5 levels of relationship marketing

Building long term relationships with customers is a key to sustainable businesses. Building
relationships mainly relies on the interaction which the company has with its customers. This
interaction can come in the form of distributors (many customers), retail as well as direct sales
executive. Each channel is different and has its own set of interactions.

Thus, there are five different levels identified for relationship marketing thereby
improving customer service and customer satisfaction. These five levels of relationship
marketing are as follows

1) Basic Marketing

The salesperson sells to the final customers. This is also known as direct sales.

2) Reactive Marketing

The sales person sells the product and encourages the customer to call for any comments or
enquiries.

3) Accountable Marketing

The sales person calls the customers to ensure whether the product is working as per satisfaction
and if there is any problem in the product. Furthermore he also asks the customer for any
suggestions / feedback to improve the service / product. Thus he is taking responsibility for the
sale.

4) Proactive marketing

The company works continuously with its large customers to help improve performance. This is
especially seen in financial companies wherein the movement in the financial market induces the
company to make changes regularly. However at the same time, these financial companies have
to take care of their customers as well. Thus they take regular feedback from their large
customers thereby developing their products accordingly.

5) Partnership Marketing

The company works continuously with its large customers to improve its performance. An
example would include General Electric which has stationed Engineers to its third party service
centers to improve overall performance. Thus even in partnerships GE is ensuring optimal
relationship development with the parent brand.
According to the FTC, what are the minimum requirements for ethical use of consumer
information?

The following are requirements from the FTC in regards to ethical use of consumer information:

1. Notice
2. Consent
3. Access
4. Security
5. Enforcement

According to the FTC a site must present information of their policy to the users. For example,
they can have a policy screen that always users to read the information and mark that they have
read the rules. Secondly, the user should be able to choose to participate or the user should be
able to exclude them from the collection. Third, is that the site must provide the user with the
access to change information and correct it if necessary. Fourth, is the requirement of security.
The site must inform the user policies to ensure the integrity of the data. For example they can
state that information will not be shown to an outside party. Lastly, is the requirement of
enforcement. This means that users should be able to hold data collectors to their policies.

How does copyright differ from patent and trademark law?

When a person wants to protect intangible or intellectual property, there are three different ways
to do this. They can do this through copyright, patents, and trademarks. A patent law is a grant of
a property right to the inventor. This gives the inventor the ability to reproduce or manufacture a
product. . A trademark is a word, name, or symbol, which is used to indicate the source of the
goods and distinguish them from other goods. This trademark can also help prevent others from
using a confusingly similar mark. A patent grants the inventor with the property right. It gives
the inventor the ability to reproduce or manufacture his or her product. The difference between a
copyright and a trademark is that a copyright protects works of authorship and a trademark
protects words or phrases related to goods and services. If someone wants to protect a title or
slogan, generally a person will want a trademark. Copyright laws do not protect a bare phase or
slogan. The difference between a copyright and patent is that the patent is centered on inventions
and an invention is not something that can be copyrighted. According
to smallbusiness.chron.com a patent expires after twenty years, copyrights expire depending on
if the work has been published or unpublished. If the work is owned and published it expires
ninety-five years from date of publication or one hundred and twenty years from date of creation.

Real space data collection:

 Real-space primary data collection: technology enabled approaches to gather information

offline.
  Data collection occurs at off-line points of purchase and information is stored and used in
marketing databases.

 Real-space techniques include bar code scanners and credit card terminals.

Catalina Marketing uses the Universal Product Code (UPC) for promotional purposes at grocery
stores

Importance of real space data collection for e-marketers:

 Product databases hold information about product features, prices, and inventory levels;
customer databases hold information about customer characteristics and behaviors

 Data warehouses are storehouses for the entire organization’s historical data, not just for
marketing data.

 Software vendors are attempting to solve the website maintenance problem with content
management systems.

 The current trend in data storage is toward cloud computing: a network of online Web
servers used to store and manage data.

A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy,

authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of
the Domain Name System (DNS). Any name registered in the DNS is a domain name. Domain
names are used in various networking contexts and for application-specific naming and
addressing purposes. In general, a domain name represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource,
such as a personal computer used to access the Internet, a server computer hosting a web site, or
the web site itself or any other service communicated via the Internet. In 2017, 330.6 million
domain names had been registered.[1]
Domain names are organized in subordinate levels (subdomains) of the DNS root domain, which
is nameless. The first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including
the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent domains com, info, net, edu,
and org, and the country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Below these top-level domains in the
DNS hierarchy are the second-level and third-level domain names that are typically open for
reservation by end-users who wish to connect local area networks to the Internet, create other
publicly accessible Internet resources or run web sites.
The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who
sell their services to the public.
A fully qualified domain name (FQDN) is a domain name that is completely specified with all
labels in the hierarchy of the DNS, having no parts omitted. Labels in the Domain Name System
are case-insensitive, and may therefore be written in any desired capitalization method, but most
commonly domain names are written in lowercase in technical contexts.
The domain name is a component of a uniform resource locator (URL) used to access web sites,
for example:

 URL: http://www.example.net/index.html
 Top-level domain: net
 Second-level domain: example
 Host name: www
A domain name may point to multiple IP addresses to provide server redundancy for the services
offered, a feature that is used to manage the traffic of large, popular web sites.
Web hosting services, on the other hand, run servers that are typically assigned only one or a few
addresses while serving websites for many domains, a technique referred to as virtual web
hosting. Such IP address overloading requires that each request identifies the domain name being
referenced, for instance by using the HTTP request header field Host:, or Server Name
Indication.
An important function of domain names is to provide easily recognizable an use in advertising,
search engine optimization, and many other criteria.

1. Unique and unforgettable. In the trade, this is called “stickiness.” But the issue of
stickiness turns out to be kind of, well, sticky. Every company wants a name that stands out from
the crowd, a catchy handle that will remain fresh and memorable over time. That’s a challenge
because naming trends change, often year by year, making timeless names hard to find
(remember the dot.coms).
2. Avoid unusual spellings. When creating a name, stay with words that can easily be spelled
by customers. Some startup founders try unusual word spellings to make their business stand
out, but this can be trouble when customers ‘Google’ your business to find you, or try to refer
you to others. Stay with traditional word spelling, and avoid those catchy words that you love to
explain at cocktail parties.
3. Easy to pronounce and remember. Forget made-up words and nonsense phrases. Make
your business name one that customers can pronounce and remember easily. Skip the
acronyms, which mean nothing to most people. When choosing an identity for a company or a
product, simple and straightforward are back in style, and cost less to brand.
4. Keep it simple . The shorter in length, the better. Limit it to two syllables. Avoid using
hyphens and other special characters. Since certain algorithms and directory listings work
alphabetically, pick a name closer to A than Z. These days, it even helps if the name can easily be
turned into a verb, like Google me.
5. Make some sense . Occasionally, business owners will choose names that are nonsense
words. Quirky words (Yahoo, Google, Fogdog) or trademark-proof names concocted from
scratch (Novartis, Aventis, Lycos) are a big risk. Always check the international implications.
More than one company has been embarrassed by a new name that had negative and even
obscene connotations in another language.
6. Give a clue. Try to adopt a business name that provides some information about what your
business does. Calling your landscaping business “Lawn and Order” is appropriate, but the same
 name would not do well for a handyman business. Your business name should match your
business in order to remind customers what services you provide.
7. Make sure the name is available. This may sound obvious, but a miss here will cost you
dearly. Your company name and Internet domain name should probably be the same, so check
out your preferred names with your State Incorporation site, Network Solutions for the
domain name, and the U.S. Patent Office for Trademarks.
8. Favor common suffixes. Everyone will assume that your company name is your domain
name minus the suffix “.com” or the standard suffix for your country. If these suffixes are not
available for the name you prefer, pick a new name rather than settling for an alternate suffix
like “.net” or “.info.” Get all three suffixes if you can.
9. Don’t box yourself in. Avoid picking names that don’t allow your business to move around
or add to its product line. This means avoiding geographic locations or product categories to
your business name. With these specifics, customers will be confused if you expand your
business to different locations or add on to your product line.
10. Sample potential customers. Come up with a few different name choices and try them out
on potential customers, investors, and co-workers. Skip your family and friends who know too
much. Ask questions about the names to see if they give off the impression you desire.

DMCA : The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a United States copyright law that
implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes
production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that
control access to copyrighted works (commonly known as digital rights management or DRM). It also
criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of
copyright itself. In addition, the DMCA heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on
the Internet.[1][2] Passed on October 12, 1998, by a unanimous vote in the United States Senate and
signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998, the DMCA amended Title 17 of
the United States Code to extend the reach of copyright, while limiting the liability of the providers of
online services for copyright infringement by their users.
The DMCA's principal innovation in the field of copyright is the exemption from direct
and indirect liability of Internet service providersand other intermediaries. This exemption was
adopted by the European Union in the Electronic Commerce Directive 2000. The Copyright
Directive 2001 implemented the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty in the EU.

NET : The National Eligibility Test (NET), also known as UGC NET or CBSE NET, is a test
to determine eligibility for college and university level lecturership and for the award of Junior
Research Fellowship (JRF) for Indian nationals. It aims to ensure minimum standards for the
entrants in teaching professions and research. On behalf of the University Grants
Commission (UGC), the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) holds the test for
determining the eligibility of Indian nationals for the Eligibility for Assistant Professor only or
Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Assistant Professor both in Indian universities and
colleges.
As per the press-release by Indian Government, the CBSE UGC NET Exam might come under
the hat of NTA (National Testing Agency). Thereafter, the exam would be conducted twice a
year and it will be conducted in an online mode instead of offline mode
SET : State Entrance Test

Eight Building blocks of CRM

Companies are continuing to pursue CRM projects in 2003 despite the discontent from many
about earlier failures and the harsh business climate. But most companies are now taking a more
cautious approach to their implementations. Project prices have come down, but still run in the
range of $800,000 to $1 million. At a recent Gartner CRM Summit, the research firm's analysts
recommended that companies looking at CRM projects carefully consider the basics of CRM.
Gartner consultant Ed Thompson offered eight building blocks for successful CRM projects:

1 Vision:The board must take leadership in creating a CRM vision for the enterprise. The CRM
vision should be used as the guide to the creation of a CRM strategy.

2 Strategy: The CRM strategy is all about how to build and develop a valuable asset: the
customer base. It must set objectives and metrics for attaining that goal. It directs the objectives
of other operational strategies and the CRM implementation strategy.

3 Customer experience: The customer experience must be designed in line with the CRM
vision and must be constantly refined, based on actively sought customer feedback.

4 Organizational collaboration: Changes to organizational structures, processes, metrics,

incentives, skills, and even the enterprise culture must be made to deliver the required external
customer experience. Ongoing change management will be key.

5 Process: Successful customer process reengineering should create processes that not only meet
customers' expectations and support the customer value proposal, but also provide competitive
differentiation and contribute to a designed customer experience.

6 Information: Successful CRM demands the creation of a customer-information blood supply

that flows around the organization, as well as tight integration between operational and analytical
systems.

7 Technology: CRM technologies form a fundamental part of any enterprise's application

portfolio and architecture. CRM application needs should be considered as the provision of
integrated functionality that supports seamless customer-centric processes across all areas of the
enterprise and its partners.

8 Metrics: Enterprises must set measurable CRM objectives and monitor all levels of CRM
indicators to turn customers into assets. Without performance management, a CRM
implementation will fail. Metrics is the most important of the eight building blocks, yet only a
quarter of enterprises measure before implementation, Thompson said. "The problems are
identifying which metrics are critical in driving CRM benefits, and knowing where to find the
information," he said. "A performance management framework is required, and without a
hierarchy of linked metrics, a CRM strategy is likely to fail."

Opportunities and challenges in Online governance:

Online governance OR E-Governance is nothing but use of internet technology as a platform for
exchanging information, providing services and transacting with citizens, businesses, and other
arms of government. E-Governance provides a sound strategy to strengthen overall governance.
It can not only improve accountability, transparency and efficiency of 676 Kiran Yadav &
Sanatan Tiwari government processes, but also facilitate sustainable and inclusive growth.
EGovernance also provides a mechanism of direct delivery of public services to the marginal
segments of the society in the remotest corners, without having to deal with intermediariers.

Benifits of E-Governance

1 Fast, Convenient and Cost Effective Service Delivery With the advent of e-Service delivery,
the government can provide information and services at lesser costs, in reduced time and with
greater convenience. For instance, after the computerisation of land records in Karnataka,
farmers can obtain a copy of their Records of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) within 30
minutes, as against 30 days that it used to take earlier. Moreover, a printed copy of the RTC at
kiosks costs ` 15 only, as against heavy bribes that one had to pay earlier

2 Transparency, Accountability and Reduced Corruption Dissemination of information

through ICT increases transparency, ensures accountability and prevents corruption. An
increased use of computers and web based services improves the awareness levels of citizens
about their rights and powers. This helps to reduce the discretionary powers of government
officials and curtail corruption. For instance, land registration requirements in Andhra Pradesh
after computerisation can now be completed within an hour without any official harassment or
bribes.

3 Increased Participation by People With easy access to the government services, the faith of
the citizens in the government increases and they come forward to share their views and
feedback. Increased accessibility to information has empowered the citizens and has enhanced
their participation by giving them the opportunity to share information and contribution
implementation of initiatives. 3. Different Sectors Benefited by E-Governance E-Governance is
implemented by government in almost every field. From urban states to rural areas and from
politics to teaching-Governance has spread its root everywhere. Either its public or private
sector, common man or businessman all is largely dependent on e-governance. Here we have
presented different areas where egovernance is widely used. In the following section, we are
describing the projects used in urban and rural areas of India 3.1 E- Governance projects in urban
areas

Transportation:- Services provided by e-governance in this area are Issuance of Time Table of
buses, Provision of booking facility for Interstate transport, Transportation Improvement
Program, Regional Transport plans,Congestion Management Process,Transportation Demand
Management. E-Governance in India: Opportunities and Challenges 677 Various projects [1 1.
CFST:-Citizen Friendly Services of Transport Department by Andhra Pradesh government to
provide services such as Issue of learner licensces, ,Issue of driving licenses ,Renewal of driving
licenses etc 2. Vahan and Sarathi:-The backend applications Vahan & Sarathi help in speeding
the overall work flow in the transport department but Tamil Nadu govt. 3. OSRTC:- The Orissa
State Road Transport Corporation project was started to provide transport related facilities online

Online payment of bills and taxes: Services provided by e-governance in this area’s:- Online
Transaction, Payment of Bill, Payment of taxes, Payment of house EMIs Various Projects 1.
FRIENDS: - This project is started by Kerala Government for its citizens to make online
payment of electricity and water bills, revenue taxes, license fees, motor vehicle taxes, university
fees, etc [1]. 2. E-SEVA:-Electronic seva by Andhra Pradesh government to pay utility bills,
avail of tradelicenses and transact on government matters at these facilities. 3. BWSSB
ganakeekruthaGrahakaraSeve, water billing, and collection system: - This e-governance project
is started by the Bangalore government. In this every month bills of houses are generated through
BGS software

Municipal services: - Services provided are as:- House Tax Assessment, Billing and Collection,
Maintain records of Land & property, Issue of Death Certificates, Registration & Attorneys of
properties, Review and approval authority for site plans Various projects:- 1. E-Panjeeyan:-It is
started by Assam government to deals with the computerization of the Document registration
work at Sub Registrar Office. 2. SDO Suite:-By Assam government. This system helps in issuing
various certificates like Land sale Permission, Legal heir certificate, Issue of Passport
Verification Certificate, Birth and Death Report,

Areas of e-governance in rural areas:- In rural areas e-governance has its very powerful
impact. Here, from agriculture to local information everything is done through e-governance.
3.2.1Agriculture:- Following are the projects used in Agriculture.

Local information: - For local information such as prices of seeds, fertilizers, loan rates etc.
government has started e-governance Service in this area also. Various projects 1. E-
JanSampark:-Services & Information accessible to the common man in his locality to meet his
basic need. This project is started by Chandigarh. 2. Prajavani: - it is started by the Government
of Andhra Pradesh. It is a Web based On-line Monitoring of Public Grievances. 3.
WebPortalsforHyderabadandCyberabadPolice:-It is designed by hyderabad, developed and
hosted with many exciting public utility features like Safety tips for all citizens, verificatiosn
status of Passports, Stolen vehicles etc.

Land record management:-.By facilatinge-governance service in this area, millions of land

records can be maintain in a very short time span. Major projects in this area are 1. Bhoomi:-It is
the first e-Governance land records management system project which is successfully
implemented for the benefits of the common man by the Government of Karnataka. 2.
Comprehensive Modernization of Land Records (CMLR):- This project is started by the
government of Andhra Pradesh. It allows integrating functions of property registration,
mutations and updating of field survey maps. 3. Land Record Computerisation: - The objective
of the project is to computerize fresh allotment, land transfer, regularisation of occupied land etc.
related actives of the Dept. of Land Management at district level.

E-GOVERNANCE in Health Service provided by these projects are Availability of medicines

,Special health camps, Facilities at Anganwadi canters Various projects 1. Online Vaccination
Appointment for International Traveller:-Citizen centric application for the purpose of
vaccination of the persons proceeding abroad and issuance of International Health Certificate 2.
SMS based Integrated Disease Surveillance System: - it is an SMS based Integrated Disease
Surveillance System facilitates to report the occurrences of disease, number of persons affected
from the area of occurrences immediately to the concerned authority. E-Governance in India:
Opportunities and Challenges 679 3. Hospital OPD Appointment:-Hospital OPD Appointment
System is another welfare measure undertaken by Chandigarh Administration to make life of
citizenssimpler 4.

E-GOVERNANCE in Education Providing basic education (elementary, primary, secondary) to

children , Providing computer education to children , Results for 10th& 12thclasses , Information
on eligibility for “Distribution of books” scheme Various projects 1. CASCET:-This project is
started by the Karnataka government for Education Department. 2. Online Scholarship
Management System:-It is meant for the purpose of distribution of scholarships and fees
reimbursement. 3. AISES (All India School Education Survey):- this project is started by Assam
government. This project is used for surveying the number of schools in district. Census

Challenges: Although the government has come up with several initiatives to facilitate the
access to public services, the desired outcomes are yet to be fully realised. This can be largely
attributed to various front-end and back-end challenges that the government continues to face.
Front-end challenges relate to user-specific issues such as, high illiteracy levels, non-availability
of use rfriendly interfaces, inadequate power supply in rural areas, low broadband penetration
and most importantly, lack of awareness of eGovernance initiatives. On the other hand, back-end
challenges relate to technical, process or human resource issues within the government. These
issues include lack of systems integration within a department, lack of integration across
government departments, limited knowledge of using computers at various levels of bureaucracy
and deployment of technology without proper process re-engineering.

MIS – Marketing Information System:

A marketing information system (MKIS) is a management information system (MIS) designed

to support marketing decision making. Jobber (2007) defines it as a "system in which marketing
data is formally gathered, stored, analysed and distributed to managers in accordance with their
informational needs on a regular basis." In addition, the online business dictionary defines
Marketing Information System (MKIS) as "a system that analyzes and assesses marketing
information, gathered continuously from sources inside and outside an organization or a
store."[1]Furthermore, "an overall Marketing Information System can be defined as a set structure
of procedures and methods for the regular, planned collection, analysis and presentation of
information for use in making marketing decisions." (Kotler, at al, 2006)

Co-branding in context of E-Marketing:

Co branding is the utilization of two or more brands to name a new product. The ingredient
brands help each other to achieve their aims. The overall synchronization between the brand pair
and the new product has to be kept in mind. Example of co-branding - Citibank co-branded with
MTV to launch a co-branded debit card. This card is beneficial to customers who can avail
benefits at specific outlets called MTV Citibank club.

Types of Co-branding

Co-branding is of two types: Ingredient co-branding and Composite co-branding.

1. Ingredient co-branding implies using a renowned brand as an element in the production

of another renowned brand. This deals with creation of brand equity for materials and
parts that are contained within other products. The ingredient/constituent brand is
subordinate to the primary brand. For instance - Dell computers has co-branding strategy
with Intel processors. The brands which are ingredients are usually the company’s
biggest buyers or present suppliers. The ingredient brand should be unique. It should
either be a major brand or should be protected by a patent. Ingredient co-branding leads
to better quality products, superior promotions, more access to distribution channel and
greater profits. The seller of ingredient brand enjoys long-term customer relations. The
brand manufacture can benefit by having a competitive advantage and the retailer can
benefit by enjoying a promotional help from ingredient brand.
2. Composite co-branding refers to use of two renowned brand names in a way that they
can collectively offer a distinct product/ service that could not be possible individually.
The success of composite branding depends upon the favourability of the ingredient
brands and also upon the extent on complementarities between them.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Co-branding

Co-branding has various advantages, such as - risk-sharing, generation of royalty income, more
sales income, greater customer trust on the product, wide scope due to joint advertising,
technological benefits, better product image by association with another renowned brand, and
greater access to new sources of finance. But co-branding is not free from limitations. Co-
branding may fail when the two products have different market and are entirely different. If there
is difference in visions and missions of the two companies, then also composite branding may
fail. Co-branding may affect partner brands in adverse manner. If the customers associate any
adverse experience with a constituent brand, then it may damage the total brand equity.
 Mobile Wallet: A mobile wallet is a virtual wallet that stores payment card information on a
mobile device. Mobile wallets are a convenient way for a user to make in-store payments and
can be used at merchants listed with the mobile wallet service provider.

M-Commerce: M-commerce (mobile commerce) is the buying and selling of goods and services
through wireless handheld devices such as cellular telephone and personal digital assistants
(PDAs). Known as next-generation e-commerce, m-commerce enables users to access the
Internet without needing to find a place to plug in. The emerging technology behind m-
commerce, which is based on the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), has made far greater
strides in Europe, where mobile devices equipped with Web-ready micro-browsers are much
more common than in the United States.

A/B Testing: A/B testing (sometimes called split testing) is comparing two versions of a web
page to see which one performs better. You compare two web pages by showing the two variants
(let's call them A and B) to similar visitors at the same time. The one that gives a better
conversion rate, wins.

Example:

All websites on the web have a goal - a reason for them to exist

 eCommerce websites want visitors buying products

 SaaS web apps want visitors signing up for a trial and converting to paid visitors

 News and media websites want readers to click on ads or sign up for paid subscriptions
Every business website wants visitors converting from just visitors to something else. The rate at
which a website is able to do this is its "conversion rate". Measuring the performance of a
variation (A or B) means measuring the rate at which it converts visitors to goal achievers.

Different Online differentiation strategy: Differentiation is defined as the process of adding a set
of meaningful and valued differences to distinguish the company’s offering from competitors’
offerings (Kotler, 2003, p. 315). The created value as obtain from being difference is to enhance
the standard, performance review and establishment of one’s company. Therefore it’s important
to strategize company’s differences in boosting up the profit, achievement and
acknowledgement.

Seven Unique Differentiation Strategies to Online Businesses

According to Strauss and Frost, 2006 these strategies are of particular importance on the Internet
because the marketing strategy often revolves around the company’s image and product
information available on the Web. In addition to the preceding strategies are unique to online
businesses consist of site environment/ atmospherics, making the intangible tangible, building
trust, efficiency and timely order processing, pricing, CRM and enhancing the experience.

These differentiation strategies are:

1. Site environment/ atmospherics
2. Making the intangible tangible
3. Building trust
4. Efficiency and timely order processing
5. Pricing
6. CRM
7. Enhancing the experience

Site Environment/ Atmospherics

Atmospherics refers to the in-store ambiance created by brick-and-mortar retailers. Similarly,
Websites can be differentiated by providing visitors with a positive environment to visit,
search, purchase, and so forth. Visitors want a site that easily downloads, portrays accurate
information, clearly shows the products and services offered, and is easily navigated. If
customers view the homepage and like what they see, they are more likely to view additional
pages and ultimately become a paying customer.
Making the Intangible Tangible
A purely online product or service can only be seen through an image or description. Whether a
company uses virtual tours, 3-D images, product image enlargements trial downloads, or
customer reviews, the goal is to make offerings seem more tangible by showing them in a
realistic and customer-friendly manner.

Building Trust
Trust is a key issue on the Internet, especially when customers are expected to pay online or
their information is tracked for personalized service or supply chain management . For this
reason, rust building should be an integral part of a Website’s marketing strategy. In some
instances trust may be appeared as a by-product of strong brand recognition; however, a
company site with low or no brand recognition must project a secure environment. Detmer
(2002) makes the following suggestion to emarketers:

Take the time to clearly define your company’s privacy policy, and make sure it is strictly
enforced…. Maintaining the balance between privacy and personalization will increase the
comfort level your customers feel for your business.

In addition to stating the privacy policy, e-commerce firms can reassure customers by using a
safe and encrypted payment process for transactions. Trust is also important if customers
should encounter problems on the Website, require personal assistance, or need to exchange or
return a purchase. Visitors may be more likely to buy from a site if they know a live person can
be contacted.

Efficiency and timely Processing

One of the strongest motivators for customers who make Web-based purchases is the ease of
ordering. Organizations must market their alliances and delivery timeliness as an important
benefit. Furthermore, if the online company follows through on its promises, it is more likely to
build customer loyalty and receive referrals from satisfied customers. Customer satisfaction or
dissatisfaction can spread very quickly on the Internet with just few keystrokes.

Pricing
Pricing as a method of differentiation has come under scrutiny, especially for Web marketers.
When products were first offered on the Web, companies tended to offer price discounts as an
incentive. Today, prices are relatively comparable on the Web, although some companies, such
as Buy.com, offer lower prices. The majority of firms choose to differentiate themselves using
methods other than pricing because pricing is easy to imitate and non price differentiation is
more enduring for all but the price leaders.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

As more firms shift away from price differentiation and as barriers to entry decrease on the
Internet, customer relationship management (CRM) becomes more predominant as a means of
differentiation. Netflix, for example, forges long-term relationships withs consumers who want
the convenience of receiving movies on DVD by mail. Customers who subscribe to one of
Netflix’s monthly plans can set up personal lists of the movies they want to rent. Depending on
the type of subscription they choose, customers can rent three or more DVD movies at one time
with no return deadlines or late return penalties. After viewing a movie, customers slip it into
the prepaid return envelope to mail it back to Netflix, a few days later, they receive the next
DVD on their list. Thus, Netflixs builds customers relationships one at a time through
customer-driven personalization including a personal greeting on the Web site.

Enhancing the Experience

Another type of differentiation strategies is discussed in a E-Marketing Opportunity Model
(Feeny, 2001). This model helps companies to differentiate using one of three emarketing
opportunities: enhancing the selling process, enhancing the customer buying process, and
enhancing the customer usage experience. In this model, firms use perceived product
differentiation and frequency of purchase to choose the best approach.