MARKETING THE INTERNET
Section 1
Introduction
Introduction
 Clients know what the web is
 Clients want to know why they
should use web technologies
 Clients want their fears allayed
 Clients want to know what happens
if they do not
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because a web site is a marketing
tool
• reduce cost of publishing brochures etc.
– e.g Centerparcs offer holiday information
• fast access to up-to-date information
– e.g Bookshops allow searching for new titles
• advertising for free/cheap
– e.g Search Engines offer this; malls offer this
• gather information about actual customers
and potential customers
– e.g Microsoft encourages registration in order to get
access to pages of interest; Tesco’s monitor those
who come to the store and leave without buying
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because a web site is a marketing
tool
• new marketing techniques applicable only to
the web
– e.g Microsoft BuyNow special offers tailored to user
– e.g personalisation enables Tesco’s to show the
products the user likes best first
• IT companies can offer downloads of
software
– e.g Microsoft web site allows free previews of
products if user registers
• other companies can offer downloads of
documentation on products
– e.g Toshiba product documentation on their web site
gives improved customer service
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because a web site is a marketing
tool
• audience potential is massive
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not limited to this country
24 hour availability
$20 billion in sales over Web this year
future projection is $200 billion by 2005
• audience reticence psychology overcome
– users feel more at ease browsing in their home
– no more effort to get to one shop than another
– sense of privacy
• e.g ‘large’ ladies prefer to shop in this way than to go
into a shop and try clothes on
• e.g Des O’Connor cds do not sell as well in physical
shops as they do over the web!
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because customers use the web to:
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search for alternative suppliers
look for alternative products
book holidays/theatre/travel tickets etc.
pay for goods and services
obtain products and services directly
find out about a company and its products
find out about competitors, the products and
services they offer
• use new products/services never previously
offered
– e.g electronic birthday cards, interactive training
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because competitors use web
technologies to:
• gain competitive advantage
• offer discounts because there are lower
overheads involved in selling/offering
services over the web
– e.g Internet Bookshop
• get feedback from potential customers
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because competitors use web
technologies to:
• extend the value chain
– keep in close contact with suppliers
• e.g car companies use Extranet to ensure parts are
ready ‘Just In Time’ for when they are needed
– keep in close contact with customers
• e.g banks provide home banking services, allow
customers to look up the nearest ATM; Barclays has
BarclaySquare malland links to credit card companies
• offer similar services/products specifically for the web
• e.g hire car companies provide cost range info and
some allow you to book a hire car over the web
• e.g insurance companies offer quotes and some allow
you to purchase policies over the web
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because web technologies can
change the way businesses work:
• direct access to warehouse by consumer cuts
out the retailer
• co-operative retailing/services in Malls
• home banking reduces the need for bank
branches
• edi over the web reduces the need for
courier companies
• teleworking reduces the need for office
space
• flight booking direct cuts out the need for
Travel Agents
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because web technologies can
change the way businesses work:
• bring together data from disparate sites,
technologies etc.
– e.g BP accounting info on mainframes, unix, NT and
pcs at various sites; now accessible to all
• single view onto all applications via browser
means all employees, all customers and all
suppliers can get up to speed quickly
• web technologies enable quick changes to be
made to web pages both on Intranet and on
Extranet
• new methods of payment - e-cash, e-cheques
etc.
Activating the Internet
Why they should..
 Because Intranet can:
• empower your employees
– keep them up-to-date with company news
– keep them motivated, they feel ‘part of’ the
company
• e.g social club noticeboards, competitions
– provide them with access to documents, tools etc.
which enable them to work more effectively
• e.g project management info, technical docs,
standards, help files
– provide them with a mechanism for entering
information electronically rather than using paper
• e.g timesheets, orders for stationery, fault reports for
help desks, suggestions for improvement to service
Activating the Internet
Allay Fears..
 Security:
• Access
– predators cannot easily access confidential company
intranet sites now, thanks to technologies like:
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firewalls
certification
authentication
file/directory permissions
• Payment
– secure protocols now ensure safe transmission of
credit card data and personal information:
• SET - a protocol subscribed to by Mastercard, Visa etc.
• SSL - a protocol supported by the main browsers
• Viruses
– protection against viruses via:
Activating the Internet
• authenticode
• java security model
Allay Fears..
 Reliability:
• Delivery
– can now guarantee delivery of messages over the
Internet using MQ technology from:
• IBM
• Microsoft, etc.
• Transactions
– can now ensure transactions are complete/rolled
back in total, using:
• Microsoft Transaction Server
• IBM CICS
• Availability
– can now ensure web server is always available using
a variety of technologies
• Speed
– still slow, but measures can be taken to speed up
access (e.g BT/MCI Supernet)
Activating the Internet
Allay Fears..
 Interoperability:
• Standards
– many companies are working together to ensure
they all conform to Industry standards such as:
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SET/SSL
Open Trading Protocol
Java consortium standards
HTML standards
etc.
• End user groups
– groups of banking users are agreeing
interoperability standards
– mall operators are agreeing interoperability
standards
– edi will be used over the web for business to
business electronic commerce
Activating the Internet
What happens if not..?
 Lose competitive advantage to
competitors
 e.g Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s are on the
web; each feature one offers the other
has to offer; other supermarkets are
getting web sites
 Miss out on a new, growing market
 Customers will be suspicious of
companies not on the web
 Miss out on customer opportunities
Activating the Internet
What Firebird can offer..
 Full Electronic Retailing sites
 shopping cart
 order/purchasing pipeline
 pay by credit-card or e-cash
 wallet to hold client details
 Home banking facilities
 account balance
 statements
 transfers
 direct debits/standing orders, etc.
Activating the Internet
What Firebird can offer..
 Sites offering services
 quotes for bank loans
 insurance policy quotes
 timetables
 advertisement placements
 searches of databases
 interactive training over the web
Activating the Internet
What Firebird can offer..
 Intranet-specific
 news sites
 documentation searches
 fault reporting
 internal ordering
 document flow support
 security consultancy/facilities
 security products via 3rd parties
Activating the Internet
What Firebird can offer..
 General
 general data capture
 up-to-date news
 searches for products/services
 marketing information
 target marketing/personalisation
 clever graphics
 general security consultancy/facilities
 security products via 3rd parties
 trial sites
Activating the Internet
What Firebird can offer..
 How can Firebird offer all this..?
 Key staff know technologies
 Experience with clients
 Support from IBM, Microsoft, Sun etc.
 First client(s) in new technologies get
discounts as we learn
Activating the Internet
Summary
 There are lots of benefits of using
the Web
 There are lots of risks of NOT using
the Web
 There are now far fewer risks from
security, unreliability etc.
 We CAN do it!!
Activating the Internet