Assignment 2
Scenario
The Internet Research Laboratory
St David’s House
Hemel Hempstead
You are working as a business consultant for the Internet Research Laboratory. You have been asked to advise a new client about e-marketing. Based on your research and investigations so far, respond to the following tasks in a formal report to advise the client.
- Describe the principal benefits to customers of internet marketing (P2)
- Analyse the benefits of internet marketing to customers (M1)
- Evaluate the effectiveness of internet marketing in meeting customer needs for a selected business. (D1)
Guidance Notes
Select at least three online retailing sites such as www.dell.co.uk, www.landsend.co.uk, www.diy.com, www.topshop.co.uk and www.tesco.com. Using the following headings describe the features that these websites that offer benefits to the customers.
Comparing and selecting providers, Comprehensive and up-to-date product information, Dynamic Pricing, Responsive Transactions, Customer Service, Digital Complaints, Chat,
To analyse the benefits you must give full details about each one and explain the ways in which the customers gain. For instance, product comparisons are available in physical stores too; why is this felt to be beneficial just because it is online? You might say that the features are available at the click of a button without any searching around, asking staff, etc. How have internet marketing activities built on conventional offline marketing activities? How is the mix exploited differently?
To evaluate means, in this case, you must review the information you have presented about one online business. This is a challenge because you must outline your views based on your judgements about something. For Example, you may decide to consider whether customers really benefit from having the chance to chat about products online. Your view may be that this is a gimmick. However you must be able to fully justify this view. On the other hand, you may discover a chat or discussion service about a product that you think is very useful (e.g. Apple iPod discussion forum at www.apple.com). You must back up your views with suitable evidence.
You are required to hand in the following:
Front Cover, the question, the student checklist and Grading Criteria Feedback (these sheets)
A formal report on suitably designed Headed Paper
The URL’s of any of the web sites you are using.
A Reference list and the documents referenced using Harvard Referencing.
Websites that might help you get started
Books that might help you
Internet Marketing, Strategy, Implementation and Practice Dave Chaffey et al Prentice Hall
E-Business and E-Commerce Management Dave Chaffey
Principles of Marketing Kotler and Armstrong
Marketing Concepts and Strategies Sally Dibb et Al