CASE Insights: Exploring Marketing’s Evolution Through Technology
ARTICLE INSIGHT Electronic Marketing: The Bigger Picture
FULL ARTICLE Page-Thomas, K. L. (2005) Electronic marketing: The bigger picture, The Marketing Review, Vol. 5 (3 Autumn), 243-262. Full text: http://dx.doi.org/10.1362/146934705774538340
WHY WRITE THIS ARTICLE? The main motivation was to try and make sense of the numerous contexts and applications of electronic marketing and develop a simple framework from which to build on years to come. Increasingly we have seen over years of marketing’s evolution through technology, as a new technology is developed, a large degree of hype would surround this technology, it would be labelled a specialist area of marketing e.g., Database Marketing; Internet Marketing; SMS Marketing; Social Media Marketing, and a list of experts and guidelines would appear, fragmenting marketing even more. So let’s try and summarise it, or in the least frame it a little so we can focus on the marketing implications of a technology, tool or channel in terms and effectiveness and efficiency, and not so much the technologies themselves (although this is still very important).
AN INTRODUCTION It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change (Charles Darwin) This quote by Charles Darwin very nicely summarises the state of play when it comes to the marketing profession. As technologies are rapidly developing so too do we have to in our skills, applications and importantly our mindsets towards the role of these technologies in our marketing activities. This article briefly reviews areas of marketing to specify two things: • • •
What is Electronic marketing – really? Why is electronic marketing so important? How can we frame or categories electronic marketing activities?
A DEFINITION The terms interactive marketing, electronic marketing (e-marketing) and online or Internet marketing are often used interchangeably to refer to the same process in the popular press and academic literature. But are they in fact one and the same? In addition, the term electronic marketing is often used by some as referring to activities using digital technologies such as ‘online selling’, while others include not only digital technology, but also more
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established electronic resources like television and radio. So what do we mean by the terms electronic, interactive and online or Internet marketing? Electronic Marketing Simply put by Peterson, (1997), Electronic Marketing is the process of marketing accomplished or facilitated through the application of electronic devices, appliances, tools, techniques, technologies and or systems. This broad definition focuses on the process or activity for which electronic resources are used and not the electronic resources themselves (e.g., television, Internet etc). This is consistent with Chaffey & Smith, (2005) and Page-Thomas, (2005) who both identify that it shouldn’t be the technology that drives e-marketing, but the business returns from using electronic resources in the form of marketing effectiveness and efficiency.
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It shouldn’t be the technology that drives electronic marketing activities, but the business returns (marketing effectiveness and efficiency) from using electronic resources in marketing activities.
Interactive Marketing Interactive Marketing is more accurately described as the creation of a situation or mechanism through which marketers interact with customers (or stakeholders), usually in real-time (Deighton, 1996). For example, direct face-to-face selling that might occur while purchasing a car at your local car dealership is an example of interactive marketing. In contrast, telesales, direct selling mediated by telecommunications, is an example of electronic interactive marketing. It is important here to note that not all interactive marketing is electronic and not all electronic marketing is interactive.
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Not all interactive marketing is electronic and not all electronic marketing is interactive.
Online or Internet Marketing Online or Internet Marketing is a form or type of electronic marketing confined to the use of Internet-enabled technologies, such as the World Wide Web (web 2.0), email etc, and how these resources are used to achieve marketing objectives. In essence, this provides for a much narrow and technological-specific approach to e-marketing. Other, technology-laden examples include SMS marketing (short message services), m-marketing (mobile); telemarketing and database marketing amongst others.
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It is not sustainable to define marketing by the technologies, tools and channels we use to achieve marketing objectives, as these can be both quickly outdated in relevance and application. Is a very narrow, technological-specific view of electronic marketing.
THE IMPORTANCE OF ELECTRONIC MARKETING So why is e-marketing of growing importance to the marketing profession? Few people in the developed economies of the world today are unaffected by the spectacular growth of electronic information and communication technologies. From the invention of the telegraph and telephone in the 19th century and radio and television in the early 20th century,
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the way the world worked began to change. These changes have been particularly radical in the last quarter of the 20th century. With the widespread adoption of the facsimile machine in the 1970’s and 1980’s, then fibre-optic cables and the proliferation of the micro-chip, the pace of change started to accelerate. Add to these the rapid adoption of the Internet and the World Wide Web (at least in the developed world), the proliferation of mobile/cellular phones, the emergence of interactive digital television, the popularity of SMS, the realised potential of wireless application protocol (WAP) and third generation mobile phone technology, rapid development and adoption of social media technologies and the pace seems to be getting faster and faster. For marketing professionals, the implications of the development and use of these resources lies not only in how the market responds, but also in how we as marketing professionals respond. The implications of electronic resources for marketing are not just in their existence or development, or even the presence of new ‘never been seen before’ features. The implication lies in how they are used to improve the effectiveness and/or efficiency of the management and the conduct of marketing activities.
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The marketing implication of electronic technology lies in how they are used to improve the effectiveness and/or efficiency of the management and the conduct of marketing activities.
ELECTRONIC MARKETING ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT (EMAM) Most of this article comprises the development of a framework (EMAM) that was developed from critical review of research about the use of electronic resources in marketing activities. This review didn’t focus on traditional frameworks of marketing strategy (e.g. 4Ps’, 7P’s etc), as found these limited in their use. But instead focused on the 1) the key activities we undertake in marketing to achieve our marketing objectives; and 2) the electronic resources that help us to do this both effectively and/or efficiently (Figure 1). Figure 1: Electronic Marketing Activity Management (EMAM) Framework
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Table 1: Summary of Electronic Marketing Activities Electronic Activity
e-Information Provision & Management
e-Data Acquisition & Management
e-Communication & Relationship Management
Task/Objectives
To provide information impersonally (1-to-many) to stakeholders
Television, radio and web sites
To manage the provision of information impersonally (1-to-many) to stakeholders
Ad-serving technologies and Marketing Information Systems
To acquire secondary data and/or information about stakeholders
Telephone surveys and Internet cookies
To manage and store the secondary data and/or information acquired about stakeholders
Customer and/or supplier databases
To interact interpersonally with stakeholders (1-to-1 &/or many-to-many)
Telephone, email and mobile (wireless) communication technologies
To manage the interpersonal interaction with stakeholders (1-to-1 &/or many-to-many)
CRM software and contact management systems
To facilitate electronic transactions with and between stakeholders
Electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS), Automatic teller machines (ATM’s)
To manage electronic transactions with and between stakeholders
Telephone networks and call centres, order-processing systems
To electronically distribute the product offering
Internet, telephones, Television, radio
To manage logistical and distribution activities
Vehicle tracking technologies and automated distribution centres
e-Transaction Conduct & Management
e-Distribution & Logistics Management
Examples
Source: Page-Thomas, (2005)
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Electronic resources are helping marketers to more effectively and efficiently manage and conduct five core marketing activities: o Data Acquisition and Insight Management (traditionally marketing research); o Information Provision (Mass) and Management (traditionally called marketing communications); o Communication (1-to-1) and Relationship Management (traditionally called Sale and Customer Service; o Distribution and Logistics Management; o Transaction Conduct and Management (traditionally called Sales).
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CASE Insights: Exploring Marketing’s Evolution Through Technology
A SUMMARY In summary, the aim of conducting this review and developing this framework was to build some clarity into how we should view current, new and developing electronic resources and manage their use in our marketing activities. In essence, the most important aspect of electronic technology for marketing is not how innovative and unique it is, but rather what it will allow you to do differently, more effectively and/or more efficiently. SOURCES • Chaffey, D., & Smith, P. R. (2005). eMarketing eXcellence. Oxford, UK: Butterworth Heinemann • Deighton, J. (1996). The Future of Interactive Marketing. Harvard Business Review, 74 (6), 151-162. • Page-Thomas, K. L. (2005) Electronic marketing: The bigger picture, Marketing Review, Vol. 5 (3 Autumn), 243-262. • Peterson, R. A. (Ed.). (1997). Electronic Marketing and the Consumer. California: Sage. NOTES A full-text copy of the article can be obtained from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1362/146934705774538340
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CASE Insights would like to acknowledge the support of the following groups and individuals in the development of this work: Cardiff Business School (Cardiff University); Jim Blyth (Editor) Marketing Review (Westburn Publishers Ltd)
AUTHORS Dr. Kelly Page | Twitter: @drkellypage
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ABOUT CASE INSIGHTS http://www.caseinsights.com CASE Insights is a research initiative grounded on the use of case methodologies and a social-system worldview. The core aim of the initiative is to explore, document and share insights about Marketing’s evolution through technology. Grounded on the principle of generating and sharing knowledge, and the importance of relevance in research, CASE Insights are created using multiple methodologies and in collaboration with industry, academic and government partners. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike 3.0 UK License.
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