Chapter 3 Internet Marketing News Analysis and Reflections

Internet Marketing News Analysis


Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1005929


What I learned:
This article is about the percent of the worlds population who are currently Internet users, a whopping 17.5% as of 2007. It is predicted that by the year 2012 that number will rise to 24.5% of the human race that will access the internet at least once a month. It is said that 2008 will be the year that China will over take the U.S. as the most populous Internet nation in the world, with over 500 million internet users. As of now, the Netherlands and Scandinavian countries lead the word in internet penetration with 80% of their population being internet users. Over the next five years the world will look to countries such as, China, Russia, India, Brazil and Mexico to be the primary drivers for Internet user growth.


Analysis:
This world wide Internet growth over the next four years means a great many things to internet marketing. For one, it means that companies are going to work harder and spend more money to reach internet users while marketing their products. Another conclusion from this information would be that the technology being used today will probably start to change at an even faster rate then it currently is, not only to keep up with everyone, but also to keep existing internet users hooked. One more thing that I gather from this article is that with so many other countries driving the internet growth, we will come to see many new services and products introduced to us via Internet!




Reflections:


Reading chapter three taught me the importance of a Business Model. The book says the Business Model is essentially " a unique configuration of elements that make up the business' goals, strategies, processes, technology's and structure. This is important for many reasons. The most important of those being to determine cost structure and profit potential. What good is it to market something if there is no chance of making a profit. The second most important use for this is to determine a market segment or figure out who is going to use your product for what. This conclusion leads to where and to whom you will market your product.
With so many business' turning to the internet to sell products, the business model is as important as ever. First off, companies must look around to see if they can sell products at or below competition on-line. Secondly, they need to make sure they define and market to the correct target market to ensure that they are standing out from all the rest of the clutter and competition. Things like formulating a competitive strategy are becoming more and more essential not only to the retail markets but increasingly so to the on-line market.
Another thing that caught my attention while reading this chapter was the segment on marketplaces. E-bay does $1,000 dollars in transactions EVERY second?!?! This is HUGE! It is just another testament to the fact that we are living in a computer based world. With local sites in twenty two countries and a partnership in Latin America, we had better be paying attention to this huge trend of shopping from home. The site offers not only a chance for people to shop, but also a gigantic sellers market. They have everything a seller may need to be as profitable as possible, from tips to how to be a great seller to incentives to sell as much stuff as you possibly can.
This just goes to show the effect of cause and demand. When E-bay began, people were selling their actual automobiles under the toy car heading. Seeing the need for a auto sales market, E-bay launched a section dedicated to just that. Today the auto sales category is worth 30% of the sales on the entire site. Once again it just goes to show that the internet is here, people like it for many reasons, and if companies want to stand out or get ahead, the better get a good concept of and hold on internet marketing.