The Impact of E-Marketing on Consumer Behaviour: Research Proposal

This research proposal examines the impact of e-marketing on consumer buying behavior. It introduces the topic, highlighting the shift to digital communication and the power of consumers in the digital age. The proposal outlines the problem statement, emphasizing the need for businesses to understand the influence of e-marketing on consumer decisions. It defines research objectives, including evaluating consumer behavior, studying the effectiveness of e-marketing approaches, and understanding consumer perceptions of e-marketing channels. The justification section underscores the importance of e-marketing in reaching target consumers and gaining a competitive edge. The proposal also includes a conceptual framework, discussing the benefits of e-marketing, such as reduced costs, increased speed of information transfer, and enhanced consumer involvement. The project also touches upon the reduction of information asymmetry and the shift towards consumer-dominated markets, while also outlining the research methodology, organization of the study, Gantt chart, deliverables, project budget, and anticipated outcomes.

Running Head: E-Marketing and Consumer Behaviour1
E-Marketing and Consumer Behaviour
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course Name

Running Head: E-Marketing and Consumer Behaviour2
Table of Contents
Section I……………………………………………………………………………………….3
Introduction 3
Problem Statement 4
Research Objectives and Aims 5
Justification and the Potential Output of the Research Project 6
Section II…………………………………………………………………………………...…8
Conceptual Framework 8
Research Methodology 10
Section III……………………………………………………………………………………13
Organisation of the Study…………………….…………………………………….13
GANTT CHART…………………………………….……………………………...13
Deliverables and Milestones……………………………………………………….14
Project Budget and Justification………………………….……………………….14

Running Head: E-Marketing and Consumer Behaviour3
Section I
Introduction
E-Marketing is also known as the internet marketing, online marketing and web marketing.
The internet marketing or the e-marketing brings together the technical and the creative
features of the internet. The e-marketing relies on using the digital technologies
amalgamating the same with the traditional marketing communications to achieve the
objective of increasing sales of products as well as services of the company. The electronic
marketing strategies comprise of the online advertising on websites and other promotional
activities like social networking and informative emails (Khan, 2014).
There has been a paradigm shift in the use of the internet as the prime medium of
communication in the last few years. The internet has added richness to the advertising and
the marketing communications by bringing together the audio, video, and text content in the
same message increasing its appeal and effectiveness (Cantallops, & Salvi, 2014). Through e-
marketing, organisations have developed an ability to broaden the scope of their marketing
communication and reach the consumers across all the geographical barriers with the help of
computers and mobile phones. The consumers have also become powerful as they have an
enormous information and data on a variety of topics within their reach and they can
interactively control the communication experience (Fullerton, 2014).
The internet has created an ‘always-on’ communication habitat with the mobile
devices which have created tremendous marketing opportunities for the business
organisations today. Both the consumers and the marketers have access to real-time
information about the buying behaviour of the customers as they transact and interact in the
market (Hur, Kim, & Kim, 2013). This has given rise to debate and research on discerning

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and evaluating the elements of e-marketing that have an impact on the online consumer
buying behaviour.
This assignment is aimed at preparing a research proposal on the factors of e-
marketing that have an impact on the consumer buying behaviour (Lee, Ko, Tikkanen, Phan,
Aiello, Donvito, &Raithel, 2014). This research proposal aims to distinguish the unique
factors which shape the consumer’s online buying behaviour and how the business
organisations can increase their productivity and profitability by utilising the e-marketing
tools along with the traditional marketing methods.
The Section I of this assignment includes the introduction, the problem statement
defining the issues, the research objectives and aims, the rationalisation or explanation of
research applications, followed by the anticipated outcomes. The Section two (II) consists of
the Conceptual Outline of the proposal, the research proposition, and the studyapproaches.
The Third section of the study incorporates the establishment of the research, The Gantt
diagrams, followed by the overall cost for the research.
Problem Statement
The E-marketing has developed as important aspect of marketing function of the business
organisation. An increasing number of people today are active on the social media platforms
and a large number of consumers use the internet-based resources to conduct a preliminary
research on the services and products and also about the market reputation and the brand
image of the company before arriving at a final purchase decision (Mok, Sparks,
&Kadampully, 2013). A study of the impact of the e-marketing features on the consumer
buying behaviour will help an organisation in devising the framework of the e-marketing
strategies of the organisation. This will help an organisation to improve the speed of

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marketing communication and explicitly define the organisational goals and which the e-
marketing strategies would help to achieve (Lovelock, & Patterson, 2015).
For developing the right e-marketing strategies an organisation has to undertake an
analysis and study of the target audience of the company. The organisations in today’s digital
world have to devise the e-marketing strategies for the best utilisation of the organisational
resources and facilities and these would in turn help in managing the related processes and
procedures in the organisation in a synchronised and smooth manner. This would result in the
overall development and increase the productivity and profitability of the organisation
(Yarimoglu, 2014).
Research Objectives and Aims
The focus area of this research plan is the study the influenceswhichE-marketing has on the
customerconduct and their purchase decisions. The study would conduct a research on the
aspects on e-marketing which would help the organisations in developing their e-marketing
strategies based on the evaluation of the consumer behaviour (Solomon, Russell-Bennett,
&Previte, 2012).
The aims of this study are:
Evaluation of the consumer behaviour
 To study the effect of the E-marketing on customeractivities and effectiveness of the
various approaches of E-marketing. The research will focus on the influence of E-
marketing and the level of awareness created in the target audience with the help of
the internet marketing tools.
 To understand the recall value and the remembrance value of the consumers to the
various E-marketing channels.

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The foremost objectives of thestudy are:
 The consumer viewpoint about the level of trust placed by the different consumer
groups on the traditional marketing and the internet based e-marketing methods of
communication?
 What is the impact of the e-marketing on the profits, sales figures, revenues of the
organisation?
 What are the factors that would help the firms in developing the right e-marketing
strategies that would target the customer base of the organisation with the aim of
achieving the vision and mission of the organisation with the use of the most effective
e-marketing tools?
 To understand how the consumer experience of the organisation can be improved and
enhanced with the help of e-marketing tools and strategies.
 Do the e-marketing channels affect the consumer perception and purchase decisions?
Justification and the Potential Output of the research project
Millions of people across the world are bound together by the internet. A large amount of
information is available on the virtual platform and people everywhere tap into those
information resources for a variety of purposes. In the digital age time is of great essence and
consumers across the world prefer an access to all the required information instantly (Boone,
& Kurtz, 2013).
The internet marketing or the e-marketing is fast becoming the best way to reach the
target consumers across the world in the most cost-effective manner and disseminate the
information in a fast and more effective manner. In the digital world of today where virtual
and online platforms are gaining more importance, social media is becoming the preferred
way for the consumers to discuss and exchange information on various topics, the companies

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have to develop good e-marketing strategies to survive in the market and gain a competitive
edge over the rival firms (Laudon, &Traver, 2013).
E-marketing can help the organisation transcend borders, cultures, and increase the
reach of an organisation by almost 60% to 70% as compared to the traditional marketing and
communication tools. For any kind of e-marketing strategy to be successful, the organisations
have to understand the strategies that would work the best for their particular product and
service and would appeal the most to the target audience of the organisation. This research
would help the organisations in getting an insight into the factors and aspects of e-marketing
that have an impact on the buying behaviour of the consumers (Rahimnia, &Hassanzadeh,
2013).
Potential output of the research proposal:
 Analysis of the consumer behaviour research would help the organisations in
designing e-marketing strategies that would utilise the e-marketing tools in an
integrated manner.
 The research will help the firms to evaluate the e-marketing objectives of an
organisation like building an online brand image, managing the e-marketing
communication and selling channels for an increase in the revenues of the firm based
on the consumer preferences and perceptions.
 To develop an understanding of the realistic, specific, achievable, measurable, and
properly timed e-marketing objectives.

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Section II
Conceptual Framework
The internet has gained an important place in all kinds of activities carried out in the business
world today. It has changed the way companies interact with the consumers in the market and
the concept of marketing in the closely inter-connected digital world platforms (Eid, & El-
Gohary, 2013). Although, use of the E-marketing as a primary strategy for a business
organisation depends a lot on the kinds of products and services they offer and the target
market segment which uses their products and services. For example, the companies which
have a primarily younger target audience will need to place a lot of importance on the e-
marketing channels as most of the youth today rely on the information available on the
internet for making their purchase decision (Taylor, &Strutton, 2010).
The internet has provided numerous options to the consumers of today. This is one of
the main reasons that the customers today are less loyal to any brand because of a variety of
choices available to them on the virtual market platforms (Strauss, 2016). The consumers
have more power in their hands today with the easy access to information about the
competing organisations, their products, prices, and other features which increases the power
in the hands of the consumers. The consumers prefer to associate with the companies which
can offer better value to the consumers in terms of satisfying the customer expectations and
fulfil their demands in a better way (Darley, Blankson, &Luethge, 2010).
Therefore, it has become very important for the companies to have the correct
perception of the consumer choices and buying behaviour to be able to succeed in the market
today. The e-marketing platforms offer the companies a chance to have a two-way interactive
communication with the customers and understand their preferences, buying choices, and use
this knowledge to create more value for the consumers. The e-marketing offers the

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organisations a tremendous opportunity and potential to enhance the procedure of the value
formation for modern consumers (Punj, 2012).
An internet acts as both a medium and a market for the modern day organisations and
their consumers and can assume a variety of roles in the way in which the consumers and the
sellers interact with each other. As compared to the traditional means of marketing, e-
marketing offers a plethora of benefits for both the consumers and the organisations (Ervasti,
2013). E-marketing reduces the cost of exchanging and disseminating information, increases
the speed of transfer of information, and the ease of retrieval of information. E-marketing
also increases the level of consumer involvement by offering modes of one-to-one interaction
with the customers which means it offers the companies the opportunity to customise their
offerings and consumers get the chance to purchase tailor-made goods and services which are
best suited to their needs (Dennis, Merrilees, Jayawardhena, & Tiu Wright, 2009).
As opposed to the traditional marketing, the e-marketing gives an opportunity to the
companies to quickly adapt their policies and strategies to any changes in the external
circumstances and changes in demand. The e-marketing is a much more flexible option than
the traditional marketing, and the firms can quickly update, change, and add information on
their e-marketing channels as per the change in consumer preferences and any changes in the
demand and supply equation in the market (Park, & Cho, 2012).
While there is an information asymmetry that exists in the traditional marketing, with
one side in the buyer-seller relationship had more information than the other side, the advent
of e-marketing has reduced this asymmetry to a large extent. Besides, the cost of getting and
sending the information also went down drastically with the advent of the internet, which
made it easier for the companies and the buyer remove the information asymmetry (Wolny,
&Charoensuksai, 2014).

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The power has moved from the sellers dominated market to the consumer-dominated market
where the customers have the necessary information to make informed choices about the
companies, services, products, brands that they would like to associate with. This has
increased the pressure on the business organisations to re-evaluate their traditional marketing
structures and develop the new e-marketing strategies that can develop new methods of
creating the right values for an increasingly informed consumer base (Darley, Blankson,
&Luethge, 2010). One important factor that the companies have to keep in mind is that the
process of value-creation by the traditional marketing means is very different from that of the
virtual and digital world. The e-marketing strategies are much more competitive and flexible
and companies have to come with unique strategies to capture the attention of the consumers
in the e-marketing (Punj, 2012).
Research Methodology
 Literature Review
E-marketing uses all the tools and aspects of internet advertising and promotions to elicit a
desired response from the vast and unknown consumer base. In the developed economies
internet forms a major part of all the dimensions of the people’s lives and the strategies of e-
marketing are continuously being evolved by the companies operating in these markets
(Taylor, &Strutton, 2010). The ongoing research in the field has focused a lot of attention on
the different factors which affect the consumer behaviour and their buying behaviour with
respect to the e-marketing strategies employed by the companies. The attitude of the
consumers and their faith in online shopping are the primary factors that determine their
buying behaviour and in turn, the impact, that the e-marketing strategies have on such a
consumer mindset and their buying behaviour (Strauss, 2016).

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The five-step model is the generally accepted traditional method for evaluating the purchase
decision process of the potential customers. In this model, the customer starts with the
identification of the need and moves on to gathering the required information about a solution
to that need. On the basis of the information collected the customer moves on to evaluate the
alternatives available which can help to fulfil that need or requirement. The
genuineprocurement decision is dependupon the comparison of results of evaluation of all the
alternatives. And finally, the fifth step is the post-purchase reaction or behaviour of the
consumers which determines their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. This final step
forms a very important building block for the perception of the consumers about a particular
product, the marketing methodology, the communication process of the company, and the
other such features (Oliver, 2014).
Some of the other research conducted in the field of the factors that affect the
consumer reactions and purchase behaviour patterns of the consumers based on the e-
marketing promotional activities surmised that the risk perception and the intention of the
consumer play the role of vital determinants in the success of a particular e-marketing
strategy adopted by an organisation (Eid, & El-Gohary, 2013).
The culture and the presence of a supportive environment and atmosphere are also crucial
factors in the success of a particular e-marketing strategy or tool. One of the basic elements in
the adoption of e-marketing is the ease and comfort level displayed by the target audience
base in their usage of the internet as a medium of seeking information and communication
(Shareef, Dwivedi, & Kumar, 2016).
 Data collection methods

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The data to be evaluated for the purpose of the study is the impact that e-marketing has on
the consumer behaviour and their purchase behaviour. Both qualitative and quantitative data
evaluation methodology will be used to define the purpose of the study.
 Qualitative data
Questionnaires: For the study, the primary data would be sourced with the help of
questionnaires. The questionnaires prepared for the research will consist of closed ended
questions. The asked queries in the survey will be definedas per the objectives and aims of
the study. The questionnaires will be sent to the sample segment via e-mail and personal
interaction (Aryee, Walumbwa, Seidu, &Otaye, 2016).
Surveys and online forums: Information collected from the online surveys and interactive
online forums about the people’s perception about the e-marketing initiatives and the
methods of e-marketing communication will be collected and analysed to give an idea about
the perception of the consumers towards the e-marketing and the use of different modes of e-
marketing for different groups of services and products (Laudon, &Traver, 2013).
 Data analysis
The data collected will be analysed using the descriptive data evaluation methods. The
quantitative analysis will be done with the help of pie charts, diagrams, excel sheets,
statistical and mathematical tools available online in the different scholarly articles which
would be useful in analysing the data accurately for the purpose of the study. For the purpose
of validity testing, the regression analysis will be used.
Concepts and models from the literature on the subject will be used for qualitative
analysis of the outcomes of the information and discoveries of the study. Relationships