E-marketing, a key success factor for SMEs

The rapid development of computer technology and extensive application of basis, the world has entered the Internet age; the market determines the marketing strategy, under the influence of the Internet, and a huge market for the inevitable requirement of traditional marketing strategy needs adjustment. Why E-marketing in marketing are very important position? How does E-marketing affect the market?

1. E-marketing has changed the traditional marketing.
Traditional marketing only trusts layers of tight channels. This will require support in order to put a lot of manpower and publicity to fight for market. It is time-consuming, laborious and costly. In the Internet age, due to the broad popularity of the Internet, businesses can take advantage of this global network to extend the scope of business activities around the world. Business purchase of raw materials, production organization and coordination, and product advertising, sales will be changed.

2. E-marketing has changed the form of enterprise competition
Openness of information makes more fair market competition; industry boundaries will become even more blurred. Large enterprises will not only face competition from SMEs, they are also facing competition from other industries and enterprises.

3. E-marketing has changed people's traditional consumption habits.
According to statistics, the average age of users around the world is at 33 years old. These people's consumption behavior are often more independent. For goods and services have become increasingly demands personalized. Customers are no longer content to passively accept the production and sale of products. For product quality, specifications, style, shape and even the packaging will continue to make their own new demands. In e-commerce, the speed of each customer access to information and content is much faster and more than that in the past. So they also become to be more strong desire for change.

4. E-marketing has changed the marketing environment.
E-marketing means that customers purchase increasingly personalized. Producers’ responses are faster to market opportunities. The possibility of producers dealing directly with the customer increases. Thus broker's role would be weakened.

5. E-marketing has changed the corporation's marketing model.
E-marketing model is between consumers and corporations. Enterprises aim to understand each customer's individual requirements in order to make corresponding policies to maximize their profits.

To sum up, e-marketing for the company's marketing strategy is very important. DELL can be a good example to explain these importances. Of all the companies, the U.S. (Dell) companies can be regarded as a pioneer in direct E-marketing. It was just a small computer assembly manufacturer. In the early 90's, the traditional marketing policy setbacks, when Dell used means of Internet as a business contact which are online promotion, online market research, online direct marketing, E-marketing integration etc. E-marketing enabled that it would be not only to maintain a good relationship between the company and the majority of customers, but also have established close links with other firms. Dell rapidly developed and ultimately to become computer manufacturing boss.

To compare with traditional marketing, E-marketing plays an important role in the SMEs’ development. They do marketing through technological ways widely. For example, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals and Acorda Therapeutics use website as their platform to access target customers, medical professionals or doctors, comprehensively. Website is a cheap platform to post plenty of information about the firm and latest news. (“ ABOUT ACORDA” Those SMEs use website to do announcements of events and news rather than advertisement as their target audiences are regular computer users. (“ INVESTOR RELATIONS”) Informing online is the best communication tool to reach this niche market. Therefore, website is one main element for small or medium sized enterprise to be successful. It could access target consumers frequently, quickly as well as rightly. Moreover, SMEs do lots of promotion online through e-mail or online advertisement as they do not have much more capital. For example, National Express not only launches special offer ticket frequently on its website, but also introduces the offers to a list of customers through viral email. National Express is environmental friendly company to encourage customers using mobile SMS ticket. It is a clever method to bring consumers’ benefit of convenience.

In collecting information from consumers, E-marketing is useful too. Like the samples above, these firms all can get information from communication with consumers by E-mail. These enterprises can collect the information they want from customers who register their websites easily. And also some questionnaire can be sent by network. It will cost less time and money. But the efficiency will be much greater than traditional ways to do it. Nowadays, most corporates including all classes of enterprises will do marketing research online. With this way, information can be collected in a shorter time than before. And the range of research will be much wider than before too. For example, the website of “ opinion outpost”, enterprises can put their questionnaire on it and consumers who visit it can complete it. It is easy to collect the information which enterprises want.

Research and relevant information can be quickly passed to Internet users around the world.

Compared with the traditional marketing research, E-marketing can effectively reduce the cost of research to increase the convenience of research.

The questionnaire can be reduced the unreasonable result of the findings of bias and other issues.

Users fill in information is its voluntary. On the one hand the research can ensure objectivity and authenticity and effectively avoid the traditional marketing research in the human factor interference.

E-marketing can be carried out marketing research after day, without waiting and monitoring man-made.

E-marketing can effectively capture the quality of information on the implementation of the system of inspection and control.

On the other hand, market research can find the target market for the E-marketing and help enterprises to find that the market opportunity to provide the basis. Marketing research is the basis for marketing product replacement and decision of marketing strategy use. Market research can make a highly efficient e-marketing strategy and decrease the cost.