Internet Advertising

Internet advertising worldwide has expanded enormously over the last five years. Internet is the use of the World Wide Web for advertising on websites, using web banners, pop-ups and portals. The World Wide Web has given advertisers the opportunity to connect to millions of people representing a potential market for goods and services which is expanding year after year. The Internet allows companies to reach consumers in many parts of the world without the cost of maintaining retail outlets. Some companies are run entirely online e.g. Amazon.com. Many companies combine a presence in the shopping center with an active websites and opportunities for online purchasing. Some advertising agencies, particularly in Asia, are moving away from television and newspaper advertising and concentrating on interactive Internet advertising as more people go online.

Websites

Many traders have websites. A successful website must be easy to use, and visually appealing. It must perform in the search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Websites often consist of a home page (the first page) followed by more detailed pages. Traders often have websites because their competitors also have websites. These websites may be of three kinds.

(a) Informational - details of the goods or services offered are given. There is DO interaction with the user.

(b) Transactional - these websites provide information but they can also produce more information in response to a user's request. This may be a request for details from an online catalog. These sites may also provide the means to buy or sell online. They may also have linked pages.

(c) Interactive - these websites contain all the elements of an informational and a transactional website. They can create pages for an individual, can enter into a dialogue and may even anticipate the consumer's choice and suggest alternatives. They aim at making the consumer so satisfied that he or she will return again and again.

Having a Web site is seen as necessary if for no other reason than image; lack of a Web presence may convey a negative image to the various constituents of the marketer. The Web site should be linked to the overall marketing strategy and not just be there for appearance's sake. This means having a well-designed and well-marketed site. Quality is especially critical if customers use the Web site to find more information or clarification, as triggered by the exporter's other communications efforts such as advertisements or telemarketing efforts. Having a Web presence will support the exporter's marketing communications effort in a number of ways. First, it allows the company to increase its presence in the marketplace and to communicate its overall mission and information about its marketing mix.

Second, the Internet will allow 24-hour access to customers and prospects. Providing important information during decision making can help the customer clarify the search. The potential interactivity of the Web site (.e.g., in providing tailor-made solutions to the customer's concerns) may provide a competitive advantage as the customer compares alternative sites. For example, the Web site for apparel marketer Lands' End allows consumers to identify their body type and then mix and match clothing items that suit them. Interactivity is also critical when the site is designed, in determining what features to include (e.g. should sites adjust to different dialects of a language in a region?).

Third, the Internet can improve customer service by allowing customers to serve themselves when and where they choose. This is an area where an exporter's Web presence can reduce overall communications costs in the most significant way. Naturally, the exporter must have the necessary capacity to serve all interested customers through the Web site, especially if there is an increase in interest and demand. An important dimension of customer service is after-sales service to solve consumer problems and to facilitate the formation of consumer groups. A Web forum where customers can exchange news and views on product use will not only facilitate product research, but it also will build loyalty among consumers.

The fourth advantages are the ability of the exporter to gather information, which has its uses not only in research but also in database development for subsequent marketing efforts. While the data collected may be biased, they are also very inexpensive to collect. If the data are used to better cater to existing customers, then data collected through internet interaction are the best possible.

The fifth advantage of the Internet is the opportunity to actually close sales. This function is within the realm of e-commerce, it will require a significant commitment on the part of the exporter in terms of investment in infrastructure to deliver not only information but also the product to the customer.

In addition to communications with customers, the Internet provides the possibility to communicate with internal constituents. Exporters may have part of their Web sites set up with detailed product and price information that only their agents, representatives, or distributors have access to. Especially when changes are called for, this is an efficient way of communicating about them without having to mail or fax each and every overseas party. Web sites can also be used in the recruitment of intermediaries and partners. P&D Creative, a manufacturer of environmentally safe cleaning products, uses its site (http://www.pdcreative.inc.com) to attract intermediaries. The company promotes its site in search engines and internationally oriented newsgroups and provides information of special interest to intermediaries.

Internet strategy is not restricted to the exporter’s own Web site. The exporter needs to determine with which portals, such as AOL (http://www.aol.com) or Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com), or with what type of hyperlinks with related products or services, such as Internet International Business Exchange (http://www.imex.coni), to negotiate for banner advertising on those sites.

The challenges faced by exporters in Internet-based communications are related to the newness of the medium and the degree to which adjustments need to be made for each market served. A very large portion of the world population has yet to adopt the Internet, and its users have a distinct profile. In some cases this might match the exporter's intended target market (such as for online music); however, in many cases Internet diffusion has yet to reach the targeted customer.

While English-only Web sites can deliver information and support to some international customers, having local-language sites and registering with local search engines demonstrate appropriate market and cultural, sensitivity. After all, by 2005, English was the first language of only 36 percent and the United States was home to only 27 percent of the users. The choice of languages will depend on the target audience. The most popular languages are French, Spanish, German, Japanese, and Chinese. For some, a dialect must be specified; for example, Spanish has three main variants: European, Mexican, and South American. The exporter needs also to determine which pages have to be modified. Pages that emphasize marketing, sales, and corporate identity are normally the ones chosen.

While the exporter's local Web sites may (and for global product or service offerings, should) be quite similar in terms of aesthetics, adjustments should also be made for such dimensions as depth of product line and level of market presence. Customers who are familiar with the Internet may access information about products and services before purchasing them and may visit sites in several countries. Second-generation technology is increasing the interactivity of advertising on the Web. Given that individuals around the world have different information needs, varying levels of company and product familiarity, and different user capabilities, exporters can adjust their Web sites' content and develop paths tailored to each group of customers or even to an individual customer. Overall, the incorporation of the Internet into the exporter's marketing strategy will enhance market orientation, marketing competence, and eventually marketing performance.

Marketers using the Web as an advertising medium will have to be concerned about market-by-market differences in regulations e.g. Germany sued Benetton (http://www.benetton.com) for "exploiting feelings of pity" with one of its "United Colors of Benetton" campaigns. Finally, online communications strategy should also include provisions for technological development. Hand-held devices such as mobile phones and video iPods may present a new media opportunity provided that consumers are willing to watch entertainment, and the advertising that supports it, on a small screen. 

Pop-up Advertisements

Pop-up advertisements are another form of Internet advertising. A website will open a new web browser window (a software program which allows users to view pages on the Internet such as Internet explorer) to display an advertisement. The pop-up window containing the advertisement is usually generated in JavaScript or Adobe. Again many users dislike pop-up advertisements and often block them. Most modern browsers incorporate pop-up blocking tools.

In some circumstances, pop-ups are desirable. Many websites use pop-ups to display information without disrupting the page that is being used. You may be completing a form on a web page and need extra help. A pop-up will give extra information to assist you. Some web-based installers such as that used by McAfee also use pop-ups to install its software on to a computer.

As part of making sure advertising on the Internet is successful, this Internet address will need to be listed on search engines and search directories printed on all the stationary that the company uses, placed on banner advertisements on other people's sites, used on emails that the company sends and notified to all existing customers.

Search Engines

Search engines are organizations or websites that use robots to surf the World Wide Web looking for key words or phrases or produce directories to make up a database of information for the user to access. Some of the best known are Google, Yahoo, Ask and Lycos. Most Internet advertisers will register with the most popular and successful search engines. Their sites need to be designed so that the key words relating to the site are identifiable and will enable the advertiser to appear high up on web search lists. Well known brands are advertised on the Internet but so also are unknown brands. If the unknown brand has an effective website it can appear on the search engine's listings above a brand with a household name. It is getting maximum publicity for minimal cost. Some companies will pay search engines large sums of money to help them appear at the top of a web search list.

Web Banners

A web banner is another form of advertising on an Internet website. It entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract people to a website. The banner is usually placed on a web page which has interesting content such as a newspaper article. The user may click on to the banner and so move to the advertiser's site. The advertiser pays the owner of the website for the number.

Email Marketing

Every day billions of email messages are sent. Most people using email receive messages that they recognize but they may also receive emails targeting them as potential customers from many different companies. Companies complete databases of customer details and will use them to send out thousands of promotional emails. Although people usually delete these emails, the recipient will still see the message heading and the sender so these spam or junk emails are not totally ignored.

Portals

If you are using the Internet to sell a product or service, it may be beneficial to register your website with a portal such as Yahoo or Lycos. A portal gathers together information on a particular topic and directs users to other sites on the web where they can obtain more information. The use of a portal may increase the number of visitors to your website when they are looking for information which may be linked to your product or service.

Benefits of Internet Advertising

1. It provides access to new markets across the world so the geographical location of potential customers is extended.
2. It enables consumers to see and respond to advertisements at any time (24/7) and for traders to be better known.
3. It makes use of multimedia to create realism.
4. It is an interactive medium. The user can key in what is required, obtain an immediate response and also obtain feedback.
5. Advertisements can be targeted at particular audiences.
6. Advertisements can be easily changed.
7. The number of responses (hits) to a website can be monitored.
8. It saves the costs of other expensive forms of advertising. It is relatively cheap. The main expenditure is the creation of a website.
9. It can stimulate purchases both online and offline.
10. Users can visit a website repeatedly so the advertising message is reinforced.
11. It may be successful because reduced prices can be offered for goods or services.
12. A website can provide consumers with detailed information about a product or service.
13. The advertising message has longer life span than a television commercial or a radio message as the website previously visited.

Drawbacks of Internet Advertising

1. There may be technical problems concerning connections, viewing products, ordering them and maintaining the website.
2. The coverage is limited to those who surf the Internet and visit websites. Many people do not have access to a computer but this is steadily diminishing.
3. Advertisers have to compete with many other advertisers using the web.
4. The advertising message placed has to compete with many other messages for attention.
5. It may be difficult to get your website ranked highly enough and be used when a user makes use of a search engine to surf the Internet. Your advertisement may, therefore, not be seen by potential customers. The use of key words on a website may help a customer to find the site.
6. The success of your advertisement (of selling goods) may be linked to your ability to supply goods quickly when bought.
7. Websites are often full of pop-ups and web banners as well as links to other sites. There may make the website difficult to use and deter some customers.
8. Specialist designers will need to be employed to design the website to give it every chance of being successful. This may be expensive.
9. Sites and pop-ups need updating regularly. This adds to the costs.
10. Competitors can access the website to see what a trader is offering. what a trader is offering.