Q. Explain marketing mix 7Ps in online context with examples.

The Marketing Mix. (7 P’s) in online context

The 4Ps were designed at a time where businesses were more likely to sell products,
rather than services and the role of customer service in helping brand development
wasn’t so well know. Over time, Booms and Pitner added three extended ‘service mix
P’s’: Participants, Physical evidence and Processes, and later Participants was
renamed People.

The 7Ps helps companies to review and define key issues that affect the marketing of
its products and services and is often now referred to as the 7Ps framework for the
digital marketing mix.

Companies can also use the 7Ps model to set objectives, conduct a SWOT analysis
and undertake competitive analysis. It’s a practical framework to evaluate an
existing business and work through appropriate approaches whilst evaluating the mix
element as shown below and ask yourself the following questions:

 Products/Services: How can you develop your products or services?

 Prices/Fees: How can we change our pricing model?
 Place/Access: What new distribution options are there for customers to
experience our product, e.g. online, in-store, mobile etc.
 Promotion: How can we add to or substitute the combination within paid,
owned and earned media channels?
 Physical Evidence: How we reassure our customers, e.g. impressive
buildings, welltrained staff, great website?
 People: Who are our people and are there skills gaps?
 Partners: Are we seeking new partners and managing existing partners well?.

An example of a company using the 7Ps strategy

 Take a look at HubSpot as an example, which was founded in 2006; Hubspot has
8,000+ customers in 56 countries and sells software. What does their marketing
mix look like?

This is a top level overview; you would take this into greater detail and ask the
following questions:

1. Products/Services: Integrated toolset for SEO, blogging, social media,

website, email and lead intelligence tools.
2. Prices/Fees: Subscription-based monthly, Software-As-Service model based
on number of contacts in database and number of users of the service.
3. Place/Access: Online! Network of Partners, Country User Groups.
4. Promotion: Directors speak at events, webinars, useful guides that are
amplified by SEO and effective with SEO. PPC Social media advertising, e.g.
LinkedIn.
5. Physical Evidence: Consistent branding across communications.
6. Processes: More sales staff are now involved in conversion.
7. People: Investment in online services.
8. Partners: Hubspot looks to form partnerships with major media companies
such as Facebook and Google plus local partners including Smart Insights
who it is collaborating with on research in Europe.

Q.

Website Design

For me, steps to design a website requires 7 steps:

 1. Goal identification: Where I work with the client to determine what goals
the new website needs to fulfill. I.e., what its purpose is.
2. Scope definition: Once we know the site's goals, we can define the scope
of the project. I.e., what web pages and features the site requires to fulfill
the goal, and the timeline for building those out.
3. Sitemap and wireframe creation: With the scope well-defined, we can
start digging into the sitemap, defining how the content and features we
defined in scope definition will interrelate.
4. Content creation: Now that we have a bigger picture of the site in mind,
we can start creating content for the individual pages, always keeping
search engine optimization (SEO) in mind to help keep pages focused on a
single topic. It's vital that you have real content to work with for our next
stage:
5. Visual elements: With the site architecture and some content in place, we
can start working on the visual brand. Depending on the client, this may
already be well-defined, but you might also be defining the visual style
from the ground up. Tools like style tiles, moodboards, and element
collages can help with this process.
6. Testing: By now, you've got all your pages and defined how they display
to the site visitor, so it's time to make sure it all works. Combine manual
browsing of the site on a variety of devices with automated site crawlers to
identify everything from user experience issues to simple broken links.
7. Launch: Once everything's working beautifully, it's time to plan and
execute your site launch! This should include planning both launch timing
and communication strategies — i.e., when will you launch and how will
you let the world know? After that, it's time to break out the bubbly.

Understanding site user Requirement

The first step in developing any eCommerce application is to interview the user
base to generate a list of featuresto be included in the application. This
comprises the important input for defining the capabilities of the application.

There are two sets of users of shopping cart applications: site administrators and
end users who purchase items using their Web browsers. After interviewing end
users and administrators, application requirements such as the following may be
generated.

End User Requirements

End user features that facilitate the enjoyment of Internet shopping might include
the following:

• Users should be able to use the eCommerce application from any Web browser
supporting HTML 3.2 (or later) and cookies.
• Visitors new to the site should be able to register by themselves. Users will be
differentiated by unique user identifiers.
• Transactions should be secure. That is, a basic authentication mechanism must be
built into the application to prevent unauthorized persons from making
transactions on a user’s behalf. Secure socket layers (SSL) or other encryption
mechanisms are typically used to thwart the access of sensitive information (such
as credit card numbers) sent to the server by Web browsers.
• Site visitors should be able to purchase goods or services via the electronic store.
• Users should be able to view a complete list of specified items available through
the site.
• Users should be able to search for items by related attributes. For example,
visitors might search for CDs by artist, album title and/or genre or search for
books by author, title and/or ISBN number.
• Site visitors should be able to search the database using relevant keywords to
identify items of interest.
• Users should be able to select items of interest and add them to their shopping
carts for future purchase.

Site Design and Structure

A Web page’s structural elements are the basic parts that Internet users often
expect to see when they visit a website. Understanding the location and purpose of
the main structures can help you relay information about your small business and
products or services in ways that attract visitors and retain their interest.

1. Page Header
The header is the area that runs horizontally across the top of a page and is
commonly the same on most every page in the site. It helps make a website
visually identifiable to visitors. Similar to a letter heading or letterhead at
the top of stationery, the page header displays information about the person
or company controlling the website via title text, logo, background images,
tagline or a combination of these elements. Other elements often placed in
the header include a site-search box, shopping cart link, site-access link
and navigation tools.

2. Navigation Tools
Web-page navigation tools are located in several areas outside of the
header including the right or left sides, center or bottom of the page. They
offer page-to-page navigation or instant jump to the top of the current
page. Designs feature text- or image-based one-click links organized
standalone or in tab, drop-down or pop-up menu and list layouts. Some
sites also feature breadcrumb trails — links to every page you would visit
to reach the current page organized left-to-right on a horizontal line in the
header or top center of the page in the order of your movement through the
site, if you were to follow the site’s organizational hierarchy.
 3. Sidebar Columns
Sidebar columns, also known as sidebars, run vertically along the left or
right side of Web pages. They usually provide primary or secondary site-
navigation links and information you want to emphasize such as contact
details or important updates about the site operator or the topic of the site.
Other elements often placed in sidebars include personal or partner
advertising, a site search box and search filter tools. Sidebars usually
display information as an unbroken column or a column divided into
sections or boxes.

4. Primary Content
The primary content area on a page is traditionally located to the left or
right of a sidebar or between two sidebars. It provides main page
information you want a visitor to focus on. The primary content area
features a main title and content formatted into concise text paragraphs,
images, videos or combination elements divided by spaces or subheadings.
It also often features elements previously mentioned such as a breadcrumb
trail and jump navigation links, as well as update information such as
content publication or update dates and links to websites relevant to the
content or that you think would interest visitors.

5. Page Footer
The footer runs horizontally across the bottom of pages. It provides
navigation links visitors might find useful, as well as details about a page
or website such as a logo, copyright date, website operator’s name, page
author name, legal statements and links to the site terms of use and privacy
policies. Other elements often placed in the footer include links to the site
operator’s contact page or email address, job postings page, feedback-form
page, support page and frequently asked questions page.

Q. interactive marketing communication.

Interactive marketing communications
Interactive marketing, sometimes called trigger-based or event-driven
marketing, is a marketing strategy that uses two-way communication channels to
allow consumers to connect with a company directly. Although this exchange can
take place in person, in the last decade it has increasingly taken place almost
exclusively online through email, social media, and blogs.
As interactive marketing relies on having a means of open communication with
customers, social media channels have been a large part of this strategy, usually
headed up by a company's marketing or customer success departments. The most
common application for interactive marketing is using it as a lead generator in a
sales funnel. Interactive marketing is nearly inextricably linked to content
marketing, so companies can produce audience-relevant content that is shared
many times, or "goes viral", and eventually establish themselves as an authority in
their particular industry. Consumers tend to trust those that are designated thought
leaders in their industry, so this strategy can bring in many inbound leads, coming
through gated download pages, for example, that they are nurtured via more
content created specifically for them off of the information they've previously
shared. Forms of interactive marketing
• Search Engine Marketing – This involves everything from optimizing a
site so that it shows up higher in search results, to placing targeted ads on
the sides of results pages.
• Email Marketing – Delivering ads, deals, and notifications through email
is an effective and economical way to communicate with customers.
• Sponsorships – Partnerships with companies that have a more established
online presence can be a great way to connect with new customers.
• Blogging – Fun, short form blog posts keep customers informed about new
products, special deals, and the culture behind a brand
• Widgets – Simple downloadable tools that are branded are a great way to
create additional value for that brand.
• Social Networking – Sites like Facebook and Twitter have millions of
users and are critical spaces for connecting with customers
• Targeting – Certain ads can be targeted at certain customers. When
customers are exposed to advertising that is relevant to their needs, they
purchase more.
• Offline Activation – Companies must actively advertise their URL and
Twitter handle in offline environments so that customers can easily find
them online.
Q. Discuss integrated internet marketing communications (IIMC) in detail

As search engines continue to change, so, too, must our strategies for
maintaining powerful online presences. Gone are the days where little one-off
marketing techniques made an impact. Now, the game is all about providing
the user with an all-encompassing experience online. In order to create this
experience for your website’s visitors, you need to combine a lot of digital
strategies into an “integrated digital marketing” campaign.

Integrated digital marketing is, as it sounds, the integration of multiple

marketing strategies to form a cohesive online approach for your business.
Here’s what it typically entails:

• Web development and design

• Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM)
• Content marketing
• Social media marketing
• Local listings management
• Paid advertising (or pay-per-click advertising) campaigns

The idea behind integrated digital marketing is that, while each individual
strategy doesn’t have a huge impact on its own, when used in conjunction,
you can create a more influential online presence.

Integrated Internet Marketing Communications

The internet becomes more effective if it is integrated with other marketing

communications of the company. The company has many channels through which
it can communicate a clear and distinct message to its target customers. The key
characteristics of integrated communications are as follows:

• Uniformity: All communications channels should be connected with each other.

• Consistency: All communications should be conveying the same message.
• Continuity: All communications over a period of time should be connected and
same.

• Complementary: All communications channels should bring synergy to the

whole marketing campaign

Objective for interactive marketing communications

The interactive marketing communication should be supporting overall marketing

objectives of the company. However, the objectives of interactive marketing
communications should be as below:
• Online and offline promotion techniques should be used to attract visitors to the
website. This process is referred to as traffic building. However, this technique should
be specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound.
• The on-site communications should be able to deliver the message that builds a
certain perception of the company. These messages should be relevant to the
company’s product and services.
• All marketing communications should be able to generate pre-determined online
and offline sales.

Offline Promotion Techniques

The use of traditional marketing media like TV, Radio, Posters, and Print for
promotion purpose is referred to as offline promotion techniques.

The distinct advantages of offline promotion techniques are as follows:

• Offline tools like TV, Radio, and Newspaper have far more reach, as they are used
by all consumers.
• Offline tools are able to create more visual appeal, hence impact is higher.
• Offline tools are able to create a more emotional connection using sound, visuals
etc.

The disadvantages of offline promotion techniques are as follows:

• The cost of running an offline promotion is higher due to high competition and
limited resources.
• The percentage of wastage, which is the inability to reach correct customers, is
higher in offline promotion.
• The measurability and tracking of offline promotion technique are expensive as
the company needs to have dedicated resource for the same.
• As space and time availability is limited for offline promotion, information has to
be very concise.
• Personalization is difficult to achieve in offline promotion.
• Offline promotion is one way in nature and lacks the interactive element.

Online Promotion Techniques

The use of the internet channel in promotion techniques is referred to as online
promotion. The online promotion is referred to as traffic building exercise. The
objective is to attract the maximum amount of visitors and customers. Some of the
tools used in online promotion techniques are as follows:

Search Engine Marketing: the search engines are the key in directing traffic to
the website. This alone cannot be achieved through registration with the website.
A Search engine optimization technique where by using certain selected phrases
and words, the company’s website is placed higher in the search result, needs to be
utilized. Pay per click is another technique where the company’s website is listed
on typing of certain phrases.

Online PR: the management of company image in the internet world is achieved
through online PR activities. The online PR objective is to increase favorable
perception of the company on the third party website, frequented by the
customers. The online audience is more connected to organizations as well as with
each other. Hence online reputation management becomes critical

Online Partnership: Partnership is very important in the current internet world.

Companies need to develop strategies to manage these online partnerships.
Affiliate marketing, in which e-retailers pay commission to third parties for sales
creation, is a form of online partnership.

Interactive Advertising: The online advertisement takes place when an advertiser

pays to place its content on another’s website. However, each website can be
considered as advertisement in itself, as highlights to the customer about the
company’s product and services. Interactive advertisement should be able to
deliver content for enabling e-commerce activities.

Email Marketing: Email plays an important role in online marketing

communication campaigns. Email marketing is used to reach directly to customers
encouraging them to trial and purchase of new products and services. Email
marketing is also used to receive inquiries from customers for any kind of support.

Viral Marketing: The usages of email to transmit promotional communication to

potential large number customers at one go by leveraging the internet is known as
viral marketing.

On-Site Promotional Techniques: through traffic building exercise, visitors are

attracted to the website; however, it becomes important to convert them into
consumers. This can be done through on-site promotion via incentives, coupon,
schemes etc.

Selecting the optimal communications mix

Companies have limited resources in terms of capital. It needs to develop

communications plan taking into consideration cost benefit analysis. Every
communication techniques have its own pro and cons. Companies needs to
evaluate and chose communications which support its overall marketing
objectives.