A Major Project Report on

CUSTOMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS INTERNET MARKETING

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Business Administration (B&I) programme of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi.

Submitted To:Submitted by:Mr. Barun Kumar JhaChitra Dwivedy05812201810

Delhi College of Advanced StudiesB-7, Shanker Garden, VikaspuriNew Delhi 110018Batch (2010-2013)

DECLARATION

I, hereby declare that this Major Project Report, entitled Customer Perception Towards Internet Marketing, is an authentic work carried out by me. It has not been submitted earlier for award of any degree or diploma to any institute or university.

Place: New DelhiCandidates signatureDate: Name: Chitra DwivedyEnroll. No.: 05812201810Countersigned

Name: Mr. Barun Kumar JhaSupervisorDelhi College of Advanced Studies

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is my pleasure to be indebted to various people, who directly or indirectly contributed in the development of this work and who influenced my thinking, behavior and acts during the course of study.I express my sincere gratitude to Prof. (Dr.) M.S. Chaudhary the worthy Director of Delhi College of Advanced Studies, for providing me an opportunity to undergo summer training of doing this project under his leadership. I also extend my sincere indebtedness to Mr. Barun Kumar Jha who provided his valuable suggestion and precious time in accomplishing my project. I also take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to each and every person, who directly or indirectly helped me throughout the project and without anyone of them this project would not have been possible.The immense learning from this project would be indelible forever.Chitra Dwivedy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYInternet and Information technology have made tremendous contributions for business transformation witnessed nowadays all over the world. This has given birth to E commerce which encompasses several pre-purchase and post-purchase activities leading to exchange of products or service or information over electronic systems such as the internet and the other Telecommunication networks. Analyzing the competitive advantage of E-Commerce it is observed that E-Commerce enables simpler, faster and efficient business transactions. For developing country like India, E-Commerce offer considerable opportunity for growth. E-commerce leads to a boon for the current economic downturn. As Indias e-commerce market is worth about Rs 50,000 crores in 2012. About 80% of this is travel related (airline tickets, railway tickets, hotel bookings, online mobile recharge etc.).Online retailing comprises about 15%. India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 40-45% per annum. The rapid growth of e-commerce in India is being driven by greater customer choice and improved convenience. The project will first study the perception of customers towards internet marketing, also determining the factors which influence the consumer to purchase goods and service. The second half of the project will depict the attributes of online shopping influencing the purchase decision by the respondent. It will also determine the issues regarding the online shopping which includes the various limitations of the project. The third part of the project determines the purchase decision with respect to grocery. It will determine the place preference of grocery shopping with respect to price, quality, variety, proximity and offers/ discounts. Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buy goods and services, and has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon. Many companies have started using the Internet with the aim of cutting marketing costs, thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay ahead in highly competitive markets. Companies also use the Internet to convey communicates and disseminate information, to sell the product, to take feedback and also to conduct satisfaction surveys with customers. Customers use the Internet not only to buy the product online, but also to compare prices, product features and after sale service facilities the will receive if they purchase the product from a particular store. Many experts are optimistic about the prospect of online business. The Indian economy is slated to grow by upward of 6 % annually in the next few years which is among the highest rates of any big emerging economy. And quite a lot of this growth would be on the back of domestic consumption of goods and services.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.no.TopicPage No

1DeclarationI

2AcknowledgementIi

3Executive SummaryIii-Iv

4List of TablesVii

5List of FiguresViii

6Chapter-1: Introduction Overview of Industry as a whole Objectives of the study Scope of the study Methodology1-151678

7Chapter-2: Conceptual Framework Internet marketing Objectives of internet advertising

Features of internet advertising

Types of internet advertising

The key benefits of internet marketing

Benefits of internet marketing for the customers

Benefits of internet marketing for the business

Top 10 internet marketing strategies

7Ps of internet marketing

Understanding the internet customers

Using the 7 Ps in your internet marketing plan

Internet marketing VS Traditional marketing

Critical success factors in e-marketing

10-451019202226

2931

333437

38

4143

8Chapter-3: Data Analysis and interpretation 44-57

9Chapter-4: Summary and Conclusion Results of the study Limitations Suggestions and Recommendations58-66586162

10Bibliography-

11Appendix-

LIST OF FIGURESFigure NoTitlePage No.

1Figure 1: Shows The perception of customer to purchase a product in future45

2Figure 2: depicting the quality of products available over the internet46

3Figure 3: depicting how much people surf over the internet47

4Figure 4 : depicting the source of medium for the awareness about products other than internet48

5Figure 5: depicting the satisfaction of information provided over the internet49

6Figure 6: Depicting the features which attract the customers over online advertisement50

7Figure 7: depicting the type of products searched over internet51

8Figure 8: depicting adequate information provided about the products by the company52

9Figure 9: depicting what all internet marketing constitutes off53

10Figure 10 : Depicting whether internet marketing is more effective tool then traditional marketing54

11Figure 11: Depicts internet marketing's reliability55

12Figure 12: depicts about the success factors of internet marketing56

Chapter I:INTRODUCTION

Overview of Industry as a whole Internet and Information technology have made tremendous contributions for business transformation witnessed nowadays all over the world. This has given birth to E commerce which encompasses several pre-purchase and post-purchase activities leading to exchange of products or service or information over electronic systems such as the internet and the other Telecommunication networks. Analyzing the competitive advantage of E-Commerce it is observed that E-Commerce enables simpler, faster and efficient business transactions. For developing country like India, E-Commerce offer considerable opportunity for growth. E-commerce leads to a boon for the current economic downturn. As Indias e-commerce market is worth about Rs 50,000 crores in 2012. About 80% of this is travel related (airline tickets, railway tickets, hotel bookings, online mobile recharge etc.).Online retailing comprises about 15%. India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 40-45% per annum. The rapid growth of e-commerce in India is being driven by greater customer choice and improved convenience. The project will first study the perception of customers towards internet marketing, also determining the factors which influence the consumer to purchase goods and service. The second half of the project will depict the attributes of online shopping influencing the purchase decision by the respondent. It will also determine the issues regarding the online shopping which includes the various limitations of the project. The third part of the project determines the purchase decision with respect to grocery. It will determine the place preference of grocery shopping with respect to price, quality, variety, proximity and offers/ discounts. Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buy goods and services, and has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon. Many companies have started using the Internet with the aim of cutting marketing costs, thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay ahead in highly competitive markets. Companies also use the Internet to convey communicates and disseminate information, to sell the product, to take feedback and also to conduct satisfaction surveys with customers. Customers use the Internet not only to buy the product online, but also to compare prices, product features and after sale service facilities the will receive if they purchase the product from a particular store. Many experts are optimistic about the prospect of online business. Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buy goods and services, and has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon. Many companies have started using the Internet with the aim of cutting marketing costs, thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay ahead in highly competitive markets. Companies also use the Internet to convey communicates and disseminate information, to sell the product, to take feedback and also to conduct satisfaction surveys with customers. Customers use the Internet not only to buy the product online, but also to compare prices, product features and after sale service facilities the will receive if they purchase the product from a particular store. Many experts are optimistic about the prospect of online business. In addition to the tremendous potential of the E-commerce market, the Internet provides a unique opportunity for companies to more efficiently reach existing and potential customers. Although most of the revenue of online transactions comes from business-to-business commerce, the practitioners of business-to-consumer commerce should not lose confidence. It has been more than a decade since business-to-consumer E-commerce first evolved. Scholars and practitioners of electronic commerce constantly strive to gain an improved insight into consumer behavior in cyberspace. Along with the development of E-retailing, researchers continue to explain E-consumers behavior from different perspectives. Many of their studies have posited new emergent factors or assumptions which are based on the traditional models of consumer behavior, and then examine their validity in the Internet context.The Indian economy is slated to grow by upward of 6 % annually in the next few years which is among the highest rates of any big emerging economy. And quite a lot of this growth would be on the back of domestic consumption of goods and services. E-commerce is emerging as a great level given that organized retail is still not ubiquitous across the length and breadth of the country with large retail chains making up less than 10%of the market. E-commerce is helping people in smaller towns in India access quality products and services similar to what people in the larger cities have access to. Its being forecast that close to 60%of online shoppers would come from beyond the top eight large cities by end of this year. Increasing internet penetration has helped to expand the potential customer pool. Internet penetration is only about 10% (or about 121 million users) as against about 81% in the US and 36% in China. However this number continues to rise at a consistent pace because of falling prices for broadband connections. Indians are also increasingly taking to mobile devices for not only search but shopping as well. The number of smart phone users is rapidly increasing in India and with 4G services about to take off its expected to get even more people going online. There are currently about 900 million mobile subscribers and this number is expected to touch 1.2 billion by2015. Of these about 27 million are estimated to be active mobile internet users. More importantly, 20% users indicated intent to buy products through their mobile phones as against the current 4% and this number is expected to only increase in the next two to three years. Innovation is helping e-commerce companies break the inertia for online shopping by offering benefits to customers not traditionally available in a brick and mortar store. Business models include no question asked return policies ranging from 7 days to 30 days, 1516. Free product deliveries and the industry dynamics changing cash on delivery model. The last innovation has really help unlock the potential as people can now order products and pay when they get physical delivery of the product. This has been a tremendous success because Indians are still reluctant to give their credit/debit card details online and want to have the psychological comfort that they would actually get the product once payment has been made. These innovations have led to further innovations downstream as ancillary businesses are developing to support these initiatives. Some companies have begun to develop support mechanisms for the entire cash on delivery model and are trying to reach the far flung corners of India, including in the interiors where traditional logistics companies are still not completely present. The logistics companies are also shoring up their act and have started to build specific verticals and expertise to address the requirements of e-commerce companies. Divyan Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Keshiha Services Pvt. Ltd, a company with interests in the internet, telecom, healthcare, education and advanced technology businesses has stated that, acceptance of online shopping as a secure shopping mode is has also helped to increase e-commerce uptake. Currently only about 10 million people do online transactions out of an approximate population of 200 million credit and debit card holders. However the latest industry report by First Data Corporation and ICICI Merchant Services indicate that there are about 150million users that are readyfor e-commerce. More importantly the report indicates that urban Indian consumers are now confident enough to make online purchases of up to US$500 as against US$40-100 in the recent past. So not only are the numbers of online shoppers projected to increase but there has been areal increase in the total value being spent online.

Objectives of the study

To determine whether internet marketing will be beneficial and on what factors. To determine the parameters for choosing the particular seller for purchase of any product To identify the issues faced by the user while marketing through internet. To study the attitude of customers towards internet marketing To find out the preferences of the customers regarding the attributes of shopping over the internet.

Scope of the Study

To determine which factor influences the consumer to go for online shopping. To find out which feature of the website attracts the user to purchase the product from the online shopping website. To find out the whether grocery online shopping is beneficial for the user. To analyze which factors influence the user to buy online grocery

Research Methodology

The sources of data used in this project report are both primary and secondary data. Primary data Primary data consists of original information gathered from sample size of 200 respondents residing in Mumbai, India. 2. Secondary data Secondary data consists of information that already exists and that was collected in the past for some other purposes.Sample Design: Size of Sample: The sample size selected for the research is 50 in the area of Delhi Parameters of Interests: The major parameter of interest is the subgroup of people who are working professional as well as students and web savvy having an experience in online shopping. The two other subsidiary parameters of interest are: o The respondent should also have an experience shopping. o The female respondent who have an online shopping experience.Sampling Technique:Random sampling : is the purest form of probability sampling. Each member of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected. When there are very large populations, it is often difficult or impossible to identify every member of the population, so the pool of available subjects becomes biased.

Chapter II:conceptual framework

Internet marketingE-marketing refers to the use of the Internet and digital media capabilities to help sell your products or services. These digital technologies are a valuable addition to traditional marketing approaches regardless of the size and type of your business. E-marketing is also referred to as Internet marketing (I-marketing), online marketing or web-marketing. As with conventional marketing, e-marketing is creating a strategy that helps businesses deliver the right messages and product/services to the right audience. It consists of all activities and processes with the purpose of finding, attracting, winning and retaining customers. What has changed is its wider scope and options compared to conventional marketing methods.E-marketing is deemed to be broad in scope, because it not only refers to marketing and promotions over the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. E-marketing also embraces the management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) and several other business management functions.E-marketing joins creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including: design, development, advertising and sales. It includes the use of a website in combination with online promotional techniques such as search engine marketing (SEM), social medial marketing, interactive online ads, online directories, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, viral marketing and so on. The digital technologies used as delivery and communication mediums within the scope of e-marketing include: Internet media such as websites and e-mail Digital media such as wireless, mobile, cable and satellite.

Internet marketing, or online marketing, refers to advertising and marketing efforts that use theWebande-mailto drive direct sales viae-commerceas well as sales leads fromWeb sitesor emails. Internet marketing and online advertising efforts are typically used in conjunction with traditional types of advertising like radio, television, newspapers and magazines. Marketing efforts done solely over the internet. This type of marketing uses various online advertisementstodrivetraffictoanadvertiser'swebsite.Banneradvertisements,pay per click (PPC), and targetedemaillists are oftenmethodsused in Internet marketing to bring the mostvalueto the advertiser. Internet marketing is a growing businessmainly because more and more people use the internet everyday. Popularsearch enginessuch as Google and Yahoo have been able tocapitalizeon this newwaveof advertising.Online Marketingis the art and science of selling products and/or services over digital networks, such as the Internet and cellular phone networks.The art of online marketing involves finding the right online marketing mix of strategies that appeals to yourtarget marketand will actually translate into sales.The science of online marketing is the research and analysis that goes into both choosing the online marketing strategies to use and measuring the success of those online marketing strategies.Types of online marketing include: Ecommerce Online Advertising Search Engine Marketing Email Marketing Social Media Marketing Article MarketingAnd that's definitely just to name a few; more online marketing strategies are being invented all the time.Online marketing is becoming increasingly important to small businesses of all types. In the past, marketing online was something that local bricks-and-mortar businesses could justifiably ignore. It didn't make sense to waste time and money on online marketing when all your business was local. Now with increasing local search and people's new habit of searching on the Internet first, it matters. I would go so far as to say that all businesses should include some online marketing in their marketing mix.Internet Marketingis an all-inclusive term for marketing products and/or services online and like many all-inclusive terms, Internet marketing means different things to different people.Essentially, though, Internet marketing refers to the strategies that are used to market a product or service online, marketing strategies that include search engine optimization and search engine submission, copywriting that encourages site visitors to take action, web site design strategies, online promotions, reciprocal linking, and email marketing and thats just hitting the highlights.Online marketers are constantly devising new Internet marketing strategies in the hopes of driving more traffic to their Web sites and making more sales; witness the increasing use of blogs as marketing tools for business, for instance.If youre new to Internet marketing, I recommend focusing on web design and search engine optimization as a starting point; for most sites, the most traffic still comes from search engines and directories. When it comes to Internet Marketing, a lot of people get really confused about it. In short, Internet Marketing means the ability to market your services on the Internet. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of Internet Marketing that will set you thinking. Internet might be a catchy advertising medium. But, there are quite a few issues that need to be sorted out. Advertising on the Net is slowly catching on. In developed economies, advertising on the Net accounts for anything between seven and 7.5 per cent of the total advertising cake. Fine, how large is online advertising in India? Various estimates put the size of online advertising in India between Rs 24 crore and Rs 29 crore, which is much less than one per cent of the total advertising cake. Why is online advertising so small in India? Why aren't the advertisers putting their money on Net advertising? For instance, Hindustan Levers advertising budget is upwards of Rs 700 crore and out of this; the company spends not more than Rs 25 lakh on online advertising. Is this because Net penetration in India is not deeper? Yes, to an extent. Slow motionHowever, this might not be the case for long. For, initiatives are on to increase the number of Internet users. It is estimated that Internet subscribers will increase to around 35 million by 2008 from the current figure of one million. Not only that, a drive is on to make Internet more affordable. For instance, the Reliance group is planning to set up 7,800 cyber kiosks in Madhya Pradesh and BSES is planning to put up 1,000 cyber kiosks in Bombay. And the UK-based WorldTel, in partnership with the Reliance group, is working at building 1,000 community Internet centres in Tamil Nadu. There is a question here, however. If numbers are the only factor, then how is that Net advertising has picked up in Hong Kong, which boasts of 1.8 million Net users compared to some 3.5 million in India. So, there are other reasons why online advertising is going through a slow motion in India. One such reason is this: there is no official organization in India that monitors and regulates the online advertising industry. And there is no mechanism available for tracking viewership of advertisements. Says Apurva Purohit, media director with the Mumbai-based FCB-Ulka Advertising: "While television has two people meter services, Tam (IMRB) and Intam (ORG-MARG), there is no possible mechanism to enable working out optimized schedules on the basis of ad viewer ship rather than programme viewership." True. Only such a mechanism can help to track ad viewership patterns much more accurately and monitor television advertisements effectively. The very reason that ad viewerships in online advertising are not monitored and audited is making quite a few corporate advertisers go slow in latching on to the Internet medium. Says B Venkataramanan, group media manager of the Mumbai-based Hindustan Lever: "I am skeptical about the kind of figures most dot-coms come up with. So, we will be going about online advertising in a planned way." All these might become things of the past with quite a few studies on online advertising in the pipeline. For instance, AC Nielsen is looking at rating Net advertisers and ORG-MARG is planning to kick off its research on Net advertising. The cost factorAbsence of a monitoring mechanism apart, online advertising has to live with another hurdle. Many advertisers are not aware of the benefits online advertising can offer over the traditional media. What needs to be done? The advertising industry should take efforts to educate potential Net advertisers about the advantages of advertising on the Net. Some steps have already been taken in this direction. For instance, advertising networks such as Media2Net, Rightserve and Mediaturf are doing their bid to fuel online advertising in India. Rightserve of Hughes Software is said to be spending nearly Rs two crore on seminars, advertisements and road shows for creating awareness about the online advertising concept. There is another reason why advertising on the Net has not really picked up. And that is the perception that advertising on the Net is expensive. Is this perception right? Compare the cost of a banner advertisement on the Net with a television commercial. Though the cost of an advertising campaign on the Net could be anywhere between Rs 15,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh, advertising in the press or television will cost upwards of Rs 50 lakh. Does this not make advertising on the Net cheap? No. For, whether advertising on the Net is cost-effective or not depends on the value per advertising Rupee. That means, it is essential to express advertising costs on the Net in terms of cost per thousand (CPT). Here is what Amardeep Singh, a Mumbai-based media consultant with Mediaturf.com, has to say: "A thirty- second television commercial will cost between Rs 250 and Rs 300 per thousand, while a ten-second banner on a reputed site such as Rediff.com will cost as much as Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per thousand." The implication: value per Rupee spent on advertising is higher in the case of television. That is efficiency is higher in the case of television advertising, while in absolute terms advertising costs are lower as far as the Net is concerned. Fine, but how are rates fixed for advertising on the Net? It is a difficult poser considering the fact that rates for advertising on the Net have no rationale behind them. For instance, Rediff.com just adopted the international rate charged by Yahoo.com. Other websites in India just took the Rediff.com's rate as a benchmark and adjusted their rates accordingly. But, the issue here is this: since the number of Net users in India is limited now, these Indian rates are not justified. What are the emerging trends as far as cost of online advertising is concerned? Currently, rates for a simple banner advertisement on the Net need to come down. Already, Mediaturf is working in this direction. It wants to bring down the cost of Net advertising at least by 50 per cent. Mediaturf believes that when the rates come down, volumes should go up. And that has been the international experience. In the USA, when the rate for a full banner advertisement fell from US $33.22 to US $30.52 per thousand impressions, online advertising outlays too rose during the same period. The wastage factorThere are other reasons why advertising on the Net is not currently seen by advertisers as cost-effective. One of them is the quality of desired responses. In many cases, sums spent on advertising on the Net have not been deployed properly. There are instances where advertisements have just been lifted and put on the banner. Though there are many early adapters in India, there is a big gap between these adapters and the mainstream users. And most advertisers have too small budgets for advertising on the Net to be bothered about wastages. There could be wastages in online advertising, but one should not forget that interactivity is the hallmark of online advertising and here it is possible to target the audience by demography, psychography and technography. So, advertising agencies need to take into account these factors while developing strategies. But, wastages can be eliminated and online advertising can be made more effective through various strategies. Some of them are: strategic tie-ups, sponsorships and banner exchanges. For instance, the FMCG major Colgate-Palmolive has entered into a strategic tie-up with the Calcutta-based FirstNet Solutions' portal Yantram.com for promoting its Fresh Energy Gel toothpaste on the portal. And Coca-Cola has appointed Hungama.com, an Indian portal for promotions and contests, as its e-marketing partner. Coca-Cola has gone ahead and launched a new Web promotion dubbed Maaza Puzzle to promote its popular brand Maaza and has also kicked off a series of e-promotions for the Hindi film "Hum To Mohabbat Karega". Meanwhile, tie-ups for banner exchanges are also taking place. For instance, Bidorbuy.com has tied up with Indiacar.com and Intel has sponsored a festival section on Satyam Online. Targeting imperativesAccurate targeting is another strategy to eliminate wastages in online advertising. Currently, such targeting based on parameters such as geographic location and search keywords is possible. Yes, Satyam Online is offering customised solutions here and portals such as Indiainfo.com and Rediff.com offer keyword targeting. It is possible now to measure campaign performances on a real-time basis and make necessary changes. Ad networks such as Rightserve are offering such services based on their continuous online reports. Moreover, targeted advertisements based on the profile of users are also possible. To make this possible, it is essential to have lists such as registered e-mail users and such lists can offer profiles of users. But the question is how many sites in India have a large base of registered users? Perhaps Rediff.com has a base of eight lakh registered users and Jobsahead.com has a base of about 1.50 lakh users. Another way wastages can be eliminated is by having advertisements based on the content of the site. Consider the example of an advertisement from Toyota Motor Sales on the weather site Intellicast.com. This website for outdoor recreation enthusiasts has been running a campaign for Toyota Motor Sales and this campaign depends on the weather. If the weather is sunny, the solara is shown with the top down, and if it is cloudy or raining, the top is shown up. How many such ads are visible on Indian websites? Profiling tools too should help in cutting down wastages in online advertising. Mediaturf has gone a step further by beta-testing an advertisement in a bid to gauge an user's behaviour, the number of times he views an advertisement and his preferences in terms of content when he is surfing on a site. Other waste-eliminating strategies for online advertising are: contextual selling using demographic and psychographic data to match ads with content that fits and dynamic customization or click stream analysis that helps to modify advertisements in real-time. Online ConstraintsAs efforts to eliminate wastages in online advertising take off; efforts are also needed to eliminate the attendant constraints. In online advertising, one can stream audio and video technologies together with faster bandwidths and delivery channels in a bid to present the same idea with the use of sound, music and visual imagery and make interactions with the banner possible. But, this is not possible in India, thanks to the existing bandwidth problems. However, soon bandwidth will cease to be an issue. Despite the bandwidth constraint, the Coco-Cola television commercial is being aired in Zeenext.com. This initiative has been taken by Mediaturf and a Bangalore-based software programmer, who have found a way to use the Net to air commercials with the dial-up mode and thus overcoming the bandwidth constraint. Anyway, with massive investments coming in bandwidth, there could be a glut soon. Sure, India has an advantage in online advertising, thanks to the fact that online advertising depends so much on technology and software programming. So, the days of innovative banners and convergence of real-time advertising are not far. But, effective online advertising calls for skills in consumer and relationship management. The prospects are of course bright for online advertising. E-commerce will only help the spread of online advertising. Estimates are that in a couple of years online advertising could touch Rs 300 crore, two per cent of the total adspend in the country. And Nasscom's estimates are that online advertising could touch Rs 750 crore by 2002.

Objectives of Internet Advertising

Advertising:As far as advertising on the Internet goes, all advertisements will serve toattract the user's attention and draw him to the company, which is advertising.

Build brand awareness:Direct or indirect methods can be used on the websites to buildbrand awareness of the different brands of a company. This is where the Internet scorestraditional media and methods as explained below.

Stimulate direct action:Visitors to a company's web site should get involved with theofferings on the site. Valuable customer information can also be captured and tracked forfuture marketing initiatives.

Promote its brands:Promotional give - away or contests generate excitement whilesimultaneously promoting your brands online, aiding off - line sale.

Building a culture around its brands:This goes along with that company's traditionaladvertising.

Surrogate advertising:This is another means of surrogate advertising of the company,where all forms of traditional advertising fail. Surrogate advertising can be proved to bepositive in case of advertising on the Internet.

Features of Internet Advertising

Advertising on the Internet has certain unique features that differentiate it from other forms ofadvertising. They are as follows:

Member registration:Member registration is an efficient tool that is used by firms to createtheir database. Such a database may be used to design promotional campaigns. Allowingregistered users to participate in various events can follow systems of free registration.

Online opinion polls:Opinion polls are conducted to obtain the responses from usersregarding the firms' products and services besides including topics of general interest.

Newsletters:Regular newsletters are sent especially to registered users. These containinformation about current updations on the site and activities being performed by thecompany.

Contests and sweepstakes:Contests are useful in attracting new users to websites. Theymay be for simple things depending on the product or service being advertised. The prizesoffered are in a wide range and usually have the logo of the company and the homepageaddress displayed prominently.

Content:The content of the advertisement can be regularly updated with news regardingthe activities of the firm. A fact-based section showing the manufacturing processes of acompany may also be included. The use of multimedia tools can make this more interactive.

E-cards:Users send free cards via e-mail from the site of the company advertising theproduct. The card prominently displays the logo or the baseline of the brand. The cards maybe for different occasions such as birthdays, festivals, birthdays, etc. These cards are usedto reinforce brand identity. Star endorsers of the brand may also be included in the picturepostcard themes.

Downloads:Downloads may include various utilities for the computer such as icons,desktop patterns, screensavers, themes, etc. Registered users get the opportunity ofdownloading software. Charts and other informative articles may also be included.

Coupons:Coupons are used to promote sales off-line. Sending discount coupons for theproducts and services of the company on special occasions can do this

Types of Internet Advertising

E-mail advertising:Legitimate Email advertising or E-mail marketing is often known as "opt-in e-mail advertising" to distinguish it from spam.

Affiliate Marketing:Affiliate marketing is a form of online advertising where advertisersplace campaigns with a potentially large number of small (and large) publishers, whom areonly paid media fees when traffic to the advertiser is garnered, and usually upon a specificmeasurable campaign result (a form, a sale, a sign-up, etc). Today, this is usuallyaccomplished through contracting with an affiliate network.The online retailer used its program to generate low cost brand exposure and provided at thesame time small websites a way to earn some supplemental income.

Contextual advertising:Many advertising networks display graphical or text-only ads thatcorrespond to the keywords of an Internet search or to the content of the page on which thead is shown. These ads are believed to have a greater chance of attracting a user, because they tend to share a similar context as the user's search query. For example, a search queryfor "flowers" might return an advertisement for a florist's website. Another newer technique isembedding keyword hyperlinks in an article which are sponsored by an advertiser. When auser follows the link, they are sent to a sponsor's website.

Behavioral targeting:In addition to contextual targeting, online advertising can be targetedbased on a user's past click stream. For example, if a user is known to have recently visiteda number of automotive shopping / comparison sites based on click stream analysis enabledby cookies stored on the user's computer, that user can then be served auto-related adswhen they visit other, non-automotive sites.

Pay per Click:Search engines place your website on their front page and you pay a setamount per click-through. Sites like Overture also run bids for certain keywords - the moreyou bid, the higher your site appears on the first page of the search results. Properly run,these campaigns can bring a lot of extra traffic to your website.

Search Engine Optimization:This is an online advertising service provided by many webmedia companies. They will look at your target audience, your competitors and the keywordsfor your business and optimize your website content so that it has a much better chance ofappearing on the first page of the search results. You will pay a fee to the consultants for thisservice. Studies have shown that many searchers prefer to use the "natural" listingsprovided by the search engines, rather than the paid-for listings.

Sponsorships:Website sponsorship can come in two formats; regular sponsorship wherethe advertiser has a space to place the logo and company message, and contentsponsorship where the advertiser has limited control and submits their own content to thesite as well as having an advert on the page. These sponsorships will be for fixed periods,and need to be on targeted websites to reach the right audience.

Online Directories:The online equivalent of Yellow Pages, or Industry Directories, thesegive you basic or enhanced listings on the website. Your details will come up if your sector,location or company name is searched for. Enhanced listings will allow users to click-throughto your site. Online directory listings are often offered in conjunction with an entry in theprinted version of the directory.

Banner Ads:Banner advertising was the first kind of advertising ever done on the net. Abanner can highlight your product/service/offer and by clicking on it the user will be taken toyour website, where you can create a suitable landing page to provide his further information. Banner spaces are usually sold by impressions, or banner views, but it issometimes sold by click-thru, when you pay only when the user clicks on the banner. Usuallyhorizontal bars across the top of a web page, they offer colour, graphics and oftenanimation, together with the ability to click through to the advertiser's own website.

Pop-up Ads:These are the small windows that appear when you first get onto a website.Pop-ups appear on your screen in full, pop-downs appear on the bar at the bottom of yourscreen and you have to open them to get rid of them.

Interstitial Adverts:These adverts sometimes referred to as Bridge Adverts, pop up as youmove between pages on a site. You have no choice as to whether you view them or not,although you can close them down.

Floating Ads:These ads appear when you first go to a webpage, and they "float" over thepage for five to 30 seconds. While they are on the screen, they obscure your view of thepage you are trying to read, and they often block mouse input as well. These ads appeareach time that page is refreshed. Floating ads are popular for several reasons: They grab the viewer's attention and cannot be ignored They are animated They have audio/video content like TV ads They can take up the entire screen, therefore from a branding standpoint, they are muchmore powerful than a banner ad or a sidebar ad They have a high click-through rate of about 3 percentHowever, many users get highly irritated because of these ads.

Unicast Ads:A unicast ad is basically a TV commercial that runs in the browser window. Ithas enriched audio/video content. The ads can last anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds. Theseads have similar branding power as a TV commercial. However, a unicast ad offerssomething that TV ads cannot -- the ability to click on the ad for more information. These adsare getting very effective, as the average click-through rate is 5%.

Takeover Ads:Viewers visiting the website will see a large ad when they first come, andthen the continuity is maintained by reiterating the same message throughout the site in theform of banners, side bars or buttons. The approach works very well for branding becausethe brand is visible to viewers throughout the visit to the site. Click-through rates are alsohigh.

The Key Benefits of Internet MarketingInternet marketing is a buzz word thats gaining steady popularity in the recent times, and has emerged as a cost-effective way of promoting a small to medium sized business. It does not require the time and the resources that are needed in traditional marketing strategies and is indeed a revolution in the field of business promotion and advertisements. Here is a list of some of the key benefits of internet marketing:Cost EffectivenessInternet marketing is a very cost effective option of promoting your business. Your business website can only take you to a certain level if you do not make the effort to increase its visibility. Internet marketing will make your business promotion dynamic and lively at a very nominal cost.You can optimize your website for the search engines, avail the pay per click programs, use the option of list building and even send promotional newsletters to your prospective clients to drum up some publicity for your offerings. All these options can be availed for free or can be subscribed at a very nominal cost. To take advantage of internet marketing, you do not even have to own a business and can participate in the affiliate programs and promote other peoples business to make huge money. So, investment wise, it is a better option than the traditional print advertisements and marketing strategies.Very Wide ReachOne of the major online advertisement benefits is that it has global reach. Internet is a medium, which will enable a potential client from the other end of the world to reach you without any trouble. So, you can conveniently eradicate the traditional geographical boundaries and access a wide of pool of client base easily accessed with the help of properly implemented internet marketing strategies. You can even contact the overseas market and increase your business prospects to a great extent by using this marketing method.

Easy to ManageYou can easily manage your internet marketing programmers. Any change in the strategy can be brought about even when you are travelling or commuting for your business. Whats more, even while on a vacation, you can make changes on the fly and save precious time that would have otherwise been wasted on an endless wait. The benefits that your business is making with the use of such strategies can be easily gauged and monitored as the process is not very complicated and even a layman can follow the procedure with some prior research. You can also hire a professional agency for internet marketing tips and help.Track real-time results and Display of full informationThe advantages of internet marketing can be translated in palpable terms. In other words, you can statistically measure whether your PPC campaigns are generating results or how much of the traffic is being converted into your customer base. One of the major benefits of marketing online is that it can help you to display as much information as you want about your product or service on the web. The print medium will give you only a limited space and your scope might be restricted in many cases.Availability of 24 HoursYour online advertisements will be available 24/7 for your customers through internet marketing. One of the major online advertisement benefits is that you have to put in a lot of effort initially, but once you develop a system, it becomes much easier to draw the profit. So, if you have a proper and functional strategy in place, internet marketing can ensure a round the clock and never ending advertisement for your business.Increasing the Returns on Investment on a Website If you have spent a lot of money on developing a competent business website, you must also expect a good return from it. Internet marketing can ensure a good ROI as your website will be promoted to have a formidable online presence. Internet marketing is developing by leaps and bounds, and is including new strategies within its folds. You can promote your website through article submission in various directories and even through the social networking sites. So, it is likely to increase the effectiveness of your business website to a great extent.Discover New MarketsThe primary target of any marketing strategy is to discover new markets for the business. Internet marketing can help you do that very effectively. It can help you draw a lot of vacillating traffic to your website, and can realistically help you to convert them into your clients. Internet marketing has various advantages and if you can carefully implement the strategies, you can reap the benefits and promote your business in a cost effective and a hassle free way.

Benefits of internet marketing for the customerCustomers have gained immensely from the use of the internet. As the number of users of the internet increase more and more will shop online. Listed below are some of the benefits of the internet for the customer.Customers stay updated Customers are kept updated with product information either via the website or emails. With the internet now becoming mobile, through 3G technology and Wi-Fi, customers can be kept updated almost in real time.Customers can compare online One of the greatest advantages for the customer is that they can compare products or services they wish to purchase from the comfort of their own homes. Instead of visiting a number of different retail outlets, the user simply has to open different window tabs to compare prices or features of the product/service they wish to purchase. Many retailing websites offer the facility where different products they sell can now be easily compared. There is also price comparison websites that customers can use to get the best possible price for their products.Clear product information for the customer Websites offer clear product information on the product or service. There is little chance of misinterpretation or mishearing what the sales person said.Transparent pricing Pricing online is very clear and transparent for the customer. Customers can take advantages of pricing that may change regularly or take advantages of special offers that last for a limited period.Track your purchase Consumers have to pay for their product /service before they receive it. It is important that consumers feel reassured when this happens. Many websites allow consumers to track their purchase from order, dispatch to transportation before delivery to their home address. Again this reassures the consumer and makes them feel that they are obtaining a good service online.Reductions in personal carbon footprint: as consumer spend more time shopping online and use their cars less. Their personal carbon footprint is reduced.24/7 Shopping There is no time restriction on when a consumer can shop online. Many online sales now start at midnight on a particular day encouraging customers to shop all hours of the day.

Benefits of internet marketing for the businessWhilst there are many benefits for consumers shopping online, business that start their operations or transfer their operations online greatly benefit from doing so. Some of these benefits will be briefly discussed.Data collection Every time a customer transacts with the company online, that transaction is captured. The firm can use this dBata in a number of ways. Firstly information can be analyzed to find out most popular products/services sold. Secondly the data can be used to assist in segmenting their customers, profiling them and sending customers promotional material based on past buying habits.There has been much controversy over the amount of information that is being collected online by various companies in particular social networking sites and whether customers should be able to opt out of that information being shared to third party users.Personalization of web experience When customers log into their accounts businesses can make their web experience almost unique. From offering special offers to that particular customer, offering add on to their recent purchase, much like Amazon.com does, or by allowing the customer to personalize their own products, like Nike does with their trainers . Personalization allows the firm to form stronger bonds online with customers and form long term online relationships ensuring customers come back regularly.Competitor analysis The internet allows businesses to analyze their competitors online strategy. A firm can keep abreast of new products that are released, react to price changes, or use the internet to discover secondary data on their competitors. The internet allows a firm to react quickly to a change in their competitors strategy, and try to provide a service that allows them to match or beat their competitors.Cost reduction One of the major benefits of setting up or moving a business online is the cost advantages of doing so. A firm can save a number of costs. These include:

1. Staffing costs: Fewer staff are needed online then in the high street thus reducing costs.2. Premises: The Company will not need retail outlet just a centralized office and possibly warehouse space, saving on potential retail costs.3. Disintermediation: The channel of distribution is shorter online as the consumer has the opportunity to buy directly like with Dell. As one of the intermediaries is cut out this process is known as disintermediation.4.Financial management: As consumers pay for the product before it is dispatched, this improves the cash flow for the company, making sure for the firm that they can pay their suppliers and other costs on time.

Top 10 Internet Marketing StrategiesInternet marketing can attract more people to your website, increase customers for your business, and enhance branding of your company and products. If you are just beginning your online marketing strategy the top 10 list below will get you started on a plan that has worked for many.

1.Start with a web promotion plan and an effective web design and development strategy.2.Get ranked at the top in major search engines, and practice good Search Optimization Techniques.3.Learn to use Email Marketing Effectively.4.Dominate your marketing niche with affiliate, reseller, and associate programs.5.Request an analysis from an Internet marketing coach or Internet marketing consultant.6.Build a responsive opt-in email list.7.Publish articles or get listed in news stories.8.Write and publish online press releases.9.Facilitate and run contests and giveaways via your web site.10.Blog and interact with your visitors.By following the above tips you'll be on your way to creating a concrete internet marketing strategy that could boost your business substantially.

7 P'S of Internet MarketingThe four P's - Product, Price, Place and Promotion have long been associated withmarketing, but things have changed on the Internet. So along with a change in the nature ofthe four Ps there are three new Ps which are relevant to the internet marketer:Presentation, Processes and Personalization.1. ProductProduct on the Internet usually changes form online, and the user experiences itelectronically, in the form of text, images and multimedia. Physical goods are usuallypresented in the form of a detailed online catalogue that the customer can browsethrough. Technology allows the user to virtually touch and feel the product on theInternet - rotate it, zoom in or zoom out and even visualize the product in differentconfigurations and combination.Content andsoftware are two avatars of digitizedproducts that can be even distributed over the Internet. On the Internet, E-marketing willbe based more on theproduct qualities rather than on theprice . Every company will beable to bring down the cost of its products and hence competition will not be on price. Itwill rather be on the uniqueness of the product. To be able to attract the customers andretain them, the company will have to provide nouvelle and distinct products that forcesthe net users to purchase and come back for more.2. Price Price has been drastically changed over the Internet. It lets the buyer decides the price.Also it gives the buyers information about multiple sellers selling the same product. Itleads to best possible deal for the buyers in terms of price. Pricing is dynamic over theInternet.

3. Place Place revolves around setting up of a marketing channel to reach the customer. Internetserves as adirect marketing channel that allows the producer to reach the customerdirectly. The elimination of the intermediate channel allows the producer to pass thereduced distribution cost to the customer in the form of discounts 4. PromotionPromotion is extremely necessary to entice the customer to its website, as there arecurrently more than one billion webpages. Promoting a website includes bothonline andoffline strategies. Online strategies include search engine optimization, banner ads,multiple points of entry, viral marketing, strategic partnershipandaffiliate marketing.Presently, the cyberspace is already cluttered with thousands of sites probably sellingsimilar products. For the customers to know of the Companys existence and to garnerinformation on the kind of products or services that the company is offering, promotionhas to be carried out. There can be traded links or banner advertisements for the same.Also the traditional mediums like print, outdoor advertising and television can be used tospread awareness.5. PresentationThe presentation of the online business needs to have an easy to use navigation. Thelook and the feel of the web site should be based on corporate logos and standards.About 80% of the people read only 20% of the web page. Therefore, the web pageshould not be cluttered with a lot of information. Also, simple but powerful navigationalaids on all web pages like search engines make it easy for customer to find their wayaround.6. ProcessesCustomer supports needs to be integrated into the online web site. A sales service thatwill be able to answer the questions of their customers fast and in a reliable manner isnecessary. To further enhance after sales service, customers must be able to find outabout their order status after the sale has been made.7. PersonalizationUsing the latest software it is possible to customize the entire web site for every singleuser, without any additional costs. The masscustomization allows the company to createweb pages products and services that suit the requirement of the user. A customizedweb page does not only include the preferred layout of the customer but also a preselection of goods the customer maybe interested in.

Understanding the Internet Customers

Now to be able to use the seven Ps effectively in order to achieve the predefined goals ofany organization it is imperative to understand the customers. Customization will only betruly effective if we understand our customers and their true needs.Before adapting marketing practices to the Internet, the marketer needs to understandthe characteristics of the online customers. The Net users can be classified into fivecategories depending upon their intention of using the Internet.The five categories of users are:

Directed Information Seekers:They require specific, timely and relevant informationabout the products and services being offered.

Undirected Information Seekers:These users require something interesting anduseful. Something that can give them an edge, advantage, insight or even a pleasantsurprise. Bargain Hunters:They are of two kinds: One who look for free items on the internet andother who are seeking better deals, higher discounts etc Entertainment Seekers:They see the Web as an entertainment medium of vast breathand potential and want to explore the medium before the mass gets there.

Directed Buyers:They want to buy something - now. They are sure what they requireand just log on to the Web to purchase the item.

Using the 7 Ps in Your Internet Marketing Plan

The 7 Ps are very important in Internet marketing and can make a big difference in a successful online business.1. PRODUCT: You need to be able to assess the market and the customers mood to understand if the product you are selling online is really in demand or not? A good product sold at the wrong time or in the wrong place might not sell as much, so you need to be educated in how someone surfing on the Internet will be attracted to buy your product. Appropriate research should be done ahead of time, at our company, Karma Snack, we can conduct marketing research for you through our business intelligence services. We help clients find the right market, demographic, and best time of year for promotion your products, and then help deploy the campaign.2. PRICE: By assessing what people can spend for some products, analyzing the buying patterns, and knowing the trends you must intelligently set a price that will be attractive enough to the customer and yet bring you profits. If a product is in demand and the current price is not justifying the cost, you can raise it to ensure that the overall sales will bring you profit even if you lost some customers. At Karma Snack, we help clients find the sweet spot for your products pricing by testing pricing, discounts, and doing in-depth research on your competitions bottom-line. The end goal of every campaign is to increase your profitability, which reducing costs, while increasing your market share.3. PROMOTION: When you are promoting your product on the Internet you need to question whether you are addressing the right target audience. Even if you are getting the target audience to your website, you need to be sure that you speaking the language they understand. This way you can communicate the benefits in a way that they will understand. An effective promotional campaign will mean your advertisements and the campaign tries to reach out as many potential customers as possible. Karma Snacks team takes care of analyzing the traffic to your website, the sources of the traffic, and the average stay. We then utilizes advanced behavioral analytics and predictive analysis to get more profitable customers to your business.4. PEOPLE: When you are doing Internet marketing you have to be able to outsource the work and hire the people to do things like write effective content. Youll want the people who can provide answers to visitors questions and provide them with the information they are looking for. It will also be necessary to effectively pass it back to the management. Lastly it is very important to ask if you have the people to share information on the product, service, or company on blogs, forums etc. by posting about it. Karma Snack helps clients with all of this by utilizing their in-house team of copywriters, without additional charges to your campaign.5. PLACE: Obviously in the world of Internet marketing, your website is the place where all transactions happen. How interactive is your website? How user-friendly is it? How easy is it to navigate for the customer? These questions are very important to attract and retain customers. Karma Snack utilizes A/B Split Testing, and Multi-variate testing on an ongoing basis, to constantly improve your websites performance, increase the amount of traffic which converts into a sales/lead/ or a content. We test color schemes, buttons sizes, images, photos, layouts, and are always improving your website. Your website has to constantly evolve, there are times where your website will not look like it did a week ago, a month from now, or a year from now. We are data centric, so all changes and improvements have to be justified by increased ROI for you.6. PROCESS: is very important for Internet marketing too. You need to ask if you have resiliency in your site, the ability to handle large number of customers, the proper support at all times, and a system to answer FAQs. Karma Snack scales campaigns according to each clients needs. There are times clients tell us to scale back the efforts since they cannot handle the volume, and have to expand resources, and we adjust campaigns accordingly.7. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: Online, it is difficult for the customer to know how the product is going to benefit them. So it will be necessary to communicate in a way that the customer will be able to feel confident in purchasing a product or service. You can do reports and articles that will excite the customers about the product and the service. Video and images also help the customer feel comfortable. If you talk to a Karma Snack representative, you can learn about how we take care of Video, images, content, reviews, articles, and sync all of your offline and other online marketing campaigns for accountability.

INTERNET Marketing VS TRADITIONAL marketing

Traditional MarketingInternet Marketing

TV CommercialsTV commercials on a local cable channel can cost thousands of dollars for just a couple airings! Thats not including the cost to product the commercial.In addition to cost, TV ads arent targeted.The ads can be set during certain time slots and TV shows, but the chances of grabbing the attention of the exact target audience is unlikely.Finally, measuring the effectiveness of the ad and how it affects the bottom line is difficult.Search Engine Optimization (SEO)Contrary to popular belief, SEO is not free internet marketing. But unlike PPC/SEM, you dont have to pay for individual ads.Instead, SEO involves optimizing your website and your overall online presence, so that more people can find you on Google, Yahoo and other search engines.By focusing on specific keywords that people are already searching, SEO drives highly targeted traffic to your business. Plus, you can easily track every click, visit, sale, lead, and the overall ROI of your efforts.

Radio AdsIf youve got a massive ad budget, then a radio ad might generate some response. Play the same ad over and over again and people are bound to hear it. But at what cost?Radio advertising is incredibly expensive, not targeted, and ineffective for most types of businesses.Search Engine Marketing (SEM)Imagine only paying when you know someone has seen and responded to your ad. Thats exactly how SEM works.SEM is one of the hottest forms of internet marketing, because its guaranteed to get your website on the front-page of Google and drive traffic to your website.Its targeted exactly to the people who are already looking for your business. And, you can track results down to the penny.

Print (Newspaper, Magazines, Etc)Newspapers, phonebooks, magazines they just dont have the readership or impact they used to. And yet, it still costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars to fill that ad space. Why?A print ad can be a good way to focus on brand development. But if youre looking for measurable ROI or the ability to track results, forget it. Precise targeting and analytics is virtually impossibleSocial Media MarketingIf youre not taking advantage of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, then youre losing a lot of potential business.Social media can be a highly targeted form of internet marketing that lets you reach new customers, build loyalty, and attract tons of repeat business.

Critical Success factors in E-Marketing

Having observed the evolving paradigms of business in the Internet era, there are five critical success factors that the E-Marketer has to keep in mind. Attracting the Right Customer is the first crucial step. Rising digital penetration would mean that the number of customer visiting particular sites would inevitably go up. While the number of eyeballs or page views has so far been conveniently used as a satisfactory measure by most web sites, it would be foolish to cater to the whole spectrum of digital visitors. Content has to be very target specific. The digital company has to select its target segment by finding out which section of customers are the most profitable in terms of revenue transactions and who are the customers who generate the maximum number of referrals. Here again it is important to note that the majority of online customers are not seeking the lowest price. Rather they are seeking convenience above everything else. The power of customer referrals has never been so enormous, since word of the mouse spreads faster than word of the mouth. E-Bay attracts more than half of its customers through referrals. Not only do referred customers cost less to acquire than those brought in by advertising or other marketing tools, they also cost less to support since they use their friends who referred them for advice rather than using the companies own technical desk.

Delivering Content Value to engage the users interest is the critical importance in retaining customer participation. This is because content serves as a powerful differentiator. Content would include Product enhancements (Software patches for glitches), personalized interactions (through customized navigation paths as seen on the web sites of GM and Toyota) and Problem Resolution (updates of delivery schedules and e-mail responses). Integral to the concept of delivering proper content value is innovation. The retail financial services industry, for example, is changing rapidly with multiple players jockeying for position. Product innovation serves as a key tool to attract new customers.

Priceline.com, for example, has revolutionized the travel and related services business by letting in a form of buyer driven commerce----Customers specify their desired prices and competing companies then bid for customer requirements. Delivering proper content to make existing customers in the traditional brick business switch to Web-enabled transactions makes a lot of sense because in every conceivable case, the cost of Web-Based transactions is an order of magnitude less than the traditional ways and is decreasing at a faster rate. The cost of an Internet based banking transaction is less than one-tenth the cost of a human teller transaction. It is keeping this aspect in mind that Indian Banks have started toying with the idea of setting up Internet kiosks to let their low-value customers settle their banking transactions at the kiosk nearest to their place.

Ensuring E-Loyalty is vital to the success of any online venture. This is because acquiring customers on the Internet is enormously expensive and unless those customers stick round and make lots of repeat purchases over the years, profits will remain elusive. Contrary to the general view that Web customers are notoriously fickle, they in fact follow the old rules of customer loyalty. Web customers stick to sites that they trust and with time consolidate their purchases with one primary supplier to the extent that purchasing from the suppliers site becomes part of their daily routine. The issue of trust is integral to the issues of privacy and security. Companies like Amazon.com, which command amazing levels of consumer trust, have used a variety of encryption tools ad simple ethical decisions like not accepting money for publishers for independent book reviews to maintain the trust of its customers.

E-Learning to facilitate personalized interactions with customers has been the biggest contribution of the Web to the marketing strategists. Customers in traditional bricks-and-mortar stores leave no record of their behavior unless they buy somethingand even then the date might be sketchy. In the digital marketplace, however technology has made the entire shopping experience a

transparent process. For example, if the customer exits the web-site when the price screen appears, he is a price sensitive consumer. Such minute tracking of customer behavior has major implications for the world of advertising. The Internet may soon be used as a test bed for testing prototypes of marketing and advertising campaigns. By monitoring pages selected, click throughs, responses generated, and other indicators, the company would be able to discover which parts of a prospective campaign would work, thus reducing the risk of a potential flop. This would make it possible for the company to modify its product offerings much earlier than usual in the product life cycle.

Providing Digital value to the evolving consumer through his life cycle has become possible because of customized interactions and emerging business models. These models have often disturbed the traditional status quo and created new rules of business. The sectors where new business models will emerge or have emerged are the music industry, the financial services industry, the travel industry, the relating segment and the publishing segment. Digital value is delivered to the consumer by promising him convenience, allowing the customer to feel his ownership of the Web experience, and giving the customer a sense of belonging that traverses the physical boundaries.

Chapter III:Data ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q1. Do you plan to purchase any product in future?ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Respondent

Yes3978%

No1122%

Total 50100%

Figure 1: Shows The perception of customer to purchase a product in future

The consumers have a perception of purchasing products over the internet in future. Wherein 78% said yes to purchase of products in future. 22% resisted over it.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Respondent

Very good48%

Good3264%

Average1326%

Poor12%

Very Poor00%

Total50100%

Q2. Overall, how would you rate the quality of products available over the internet?

Figure 2: depicting the quality of products available over the internet

When asked from the consumer about the quality of products available over the internet, they had all together different opinion. Where 8% said its very good, 64% said its good, 26% meant its average there were 2% saying its poor. But no one felt its very poor.

Q3 How often you surf the internet?

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Regularly3366%

Once in a week714%

Once in a month48%

Occasionally612%

Total50100%

Figure 3: depicting how much people surf over the internet

The response regarding the usage of internet among customers was remarkable. There were 66% who surf internet daily. Wherein 14% once a week, 8% once a month and 12% on occasional basis.This has led to slow but penetration of internet marketing.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Newspaper1020%

T.V.3264%

Radio24%

Banners36%

Others36%

Total50100%

Q4. What was the source of medium other than internet that made you aware about the products?

Figure 4 : depicting the source of medium for the awareness about products other than Internet

When asked about the medium of awareness about the various products other than internet.64% got it from T.V., wherein 20% from newspaper, 4% radio, 6% from banners or other to impulsive buying of products.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Yes1938%

No1224%

Cant Say1938%

Total50100%

Q5. Does the information provided over the internet that made you aware about the products?

Figure 5: depicting the satisfaction of information provided over the internet

Customer purchasing products by the medium of internet are satisfied. With 38% saying yes, there are somewhat 24% saying no and 38% arent sure. With the increment of satisfaction the roots of internet marketing can slowly capture the markets especially of India.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Design918%

Color918%

Offers1632%

Variety1224%

Details48%

Total50100%

Q6. What features in online advertisement attracts you?

Figure 6: Depicting the features which attract the customers over online advertisement

The customers of internet marketing are highly attracted by the offers available on the online advertisement. With 32% with offers, 24% variety of products,18% with design of the website and with the color combinations and 8% with the details of the products.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Apparels918%

Books1020%

Electronics1326%

Food12%

Games48%

Music714%

Others612%

Total50100%

Q7. Internet marketing is used for which type of products?

Figure 7: depicting the type of products searched over internet

Types of products available over the internet are huge. But when asked about the sort of products searched by the customers. It was seen that 18% go in for apparels, 20% for books, 26% for electronics, 2% for food, 8% games, 14% for music and 12% for other products.

Q8. Do you think companies provide adequate information about products while marketing on internet?ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Yes1938%

No1428%

Cant Say1734%

Total50100%

Figure 8: depicting adequate information provided about the products by the Company

Regarding the kind of information provided about the products by the company 38% felt they were adequate, 28% felt they werent and 34% werent sure.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Online Shopping816%

Online Advertisement1224%

Online Promotion24%

All The Above2550%

None Of Above36%

Total50100%

Q9. What all you think constitutes internet marketing?

Figure 9: depicting what all internet marketing constitutes off

The customers were asked whether they know what all internet marketing constituted off. Nearly 50% said it includes all the above, 16% knew its only online shopping, 24% knew its only online advertisement , 4% felt its online promotion and 6% felt its none of above.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Yes2448%

No1428%

Cant Say1224%

Total50100%

Q10. Do you think internet marketing is more effective tool than traditional way of markting?

Figure 10 : Depicting whether internet marketing is more effective tool then traditional marketing

The customers of internet marketing were of the opinion that its a more effective tool than traditional marketing by 48%. Wherein 28% said no and 24% didnt have an idea over this.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Yes2448%

No1632%

Cant Say1020%

Total 50100%

Q11. Do you think internet marketing is reliable as a tool of marketing?

Figure 11: Depicts internet marketing's reliability

The customers were asked whether internet marketing is reliable; there were 48% who said yes, 32% who said no and 20% who didnt have an idea over it.

ResponsesNo. of respondent% of Responedent

Strong Branding1326%

Unique merchandise816%

Good Customer Service1122%

CRM510%

Distribution efficiency1020%

Others36%

Total50100%

Q12. What are the success factors of internet marketing?

Figure 12: depicts about the success factors of internet marketing

Internet marketing have various success factors, 26% felt the strong branding is the reason. 16% were of the opinion that unique products sold over the internet. 22% for good customer service , 10% for CRM, 20% for distribution efficiency and 6% for other reasons.

Chapter-IVsummary and conclusion

Result of the study

Internet Marketing is a hot topic especially in these days of instant results. The reason why i-marketing has become so popular is because they provide three major benefits to potential buyers:1. Convenience: Customers can order products 24 hours a day wherever they are. They dont have to sit in traffic, and a parking space, and walk through countless shops to find and examine goods.2. Information: Customers can find reams of comparative information aboutcompanies, products, competitors, and prices without leaving their office orhome.3. Fewer hassles: Customers dont have to face salespeople or open themselves up to persuasion and emotional factors; they also dont have to wait in line.

Internet Marketing also provides a number of benefits to marketers:1. Quick adjustments to market conditions: Companies can quickly add products to their offering and change prices and descriptions.2. Lower costs: On-line marketers avoid the expense of maintaining a store and the costs of rent, insurance, and utilities. They can produce digital catalogs for much less than the cost of printing and mailing paper catalogs.3. Relationship building: On-line marketers can dialogue with consumers and learn from them.4. Audience sizing: Marketers can learn how many people visited their on-line site and how many stopped at particular places on the site. This information can help improve offers and ads.

Clearly, marketers are adding on-line channels to find, reach, communicate, and sell. I-marketing has at least five great advantages. First, both small and large firms can afford it. Second, there is no real limit on advertising space, in contrast to print and broadcast media. Third, information access and retrieval are fast, compared to overnight mail and even fax. Fourth, the site can be visited by anyone from any place in the world. Fifth, shopping can be done privately and swiftly.

The Internet is a powerful tool for strengthening relationships. By offering customers content and time value, E-Marketing has opened new vistas for marketers. The greatest feature of the digital economy is that it enables the E-Marketer to eradicate man traditional barriers before entering new markets. These barriers include economies of scale and geographic positioning. The innate strength of an E-Market comes not from the seamless flows of goods and services from the producer to the customer but in the geometrically increasing returns from converging ideas and technological change the strength of online communities has never been so great, and companies have used them to develop new markets. Notice how Linux distributed free on the Net has been able to build up a faithful customer base. Ultimately here also the marketer has to realize that nothing sells as well as a good product. But the beauty of the Internet is that it offers constant opportunities for product enhancement based on continuous customer feedback. Companies who have tuned their business processes to incorporate these customer responses have been able to leverage the power of the Web to gain competitive advantage.

Limitations High Cost: Collecting data using primary research is a costly proposition as marketer has to be involved throughout and has to design everything. Time Consuming: Because of exhaustive nature of the exercise, the time required to do research accurately is very long as compared to secondary data, which can be collected in much lesser time duration. Inaccurate Feed-backs: In case the research involves taking feedbacks from the targeted audience, there are high chances that feedback given is not correct. Feedbacks by their basic nature are usually biased or given just for the sake of it. More number of resources are required: Leaving aside cost and time, other resources like human resources and materials too are needed in larger quantity to do surveys and data collection. Quality of Research: There are some disadvantages to using secondary research. The originators of the primary research are largely self-governed and controlled by the marketer. Therefore, the secondary research used must be scrutinized closely since the origins of the information may be questionable. Moreover, the researcher needs to take sufficient steps to critically evaluate the validity and reliability of the information provided. Not Specific to Researchers Needs :In many cases, secondary data is not presented in a form that exactly meets the researchers needs. Therefore, the researcher needs to rely on secondary data that is presented and classified in a way that is similar to their needs.

Suggestions and RecommendationsThe following are a few things an internet marketer can do to maximize the potential of his website: -- Domain Fault Repair This function directs the web visitor to the right site after she/he potentially may have typed in the wrong Internet address. Site Customization: - One of the web-based CRM most important advantages is the volume of information available to the browsing customer. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of information can be one of the weaknesses of web-based CRM design. Sites that offer customization features allow user to filter the content they see. The future of truly web-based CRM will be the completely one-to-one web sites. When properly customizable on the first visit, the customer on a next entry can choose to see only his/her own preferences. (Example: yahoo.com; my yahoo) Alternative Channels Different ways to contact the company are offered, for instance, Email, Fax toll-free numbers, Postal Address, Call back button and Voice over IP. Local Search Engine Allows the visitor to search on key words to quickly locate specific answers on the website. Membership The visitor can request a password. With this password he can continue surfing on password protected web pages within the website. Mailing List To receive more information, the visitor can add his/her email address to a list to receive automated emails. Site tour The visitor can follow a tour through the website. Site Map This is a hierarchical diagram of the pages on the website, also called a site overview, site index, or site map. Introduction for First-Time Users Visitors, who enter the site for the first time, can surf to an introduction page. This page contains information about How to use the site most efficiently Chat A main advantage of the Internet is its self-generating advantage. By allowing visitors to interact with each other and with the site, they create content for the site.All this will help build a relationship with the customer and it will ultimately help themarketer to achieve his objectives. Internet has opened up new avenues for reaching the consumer. It is true thatthere is never a fixed way or strategy that a marketer can use to market its products andservices on the internet but it is still very much an arena where creative thinking can takethe company reach new heights. Thus we can say that marketing has not changed itsshape. It is the same, unpredictable, unusual and creative field that needs constant changeand open inputs that can work wonders for the company.The following are the main points to be kept in mind for betterment of internet marketing:1. Website Share your website via social sites Bookmark your related links and pages example shareaholic Social site like digg, reddit and stumble upon.2. BLOG Write above 250 word sin content need to create Blog roll Need to have privacy policy and about page of your blog Add appropriate widget to your blog like search widget Add follow us to link with social mediaLink up previous blog in your new blog post Add labels to every blog post3. DISPLAY Ads Add some attractive information for your blog Display ads should have some impressive image Insert your link on display ad.4. Affiliated MarketingIs promoting business through using an network of associates.They are rewarded for grab visitors or customers to the site.Not apply to our blog as we are not using them, on behalf we using PPC, Display Ad sand other.5. Personnel Relation Marketing Have to make a pitch for your blog Enter interesting heading to grab market Add blog related picture to enhance your pitch6. Email Marketing Email is based on your blog postYour First content paragraph should be impressive Add some related pictures to get attention by the customer Based on upcoming event and some special offer7. Mobile Marketing Add pages to your mobile appsMandatory for marketingNeed to develop different apps for different OSMake it more interactive

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