, 5/e. Pearson Education
India.
Rouziès, D. and et. al., 2005. Sales and marketing integration: a proposed framework.Journal of
Personal Selling and Sales Management. 25(2). pp. 113-122.
Sheth, J. N. and Sharma, A., 2008. The impact of the product to service shift in industrial
markets and the evolution of the sales organization. Industrial Marketing Management.
37(3). pp. 260-269.
Online
E-marketing. 2010. [Online]. Available through: <http://ijbssnet.com/journals/20.pdf>.
[Accessed on 7th November 2015]
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Appendix
Questionnaire
Name__________
Gender
 Male
 Female
Age
 Below 25
 25-35
 35-45
 Above 45
1. Does Next Plc has adopted online marketing techniques?
 Yes
 No
2. Which effective online marketing techniques has been adopted by the company?
 Email marketing
 Social media marketing
 Online advertisement
 All of the above
3. Online marketing has enhanced the sales of Next Plc?
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
4. Do you think the techniques of online marketing is a cost effective?
 Yes
 No
5. The techniques of online marketing is helpful in influencing consumer behavior?
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
6. Online marketing has increased the profitability of the company?
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree
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