E-Marketing Chapter 3

E-Marketing Objectives

• Discuss the nature and importance of an e-marketing plan
• Outline the 7 steps of an e-marketing plan
• Explain the form of an e-marketing objective and the use of an objective-strategy matrix
• Describe the tasks that marketers complete in tiers 1 and 2 as they create e-marketing strategies
• List key revenues and costs identified during the budgeting step of the planning process

The Twitter Story

• Twitter started as a concept in a brainstorming meeting in 2006
• It became the 11th in U.S. Web traffic and the 3rd most popular social network
• Twitter took off after attendees sent text messages on 60-inch TV screens at the South by Southwest festival in 2007
• Twitter has reportedly raised $57 in venture capital

The E-Marketing Planning Process

• The e-marketing plan is a blueprint for e-marketing strategy formulation and implementation
• It links the firm's e-business strategy with technology-driven marketing strategies
• The plan serves as a roadmap to guide the firm, allocate resources, and make decisions

E-Marketing Plan

• The plan consists of 7 steps: situation analysis, strategic planning, objectives, strategies, implementation, budgeting, and evaluation

SWOT Analysis

• Strengths: strong customer service, excellent Web site and database system
• Weaknesses: low-tech corporate culture, seasonal business (peak is summer months)
• Opportunities: Hispanic markets growing and untapped, save postage costs through e-mail marketing
• Threats: pending security law means costly software upgrades, competitor X is aggressively using e-commerce

E-Marketing Objective

• An e-marketing objective may include the following aspects: task, measurable quantity, and time frame
• Examples of objectives: increase market share, increase the number of comments on a blog, increase sales revenue, reduce costs, achieve branding goals, increase database size, achieve customer relationship management goals, improve supply chain management

Tier 1 and Tier 2 Strategies

• Tier 1 tasks: market and product strategies, including segmentation, targeting, differentiation, and positioning
• Tier 2 tasks: strategies related to the 4 P's and relationship management to achieve plan objectives, including product, pricing, distribution, and marketing communication strategies

Steps 2, 3, and 4 of the E-Marketing Plan

• Step 2: strategic planning, including market and product strategies
• Step 3: objectives, including task, measurable quantity, and time frame
• Step 4: strategies, including Tier 1 and Tier 2 tasks

Step 5: Implementation Plan

• Tactics are used to achieve plan objectives
• Examples of tactics: marketing mix (4 Ps) tactics, relationship management tactics, marketing organization tactics, information-gathering tactics

Step 6: Budget

• The plan must identify the expected returns from marketing investments
• Examples of budget-related metrics: cost/benefit analysis, ROI calculation, internal rate of return (IRR) calculation, return on marketing investment (ROMI)

Revenues and Costs

• Revenue forecast
• Intangible benefits, such as brand equity
• Cost savings
• E-Marketing costs, including technology, site design, salaries, and other site development expenses, marketing communication, and miscellaneous

Step 7: Evaluation Plan

• Marketing plan success depends on continuous evaluation
• E-marketers must have tracking systems in place to measure results
• Various metrics relate to specific plan goals
• Today's firms are ROI driven
• E-marketers must show how intangible goals will lead to higher revenue
• Accurate and timely metrics can help justify expenditures