E MAIL MARKETING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Transcription

1 International Journal of scientific research and management (IJSRM) Special Issue On e-marketing Road Ahead Of India Pages Website: ISSN (e): Abstract E MAIL MARKETING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES S.Sangeetha Assistant Professor in Department of MBA, Dr. SNS Rajalakshmi College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore marketing is a phenomenon which has developed particular important in the modern market. This concept has enabled for the re-marketing and packaging of existing products which already adhere to such guidelines. Additionally, the development of marketing has opened the door of opportunity for companies to co-brand their products into separate line, lauding the -friendliness of some while ignoring that of others. Such marketing techniques will be explained as a direct result of movement in the minds of the consumer market. As a result of this businesses have increased their rate of targeting consumers who are concerned about the environment. These same consumers through their concern are interested in integrating environmental issues into their purchasing decisions through their incorporation into the process and content of the marketing strategy for whatever product may be required. This paper discusses how businesses have increased their rate of targeting consumers, those who are concerned about the environment and allow it to affect their purchasing decisions. The paper identifies the three particular segments of consumers and explores the challenges and opportunities businesses have with marketing. The paper also examines the present trends of marketing in India and describes the reason why companies are adopting it and future of marketing and concludes that E mail marketing is something that will continuously grow in both practice and demand. Introduction marketing is an important part of digital marketing and it is definitely a biggest challenging task for all internet marketing professionals. Nowadays, the process has become very crucial enough to make it on the top of every business to business marketer's priority list. Usually all B2B marketer's earned their fair S.sangeetha, Special Issue On e-marketing Road Ahead Of India Page 145

2 share of up and downs by this endeavour. Even, it is very natural to face a lot of marketing challenges along the way. According to the American Marketing Association, marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. Thu E mail marketing incorporates abroad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining E mail marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are Environmental Marketing and Ecological Marketing. Thus" E mail Marketing" refers to holistic marketing concept wherein the production, marketing consumption an disposal of products and services happen in a manner that is less detrimental to the environment with growing awareness about the implications of global warming. Marketers and consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to the need for switch in to E mail products and services CHALLENGES 1.) Product education: One challenge that all start ups in the accelerator faced to some degree was educating the public about their services. In order to get people to use buy a tech item, or to play a mobile game or to book a travel experience through their platforms, they first had to sell them on the larger concept. Each start up tried to overcome this by making the product as easy as possible to use, visually appealing and as useful as possible to the user. 2.) Pioneering a new market: In many parts of Africa, start ups are not yet dealing with a crowded market, but have to pioneer new markets which can prove to be even more difficult. Instead of finding their niche and differentiating their product against the competition, oftentimes they are writing a new script altogether. This proves to be an interesting challenge as you now need to convince users to try the offering for the very first time. An example of this is the ecommerce company Ahonya, which is the only functioning ecommerce site in Ghana. Their challenge is not only to educate their users about the products they sell, but also to convince them to cross an ecommerce trust barrier when placing their orders. 3.) Limited Internet reach Although internet penetration is rapidly growing in many parts of the continent, many areas still have a fairly limited digital reach. This is an obvious challenge when it comes to digital marketing as your audience may not yet be online. I saw a direct example of this when planning marketing strategy as S.sangeetha, Special Issue On e-marketing Road Ahead Of India Page 146

3 launching campaigns can prove to be tricky if your users don t regularly check . A creative way to get around this hurtle is to find your users where they currently are and effectively move them to your site. This can be done by using some highly targeted offline marketing or using popular channels like SMS or social networking which are regularly used around the continent. 4.) Cultural Relevance: Africa is not a country, but rather a diverse continent made up of 54 countries. Start ups looking to expand their market outside of their home countries may be challenged by a lack of understanding of users outside of their own space. An interesting example of this was observed with Khola Studios, a gaming studio from Uganda. The team at Kola Studios is looking to expand a popular game, Matatu, outside of Uganda but may have to change the name to make it culturally relevant in other East Indian markets. 5.) Limited budgets: Like start ups anywhere else in the world, funding it limited and must be used intelligently to achieve maximum impact. With funding going in a million different directions, I saw that it can be difficult for founders to allocate a strong portion of their overall budget on marketing. It s important to understand the importance of effective marketing in overall success and set aside a healthy portion of funding for sales and marketing. Once a budget was set, each start up was able to spread it over a variety of channels and prioritize which ones were most vital to their overall goals. OPPORTUNITIES 1.) Peer Influence: Africa is known for a strong word-of-mouth culture. Since many potential users are not yet convinced of the services provided by the start ups, using social proof is critical in convincing them of legitimacy of the service. The start ups at Savannah Fund used personal testimonials, social media interactions and even customer interviews to show legitimacy of their product. 2.) Leveraging mobile to get out your message: Africa has a staggering mobile penetration rate which can be used to market your product. Ahonya incorporated an integrated SMS campaign into their marketing strategy to ensure that they could communicate their message with their users. 3.) Creative use of offline marketing: As a digital marketer, I had to come to terms with the fact that a good percentage of users are not yet online and must be reached using other means. Each start up had an offline marketing component as part of their overall plan but we worked to ensure that offline marketing efforts were highly targeted and effectively planned. S.sangeetha, Special Issue On e-marketing Road Ahead Of India Page 147

4 4.) Authenticity: Start ups on the continent have a local perspective and a deep understanding of the market. This on the ground understanding allows them to tell a story which is genuine and authentic, as opposed to others trying to market their product in parts of Africa without true local knowledge. Being able to understand your marketing is critical in communicating your value proposition in a way that will resonate, and eventually convert users. 5.) The Right Timing: As internet usage grows across the continent, start ups have the opportunity to launch at the perfect time as their services become relevant and needed. Start ups launching at a tipping point can find themselves at the right place and the right time. Improving Online marketing Results: It is a massive challenge. It is something to deal with effectively utilizing professional marketing strategies and tools to affect the whole system of marketing success. Usually dealing with all marketing challenges will make it possible to improve marketing results. Using the proper tools as well as the proper techniques and methods also contributes to a marketing success. Success of any bulk marketing depends on proper marketing system execution and the use of the proper tools affects greatly in marketing. Dealing with challenges effectively would lead to better and more comprehensive results. Reaching a Measurable Return on Investment Most of the companies are using Closed-loop marketing tactics. The Closed loop marketing is used to follow the customer from the starting to become a customer. By this way, many companies are tracking the customer s interest and activity. Closed loop marketing helps the business to recognize a potential customer. Conclusions Solving marketing problems are very much crucial to the web or internet user. marketing is one of the best technique or new horizon for business entrepreneurs to explore more profit. There are few challenges based on marketing. Some of the potential issues and solutions are to solve marketing problems successfully are as: 1. Earning Trust of The Clients or customers 2. Solving with challenges related to quality of addresses 3. Stay in contact or keep in communication with the customers after sending the promotional s. Some of the solutions are mentioned above can helps to run a more successful and a better marketing campaign. References: S.sangeetha, Special Issue On e-marketing Road Ahead Of India Page 148

5 1. Stephen Hay, challenges-opportunities- -marketers- Jan 3, 2011, 2. Which-Tactics-Work-Best- -Marketers/ , Jul 3, 2013, marketing, Jan 18, 2011, 4. The challenge with buying marketing, Jan 10, S.sangeetha, Special Issue On e-marketing Road Ahead Of India Page 149