Birth Of Internet Marketing

It's hard to believe, but just ten short years ago, there were only a handful of entrepreneurs who took the Internet seriously. Today, putting up a web site, buying traffic and taking orders is so easy that hundreds of thousands of people around the world make all or part of their living from the Internet. Ten years ago, only a small handful of people did. The company that made the difference was Netscape. Netscape made using the Internet easy and not just for users, but for people who wanted to use it to publish and sell products and services as well. Ten years ago on August 9, 1995, Netscape's shares went public and its co-founder, 23 year old Marc Andreessen was suddenly worth $100,000,000. The Internet boom was on.

Why the web grew so fast

The key to the Internet's explosive growth in the 1990s was commerce - buying, selling and marketing. But who invented the concept of the Internet as a marketing medium? Who got that ball rolling? Before the post-Netscape boom, the Internet was used only for sending e-mail and file sharing. Many business people at the time, including Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, publicly stated that making money on the Internet would be impossible. Some even opposed the idea of opening the Internet to commerce at all. To answer the question of 'Who got the ball rolling on Internet marketing?' you've got to go back in time... to San Francisco...1994. Banner ads, online catalogs, viral marketing, keyword ads, calculating clickthrough rates, the Internet as a direct marketing medium...all these innovative leaps and more were laid out by just a handful of people who could fit comfortably around a small card table.

More about Internet/Web Marketing

Internet marketing, also known as digital marketing, web marketing, online marketing, search marketing or e-marketing, is the marketing (generally promotion) of products or services over the Internet. Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wireless media. Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing. Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales. Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, email marketing, and Web 2.0 strategies.

Having goods and services marketed on the internet seems second nature now, but actually internet marketing is a relatively new phenomenon. When the internet first started and more of the public began to access it, companies began to realize that they could utilize the internet to provide information to potential customers. The first examples of internet marketing were simply text websites. They were very basic and simple with no pictures or graphics. As the internet started to develop, more and more companies realized that they had a global audience at their disposal. Websites became more complex. They contained pictures of products and graphics intended to keep the customer interested.

By our standards today, these first websites seem archaic. However, they served their purpose as people began to turn to the internet for information about companies and what they had to offer. If someone wanted to buy something, they would call the company on a phone number provided by the website. Eventually, the technology existed so that companies could sell their products right from their website. E-commerce began to grow very quickly once methods to securely provide your credit card number became available. Consumers could now order products right from their home. Companies could reach customers all over the world. Online auction sites became very popular as people could sell their items to each other for a small fee.

There also was an increased use of the internet as a source of advertising. Companies began to place ads on other websites to promote their products. Today pay per click advertisements benefit both the publishers of the websites and the company which has goods to sell. Affiliate programs are also very popular. They allow website owners to advertise products on their website and if a customer purchases the item, then the website owner gets a percentage of the

sale. The internet has even been used as a primary source of advertising. Companies have created innovative advertising programs, sometimes referred to as viral marketing. Viral marketing seeks to create a buzz about a product through word of mouth. Some viral marketing plans even use alternate reality games in order to promote a particular product.

Because of the expansive nature of internet marketing, it is sometimes overwhelming for a company to know where to begin.

Models In Web Marketing

Web Marketing

E-commerce

Lead-Based Websites

Affiliate Marketing

Local Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is associated with several business models:

E-commerce: a model whereby goods are sold directly to consumers (B2C), businesses (B2B), or from consumer to consumer (C2C) Lead-based websites: a strategy whereby an organization generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website. Similar to walk-in customers in retail world. These prospects are often referred to as organic leads. Affiliate Marketing: a process wherein a product or service developed by one entity is sold by other active sellers for a share of profits. The entity that owns the product may provide some marketing material (e.g., sales letters, affiliate links, tracking facilities, etc.); however, the vast majority of affiliate marketing relationships come from ecommerce businesses that offer affiliate programs.

Local Internet marketing: a strategy through which a small company utilizes the Internet to find and to nurture relationships that can be used for real-world advantages. Local Internet marketing uses tools such as social media marketing, local directory listing, and targeted online sales promotions.

Various tools of Web marketing

1. Search engine marketing SEM stands for search engine marketing. It is the process of gaining traffic from or visibility on search engines. The phrase is also sometimes shortened to search marketing. SEM is an umbrella term that covers two broad areas:

Gaining traffic through free SEO efforts Gaining traffic through paid search advertising

SEM, is a form of Internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion. Search engine optimization (SEO) "optimizes" website content to achieve a higher ranking in search results, for example, by incorporating specific keywords or links associated with the website. Depending on the context, SEM can be an umbrella term for various means of marketing a website including SEO, or it may contrast with SEO, focusing on just paid components. 2. Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Additional Search engine marketing (SEM) methods including paid listings may achieve higher effectivity. In general, the earlier (or higher on the page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a website web presence. As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content

and HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic. 3. Banner ads A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser. The advertisement is constructed from an image (GIF, JPEG, PNG), JavaScript program or multimedia object employing technologies such as Java, Shockwave or Flash, often employing animation, sound, or video to maximize presence. Images are usually in a high-aspect ratio shape (i.e. either wide and short, or tall and narrow) hence the reference to banners. These images are usually placed on web pages that have interesting content, such as a newspaper article or an opinion piece. Affiliates earn money usually on a CPC (cost per click) basis. For every unique user click on the ad, the affiliate earns money. Typical web banner, sized 46860 pixels.The web banner is displayed when a web page that references the banner is loaded into a web browser. This event is known as an "impression". When the viewer clicks on the banner, the viewer is directed to the website advertised in the banner. This event is known as a "click through". In many cases, banners are delivered by a central ad server. Web banners function the same way as traditional advertisements are intended to function: notifying consumers of the product or service and presenting reasons why the consumer should choose the product in question, although web banners differ in that the results for advertisement campaigns may be monitored real-time and may be targeted to the viewer's interests. Behavior is often tracked through the use of a click tag. 4. E-mail marketing Email marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fund-raising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to:

sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business, sending email messages with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, adding advertisements to email messages sent by other companies to their customers.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using email marketing in comparison to traditional advertising mail.

Advantages Email marketing (on the Internet) is popular with companies for several reasons:

An exact return on investment can be tracked ("track to basket") and has proven to be high when done properly. Email marketing is often reported as second only to search marketing as the most effective online marketing tactic. Advertisers can reach substantial numbers of email subscribers who have opted in (i.e., consented) to receive email communications on subjects of interest to them. Over half of Internet users check or send email on a typical day. Email is popular with digital marketers, rising an estimated 15% in 2009 to 292m in the UK.

Disadvantages Can be excessive to the customers, every time he sees your e-mail only. Emails will sometimes be deemed as spam. Today, people are bombarded with lots of unsolicited emails. Email service providers have taken action to enforce more powerful spam filters. Although spam filters are good at blocking spam mails, sometimes they also block legitimate emails too. To prevent this from happening, the subject line and content of your emails should not imply that they are spam. Avoid using words like "Free", "Discounts", "Coupon", etc. When you are planning your email campaign, make sure that the content of the emails are planned carefully. Your emails should not always be pitching about your product or service. Provide other tips and information to your subscribers so that they will find it worthwhile to stay on your mailing list.

Advantages and Limitations of Internet marketing

Advantages Internet marketing is inexpensive when examining the ratio of cost to the reach of the target audience. Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. The nature of the medium allows consumers to research and to purchase products and services conveniently. Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results quickly.

Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively; almost all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested. The advertisers can use a variety of methods, such as pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, and pay per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience. The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually require users to click on an advertisement, to visit a website, and to perform a targeted action.

Limitations However, from the buyer's perspective, the inability of shoppers to touch, to smell, to taste, and "to try on" tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting.However, there is an industry standard for e-commerce vendors to reassure customers by having liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services.

Now for IOCL to promote its lube products online I would suggest a lube oil changing shop ServOil which includes basic lube oil changing facility along with other ancillary services. The site should showcase all its products which are in product line of IOCL. It should show display a Heritage column which would make online consumers aware of the rich history the company posses. This should also include the latest happenings of lubricant market. The product line can have suitable section such as Industrial Automotive Marine Offshore OEMs

Under these we can display our various products available for the use. A downloadable product catalogue is a fantastic option we can provide to the consumers. ServOil will basically provide speedy oil changing facility along with some tune up utilities The packages which ServOil can provide can be categorized as 1. Gold Oil Service Change oil Change oil filter Lubricate Chassis (when applicable) Check and fill following fluids o Transmission/Transaxle fluid o Differential fluids o Power steering fluid o Windshield washer fluid o Battery water (not applicable for maintenance free batteries) Check and inflate tires Visually inspect: o Antifreeze/coolant o Engine air filter o Cabin air filter (if equipped) o Serpentine belts o Brake fluid level o Wiper blades o Lights Vacuum interior floors Clean exterior windows

2. Silver Oil Service Change oil Change oil filter Lubricate Chassis (when applicable) Check and fill following fluids o Transmission/Transaxle fluid o Differential fluids o Power steering fluid o Windshield washer fluid o Battery water (not applicable for maintenance free batteries) Check and inflate tires Visually inspect: o Antifreeze/coolant o Engine air filter o Cabin air filter (if equipped) o Serpentine belts o Brake fluid level o Wiper blades o Lights

3. Bronze Oil Service (lube oil and filter + basic checks) Visually inspect: o Antifreeze/coolant o Engine air filter o Cabin air filter (if equipped) o Serpentine belts o Brake fluid level o Wiper blades o Lights The site should also consist a separate link to bikers leading to bikes section. Here what company can do is ask consumer to enter their bikes make and model thereby suggesting them the correct oil for their bikes. This will help in accumulate more viewers as they are being taught about the best oil for their vehicle. To attract young consumers, which usually belong to 18-24years category and form a large chunk of internet users ( approximately 42% ), we can add

Video section displaying safe riding tips. Write-up or links directing towards the latest happenings in 2-Wheeler segment inside and outside the country. DIY-Column This is Do-It-Yourself column which will educate people how they can themselves take good and efficient care of their own vehicle.

The same can be applied to car section. Infact in car section we can add Manufacturing Service Recommendation column, asking consumer to mention their vehicle make, and get recommendations as per it.

Vehicle Year: Vehicle Make: Vehicle Model: Engine: Driving Conditions: Mileage: Severe Normal

Severe" Service Conditions:

Normal" Service Conditions:

Take short trips of less than 15 kms. Drive in heavy traffic with many stops and starts. Drive at high rates of speed. Tow heavy loads or drive offroad. Drive in dusty conditions. Drive in extremely cold or extremely hot climates.

Trips of 15 kms or more. Sustained speeds of 50 to 75 kms an hour. Driving in low-traffic situations with few stops and starts. Ambient temperatures above freezing and below 38 degrees Celsius.

Other ancillary services can be also provided such as : 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Engine tune up AC services Brake-oil services Radiator/ coolant Tire services

All this website packaging must be comforted with : 1. User-name/ Login where the customers can become members of ServOil, and get to know their past transaction, loyalty points, offer etc . 2. A feedback column. 3. A box showing store locator, as per given details i.e viewers location and radius within which he wants the store. 4. ServOil Club where the user can get various coupons/gifts & discounts on the lube change from ServOil. 5. As already mentioned car/bike care tips along with some additional information like how your vehicle works, FAQs column etc. 6. Suitable background music should be present which should be pleasing enough along with some decent and suitable graphics. ( there should be an option to mute the music) 7. Mobile reminders showing details when did the customer changed his oil last time, giving him an alarm bell that its time to change. 8. Employment opportunities For example In case of Store manager 1. Competitive salary commensurate with experience 2. Monthly Bonus Plan 3. Annual Salary Reviews 4. Two Days off Weekly - Sunday and a Weekday 5. Uniforms Included 6. Training - 4 Week Program 7. Paid Vacations - 1 Week after 1st Year and 2 Weeks after 5 years 8. Pay in addition to Salary if required to Work Normal Day Off (1/6 Pay) 9. Free Regular Oil Change 10. Comfortable Work Environment 11. Quality of Life Hours of Operation In case of Hourly employees
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Full time employment for most employees Quarterly or Annual wage reviews Two days off per week - Sunday and a Weekday Uniforms at a nominal charge Comfortable work environment Quality of life hours of operation Opportunity for advancement

So this was the framework of what ServOil web site should look like. Now to further market it IOCL can take help of 1. Social networking sites 2. Blogs 3. Links present in OEMs site.