Monday, October 18, 2010

Chapter 7


1.
Chapter 7

1.      Explain the difference between marketing and marketing communications.

Marketing communications has a dual purpose; branding and sales.  One purpose of marketing comm. is to develop and strengthen a firm’s brands by informing consumers about the differentiating feature of the firm’s products and services. 

2.      What are some reasons why online advertising constitutes only about 9 percent of the total advertising market?

Some reasons why online advertising constitutes only about 9 percent of the total advertising market is because consumer, financial services, computers, telecommunications and media account for 80% of all online advertising.

3.      What kinds of products are most suited to being advertised online?

Products that are most suited to being advertised online are ones that are able to be in display ads, have rich media ads, and video ads. 

4.      What is the difference between an interstitial ad and a superstitial ad?

An interstitial ad is a way of placing a full-page message between the current and destination pages of a user.  A superstitial ad is a rich media ad that is pre-loaded into a browser’s cache and does not play until fully loaded and the user clicks to another page.

5.      What are some of the reasons for the decline in click-through rates on banner ads today? How can banner ads be made more effective?

Some reasons for the decline in click-through rates on banner ads today are because banner ads display different images in relatively quick succession, creating an animated effect and uses Flash video.

6.      Why are some affiliate relationships called “tenancy” deals? How do they differ from pure affiliate relationships?

Some affiliate relationships are called tenancy deals because they allow a firm to become a long-term “tenant” on another site.  They differ from pure affiliate relationships because an affiliate relationship is only a permit to be a tenant, and a tenancy deal is long term.

7.      There is some controversy surrounding paid placements on search engines. What are some of the issues surrounding paid placement search engines? Why might consumers object to this practice?

The Achilles’ heel of search engine marketing is “click fraud”.  Just as spam has greatly reduced the utility of e-mail marketing, so has click fraud raised the costs and reduced the attractiveness of search engine marketing to merchants.  Some of the issues surrounding paid placement search engines are that anyone including competitors can click on search engine ads, driving up a merchant’s costs, without ever purchasing anything.  Consumers may object to this practice because you can increase your revenue by having friends and relatives click on the ads Google or Microsoft place on your site without even purchasing anything.

8.      What are some of the advantages of direct e-mail marketing?

Some advantages of direct e-mail marketing are by sending e-mail to an opt-in audience, advertisers were targeting interested consumers.  Response rates to legitimate, opt-in e-mail campaigns average just over 6%, depending on the targeting and freshness of the list. 

9.      What is the difference between hits and page views? Why are these not the best measurements of Web traffic? Which is the preferred metric for traffic counts?

Hits are number of http requests received by a firm’s server and page views are the number of pages requested by visitors.  These are not the best measurements of Web traffic because a hit does not equal a page.  A single page may account for several hits if the page contains multiple images or graphics.  A single Web site visitor can generate hundreds of hits.

10.  Define CTR, CPM, CPC, and CPA.

CTR is click-through rate which is the percentage of people exposed to an online advertisement who actually click on the banner.  CPM is cost per thousand which is advertiser prays for impressions in 1,000-unit lots.  CPC cost per click which is when an advertiser pays prenegotiated fee for each click an ad receives.  CPA cost per action is when advertisers pays only for those users who perform a specific action.

11.  What are the key attributes of a good domain name?

Key attributes of a good domain name are it should be short, memorable, not easily confused with others, and difficult to misspell. 

12.  What are some of the steps a firm can take to optimize its search engine rankings?

Some of the steps a firm can take to optimize its search engine rankings are is register it with as many search engines as possible, so that a user looking for similar Web sites has a change of coming across the firm’s site.  Ensure that keywords used in the Web site description match keywords likely to be used as search terms by prospective customers.  Place keywords in a Web site’s metatag and page title.  Link the Web site to as many other Web sites as possible, both in-coming links and out-going links. 

13.  List and describe some Web site design features that impact online purchasing.

Some Web site design features that impact online purchasing are one click purchase capability, product list navigation and choice features that save consumers time.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Chapter 6

1.      Other than search engines, what are some of the most popular uses of the Internet?

 Some of the most popular uses of the Internet other than search engines are researching products and services, catching up on news, hobby-related info, seeking health information, and reviewing financial information.

2.      Would you say that the Internet fosters or impedes social activity? Explain your position.
I think that the Internet helps social activity because it allows people to stay connected easier.  With Facebook and e-mail, you can get in touch with about anyone that you wanted to and stay up to date with them.
 
3.      Why would the amount of experience someone has using the Internet likely increase future Internet usage?

The amount of experience someone has using the Internet will increase future Internet usage because the more they know about it now, the easier it will be for them to build on top of that in the future.  The internet is always going to change and if you aren't aware of how to use it now, then as time goes on it will be a harder process for you to learn how to use it.
 
4.      Research has shown that many consumers use the Internet to investigate purchases before actually buying, which is often done in a physical storefront. What implication does this have for online merchants? What can they do to entice more online buying, rather than pure research?Name four improvements Web merchants could make to encourage more browsers to become buyers.

This means that customers are going to research many different websites before actually buying a product.  They could compare them to other competitors to see how their information is laid out, what the price is, how easy it is to order, the reliability of the website, etc.  Four improvements Web merchants could make to encourage more browsers to become buyers are use net for health, use net for news, months on internet, and how much product information they have to share.
 
5.      Name the five stages in the buyer decision process, and briefly describe the online and offline marketing activities used to influence each.

The five stages in the buyer decision process are awareness of need, search for more information, evaluation of alternatives, the actual purchase decision, and post-purchase contact with the firm. Online-awareness of need is targeted banner ads, interstitial, and targeted event promotions.  Search is search engines, online catalogs, site visits, and targeted e-mails.  Evaluation of alternatives is search engines, online catalogs, site visits, product reviews and user evaluations.  Purchase is online promotions, lotteries, discounts, and targeted e-mail.  Post-purchase is communities of consumption, newsletters, customer e-mail, and online updates.  Offline- awareness of need is mass media, tv, radio and print media.  Search is catalogs, print ads, mass media, salespeple, product raters, and store visits.  Evaluation of alternatives is reference groups, opinion leaders, mass media, product raters, and store visits.  Purchase is promotions, direct mail, mass media, and print media.  Post-purchase is warranties, service calls, parts and repair, and consumer groups.
 
6.      What are the components of the core product, actual product, and augmented product in a feature set?

      The core product is the core benefit the customer receives from the product.  The actual product is the set of characteristics designed to deliver the product's core benefits.  The augmented product is a product with additional benefits to customers beyond the core benefits embodied in the actual product.
 
7.      Name some of the drawbacks to the four data mining techniques used in Internet marketing.

     A few of the drawbacks to the four data mining techniques used in Internet marketing are there may be millions of rules, many of them nonsensical, and many others of short-term duration.  The rules need extensive validation and culling.  Also, there are millions of affinity groups and other patterns in the data that are temporal or meaningless.  The difficulty is isolating the valid, powerful patterns in the data and then acting on the observed pattern fast enough to make a sale you would otherwise not have made.
 
8.      Which of the four market entry strategies is most lucrative?

      The most lucrative market entry strategy is to extend their businesses and brands by using a mixed bricks-and-clicks strategy in which online marketing is closely integrated with offline physical stores.

9.      Compare and contrast the four marketing strategies used in mass marketing, direct marketing, micromarketing, and one-to-one marketing.

     One-to-one marketing is segmenting the market based on a precise and timely understanding of an individual's needs, targeting specific marketing messages to these individuals, and then positioning the product vis-a-vis competitors to be truly unique.  Mass marketing is based on national media messages aimed at a single national audience and with a single national price, it is appropriate for products that are relatively simple and attractive to all consumers in a single form.  Direct marketing is based on direct mail or phone messages and aimed at segments of the market likely to purchase and which has little variation in price, is most often used for products that can be stratified into different categories.  Micro marketing is aimed at geographical units or specialized market segments is the first form of true database marketing.
 
810.  What are some of the reasons that freebies, such as free Internet service and giveaways, don’t work to generate sales on a Web site?

       After someone is given a freebie, in order for it to actually work and generate sales on a Web site the customer has to pay for premium or add-on services and hopefully will then pay or all the free riders on the service.  Also, people switch from one free service to another at the very mention of charges, so unless everyone does it; its likely not to work.
 
11.  Why do companies that bundle products and services have an advantage over those that don’t or can’t offer this option?

     Companies that bundle products and services have an advantage over those that don't by if you bundle things, customers are going to be more likely to think "hey, this is a good buy or a good idea" because it is more than one item for a fixed product.