PROJECT REPORT

On

E-MARKETING

Session : 2019-20

Submitted to : Submitted by:

Dr. Shallu Goel Nishika

B.Com Hons.
Department of Commerce Roll No. : 1617020034

VAISH MAHILA MAHAVIDHYALYA, ROHTAK

 DECLARATION

I, Nishika Roll No. 1617020034 of B.Com Hons of Vaish Mahila Mahavidhyalaya, Rohtak (MDU)
Rohtak, hereby declare that the project entitled E-Marketing Websites an original work and the same has
not been submitted to any other institute for award of any other degree. The interim report was presented
to the supervisor.

The feasible suggestions have been duly incorporated in consultation with the supervisor.

Nishika
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

“Gratitude is not a thing of expression; it is more a matter of feeling.”

There is always a sense of gratitude which one express for others for their help and supervision
in achieving the goals. We too express my deep gratitude to each and everyone who has been
helpful to us in completing the project report successfully.

We would like to thank almighty God for blessing showered on us during the completion of
Dissertation Report.

We give our regards and sincere thanks to ………………………………., Vaish Mahila

Mahavidhyalya, Rohtak who has devoted her precious time in guiding us & helping us
complete it within time.

We feel self-short of words to thanks our parents and friends who had directly or indirectly
instrumental in the completion of the project. We are indebted to all respondents for their time
passion during the long conversations.

Nishika
 E- marketing
Email marketing is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people,
using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be
considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send advertisements, request
business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness.
Marketing emails can be sent to a purchased lead list or a current customer database. The term
usually refers to sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing a merchant's relationship
with current or previous customers, encouraging customer loyalty and repeat business, acquiring
new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, and sharing
third-party ads.

Email marketing has evolved rapidly alongside the technological growth of the 21st century.
Prior to this growth, when emails were novelties to the majority of customers, email marketing
was not as effective. In 1978, Gary Thuerk of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) sent out the
first mass email to approximately 400 potential clients via the Advanced Research Projects
Agency Network (ARPANET). This email resulted in $13 million worth of sales in DEC
products, and highlighted the potential of marketing through mass emails. However, as email
marketing developed as an effective means of direct communication, users began blocking out
content from emails with filters and blocking programs. In order to effectively communicate a
message through email, marketers had to develop a way of pushing content through to the end
user, without being cut out by automatic filters and spam removing software. This resulted in the
birth of triggered marketing emails, which are sent to specific users based on their tracked online
browsing patterns.

Historically, it has been difficult to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns because
target markets cannot be adequately defined. Email marketing carries the benefit of allowing
marketers to identify returns on investment and measure and improve efficiencyEmail marketing
allows marketers to see feedback from users in real time, and to monitor how effective their
campaign is in achieving market penetration, revealing a communication channel's scope. At the
same time, however, it also means that the more personal nature of certain advertising methods,
such as television advertisements, cannot be captured.

India Online Marketing Industry Research Reports

Octane Research’s Annual Reports (State of e-Marketing India and State of Email Marketing)
drives comprehensive analyses which are tailored to meet the requirements of the India Marketer
and leverage them with multiple channels to aggregate customers and engagement rich
conversions.

The Annual State of e-Marketing report is a one of a kind of ‘Voice of India Marketer’ report in
India that talks about how India marketers forecast the next 12 months and built the competitive
edge over the rapidly growing marketplace and help them in planning of their budgets with
Digital1:1 marketing plans. Annual State of Email Marketing report emphasizes only on Email
Marketing trends in India

Octane’s Industry Reports are powerful and actionable business tools that collate in-depth
strategic insights and analysis over the several sectors in India. This research platform will
enable India marketers to track the performance and profitability of the industry they belong to.

As every industry has its own nuances, therefore Octane Industry Research collates the
knowledge and awareness from the experienced industry specialists which helps the marketer to
make sound strategic decisions and get positioning in the market place

Highlights

1. Customer Acquisition: Customer Acquisition is the primary focus for marketing

activities to be carried out in 2016 for majority (58%) of India Marketers.
2. For 50% India Marketers, e-Marketing revenue contribution is above 10%: 85% of
the Marketers are tracking revenues generated through e-Marketing activities for their
 business. 50% of Respondents report that e-Marketing activities are contributing more
than 10% of share of their revenues.
3. Integrated Campaigns increase Conversion Rates: 80% of India Marketers believe
that integrated campaigns (Email, Social and Mobile) can result in moderate to
significant increase in conversion rates.
4. Maximum Customer Engagement is achieved through Social Media updates: Social
Media updates was the top choice for achieving maximum customer engagement (46%)
followed by email campaigns (28%).
5.  Top Marketing Activities for 2016: Social Media (66%) tops the list of marketing
activities being planned for 2016. Email marketing is voted by 53% of India Marketers.
More than 50% of the Marketers are planning to increase investment in Marketing
activities.
6.  Online Budget for Email Marketing: 45% of India Consumers respond positively to
email offers (which is 3x of US Consumer). For 2016, we see a jump of almost 50% of
India Marketers who will be increasing their investments by 31%-50% in Email Channel.
7.  Influences of Social Media on Email Marketing: In 2016, India Marketers are
expecting a considerable impact of Social Media on Email Programs. The acceleration in
growth of subscribers is expected by 31% of marketers, a 500% increase from 2015.

8.  Email Marketing Segmentation Techniques: India Marketers show an increasing

preference for Purchase History to be axis for Email Marketing Segmentation.

Going back to history, International Journal of Advanced Research Foundation reveals the
following in 2016.

Between 1971 and 1972, The ARPANET is used to arrange a sale between students at the
Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the
earliest example of electronics or digital commerce.

1979: Michael Aldrich demonstrates the first online shopping system.

1981: Thomson Holidays UK is first business-to-business online shopping system to be installed.

1996: India MART B2B marketplace established in India.

2007: Flipkart was established in India. Every E-marketing or commercial enterprises uses
majorly digital means for their marketing purposes.

In 2011, the digital marketing statistics revealed that advertising via the mobile phone and tablets
was 200% lower than that of the following years. During this year, the net worth was $2 billion.
The growth was in a geometric progression as it rose to $6 billion in 2012. The competitive
growth demands for more improvement in the career works and professionals are being added to
the field.

From 2013 to March 2015, the investment total increase was 1.5 billion dollars over the
preceding years. There has been an impressive growth up till this present moment.

The report by the International Journal of Advanced Research Foundation revealed that
summarized that India is getting to see the golden period of the Internet sector between 2013 to
2018 with incredible growth opportunities and secular growth adoption for E-Commerce,
Internet Advertising, Social Media, Search, Online Content, and Services relating digital
marketing.

Total Media, Digital and Mobile Internet Ad Spending in India (2013-2019)

Today, digital marketing industry in India is growing at its peak, and is still continuous. Many
factors are responsible for this growth. The use of communication tools has greatly changed in
the year past. No one ever thought to have a credible deal online. The below figure indicates the
digital marketing statistics.

The belief was that online information is virtual information full of lies. No one could listen to
any online advertisement not to talk of purchasing groceries, furniture or clothes. The story has
really changed. Everything from marketing to sales can be done online. This is due to the trust
that has been restored back to online communication in India. This has really helped the
marketing initiatives. The revolution is from the communication industries. Low cost of handset
is now available making it possible for India to have about 600 million internet users which
ultimately creates a fascinating business opportunity to sell to a growing population.

Moreover, the development in the digital marketing industry in India evident in the marketing
shift from anonymity to identity. Interaction on the Internet now looks more physical as opposed
to the anonymity of identity in the past. Also, marketing information’s is moving along in the
same line with entertainment. People of India needed an exciting spirit always. This targets their
interest into the marketing information.

Several factors have been found to contribute to the growth of digital marketing in India. Before
now, internet usage was only meant for the wealthy. There is now a great change in the lifestyle
of the middle class. The Very majority now have access to the internet in India. Internet and 3G
penetration revolutionized the marketing scenario for both consumers and the marketers. It was
discovered that changes in lifestyle and standard of living had increased the level of
consumption, quality and also the pattern of consumption. The quality of use in the urban
centers of India is on a high side. This is because majority doesn’t have time for shopping. Apart
from struggles to earn money, people want some other things to be done at their own
convenience.

The following survey from people indicates the size of Digital Marketing industry in India:

 34% of the companies already had an integrated digital marketing strategy in 2016
 72% marketers believe that traditional model of marketing is no longer sufficient and this
will make the company revenue to be increased by 30% by the end of 2017
 Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing

In 2017, 80% businesses will increase their digital marketing budget which may surpass the IT
budget. Only the illiterates could not access the potentials of the digital marketing because of the
accessibility to computing devices and computer education. Many of the people in this category
still don’t trust the method of an online payment and they lack training in English Language and
other foreign languages to market online in global markets.

The following are the channels that are playing an active role in the development of digital
marketing industry in India.
Mobile Marketing

digital marketing in India

Digital marketing overview reveals that Social media has been playing a supporting role to
marketing. Over the years, it has been noticed that 92% of social media users are from the
mobile devices. This enables the size of digital marketing industries.

Mobile Phone Subscribers in India

According to the research made by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI, 2008),
communication has become a real mass communication tools having about 286 million accounts
in 2008. The Indian telecommunications market has tremendous growth opportunities and
according to IAMAI is projected to exceed 500 million by 2010. According to TRAI, the
numbers of mobile subscriber based in India grew to 980.81 million users in the second quarter
of 2015.

Adoption for the mobile device is getting higher day by day. SMS marketing is one of the true
mass market media channels across many demographics before the convergence of mobile
internet and mobile devices.

Video Marketing

Growing need for the visual content has turned video marketing be one of the most appealing
trends of digital marketing in 2017.

Email Marketing

online marketing

Email marketers of some of the most successful marketing agencies claim a return of $40 for
every dollar they invested. From the digital marketing overview, it was discovered that well-
targeted email marketing will be one of the most effective ways of ensuring conversions in
2017. As shown from the figure below, email is one of the most effective methods for digital
marketing as there is a facility to disburse messages to millions of people at a time.
Search & SEO Marketing

As much as changes is existing in the search engines, marketers are also trying shift their ways of
targeting audience so as to meet up with the current evolution in Digital Marketing industry in
India.

Apart from the above channels through which digital marketing takes place, activities under
Digital Marketing industry in India are not limited to social media, email, content, search engine,
etc. Digital marketing is either done in-house where companies might hire people for their own
or clients’ digital marketing needs. A company may outsource to specialist digital marketing
agencies or given to consultants.

Some of the Digital Marketing Agencies are:

 Scope And Challenges of E-Marketing
in India
Before development of e marketing, the term digital marketing was used in 1990s. The fast
growth of digital media found new trends and opportunities in marketing and advertising fields.
Digital marketing is also called the online marketing, internet marketing and web marketing.

Digital marketing has been popular in all over the world. The term online marketing is still
popular in US. It is popular as ‘web- marketing’ in Italy. In UK and other countries, it is used as
‘digital marketing’.

The process of taking place of products and services by the computer networks on internet, is
called Electronic commerce( E-commerce or e-Commerce).

The electronic commerce includes various technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic
funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online-transaction, inventory-
management-systems processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), and automated data
collection systems.
Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web although it may also use other
technologies such as e-mail.E-marketing includes email, websites and micro sites, search engine
advertising, search engine optimization, co-registration, mobile marketing, and other technology-
driven tools.

E-commerce covers the various aspects as Enabled by website, create virtual shops, Create
customer data bank, Provide for business-to-business exchange of data, Contact customers by e-
mail or fax, Use business-to-business buying and selling, Defies all barriers of time and space.

Scope of E-Marketing-E-marketing has global applicability. It covers almost all types of

business namely, agricultural, industrial, medical tourism, governance, Education and so on.

There are some common applications of e-marketing as Document automation, payment

systems, content management, group buying,Online banking, shopping and order tracking,
Teleconferencing, Electronic tickets which have become common with large and small
businesses alike. The history of e marketing can be traced back to :

“Skill Development : The Key to Economic Richness”

1. 1971 or 1972: The ARPANET is used to arrange a sale between students at the Stanford
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the earliest
example of e commerce.

2.1979: Michael Aldrich Showed the first online shopping system.

3. 1981: Thomson Holidays UK is first business-to-business online shopping system to be

installed.

4. 1996: India MART B2B marketplace established in India.

5. 2007: Flipkart was established in India. The e-commerce market of India is one of the fastest
growing market in the world. It is due to the rapid growth of internet users in the country.
Internet users in India were estimated to be 300 million in 2014.India has an internet user base of
about 250.2 million as of June 20144.The admission of eCommerce is low compared to markets
like the United States and the United Kingdom. India’s e-commerce market was worth about
$3.8 billion in 2009, it went up to $12.6 billion in 2013. In 2013, the e-retail market was worth
US$ 2.3 billion. About 70% of India’s e-commerce market is travel related. There are about 10
million online shoppers in India and is growing at an estimated 30% CAGR vis-à-vis a global
growth rate of 8–10%5.

Growth factors : Individual or business involved in e-commerce whether buyers or sellers rely
on Internet-based technology in order to accomplish their transactions. E-commerce is
recognized for its ability to allow business to communicate and to form transaction anytime and
anyplace. Whether an individual is in India or overseas, business can be conducted through the
internet. The power of e-commerce allows geophysical barriers to disappear, making all
consumers and businesses on earth potential customers and suppliers Several factors have
contributed to the growth of e marketing in India. There is sea change in the life style of the
burgeoning middle class. Internet and 3G penetration revolutionized the marketing scenario for
both consumers and the marketers. Rising standard of living has not only increased the level of
consumption but also the pattern and quality of consumption. Busy urban lifestyles, lack of time
for shopping, desire for variety and convenience and comfortable disposable income has changed
the way Indian consumers prefer to shop today. Some other factors helping the online retail
industry seeing good growth include smartphones offering accessibility to online shopping,
aspirations of tier II & III cities, women becoming more tech savvy, evolving perception around
branded products, impulsive buying and logistical convenience.

Legal issues : Legal issues of e-commerce in India are generally ignored by e-commerce
websites. Foreign companies and e-commerce portals would be required to register in India and
comply with Indian laws, as India is gearing up to regulate online business. Efforts are being
made to regulate marketing websites dealing with various products online and violating laws of
India . Enforcement directorate (ED) of India has already initiated legal actions against
companies dealing with Bitcoins in India. Tax liability of foreign companies like Google, Face
book, etc. is also under consideration in India. Myntra, Flipkart and many more e-commerce
websites are under regulatory scanner of ED of India for violating Indian laws. The case of US-
based transport application provider UberInc is the latest example that can be cited. Similarly,
illegal online sales of prescribed drugs by illegal online pharmacies of India are also under
scrutiny of regulatory authorities of India In India, the Information Technology Act 2000
governs the basic applicability of e-commerce. Further, e-commerce laws and regulations in
India are also supplemented by different laws of India as applicable to the field of e-commerce.
For instance, e-commerce relating to pharmaceuticals, healthcare, traveling, etc. are governed by
different laws though the information technology act, 2000 prescribes some common
requirements for all these fields. The competition commission of India (CCI) regulates anti
competition and anti trade practices in e-commerce fields in India.

Challenges in the context of skills : The world is used to conducting business and commerce on
signed paper documents. Electronic documents and messages, without familiar signatures and
marks have changed the scene of trade. consumers want to be assured that the electronic world is
safe. Therefore there is a genuine expectation that e-commerce system offers some level of
reliability.

1. Improve decision making

2. Patient engagement
3. Improve Communication
4. Need identification and tailormade services
5. Convenience and cost effective services

The essence of marketing, in healthcare industry derives to the recall and loyalty of a customer;
to spread the word of mouth on social platform such as Facebook, Google +, twitter, etc. and
advocate for the brand.

1. Digital Marketing

2. Digital Branding

3. Website Design SEO SEM

4. Patient centric approach

5. Personalized tools & reports

India has an internet users base of about 450 million as of July 2017, 40% of the population.
Despite being the second-largest userbase in world, only behind China (650 million, 48% of
population), the penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like the United States
(266 million, 84%), or France (54 M, 81%), but is growing at an unprecedented rate, adding
around 6 million new entrants every month. The industry consensus is that growth is at an
inflection point.

In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the e-
retail activities. Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is
growing much faster than in-country supply from authorised distributors and e-commerce
offerings.

In 2015, the largest e-commerce companies in India were Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon India, and
Paytm.

Market size and growth

India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.9 billion in 2009, it went up to $12.6 billion in
2013. In 2013, the e-retail segment was worth US$2.3 billion. About 70% of India's e-commerce
market is travel related. According to Google India, there were 35 million online shoppers in
India in 2014 Q1 and was expected to cross 100 million mark by end of year 2016. CAGR vis-à-
vis a global growth rate of 8–10%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest categories in terms of
sales.

According to a study conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, the e-commerce
sector is estimated to reach Rs. 211,005 crore by December 2016. The study also stated that
online travel accounts for 61% of the e-commerce market.[9]

According to a study done by Indian Institute of eCommerce, by 2020 India is expected to

generate $100 billion online retail revenue out of which $35 billion will be through fashion e-
commerce. Online apparel sales are set to grow four times in coming years.
India's retail market is estimated at $470 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow to $675 Bn by
2016 and $850 billion by 2020, – estimated CAGR of 10%.. According to Forrester, the e-
commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a CAGR of
over 57% between 2012–16.

As per "India Goes Digital", a report by Avendus Capital, the Indian e-commerce market is
estimated at Rs 28,500 Crore ($6.3 billion) for the year 2011. Online travel constitutes a sizable
portion (87%) of this market today. Online travel market in India had a growth rate of 22% over
the next 4 years and reach Rs 54,800 crore ($12.2 billion) in size by 2015. Indian e-tailing
industry is estimated at Rs 3,600 crore (US$800 million) in 2011 and estimated to grow to Rs
53,000 crore ($11.8 billion) in 2015.

Overall e-commerce market had reached Rs 1,07,800 crores (US$24 billion) by the year 2015
with both online travel and e-tailing contributing equally. Another big segment in e-commerce is
mobile/DTH recharge with nearly 1 million transactions daily by operator websites

A new sector in e-commerce is online medicine, selling complementary and alternative medicine
or prescription medicine online. There are no dedicated online pharmacy laws in India and it is
permissible to sell prescription medicine online with a legitimate licenseOnline sales of luxury
products like jewellery also increased over the years. Most of the retail brands have also started
entering into the market and they expect at least 20% sales through online in next 2–3 years.

Infrastructure
There are many hosting companies working in India but most of them are not suitable for
eCommerce hosting purpose, because they are providing much less secure and threat protecte [d
shared hosting. eCommerce demand highly secure, stable and protected hosting. ] Trends are
changing with some of eCommerce companies starting to offer SaaS for hosting web stores with
minimal one time costs.

India has got its own version of Cyber Monday known as Great Online Shopping Festival which
started in December 2012, when Google India partnered with e-commerce companies including
Flipkart, HomeShop18, Snapdeal, Indiatimes shopping and Makemytrip. "Cyber Monday" is a
term coined in the USA for the Monday coming after Black Friday, which is the Friday after
Thanksgiving Day. Most recent GOSF Great Online Shopping Festival was held during Dec 10
to 12, 2014.

In early June 2013, Amazon.com launched their Amazon India marketplace without any
marketing campaigns. In July 2014, Amazon had said it will invest $2 billion (Rs 12,000 crore)
in India to expand business, after its largest Indian rival Flipkart announced $1 billion in funding.
In June 2016, Amazon agreed to invest another $3 billion to further pressure rivals Flipkart &
Snapdeal.Amazon has also entered grocery segment with its Kirana now in bangalore and is also
plannin to enter in various other cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and faces stiff
competition with Indian startups. A large proportion of traffic towards e-commerce sites is
driven by coupon sites. In July 2014, CouponChaska.com, a coupon and offers site partnered
with some of the largest Indian e-commerce sites including Amazon and Flipkart. It provides a
listing of deals from various Indian online stores for free. Alternatively, the site offers mobile
recharges to users on each purchase.

Funding

Examples of venture capital firms having invested in e-commerce companies in India are as
follows: Flipkart.com raised about USD 2.3 billion. On 10 July 2013, Flipkart announced it had
received $200 million from existing investors Tiger Global, Naspers, Accel Partners, and
ICONIQ Capital, and an additional $160 million from Dragoneer Investment Group, Morgan
Stanley Wealth Management, Sofina, Vulcan Inc. and more from Tiger Global.
In February 2014, online fashion retailer Myntra.com raised $50 million from a group of
investors led by Premji Invest, the investment company floated by Azim Premji, Chairman of
Wipro. May 2014 also witnessed an acquisition of Myntra by Flipkart reportedly for ₹2,000
crores.

In September 2015, PepperTap raised $36 million from Snapdeal and others.

Digital Marketing Industry in India

Digital Marketing industry in India is spread to almost all the business sectors. Some of the
applications of E-Marketing are shopping and order tracking, online banking, payment systems
and content management.
The power of digital marketing allows geophysical barriers to disappear making all consumers
and businesses on earth potential customers and suppliers. It is known for its ability to allow
business to communicate and form a transaction anywhere and anytime.

Digital marketing industry in India is a booming career today. In a country with a rapid growth
economy, it is expected to have a very high significant growth in Digital marketing career. The
growth in the digital marketing trends is making a very substantial impact on marketing and
advertisement. The big picture of Digital Marketing industry in India cannot be complete if short
preview of the past digital marketing statistics is not made.

The term E-Marketing was first used in the 1990s, but E-Marketing has roots in the mid-1980s,
when the SoftAd Group, now ChannelNet, developed advertising campaigns for automobile
companies: People sent in reader reply cards found in magazines and received in return floppy
disks that contained multimedia content promoting various cars and free test drives.

In 2000 a survey in the United Kingdom found that most retailers had not registered their own
domain address.

E-Marketing became more sophisticated in the 2000s and the 2010s, when the proliferation of
devices' capability to access digital media at almost any given time led to great growth. Statistics
produced in 2012 and 2013 showed that E-Marketing was still a growing field.

E-Marketing is often referred to as 'online marketing', 'internet marketing' or 'web marketing'.

The term E-Marketing has grown in popularity over time, particularly in certain countries. In the
USA online marketing is still prevalent. In Italy, E-Marketing is referred to as web marketing. In
the UK and worldwide, however, E-Marketing has become the most common term, especially
after the year 2013.

Digital media growth is estimated at 4.5 trillion online ads served annually with digital media
spend at 48% growth in 2010. An increasing portion of advertising stems from businesses
employing Online Behavioural Advertising (OBA) to tailor advertising for internet users, but
OBA raises concern of consumer privacy and data protection.
New non-linear marketing approach

In an evermore complex retail environment, customer engagement is essential but challenging.

Retailers must shift from a linear marketing approach of one-way communication to a value
exchange model of mutual dialogue and benefit-sharing between provider and consumer.]
Exchanges are more non-linear, free flowing, and both one-to-many or one-on-one.] The spread
of information and awareness can occur across numerous channels, such as the blogosphere,
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and a variety of other platforms. Online
communities and social networks allow individuals to easily create content and publicly publish
their opinions, experiences, and thoughts and feelings about many topics and products, hyper-
accelerating the diffusion of information.

The Nielsen Global Connected Commerce Survey conducted interviews in 26 countries to

observe how consumers are using the Internet to make shopping decisions in stores and online.
Online shoppers are increasingly looking to purchase internationally, with over 50% in the study
who purchased online in the last six months stating they bought from an overseas retailer. [19]

Using an omni-channel strategy is becoming increasingly important for enterprises who mus.

t adapt to the changing expectations of consumers who want ever-more sophisticated offerings
throughout the purchasing journey. Retailers are increasingly focusing on their online presence,
including online shops that operate alongside existing store-based outlets. The "endless aisle"
within the retail space can lead consumers to purchase products online that fit their needs while
retailers do not have to carry the inventory within the physical location of the store. Solely
Internet-based retailers are also entering the market; some are establishing corresponding store-
based outlets to provide personal services, professional help, and tangible experiences with their
product

An omni-channel approach not only benefits consumers but also benefits business bottom line:
Research suggests that customers spend more than double when purchasing through an omni-
channel retailer as opposed to a single-channel retailer, and are often more loyal. This could be
due to the ease of purchase and the wider availability of products.
Customers are often researching online and then buying in stores and also browsing in stores and
then searching for other options online. Online customer research into products is particularly
popular for higher-priced items as well as consumable goods like groceries and makeup.
Consumers are increasingly using the Internet to look up product information, compare prices,
and search for deals and promotions.

Use in the digital era

There are a number of ways brands can use E-Marketing to benefit their marketing efforts. The
use of E-Marketing in the digital era not only allows for brands to market their products and
services, but also allows for online customer support through 24/7 services to make customers
feel supported and valued. The use of social media interaction allows brands to receive both
positive and negative feedback from their customers as well as determining what media
platforms work well for them. As such, E-Marketing has become an increased advantage for
brands and businesses. It is now common for consumers to post feedback onli through social
media sources, blogs and websites on their experience with a product or brand. .It has become
increasingly popular for businesses to use and encourage these conversations through their social
media channels to have direct contact with the customers and manage the feedback they receive
appropriately.

Word of mouth communications and peer-to-peer dialogue often have a greater effect on
customers, since they are not sent directly from the company and are therefore not planned.
Customers are more likely to trust other customers’ experiences. It is increasingly advantageous
for companies to use social media platforms to connect with their customers and create these
dialogues and discussions. The potential reach of social media is indicated by the fact that in
2015, each month the Facebook app had more than 126 million average unique users and
YouTube had over 97 million average unique users.

Brand awareness

Ease of access
A key objective is engaging E-Marketing customers and allowing them to interact with the brand
through servicing and delivery of digital media. Information is easy to access at a fast rate
through the use of digital communications. Users with access to the Internet can use many digital
mediums, such as Facebook, YouTube, Forums, and Email etc. Through Digital communications
it creates a Multi-communication channel where information can be quickly exchanged around
the world by anyone without any regard to whom they are. Social segregation plays no part
through social mediums due to lack of face to face communication and information being wide
spread instead to a selective audience. This interactive nature allows consumers create
conversation in which the targeted audience is able to ask questions about the brand and get
familiar with it which traditional forms of Marketing may not offer

Competitive advantage

By using Internet platforms, businesses can create competitive advantage through various means.
To reach the maximum potential of E-Marketing, firms use social media as its main tool to create
a channel of information. Through this a business can create a system in which they are able to
pinpoint behavioral patterns of clients and feedback on their needs. This means of content has
shown to have a larger impingement on those who have a long-standing relationship with the
firm and with consumers who are relatively active social media users. Relative to this, creating a
social media page will further increase relation quality between new consumers and existing
consumers as well as consistent brand reinforcement therefore improving brand awareness
resulting in a possible rise for consumers up the Brand Awareness Pyramid. Although there may
be inconstancy with product images;] maintaining a successful social media presence requires a
business to be consistent in interactions through creating a two way feed of information; firms
consider their content based on the feedback received through this channel, this is a result of the
environment being dynamic due to the global nature of the internet. Effective use of E-Marketing
can result in relatively lowered costs in relation to traditional means of marketing; Lowered
external service costs, advertising costs, promotion costs, processing costs, interface design costs
and control costs.

Effectiveness
Brand awareness has been proven to work with more effectiveness in countries that are high in
uncertainty avoidance, also these countries that have uncertainty avoidance; social media
marketing works effectively. Yet brands must be careful not to be excessive on the use of this
type of marketing, as well as solely relying on it as it may have implications that could
negatively harness their image. Brands that represent themselves in an anthropomorphizing
manner are more likely to succeed in situations where a brand is marketing to this demographic.
"Since social media use can enhance the knowledge of the brand and thus decrease the
uncertainty, it is possible that people with high uncertainty avoidance, such as the French, will
particularly appreciate the high social media interaction with an anthropomorphized brand."
Moreover, digital platform provides an ease to the brand and its customers to interact directly
and exchange their motives virtually.

Latest developments and strategies

One of the major changes that occurred in traditional marketing was the "emergence of E-
Marketing" (Patrutiu Baltes, Loredana, 2015), this led to the reinvention of marketing strategies
in order to adapt to this major change in traditional marketing (Patrutiu Baltes, Loredana, 2015) .

As E-Marketing is dependent on technology which is ever-evolving and fast-changing, the same

features should be expected from E-Marketing developments and strategies. This portion is an
attempt to qualify or segregate the notable highlights existing and being used as of press time. [

1. Segmentation: more focus has been placed on segmentation within E-Marketing, in

order to target specific markets in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer
sectors.
2. Influencer marketing: Important nodes are identified within related communities,
known as influencers. This is becoming an important concept in digital targeting. It is
possible to reach influencers via paid advertising, such as Facebook Advertising or
Google Adwords campaigns, or through sophisticated sCRM (social customer
relationship management) software, such as SAP C4C, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage CRM
and Salesforce CRM. Many universities now focus, at Masters level, on engagement
strategies for influencers.
To summarize, Pull E-Marketing is characterized by consumers actively seeking marketing
content while Push E-Marketing occurs when marketers send messages without that content
being actively sought by the recipients.

1. Online behavioural advertising is the practice of collecting information about a user's

online activity over time, "on a particular device and across different, unrelated websites,
in order to deliver advertisements tailored to that user's interests and preference]
2. Collaborative Environment: A collaborative environment can be set up between the
organization, the technology service provider, and the digital agencies to optimize effort,
resource sharing, reusability and communications. ] Additionally, organizations are
inviting their customers to help them better understand how to service them. This source
of data is called User Generated Content. Much of this is acquired via company websites
where the organization invites people to share ideas that are then evaluated by other users
of the site. The most popular ideas are evaluated and implemented in some form. Using
this method of acquiring data and developing new products can foster the organizations
relationship with their customer as well as spawn ideas that would otherwise be
overlooked. UGC is low-cost advertising as it is directly from the consumers and can
save advertising costs for the organisation.
3. Data-driven advertising: Users generate a lot of data in every step they take on the path
of customer journey and Brands can now use that data to activate their known audience
with data-driven programmatic media buying. Without exposing customers' privacy,
users' Data can be collected from digital channels (e.g.: when customer visits a website,
reads an e-mail, or launches and interact with brand's mobile app), brands can also collect
data from real world customer interactions, such as brick and mortar stores visits and
from CRM and Sales engines datasets. Also known as People-based marketing or
addressable media, Data-driven advertising is empowering brands to find their loyal
customers in their audience and deliver in real time a much more personal
communication, highly relevant to each customers' moment and actions

An important consideration today while deciding on a strategy is that the digital tools have
democratized the promotional landscape.
5. Remarketing: Remarketing plays a major role in E-Marketing. This tactic allows marketers to
publish targeted ads in front of an interest category or a defined audience, generally called
searchers in web speak, they have either searched for particular products or services or visited a
website for some purpose.

6. Game advertising: Game ads are advertisements that exist within computer or video games.
One of the most common examples of in-game advertising is billboards appearing in sports
games. In-game ads also might appear as brand-name products like guns, cars, or clothing that
exist as gaming status symbols.

The new digital era has enabled brands to selectively target their customers that may potentially
be interested in their brand or based on previous browsing interests. Businesses can now use
social media to select the age range, location, gender and interests of whom they would like their
targeted post to be seen by. Furthermore, based on a customer's recent search history they can be
‘followed’ on the internet so they see advertisements from similar brands, products and services, ]
This allows businesses to target the specific customers that they know and feel will most benefit
from their product or service, something that had limited capabilities up until the digital era.

Ways to further increase the effectiveness of E-Marketing

A strategy that is linked into the effectiveness of E-Marketing is content marketing Content
marketing can be briefly described as "delivering the content that your audience is seeking in the
places that they are searching for it"It is found that content marketing is highly present in E-
Marketing and becomes highly successful when content marketing is involved. This is due to
content marketing making your brand more relevant to the target consumers, as well as more
visible to the target consumer.

Marketers also find email an effective strategy when it comes to E-Marketing as it is another way
to build a long term relationship with the consumer. Listed below are some aspects that need to
be considered to have an effective digital media campaign and aspects that help create an
effective email system.
Interesting mail titles differentiate one advertisement from the other. This separates
advertisements from the clutter. Differentiation is one factor that can make an advertisement
successful in E-Marketing because consumers are drawn to it and are more likely to view the
advertisement.

Establishment of customer exclusivity: A list of customers and customer's details should be

kept on a database for follow up and selected customers can be sent selected offers and
promotions of deals related to the customer's previous buyer behaviour. This is effective in E-
Marketing as it allows organisations to build up loyalty over email.

Low Technical Requirements: In order to get the full use out of E-Marketing it is useful to
make you advertising campaigns have low technical requirements. This prevents some
consumers not being able to understand or view the advertising campaign.

Rewards: The lucrative offers would always help in making your digital campaign a success.
Give some reward in the end of the campaign. This would definitely invite more engagement and
word of mouth publicity

Ineffective forms of E-Marketing

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E-Marketing activity is still growing across the world according to the headline global marketing
index. Digital media continues to rapidly grow; while the marketing budgets are expanding,
traditional media is declining (World Economics, 2015). Digital media helps brands reach
consumers to engage with their product or service in a personalised way. Five areas, which are
outlined as current industry practices that are often ineffective are prioritizing clicks, balancing
search and display, understanding mobiles, targeting, viewability, brand safety and invalid
traffic, and cross-platform measurement (Whiteside, 2016). Why these practices are ineffective
and some ways around making these aspects effective are discussed surrounding the following
points.

CURRENT SCENARIO

Social media has become so much more than just networking.

From advertising a product, to actually selling it online, social media is used for a variety

of marketing purposes today.

So much so, that it has become absolutely necessary to focus on this area of marketing if

you run a business or company of your own.

Therefore, in order to highlight and simplify the latest social media advertising trends for

budding entrepreneurs, we decided to write a blog on the overall picture of social media

marketing in the country, with special focus on the strategies you can use to run your own

campaign online.

To start with, here's a small brief on what social media marketing or Social Media

Marketing Strategy really is.

In simple terms, social media marketing refers to the process of gaining more visitors or

customers by marketing services or products through social media platforms.

The whole idea behind social media marketing revolves around creating content in

different forms, that can be liked and shared by social media users within their networks.
With the increase in the accessibility of internet through mobile devices, the concept of

social media marketing has really gained steam, as it is a fairly inexpensive and effective

way of reaching out to the target audience.

Some of the social media platforms that are used worldwide include; Facebook, Twitter,

YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest.

Before we discuss the current scenario of social media marketing, let’s have a look at

some of the best strategies you can use to drive your social media marketing campaign.

Strategies you should be following for successful social media marketing

Before beginning your social media campaign, if there is something you need to

understand and learn more than anything else, are the social media strategies that are

commonly used by companies to drive successful social media marketing campaigns.

Here is a list of some of the most effective and popular social media marketing

strategies;

#1. Produce Multimedia Based Content

Picture this;

You have an instructional article which is explained in two different formats- As a

lengthy article, and in the form of an explainer video.

Facebook.

Make Use of Some Social Media Tricks

Social media marketing is an extensive advertising strategy.

Which is why different social media platforms come with certain tricks, which when used

correctly, can help in improving the visibility and popularity of your business.

You can use any or all of these social media tips pertaining to different platforms and

give your overall social media marketing strategy a boost.

 FacebookIf you have an advertising account on Facebook, you can use Power

Editor to add a call-to-action button directly in your post, in a way that

complements the content and nature of your post.

 TwitterWhile marketing through Twitter, you can Pin your most crucial tweet,

which has a link to your website and some other vital brand information to the top

of your profile.

This will highlight and draw the visitor's attention immediately as they land on

your twitter profile and drive them to visit your website.

 Google+Google+ gives its user, options to highlight the important bits in their

posts by means of strike-through, or by making them bold, or changing them to

italics. This can help in bringing attention to the crucial parts of your posts.

 Respond to Comments & Queries Promptly

 If you have ever been active on any social media channels, then you know how

nice it feels if your comment gets a reply from the concerned person.

 That same rule applies to your company's social media profiles.

If someone leaves a comment or query on your profile, it is your responsibility as

the owner to respond to the comment as soon as possible asking your followers for

their opinions.

 Even if the comment is a grievance, you must apologize and assure them you are

working on the solution.

 This will prove your sincerity to your customers and convince them that you take

their complaints seriously, potentially converting them into loyal brand advocates.

 Conduct Online Polls & Surveys

 Need some opinion from the common folks regarding something new you are

planning?

 Then help is on the way, through Social Media!

 One of the best means of connecting with your target audience and getting their

views is by conducting polls or surveys online and literally asking your followers

for their opinions.

 Online polls on Facebook, Twitter or any other platform, would show your

customers that you value their opinions, while also solving the purpose of getting

 a Systematic Posting their point of view regarding your brand.

Importance of all the social networking channels with regards to Indian brands, is

as follows;

 Facebook

 Twitter

 YouTube

 Instagram

 Blog

So if you are planning to begin your social media campaign, you now know which
platforms to focus on more.
 FLIPKART

Flipkart is a giant of E-commerce with hundreds and thousands of online consumers purchasing
goods from their website every day. E-commerce sites have become a key part of people’s
everyday lives, making them a hot topic of discussion on social media channels with the social
public commenting on everything from the latest deals to Flipkart impact on society. The
question is how is Flipkart viewed on social? What is the sentiment towards eBay and on what
media channels are social discussions taking place? What is their share of voice in their industry?
Take a look at the social media insights we’ve compiled using Talkwalker’s Social Media
Analytics. If you want to discover the power of the Talkwalker for yourself, sign up for a free
demo with one of our experts.

Essential industry read: How ecommerce brands out perform their rivals on social

Social Media in India is still growing and every brand/business/agency has their own definitions
about it. Flipkart has a proven track record when it comes to social media and digital media.
Here are 5 social media lessons that other brands can learn from Flipkart.

The field of e-Commerce has changed a lot over the last few years, and the methods used within
it have also. Unsurprisingly, there have been plenty of sites out there that try their best to show
they are more lucrative than what they really are. But Flipkart sticks to what it promises; let’s
have a brief understanding of this online Store in digital space.
After that it entered the telecommunication category by launching mobile phones. Since then it
has rapidly grown to other verticals. The reason for Flipkart being so popular is due its
innovative features like cash on delivery where after the customer gets the delivery of the good
he/she can check the good and make the payment on cash. The online store has spread to
multiple categories namely they are Books, music, mobiles, computers, cameras ,home and
kitchen applications, TV and home theatre systems, Personal and healthcare products and
stationary items as well.

Flipkart has a really good presence on social networks:

 Google+: 178,893 Followers

 Facebook: 2,197,277 Fans
 Twitter: 90,908 Followers

It is interesting to see that Flipkart still hasn’t leveraged Pinterest, but looking at above
followers/ fans Flipkart is doing something right! Let’s have a look at 5 social media lessons that
brands can learn from Flipkart:
1. Social Listening

It’s no secret that social media can be used to follow conversations of customers. No brand can
be all things to all people, but letting a customer know you are aware of their situation and
troubleshooting it that does a lot to ease the aggravation. Every brand receives backlash, the
beauty lies in the way they handle it.

On Flipkart whenever they receive complaints on their online properties, they are prompt on
replying and courteous. This re-instates the customer’s belief that once the product is sold it isn’t
forgotten Flipkart does a great job on handling their customer queries, complaints and provides
them with solutions as well.

2. Social Media as a Whole

Every Social Media platform has its own uniqueness and the way they work is also different. The
reason that many brands do not effectively connect is because they cannot be easily found or
recognized on social media that is due to lack of information and integration. Running a
Facebook campaign doesn’t mean you cannot talk about it on Twitter, and that is where flipkart
got it right.

On Flipkarts website as you scroll down you will see an option where they can be connected on
Twitter, Facebook or Google+ thus making the customers aware of their presence. If its an
occasion around the corner, Flipkart makes sure how to connect people with their products. Thus
keeping in mind that Flipkart is running a contest on Twitter, where your tweets can win you a
gift they have linked it across all their networks. Thus it increases awareness, exposure and more
interaction.

3. Be Humorous

Flipkart’s way to inform their customers is path breaking and innovative. Most ads fail to
connect at any emotional level and seem more like an announcement.

[youtube width=”602″ height=”350″ video_id=”3aFlFwvn9vA”]

Flipkart’s ads for one stand out with 12 year olds enacting like grownups and addressing the real
concerns around ecommerce, it seems Flipkart is doing what an industry leader should do, i.e.
create awareness about the industry and not only about themselves. While all other ecommerce
sites took to buy from me stand, Flipkart addresses buy online. They have even shared these
advertisements on their social networks to spread awareness as well.

4. Re-Marketing

Re-Marketing is a way of following customers that didn’t convert the first time they visited your
brands website. So with this you can target your customers with the ads that are relevant to the
pages or products the customers viewed on your site. This is what Flipkart does, even if the
customer forgets, Flipkart remembers and lures the customer with the personal touch.

Example: You viewed a certain product/category on Flipkart and left the website for some or the
other reason. The same product or category will be seen on the right sidebar/news feed of
Facebook in a way nudging the Customer to have a look again; hence it creates inquisitiveness
and lures the customer to click on the link.

5. Know the Platform

It is very important for brands to be aware of changes happening on social network’s if they are
not adhering to those changes they are clearly losing out more ways to expand their reach.
Flipkart is amongst those brands which adapt to change very frequently. Like if you go on their
Facebook page, you will see now they share more and more links and that is because, links on
Facebook are working as good as photos these days (report suggests).
It is important to note here that, due to the increasing demand and popularity of image

and video-driven content, platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube are expected

to become the top social media channels for marketing in the future.

Now that we know which are the best social media platforms to start with, the next thing

you need to focus on are the challenges that are generally faced by Indian brands when

advertising through social media. So our next question is;

#Challenges faced by companies#

The main reason behind addressing this question is to give you an idea about the kind of

hurdles you can expect to face, as a start-up which is looking to invest in social media

marketing.

By understanding the key challenges that Indian brands currently face with regards to

advertising through social media, you can gain insight into the kinds of challenges you

may face with your social media campaign.

To begin with, lets discuss the biggest challenge that majority of the companies face, i.e.

 To successfully measure the effectiveness of social media engagements.As the

budget for social media marketing increases, companies face the challenge of

coming up with a way of measuring the efficiency of the different kinds of social

activities, along with the effectiveness of individual social media platforms.This

 will help them understand how much more or less capital can be set aside for

social media advertising.

 Another tricky bit is increasing and maintaining fruitful engagements with

the users.As social media gains more steam as a means of marketing, the

initiatives will become more and more advanced.This may make it difficult to

acquire number of followers and convert them into active users or subscribers

through quality engagement.

CONCLUSION

This paper discussed the growth and the challenges in the ever expanding area of e marketing.
This field needs constant learning. One cannot overlook the fact that it is a technology driven
approach.There is a dire need to keep abreast of the latest in the field of computer science and
information technology. Poorly created and executed programs create mistrust between clients
and marketers. Spam, identity theft, intrusive advertising, technical snags, not keeping terms
with contract / agreements, gap between ordered products and actual deliveries have created deep
mistrust in e marketing. Hence the growth of e marketing depends also on the growth of business
ethics on the one hand and consumer protection laws on the other. In other words, the relevance
of ‘credibility’ in business in general and e marketing in particular is mammoth which can be
addressed with skill development in the field of information technologies.While one has to adopt
caution, e marketing offers a world of opportunities.

In today’s world, we are moving fast towards a Digital platform, having almost all the services
on the fingertips of the consumers for convenience. Healthcare industry is also progressing
towards integrating the digital technology in healthcare along with the regular practices to
understand and serve the patients better. In today’s online world, there is a great opportunity in
healthcare to use digital media to educate, inspire, motivate and engage the target audiences.

Digital health technologies encompass a wide range of tools, such as wearable sensors and
portable medical devices to digital signboards, tele-medicine tools and practice management
tools. It is very important to target the right audience to achieve certain goals:

BIBLIOGRAPHY –

For the preparation of this report I have used the

following books -
 kotler Philip, marketing management, 1 3 rd edition,
PPH learning pvt. Limited.
 Dr. S. C. Aggarwal, principles of marketing, dhanpat
rai publishing company ( p ) Ltd., first edition –
2003, e-mail – dhanpatrai@vsnl.com
 Robert Peterson, strategic marketing problems,
international edition 12th edition, edition – august
2009

 Websites – www.google.com
www.wikipedia.org