Assessing the Impact of Online Marketing on Sales and Profitability

This research proposal investigates the impact of online marketing on the sales and profitability of organizations, specifically focusing on Marks & Spencer UK. The study aims to assess the significance of online marketing, identify effective tools and techniques, and determine their effect on sales and profits. The research includes a preliminary literature review covering the concept and significance of online marketing, effective tools such as social media, SEO, and email marketing, and the impact of online marketing on profits and sales. The research methodology will employ an interpretivism philosophy and an inductive approach, using a descriptive research design. Data will be collected from both primary sources (surveys) and secondary sources (books, journals, and online resources) to ensure comprehensive findings. The research will explore how online marketing can be used to expand market share, increase customer base, and improve overall business performance. The proposal also acknowledges the importance of technological upgrades and investments in employee training for successful online marketing implementation. The findings will offer recommendations for enhancing sales and profits through effective online marketing strategies.

Research proposal
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
preliminary review of the Literature ...............................................................................................4
Research methodology.....................................................................................................................7
Limitations ......................................................................................................................................8
Time scale........................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11
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INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario, marketing has become very important for growth and success of a
business enterprise. In simpler terms, it is defined as the process or activity which is carried out
with an objective to promote and sale products or services of organizations. The main purpose of
businesses behind carrying out marketing is to increase their sales and profitability. Along with
this, it is also carried out with the purpose of attracting customers, lancing new products, getting
competitive advantage and increasing customer base. In earlier days, companies used to market
their products and services with the help of advertisement on television, newspapers, journals
and magazines. In addition to this, businesses also used to carry out marketing of their products
and services by promotion through flyers, free sample, discounts, brochures etc. However, it can
be argued that the traditional method of advertisement are effective but they have certain
drawbacks (Estelami, 2012). One of the major among those is that it is the use of traditional tools
and technique of marketing is very costly for businesses. Further, they were required to invest
large amount of human, financial and other related resources to carry out marketing of their
services and products. Therefore, organizations started seeking for marketing tools that are cost
effective and can provide them with desired results.
In the 21st century, internet has emerged as one of the most potential platform for doing
marketing of different services and products. Nowadays, the trend and concept of online
marketing among companies is getting popular day by day. It can be also stated that not only for
large or multinational organizations but online marketing has proved to be very effective for
small businesses as well. Online marketing is often termed as internet marketing and it is carried
out with the help of emails and web. One of the major benefit of online marketing is that it do
not require large amount of efforts and resources as compared to traditional tools and techniques
of marketing (Bulearca and Bulearca, 2010). Businesses using such type of marketing carry out
entire promotion and marketing of their services and products over internet. Therefore, the
current study will explore the impact of online marketing on sales and profits of organization. In
addition to this, the researcher has developed aim and objectives behind carrying out this
research. The aim and objective are mentioned below as:
Aim:
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“To assess the impact of online marketing on sales and profitability of organization”- A
study on Marks & Spencer UK.
Objectives
 To examine the concept and significance of online marketing in present scenario
 To identify effective tools and technique of online marketing used by Marks & Spencer
UK
 To determine the effect of online marketing on profits and sales of Marks & Spencer UK
 To recommended ways through which Marks & Spencer UK enhance its sales and profits
by effective online marketing
PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
The concept and significance of online marketing
In the present scenario, marketing products and services has become very important for
achieving higher success and growth rate for businesses. As per the view of Zhu and Zhang,
(2010) there are several factors which has resulted in growing popularity of internet marketing.
One of the major among those is that it is effective and can be used by both small and large
organizations (Zhu and Zhang, 2010). Furthermore, businesses are also able to get faster results
in online marketing and this is not possible in case when companies are using traditional
marketing tools. At the time of carrying out online marketing, businesses needs to develop
effective advertisements and promotional plans which can be accomplished over the internet.
According to Sheth, (2011) internet or online marketing has become crucial for organizations
because it supports them in align their products and services according to the way how buyer
behave in market (Sheth, 2011). Along with this, online marketing has proved to be very
effective in influencing the decision making of people in market.
The concept of online marketing is getting popular because it provides companies with
option to optimize marketing activities according to their need and demand. Kozinets and et.al.
(2010) has explained that marketing of services and products over internet is significant because
of its convenience. This means that business are able to market their products 24 hours and 365
days a year. In addition to this, online marketing also creates satisfaction among customers as
they are able to access information regrading services and products whenever they want
(Kozinets and et.al. 2010). On the other side of this, it is also supporting companies to overcome
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barriers related to distance. Nowadays, online marketing has provided organizations with a
potential platform in teams of reaching mass target audience. Companies are able to sell products
and services to other countries without establishing physical office and outlet in the country.
Effective tools and technique of online marketing
In the modern era, there are various techniques and tools of online marketing which are
used by companies to market their products and services. One of the most popular tools among
all is social media marketing which is used by companies. Nowadays, social media such as
Facebook and twitter are getting very popular among individuals in market. These online
platform have developed as an opportunity for companies to market and promote their services
and products (Leake, Vaccarello and Ginty, 2012). Many organizations have developed their
official Facebook page and account of Twitter from where they interact with their customers and
make them aware about new products, services and other related information. In addition to this,
companies also provides information related to new products and services which it is going to
launch.
However, Estelami (2012) has argued that the concept of natural search is also another
important tool which is used by firms at the time of carrying out marketing over internet.
Companies have now developed their official website with an objective to display and market
their services and products (Estelami, 2012). The use of search engine optimization (SEO) has
become a common phenomenon among businesses. It can be also stated that effective use of
search engine optimization results in attracting more traffic towards a particular website.
Organizations are now offering products and services to customers with the help of online store.
This has resulted in making the entire process of purchase more convenient for customers and
has also driven the sales of companies. Another important tool which is used by businesses at the
time of carrying out online marketing is email marketing. As per the view of Bulearca and
Bulearca, (2010) many retail organizations in the country are now using email as an effective
tool to market their product and services. Nowadays, companies forwards their potential
customers with emails which depicts information related to available offers, discounts and new
products (Bulearca and Bulearca, 2010). This creates awareness among individuals and also
results in attracting them to buy a particular product or services.
The effect of online marketing on profits and sales
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According to the view point of, online marketing makes direct impact on the sales and
profitability of organizations. The rationale behind this is that online marketing provides
companies with an opportunity to market their products to large target audiences. Thus,
businesses highlights and communicates people about the characteristics of products and the
benefits which they can have by usage or consumption of the same (Barefoot and Szabo, 2010).
The sales is increased because more and more people become aware and are encouraged to buy
products offered by a business enterprise. On the other side of this, has argued that online or
internet marketing is not an easy task for companies and they are required to be technologically
upgraded. Organizations are also required to invest large amount of human, financial and other
related resources in order to provide training to employees regrading the use of various
techniques and tools of digital marketing. Valos, Ewing and Powell, (2010) has explained that
online marketing can be costly for organizations in short run but can provide several benefits to
them in long run. This includes enhancement in profit margin and sales of firms (Valos, Ewing
and Powell, 2010).
One of the most important characteristics of online marketing is that it helps business to
market services and products beyond the domestic territory of a company. This results in
providing businesses with an opportunity to expand their market share and find new customers.
It can be stated that online marketing increases sales because it provides businesses with
potential opportunity to expand and enhance their customer base (Dunne, Lawlor and Rowley,
2010). On the other side of this... has argued that online marketing is cost effective as compared
to other marketing tools and this is one of the main reason why companies are able to increase
their profits and sales. In order to carry out the task of online marketing, organizations are only
required to have a team of personnels which are capable of carrying out digital marketing. In
traditional marketing tools, companies are required to invest large amount of human and
financial resource, this directly results in increasing expenses of the company. As per the view of
Kacen, Hess and Chiang, (2013) online marketing is cost saving as compared to tradition market.
Therefore, it plays very important role in increase profits and sales of a business organization
(Kacen, Hess and Chiang, 2013).
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
 Research philosophy: In order to carry out research on impact of online marketing on
sales and profitability of organizations, the research is going to use interpretivism
philosophy or paradigm. The rationale behind this is that the selected philosophy is
subjective in nature and therefore it is more suitable in context of the current study.
Interpretivism philosophy will also play very important role and assist scholar in
activities such as collection and evaluation of the data.
 Research approach: It can be termed as the process in which different action plans and
strategies are being developed by the researcher with an objective to carry out study in
more effective manner. It can be also stated that deductive and inductive are the two
different approaches which can be used by scholars at the time of carrying out research.
The present investigation will use inductive approach in order to carry out study on
impact of online marketing on sales and profitability of an organization. The selected
approach is suitable as it will help in getting more reliable information by focusing upon
observations and theories.
 Research design- Researches are available with variety of research designs which they
can adopt for carrying out their respective study. Different design includes experimental,
case study, casual, exploratory, descriptive etc. It can be expressed that on the basis of
objectives and characteristic of research, appropriate research design is employed by
scholar. For carrying out research on impact of online marketing on sales and profitability
of an organization, descriptive design will be employed by scholar. The main reason
behind selecting the above stated research design is that it is going to support in
describing all potential elements which are associated with the current investigation.
 Data collection- It can be expressed that there are two common and most important
sources from which information regarding a particular topic can be gathered by
researcher. Furthermore, the sources are named as primary and secondary sources. The
decision regrading selection of data collection sources completely relies on nature and
objectives of study. However, it can be argued that the sources selected has direct impact
on quality and findings of research. In order to obtain more reliable findings, both
primary and secondary sources of data collection will be taken into consideration. Survey
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method will be used by researcher to gather primary information and various books,
journals and online sources are going to be considered for gathering secondary
information. Further, it can be expressed that by using both the sources, scholar will be
able to gain in-depth knowledge about the topic impact of online marketing on sales and
profitability of an organization.
 Sampling- It is considered as one of the most important part of a researcher as the
effectiveness of researcher relies on sample selected and their size. In simpler terms,
sampling can be defined as the process in which individuals from overall population are
selected with an objective to gain information about a particular topic. In the present
research, purposive sampling which is a part of non-probabilistic sampling method will
be employed. Along with this, the sample will be marketing managers of Marks &
Spencer. For carrying out the current investigation the sample size is going to be of 20
managers.
 Data analysis- It can be stated that at the time of carrying out data analysis, researchers
are required to be very careful as the effectiveness of research is directly affected by this.
Furthermore, it is a process which helps in deriving suitable results by carrying out
evaluation of information gathered. The two common techniques which are used to carry
out analysis of data are qualitative and quantitative. The present research is based on
assessing the impact of online marketing on sales and profitability of an organization.
This means that information will be available in non-numeric form and therefore,
qualitative technique will be used. Along with this, different themes will be developed to
carry out analysis and information is going to be presented with the help of different
graphs and charts
LIMITATIONS
In terms of research limitations, it can be stated that time and cost will be the two major
limitations. The scholar will be required to complete the present study within limited amount of
time and money. Along with this, the response rate is also going to be very high as the
information will be collected with the help of questionnaire by the researcher himself. Another
limitation of this research is that it is possible that adequate and reliable data regrading topic
under investigation may not be available. This can have potential impact on the quality and
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effectiveness of secondary data collected for this study. However, it can be also stated that the
present study will be carried out on one particular organization and it is another limitation of this
research. It is possible that conclusion and results of study varies if the same research is
conducted on another organization.
TIME SCALE
Activity/Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Identifying of the research
problem
In-depth analysis for the
selection of suitable research
topic
Setting up the aim and objectives
Collecting secondary data and
primary information
Identifying approach for
research
Developing research
methodology
Creating questionnaire
Organizing data collected with
the help of survey
Using appropriate technique and
carrying out the task of data
analysis
Interpretation of the information
collected
Evaluating the findings of
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research
Giving Recommendations and
suggestions for further study
Outlining the findings
Creating report in a well
structured format
Submitting to instructor and
awaiting feedback
Revision of the final draft
Submission of report
Presenting the report to the
public
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Barefoot, D. and Szabo, J., 2010. Friends with benefits: A social media marketing handbook. No
Starch Press.
Bulearca, M. and Bulearca, S., 2010. Twitter: a viable marketing tool for SMEs?. Global
business and management research. 2(4). pp.296.
Dunne, Á., Lawlor, M.A. and Rowley, J., 2010. Young people's use of online social networking
sites-a uses and gratifications perspective. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
4(1). pp.46-58.
Estelami, H., 2012. An exploratory study of the drivers of student satisfaction and learning
experience in hybrid-online and purely online marketing courses. Marketing Education
Review. 22(2). pp.143-156.
Kacen, J.J., Hess, J.D. and Chiang, W.Y.K., 2013. Bricks or clicks? Consumer attitudes toward
traditional stores and online stores. Global Economics and Management Review. 18(1).
pp.12-21.
Kozinets, R.V. and et.al., 2010. Networked narratives: Understanding word-of-mouth marketing
in online communities. Journal of marketing. 74(2). pp.71-89.
Leake, W., Vaccarello, L. and Ginty, M., 2012. Complete B2B online marketing. John Wiley &
Sons.
Sheth, J.N., 2011. Impact of emerging markets on marketing: Rethinking existing perspectives
and practices. Journal of Marketing. 75(4). pp.166-182.
Valos, M.J., Ewing, M.T. and Powell, I.H., 2010. Practitioner prognostications on the future of
online marketing. Journal of Marketing Management. 26(3-4). pp.361-376.
Zhu, F. and Zhang, X., 2010. Impact of online consumer reviews on sales: The moderating role
of product and consumer characteristics. Journal of marketing. 74(2). pp.133-148.
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