Impact of Internet Marketing Globally Essay

Internet marketing. Refers to advertising and marketing efforts that uses the web and emails to drive direct sale via commerce. 14 years ago J. A. Quelch and L. R. Klein described in their article The Internet and internal marketing, (Quelch and Klein, 1996) how the development of the internet could affect global markets, new products development, market research process and other aspects of international marketing. However both the pace of internet development have exceeded expectations, in fact the internet have influenced the entire supply chain, new virtual communities were establish changing the way companies and distribution aspects. New pricing and value adding models transformed the traditional approach to the revenue model. This report will examine the impact of the internet development on internal marketing; the focus of the research is on two aspects of marketing; marketing research and promotion. The Positive impacts of internet marketing globally. New opportunities for global marketing; Development of internet has opened up new opportunities for international marketers in many areas such as new innovative products development, reaching greater number of potential clients, creating new value to consumers. Online advertising is an advantage because it reaches to thousands of consumers at a fraction of the cost, according to (Lee & carter, 2009); by 2012 over 1.7 million people all over world will use the internet at least once per month. Internet is a rich source of valuable data for marketers most of which can be collected effortlessly by consumer online browsing patterns. Through online advertising international marketers can reach the consumers at a price significantly lower than printed media or TV, also online advertisement and promotion are accessible for a longer period of time compared to advertising through traditional media. Marketers are able to target potential consumers directly eliminating advertising intermediaries which leads to reduced cost. The internet gives worldwide customer service where they get a 24/7 online customer support every day of the year. Interactive features of the internet takes building customer relationship to a higher level than it was possible before therefore internet proves to be fast and flexible communication channel. Understanding global consumers; the internet is an effective tool for conducting global market research where new product concept can be feted over the internet to receive feedback, as in the case of UGOBE toy inventor (Meerman Scott, 2007, P.128). As a result of online survey the company was able not only to define its target audience and develop effective promotional strategy but also adds several attractive features such as software development kit for consumers interested in hacking the toy. This example proves that online surveys are a powerful primary research method. Negative impact of internet marketing on global market Today a massive amount of business is done over the internet including buying, selling, paying taxes; household purchases can be done online, often a substantial serving. In certain fields or situation, the internet is simply bad for business.Internet brings new competitors to many areas of business which is a challenge to online sellers therefore hard to retain customers. Quelch and Klein (1996) states that the internet will make it easier for small companies compete online worldwide due to; advertising cost that is reduced because of internet, advertising efficiency according to the customers need. It has also led to certain products becoming obsolete in digital age, including stock brokers, travel agents and even the post office. They have been largely replaced by stock websites, travel websites and e-mail, respectively. Online business require security and confidentiality which has a high cost of ensuring that the transaction are safe and that customers will feel comfortable to conduct business online, there is major security threats such as hackers , viruses, and e-terrorism mean that providing security only is an added expenditure. Internet has also led to loss of productivity due to employees using the internet at work; they spent most time replying to their personal e-mails, following live sporting event and surfing. Globally internet is a disadvantage because not everyone has an e-mail especially in developing countries, also online respondents anonymity is guarded less in comparison with traditional mail surveys.