Internet Marketing free essay sample

The internet has become a key factor in the success of a lot of businesses in recent years. In the following assignment I am going to explain how internet marketing has made Tesco’s business more efficient, effective and successful. Efficient; Definition; Efficiency is the comparison of what is actually produced or performed by the business with what can actually be achieved with the same consumption of resources (money, time, labour, etc. ). By removing the distributor or wholesaler businesses like Tesco are â€Å"cutting out the middleman† which allows Tesco to work with customers directly from the internet. Opportunities to increase sales from existing customers; Tesco realise that there are opportunities to increase sales from customers that are already shopping with their organisation, they can do so by promoting new products into new markets or improving sales within the markets they already serve. Opportunities to monitor Competitor activity; Tesco can use the internet to monitor competitors activity, these competitors include, Asda and Marks amp; Spensors, Tesco can view their competitors website and see what changes they have made to gain the interest of the customers and what products and services they are offering bargains for. We will write a custom essay sample on Internet Marketing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Opportunities to buy online promotion; Businesses can pay for search engine advertising which means that their company logo will appear as soon as the user searches for a relevant search to the business. Reduces cost; By using the internet and setting up a website, Tesco saves its company valuable funds on advertising as setting up a website is very cost effective. Reduces waste; As Tesco will not need as many outlets, they will not be producing unnecessary high amounts of waste from the organisations. Reduces the number of stores required by the business; By setting up a website Tesco don’t need to invest money into building new stores as the internet allows their products to be purchased, viewed and delivered globally. Eliminates the risk of bad debt; When customers purchase from Tesco online, they must first pay for the product before the transaction is made, this lowers the risk of debt Tesco. 24/7 availability; Tesco’s website means that customers can view their products and services on offer at any time of the day/month/year, which will prove to be convenient for customers who have responsibilities and cannot shop during shop opening times. + Effective; Definition; Effectiveness is considered when measuring the degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are solved. In contrast to efficiency, effectiveness is determined without reference to costs and, whereas efficiency means doing the thing right, effectiveness means doing the right thing. Widens target audience; Tescos website is viewable by any person that can access the internet, which means that their target audience will grow by a huge proportion. Allows the business to gather customer research; Tesco can gather information from customers that visit or shop from their website, they can gather information like contact details from surveys and they can contact the customer via e-mail or telephone to formally tell them about offers on products and services. Ability to respond to customer enquires/orders quickly; Tesco have a â€Å"contact us† section on their page which means that customers can find contact details instantly to get in touch with the business if they have any inquires. Ability to process orders 24/7; Having a website means that Tesco can make a transaction with customers at any time of the day, on any day of the year. More cost effective promotion; Tesco can use their website to promote products and services as detailed as they can, by putting up pictures and information about the product the customer has all they need to know before purchasing, this is a much more cost effective way of promoting. Successful; Definition; Success is considered with the achievement of an action within a specified period of time or within a specified parameter. Success can also mean completing an objective or reaching a goal. Success can be expanded to encompass an entire project or be restricted to a single component of a project or task. Helps business survive in an economic downturn; Businesses that are affected by recession may have to close stores and lay off staff but are still able to operate via their website. Compete better with competitors; The internet allows businesses like Tesco to compete better with its competitors, as the competitors allow anybody to view their website, Tesco can take advantage and monitor competitors success. Global audience; Having a website means that anyone can view your website from anywhere in the world at anytime, this helps businesses like Tesco try and attract new customers. Small businesses can compete equally with larger businesses; Small businesses starting off are given the punchers chance when they create a website, if there was no internet customers would probably follow the bigger more successful buildings and businesses. Internet Marketing free essay sample This is perhaps the biggest threat gained from the internet as standardised products have become easier to compare throughout online intermediaries like kelkoo(Chaffney 2006) However business have to view it as an opportunity rather than a threat. (Chaffney 2006)states the bargaining power of its suppliers is reduced since there is a wider choice and increased commoditisation due to e-procurement and e-marketplace. Companies can demand that supplier uses â€Å"Internet use of electronic data interchange†(Strauss et al 2006), in order to increase supply chain sufficiency and reduce costs. Substitution is on the increase since digital products can be introduced faster making it a steady threat as consumers have broader choices online. The replacing of online channels mean existing services are now on the net, I. e. online banking. The barriers to entry have declined, enabling new competitors that have previously required a high street presence to trade online, along with foreign competitors. All these factors must be monitored to avoid deterioration of market share. We will write a custom essay sample on Internet Marketing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The microenvironment is defined as â€Å"all stakeholder, organizations, and forces external to the organisation†(Strauss,2006) . Social Factors are one of the key trends effecting businesses, to date a vast majority of the population obtain access to the internet, however firms need to take into account when forecasting future demands that groups do not wish to have access and the shortage of demand for online services. Moreover firms need to think how to avoid social exclusion (Chaffney 2006) defined as social exclusion as part of society that is excluded from the facilities available to the remainder and so becomes isolated (Strauss, 2006) Digital inequality matters due to those without access and skills are loosing out on the benefits of the digital world and research shows a clear correlation between social and digital exclusion.