Mix Reflection

You are an e-marketing professional who has been tasked with formulating a marketing plan that integrates all channels of the marketing mix to achieve the business goals.  What can you do to create a synergistic effect in integrating the Internet channel and the traditional channels for increasing customer acquisition, customer conversion, customer retention, and customer value growth?

                To start, the channels of a Marketing Mix are often associated with the four P’s of marketing; Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. Here is a great place to start a good marketing plan with reasonable list of business goals. Next, what the heck is a synergistic effect? Well if we goggle synergistic we find that it means: “pertaining to, characteristic of, or resembling synergy: a synergistic effect” (Dictionary.com, 2015). So we need to put together many tools to integrate the internet channels and the traditional channels of marketing to increase customer acquisition, conversion, retention, and value growth.

                To create a marketing plan that includes all the marketing channels of the marketing mix to achieve the business goals. We need to use the tools of the trait to create this mix and achieve the goals. Word of mouth, television and radio, billboards, and direct mail are a few of the traditional tools to integrate with the internet tools such as e-mail, blogs, video chats, and pictures to create the ultimate marketing mix. Each of these tools alone is not enough to meet the goals we need to create a successful marketing plan and achieve the business goals set. But, if we utilize many of these tools we can create a complementary marketing plan that reaches so many more and achieves the business goals. Using these channels for increasing customer acquisition, conversion, retention, and customer value growth are all easily accomplished with these tools. When used properly and with the right targets and finding the appropriate market to utilize, there is no doubt that you will be able to draw in the customers and create the integrated marketing plan that works for the customer.          

Reference:

Dictionary.com (2015). Dictionary. synergistic. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/synergistic

Reflection on Metrics 

A widely accepted practice in organizations is that what gets measured gets done. Critically reflect on the metrics learned this week to measure the effectiveness of internet marketing programs. Were those metrics really capturing the performance results that marketers essentially need for achieving tactical and strategic business goals?

Do you see the need for developing new sets of metrics that will be more relevant with this evolving marketing channel?

Explain your reasoning.

            I think that the metrics that really capture the performance results that the markers essentially need for achieving tactical and strategic business goals are not the one time evaluations. I agree with the text in Internet Marketing: Integrating Online &Offline Strategies Roberts & Zahay, (2013) “The issues involved in testing a prototype versus a fully functioning site suggest that several small-scale test at various mileposts along the way might be more productive than any single larger-scale test” (p 331). Many little tests on many different metrics are possible but choosing the right measure to test seems to be the difficult part that marketers face. What makes the metrics so hard to choose from you may ask. Well, the metrics could be done on just about anything. How many people come to the website, how many people continue to the next page, who checks out and who does not, how many abandoned carts a site has along with how many people start to check out and do not finish, these are just a few of the infinite amount of test you could so to gather information on a sites performance. “Whatever the situation, metrics point the way” (Roberts & Zahay, 2013, p 399).

            The metrics that are developed to capture the performance, tactical, and strategic business goals are the metrics that help you understand the markets objectives or the ones that tell you what you are doing against your objectives. The hard part is choosing the right metric to use to find out the information. This is a job that should not be pushed to the side but embraced by the market manager that is handling the clients marketing needs. It is very important to do these small tests to better the success of the site. “Metrics -numbers- alone do not meet marketing and management needs. Only when the metrics are carefully chosen and reported in sufficient detail to guide strategic choices are business needs met” (Roberts & Zahay, 2013, p 402).

            The need for developing new sets of metrics that will be more relevant with the evolving marketing channels is in demand already. Social media and mobile metrics are presenting a new environment to test. The metrics are growing with the new creations of apps and social hot spots. The interpretations of these new fronts are becoming a challenge in its self. Taking action and identifying the important metrics, sorting information and gathering required data that is accurate, and getting rid of the access data is a huge part of taking on these new features offered be the internet and mobile devices. The need for new sets of metrics is a must in my eye.

Roberts, M. Zahay, D. (ed.). (2013). Internet Marketing: Integrating Online &Offline Strategies(3^rd ed.). South-Western, Cengage Learning.

Life with the internet, how easy it makes simple things.

            The level of impact the internet has on my everyday life is tremendous. I wake up and lay in the bed till I hear little feet on the floor. While I lay there I check my email and take a look over my Facebook page. I also check my bank account and if I need to pay my bills, credit cards mainly. Throughout the day I check emails and when working on home work for school I am always using Goggle for something or looking up something to research. I have a question I do not jump over to the library to do my research I grab my phone or computer to look up how the best way to clean your microwave or the best crackpot barbecue. I found a great meatloaf once. I look at YouTube videos and look at the news on my phone. I look up phone numbers and order pizza online. You name it I do it! The internet is a wonderful place when you have four children to drag around.

            The Internet affects my buying habits by making it so much easier to shop. I love to bargain shop and I love to do it online. I love Zulily! I love, love, love the great deal I find there. I think that if I did not need some things right away I would so much more of my shopping online. Let’s face it when you have children it is much easier to go online and order pizza or order a favorite tee-shirt than to get everyone ready and drag them out to squeeze them in a dressing room while you try to try on a few articles. It is awful and by the time you get the first shirt on you are ready to leave and have lost all interest in trying on the others. It just does not matter anymore. I have even had one of my boys do a swan dive out of the shopping cart on to the floor while I was trying on a pair of pants. A, as in one pair of pants! I was horrified, but, did not expect much more out of my little red headed dare devil. He was fine too, did not cry one tear. So, yes please, give me a computer and I will shop all day.   

            So if I had the choice to shop online or from a brick and mortar store I would so go for the online option each time. Not to mention you can look up what you want and get it. Nothing is put in your way unless you veer from your mission. Gap favorite tee here I come, you’re in and out in no time at all and you did not see any shinny quarters (things that make you stop and put you off course) along the way. Not to mention all the extra stuff your children pick up and want. That bottle of shampoo from Wal-Mart just cost you fifty dollars when you have to go get it with your children. Keep way from the toys please!