Today and Tomorrow: The digital revolution has well and truly hit the UK and more and more of our customers are online. Interactive technologies such as the Internet offer businesses a unique opportunity to reach customers, but how can we make sure that we use the new technology profitably?
Marketing in a Multimedia World
The digital revolution has well and truly hit the UK and more and more of our customers are online. Interactive technologies such as the Internet offer businesses a unique opportunity to reach customers, but how can we make sure that this new technology is used profitably?
Use of the Internet has grown by leaps and bounds in recent times, and the popular online portal Microsoft Network (MSN) recently hit the 300 million monthly users mark, which bears testament to the Internet's widespread uptake. Sixty-one per cent of Britons now access the Internet at home, while 32% of us access from work, according to Jupiter MMXI's "Online Market Landscape" survey.
For the first time, the Internet is becoming a mass medium that is available to the wider spectrum of society. More than 11 million people consider themselves as 'heavy' web users, and Internet destinations such as MSN and Yahoo! have spiraled in popularity as the 'Internet generation' widens to include young and old alike.
Every week, hundreds of businesses try to break into these new markets on the Internet, but few have succeeded in creating sustainable value for the customer and the business alike. Those that have been successful, however, have used the technology in effective combination with established marketing practice.
The latest research from CIM shows that companies who are successful on the Internet are those that have created a robust brand to integrate the online and offline experience. This suggests that those that conquer the Internet are those that concentrate on customers and brands, rather than the technology itself.
So what are the practical implications when planning an interactive marketing strategy? CIM defines marketing as identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer needs profitably.
What about marketing online? Does anything change? Well, the Internet gives us is a unique opportunity for 'mass customization'. In practice, this means that we able to treat customers as individuals, but in a standardised way.
Research tells us that customers are more loyal online than offline. To capitalise on this latent loyalty, businesses are striving to develop one-to-one relationships with individual customers. Perhaps this is the most important implication for doing business online. Customer relationship management techniques are becoming even more vital.
Marketing has always promoted customer centricity - putting the customer at the heart of everything the business does. Common sense, experience and research suggest that successful 'new media' businesses are those that have not just applied the new technology in isolation, but have complemented it with sound marketing knowledge and time-honoured customer relationship techniques.
In order to be successful with new media, businesses must combine an awareness of the opportunities (and threats) posed by the new technology with a good grasp of the fundamentals of marketing, which are independent of any media. Ultimately, then, CRM and the Internet go hand-in-hand.
Mike Johnston, International Chairman, The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).