Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

Social Marketing is the latest buzz. To put simply, it is cross between online & network marketing and strong branding.

just my opinions.

Regards

I apologize but I have to agree with cpappas, at this point. I am a little concerned that you are not already aware of the hot issues marketers are facing today. What are some of your ideas?

My initial thoughts are the growing number of marketing outlets available and the ever increasing power of the internet. This also includes social marketing.

Why is my suggestion worth taking into consideration? I will let you research that on your own. That information is readily available and I would be very surprised if you haven't already been exposed to it.

Hope this helps,
Zack Pike

alidjilali,

I've listed below what I think are some of the enduring issues with online marketing (as opposed to traditional marketing).

(1) Back-end tracking: Great strides have been made in back-end tracking since the dotcom days. Still no one has produced a really reliable, automated back-end tracking system that is not invasive to the viewer (such as cookies that follow the viewer), and that will simultaneously provide information about what the viewer does after (s)he clicks on an ad and lands on the ad's landing page. The tracker must also track front-end data, such as clicks, to keep the ad publisher accountable (for example, to make sure the number of ad impressions the ad publishers say they displayed are truly displayed). There are a number of issues with existing ad trackers (as opposed to website trackers). What would be the ideal ad tracker and why? How would the ideal ad tracker facilitate advertisers' and ad publishers' roles in the ad campaign, provide information that is yet unattainable or not well measured, maximize ROI, etc.? Can ad trackers measure consumer behaviors without invading peoples' space and expectations? Etc.

(2) Landing page. There is a lot of interest currently on how to best design the landing page after a viewer clicks on a text link or a banner ad. This is a very key area of the campaign because the quality of the landing page and how effective it is in persuading the viewer to perform the campaign objective (i.e., the conversion) is the difference between a successful campaign and a bust. The landing page's design, layout, formatting, and content will greatly impact the advertiser's return on investment. Discuss why this is so, what works and what doesn't work, case studies, the effectiveness and reliability of eyetracking heat maps, are there measurable differences between selling products and services, and so on?

(3) User experience design. Usability principles -- those espoused by the dotcom king(s) -- have proven to be wrong in many ways. Today, online operators are realizing that Web site usability combined with user experience design is essential to the success of the online business. Many people have jumped on the bandwagon, claiming to be usability and user experience design experts, but in reality, there are relatively few who have the total package. Discuss the significance of high end visual design to a company's brand and to its competitive advantage. What is visual design and what role does a combination of skills and expertise in information architecture, interaction design, usability principles, user interface design, brand strategy, and user experience design play in creating an optimally marketable Web operation?

4) Strategic Positioning. What is strategic positioning and why is this a key activity in the marketing plan? Discuss the who, what, where, why, and how of strategic positioning, the impact of environmental factors, competitors, consumers, etc. on a company's positioning in its competitive arena, what are the keys to successfully position a company, its brand, products, and services? Why strategic positioning may be the most important (or perhaps not the most important) goal for a company in its marketing process.

SEO/SEM are big aspects of marketing right now. As well Marketing 2.0 things i.e. social networking sites.

According to the CMO council these are some issues that marketers face today.
Campaign Measurement (ROI)
Improved Efficiencies (Doing more with less)
Gaining Customer Knowledge (Getting relevant Data on what your customers are buying etc)

Good luck.

Hi ali,

The good thing about these discussions is that people can ask silly questions and we can learn from each other. Don't feel upset with the rude comments, people try to come across as intelligent by critisizing others.

On that note I think you should keep yourself updated by registering with marketing magazines and newsletters. Use the internet to do lots of research on what other people are doing and always feel free to ask questions no matter how silly they seem.

Good luck

hi ali,
i agree with clpsf on the issue of Strategic Positioning.. the emergence of a 'global culture' has had major implications for international marketers and how they decide to segment, target and position their brands.. also, maybe you could go for something like the impact of e-commerce on marketing and the issues of online internationalisation .. some firms say they are 'international' if they have a website, but this may not always be the case.. good luck!