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> Marketing on the Internet Reader1. Survey: E-Commerce: Define and Sell, The Economist, London, February 26, 2000, Vol 354, Issue 8159, Anonymous
A strict definition of e-commerce refers to trade that actually takes place over the Internet, most often through a buyer visiting a seller’s website and making a transaction there. This article expands that traditional definition to investigate the broader influence of the World Wide Web on business-to-consumer (i.e., bookselling by Amazon.com), consumer-to business (i.e., passengers bidding for tickets on Priceline.com), and consumer-to-consumer (i.e., consumer auctions such as eBay.com) e-commerce.
2. The Eight Deadly Assumptions of e-Business, The Journal of Business Strategy, Boston, May/June 2000, Vol 21, Issue 3, pp 13-17. Alan Brache and Jim Webb
With all of the hype surrounding e-business, it is easy for decision makers to focus on the potential and neglect fundamental strategic and operational issues that need to precede e-business initiatives. To avoid making unwarranted and unprofitable assumptions, the authors argue, e-business decisions must rest on a foundation of corporate strategy, business strategy and a solid understanding of digital processes and systems.
3. 16 Ways to Keep a Business “Online” Direct Marketing, Garden City, Feb 2000, Vol 62, Issue 10, John R. Graham
The Internet is responsible for a new and totally different business environment. The author provides practical guidelines for businesses that want to stay on track online.
4. Satisfaction Guaranteed – Taking Their Cue From Web Customers, Smart E-Businesses Know That Service Is King. Judy Democker, INTERWEEK, August 23, 1999, Issue 778, Section: In Depth
How can e-businesses satisfy their Web customers? Customer-relationship management tools are a piece of the solution. This article reviews technological solutions for customer service, sales and marketing automation.
5. Building a Sustainable e-Business CRM Strategy, Agency Sales Irvine, May 2000, Vol 30, Issue 5, pp. 23-27, Jeff Caldwell
To take advantage of the opportunities presented by e-business, companies have to shift their basic business model from production-centric to customer-centric. The key is an emphasis on delivering customer value through customer-relationship management (CRM). This article discusses ways the concept and practice of CRM in e-business.
6. Building Stronger Brands Through Online Communities. Sloan Management Review, Cambridge, Spring 2000, Vol 41, Issue 3, Gil McWilliam
How can companies develop strong, sustainable and beneficial online communities around their brands? A company’s brand-based community strategy must be part of its total brand strategy which is based, in turn, on understanding online customer behavior. The author describes online communities, the individuals who belong (or don’t) to them and the skills required for success in managing them.
7. You’re Not a Community Site? Redherring.com, March 25, 1999, Greta Mittner, Editor
What is the appropriate business model for an online community site? Early community sites stressed home page building and generated revenues from advertising. More robust forms of e-commerce revenue streams from communities are discussed in this article.
8. Downside: Community Missed, Upside Today, August 2, 1998, David Futrelle
Corporate efforts to build online communities around their brands have largely failed, according to the author. Certain value-added, community-building features have, however, been successful. Examples are provided.
9. The Privacy Debate: Little Brother and the Buying and Selling of Consumer Data, Upside Today, February 23, 1999, John Markoff
The Internet represents uncharted privacy territory. Web marketers collect enormous amount of information from shoppers and buyers on the Net, much of which is related to personal interests, not just commercial transactions. And once this information is collected, it is mined, bartered and sold. The clash of corporate and personal interests over privacy is profiled in this article.
10. Ethics and Marketing on the Internet: Practitioners’ Perceptions of Societal, Industry and Company Concerns, Journal of Business Ethics, Doredrecht, February 2000, Vol 23, Issue 3, Victoria D. Bush, Beverly T. Venable and Alan J. Bush
What are the ethical issues related to marketing on the Internet and how well are these understood by businesses? The authors report the results of their survey of marketers’ perceptions of ethics and marketing on the Internet.
11. Getting to Know You, Informationweek, Manhasset, March 13, 2000, Issue 777, Rick Whiting
Who are the most profitable online customers and what marketing and promotional efforts attract them? Internet marketers have found that understanding online consumer behavior requires more than simply analyzing clickstream data. The author describes new business-intelligence technology designed to pull e-commerce data from various sources, analyze it and build a more complete profile of customers.
12. Measuring the Effectiveness of Online Marketing, International Journal of Market Research, Henley-on-Thames, October 1999, Vol 41, Issue 4, Tom Goodwin
The role of online market research in measuring online marketing effectiveness is underdeveloped, argues the author. Suggestions of what and how to measure to evaluate online marketing campaigns are discussed using Compaq as an example.
13. The Well-Rounded Customer, Informationweek, April 10, 2000, Jeff Sweat
Three examples are used to illustrate how Internet marketers are attempting to develop a complete, 360-degree picture of their customers. The contribution of marketing research to building and developing customer relationships is highlighted.
14. How Marketers Track Underage Consumers, Marketing News, Chicago, May 8, 2000, Vol 34, Issue 10, Margaret Littman
Marketing activities directed at children are always controversial. Ethical issues arise when Internet marketers use Web sites to collect information on teenagers. This article discusses the nature and extent of this issue.
15. The Future of Online Research, Marketing News, Chicago, January 3, 2000, Vol 34, Issue 1, Dana James
Industry executives discuss the future of marketing research in this article. New technologies, alternative means of eliciting consumer opinions and tricky issues of privacy and marketing research on the Web are all topics covered.
16. Power to the People, Adweek, New York, January 10, 2000, Eastern Edition, Vol 41, Issue 2, Noreen O’Leary
Consumers are using e-mail, discussion groups and Web sites to talk about products and the way they are marketed. Word-of-mouth on the Internet is a powerful phenomenon, argues the author, and a natural extension of online purchase behavior that Internet markets do not yet fully comprehend.
17. The Rest of America, Online, Inter@ctive Week, April 3, 2000, Louis Trager
Lower-middle-income consumers are rapidly coming online. This article profiles them and their online shopping behaviors and provides guidelines for Internet marketers more familiar with the traditionally affluent Internet marketplace.
18. The Surfer in the Family, American Demographics, Ithaca, April 2000, Vol 22, Issue 4, Lisa Holton
The largest growth sectors of the Internet population are kids aged 8 to 12 and teens aged 13 to 22, who represent a $37 billion market online. The author describes how online marketing research is used to profile the kids market.
19. Life’s a Beach 101, American Demographics, Ithaca, May 2000, Vol 22, Issue 5, Nancy Shepherdson
Generation Y will redefine for American business how consumers apply the Internet to their daily lives. This article discusses the implications of this market segment (of 70 million) for Internet marketers in terms of demographics and consumer attitudes.
20. Casting the health.net, American Demographics, Ithaca, March 2000, Vol 22, Issue 3, Alison Stein Wellner
“Cyber-chondriacs” log in to the Internet in search of health information. The article discusses how Internet marketers – primarily drug marketers – have noticed and responded.
21. Marketing to Women 50+ on the Internet, Vital Speeches of the Day, New York, October 15, 1999, Vol 66, Issue 1, Candace Corlett
Watch out for ageism in marketing, is a caveat offered by the author. Guidelines for avoiding insensitivity to aging are offered, along with demographics, spending patterns and concerns of female consumers over 50 years of age.
22. Going, Going…Click! Business Week, New York, February 21, 1000, Industrial/technology edition, Issue 3669, Toddi Gutner
From the consumer’s perspective, Internet auctions are cheap, convenient and reach millions. This article describes consumer behavior at online auction sites.
23. Going, going…gone! Hotel and Motel Management, Duluth, May 2, 1000, Vol 215, Issue 8, Russell Shaw
From the Internet service marketer’s perspective, online auctions can be a way to find demand for supply that would otherwise go unsold. This article discusses how this can be done in the lodging industry, where online auctions can be used to fill rooms that would otherwise be unbooked on slow nights.
24. Internet-based Customer Service Opportunities, Agency Sales, Irvine, May 2000, Vol 30, Issue 5, Gregg Marshall
Self-service customer service is a fast-growing trend in business-to-business Internet marketing. Using examples from UPS, Federal Express and others, the author discusses the use of Web sites for customer service and support.
25. The B2B Tool that Really is cChanging the World, Fortune, New York, March 20, 2000, Vol 141, Issue 6, Shawn Tully
In the business-to-business marketing world, online auctions are transforming the market for industrial parts. This article describes how and why.
26. Beyond the e-Auction Hype, Purchasing, Boston, March 23, 2000, Vol 128, Issue 4, Anonymous
Another perspective on B2B online auctions is provided by this article which questions their efficiency and effectiveness. A concept of “reverse” B2B online auctions is proposed and supported by industry examples.
27. Online Collaboration Tools Helps Simplify Product Design, Informationweek, Manhasset, April 24, 2000, Issue 783, Alorie Gilbert
Some day, according to the author, consumers shopping online will be able to generate a model of a product on a Web site, add components and choose features. Automakers are already starting to let customers design their own cars online. This article discusses online collaboration in both consumer and business markets and the technology that enables it.
28. Crowd Control: Branding on the Internet, Chief Executive, New York, February 2000, Anonymous
In this article, Internet branding is likened to shouting into a hurricane. It takes a lot of effort, but does anyone hear you? Key steps to creating an Internet brand are presented.
29. Online Branding: e-Boom or e-Bust, B to B, Chicago, May 22, 2000, Vol 85, Issue 6, Richard Karpinski
As business-to-business e-commerce continues to explode, the author cautions against adopting the “e-market” label too quickly as the term has already begun to lose its meaning. Branding experts agree that this type of tactical repositioning can be dangerous.
30. How to Acquire Customers on the Web, Harvard Business Review, Boston, May/June 2000, Vol 78, Issue 3, Donna L. Hoffman and Thomas P. Novak
The authors present a reason for all the recent e-tailing failures, most retailers on the Web simply spend more to acquire customers than they will ever get back in revenue from them. Using the example of Cdnow, a music retailer, a multifaceted, integrated customer acquisition strategy is described.
31. Shopping Around the Web, The Economist Newspaper, February 26, 2000, John Peet
Retailers in the physical world are right to be losing sleep over their competitors on the Internet, not because of the size of business-to-consumer e-commerce, but because of how it changes the rules of retailing. This article details those new rules.
32. Marketers that Prosper Tomorrow Must Master the Basics of E-tailing Today, Brandweek, New York, October 18, 1999, Vol 40, Issue 39, Sloane Lucas
The basics of retailing, argues the author, are the same on- and offline: customer service, fulfillment, customer retention and distribution. Online players in retailing need to guard against getting caught up in discussions of “cool new technologies” before they nail the basics.
33. The Airlines Strike Back, Upside, Foster City, May 2000, US edition, Vol 12, Issue 5, Allyson Bates
Airlines have lagged behind travel agencies in developing an online presence and revenue streams. This article describes the airlines’ feverish attempt to catch up with their development of Internet marketing strategies. There’s big money to be made in selling travel online, and the airlines want their piece of it.
34. Auto Dealers Come to Terms with the Web, Informationweek, Manhasset, April 24, 2000, Issue 783, Charles Waltner
A Web site and Internet marketing skills will soon be a requirement for a successful auto dealership. This article explains why.
35. Team Spirit, Adweek, New York, November 8, 1999, Vol 40, Issue 45, Roberta Bernstein
This article describes Ford’s aggressive online marketing efforts in general, and to the female and Generation Y markets in particular.
36. Peas Fill Up the Pod, Advertising Age, Chicago, April 3, 2000, Midwest Region edition, Vol 71, Issue 14, Alice Z. Cuneo
Groceries, as a product category, are notorious for low margins and intense competition. How will this business fare online? The author reports that although customer acceptance and satisfaction rates are high for the online grocers, profits are hard to come by as a marketing battle heats up between national retail and e-tail grocers.
37. Building on Tradition, Advertising Age, Chicago, 2000, Vol 71, Issue 16, Christine Bunish, Kate MacArthur, Jack Neff
This article features a roundtable discussion of how traditional brick-and-mortar companies (in the retail, fast-food, finance and package-goods sectors) have been working to integrate the Internet with their traditional marketing strategies.
38. Internet Banking: Still Not a Perfect Marriage, Informationweek, April 17, 2000, Teri Robinson
Online banking has generated much interest among bankers, but as yet has failed to attract a critical mass of customer interest. The author discusses how to offer financial services customers online an “experience” composed of personalized and customized interactions that attract and retain them.
39. Substance in Cyberspace, Bank Marketing, Washington, April 1999, Vol 31, Issue 4, Lynn Vincent
One reason for the overall lack of customer interest in online banking may be the bankers’ focus on selling rather than on helping their customers solve problems. This article provides the banking industry with strategic insights on how to attract potential customers to their sites and develop a relationship that keeps them coming back.
40. Pharmacies Surge Online, Advertising Age, Chicago, April 3, 2000, Midwest Region edition, Vol 71, Issue 14, Jeffrey D. Zbar
Online turf wars are the order of the day for online pharmacies. Those who survive, according to the article, will understand the value-added expectations of the online shopper.
41. Instant Marketing, Informationweek, Manhasset, August 2, 1999, Issue 746, Jeff Sweat, Rick Whiting
The evolution of database marketing is discussed in terms of new technologies enabling businesses to deliver customized advertisements, products and personalized service over the Web and via e-mail – generally faster and at lower cost than traditional approaches. Use of these new online marketing tools is described at companies such as Williams-Sonoma, Levis and the Home Shopping Network.
42. Permission Requested, Credit Card Management, New York, January 2000, Vol 12, Issue 10, Lavonne Kuykendall
This article discusses permission-based e-mail marketing campaigns in the credit card industry. Techniques examined range from simply asking people online whether they would like to receive marketing information in different product categories to paying people to respond to e-mail solicitations.
43. E-mail Direct, Adweek, New York, April 10, 2000, Vol 41, Issue 15, Janis Mara
As the novelty of banner advertising at Web sites wore off, people got in the habit of filtering them out. As an alternative, this article suggests e-mail advertising to acquire new customers and to create and maintain relationships with existing customers.
44. Got E-mail? Brandweek, New York, March 20, 2000, Vol 41, Issue 12, Ann M. Mack
The online advertising environment quickly became as cluttered as in the offline world, where consumers are bombarded with many more messages than they can attend to. One response from Internet marketers is opt-in e-mail advertising, a permission-based model where consumers indicate their willingness to receive online pitches. Will it work? This article discusses the potential and pitfalls.
45. Marketing to the Mass of Marketers, Direct Marketing, Garden City, February 2000, Vol 62, Issue 10, Richard Cross, Mollie Neal
This article explores the use of newsletter and e-zines in e-mail marketing. Lessons for brand building through the use of e-mail communications are drawn from industry examples.
46. A Lesson in Online Brand Promotion, Marketing, London, March 23, 2000, Robert McLuhan
Online sales promotions – competitions, discounts, frequent user / shopper points, coupons, etc. – have been underused by Internet marketers. The author provides some ideas for and examples of successful online promotions.
47. How to Make Internet Marketing Simple, Communication World, San Francisco, April/May 2000, Vol 17, Issue 4, Maria Duggan, John Deveney
The use of public relations techniques by Internet marketers is the focus of this article. An outline for an Internet marketing plan is also provided.
48. Eyes Wide Shut, Brandweek, New York, March 6, 2000, Vol 41, Issue 10, Noreen O’Leary
This article discusses how Internet marketers – especially those at start-up dot.coms – still rely on magazines and other traditional media to get their message across. The reasons why and the future of advertising by Internet marketers are explored.
49. New Trends in Online Pricing, Information Today, Medford, November 1999, Vol 16, Issue 10, Paul Blake
Online pricing strategies for information products presents Internet marketers with new challenges. This article provides two such examples.