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Establishing and Promotinga Virtual Store
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The marketer as the merchant should investigate the pitfallsbefore he begins to extol the potentials of e-commerce andbecome blinded by its advantages
To avoid “commerce overconfidence,” the general strategy
of setting up commercial units should not be any differentfor e-commerce activities
Traditional organizational responsibilities for establishingfinancial affairs, production concerns and marketing actionsshould be determined in the same manner for virtualcommerce companies
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The virtual marketer must arrange for financing to purchasehardware and software material
Establish an office
Arrange for personnel and business necessities
Rounding out the triangle of finance and operations is themarketing function working to investigate consumer wantsand the proper, highly-exposed delivery process for thosebundles of benefits
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One of the biggest decisions, particularly for the smallcompany or individual, is how to set up the online store
The decision usually revolves around the answers to thefollowing questions:
How experienced in business is the person responsible forsetting up the online storefront?
How technology-savvy is this individual?
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Intangible qualities in establishing a virtual storefront
Finding a niche to fill
Attracting and training good people
Creating an attractive company culture
To establish an electronic presence, it will also require sometangible equipment to access the Web
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Whether or not the e-marketer employs a developer or doesit herself, the storefront must have reliable access to the Webas well as these elements:
Virtual store-building software
Virtual online information sources A 500 MHz or faster PC
A large hard disk, perhaps 20 gigabytes of storage or larger
128 or more megs of ROM memory
A large color monitor
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Reliable access elements continued…
Cable or ISDN modems, or a 56.6 Kpbs modem at minimum
A browser
Printers
Scanners
Telephone service and an Internet Service Provider
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Service companies have evolved to produce the entirevirtual storefront in a turnkey fashion
The marketer supplies the developer with a marketing plan
He directs the company according to his understanding of the
target market The developer should design the site for the most popular
browsers and specify the necessary equipment to implementthe design on the Web
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It is easy to be dazzled by graphics; however, themarketer must ask himself the followingquestions: Does the design and copy fit the objectives for the online marketing?
Is the design attractive, memorable, and motivating?
Does the design ask or require the viewer to do something, such asclick through a site, register for a promotion, or visit a dealership orretail store?
Is the site reflective of other company marketing materials?
Can the site be produced for the budget allotted and within the timeframe allowed?
Do the site strategies match the corporate strategies of the company?
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After the site is created and the meta tags are tested, the nextdecision for the marketer is how to maintain an optimal
awareness for the site Step one - register with a variety of search engines so that the
consumer can locate merchandise and offerings Step two - assess maintaining a stand-alone site as opposed to
participating in the “bundling” of cybermall retailers
The cybermall is a virtual collection of sites, usuallybringing financial, insurance, or automobile sites togetherthat offer the shopper many hyperlinked addresses tofollow from one page
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The major benefits of signing on with a cybermall are:
Expanded exposure over and above the efforts of a singlesite
The selection to be found at the cybermall’s address
The site maintenance services by the cybermall operator
The major disadvantages are:
The cost of joining and “renting” space monthly
Heavy competition
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What are the necessary elements to begin setting up an onlinepresence? A detailed study of the Internet and the Web as well as the
peripheral promotions and communications capabilities nested onthe company desktop
Proficiency at a word processing program
An understanding of advertising procedures, graphics, and copy isalso helpful
Communicating effectively with advertising suppliers
Being cognizant of technology changes in hardware or software
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Elements for setting up online presence continued…
Being able to judge if new equipment or applications wouldimprove a site’s performance
Familiarity with HTML editing, linking hyperlinks, andacquaintance with frames and tables page construction
An appreciation of customer service and conflict resolution arepluses
A general proficiency in basic communications
The Web master has many duties in maintaining the e-commerce site, and a sense of organization is absolutelynecessary
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An ISP is a company that can provide you with aconnection to the Internet as well as Internet-based services
There are also many types and levels of ISPs: ISPs can be part-time hobbyists who are inexpensive
but not well equipped to handle a business Web site
Some ISPs are small businesses that are quite successfuland can be well equipped to handle a business Web sitethat receives moderate traffic
Large ISPs often provide many services to businessesand can have in-house technical support The downfall to using a large ISP is that they may not be as flexible
Large providers will most likely have the equipment and the fastestconnections to the Internet
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A commercial provider such as AOL, CompuServ, MSN,and Prodigy These services may not be flexible enough to run the business
the way the marketer wants and within the approved budget
To find an ISP: Search on the Web
Ask others in your area
Look in the yellow pages
Check an ISP reference service
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Considerations when investigating which one to use willdepend primarily on why the marketer wants an ISP
If marketer wants one for personal use, a local small businessmight be better as they may be more helpful
If marketer wants one for business purposes, reliable service isgoing to be a major issue
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Some questions that the marketer might ask when looking atISPs:
Are you able to communicate with the service representative ofthe ISP?
Are personal and business goals understood? What type of reputation do they have?
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More Questions…
Are you able to do everything that you want with this ISP?
E-mail access
Host Web sites
News groups
Scripting
What is the pricing structure?
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More Questions…
What type of connection does the ISP provide?
What software is provided by the ISP?
What type of technical support is available?
Make sure support is available when and how it is needed See if they offer on-site support
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Once the marketer has chosen an ISP to host the Web pages,there are still a few things the marketer needs to be awareof: What are the limitations set by the ISP on the size of the Web
site?
If the site is accessed often, check for limitations and additionalfees for excess hits on your pages
How will the files be transferred to the ISP and what type ofaccess will you have for editing those pages once they are inplace?
See if scripts are allowed, or if they are provided by the ISP
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Things to be aware of continued…
Is the provider capable of handling the security necessary foryour type of site?
What statistics are available from your ISP, how easy are they
to obtain and in what form will they be provided? Make sure that you have ownership of the design and content
of your pages and that you have thoroughly read the contract
your ISP should happily provide you
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The twist in online promotion is that no one has a longhistory doing it right and doing it well, so muchexperimentation in promotion is ongoing
The confusion in promotions is that the Web:
“Reads” like a newspaper, but it is not. The Web is like television, but where are the programs?
It has sound like the radio, but where is the music?
Promoters of Web advertising speak of billboards, but try tofind one of the huge structures along the information highway.
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Prepare a solid marketing plan focusing on the promotionalelement to expose the product and display the discipline tofollow
What are the elements of the online communications
marketing plan (your road map to marketing on the Web)? Online marketing plan
Online promotional program
Identify your consumer or business-to-business targets
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Means of communication continued..
Conferences venues
“Cookies”
Sig files
FAQs Usenet newsgroups
“Cross fertilization” between your Web site and yourtraditional marketing media to increase the success of yourWeb presence
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The marketer can increase visibility through the followingactions:
Register your site with Web search engines, listings, andcatalogs
Participate in discussion lists and Usenet newsgroups and theuse of informative .sig files
Make online announcements and use news releases
Study FAQs
Use cross-linking of your page to other relevant pages
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After the initial visit, activity and interactivity willencourage your visitor to return to your site
Curiosity
Item turnover
Indispensable tool or resource Unique event or resource
Stickiness
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The Internet gives advertising and marketing professionalsmany resources that are very dynamic, helpful, andinformative.
NetPlus Marketing Inc.
http://www.netplusmarketing.com/resources.cfm Advantage Solutions
Dataquest
NetMarket Group
Modem Media Poppe Tyson Advertising
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What are the trends in consumer purchases that e-businessesselling online should be aware of for the immediate future?
Computer and accessories
Entertainment Securities trading services
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E-commerce markets with the best growth potential are thoseclosely tied to shifting demographics such as
Financial instruments
Health Travel
Gardening for aging Boomers
Apparel, music and entertainment for GenXers
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