Internet Marketing: Primark Case Study on Efficiency and Challenges

This report provides a comprehensive overview of internet marketing, exploring its role within the modern marketing context and the evolution of the marketing mix to incorporate the 7Ps. It delves into the benefits for both customers and businesses, highlighting the impact of the internet on shopping habits and the opportunities it presents, such as wider reach, personalization, and relationship building. The report also examines how internet marketing has enhanced Primark's efficiency, effectiveness, and overall success by streamlining processes, improving customer engagement, and offering cost-saving opportunities. Furthermore, it addresses the challenges of globalization when using the internet as a marketing tool, including promotion efficiencies through social media and the use of web analytics and search engine optimization. The analysis underscores how Primark leverages internet marketing to gain customer feedback and improve sales.

INTERNET MK

INTRODUCTION
Internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to advertising and marketing efforts that
use the Web and email to drive direct sales via electronic commerce, in addition to sales leads
from Web sites or emails. Internet marketing and online advertising efforts are typically used in
conjunction with traditional types of advertising such as radio, television, newspapers and
magazines. Internet marketing can also be broken down into more specialized areas such as Web
marketing, email marketing and social media marketing. Regardless of the size, majority of
businesses nowadays are practising Internet marketing. That’s because it is the most inexpensive
way for them to reach millions of their target market.
TASK 1
P1. Role internet marketing has within a modern marketing context.
The marketing mix: In previous units you will have studies the 4Ps of the marketing mix
(product, price, place and promotion). When engaged with online marketing we refer to
the 7Ps of the marketing mix. This includes the three extra P's (People, processes and
physical evidence).
People: People are at the centre of the service being delivered. Customers satisfaction is
dependent on how the people in an organisation deal with them.
Processes: When a customer uses a service, they may have to take part in various
activities. It is important to consider these processes from a customers standpoint and
establish how efficient and user friendly they are.
Physical evidence: This is the tangible evidence that a customer will use to judge whether a
service is what they want.
Focus on promotion: P2 is mainly concerned with promotion so you can ignore the other P's for
the time being. Remember, when it comes to promotion marketing professionals have to
consider ways of bringing products to the attention of potential customers as well as reminding
existing and past customers of the benefits of the products from their brand. This includes
advertising on various mass media, as well as other ways of promoting products in the eyes of
the consumer, such as special offers. These activities in the 'physical world' are designed to
push products and services out towards the eyes and ears of potential customers.
When researching online promotional activities by various fast food businesses, consider the
1

purpose. For example is this piece of promotion designed to; penetrate a new market introduce
a new product increase market share; develop a new product; etc. Be clear to state this in your
annotations.
P2. Primark organisations use internet marketing.
Relationship marketing: It is far more expensive to acquire new customers than it is to keep
existing ones. For this reason businesses work hard to establish long-tern relationships with their
customers. The means retaining customers, it is impossible to build a relationship with a
customer that does not return to your business. In a bricks and mortal store, shop workers are
used to create the relationship between the business and the customers. With online businesses
other methods must be used in place of staff to generate trust that a business will meet their
needs, if this can be achieved customers are likely to remain loyal.
Web accounts: By giving a customer their own log-in and areas of the website a business is able
to allow the customer to customise the webpage they see to suit their wants and needs. For
example by creating an account.
Manipulating web pages: Companies can change what a customer sees on a web page to best
meet their demands. This can be done through a log in such as with www.amazon.com where
recommendations are made based on purchase history. Alternatively it can be done by
remembering the history of your IP address, for example the search results given by
www.google.com will be affected by the pages you have click on in the past.
Feedback areas: Another technique is to monitor and analyse feedback from customers. This can
be achieved by creating a 'feedback' or 'contact us' section of the website. This helps a business
to relate closely with customers.
User generated blogs: by created areas of the website where customers can discuses their past
and future purchases freely, businesses give the customer confidence in their products and
service by being transparent and showing they have nothing to hide. It also enables customers to
take the role of sales person by guiding each other to the most suitable purchase.
1

TASK 2
P3. Benefits to customers of a business using internet marketing.
The internet has changed customer shopping habits and with rapid technological
developments accessing the internet has become easier than ever. People can access the internet
whenever and wherever they like. Why do people like using the internet? Listed below are some
of the benefits of the internet for the customer.
Customers Stay Updated: The internet has changed customer shopping habits and with rapid
technological developments accessing the internet has become easier than ever. People can
access the internet whenever and wherever they like. Why do people like using the internet?
Listed below are some of the benefits of the internet for the customer.
Instant Comparisons - Customers Can Compare Prices and Features. One of the greatest
advantages for the customer is that they can compare products or services they wish to purchase
from the comfort of their own homes. Instead of having to visit a number of different retail
outlets, the user simply has to open different internet window tabs to compare prices or features
of the product/service they wish to purchase. Many retailing websites offer the facility where
different products they sell can now be easily compared. There is also price comparison websites
that customers can use to get the best possible price for their products.
Clear Product Information For The Customer :Websites offer clear and consistent product
information to all internet users. There is little chance of misinterpretation or mishearing what
the sales person said as in a retail store. The internet has comprehensive product information
whereas in a shop the customer is reliant in the knowledge of their sales advisor.
Transparent Pricing Available 24/7: The price of products can be easy for the consumer to
find out ; customers can access pricing information from a range of sellers with a few internet
clicks. Customers can take advantages of pricing that may change regularly or take advantages of
special offers that last for a limited period as they can access pricing information 24 hours a
day/7 days a week. Whereas prices for products offered for sale in retail premises can only be
accessed whilst the store (or when store telephone lines are) open.
1

TASK 3
P4. Opportunities to the business of using internet using marketing mix.
Reach: By marketing on the Internet, you can overcome barriers of distance. You can sell goods
in any part of the country without setting up local outlets, widening your target market. You can
also build an export business without opening a network of distributors in different countries.
However, if you want to sell internationally, you should use localization services to ensure that
your products are suitable for local markets and comply with local business regulations.
Localization services include translation and product modification to reflect local market
differences.
Personalization: Internet marketing enables you to personalize offers to customers by building a
profile of their purchasing history and preferences. By tracking the web pages and product
information that prospects visit, you can make targeted offers that reflect their interests. The
information available from tracking website visits also provides data for planning cross-selling
campaigns so that you can increase the value of sales by customer.
Relationships: The Internet provides an important platform for building relationships with
customers and increasing customer retention levels. When a customer has purchased a product
from your online store, you can begin the relationship by sending a follow-up email to confirm
the transaction and thank the customer. Emailing customers regularly with special, personalized
offers helps to maintain the relationship. You can also invite customers to submit product
reviews on your website, helping to build a sense of community.
Social: Internet marketing enables you to take advantage of the growing importance of social
media. An article on the Harvard Business School Executive Education website highlighted the
link between social networking and online revenue growth. According to the article, a group of
consumers that responded most strongly to the influence of social networks generated increased
sales of around 5 percent. You can take advantage of this type of influence by incorporating
social networking tools in your Internet marketing campaigns.
P5. Internet marketing has made a selected business more efficient, effective and successful.
Internet marketing has offered Primark more efficiency, effectiveness and successfulness
as with internet marketing supply chain efficiencies have been offered as buying and selling has
become more smoother, faster and can substantially save on costs and get their product to the
markets more quickly.
1

Internet Marketing has allowed Primark to procure online with this they can purchase the
materials instantly making the process of their production of finished goods quicker which offers
them the efficiency of time saving. Also internet marketing has offered Primark customer power
as they have a wide range of choice in buying materials which has made them efficient in cost
saving as they can procure form cheaper suppliers and be in contact with new suppliers which
they wouldn’t have reached offline. These efficiencies have made Primark effective as they
know produce goods quicker and effectively sell them online for private customers to buy. Also
with internet marketing Primark more successful as they gain immediate cash sales before
delivering the product so no credit is delivered whereas with internet and online choice they can
be given credit from their suppliers making them effective in improving cash flow.
Price is another efficiency provided by internet marketing for Primark as with internet marketing
Primark are able to have more choice in price as the internet will have a variety of suppliers
which Primark wouldn’t have been able to reach to offline. Procuring online has given Primark
disintermediation which has helped them reduce cost, this gives them effectiveness in buying as
online processes are much faster and suppliers would be able to deal with Primark quicker and
therefore makes their selling successful; as they are able to make a lager profit margin due to
them buying cheaper through online and choice of price and they are still selling at their normal
base rate.
P6. Challenges of globalisation business when using the internet as a marketing tool.
Primark have promotion efficiencies through social media as they have pages on social
networking sites with thousands of followers and likers, also thousands of people are talking
about specific product as indicated on the screenshot which provide them efficiency in customer
feedback, customer forums and reviews for other customers anticipating them to use the business
and products.
Social media can also be effective for web analytics as it shows how many people would be
viewing which products and where their interests are, this web analytics help Primark succeed as
they can improve and extended products to match customer’s feedback and increase sales.
1

Also with online search engines, this would be efficient as domains such as Google charge per
click and this is 0.0000001 pence per click which is a very little amount and they charge only if a
customer clicks on the website through their domain so it’s efficient as it charges only if people
use them. This is effective as a most common domain is Google and using them for search
engine optimisation would be effective as millions of people would come across Primark website
from this promotion. This makes Primark successful as they pay for people entering their site and
Google being a recognised search engine would mean more customer turnover in the business
and more visits.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been analysed that It also combines the technical and
creative aspects of the World Wide Web such as advertising, designing, development and sales.
Moreover, Internet Marketing also deals with creating and placing ads throughout the various
stages of customer engagement cycle.
1

REFERENCES
Books and journal
Ageron, B., Gunasekaran, A. and Spalanzani, A., 2012. Sustainable supply management: An
empirical study. International Journal of Production Economics. 140(1). pp.168-182.
de Menezes, L.M., Wood, S. and Gelade, G., 2010. The integration of human resource and
operation management practices and its link with performance: A longitudinal latent
class study. Journal of Operations Management. 28(6). pp.455-471.
Diabat, A. and Govindan, K., 2011. An analysis of the drivers affecting the implementation of
green supply chain management. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 55(6).
pp.659-667.
Gawer, A. ed., 2011. Platforms, markets and innovation. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Gold, S., Seuring, S. and Beske, P., 2010. Sustainable supply chain management and inter‐
organizational resources: a literature review. Corporate social responsibility and
environmental management. 17(4). pp.230-245.
Hart, S.L. and Dowell, G., 2011. Invited editorial: A natural-resource-based view of the firm
fifteen years after. Journal of management. 37(5). pp.1464-1479.
Heizer, J., 2016. Operations Management, 11/e. Pearson Education India.
Online
Internet Marketing. 2017. [Online]. Available
through:<http://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-management/management/
leadership-and-management/understanding-operations-management/content-
section-0>. [Accessed on 16th August 2017].
1

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
1