audrey gonzales capstone project final v3

8/14/2019 Audrey Gonzales Capstone Project Final v3

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Importance of Online Marketing

Audrey Gonzales

University of Denver University College

Capstone Project

for

Master of Applied Communications

May 28, 2009

_____________________Jerry Call

Capstone Advisor

_____________________Patricia Greer

Academic Director

Upon the Recommendation of the Department

_____________________

James Davis, Ph.D.Dean


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Abstract

Marketing on the internet enables marketers to expand their marketing from

traditional mediums and limited cable channels to millions of web channels.

Consumer behavior is drastically changing as society adopts all that the

internet has to offer. Online shopping trends are migrating towards an

automated and technology storefront versus a brick and mortar. This new

marketing medium has opened a new portfolio of marketing tactics and ways

to reach a target market. Through, websites, e-mail, search, display

banners, social media, video and mobile, the integration of offline and online

marketing is a whole new ball game. Marketers need to identify this trend

and incorporate online marketing into their traditional marketing mix in

order to attract and reach todays consumers.


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Table of Contents

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Introduction

Online marketing is an imperative addition to a companys marketing

communication plan in order to be successful in reaching customers.

Consumers are inundated with advertising. At every turn one is exposed to a

brand name, logo, or icon placed on just about everything. According to the

Daniel Yankelovich Group, the average citizen who lives in a city may

encounter up to 5,000 advertising messages a day. That translates to more

than three each minute (Vollmer and Precourt 2008, 8). With advertising

being so prevalent in the lives of consumers, it is more important than ever

to break through the clutter and keep up with the competition.

In todays competitive market, companies are challenged to find ways

to stay ahead of their competitors. Online marketing is a key component in

staying ahead of the competitive curve. It is not a surprise that a companys

competitor is most likely investing in new ways to connect with their

consumers, such as using search tactics, social media, display banners, and

even mobile and video tactics. In order to keep up or keep ahead of

competitors, it is imperative to understand where the target market is

spending their time and make sure to be there. For example, Comcast has

taken the initiative to utilize Twitter as a customer service tool and a great

way to provide value for customers. Comcasts director of Digital Care has

launched a strategy within Twitter to handle customer service questions

quickly and efficiently. Comcast is one of Twitters best customer service

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tools today and is gaining a lot of attention from both Comcasts customers

and Comcasts competitors.

Integrating online marketing into a companys marketing mix will

require breaking away from primary use of traditional marketing mediums

such as TV, radio and print. Internet usage is not a trend therefore online

marketing should neither be considered a trend. In fact, broadband adoption

in US households has continued to have an upward growth trend since its

conception.

Chart 1 Broadband growth trend in US homes.

Accessed at http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm on 4/29/09

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A successful marketing approach involves being present where ones

customers are. Today, the likelihood of customers being online is extremely

high. In a survey given by eMarketer, before the 2008 holiday season, 67%

of respondents stated that they would plan to do the majority of their

holiday shopping online. Unfortunately, many companies continue to view

online media as a new trend or experiment, versus a necessary component

within an integrated marketing campaign. According to a 2007 Jupiter

Research survey, Only 36 percent of all businesses with fewer than 100

employees had a web presence (Claxton and Woo 2008, 3). With an online

marketing plan, a business can adapt with consumers and capture their

audience as they are surfing, shopping or doing business on the web. It is

incredibly important for companies of all sizes to expand their marketing

tactics to the online space in order to connect with customers as well as

keep up with the competitive market. Lena Claxton, author of How to Say

It: Marketing with New Media stated that without an online presence your

business is likely to be perceived as nonexistent (Claxton and Woo 2008,

21). This holds true in many respects. More and more customers utilize the

internet to research products and services before they choose to purchase

and if a company does not have an online presence they will not be present

therefore resulting in lost opportunities.

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Literature Review

The amount of documented literature on the internet is overwhelming.

People can access information on any topic within seconds. Information can

be accessed through websites, e-mail, blogs, online journals, online forums,

live chat and the list continues. The amount of information pertaining to

online marketing is not nearly as accessible or in abundance as the

information on the actual web itself. The subject of online marketing is

starting to gain strong traction, however at this time there is not a lot of

documentation and resources available regarding each tactic or successful

implementations and case studies. Technology is a topic that will

continuously change and therefore the documentation will also continuously

change and need be updated and evaluated.

Much of what is known about the subject of online marketing today will

change as online marketing progresses with changing technologies. Many of

the key tactics of online marketing, such as search, email, behavior

targeting, social media and key metrics have been documented. While each

of these tactics will gain new technological capabilities and innovative

approaches, the foundational knowledge of the subject has been recorded.

In this early stage of online marketing, the strategic aspects of the industry

including successes, failures, pros, cons, analysis and complicated

algorithms about the web and digital marketing are still being figured out.

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Currently, there still are gaps in the online marketing industrys body

of knowledge. This is not because of the lack of attention to this subject, but

rather to the newness of the industry. There is not yet a defined formula for

online marketing. There is limited information on the newest online

marketing capabilities and proven benefits to a company. This is because

these strategies are currently being executed and experimented with on a

daily basis. There is also limited information regarding the relationship of

offline and online marketing integration. It is difficult to find studies that can

discuss the positive and/or negative outcomes when running particular

online marketing tactics with offline marketing tactics. This lack of

information is also true for the analysis of the concept of an engagement

map, which is the formula of success when running combinations of search

with display, video with search, email with display, etc.

As companies are starting to understand the importance of this

medium for reaching their target markets, online marketing authors and

experts, such as Christopher Vollmer, Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton

are realizing a demand from business leaders for the tools and resources

required to make this transition into the digital world of marketing (Vollmer

and Precourt 2008, ii). There is absolutely a consensus among the

researchers that the internet has changed consumers behavior however,

there is not yet a consensus on a proven recipe and/or strategy to make

online marketing a success for businesses.

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Design and Implementation

Due to the abundance and accessibility of online information, much of

the literature that has been utilized for this capstone is found online. Much of

the internets content is user generated and user published therefore it is

very important to be considerate and careful in using credited and reliable

sources such as comScore Research, Forrester Research and others. Many

online research companies, such as Forrester Research, comScore Research,

and various survey groups will be utilized to support the capstone thesis as

well as give the reader important insight into the online community.

Forrester Research, Inc. has proven to be an industry leader in

research and consulting for the past twenty- five years. Forrester is an

independent research company that provides factual based advice to global

leaders within the business and technology industry. Another relevant and

credible resource to the digital advertising industry is comScore. comScore is

a global leader in measuring the digital world and a preferred source for

digital marketing intelligence.

These research study groups will add credible and up-to-date online

data which will emphasize the fact that consumer behavior is moving

towards a new digital medium. An extreme benefit of utilizing these online

companies and sources is that the data is very current. Given the nature of

this topic, it is imperative that the data is as new as possible. The internet

changes daily and new trends are developing regularly, therefore these

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online research groups inform the readers with the most up to date trends

that are driving online consumer behavior.

Since the nature of the internet is so fluid, it was a concern to find up

to date research in offline sources, however this was not the case. Many

books are available about the web are relevant today. Utilizing books that

were published from 2007 and on is important in supporting the thesis of the

paper. One of the books that was found and had a particularly strong

addition to the body of knowledge both on and offline was, Always On by

Christopher Vollmer and Geoffrey Precourt. Always On discusses many facets

of online marketing as an opinion leader.

As a true advocate of online marketing, a subscription to a publication

called OMMA (Online Media, Marketing and Advertising) is a helpful resource

to keep up with the industry as well as utilize for this capstone. This is a

monthly publication that reports on the newest online initiatives in the

current market. There are many case-studies and reports about many

company online launches and associated success and learnings.

The research that has been conducted coupled with my current

profession in online marketing will be a beneficial addition to the body of

knowledge that currently exists. Being in the online industry, I was able to

perform a relevant interview Ana Schultz whom is the Search manager for

Qwest Communications and was able to give valuable insight into key topics

within Search.

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In addition to my research and my profession, I am also a generation Y

consumer and professional that has lived and breathed the internet since its

early years. I can easily recognize the growth of the internet because I am a

contributing member to its growth and use it in my everyday life. As an avid

user of the internet and an academic student, I believe I can educate my

audience about the importance and necessity of online marketing.

The main challenges that were encountered during the development of

the capstone were finding research that reflected the effects of changing

trends from 2007 or after as well as sorting through some conflicting data.

There were often situations where one resource would report a particular

study outcome and another resource performing the same study would

report conflicting data. This will be a constant challenge for online research

because the majority of current statistics are developed through online

surveys, which will naturally have conflicting data dependant upon the

audience surveyed.

Results - Consumer Behavior

Consumer behavior is changing. Consumers want things quickly and

done correctly. They want to interact on their level and on their time. The

era of waiting for anything is in the past.We live in the age of instant

gratification. One can even order pizza online and have it delivered without

ever having to engage in the cumbersome activity of speaking to a live

person. The data shows that consumers are rapidlyadopting the use of

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technology for their research and shopping needs. Companies need to

recognize this change and adopt their marketing strategies as well.

To understand consumers behavior, it is important to refer back to the

basics of marketing and the purchase decision process. Behind every act of

making a purchase lays an important decision process for every consumer.

Within the purchase decision process there are five stages. Although this

model was originated many years ago, the same purchase decision process

still applies today. However, the way that consumers go through the

different stages are changing due much to the capabilities and offerings of

the internet.

Figure 1 Purchase decision process.

Marketing The Core (Kerin 2004, 122)

The first stage of the purchase decision process,problem recognition,

remains the same as when the model was built. Consumers still go through

this initial step when a need or want is recognized.

Stage two, information search still applies in the consumer purchase

decision process as well; however the waythat consumers go about

searching for information is done much differently now than it was done ten

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years ago. Ten years ago, consumers may have searched for product

information by visiting a store, asking friends and family, watching the news

and reading consumer reports. Today, consumers approach this stage much

differently. About 65% of consumers research a product online before

making a purchase. Consumers can shop prices, colors and availability all

before leaving the comfort of their home. The internet has transformed

stage two of the purchase decision process into a fairly easy and time

efficient task.

Phase three, evaluation of alternatives and value assessmenthas also

become an extremely simple process to do online. There are websites for

every product and service and these websites often list product benefits and

downfalls. Comparison websites are available and dedicated to gathering as

much information as possible and displaying it in one place. Sites such as

expedia.com will search multiple airlines or hotels and display desired results

by price, convenience, and many other factors. Progressive.com is known for

displaying their own rates as well as many of their competitors for insurance

rates of auto, home and other insurance policies. The technological

capabilities of the internet simplify the task of evaluating alternative

products and services. Not only has information for comparison shopping

become easy, it is also encouraged. Consumers can subscribe to consumer

reports on sites such as consumerreports.org for just about every product

under the sun. Consumer ratings and reviews are also available on many

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companys websites, such as Bestbuy.com, and Kraftfoods.com. These rating

systems are a great way to get feedback from real consumers that have

already purchased the product while in the evaluation of alternatives stage

of the purchase decision process. This stage exemplifies the opportunity

that marketers have to satisfy the research needs of consumers through

online marketing. With internet users conducting an average of 12.3

searches per week in 2009 search is a necessary addition to the traditional

marketing tactics that companies are accustomed to using (Mitchell et al.

2009, 15).

The fourth stage of the purchase decision process also remains the

same as when the model was built. However, again the difference is howthe

customer moves through this stage. Stage four is the actualpurchase

decision.

Today, consumers have many options for making a purchase. Ten

years ago, companies gave consumers one primary way of purchasing,

which was to physically visit their brick and mortar location and purchase a

product. Today, this process is much different. Businesses can no longer

dictate how their customers perform business with them, but instead need

to adapt and do business the way their customer wants. Consumers expect

to be able to make most purchases twenty-four hours a day. The

convenience of the internets purchasing capabilities is placing a whole new

demand on companies. Since the purchasing process is primarily in the

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customers hands, it is necessary to give customers the purchasing path that

they desire using. Todays consumers expect nothing less than to be able to

research a product online and then make a seamless purchase in the same

place. There are many examples of how companies have successfully

adapted to consumers behavior patterns. For example, the auto industry

has given customers the ability to buy a $50,000 car online and have it

shipped to the nearest dealership or even to the customers home. Another

example is Circuit City. A consumer can purchase from circuitcity.com and

have the purchased item ready for pick up at a store location of their choice

in one-hour or less satisfying customers instant gratification attitudes. Phase

four of the purchase decision process is becoming more and more customer

centric which is causing additional complexity and competition in todays

market place. An online presence is very important for companies to satisfy

the demands of their customers. If marketers do not provide an online

purchase solution, there is a significant chance that their customers will shop

with a competitor who can satisfy this need.

The nature of the internet is obviously changing the way people make

purchases. Consumers often make purchases without ever seeing or

touching a product beforehand. Marketers then fear that online purchases

will result in an abundance ofpost purchase behavior, which is stage five of

the purchase decision process. For this exact reason, companies with an

online purchase solution are very strategic in finding ways to alleviate this

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common negative consumer response. While post purchase dissonance is a

valid concern, it can be managed. Company websites attempt to equip

customers with product information and pictures to help consumers feel

confident in their purchase and eliminate negative post purchase behavior

before it begins. In actuality, online marketing creates tremendous

opportunity for alleviating post purchase dissonance because of the robust

capabilities to provide consumers with extensive detailed product

information, reviews and photos.

An example of a successful strategy for managing post purchase

dissonance within in a company is that ofAmazon.com. Amazon.com allows

users to hear small clips of music and view select pages within a book before

making a purchase. Websites provide multiple pictures and different views

of products in hopes of providing customers the necessary product

information and leaving nothing to surprise when the customer receives the

product. Another way to manage post purchase dissonance on the internet is

to offer free return shipping and handling in the event that the customer is

not completely satisfied with their purchase. Zappos.com is an online only

retailer of shoes, handbags and accessories that has found great success in

offering free return shipping to unsatisfied customers and lessening post

purchase dissonance.

While post purchase dissonance can be a considerable concern for

companies initially starting to offer an online purchasing option they will

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soon find that the amount of negative post purchase behavior does not

outweigh the ROI for offering online purchases. Online purchasing is

becoming an expected sales funnel in consumers mind and a company

website is an essential marketing tool for companies that are competing in

todays environment.

Results - Online Shopping Trends

Traditional media consumption is taking a vast change as we continue

into the 20th century. According to the North American Technographics

Benchmark Survey that was done in 2008, consumers are spending

approximately 12.5 hours a week on the internet. This is only .58 less time

than a consumer spends watching television. Marketing online is an optimal

way to reach customers as their media consumptions migrate online. It is

not a debate, todays businesses need to adapt with the environment in

order to survive and be present where their customers are.

Chart 2 Traditional media time is losing ground.

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Traditional media time is losing ground

Base: US adults

Media consumption: average hours per week

Source: North American Technographics Benchmark Survey, 2008

2.12

2.64

3.58

6.79

12.5

13.08

Reading magazines (print)

Reading newspapers (print)

Playing video games (computer &console)

Listening to the radio (broadcast)

Internet time (personal & work)

Watching TV

In todays economic recession, many businesses are forced to cut

marketing budgets. CEOs and executives are being challenged to find ways

to bring in the most revenue for the least amount of cost. Online advertising

is making a break-through during this recession which is a compelling reason

why it is vital for marketers to incorporate online marketing into their online

media mix. Companies that have an e-commerce platform are realizing that

the web is a purchase channel with a fixed cost and is most likely the lowest

cost channel in the organization. Online marketing is proving to be more cost

efficient than traditional media both in and out of a recession. Forrester

Research Company has stated that they will actually see a 26% increase in

companys online spending during a recession. This is a true testament that

businesses are starting to see the potential and overwhelming effect that

online media has on todays market.

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Chart 3 Interactive marketing spend in a recession.

Spend will stay constant or increase even during arecession

Results - The Importance of Online Marketing

In order to grasp the importance of online marketing on a companys

ability to reach an audience in todays society, it is first necessary to gain an

understanding of how prevalent the internet is worldwide as well as in the

US. The internet is a growing phenomenon that continues to gain more and

more users everyday. The internet is accessible in all seven continents and in

multiple languages. Asia over indexes every continent with the most internet

users in the world at over 657,000,000 reported internet users in March

2009.

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Chart 4 Internet Users in World by Geographic Region

Accessed at http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm on 4/29/09

According to Nielsens/Net Ratings, there are 220,141,969 Internet

users in the United States as of June 2008, which is 72.5% of the US

population. From a marketing reach perspective, marketing on the internet

is the most effective way to gain the reach of any marketing vehicle today.

With roughly three out of four US citizens being categorized as internet

users, it is imperative for marketers to be present in this space. As seen in

the graph below, the rate of internet users is increasing every year and is

expected to continue this same trend.

Table 1 US Internet Usage and Population Growth.

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marketing spend in this area. Chart 5 below compares consumers time

interacting with different marketing mediums and overall company budget

allocated.

Chart 5 Consumer media time spent in a typical week.

It is apparent that companies need to take a better look at where their

customers are spending their time and allocate budget more appropriately.

Better integration between traditional offline marketing tactics and digital

marketing need to take place in order for companies to capture their

audience in this growing internet environment.

It is important to try and gain an understanding of the basic principles

and vocabulary of the online world. The web has been adopted by such a

broad range of people the vocabulary is actually quite simple. According to

some analysts, as much as 70 percent of consumer time online is now spent

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viewing content created not by professional editors, but by fellow

consumers (Honig et al. 2009, 24). This means that the average customer,

student, sports fan or soccer moms are the people writing a good majority of

what is currently found on the web.

Results Online Tactics

There are many online factors that can be added to a marketing mix to

have a truly integrated offline and online campaign. Each tactic is different

and has specific goals and objectives. A company does not have to utilize

every online tactic to be successful, however it is important to develop a

strategy in utilizing some or all of these online marketing tactics. The below

list of online tactics do not encompass every online opportunity, but are the

most established online tactics within this early stage of this industry. Within

the capstone results, there will be a discussion of each tactic in detail and

the importance of adding it to a companys overall marketing mix.

10 Online Tactics to integrate into a companys marketing mix that will

enhance a companys competitive advantage and increase the bottom line

1. Company website

2. e-mail program/ newsletters

3. SEO Search Engine Optimization

4. SEM Search Engine Marketing

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5. Display Banners

6. Integrate online and offline tactics

7. Participate in Social Media

8. Video

9. Mobile Marketing

10. Track, test and optimize

Online Tactic #1 - Company Website

It is imperative for all companies in todays competitive market to have a

website. With over 251,290,489 internet users in North America as of March

2009 (http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.html (accessed on 4/29/09),

the importance of a company website as a marketing vehicle is critical for a

companys success. The internet is a phenomenon that is here to stay. It is a

resource for customers and a marketing tool for businesses. According to a

2007 Jupiter Research survey, only 36 percent of all businesses with fewer

than 100 employees had a web presence (Claxton and Woo 2008, 3). As

consumer behavior and shopping patterns are changing, the need for a

company website to be a part of an integrated marketing strategy is greater

than ever.

A website is a necessary marketing tool to compliment a companys

overall marketing communication plan. The vast majority of online marketing

strategies are specifically built to send traffic to a companys website.

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Customers are becoming trained to find information about a product or

service through a companys website and will look for a web address on all

marketing collateral. Websites are also a great place to capture email

addresses which will allow a business to stay in contact with their customers.

This online tactic is imperative in satisfying customers needs in todays

environment.

Online Tactic #2 - Start an e-mail program

E-mail is an inexpensive and efficient tactic that can be easily added to

a companys overall marketing plan. With consumers spending a significant

amount of their time online, e-mail is one of the most optimal ways to

communicate upcoming events, sales and other information. Marketing

studies indicate that potential customers or clients need to hear your

message at least seven times before they make a decision to buy (Claxton

and Woo 2008, 69). E-mail is one of the most preferable ways that

customers would like to be communicated with. Marketers need to recognize

this desire and preference in communication for their target market and add

this medium to reach the suggested seven times of communicating a

marketing message.

In addition, wireless internet is becoming more and more popular and

accessible. E-mail can be accessed at anytime and most everywhere which is

extremely beneficial for marketers. As mentioned before, e-mail is one of the

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lowest cost tactics with one of the greatest returns. This is a great tactic in a

slowing economy. E-mail can also be fully tracked, which is another reason

that e-mail is one of the strongest and most effective forms of online

marketing.

Adding a strategic e-mail campaign to traditional communication

tactics is extremely beneficial because it tends to garner the greatest

returns. The success of e-mail coupled with traditional marketing tactics is

due to the following reasons.

Customers tend to volunteer to give their email addresses through

retail interactions with little hesitancy. This proves that there is already

a vested interest in the company.

A customer management system (CMS) enables marketers to tailor

their e-mail campaigns to meet customers needs. As e-mails are

targeted and are relevant to their customers, open rates and

conversion rates will increase.

In order for an e-mail strategy to be effective, the first and foremost step

to master is collecting e-mail addresses. It is important for businesses to

collect e-mail addresses every chance. E-mail is an easy addition to a

marketers overall marketing integration plan because companies can easily

train their sales force to ask for e-mail addresses. An opportunity for e-mail

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address gathering happens at every sales call, retail store interaction, and

home visit as well as through the companys website.

Gathering customer information through offline and online tactics, such as

e-mail, is also an opportunity to help a business grow their CMS. This will

allow marketers to know exactly where their customers are in their purchase

decision process and will help in predicting their customers needs in order to

send relevant marketing communications at the right time.

If a company sells a tangible item like facial products, it is likely that they

can predict how long the .07 oz face cream will last an average customer.

Therefore, after the initial sale of the cream, recording which cream the

customer purchased and on what date the customer made the purchase are

important pieces of information to place in the CMS. In three months, the

estimated time that the customer will be due for a refill, an e-mail can be

sent with a 10% coupon for the exact same cream that the customer has.

The likelihood of the customer opening the e-mail is very high, as the

product is relevant and the timing is perfect. This is just one many examples

how integrating e-mail into a companys marketing communication plan can

prove successful in increasing ROI. It is important to understand some quick

tips and e-mail basics. Below is a list that can be used as a good outline of

key e-mail tips.

Quick Tips on E-Mail Masterpiece Making

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The subject line is critical: Its like getting them to open the

envelope.

Grab their attention in your opening sentence and then keep them

reading.

Deliver value or theyll stop wanting to hear from you.

Take care with layout and design to make it (a) readable and (b)

professional.

Personalize to whatever degree you can afford.

Provide a clickthrough as the response mechanism.

Carefully tailor the landing page (the page they hit after clicking).

Test and measure, test and measure, test and measure as a life

style.

(Sterne 2001, 308)

Online Tactic #3 - Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization is one of the most effective and

underutilized online tactics that marketers can participate in. SEO is key in

bringing customers to the companys website and honing in on a potential

sale. SEO is often looped in with the general online tactic of search. For the

purposes of this paper, search optimization will be broken into its own

category. It is very important for business owners to understand that SEO

and SEM are related but are very different.

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SEO (Search engine optimization) is often referred to as natural or

organic search. SEO is the non-paid form of search. The search results

displayed are based on relevancy to the search as opposed to a paid

placement displayed result.

Figure 2 Paid Search.

Many small business marketers and owners are not aware of the

strategy behind SEO and are missing valuable opportunities because of it.

Participating in SEO is as simple as combining the right variables from a

company website that will attract the Search Engine spiders or crawlers

and place the website appropriately in the search results. Search engines

are highly pragmatic. They dont all work the same way but are, by nature,

very programmatic. They look at HTML document titles, meta tags, text,

links, referrals the works- and they pigeonhole what they find. In doing so,

Search Term

Paid Results

Organic

Results

Paid Results

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the search engines actually evaluate your site for the prospective customer

on the other side of the mouse (Sterne 2001, 281).

It is incredibly important to understand that the search engines

continue to change their algorithm which returns better results for the user

and avoids any one company figuring out all of the search engine secrets.

SEO seems to be a very tricky business, but in reality it keeps marketers

striving to keep their websites updated and at an optimal level for their

customers. The thought process behind the search engine algorithm ends up

creating a better experience for the customer.

One reason that companies may be hesitant in adding SEO to a

companys marketing strategy is because search engine experts are really

difficult to find. This is a very niche tactic that demands a strong knowledge

of how websites, linking strategies, etc. will affect a business search

rankings. Over the past decade of SEO, Ive found that one common

problem often gets in the way of implementing fundamental SEO tactics.

That problem is that nine out of 10 times, the person in charge of SEO

internally is not technical. They are in marketing and they typically have no

contact with the developers who build and run the website (Friesen 2009,

18). Finding the resources to enhance a companys SEO strategy is

extremely beneficial in the long run.

Connecting with the customer is one of the overall goals of marketing.

As customers search for their products and services online, SEO is a key

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component in reaching these customers and resulting in a sale. Utilizing key

learning from offline tactics, such as tag lines and marketing messages can

be integrated into SEO tactics within meta tags and alt tags. Traditional

marketing is most often responsible for the heavy lifting in securing key

branding terms. SEO tactics will help carry these branding terms by helping

the companys website show up through search engines when customers

search for specific branding terms that have been established by traditional

marketing efforts.

Online Tactic #4 - Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

There are many online tactics that can be incorporate into a companys

overall marketing strategy and budget, but SEM is one of the online tactics

that should be given extra consideration for incorporation into a companys

overall marketing mix. First, to explain the difference between SEO and SEM

(search engine marketing), is that SEM is strictly a paid tactic. Referring

back to Figure 2, the sponsored links both at the top and on the right side

of the search results page are paid tactics.

In today society, search is the primary way to start researching a

product or service and therefore needs to be given considerable thought. As

stated before, the average user searches 12.3 times a week for a product or

service. With consumers utilizing the internets search engines so often,

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search is a crucial component for companies to be present where their

customers are actually looking.

With tough economic times resulting in budget cuts, search marketing

is one of the most measurable of direct-response advertising. Agencies see

search as a safe haven for their marketing investments. You can track every

click and conversion down to the penny (Kuchinskas, 2008, 33). With

search marketing, marketers can track every dollar spent and make budget

allocation decisions more confidently. Although traditional marketing is often

a more comfortable route for marketers, in situations where ROI is expected,

Search marketing will perform the task.

In an interview with the Qwest Search expert on April 10, 2009, Ana

Schultz states that, People use search to find information. Whether you

want to find a drycleaner or whatever, you use Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc.

Search is truly a channel to find information. Companies that are not online

are making a big mistake and even appear as unprofessional.

As stated before, companies who do not have a website are considered

non existent. This holds true with search as well. If a consumer searches

for a particular company and there is not a search result rendered for this

company, it can be perceived that the company does not exist or is out of

business. The customer will then most likely interact with a competitor based

on their search result. According to Jupiter Research report, 40% of

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consumers believe companies whose websites are at the top of the search

page are the top brands in their field.

Paid search is arguably the most ROI driven online tactic. This is

because paid search can be bought by a couple different ways. CPA is a cost

per acquisition buy that can track the click to the ad copy from the

sponsored link to a sale on your website. CPA models are becoming more

and more popular as companies demand return on their investment. Another

method to purchase paid search is through a CPC (cost per click) model.

Each model is often used to accomplish different goals for a company.

Through an interview with SEM manager at Qwest on April 10, 2009, Schultz

states, CPC model works well for someone who has a strong financial

backup. However, less and less companies are using a CPC model. CPC was

used in the infancy of search, when not a lot of metrics or technology was

yet in place.

In traditional marketing, the media buy of television is often a large

factor for the reason of success or failure. With search, the media buy is

simple. Companies want their terms to be returned on the largest search

engines. Google continues to dominate the search world. In October 2008,

Google had more search activity on their network than Yahoo, Ask Network,

Microsoft and Time Warner Network combined.

Table 2 Share of toolbar searches.

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SHARE OF TOOLBAR SEARCHES Search initiated from a search

engine toolbar in October 2008

Site Share of Search

Google Sites 63.0%

Yahoo Sites 25.4%

Ask Network 10.1%

Microsoft Sites 1.1%

Time Warner Network 0.5%

October 2008. Provided by comScore (Freisen 2009, 48)

The act of searching for products online is not slowing. In fact, it is

actually increasing. As more and more people migrate online to do research,

marketers are quickly realizing the importance and effectiveness of having

their companys names listed in the search results. Forrester Marketing

forecasts search marketing to triple in the next 5 years. The amount of

money being spent on search is a testimony in itself. Forrester is predicting

that search marketing will grow to $25 million in marketing spend by 2012.

This is exponential growth, considering $4.5 million was the reported spend

in 2007. Search is one of many online tactics that will start to replace certain

traditional marketing, such as yellow page ads, white pages and even

newspaper advertising.

Chart 6 Search marketing spend predicted to triple in five years.

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Source: Q12008 Forrester/MarketingProfs Global Interactive MarketingMaturity Online Survey

Online Tactic #5 Display Advertising

Display advertising is a similar concept to television advertising in

traditional tactics in that it is often used as a brand oriented tactic. Display

advertising is one of the more sexy online advertising tactics. The amount of

time and money that is spent in producing display advertising is often very

timely and costly. Although display advertising is one of the more costly

online tactics, it is not nearly as expensive as a traditional 30 or 60 second

commercial. Both the production and the media buy are significantly less

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expensive for display advertising. Display advertising is not meant to replace

television ads, but rather compliment them.

Display advertising is very effective at driving brand awareness and

reinforcing brand messaging from traditional marketing tactics. Although

display advertising is not considered the most direct revenue driving online

tactic, it is still considered one of the most important online tactics for

companies to ad to their online marketing mix. The research shows that

mixing display advertising and other online tactics, such as search has a

positive correlation and will result in higher conversions.

Display advertising is mainly divided into two main categories. The first

is the actual display unit itself and the second is the media that the display

unit runs on. This is very similar to television and the production of a

commercial and the channels the commercial is aired on. The display unit

can be grouped into many different categories. There are concept banners,

retail banners, rich media banners, dynamic banners and video banners.

Concept and retail banners tend to be relatively straight forward with strong

sales messages that usually have less production costs. Rich media and

video banners are often interactive and eye catching, but tend to have

higher production costs. All different types of banners are utilized for

different reasons. Retail banners are used to drive direct responses much

like direct mail. Rich media banners tend to have interaction goals, such as

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time spent with the unit, or total clicks. Each banner type can be utilized

differently based on the companys desired goals.

The other largest aspect of display advertising is the media portion.

Unlike television, display advertising has thousands of sites to advertise on.

The amount of websites that offer advertising placements is overwhelming.

Display advertising is most often sold on a cost per impression (CPM) basis.

An impression is a view of the banner when a webpage loads with the

display unit. Marketers can pay as little as a couple of dollars to have 1000

impressions of their display unit served to internet browsers.

One of the most interesting and important aspects of display

advertising is the ability to target customers. This process has taken on a

more robust approach than traditional marketing. Large networks, such as

Platform-A, Yahoo, and many others have developed very sophisticated

programs that allow marketers to drill down and target a specific audience

through multiple behavioral factors. This strategy is a significant benefit of

online marketing. A core preoccupation of online targeting thus far has been

to locate the most likely prospects to pursue among the millions of active

Web searchers, shoppers and browsers. In theory, behavioral targeting (BT)

opens up a far larger universe of potential inventory than contextual or

demographic targeting. Once a consumer is identified as in market by their

actual online activities, they can be reached anytime, anywhere online

(TARGUSinfo, 2009). Accessing a customer anytime and anywhere lends

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itself to online marketing capabilities. The core basics of traditional

marketing is being replaced with sophisticated technological algorithms that

result in a more targeted approach than direct mail, radio and even specific

public relation tactics. Traditional marketers often accept and relate to

display advertising easier than many of the other online tactics. Display

advertising is less expensive than television, but can deliver the same brand

awareness and reach. This online tactic can be a great tool as marketing

budgets are continuously being reduced.

Online Tactic # 6: Integrate Online and Offline Marketing Tactics

Although it is imperative for companies to participate and market in

the online space today, this is not to say that offline mediums should no

longer be used. The key to true success is finding the right mix of the two.

It is true that consumers are spending more and more of their time online.

However, this does not mean that traditional media is invalid. Each

generation within society is at a different stage with this new media. There

are still large amounts of consumers that prefer to receive their

communication offline and through traditional means such as TV, radio,

direct mail and newspaper. Success lies in understanding what target market

a company is focusing on and the effective ways to communicate with this

group. It is important to have a general understanding of each generation

and where they fall in the digital media consumption scale.

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The generation prior to the baby boomers can be considered a

traditionalist in the sense that this generation is still most susceptible to

the traditional media such as TV, radio and newspapers. This generation is

mostly comprised of elderly consumers whom cannot live without a

television and has a hard time understanding and accepting all of the new

technologies of the world. The best way to reach this audience is not through

an online social media campaign like Facebook, but through traditional media

which this generation is accustomed to.

Following the traditionalists (between the late 1940s and the early

1960s), the baby boomer generation was born. This group is now

approaching retirement but is surprisingly interested in digital media. Baby

boomers were the first to recognize the power of digital media. Microsoft

founder Bill Gates, Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, and World Wide Web

inventor Tim Bernes-Lee are all members of the baby boomer group

(Vollmer and Precourt 2008, 60). Advertising to this group is where true

online and offline integration occurs. Baby boomers grew up watching

broadcast television and listening to vinyl records, thus their reception to

advertising is primarily through traditional media. However, baby boomers

are rapidly adapting to utilize technology, especially as this generation

strives to keep up with their children in Generation Y; whose primary form of

communication is the internet.

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The next generation, know as Generation X was the first true PC

generation a heritage of hands-on technology that helps explain why its

constituents are at the forefront of entrepreneurship and the Internet

(Vollmer and Precourt 2008, 60). Although Generation X grew up in front of

the TV, they are not easily influenced by mass advertising. Gen X is the first

to adopt Atari and immerse themselves in video games. Today, Gen X is

aggressively adopting digital media. Currently, they use digital media as a

tool to help lead a productive life. Paying bills online, checking bank accounts

and sending e-mails to friends and family has become a daily activity for

Gen X.

Gen X is forced to find a balance between having full time jobs, raising

children and managing a household. Thus, it is important to use a strategic

mix of marketing tactics both online and offline to capture this audiences

attention. One common behavior of Generation X is to receive direct mail

pieces or marketing collateral and check to see if there is a web address to

learn more about it before taking the time to drive to a store or make a

phone call. As an industry best practice, including a website address or

vanity URL on all marketing collateral is an effective way to utilize both

online and offline marketing tactics to satisfy the needs of this audience.

Although Gen X still utilizes traditional media, much of their free time

is being used to enhance their lives and home productivity through the

internet. As marketers research and understand their target markets and

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personas, it will allow a marketer to tailor a marketing campaign

appropriately. A Gen X consumer may watch a sitcom after work and then

may jump online to catch the daily news and check weather for the next day.

Generation X values time and has little of it therefore a mix of offline and

online tactics is most appropriate for this generation.

Generation Y is the start of a whole new generation that is considered

always on. Generation Y was born between the launching of MTV and the

commercialization of the Internet in 1996. Generation Y are the children of

the baby boomers, so the amount of people included in this group is very

large and therefore very influential. They are the first consumers whose

habits have been shaped by digital media. Theyve been plugged in almost

since birth-not just to the PC and the Web, but to mobile phones, social

networks, instant messaging and video games (Vollmer and Precourt 2008,

60).

Generation Y has an entirely different mentality than both the

traditionalists and much of the baby boomers. Generation Y has grown up in

a world of instant gratification. Everything is accessible at a click of a button

and can be accessible in any form. iTunes, cable television, Skype, video on

demand, Hulu TV, Facebook, Second Life and satellite radio is an expectation

to Gen Y, rather than a luxury. All of these examples are media habits that

Generation Y participates in on a daily basis. All of these applications are

accessible twenty four hours a day and are mostly free, which is exactly

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what Gen Y expects. The people of Generation Y are very intimate with

technology and cannot imagine a world without it. They have been brought

up in a digital world since birth.

Marketers strive to keep up with the emerging trends and attitude

changes of Generation Y. This is a market that businesses need to research

and understand in order to gain brand awareness and loyalty, so they can

rely on it for years to come. If a company is marketing to Generation Y, it

may be beneficial to have a larger mix of online tactics and strategies than

offline. It is hard to pin point an exact mix of online and offline tactics for

this generation because their habits and behaviors are changing on a daily

basis. However, if the trends of this generation are studied, the observations

will show the majority of their time is spent interacting with others through

mobile phones and the internet.

Generation Y is a large and influential group. It includes more than 60

million U.S. consumers, 90 million European consumers and 20 million Japan

consumers. This is a key market that demands marketers attention.

Generation Y will be the baby boomers of tomorrow, and winning brand

preference now is a key component for the future.

Generation Y is spending so much time being connected through both

the internet and their cell phones, that the preferred and best way to be

contacted is through one of these mediums. Gen Y watches TV on their

terms with Tivo, On Demand and through the internet with programs such as

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Hulu. Gen Y may listen to public radio stations to catch the newest songs,

but will download this music to their iPod and/or computer eliminating the

immediate need to tune back into radio. Gen Y understands the concept of

junk mail and hates it. They tend to throw out junk mail and used the

internet to find the products they are interested in. Gen Y is definitely a new

animal to cage. Marketers need to constantly be on their toes in keeping up

with the newest trends. Generation Y does not operate like the generations

in the past and in order to keep up with this constant moving target, an

online approach is mandatory.

Generation Z are todays children who are born at the turn of the

century and beyond. They are growing up in a world that is still being

developed. Predictions of this generation cannot yet be fully understood, as

it is hard to understand what technology will bring within the next 10 years.

However, there is no secret that Generation Z will be even more immersed in

a world of ever-changing technology. It will be truly amazing as marketers

face the challenges of gaining the attention Generation Z.

Online Tactic #7 - Participate in Social Media

Social media is becoming one of the most popular online activities.

Social media engages customers in a whole new way. It allows customers to

interact with a brand while conversing with others. Customers like to be

heard and feel valued. Conventional marketing wisdom has continuously

preached that a dissatisfied customer will tell ten people, but with the new

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tools of social media, dissatisfied customers can post a blog for ten million

people to read. This can hold the same truth for satisfied customers who

may become evangelists for a companys brand. Blogs are a form of social

media that are proving to be a great place for customers to express positive

experiences with a company as well as negative.

Social media is drastically changing the way people connect with one

another. Social media is an online activity that is making large strides very

quickly. According to a 2008 report by comScore, the number of worldwide

visitors to social networking sites has grown to 530 million, representing

approximately two out of every three Internet users (Claxton and Woo

2008, 187). Social media giants, Facebook and MySpace are rendering more

than 100 million visitors per month.

This incredible adoption rate from consumers is gaining a lot of

attention from marketers and company executives. Unlike traditional media,

social media is a two way conversation. Regardless if social media is in a

companys marketing budget or not, this will not prevent consumers from

making posts. Companies can choose to ignore the comments and posts

their customers are making or they can choose to respond. Unlike the other

online tactics, social media participation is determined by the customer.

Marketers need to realize that there is no such thing as a one way

conversation and that a social media strategy should be on top of this list of

marketing opportunities and implementations for 2009.

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Developing a social media strategy is a great opportunity for

marketers to take advantage of this high visibility vehicle and be present as

customers spend more and more time in the social media realm. Go where

the people are having the conversations dont make them come to you; be

as efficient as possible in giving them the content they want and make it

easy for them to default to your brand; crate a dialogue, not a monologue,

and be willing to give up some control(Whylly 2009, 22).

Social media participation is expected to continue growing at a rapid

rate. There has been a 19% growth in social media participation from 2007

to 2008. As consumers are becoming more comfortable with the dynamics of

the internet, they are developing an addiction to social medias interactive

and participatory model.

The following chart shows five different levels of social media

participation and how each is changing over a one year period; 2007 to

2008. Consumers are graduating from simply being spectators into joiners,

collectors, critics and creators.

Chart 7 Social media participation; 2007 - 2008.

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Source: Forrester Technographics Q2 2008. Percentages include respondentswho said that they engage in social media activity at least once a month.

Social media is proving to be an additional component needed in a

marketers integrated plan. In a 2008 Forrester survey, 75% of U.S online

adults said that they engage in social media activity at least once a month.

With one out of four people engaging in social media, it is an obvious

necessary addition to traditional marketing tactics. This is especially critical

as users move from spectators to more interactive participation.

The following graph shows how users are participating with social

media. Within each group, spectators, joiners, collectors, critics and

creators, there are many opportunities for marketers to engage with their

customers and project their brand voice and retail messages.

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Chart 8 Social media interaction 2008.

Source: Forrester Technographics Q2 2008. Percentages include respondentswho said that they engage in social media activity at least once a month.

There is an outstanding skepticism about the direct ROI that social

media generates, however brand loyalty, brand advocacy, reduced churn and

even the benefits of the net promoter score have not yet been proven out

because this medium is so new. Katie Pain, whom is a PR executive in the

technology industry, has often been referred to as the queen of blog ROI,

states, The blogging question between competitive necessity and

competitive advantage (Gillin 2007, 93). As the ROI debate continues to

unfold, what is most important is recognizing the high level of consumer

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participation and the countless opportunities where marketers can insert

themselves within this interaction.

Online Tactic #8 - Video

As consumer wants and needs continue to change, one of the most

successful ways to satisfy this is through online video. According to a 2008

ComScore research finding, online video has become the dominant online

entertainment format, led by the global popularity of YouTube with more

than 250 million visitors (Claxton and Woo 2008, 191). Consumers are

accustomed to watching video through the television and are demanding to

have the same luxury online. This trend is one of many of the online trends

that marketers must recognize in order to gain the interaction and attention

of their customers. Online video is proven to attract users as well as make a

website stickier. A sticky website will result in return visits to a website.

Return visitors is exactly like return visits to a storefront; this gives

marketers another opportunity to make a sale.

As a testament to the online industry, the demand for online video is

starting to make an impact on marketers budgets. The marketing spend for

online video is predicted to significantly grow from 2009 through 2012.

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Chart 9 Online video projected to have steep growth curve.

Source: Q12008 Forrester/MarketingProfs Global Interactive MarketingMaturity Online Survey

This is not a surprise since online video is becoming so easy to access

and easy to produce. With the increase in internet speed and enhanced

capabilities, online video demand will eventually dominate the visits of

internet users. In fact, a Break Media study recently found that 60 percent

of males 18-34 would give up TV before they would give up the internet

(Whitney 2008, 36). This study is one of many studies that clearly support

the need for businesses to recognize the popularity and strength that that

internet has on todays consumers and the demand to integrate online video

into their marketing mix.

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Online Tactic #9 - Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is a new and emerging opportunity that many

companies have found difficult to integrate into their marketing

communication plans. However, mobile internet is rapidly increasing.

According to a 2009 survey conducted by Goldman Sachs, 25% of smart

phone users use their devices for accessing the internet. Across age groups,

11% of those surveyed were ages 18-29, 6% were ages 30-49 and 2% ages

50 and above (Mitchell et al. 2009, 23). This survey enforces the fact that

Generation X and Y have an obsession with the need to always be

connected. If a companys target market falls with Gen X and Gen Y

consumers, which is highly likely, it is important to understand and adapt to

this increasing trend of mobile internet access. Mobile internet marketing is

in its infancy but will not be for long.

Marketers are investigating ways to utilize this new form of digital

media and to take advantage of it before it becomes congested and

ineffective. One of the emerging trends for companies is to make sure their

websites and web applications are WAP enabled. Wireless Application

Protocol (commonly referred to as WAP) is an open international standard

for application layer network communication in a wireless communication

environment. Its main use to enable access to the Internet (HTTP) from a

mobile phone or PDA (http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/WAP.html ,

accessed 4/17/09).

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Mobile marketing may not be an effective marketing strategy for every

company but like many of the online tactics it is something that should be

considered based on the target market. With 20.8 million US customers in

2008 using their cell phones to access search services (Smith 2008, 32),

this is a trend that will continue to grow creating great opportunities for

marketers.

Online Tactic #10 - Track, Test and Optimize

Tracking:

Traditional media is often measured by audience exposure and/or

reach. With television, it is very difficult to see the exact sales attributed to

the success of one commercial. A company could track overall lift through a

defined period of time and make assumptions that it was based on a

particular commercial but there is not an identified translation at this time.

Todays marketers are demanding more. With the competitive market

continuing to grow and marketing budgets being reduced, marketers need to

be able to make direct correlations from a marketing effort to a sale.

An advantage of online marketing is the ability to track effectively. No

other medium has the capability to deliver measurable results that allow

marketers to glean new knowledge, leading to the continual optimization of

those results (Sharpe 2008, 14). The ability to track in the digital space is a

fundamental reason that online marketing is increasing in popularity. Not

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only does this digital medium allow marketers to see the effectiveness of an

online advertisement, it can be realized very quickly. Marketers do not need

to wait 15-30 days to determine if an ad is successful.

As marketers become aware of this advantage to online marketing

they are changing the way they do business. Marketers are no longer

satisfied with media placements that merely elicit awareness or even

consideration from consumers. They are demanding far more substantive

measures of an advertisements influence on consumer preferences,

purchases and loyalty (Vollmer and Precourt 2008, 110).

Table 3 Online marketing metrics.

Marketers Need New Metrics

The ways in which marketers evaluate their campaigns are evolving

from metrics defined around the following.

Reach, frequency and traditional gross rating points

Demographics (age, income levels, gender, location)

Brand metrics (aided awareness, ad awareness message

association, brand favorability, purchase intent/consideration)

to metrics that are both behavior-specific and action-focused:

Engagement: ad recall, session time, traffic-to-marketer Web

site, measures of active attention to content, and

transference (brand halo from media)

Quality and concentration of audience (early adopter

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influence, word of mouth/pass-along measure)

Impact on purchase behavior (went to store, trial, repeat

purchasing)

Actual viewership (uniques, click-throughs, downloads,

commercial ratings)

(Vollmer and Precourt 2008, 113).

Test and Optimize:

Tracking is undoubtedly one of the most beneficial factors that online

marketing has to offer. Because of this benefit, online marketings quick and

accurate tracking capabilities allow marketers an incredible ability to use the

web as a test market. Traditional marketing can limit marketers from

continuously testing new ideas. This is often because of the amount of time

marketers need to wait to see results as well as the cost involved to

implement and run new tests.

In contrast, the web can be used as an inexpensive and accelerated

focus group for marketers. Marketers can test new messaging and creative

concepts in a matter of hours. As stated above, search engine marketing

renders direct responses from customers, so it is easy to test two messages

against each other and compare which is performing best. This holds the

same truth for display advertising. It is less expensive to produce an online

banner ad and utilize a media buy to test out new creative. With dynamic

banner ads, the variations are endless. Another popular form of online

market research is web surveys. Companies can easy implement a simple

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survey form for customers on their websites to get immediate feedback. The

research has always shown that people want to be heard and enjoy giving

their opinions if asked. What better way to satisfy societys need than to ask

a few key questions on a website and get instantaneous feedback.

Testing on the web is one of the most advantageous opportunities for

marketers. Marketers can test on the web for minimal costs and use the

learnings online and in their traditional marketing efforts. The same audience

that would normally participate in focus groups and market research are on

the web, so the transparency of data should not be a concern.

With the economy in a less than optimal state, it is a great time for

companies to move a portion of their research dollars away from costly

activities like surveys and focus groups and utilize the web. Now is actually

a good time to experiment but with practical, data-backed marketing

tactics (Whitney 2008, 6). Making continuous optimizations to marketing

campaigns will help a company recognize failing campaigns and make

changes quickly, which will reduce wasted in spending.

Online marketing metrics can be sliced and diced in so many ways, the

amount of data that can be gathered is more than enough to start making

optimizations immediately. The results that are found from tracking and

testing can be used for both online and offline marketing efforts. Online

optimizations are very cost efficient. With free software like Google

Analytics, marketers can tag their landing pages to have insight into every

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action that is taken. Google analytics (among other tracking applications)

enhance marketers ability to make constant optimizations. Making

optimizations on the web is much like a puzzle. Finding the right piece and

making it fit in the right place is challenging, but also intriguing and

profitable.

Discussion

Online marketing has become a focal point for many companies within

the last five years. Compared to traditional advertising, it is in its infancy as

a new strategic initiative. Much of the literature that is written about online

marketing are in depth overviews of different tactics and the operations

behind them, as opposed to the necessity of adding online marketing to a

companys overall marketing mix. There is also a plethora of marketing

material on traditional marketing tactics, but little research done on the

integration of both online and offline research.

This capstone gives a good overview of how consumer behavior is

changing and is migrating towards a digital world. As shopping patterns

change, my capstone explains to the audience that this trend needs to be

recognized and addressed. Marketers can no longer continue to do things

the way they have always been done. If this is the case, they will be left

behind, lose sales opportunities and become non-existent to the consumer.

This capstone also adds to the body of knowledge by addressing each

generation and their current place in the digital world. This will be very

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beneficial to readers allowing them to pin point their target markets primary

generation and make changes based on the researched trends and behavior.

Each generation needs a different mix of offline and online media. This

section will discuss the current state of each generation and a

recommendation of an optimal mix of communication.

The overview given of ten online tactics is a beneficial addition to the

current body of knowledge. There are few publications that discuss each

tactic, the changing trends and adoption rate as well as the need to include

this in a marketing plan. Current research is given for each online tactics

which will make it apparent to the reader of the importance of having an

online marketing strategy. This capstone is very direct in explaining to the

reader that the choice may be a matter of success of failure. Consumers

understand that there are a lot of online marketing opportunities available

but are not sure exactly what they are. This capstone addresses several

specific online marketing opportunities in depth. It discusses the benefits

and drawbacks of employing specific tactics and then encourages the reader

to investigate their own target market to see if the discussed segment of

online marketing would be a beneficial tactic for reaching their audience.

An apparent benefit of online marketing is the sizeable cost savings to

a company. Throughout the capstone, multiple mentions of this cost savings

are addressed in comparison to traditional marketing. The ten tactics that

are discussed in the capstone each have a component of cost savings

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compared to their comparable offline tactic. The web is a low cost channel

for both marketing and purchasing. This is because the web gives marketers

the ability to reach thousands or customers at fractions of the cost of a

television commercial, radio advertisement and even direct mail piece. The

web is also a true cost savings to companies because of the amount of

overhead and labor dollars saved through both online production costs and

web purchasing. The manpower needed to reach potential customers on the

web and convert into sales is much less than that the production associated

with traditional marketing as well as the staffing needed for retail store

labor.

Areas for Further Research

This capstone attempts to educate marketers and business leaders

about how consumer behavior is changing due to the internets wide array of

offerings. Based on this research, the importance that online marketing has

on a business is solidified. However, throughout the research it was identified

that online marketing is not securing the amount of resources and budget

that it deserves. This resistance to change is due to multiple factors. One of

the most apparent and important factors is the need for a cultural shift

within a company.

Online marketing demands a new thought process and approach than

many tactics within traditional marketing. Business leaders are accustomed

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to running a company a certain way and are comfortable managing the

business by tactics and metrics that have been established and are

comprehensible to them. The amount of change that is needed in a

companys culture and attitude to adopt many of the online strategies seems

intimidating and unpredictable.

It would be interesting to do research on the change management

needed to result in a successful and confident culture shift to move budget

and resources to online marketing. There are numerous companies that are

on the verge of moving to this new digital medium, but are hesitant to do

so. As our society continues to use the internet as a focal point, companies

will have to choose to take this leap of faith and utilize online marketing

tactics. It would be intriguing to understand all of the facets behind common

fears and ways to alleviate them.

References

Anonymous.2009. Taking online targeting to the next level.VA:TARGUSinfo On-Demand Insight.

Claxton, Lena, Woo Alison. 2008. How to Say It: Marketing with NewMedia. New York: Penguin Group, USA Inc.

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eMarketer US online holiday shoppers, January 2008.http://www.emarketer.com/ accessed 12/25/2008.

Forrester/marketingprofs global interactive marketing maturity onlinesurvey. 2008. Search marketing will triple in 5 years. Boston: Forrester

Research Company.

Freisen, Todd. 2009. The wayback machine. The Magazine of OnlineMedia, Marketing & Advertising. 10 (January): 18.

Gillinm, Paul. 2007. The New Influencers. Fresno, California: Quill DriverBooks.

Honig, David, Steckler Lewis, Lynn Russo Whylly, Steve Carbone,Christine Champagne, Erin Dejesus, Susan Kuchinskas, et al. 2009.The wayback machine. The Magazine of Online Media, Marketing &Advertising. 10 (February): 24.

Internet users by region, January 2008.http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.html accessed 4/29/2009.

Jupiter Research. 2007. Search is necessary for brand perception. Quoted inClaxton, Lena, Woo Alison, How to Say It: Marketing with New Media.New York: Penguin Group, USA Inc.

Kerin, Roger, Steven Hartley, Wiliam Rudelius. 2004. Marketing: The

Core. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Kuchinskas, Susa, Chris Kolbenschlag, Lynn Whitney, Kathy Sharpe, SteveSmith, Abe Mezrich, et al. 2009. 10 Things you need to know about 10things to survive. The Magazine of Online Media, Marketing &Advertising. 19 (December): 6-35.

Mitchell, James, Jennifer Watson, Jordan Monaham, Fred Krom. 2009.Independent insight: seventh annual online internet survey. New York:The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Nielsens/Net Ratings. Broadband Connection Speed Trend Home Users(US). 2008. http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0403/. Accessed5/10/2009.

Nielsens/Net Ratings. Internet usage and population growth. 2008.http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.html accessed 4/29/2009.

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http://www.emarketer.com/http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htmlhttp://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0403/http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.html%20accessed%204/29/2009http://www.emarketer.com/http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htmlhttp://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0403/http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.html%20accessed%204/29/2009


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North American Technographics benchmark survey. 2008. MediaConsumption. Boston: Forrester Research Company.

Siegal, Carolyn. 2007. Internet Marketing Foundations and Applications.New York: South-Westerd College Publication.

Sharp, Kathy, Chris Kolbenschlag, Susa Kuchinskas, Lynn Whitney,Steve Smith, Abe Mezrich, et al. 2009. 10 Things you need to knowabout 10 things to survive. The Magazine of Online Media, Marketing &Advertising. 19 (December): 6-35.

Smith, Steve, Chris Kolbenschlag, Susa Kuchinskas, Lynn Whitney,Kathy Sharpe, Abe Mezrich, et al. 2009. 10 Things you need to knowabout 10 things to survive. The Magazine of Online Media, Marketing &Advertising. 19 (December): 6-35.

Sterne, Jim. 2001.World wide web marketing. New York: Library ofCongress Catalogingin-Publication Data.

Vollmer, Christopher, Geofrey Precourt. 2008.Always on. UnitedStates: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Webopedia Online Dictionary. 2009.http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/WAP.html accessed 3/31/2009.

Whitney, Lynn, Chris Kolbenschlag, Susa Kuchinskas, Kathy Sharpe, SteveSmith, Abe Mezrich, et al. 2009. 10 Things you need to know about 10things to survive. The Magazine of Online Media, Marketing &Advertising. 19 (December): 6-35.

Whylly, Lynn Russo, David Honig Steckler Lewis, Steve Carbone,Christine Champagne, Erin Dejesus, Susan Kuchinskas, et al. 2009.The wayback machine. The Magazine of Online Media, Marketing &Advertising. 10 (February): 24.

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http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/WAP.htmlhttp://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/WAP.html


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audrey gonzales capstone project final v3

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