MARKETING VIA INTERNET

Advances in digital technology have revolutionized the
way companies satisfy the needs and wants of customers
through marketing. The term e-commerce is used to
describe the broad range of activities associated conducting
business via telecommunication networks. E-marketing
is the term used to describe the activities associated
with the four Ps of marketing for goods and services sold
via the Internet.
E-marketing offers a number of advantages to consumers
such as convenience, comparison pricing, and
personalization. Buyers have the convenience of shopping
at businesses located around the world at anytime.
For instance, via the General Motors Web site
(http://www.gm.com), potential buyers can build custom
vehicles, print window stickers, determine monthly payments,
and search dealer inventories. Through e-marketing,
shoppers can look for the lowest price for products
they want to purchase. At certain Web sites, such as Price-
Grabber.com (http://www.pricegrabber.com), buyers can
compare prices for the same product from many different
sellers at the same time and in one location. Personalization
is another important advantage of e-marketing. For
example, American Airlines provides customers with personalized
frequent-flier account summaries, as well as special
airfare promotions via electronic mail.
E-marketing offers a number of advantages to sellers,
including enhanced speed and efficiency, flexibility, and
worldwide reach. Enhanced speed and efficiency is
achieved for sellers through the virtual link created with
customers via the Internet. This virtual link with buyers
results in lower operating cost that can be passed along to
customers. E-marketing’s flexibility allows changes to be
made to product offerings or promotional activities on
short notice. Lastly, the worldwide reach of the Internet
makes anyone in the world with Internet access a potential
customer. This access to a worldwide customer base
levels the playing field for small businesses. For example,
the Vermont Country Store, with two physical locations,
in Rockingham and Weston, Vermont, is able to sell its
products to customers worldwide via e-marketing.