E-Marketing has changed the way consumers interact, communicate and most importantly make purchasing decisions of a brand’s product or service. Brand marketers and advertisers now have a wide array of mediums through which to reach its target audience. For instance, product ad placement has never been easier and more precise than with search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. Never have advertisers been able to obtain such detailed information about its consumer’s likes and dislikes than through Facebook connect or “likes.” Advertisers can also ride the waves of success of others through ad placement on popular YouTube videos. Even highly informative and intuitive interactive ads can be readily accessible to iPhone smartphone users since implementation of iAd to the iOS platform.
On the flipside of the same coin, never have product advertising claims been up for such widespread scrutiny and comparison. With thousands of product review sites, published consumer reports, and social media buzz, brands must make sure that their product claims are true. Doing a fact check for a product/service ad is as simple doing a Google search for a product review or discussing with friends or groups on Facebook that have already used the product/service. According to a study conducted by GroupM search and comScore called, “The Virtuous Circle: the Role of Search and Social Media in the Purchase Pathway,” before purchasing a product, 58% of respondents turned to search engines such as Google and Bing, 24% visited a company website, and 18% went on social media sites.
Another arena where consumers are grabbing a foothold and leveling the playing field in their advantage is through the use of comparison-shopping application on smartphones such as Red Laser. Finding competitive pricing in nearby retail venues is as simple as entering a store scanning a desired product’s barcode and finding the pricing and location of the same product at a retail venue near you. The article by Time, “How Smartphones Level the Playing Field for Shoppers,” gives amazing insight as to how consumers can now have price transparency.
For marketers this means that though they have gained huge audiences through e-marketing, they also much consumer confidence to lose if their products don't match up to their ad claims. For retailer it means that competitive pricing is readily available and thus their pricing must be able to compete. This is just another reality of living in the digital “marketing” age.
Sources:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/social_network/showArticle.jhtml? articleID=229219363
http://money.blogs.time.com/2010/12/16/how-smartphones-level-the-playing-field-for-shoppers/
I see exactly what you mean! Now our generation, and even less for the ones right after ours do we see going to a library to research through books as such an odd task to do. Everything has become so easy to access. Our mediums for research has basically become digital and easy to access online through internet web pages as well, Decisions have become based solely at times just through internet research and choices. Its amazing and such an amazing advance from just a couple years! Your right it has changed marketing and given a lot of market growth!
ReplyDeleteE-Marketing has changed the way consumers interact, communicate and most importantly make purchasing decisions of a brand’s product or service. I can't imagine, not many years ago, people having to go to Consumer Report's magazines to read reviews for products. This is very time consuming. Now it is as easy as a click on a search engine as Google, Bing or Yahoo.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, search engines,social media sites and sites like Google analytics help advertisers by providing detailed information about their consumers. This huge advantage to companies it's not free. Companies have to make sure what they promise consumers is what they give, in order to stand out from the clutter.
The most important thing a company must do is tell the truth about their product claims. You are right, if they claim false information, the potential customers will find out! It is so easy nowadays to find information on Google and other websites that it may take someone an hour to decide which computer to buy versus a week of going to different stores and comparing.
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