eMarketing eXcellence docx

eMarketing eXcellence
Planning and optimizing your
digital marketing
This page is intentionally left blank
eMarketing eXcellence
Planning and optimizing
your digital marketing
Third edition
Dave Chaffey and PR Smith
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • OXFORD • NEW YORK
PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann is an imprint of Elsevier
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
30 Corporate Drive, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
First published 2002
Reprinted 2003 (twice)
Second edition published 2005
Third edition published 2008
Copyright © 2008, Dave Chaffey and PR Smith. All rights reserved
The right of Dave Chaffey and PR Smith to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by
any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission
of the publisher
Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier ’ s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK:
phone ( ϩ 44) (0) 1865 843830; fax ( ϩ 44) (0) 1865 853333; email: Alternatively you
can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier web site at , and
selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material
Notice

No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of
products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions
or ideas contained in the material herein.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-7506-8945-8
For information on all Butterworth-Heinemann publications
visit our website at
Typeset by Charon Tec Ltd, (A Macmillan Co) Chennai, India
www.charontec.com
Printed and bound in Slovenia
08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface xi
Preface to the third edition xvii
Acknowledgements xix
Chapter 1 Introduction to e-marketing 1
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 Situation – the wired-up world 4
1.3 Situation – B2C, B2B, C2B and C2C 7
1.4 Situation – e-definitions 12
1.5 Situation – sloppy e-marketing 20
1.6 Objectives 22
1.7 Objective – sell – using the Internet as a sales tool 25
1.8 Objective – serve – using the Internet as a customer-service tool 29
1.9 Objective – speak – using the Internet as a communications tool 33
1.10 Objective – save – using the Internet for cost-reduction 35
1.11 Objective – sizzle – using the Internet as a brand-building tool 37

1.12 Introduction to e-strategy 40
1.13 Tactics, actions and control 43
Chapter summary 44
References 45
Further reading 46
Web links 46
Self-test 46
Chapter 2 Remix 48
2.1 Introduction to Remix 50
2.2 What is the marketing mix? 51
2.3 Beyond the mix 54
2.4 Product 56
2.5 Price 64
2.6 Place 69
2.7 Promotion 71
CONTENTS
vi
2.8 People 78
2.9 Physical evidence 82
2.10 Process 83
2.11 An extra ‘P’ – partnerships 86
Chapter summary 88
References 89
Further reading 90
Web links 90
Self-test 91
Chapter 3 E-models 92
3.1 Introduction to e-models 94
3.2 New models required 96
3.3 E-marketplace models 98

3.4 Online revenue models 103
3.5 Digital communications models 105
3.6 Models for assessing online communications effectiveness 109
3.7 Web 2.0 and social network models 112
3.8 Customer buying models 120
3.9 Customer information processing 121
3.10 Loyalty models 122
Chapter summary 125
References 126
Further reading 128
Web links 128
Self-test 128
Chapter 4 E-customers 130
4.1 Introduction to e-customers 132
4.2 Motivations 140
4.3 Expectations 145
4.4 Fears and phobias 149
4.5 The online buying process 151
4.6 Online information processing 156
4.7 Online relationships and loyalty 159
4.8 Communities and social networks 163
4.9 Customer profiles 168
4.10 Researching the online customer 170
4.11 The post-PC customer 176
Chapter summary 178
References 179
Further reading 180
Web links 180
Self-test 181
CONTENTS

vii
Chapter 5 E-tools 182
5.1 Introduction to e-tools 184
5.2 Technology development and customer impact 185
5.3 Interactive digital TV 188
5.4 Digital radio 194
5.5 Mobile (wireless) devices 197
5.6 Interactive self-service kiosks 202
5.7 Miscellaneous tools 204
5.8 Repurposing content 209
5.9 Convergence 210
5.10 Integrated campaigns 212
Chapter summary 216
References 217
Further reading 218
Web links 218
Self-test 219
Chapter 6 Site design 220
6.1 Introduction to web site design 222
6.2 Integrated design 232
6.3 Online value proposition 235
6.4 Customer orientation 239
6.5 Dynamic design and personalization 245
6.6 Aesthetics 248
6.7 Page design 257
6.8 Copywriting 261
6.9 Navigation and structure 263
6.10 Interaction 268
Chapter summary 272
References 272

Further reading 274
Web links 274
Self-test 275
Chapter 7 Traffic building 276
7.1 Introduction to traffic building 278
7.2 Search engine marketing 282
7.3 Online PR 303
7.4 Online partnerships 310
7.5 Interactive advertising 319
7.6 Opt-in e-mail 325
7.7 Viral marketing 328
7.8 Offline traffic building 330
7.9 Control 335
7.10 Resourcing 338
CONTENTS
viii
Chapter summary 341
References 341
Further reading 343
Web links 343
Self-test 344
Chapter 8 E-CRM 345
8.1 Introduction to CRM 347
8.2 Introduction to relationship marketing 352
8.3 Database marketing 359
8.4 E-CRM 367
8.5 Profiling 372
8.6 Personalization 375
8.7 E-mail marketing 378
8.8 Control issues 383

8.9 Cleaning the database 385
8.10 Making it happen 386
Chapter summary 390
References 391
Further reading 392
Web links 393
Self-test 393
Chapter 9 E-business 395
9.1 Introduction to e-business 397
9.2 E-business architecture 405
9.3 An e-business value framework 408
9.4 Buy-side applications 412
9.5 In-side applications 414
9.6 Sell-side applications 416
9.7 Creating the e-business 420
9.8 E-business security 422
9.9 E-business success criteria 426
9.10 E-business failure criteria 430
Chapter summary 434
References 435
Further reading 436
Web links 436
Self-test 437
Chapter 10 E-planning 438
10.1 Introduction to e-marketing planning 440
10.2 Situation analysis 444
CONTENTS
ix
10.3 Objectives 451
10.4 Strategy 454

10.5 Tactics 464
10.6 Actions 469
10.7 Control 471
10.8 Resources – men, money and minutes 475
Chapter summary 480
References 480
Further reading 481
Web links 481
Self-test 482
Glossary 483
Index 501
This page is intentionally left blank
Preface
Why eMarketing eXcellence?
E-marketing impacts all aspects of marketing from strategy and planning through the mar-
keting mix, marketing communications and buyer behaviour to marketing research. eMar-
keting eXcellence highlights the most significant opportunities, pitfalls and defines the new
marketing approaches needed. It highlights best practice in applying digital media to support
a range of organizational goals based on the 20 years ’ plus combined practical Internet mar-
keting experience of the authors. Best practice is exemplified by a selection of the leading
pureplay and multichannel organizations who have exploited the unique characteristics of
digital media.
E-marketing impacts all organizations. eMarketing eXcellence shows you how to assess your
current use of e-marketing and then develop and resource an effective plan.
E-marketing does not exist in a vacuum. Planning must ensure that e-marketing integrates
with the marketing objectives and the corporate aims of moving towards e-business. eMar-
keting eXcellence shows how to develop a plan that achieves this integration.
The e-marketing imperative is further indicated by success stories from leading adopters of
e-marketing such as Alliance and Leicester, BMW, Dell, CIPD, Diageo, E-consultancy, ING
Direct, Tektronix and TUI, who have found e-marketing to be effective and who are sub-

stantially increasing their online marketing expenditure to double-digit percentages of total
marketing communications spend.
How is eMarketing eXcellence structured?
eMarketing eXcellence has been developed to help you learn efficiently. It has supported stu-
dents on many university and college business and marketing courses and a range of spe-
cialist qualifications in digital marketing offered by the Chartered Institute of Marketing,
E-consultancy/Manchester Metropolitan University and The Institute of Direct Marketing. It
is structured around ten self-contained chapters, each of which supports learning through a
clear structure based on sections with clear learning outcomes, summaries and self-test ques-
tions. The E-marketing Insight boxes give varied perspectives from practitioners and aca-
demics while the E-marketing Excellence boxes give examples of best practice. We have also
included numerous tips and best practice checklists for you to compare your e-marketing
against and to help you develop a plan.
PREFACE
xii
Chapter 1 Introduction to e-marketing
This chapter introduces e-marketing and its benefits and risks. It describes the difference
between e-commerce, e-business and e-marketing; the alternative digital communications
channels, the dangers of sloppy e-marketing; how to present a business case for increasing
your online activities and the benefits – Sell, Serve, Save, Speak and Sizzle.
Chapter 2 Remix
The digital world affects every aspect of business, every aspect of marketing and every aspect
of the marketing mix. Some argue that physical distribution, selling and pricing absorb the
biggest impact. In fact all the elements of the marketing mix are affected by this new world.
This chapter shows you exactly how to evaluate the options for varying your organization ’ s
marketing mix.
Chapter 3 E-models
The business world is changing faster than ever before. Old approaches and models are
being turned on their head. In this chapter we show how to assess your online marketplace,
review new business, revenue and communications models and develop budget models.

Chapter 4 E-customers
This chapter looks inside the online customer ’s mind. We explore customers ’ issues, wor-
ries, fears and phobias, as well as other motivators for going online … and how marketers
can respond to these behaviours. We also look at on-site behaviour, the online buying proc-
ess, web analytics and the many influencing variables. We finish with a look to the future,
your future and how to keep an eye on the e-customer.
Chapter 5 E-tools
This is where the online world begins to get really interesting. Once we move beyond the
PC and into the wireless world of pervasive technology, a whole new vision appears. Always
on, everywhere, easy to use, contextual, integrated marketing is exploiting these new tech-
nological tools to reach and satisfy customers in new ways.
Chapter 6 Site design
This chapter will make you think about web sites a little differently. We go beyond best
practice in usability and accessibility, to show how to design commercially-led sites which
deliver results. Commercially-led site designs are based on creating compelling persuasive
experiences which really engage visitors through relevant messages and content, encourag-
ing them to stay on the site and return to it.
PREFACE
xiii
Chapter 7 Traffic building
Sadly it ’s not always the best products that succeed, but rather reasonably good ones that
(a) everyone knows about and (b) everyone can easily find when they need them. The same
is true of web sites. This chapter shows you how to build traffic – how to acquire the right
visitors to your site in order to achieve the right marketing outcomes for you. You will receive
a briefing on the different digital communications channels, including search engine market-
ing, online PR, online partnerships, interactive advertising, opt-in e-mail and viral marketing.
We will also show you that to succeed with your online communications also means gaining
different forms of visibility on partner sites which are themselves successful in traffic building.
Chapter 8 E-CRM
Online customer relationship management is packed with fundamental common sense prin-

ciples. Serving and nurturing customers into lifetime customers makes sense as existing
customers are, on average, five to ten times more profitable. At the heart of this is a good
database – the marketer ’s memory bank, which if used correctly, creates arguably the most
valuable asset in any company. In this chapter we show how to develop integrated e-mail
contact strategies to deliver relevant messages throughout the customer lifecycle.
Chapter 9 E-business
The dot-com disasters still scare many professionals. Clicks and mortar companies gener-
ally outperform pure-play Internet companies. Why didn ’t these new e-businesses survive?
Where did they go wrong? The answer is that they weren ’t e-businesses. They weren ’t even
businesses, since many were ignorant of business essentials such as the need to integrate
front-office systems with back-office systems, keep close to customers, deliver real added
value, have clear propositions, carefully target the right customers, etc. This chapter clarifies
what is meant by e-business; a much abused concept.
Chapter 10 E-planning
E-marketing planning involves marketing planning within the context of the e-business
e-environment. So, not surprisingly, the successful e-marketing plan is based on traditional
marketing disciplines and planning techniques, adapted for the digital media environment
and then mixed with new digital marketing communications techniques. This chapter shows
you how to create a comprehensive e-marketing plan, based on the well-established princi-
ples of the SOSTAC
®
Planning System (PR Smith, 1993).
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?
Marketing and business professionals
● Marketing managers responsible for defining an e-marketing strategy, implementing strat-
egy or maintaining the company web site alongside traditional marketing activities.
PREFACE
xiv
● Digital marketing specialists such as new media managers, e-marketing managers and
e-commerce managers responsible for directing, integrating and implementing their

organizations ’ e-marketing.
● Senior managers and directors seeking to identify the right e-business and e-marketing
approaches to support their organizations ’ strategy.
● Information systems managers and Chief Information Officers also involved in developing and
implementing e-marketing and e-commerce strategies.
● Technical project managers or web masters who may understand the technical details of build-
ing a site, but want to enhance their knowledge of e-marketing.
Students
This book has been created as the core text for the CIM e-marketing professional develop-
ment award and the Institute of Direct Marketing Digital Marketing Qualifications. As such,
eMarketing eXcellence will support the following students in their studies:

● Professionals studying for recognized qualifications. The book provides comprehensive coverage
of the syllabus for these awards.
● Postgraduate students on specialist masters degrees in electronic commerce, electronic business or
e-marketing and generic programmes in Marketing Management, MBA, Certificate in Management
or Diploma in Management Studies which involve modules or electives for e-business and
e-marketing.
● Undergraduates on business programmes which include marketing modules on the use of dig-
ital marketing. This may include specialist degrees such as electronic business, electronic
commerce, Internet marketing and marketing or general business degrees such as busi-
ness studies, business administration and business management.
● Postgraduate and undergraduate project students who select this topic for final year projects/
dissertations – this book is an excellent source of resources for these students.
● Undergraduates completing work placement involved with different aspects of e-marketing
such as managing an intranet or company web site.
MBA – we find that this book actually gives non marketing people a good grounding in marketing prin-
ciples, business operations and of course emarketing.
WHAT DOES THE BOOK OFFER TO LECTURERS TEACHING THESE COURSES?
This book is intended to be a comprehensive guide to all aspects of deploying e-marketing

within an organization. It builds on existing marketing theories and concepts and questions
the validity of these models in the light of the differences between the Internet and other
media, and references the emerging body of literature specific to e-business, e-commerce
and e-marketing. Lecturers will find this book has a good range of case study examples to
support their teaching. Web links given in the text and at the end of each chapter highlight
key information sources for particular topics.
PREFACE
xv
LEARNING FEATURES
A range of features have been incorporated into eMarketing eXcellence to help the reader get
the most out of it. They have been designed to assist understanding, reinforce learning and
help readers find information easily. The features are described in the order you will find
them.
At the start of each chapter
● Overview : a short introduction to the relevance of the chapter and what you will learn.

● Overall learning outcome: a list describing what readers can learn through reading the
chapter and completing the self-test.

● Chapter topics : chapter contents and the learning objectives for each section.
In each chapter
● E-marketing Excellence boxes: real-world examples of best practice approaches referred to in
the text.
● E-marketing Insight boxes: quotes, opinions and frameworks from industry practitioners and
academics.
● E-marketing Best Practice Checklists: to enable you to evaluate and improve your current
approaches or plan a new initiative.
● Practical e-marketing Tip: Do ’s and don ’ts to improve your website, e-mail or database
marketing.
● Definitions: key e-marketing terms are highlighted in bold and the glossary contains

succinct definitions.
● Web links: where appropriate, web addresses are given for further information, particularly
those to update information.
● Section summaries: intended as revision aids and to summarize the main learning points
from the section.
At the end of each chapter
● Summary: also intended as revision aids and to summarize the main learning points from
the chapter.
● References : these are references to books, articles or papers referred to within the chapter.
● Further reading: supplementary texts or papers on the main themes of the chapter. Where
appropriate a brief commentary is provided on recommended supplementary reading on
the main themes of the chapters.
● Web links: these are significant sites that provide further information on the concepts and
topics of the chapter. All web site references within the chapter, for example company
PREFACE
xvi
sites, are not repeated here. The web site address prefix ‘ http:// ’ is omitted for clarity
except where the address does not start with ‘www ’ .
● Self-test questions: short questions which will test understanding of terms and concepts
described in the chapter and help relate them to your organization.
At the end of the book
● Glossary : a list of definitions of all key terms and phrases used within the main text.
● Index : all key words and abbreviations referred to in the main text.
Preface to the third edition
The innovation in digital technologies and the ways in which we interact with them have
continued relentlessly since the second edition of eMarketing eXcellence .
The most dramatic changes have been in user participation facilitated by the new Web 2.0
digital technologies and evolving Web 3.0 approaches. Today, and into the future, consum-
ers don ’t only go online to save time and money while selecting and purchasing products,
they go online via web or mobile to spend time, to socialize and simply for entertainment.

The rise of the now familiar social networks such as Bebo, MySpace, Facebook and in the
business arena, Linked In and Ecademy are now where many of us spend time, sometimes
discussing brands, but for most of the time just socializing. And of course when we ’ re
socializing, we mostly don ’t want to be interrupted by marketing messages – so customer
engagement has become a key challenge. Systems to tell others what we think about prod-
ucts and brands are also important and user generated content generated on rating plat-
forms such as Delicious, Digg, YouTube and the shopping comparison sites are only going
to increase in importance.
Many of the forecasts that we made have proved true. We forecasted that customers would
start to consolidate their choices to better, added value sites and services. We also described
the growth of blogs and the emergence of interactive Web 2.0 applications. And that the role
of comparison intermediaries would increase, although it has taken longer than we thought
for customer behaviour to change.
We also said that being customer centric online was essential to create real value added
customer experiences that nurture customer satisfaction and ultimately, highly profitable,
repeat business. Nothing too surprising there, you might say. What is surprising is that
many organizations are only at an early stage of developing their online marketing capabili-
ties. Many have not implemented or refined many of the core digital marketing techniques
that we describe in this book such as search engine optimization, partner marketing, per-
sonalized web recommendation, A/B and multivariate testing and automated e-mail contact
strategies.
Many of the permission-based approaches to e-marketing we recommended in earlier edi-
tions are now legal requirements due to European and US privacy laws such as the European
Community Electronic Communications Directive and the US ‘CAN-SPAM ’ laws. E-mar-
keters also now have to make sure their web sites are accessible to be compliant with the
Disability and Discrimination Act (which is good practice since it also assists with search
engine optimization).
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION
xviii
Despite all of this, the fundamental principle remains the same (we said this in the second

edition) – stick close to customers. Talk to them. Listen to them (in communities and social
networks). Understand them better than they understand themselves. Become customer
experts. Be crystal clear about the target markets, who they are, how you access them, why
you are going after them.
Use marketplace analysis and modelling to understand your offering and how you compare
to competition, both in reality and in customers ’ perceptions. Then develop credibility before
raising visibility. After that, strong and clear value propositions help to win customers ’
and prospects ’ permission (permission marketing). Use e-marketing analysis techniques
such as surveys, audience data and web analytics to refine your online offering. You can
then refine your proposition and develop relations (relationship marketing) through effec-
tive, usable web sites and timely reminders (whether by opt-in e-mail, text messages, direct
mail or even telephone (permission allowing).
Many readers will be moving from their initial e-plans onto the next generation of e-plans
or developing a long-term e-marketing roadmap to introduce new approaches. We hope this
book helps to move you along the evolutionary path towards e-plans that really help to boost
performance in an integrated way. Although the benefits of e-marketing span right across an
organization ’ s functions (customer feedback, customer service, product enhancement, sales,
finance/payment, delivery, administration and marketing), we tend to link it strongly to
marketing communications plans. The reality is that any e-marketing plan needs to be part
of a Marketing Communications Plan and it also should be part of a broader Marketing Plan.
Needless to say the e-plan should fit in with the overall business plan and goals.
Enjoy the read, enjoy the digital ride and let us know what you think via our sites.
Dave ( www.davechaffey.com/E-marketing ) and Paul ( www.prsmith.org )
Acknowledgements
Our thanks to our many friends and colleagues who have helped us in many ways. In par-
ticular, Paul Smith would like to thank Alison Bowditch, Martin Burke, Lou Burrows, Peter
Hurst, Jan Klin, Mike Langford, Martin Lindstrom, Gerry McGovern, Paul O ’Sullivan, Steve
Saunders and John Twomey. Dave Chaffey would like to thank the following for e-inspira-
tion: Bryan Eisenberg, Ashley Friedlein, Avinash Kaushik, Neil Mason, Jim Novo, Richard
Sedley and Jim Sterne.

All web site screenshots included in this book are examples of best practice. We thank all
companies who have agreed to have their sites included and offer our apologies to those it
has not been possible to contact.
Finally thanks to the Smith clan: Beverley, Aran, Cian and Lily and the Chaffey clan: Sal, Zoe
and Sarah.
This page is intentionally left blank
Introduction to
e-marketing
‘ Scarcely a day goes by without some claim that new technologies are fast writing
newsprint’s obituary. Yet, as an industry, many of us have been remarkably,
unaccountably complacent. Certainly, I didn ’t do as much as I should have after all the
excitement of the late 1990 ’s. I suspect many of you in this room did the same, quietly
hoping that this thing called the digital revolution would just limp along.
Well it hasn ’t . . . it won ’t. . . . And it ’s a fast developing reality we should grasp as a
huge opportunity . . . ’ .
Rupert Murdoch ( News Corporation, 2005 )

1
Chapter
1
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO E-MARKETING
2
OVERVIEW
This chapter introduces e-marketing and its benefits and risks. It describes the difference
between e-commerce, e-business and e-marketing; the alternative digital communications
channels, the dangers of sloppy e-marketing; how to present a business case for increasing
your online activities and the benefits – Sell, Serve, Save, Speak and Sizzle.
OVERALL LEARNING OUTCOME
By the end of this chapter you will be able to:
● Describe the development of the electronic marketspace

● Outline an approach to developing an e-marketing plan
● Describe the key benefits of e-marketing.
CHAPTER TOPIC LEARNING OBJECTIVE
1.1 Introduction Outline the benefits and risks of e-marketing
1.2 The wired-up world Outline the characteristics of the new marketspace
1.3 B2C, B2B, C2B and C2C Identify different forms of collaboration between
marketplace members
1.4 E-definitions Describe the difference between e-commerce,
e-business and e-marketing
1.5 Sloppy e-marketing Avoid basic e-marketing mistakes
1.6 Objectives Outline the five basic e-marketing objectives
1.7 Objective – Sell Define objectives for selling to the customer online
1.8 Objective – Serve Define objectives for serving the customer online
1.9 Objective – Speak Define objectives for speaking to the customer online
1.10 Objective – Save Define objectives for saving online
1.11 Objective – Sizzle Define objectives for enhancing the brand online
1.12 Introduction to e-strategy Outline approaches to achieving e-marketing objectives
1.13 Tactics, action and control Outline e-marketing tactics, actions and control
3
1.1 Introduction
This chapter introduces you to the world of e-marketing; its background and its ben-
efits. It explores the current e-marketing situation, e-marketing definitions and exam-
ples of good and bad e-marketing. Chances are your organization is already engaged in
e-marketing, so in this chapter, and throughout the book, we give you a planning frame-
work and checklists to evaluate and improve your current e-marketing practices or plan
new initiatives.
The chapter is structured using a simple aide-mémoire, called SOSTAC
®
. SOSTAC

®
is used
by thousands of professionals to produce all kinds of plans (marketing plans, corporate
plans, advertising plans and e-marketing plans). In later chapters and, in particular, Chapter 10
we provide a step-by-step guide to creating an e-marketing plan. In this chapter, we ’ll use
SOSTAC
®
to provide a structure for an initial review.
INTRODUCING SOSTAC
®
PLANNING FOR E-MARKETING
SOSTAC
®
stands for Situation Analysis, Objectives, Strategy, Tactics, Actions and Control
(Figure 1.1 ). It is described in more detail in Smith (1998, 2001) and Smith et al. (1999, 2004)
who note that each stage is not discrete, but there is some overlap during each stage of
planning – previous stages may be revisited and refined, as indicated by the reverse arrows
in Figure 1.1 . For creating an e-marketing plan, the planning stages are:
● Situation Analysis means ‘where are we now? ’ (In the context of this chapter, this
includes definition of ‘ e ’ terms, growth in users and change in the marketplace, as well as
examples of good and bad e-marketing.)
● Objectives means ‘where do we want to be? ’ Why bother going online, what are the ben-
efits, what is the purpose of going to all of this effort? We describe five main objectives,
reasons or benefits of being online which you should exploit.
● Strategy means ‘how do we get there? ’ Strategy summarizes how to fulfil the objectives.
What stage of ‘ e ’ volution and level of database integration is required, what segments
and positioning should drive the overall marketing mix and the promotional mix,
right down to the different contact strategies for different segments, and which
e-tools should be selected? Getting your e-strategy right is crucial. As Kenichi Ohmae
says ( Ohmae, 1999 ), ‘ there ’ s no point rowing harder if you ’re rowing in the wrong

direction ’ .
● Tactics reviews the tactical e-tools and the details of the marketing mix which is covered
in Chapter 2 and the communications mix which is covered in Chapters 6 and 7.
● Actions refers to action plans and project management skills – essential skills we won ’ t
go into in this chapter.
● Control looks at how you know if your e-efforts are working, and what improvements
can be made – again, we won ’ t delve in too deeply in this chapter.
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO E-MARKETING
4
SECTION SUMMARY 1.1
Introduction
The SOSTAC
®
planning framework is used to structure this chapter. SOSTAC
®
is:
● Situation analysis – where are we now?
● Objectives – where do we want to be?
● Strategy – how do we get there?
● Tactics – which tactical tools do we use to implement strategy?
● Actions – which action plans are required to implement strategy?
● Control – how do we manage the strategy process?
1.2 Situation – the wired-up world
Let ’ s consider the current situation of e-marketing – where the marketplace migrates into
the electronic marketspace. How significant is this change? The Internet is continuing to
grow rapidly and seamlessly across borders and into an online world already inhabited by
over a billion customers. Given its scale and the benefits it offers to these customers and
Where are we now?
• Goal performance (5Ss)

• Customer in sight
• E-marketplace SWOT
• Brand perception
• Internal capabilities and resources
Where do we want to be?
• 5Ss Objectives:
• Sell – customer acquisition and retention targets
• Serve – customer satisfaction targets
• Sizzle – site stickiness, visit duration
• Speak – trialogue; number of engaged customers
• Save – quantified efficiency gains
How do we get there?
• Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
• OVP (Online Value Proposition)
• Sequence, (Credibility before Visibility)
• Integration (Consistent OVP) and Database
• Tools (Web, functionality, e-mail, IPTV, etc.)
How exactly do we get there?
(the details of strategy)
• E-Marketing mix
– including: the communications mix,
social networking, what happens when
• Details of contact strategy
• E-campaign initiative schedule
The details of tactics
Who does what and when
• Responsibilities and structures
• Internal resources and skills
• External agencies
How do we monitor performance?

• 5Ss ϩ Web Analytics – KPls
• Usability Testing/Mystery Shopping
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys
• Site Visitor Profiling
• Frequency of reporting
• Process of reporting and actions
Situation
analysis
Objectives
Strategy
Tactics
Actions
Control
Figure 1.1 SOSTAC
®
planning framework. SOSTAC ® is a registered trade mark of PR Smith
(www.prsmith.org)