The Evolution of International Business and Incorporation of New Ideas
The international business has been evolving and incorporating new ideas to maximize profits. One of the most significant tools to be recently incorporated is the internet which has facilitated the marketing process so as to overcome geographical barriers. Currently, almost all businesses are struggling to have a presence on the internet. The process entails a careful consideration of the right strategy to adopt in order to achieve the big goals of marketing that are within the confines of the business plans. Internet marketing has been greatly facilitated by the digital media to entice potential customers to purchase a company’s services or products. The research paper will scrutinize the effectiveness of using the internet for marketing to determine whether it is an effort worth sacrificing to maximize the profits gained.
The Cheap and Effective Technique of Reaching Potential Customers
Reaching potential customers using online marketing is a cheap technique although there must be commitment and the right strategies adopted. The market-led approach is the most preferred in order to build an appealing website which will draw the interest of the maximum number of customers possible (Gay et al. 43). The internet has a lot of possibilities for new entrepreneurs, small business owners as well as large organizations. Millions of people around the world are promoting their businesses online to grow faster and reap maximum benefits. Scholars have given internet marketing different names such as e-marketing, digital marketing, online marketing, and web marketing (Boone " David 12). However, at the core of it lies the concept of promoting services, products, and brands over the internet. Some of the most common tools used to facilitate the process are wireless media, social media, email marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and blogs.
The Business-to-Consumer and Business-to-Business Relationships Strengthened by the Internet
Through the internet, businesses have the potential of reaching thousands, if not millions, of potential customers beyond the territorial boundaries. The online platform has reinforced the business-to-consumer and business-to-business relationships. Marketers from different organizations, regardless of their sizes, are quickly adapting to the digital developments and can now share products, services, and brands on a global scale at any given time. Through blogs, websites, and social media platforms, consumers are now in a position to access the necessary information about any given company that they wish to use its product or request for services. The access to this information is possible at any given time provided there is an internet connection.
The Cost-Effectiveness and Global Reach of Internet Marketing
The benefits accruing from e-marketing make it difficult for organizations to ignore the modern tool. A great number of consumers in the modern-day spend significant time online both at home or at the workplace using computers, laptops and the more convenient and portable, mobile devices like smartphones. The cost of advertising is therefore reduced and thus far from the traditional marketing techniques where one needed to make physical appearances in new environments in order to teach new customers about the benefits of consuming a particular product or service. The traditional approach often involved the printing of brochures, paying advertising billboards and whenever possible, shipping out mailers for promotion (Durmaz " Ibrahim 18). Reducing the expenditure through internet marketing has been giving companies a chance to raise revenue and further acquire a good reputation regarding global branding.
The Importance of Engaging Customers Through Effective Marketing Strategies
Most of the international companies that have adopted an online marketing strategy have been in a better position to reach the targeted audience. Besides, it is worth pointing out that those organizations with the right marketing techniques are capable of tracking their campaigns and testing them in order to determine the policies to be made. A good marketing strategy goes beyond the advertisement of services and products to consumers and address sales matters and how well customers can be engaged.
The Increased Visibility and Flexibility of Modern Organizations
The traditional marketing strategies made organizations be less flexible and invisible compared to the modern companies. Before the developments made over the internet, new customers even from across the borders would come to a business premise, greatly through the reliance of word of mouth. However, the contemporary organizations are capable of being viewed by millions of people through the different online platforms. Companies should, therefore, ensure that they have a strong online presence through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, paid advertising through Google, blogs and websites. These efforts ensure that visibility is enhanced and therefore products and services become known from various digital locations.
The Impact of Internet Marketing on Communication and Consumer Behavior
Internet marketing has further boosted international business because it has taken communication to a new level. Through conducting businesses online, a two-way communication has been made possible with the customers hence the rise of the modern concept of smart consumer. The determination of how products, services, and brands are seen is no longer determined by the organization alone. Instead, the customers’ opinions and desire are also considered, an aspect that was not there before in the traditional marketing system. Customer's feedbacks are obtained through review boards, comments on the social media platforms, ratings, and forums where genuine comments are attached regarding the item. Buying decisions of potential customers are therefore shaped by the kind of feedback from the people consuming the product or using the services from a given company. To avoid unnecessary loss of customers especially in the international market, it now vital to track all the comments and ensure that improvements are done depending on the customers' reviews (Kostyra et al. 17). Failure to take up this measure will result in the loss of millions of customers that might be difficult to regain over the future. The platform has further become a battlefield where rival companies launch online attacks aimed at reducing the customer base of another firm. As a result, it becomes essential for these companies to expound on any controversial matters on their main websites, social media platforms, and blogs to win back their customers.
The Importance of Two-Way Communication in Internet Marketing
The two-way communication over the internet is an integral part and causes either approval or disapproval of a product or service hence shaping the buying decisions of the old and the new customers. The ability to connect with the organization and have unique personal issues addressed build a healthy relationship and therefore difficult to seek alternative services or products. Modern organizations have perfected this act of keeping in touch with customers through following up on individual emails and thank you letters and ensuring that everyone feels part of the organization. Periodically, companies have been seeking comments through surveys posted though emails, and it is, therefore, possible to make inputs that will shape the future of the products.
The Importance of Market Research in Internet Marketing
Internet marketing has made it possible to carry out detailed market research which was not as efficient as it is in the traditional system. Research has become an important aspect of any improvement. Even the business world has adopted scientific techniques of doing studies to seal the loopholes that might be causing dissatisfaction in order to guarantee maximum customer satisfaction. Researches can now easily be done on important aspects such as preferences, demographics, and consumption habits (Hanson " Kirthi 19). Targeting the right audience in the modern context is now done systematically to increase the chances of success. It has become a challenging task for companies wishing to go beyond the borders to easily identify the needs of their customers. Through prior research, it has become possible to know who the potential clients will be, the kind of products and services they wish to get and the amount of money they might be willing to pay for. In this analysis, information gathered from competitors is critical and becomes the basis of the positions to be taken (Kostyra et al. 24). Getting the data has further been facilitated by the internet which is rich with required information for an accurate gathering of required raw facts as well as tracking the preferences and the activities of customers consuming certain products.
The Continuous Availability and Adaptability of Internet Marketing
As opposed to the traditional marketing where one had to physically appear in a company or wait for days to get a response, the adoption of the internet has made these activities open 24 hours a day. International businesses have even gone a notch higher and now promote products and services day and night. Holidays and weekends are no exemptions in this case because the international platform is not confined to a set rule or behavior conduct. A holiday in one country might be a normal day in another setting hence the need to continuously carry out business activities. Besides, the internet has made organizations appreciate the fact that customers have varying sleep, work, and social schedules and therefore, necessary to adapt and accommodate these differences (Mathews et al. 827). The traditional marketing skills could not cater to this tactic and therefore, lesser profits and the need to evolve and adopt these new developments if they want to remain relevant in the modern competitive international business world.
The Critical Tips for Maximizing the Benefits of Internet Marketing
To reap the maximum benefits of internet marketing, there are critical tips that are currently being adopted. For example, customers who have contacted an organization regarding the quality of the services or products offered should be advised to subscribe to the e-newsletters or the mailing list depending on their preference. The tactic ensures that the customer is ever aware of the wide range of services offered beyond the mere consumption of products offered. Measuring the success of a company can be done by evaluating the number of visitors on a site or customers who willingly subscribe to the service. Another significant aspect is the request of additional information besides what the website has provided for the access by the clients. The additional information becomes a source of improving the services. Thirdly, international business organizations have taken the online customer service to a level, and it is now possible to have real-time resolutions to issues raised. The focus goes beyond resolving these issues by tracking the number of customers that have had their matters effectively addressed. Besides, it has become essential to track the time taken to solve the matters and work on all the possible mechanisms to reduce the time. Modern website developers can integrate the feature that tracks the number of visitors to a site (Fomitcheve 7). A growing number of visitors is a clear indicator that the company is gaining reputation and the focus should not be placed on improving the quality of the products and the services offered.
The Integration of E-commerce and Internet Marketing
Internet marketing has embraced the concepts of e-commerce in order to guarantee the success of the business. E-commerce makes it easier to follow up on the number of customers who purchase products from a website and determine the volume of commodities bought here. The reports from these calculations show not only the number of units consumed but also the amount of revenue collected (Chaffey 34). Other critical aspects measured are the number of transactions done as a result of the encounters on the virtual online platform. The analysis becomes important to determine how well a company is faring in the international market. More studies are being conducted in the field to determine how well e-commerce and internet marketing can be integrated to maximize the profits.
The Importance of Internet Marketing in Maximizing Profits
Conclusively, internet marketing is an effective technique that modern businesses cannot ignore because of the many accruing benefits. Organizations are, therefore, open to all forms of new developments that will enhance their presence and make it possible to reach the highest number of potential customers. Internet marketing is cost-effective and marks a shift from the traditional marketing, which did not give room for two-way communication and was further limited to geographical locations. Through various platforms like blogs, websites, and social media platforms, customers all over the world can write reviews, rate the products offered, and give suggestions on how the services and the products offered can be improved. To realize the maximum benefits of online marketing, it is critical to ensure that the right strategies are adopted to make the process effective and efficient such as tracking and following up on potential customers. All organizations that wish to maximize their profits in the modern day have to ensure they embrace internet marketing which has proven to be the cornerstone of the international business.
Works Cited
Boone, Louis E., and David L. Kurtz. Contemporary marketing. Cengage learning, 2013. Chaffey, Dave. Digital business and e-commerce management. Pearson Education Limited, 2015.
Durmaz, Yakup, and Ibrahim Halil Efendioglu. "Travel from traditional marketing to digital marketing." Global Journal of Management And Business Research (2016).
Fomitchev, Max. "Method and system for estimating unique visitors for internet sites." U.S. Patent No. 8,386,599. 26 Feb. 2013.
Gay, Richard, Alan Charlesworth, and Rita Esen. Online marketing: A customer-led approach. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Hanson, Ward A., and Kirthi Kalyanam. Principles of Internet marketing. Cincinnati: South Western College Pub., 2000.
Kostyra, Daniel S., et al. "Decomposing the effects of online customer reviews on brand, price, and product attributes." International Journal of Research in Marketing 33.1 (2016): 11 26.
Mathews, Shane, et al. "Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth." International Business Review25.4 (2016): 820-830.
