Implications and Relevance of Marketing related to eBusiness

The world of eBusiness is fundamentally evolving because of new technology. Consequently, there is dynamic change in the array of technologies available, the features of the technology, and the cost of the technologies.
The key issue for the marketing area of the company to address is the eBusiness branding and how this is implemented. Not surprisingly, the customer's perceptions in eBusiness are as important as they have always been for conventional business: the perceptions of the business are as important as what the business actually delivers. For example, for an online travel agency, consumers' perceptions about ease of use, flexibility, and security can be huge hurdles for the eBusiness to overcome.

The ultimate concern for the marketing department is branding of the eBusiness, specifically, if a new brand will be required for the eBusiness. The answers to the following questions will help answer this all-important question:

1. Is the eBusiness to be an extension of the existing company or a new entity on its own right from a marketing point of view?
2. Will the existing brand transfer to the eBusiness environment?
3. Is the eBusiness likely to be competing with the old business for customers, or is the eBusiness complimentary to the old business?

If a new brand is required, then it is advisable to involve resources that are experienced in what works and what does not work for branding in the eBusiness environment.

There are many differences between acceptable/desirable marketing practices in the real world and in eBusiness.
The Slide Show below describes the needs of eBusiness marketing.

eBusiness presents a larger-than-life opportunity to gather a far greater amount of customer activity information. As invaluable as this opportunity is to the marketing function, the interpretation of the data requires a level of understanding by the marketing department, of the eBusiness solution. If this information is interpreted correctly, the end result can be a much faster and more successful reaction by the marketing department and the company as a whole to customer requirements.
Information can be exploited far more readily online than it can be in the real world. Everything about the customer can be recorded: which ads they click on, which pages they visit, and how long they spend there.
This opens up whole new possibilities for one-to-one marketing and mass customization to match individual orders to personal preferences. Whether this is an invasion of privacy or the future of marketing remains to be seen. It is probable that specialized design agencies will be needed to assist the businesses' marketing department. Although a detailed discussion of eBusiness marketing approaches is outside the scope of this course, the changing nature of marketing continues to be hotly debated.

Call it one-to-one marketing, profiling, or personalization, the idea of gathering customer information and sending the right message at exactly the moment is the nirvana of marketing. It is more effective than traditional mass marketing, commands higher ad rates, and results in better responses. However, it remains to be seen how far targeting can, or should, go. Is this the future of marketing or real-time surveillance? What other potentially far-reaching implications are there with regard to the future of marketing? In the next lesson we will address the financial considerations of using eBusiness.