Marketing in E-Commerce

Hello again from cyberspace!


During the 90's and into the 2000's, people consumed the Internet by way of the personal computer. Web browsers, mice, screen resolution, and full keyboards all helped to define marketing and sales done online by having a well-defined customer experience while sitting at a computer. But a new player to the scene is changing this formula: the smartphone. The popularity of the iPhone, which took off in 2007, has spearheaded the recent mobile boom, where Samsung and other competitors have entered the market with Android based phones.

With the recent smartphone sales explosion, which surpassed PC sales in 2011, people are spending less time scrolling and typing and more time flicking and pinching. Some marketing techniques used in traditional Internet advertising do not fit well in the mobile landscape. There isn't a lot of room on a 5" screen, so top banners and right gutter ads are hard to execute when designing a mobile website.

While the techniques maye need to be updated, the categories have not. There are still four classes of marketing, outlined below:

Information

This include basic informational descriptions about the product, such as news, weather, traffic, points of interest, and the like.

Entertainment

These programs provide value to customers in the form of amusement and emotional triggers. Popular mediums for this method include videos, music, games, and wallpapers.

Raffles

A traditional method of marketing involves giveaways and prizes that are advertised in the mobile space. Popular methods of implementing such raffles include "liking" pages through Facebook, "tweeting" via Twitter, or scanning QR Codes, an improved bar code commonly scanned with smartphone cameras.

Coupons

These programs offer monetary incentives to try a product, much like traditional coupons found in the Sunday newspaper.

While there may be no honor amongst thieves, there is honor amongst marketers. According to the Mobile Marketing Association, there are guidelines on how to market, and following these guidelines will maintain your company's honor by respecting the customer.  Some of guidelines for marketers in the code of conduct include giving customers choice and consent for involvement with marketing programs, and security, which should always be top priority when handling customer information.


As long as there are people selling goods and services, there will be a need to advertise to customers. Good marketers go where the people are, and people are increasingly using their smartphones to go online. The medium may be changing, but a good marketer will always rise to the challenge to show their goods in a creative and engaging way.