How has the internet changed consumers over the past 10 years and how can companies’ best adapt? Part 2

October 20, 2014

Written by  Liu Fan

Analysis and Apply

The importance of internet

Many company and organization think that there is no necessary delivery their new productions or services through the internet on blog, twitter or whatever. But it is wrong to think by Barwise & Meehan (2010) we are entering a world in which traditional marketing activities, and brand themselves, will become irrelevant. If the company use the internet causes the customer disappointing, but today the scale and speed of social media can make falling short instantly painful (Barwise & Meehan 2010). It is better rather than the company falling down or bankrupt.

More and more company have an awareness of using internet is important for their future development. As Barwise & Meehan (2010) mentioned social media can also boost brand awareness, trial, and ultimately sales, especially when a campaign goes viral. The internet is suitable most of the companies that could use website. Internet brands adopt a more relaxed stance on brand management, which involves the consumer in fundamental stages of the brand building process (Chritodoulides, 2009). There is no need worried about you are in the stage of the beginner or you are a big company which has thousands of employees.

 

Target groups

The big company maybe suits the most of the customers for their products. There is no need to divide into several in order to get the attractive or purchases. But the products and services comparably not popular is still needed by a small group of people actually. Breuer and Brettel (2012) said that advertising should be target group specific in order to achieve the highest impact. Aljukhadar and Senecal (2011) has asserted that four primary underlying motives drive internet use: acquisition of information (searching), communication, exploration (general browsing), and acquisition of goods (shopping). Different customers have different interest for reasoning internet. Otherwise the company should take account into different target groups in compliance with those various aspects of internet use. However, the company might think a small group of the customers is not enough for their desire. They want to gain a large part of the market shares. In fact, the potential benefits to be gained far outweigh the resource implications required to implement a successful segment approach (Aljukhadar and Senecal, 2011). Aljukhadar and Senecal (2011) suggest that consumers who shop online behave differently from consumers who use the traditional shopping channel. The consumers behave has changes by the timing passed, it is becoming various now in the internet era. Aljukhadar and Senecal (2011) has found that age, gender, and income have a significant influence on online shopping intent.

 

Focusing on contents

Many companies are working so hard that introducing their products and services in order to deal with the consumers’ problem. Indeed, the company do not solve the problem which customer searching for. The organizations or company always do the useless of which they are focusing on their own things, because that are not starting to think as what customer think about it that should be consider it. Barwise & Meehan (2010) have found that market research was product-rather than customer centric: Marketers asked questions about attitudes and behaviors relevant to their brands. However, the company or organization can change the position as a customer. They can think what I offer which is matters of customer. What problems might be giving a solution for people? What are the customer focusing on? What do the customers really care about? Moreover, Deighton and Kornfeld (2009) said that the technology underlying each of these phenomenons enables easy interaction with the content and among viewers. Under the internet with using blog, twitter, or facebook, the company has a chance to exchange the information from the customers to company it selves.

 

Building your brand

Large amount of companies spend the millions of money to search advertising agencies for their advertisement’s innovation, unique ideas. But the return of the investment is so low that cannot make sense for most of them. However, the website can build for your companies or organizations with blog, twitter, or facebook. And the most important thing is that you can save your money totally, it cost little. Cova and Pace (2006) said that the advent of the internet subsequently advanced the idea that brands can create consumer communities revolving around their web sites. Cova and Pace (2006) have found the possibilities for developing communities around the brands that can supply our basic products. Websites do real significant position on building a brand for customer. If the companies have many of brands on products and services, they can have different websites on each brand, such as P&G. When they are doing the websites, they need carefully about that on target groups. Separate the brands are needs to develop strong identities for products, but if customers need more than one product, they have to do their own integration of brands---often with the same company (Wind, 2008).

 

Just do it

We talk about the importance of internet, target groups, focus on content, and build your brand. Now it is time to do so. Some of the companies afraid of doing in the wrong way because of them are the first time. Some of the companies are afraid of which platform is suit for them that can attract large of the visitors to come see their web pages. Also there is some of company afraid of what time is the good decision for launching the new products or services. But the point is that there is no need to care about the worries above. If it is necessary for the future development, the employees can set up a blog or twitter for the company. There is a point should be carefully, the company have do build the standard rules for security of company to avoid private information and commercial secrets be captured. Many evidences proved that whether you are using  social media to communicate with consumers, or to influences others to carry a message related brand, effective use of social media can benefit greatly  from a personal touch that is related oriented (Weinberg & Pehlivan, 2011).

 

Conclusion

The internet has changed people behaviors, such as blog, twitter, facebook, etc. People and customer search information of solution through the websites. However, the company, organization or private can offer the information or solution to customers or people. When the company set up a new website, they might focus on target groups, managing the contents, building your brands and do it as soon as possible. Moreover, the employees can promote the company and give information and solution also. But the company should set a standard principle in order to avoid lose private information and commercial secrets.

The advent of internet cannot live without the people, company, and society. Although the internet is so important that we need them in this era. But the mass media (newspaper, TV, radio and magazine) also has the same position. The best way to coordinate the internet and mass media is that choose your best tools that can promote your company and delivery the information and solution for the customers.   

 

Reference 

Aljukhadar, M. & Senecal, S. (2011) Segmenting the online consumer market, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 29(4), 421-435.

 

Akar, E. & Topcu, B. (2011) An examination of factors influencing consumers’ attitudes toward social media marketing, Journal of Internet Commerce. 10(1), 35-67.

 

Atkinson, W. (2013) Distributor Focus: Adding Social Media Marketing to Mix

 

Barwese, P. & Meehan S. (2010) Spotlight: The One Thing You Must Get Right When Building a Brand.

Breuer, R. & Brettel, M. (2012) Short- and Long-term Effects of Online Advertising: Differences between New and Existing Customers, Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26, 155–166.

 

Christodoulides, G. (2009) Marketing Theory: Branding in the post-internet era. Volume 9(1): 141-144Harvard Business Review,December. Sage. DOI: 10.1177/1470593108100071

 

Cova, B. & Pace, S. (2006) European Marketing: Brand community of convenience products: new forms of customer empowerment- the case” my Nutella The Community”. Vol.40 No.9/10, Emeralds Group Publishing Limited.

 

Deighton, J. & Kornfeld, L. (2009) Interactivity’s Unanticipated Consequences for Marketers and Marketing. Journal of interactivive marketing. Boston: Harvard Business School.

 

Scott, M.D. (2010) The new rules of marketing & PR. Wiley, Third edition.

 

Wind, J.Y. (2008) MIT Sloan Management Review: A Plan to Invent the Marketing We Need Today. Vol.49 No.4

 

Weinberg, D.B. & Pehlivan, E. (2011) Social spending: Managing the social media mix. Kelley school of Business, Indiana University. Business Horizon, pp 275-28