The Importance of an e-business Marketing Plan
Mr. B.: “Billy, I think we should have a web site!”
Billy: “Why is that Mr. B.?”
Mr. B.: “Well Billy, that seems to be the thing to do these days, and we don’t want to get left behind, do we?”
Billy: “I guess not Mr. B. Do you think we can make any money on the Internet?”
Mr. B.: “Sure Billy, that is the way business is being done now, all over the world.”
Billy: “How is it going to work, Mr. B.”
Mr. B.: “I’m not really sure, Billy.”
Mr. B may be on to something, but he just isn’t sure about how to get there from here, or really why for that matter. Total e-commerce sales are growing and many companies are moving forward with e-procurement initiatives. So it well may be the “thing to do”, but how do you go about it?
A marketing plan is probably both the most important and least thought out aspect of an e-business initiative. Without a marketing plan your product or service will not likely reach its acceptance potential in the marketplace, and the money you spend will not be cost effective.
The marketing plan will help you establish, direct and coordinate your marketing efforts and provide a rational direction for your e-business venture. Preparing a marketing plan will force you to assess current activity in the marketplace and how if affects your business.
Your marketing plan should recognize that your product or service cannot be all things to all people. You must understand market segmentation, who your customers are (in the Internet world vs. the “walk-in” world), what their wants, needs, and desires are, and how to best reach them.
Your e-business marketing plan should be a component of your company’s business plan which states how you run your company, what your goals are, and what activities will be undertaken in order to meet those goals. The marketing plan should support and be closely linked to the company’s e-business strategy.
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