E-branding ­ an increasingly important issue in e-marketing

Citation

Poon, S. (1999), "E-branding ­ an increasingly important issue in e-marketing", Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, Vol. 5 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmpams.1999.15505aaa.002

E-branding ­ an increasingly important issue in e-marketing

E-branding ­ an increasingly important issue in e-marketing

Branding is an important marketing strategy for creating new markets and securing repeat customers. For example, if we want to buy a classic pair of jeans, many will think of buying a pair of Levi's, or if we are buying a pair of sports shoes, they will think of Nike. These companies are no doubt producing high quality products, but often the quality of the product is not the main reason for a customer's purchase, it is the "brand name".

Creating a brand name in an industry is a complex process. It involves clever manoeuvring in product design, channel management, image development and target marketing. It is difficult enough to create and secure a brand name's status in the physical world; it is even harder to do so in cyberspace.

In cyberspace, the "techniques" for attracting customers are a lot more limited and constrained by one medium ­ the Web browser window. For example, the way a successful cyber bookstore markets its products can be easily replicated and implemented by its competitors with the required resources. This can be said for almost all cyber-businesses, which rely heavily on the magic of Internet commerce. In addition, competition from the physical world can often launch a "virtual arm" and start to compete in the new territory. It is, therefore, important not to look at cyberspace as a separate entity but rather cross-leverage between the existing and the new media, the physical and the virtual world.

Cross-leverage between the physical and the virtual world

Although many online retailers are investing heavily in banner advertisements with portal Web sites, looking at the Web is only a small part of many customers' lives. This may vary depending on the product and customer group, but even the most "Web-attached" customers only spend a portion of their online life looking at advertisements. To cross-leverage between the physical and the virtual world, an online bookstore may sponsor literacy activities or organise face-to-face book club meetings among members of its online mailing list.

On the other hand, a physical bookstore (e.g. Barnes and Noble, Dymocks) with an international market may set up an e-store to provide purchase and information support over the Internet. This will enable it to leverage on its physical presence and existing customer base to compete in cyberspace.

Target your market segments

Although Internet Commerce, from an operation perspective, aims at improved efficiency and cost savings, a firm must address the "real" needs of a customer. For example, a customer using a free e-mail service may not do so because it is cheaper or faster, but because of company rules on e-mail usage or accessing e-mail while overseas. Similarly, a customer who participated in an online auction may not be drawn by efficiency, but may want to buy something which the site specialises in. E-branding in this case is to establish an image among market segments as being the best to serve their purposes.

A few years ago, the market of Internet commerce was more homogeneous and consisted mainly of technically educated white young males with an above average income. Today, however, the Internet population has a more diversified demography, including age, gender and income (www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_ surveys/). Targeting the appropriate market segment has become ever more important when carrying out e-branding campaigns.

Use all available marketing media

Companies that come into existence because of the Internet (e.g. virtual retailers) often focus heavily on online advertising. However, it is preferable to use all media ­ even the traditional fridge magnet can be important. For example, a professional female, working late, may want to make sure her family has the best groceries for the next few days. There are online grocery retailers, which promise to offer fresh food in a timely fashion (e.g. www.peapod.com). The reminder for using such a grocery service may not be when she is working on the computer, but when she is making a cup of tea in the common room. A fridge magnet may be the most important marketing media for online groceries. Therefore, it does not matter how much of an online company one is; never ignore traditional marketing channels. They are often more, if not equally, important to reach the target market.

Be the best in what you are doing and keep it that way

After getting the marketing coverage right, the final verdict from a customer is the qualities of your product. By qualities I refer to the attributes which can satisfy the expectations of target customers. As in the physical world, a brand name often conveys being the best in something. This may be innovation, style, durability, consistency or whatever else is expected to be there every time a product is purchased. The ability to provide such qualities the first time every time is extremely important. Customers may need to go through a more complex process to get a refund or exchange and yet their feedback can spread over the Internet through newsgroups, mailing lists and other group channels much faster compared to the physical world. For example, the virtual auction Web site eBay (www.ebay.com) encourages customers to provide feedback (good or bad) online. If the feedback has been positive, others who are looking for a reliable and trustworthy auction site would naturally gravitate there.

What can we learn?

Creating and securing a brand name in the physical world requires extensive marketing research, followed by careful segment targeting, well-engineered marketing campaigns and ongoing improvement. This is also true in cyberspace. If anything, e-branding in cyberspace can be easier if done right; but is more detrimental if mishandled. As with virtual bookstores like Amazon.com, it has created a brand and the spreading of this name relies heavily on traditional media. Since it has satisfied the needs of target customers, and has been reliable in its services, it has been successful in its e-branding campaign.

It is important to remember that Internet commerce is only one dimension to leverage for branding. Using an integrated approach to combine the media power of both the physical world and cyberspace is important. For some companies, heavy use of Internet-based e-branding campaigns plays an important part in their brand-building exercise; for others, leveraging on the existing customer base and extending into Internet commerce is the most effective way to launch into the online territory. Ultimately, it is good marketing research plus good implementation strategy that counts.

Simpson Poon

(Dr Simpson Poon is a Senior Lecturer in Electronic Commerce at Murdoch University, Western Australia, Australia. His research interest includes electronic commerce, Internet marketing and small business Internet commerce. He is currently the Internet Editor for 1999. Dr Poon can be reached by e-mail at: spoon@murdoch.edu.au. He welcomes contributions to this section in the form of critique and commentary of Internet marketing practice using Web sites as examples. Please send your contribution to the Internet Editor via e-mail.)

The author would like to thank Professor Matthew Joseph and Professor Ron Craig for their input into this commentary.