Internet marketing is the most popular method of marketing today as we all are aware and
it involves the usage of the internet to sell things or market services. But it takes a
comprehensive marketing approach to boost your sales and the vital point to be considered
is the way consumers perceive your products or services. It is not easy to connect with your
consumers as you launch your product or service. Marketers no more control the
communication and the path between advertisement and consumer as it used to be earlier.
The role of marketers is constantly changing with consumers donning the hat of creators.
We are living in an age of customization and today it is all about sharing and collaboration
where consumer is ruling the roost. Social networking has been the benchmark of consumer
behaviour when it comes to internet. User generated content (UGC) became conspicuous
through social networking sites and this has managed to transform the media ecosystem
along with the democratization of media. All you need is a computer and an internet
connection or an online tool like Blogger to publish your stuff and make it easily accessible
Internet marketing has brought in new trends and stress has been on 7 Ps - Product, Price,
Place, Promotion, Presentation, Processes and Personalization. Let us shed light on the
Product - Product happens to be one of the key factors in internet marketing and therefore,
it requires effective research to reach your customers as consumers today are spoilt for
choices electronically where they are flooded with products in the form of text, images and
multimedia. You get to know the right audience along with content and software defining
your products in the correct manner helps the audience virtually touch and feel the product
on the Internet as they can rotate it, zoom in or zoom out and even visualize the product in
different configurations and combination. In internet marketing emphasis should always be
on the uniqueness of the product rather than price.
Price – You need to have a good pricing strategy in internet marketing. Internet has
completely changed the rule of the game and it is now the buyer who decides the pricing of
the products rather than the seller and it depends a lot on site visitors. Moreover, with
multiple sellers selling the same product you have to be careful with your pricing.
Promotion – Promoting your website requires a lot of strategies and efforts and as it
includes both online and offline strategies. With over a billion web pages it is not an easy job
at all. Your strategies include search engine optimization, banner ads and multiple points of
entry, viral marketing, strategic partnership and affiliate marketing and with innumerable
sites selling the same product the competition is really stiff. Promoting your site requires a
bunch of analysis to drive the right kind of traffic to your site and traded links or banner
advertisements can be considered as well. You can also try out the traditional mediums like
print, outdoor advertising and television.
Presentation – Effective navigational tools should define your website to make it functional
and user friendly. Besides adhering to top corporate logos and standards when it comes to
your site, you also need to have navigational aids on all web pages like search engines for
better reach and understanding as research shows that 80% of the people read only 20% of
Processes – Customer support is an integral part of internet marketing as customers are
entitled to a reliable sales service where all their queries will be readily answered. This
should be followed by an efficacious after sales service where customers can easily track the
status of their orders after the sale has been made.
Personalization - Customizing the entire web site for every single user can be done using
the latest software without spending extra. But it is important to understand your
customers’ preferences to create customized web pages. The preferred layout of the
customer might not be there but a pre selection of goods the customer may be interested in
Discerning your customer
You need to understand your customers before you try to sell your products or services
online. You must discern your customers so that you can use the seven P’s effectively in
order to achieve the predefined goals of any organization. The true needs of online
customers are to be considered primarily and this has led to the definition of certain
characteristics of the online customers.
Systematic Information Seekers: These types of users are somewhat disciplined and seek
specific, timely and relevant information about the products and services being offered.
Unsystematic Information Seekers: These users are always up for surprises when they are
online looking for information. They seek useful information which will provide them with
Deal Hunters: Deal Hunters are of two kinds - one who is always on the lookout for free
items on the internet and the other who is seeking better deals or great discounts.
Amusement Seekers: The amusement seekers treat the web as an entertainment medium
of great extent with a huge potential and they are keen to explore the medium before the
Focused Buyers: The focussed buyers have an immediate need to buy and are pretty sure of
what they want to purchase. They are fully aware of their requirement and just log on to the
web to purchase the item.