Readings

  What is e-marketing?  The answer is pretty easy.  It is applying marketing theory using the capabilities of the Internet to  deliver products/services to the target market.  The fundamentals of marketing remain the same even in the dotcom business environment.  Marketing continues to be product-price-promotion-place driven.  Primary to marketing strategy is the strategic formulation of a Marketing Plan.  That Marketing Plan is derived from the overall business plan and has to include the number of target markets as well as definitions of the target market by demographics and psychographics.  Once the target market(s) has been identified, then marketing research is needed to uncover an unmet need, want, or desire and then to fulfill it to the delight of your consumer. 

   Part of what makes e-marketing more difficult is that within the demographics and psychographics, the computer-Internet abilities of your target market have to be assessed.  Partially integrated with computer abilities are the questions of what is the age of the market, the perceived age of the market, the level and amount of computer experience, and how fast can the members of the target market interact with the Internet.  The faster the Internet interchange (28K, 56K, Cable modem, or T1) then the more likely the market will be using the Internet to gather information, buy items online, participate in auctions, and generally incorporate it into their daily lives.  IF the main method of accessing the Internet is through a slow modem, then the is a much less likelihood that the Internet and e-marketing will be an important influence on that consumer's life.

Additional Information

Thanks to Dr. Michael Rappa at North Carolina State University