A paper written for the October 2000 Marketing Communications Executive International Asia Pacific Conference.
By Simon Rawson
Introduction
Even today, many people associate marketing and the Internet and immediate think of online sales.
However the industry is becoming littered with companies who are making a resounding failure through selling on the Internet. According to Dallas-based analysis company eBSure shopping-cart software results in a 66 percent customer abandonment rate. Although much touted and the most recognised Internet based brand, Amazon Bookstore is yet to post an operating profit.
In this paper I examine some areas of real value to organizations in its relationship to the market, using the Internet as a key tool. It examines how the Internet is used to build long term client relationships. To put it in common industry used terms I cover:
- Knowledge Management
- Content Management
- Customer Relationship Management and
- The Information Content Supply Chain
I also look at the characteristics of organizations that make most successful use of the Internet and the implications for the role of the senior marketing executive in this new information age.
Amongst those companies making most successful use of technology, a number of common characteristics are seen:
- They view and manage the company and its processes as a whole unit, instead of managing each component independently.
- They pay attention to company culture and provide incentives to reward contributions to customer relationships.
- They employ a range of complementary technology and systems.
- They plan their strategy carefully and ensure their initiatives are keyed to well-defined business goals.
- They understand that new processes result in organisational change and instigate training and communications programs amongst other change management programs.
