Marketing is a critical and complex business operation with the simple goal to maximize revenue and ...

1. INTERNET AS A MARKETING TOOL
Marketing is a critical and complex business operation with the simple goal to maximize revenue
and sustain operation. With such a broad goal, marketing integrates an array of business process,
technologies and strategies. The internet is one of the many tools that can be applied to marketing.
Increasingly business are incorporating the internet into their business - to business marketing
strategies . Use of the internet as a consumer oriented marketing tool has been common now for
over five years and has become accepted as a standard marketing tool by the vast majority of
business. Likewise the internet- the internet, email and newsgroups are being widely used for
business -to- business marketing programmes. Internet marketing is also referred to as "Online
marketing". Internet marketing and online advertising efforts are typically used in conjunction with
traditional types of advertising like radio, television, newspapers and magazines.
Internet marketing can be broken down into more specialised areas such as :-
WEB MARKETING: It includes e-comerce web sites (it is a phrase which is used to describe business
that is conducted over the internet using any of the applications that rely on the Internet, such as
email, instant messaging, shopping carts , webs services, FTP among others), affiliate marketing
web sites are programmes where a web advertiser places the merchant's banner ads on their own
websites, promotional or informative web sites, online advertising on search engines, organic seach
engines results via search engine optimisation.
E-MAIL MARKETING: It involves both advertising and promotional marketing efforts via email
messaes to current & prospective customers. E-mail marketing is a tool which is used by large
companies but it has also been used by small business as well as by different individuals.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: Involves both advertising & marketing (including viral marketing)
efforts via social networking ites like facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Digg.
If an individual intends to grow his/her business then internet marketing plays a large part in the
solution.There are some important reasons as to why internet marketing is considered very valuable
for a business success:
Consumers only buy product that they know about so increasing product awareness becomes very
important. Products that are unknown and unpopular can be snubbed. Through marketing with the
use of Internet the public can be introduced to the existence of an individuals company & what one
has to offer & can offer.
There has been no doubts raised that print ads television & radio are still the best means to reach
out to people, but with constant technological advancements mopre & more people are gaining
Internet access but internet marketing helps one to reach people both local & international.

2. Marketing with Internet is one of the most cost effective means of advertising. With just a small
amount of money one can tap into a tremenduously large market. Since the World Wide Web is
getting fiercer in terms of competions, one needs to be more aggressive with one's internet
marketing strategy.
During the past few years, the number of online shoppers has increased consistently. Most people
are turning to the internet & researching their neeeds before making a purchase. Since internet
shopping is more convenient & cost effective on part of the consumers as they don't need to go
anywhere else to shop in the markets, they can just sit at home without wasting their money on
travelling & order their clothes in just one click.
If one already has a website one can expect it to gather more visitors just by itself. One needs to
actively exert efforts in increasing its traffic. When a company or an individual has a bigger website
audience one can easily disseminate information about the company poster, good client reationships,
increase profit & gains, improve product image, enhance product awareness and many other
positive points.
Use of the internet for business marketers is a reality. Television, print, newspaper & other
traditional marketing avenues will continue to be used but those who ignore the Internet will lose
the race for competitive advantage. On the other hand those who have embraced the Internet, have
demonstrated its power are innovators. Many belive that we have only seen the beginning of a
technological leap. Marketing on the Internet is a new business channel yet in many ways it remains
the same as traditional marketing but companies need to learn what works on web sites, how to
communicate their message and how to differentiatate their web sites. One should name companies
who use their web sites as a promotional tool, for brand image building as a distribution channel for
customer services and in building supplier relationships. The internet gives business a better way to
do the things they do. It has the capability to cut costs for selling and buying organisations.
Automomated factories and instant data information can cut purchasing cycle times reduces human
resources cost, lower transaction costs for suppliers.
Therefore with all the benefits there is no doubt that one will have a higher return of investment.
Not only that, Internet marketing can put forward a positive compound effect on the website. This
means that the efforts one exerted last month will still have its effects for years to come. There are
just some of the reasons why one needs to employ Internet marketing. If doe correctly, Internet as a
marketing tool can be the best to achieve success ad growth of one's business.