Comprehensive Report on Internet Marketing in Business: Unit 12

This report delves into the realm of internet marketing within the business context, examining its pivotal role in modern marketing strategies. It explores the various applications of internet marketing, emphasizing its significance in brand management, customer relationship management, and competitive advantage. The report highlights the benefits of internet marketing for businesses, such as enhanced customer service, global reach, and cost-effectiveness. It analyzes how companies like M&S leverage internet marketing for promotion, customer engagement, and market analysis. The report also discusses the challenges organizations face when transitioning to internet marketing, including the need for continuous monitoring and adaptation. It covers topics like the marketing mix, customer satisfaction, and the importance of online presence. Overall, the report provides a comprehensive overview of internet marketing's impact on business success and offers insights into effective strategies for leveraging its potential.

UNIT 12 INTERNET
MARKETING IN BUSINESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Role of internet marketing within modern marketing context...............................................1
P2 Use of internet marketing.......................................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
P3. Explain the benefits of Internet Marketing for Business Customers.....................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................4
P4.Describe the benefits and opportunities for companies to use Internet marketing in the
marketing mix of the chosen company........................................................................................4
P5 Explain how the Internet Marketing helps in effective and efficient success........................2
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................2
P6. Challenges for Internet Marketing.........................................................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Internet marketing is defined as the practice of using web based or the internet services
for managing the business and marketing operations. The internet based marketing services are
effective ways to approach wide range of customers and to emphasis on brand managements and
promotion of the services (Mathews and et.al., 2016). In the competitive and globalisation
scenario, it has become vital for the company to use advanced internet marketing for not only
advertising or brand promotion but also for customer relation management, competitive
advantage and brand management. The report will analyse the advantages of using internet
marketing for the business and its impact on customer. It will also evaluate the various
challenges and risks experienced by organisation when shifting from conventional approaches to
internet market.
TASK 1
P1 Significance of internet marketing
The marketing has been integral element of the business process and success of the
organisation greatly depends upon efficiency of the marketing functions. With the advent of
digital era, organisations are adopting concept of internet marketing for several benefits. The
biggest change has been demonstrated in the retail sector. For instance today most of the
organisations are making transition from physical stores to online services. The internet
marketing has helped M&S to conduct broad research regarding its competitors, consumers and
other stakeholders. For instance, with the use of internet marketing it has become possible for the
M&S to compare the popularity and success of its brand with other competitors such as Tesco
and Sainsbury. Another profitable aspect of using this advanced approach of marketing is that it
does not limit the functionality of organisation within specific geographical boundaries (Bucklin,
Rutz and Trusov, 2017). The retail organisations such as Tesco, M&S and Sainsbury investigate
the latest innovations in the products and services at the global level. This type of knowledge
processing is helpful in keeping organisation successful.
The qualitative customer services are very essential for retaining the long term success.
However, for this purpose it is very necessary that service providers must understand the needs
of their target population. Contrary to the conventional marketing approaches, internet marketing
is not only restricted to advertising the services and products. Instead, with the internet
marketing, it is also possible to understand and predict the purchasing behaviour of consumers
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and to encourage the interaction between customers and service providers. This advantage is
widely adopted by the manufacturing industries which use internet marketing to make consumer
aware of the quality process followed by the organisation.
By adopting internet marketing, business to customer organisations or hospitality
organisations can communicate with its potential customers more frequently. It enhances the
responsiveness of the organisation and thus the service quality is improved. Another significant
role played by this advanced marketing concept is that it allows both customers and service
providers to have in-depth knowledge of their concerned aspect. For instance with internet based
tools M&S can provide more details of its products and services such as product images, videos
related to packaging and services while consumers are also able to compare the service of M&S
with other service providers.
Thus, it can be concluded that internet and information technology is playing a critical
and valuable role in making marketing process highly transparent and influencing. Internet
marketing also allows organisations to instantly and continuously review their performance and
promotional strategies (Mathews and et.al., 2016). For instance by using internet marketing
M&S can obtain the information that how many people are positively influenced by the products
or the advertisements of the organisation or what improvements are needed by the organisation
from the customer's perspective. Internet marketing is very helpful in building strong customer
relations.
As companies are able to regularly monitor and communicate with the customers and
their choices they provide more personalised products and services. This in turn increases the
productivity and brand value of the organisation. The organisations also uses various forms of
internet marketing such as social media promotion, email marketing and search engine
optimisation (Moe and Ratchford, 2018). With the use of these strategies it is possible for the
organisation to analyse the response of public towards its services as well as to evaluate its
existing strategies and the operational areas which needs improvements for sustaining the
customer's loyalty. Thus, for the rapid success and in order to understand the market trends and
consumer preferences internet marketing is vital tool for organisations.
P2 Use of internet marketing
The retail services have gained huge benefits from the internet marketing and the same
has been reflected in the way organisation process or provide their services. M&S provides its
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services in both physical stores as well in the form of online retailing. The organisation uses
internet marketing for promoting its services. For instance the website, social media accounts
and online purchasing platforms of M&S are used by the company to promote M&S brand. The
organisation deals in wide range of products such as grocery, clothings and home products. The
organisation is using internet marketing in managing such wide range of products and services.
The internet marketing is also employed by the hospitality and retail organisations to promote
their products and services. For instance, when M&S introduces any products or services then it
uses internet based platforms to make customers aware of such advancements. Similarly, hotels
such as Hilton use internet marketing to sustain their global success by managing customers
worldwide.
In order to gain the competitive advantage, organisation also use internet marketing to
inform customers about the achievements and other significant events conducted by the
organisation. For instance, when hospitality organisations are required to inform consumers
about opening or closing of any physical store or any kind of attractive customer loyalty
program, then organisation uses internet marketing for this purpose. Initially M&S had only
physical stores, but in the digital era company is not only using internet marketing but is also
leveraging its operational activities using internet based services. Sainsbury and M&S uses social
media events and campaigns for encouraging customers to buy their products. For making the
services more effective organisation also uses email marketing. When consumers buy any
product then, organisation uses emails to convey them status of their orders. It helps users to
track their orders as well as to stay updated with the actions of organisation (Todor, 2016). With
the social media campaigns, search engine optimisation and email marketing M&S is able to
achieve its promotional and service improvement goals.
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TASK 2
P3. Importance of Internet marketing
As compared to traditional marketing
internet one is more effective and will not be
worrying about stamps or travelling either.
This gives customers the advantage that
companies have more money to invest in
better customer service, such as: For
example, in developing new market
segments (Bianchi and Mathews, 2016). For
creating competitive advantage M&S will be
investing more money into providing
training and development of their
employees. They can also invest money in a
new fashion line to attract wider customers.
The investment that M&S has made is to sell
children's clothing and cosmetics to provide
comfort to their customers because they can
buy a variety of products from one location.
Internet marketing is also fast and
easy. It could be added that for any sort of
promotion and advertisement the company
could be creating it very easily and then
posting it on website. If changes are needed,
this can be done immediately. Therefore the
biggest advantage of advertisement will be
that customer could access it for longer
duration for attracting them all. It also tells
customers about changes made and is a good
method for customer service. M&S displays
advertisements for promotions and new
products that are being promoted. For M&S,
advertising plays an important role in
promoting business and providing
information to customers. M&S is posting
regularly on their website and other portal.
This been benefit for both company and
customer as well. As company could be
getting more number of customers through
this and customer will be getting more
information regarding to company and their
products. Advertising can also help
companies monitor and monitor what the
company offers, and they can also be used
as market research methods. Here are some
examples that show how M&S is promoted
through advertisements on their website and
in magazines:
24 hour attendance - This is also one of the
benefit of internet marketing which means
that customer could be able to shop from all
their favourite brands from anywhere and
anytime. Qbic hotel is a client company,
meaning the company offers services and
goods only through the Internet. This means
that there is no shop where customers can
visit, and they need to go to the company's
website to view and buy products
(Mazzarol, 2015). The company has a
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warehouse or other facility where the
product is stored and sent. That's why Qbic
hotel is there for you all the time and this is
a good method of customer service. That's
because it's simple and easy, and offers
convenience to customers, because they can
shop anytime and buy whatever they want,
from the comfort of their own home. Both
Qbic hotel and 24-hour operators have
customer service managed 24 hours a day
through a website. Click on companies that
work 24/7 and this is an advantage for
customers because they can shop
comfortably anytime. Evidence 24/7 is that
clients can access, visit and make purchases
at any time on the Qbic hotel website.
Comfort offers - Another benefit of Internet
marketing is providing convenience to
customers because it is simple and easy to
make, provides convenience to customers,
and allows him to shop and buy whatever he
wants in the comfort of his home. Customers
also have access to most businesses because
many retailers work online and in stores.
Convenience can also be provided through
the website if it's simple and easy to use and
the customer returns from repeat business.
Customer comfort has helped customers
attract more customers (Clark, 2017). M&S
is having more number of customer’s
support as their active buyers are increasing
to about 1.2 million throughout the world
which means that 5.2 million customers per
month are been attracted towards them.
Promotion - For attracting more number of
customers M&S could be changing their
website and multimedia content which could
be instant as well. Promotion could be
regarded to as one of advantage of internet
marketing which is identified by companies.
When customers find out about promotions
offered by Qbic hotel, they can decide to
shop there because they have the ability and
opportunity to spend more.
Added value and satisfaction - Increasing
satisfaction from customer and getting their
long term loyalty for firm could be regarded
to as another advantage for company. This
also adds up the value to M&S and their
increased level of marketing as well. Apart
from this Qbic hotel can be analysing on
regular bases that which of their product or
service is been attracting more number of
customers and then help them to invest more
in that product or service only. This will be
helpful for analysing increasing demand of
their company and product. When
companies try to ensure customer
satisfaction through feedback and
suggestions to improve their services, this
can help improve the relationship between
business and customers.
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TASK 3
P4. Advantages of using internet marketing for company
An effective "marketing mix", which covers the 7 P’s, is a way to identify business success
through marketing goals that meet customer needs, are balanced and consistent, create
competitive advantage, and match company resources.
Product – Qbic hotel is very efficient in promoting its products, using intelligent visual tools,
such as 360-degree views of products, videos and images, to improve the quality of the product
itself. They also offer a variety of products and services, including clothing, accessories, shoes /
sandals and so on. These include their own brands and designer clothes, which show that their
products are of high quality. They also have step-by-step instructions for using and buying on
their website, as well as shipping information pages. The best food does not seem as delicious
when the waiter is angry. A smile always helps. Intensive training of your employees in dealing
with customers and dealing with unexpected situations is very important for your success.
People- It could be included that employees are most important part of company who are also
component of marketing lix of Qbic hotel. So for this it is very much essential that they are very
much helpful and well trained especially at time when there is any sort of problem faced by their
customers. People will also be including customers, employees and other members of company
who all are linked with hotel. For this it is also essential that company on regular bases are
updating their profile and website so that customers could be giving their feedback and
comments as well. Qbic hotel employees have knowledge, training, and other aspects that help
companies market their business. Qbic hotel customers are also people who help commercialize
business information.
Price - The advantage of pricing in Internet marketing for companies is dynamic pricing.
Dynamic prices are when an item or service is caused by changes in the level of demand;
customer type; or time. For example: flights change prices depending on the season; Rates
increase for half a season because they know the family wants to leave at this time. The
advantage of dynamic pricing is that companies tend to maximize their profit potential by
constantly updating prices based on the factors listed above. This can also mean that the
company handles new market segments, for example. For example, customers look for low
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prices that are price sensitive. When prices are lowered, people who usually cannot afford
products / services at full cost can be interested in buying products when they are discounted,
allowing businesses to attract new customers from different market segments.
Promotion - The advantage of Internet marketing in advertising is brand awareness. Companies
can use various ways to get their famous brands through the Internet. Social networking sites are
one way; Businesses use websites such as Facebook and Twitter to send promotions and get
people up-to-date about events and upcoming products (Järvinen and Taiminen, 2016). For social
networking companies, this means they can get customer loyalty because customers want to shop
on brands they know and trust. When companies use social networking sites, users are more
likely to feel they are reliable. Businesses can also gain customer loyalty through the use of
social networking sites, because people are always reminded of brands when they use Facebook /
Twitter so that it will become a brand they are trapped in potential customers and are more likely
to visit website and see when they need it.
P5 Explain how the Internet Marketing helps in effective and efficient success
There are some of the benefits of internet marketing like its effectiveness and
efficiency as well which would be discussed into below part.
Efficiency - These are promotional items offered by M&S on the veranda and
organization is effective in advertising because it always advertises products that encourage
product purchases. M&S will also be effective in promotions because promotional emails are
sent to you offering products that you think will be of interest to based on previous purchases.
Effectiveness - M&S uses action effectively because there are more opportunities to win
when offering new promotions. M&S uses action effectively because there are more
opportunities to win when offering new promotions. This is because when M&S sends
personalized promotional emails, customers can see the products they like, and then continue to
buy them.
TASK 4
P6. Challenges for Internet Marketing
Increasing cost of marketing could be identified to as biggest challeng which companies
are facing due to internet marketing. This will include cost or expense of creating website and its
protection as there are certain things which M&S or Qbic need to follow like putting a domain
name. There is certain other aspect of it as well like website design, customers who could be
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interested in this and staff request as well. However while creating or opening their new online
website company need to consider these things so that they are generating more income from
this.
The challenge of globalization
Although the Internet offers advantages and opportunities in terms of marketing, the
Internet is also governed by the many challenges posed by the increasing global market. This
business challenge needs to be prepared. The first challenge for M&S and similar companies is
that they cannot communicate directly with customers. The majority of communication is done
via the Internet.
Protect payments - The internet offers the ability to directly use channels for delivery to
customers / clients, this process is known as disintegration and the tendency is to cut the middle
ground of humans. Customers often worry about buying products from Internet users and often
have stories about hackers and fraudsters and are therefore reluctant to provide credit or debit
card details online because it is the organization's responsibility to tell customers how to make
payments and convince potential customers that it is safe to buy products online with this
business.
Customer expectations - The internet continues to increase customer expectations and is
a challenge for all online businesses. The availability and convenience of the Internet 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week is compounded by increased personalization and price transparency (Ehret
and Wirtz, 2017). More importantly, customers expect a higher level of reliability,
responsiveness, comfort and speed in terms of the time needed to visit the site and deliver goods
after ordering. Producing in Bulk Customization because it allows customers to enter personal
metrics / requirements online before you order or configure your device like a computer before
you order. Predicting challenges for online marketers and understanding customer expectations
will be within the context of the market in which the organization operates.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it had been summarized that internet marketing useful for upcoming
businesses as they give different types of benefits and opportunities while saving money and
time. It could also be included that companies like that of M&S who are using internet marketing
are having larger share of market as compared to others which are not using it. One of the
challenges which company could face will be like that of not fulfilling customer expectation.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bianchi, C. and Mathews, S., 2016. Internet marketing and export market growth in
Chile. Journal of Business Research. 69(2). pp.426-434.
Bucklin, R.E., Rutz, O.J. and Trusov, M., 2017. Metrics for the New Internet Marketing
Communications Mix. In Review of Marketing Research (pp. 195-212). Routledge.
Clark, E.G., 2017. Integrating consumer feedback into business marketing strategies.
Ehret, M. and Wirtz, J., 2017. Unlocking value from machines: business models and the
industrial internet of things. Journal of Marketing Management. 33(1-2). pp.111-130.
Järvinen, J. and Taiminen, H., 2016. Harnessing marketing automation for B2B content
marketing. Industrial Marketing Management. 54. pp.164-175.
Karjaluoto, H., Mustonen, N. and Ulkuniemi, P., 2015. The role of digital channels in industrial
marketing communications. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. 30(6). pp.703-
710.
Mathews, S. and et.al., 2016. Internet marketing capabilities and international market
growth. International Business Review. 25(4). pp.820-830.
Mazzarol, T., 2015. SMEs engagement with e-commerce, e-business and e-marketing. Small
enterprise research. 22(1). pp.79-90.
Moe, W.W. and Ratchford, B.T., 2018. How the explosion of customer data has redefined
interactive marketing.
Muzellec, L., Ronteau, S. and Lambkin, M., 2015. Two-sided Internet platforms: A business
model lifecycle perspective. Industrial Marketing Management. 45. pp.139-150.
Semeradova, T. and Vávrová, J.N., 2016. Using a systemic approach to assess Internet marketing
communication within hospitality industry. Tourism Management Perspectives. 20.
pp.276-289.
Todor, R.D., 2016. Blending traditional and digital marketing. Bulletin of the Transilvania
University of Brasov. Economic Sciences. Series V. 9(1). p.51.
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