E-marketing Actions

The actions component of e-marketing planning refers to activities conducted by managers to execute the plan. Questions that need to be resolved when specifying actions include:

  • What level of investment in the Internet channel is sufficient to deliver these services? What will be the payback?
  • What training of staff is required?
  • What new responsibilities are required for effective Internet marketing?
  • Are changes in organizational structure required to deliver Internet-based services?
  • What activities are involved in creating and maintaining the web site?

At this stage an e-marketing plan will be finalized to summarize actions that need to occur. An example of what appears in a typical e-marketing plan is presented in Box 8.5. This also acts as a summary for the chapter.

  • Tactics
  • Creating new core and extended value for customers, options for migrating brand online
  • Specify balance of online and offline promotion methods. Role of CRM (incentivization to acquire new customer registrations and opt-in e-mail to retain customers, Chapter 9)
  • Discounting online sales, options for setting pricing, new pricing options, e.g. auctions
  • Disintermediation and reintermediation, seller, buyer or neutral sales
  • People, process and physical evidence. Online service delivery through support and characteristics of web site.
  • Actions

Specify:

  • Tasks
  • Resources
  • Partnering and outsourcing
  • Budget including costs for development, promotion and maintenance
  • Timescale

Implementation

  • Key development tasks (Chapters 11 and 12): analysis of business and audience needs, scenario-based design, development of content, integration of databases, migration of data, testing and changeover
  • Project and change management (Chapter 10)
  • Team organization and responsibilities
  • Risk assessment (identify risks, measures to counter risks)
  • Legal issues
  • Development and maintenance process.
  • Control
  • Identify a measurement process and metrics (Chapter 12) covering:
  • Business contribution (channel profitability – revenue, costs, return on investment)
  • Marketing effectiveness (channel outcomes – leads, sales, conversion rate, channel satisfaction)
  • Online marketing effectiveness (channel behaviour – page impressions, visitors, repeat visits, conversion rates).

Source: Dave Chaffey (2010), E-Business and E-Commerce Management: Strategy, Implementation and Practice, Prentice Hall (4th Edition).

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