new tech

Question 1

evaluate the impact on business success using new tech for marketing activities

Answer 1

New technology used in marketing activities includes digital media, social media, e
tailing and m-commerce.
* More traditional methods of marketing include brochures, mailshots, junk-mail, personal
selling, TV and radio.

• Digital media (content that is transmitted over the internet on webpages e.g. online
  newspapers, videos, graphics, blogs, payment to search engines, email campaigns, etc)

+ could increase awareness amongst customers / potential customers.
Without this
exposure, businesses may not succeed.

• However, a lot of businesses have websites
  and businesses may need to commit significant resources to ensure that they stand out
  from their competition or to be found using popular search terms.
• Social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube channel) can help businesses communicate
  with customers and vice versa.

+ Relatively younger people access social media and
businesses may have more exposure amongst their target market by using these
platforms.

• However, social media may not play the pivotal role in business success,
  especially if the target market tends not to use social media platforms or use them to
  inform their purchasing decisions.

Social media can be used to target markets more
effectively and perhaps personalise communications or offers to the audience targeted.

• E-tailing (browsing and making purchases through websites) can allow customers to buy
  at their convenience from potentially anywhere in the world. Purchases made online
  continue to grow and could act as an additional route to targeting the market. Recent
  changes to the high street with relatively large retail businesses failing could mean that
  having the facility to allow purchases online could prevent or reduce the risk of failure.
  However, those high street businesses that have failed have included those with online
  presence, so success is still not guaranteed. Costs may be saved due to physical
  presence not being needed if purchases can be made online.
• M-commerce (browsing and making purchases through wireless handheld devices such
  as tablets and mobile phones, perhaps through apps) provides more opportunity for
  customers to buy at their convenience at a time and place to suit them. Development
  costs could be high, especially for an app. Increased sales might be possible through
  using m-commerce, but developing an awareness amongst customers could be time
  consuming and costly, especially in competitive markets. Younger people are more
  literate in using technology and could be a captive audience for businesses targeting
  customers using mobile technologies.
• Common advantages of using new technologies include: increased convenience for
  customers, potential to cut costs if high street presence is not needed, purchases can be
  made 24/7, social media can target markets more effectively, and businesses could use
  new technologies in such a way to create a USP.
• However, businesses need to consider how they use new technologies effectively in
  targeting and communicating with customers in a way that achieves sales. The time and
  money invested in new technologies is a factor that could affect success, as if not
  enough resources are dedicated then success may be hindered. Businesses should also
  be mindful that their processes might become more complicated and consider how they
  will organise their operations efficiently when introducing new technologies. There could
  also be problems with hacking, online security and reliability of platforms.
  Possible themes of evaluation:
• Introducing new technologies as part of marketing activities could facilitate more
  success, but it depends on what other (perhaps more traditional) marketing activities
  businesses are already using.
• It depends on how businesses are measuring success and what they consider to be
  successful outcomes and whether the nexus of cause and effect can be attributed to the
  new technologies.
  It is unlikely that introducing new technologies alone is the only factor to make
  businesses successful – the ability of the product to satisfy customer needs and the price
  are factors that could affect success.
• Variables including; how much money businesses commit to new technologies,
  competitor actions, the demographics and preferences of the market, the number and
  scale of new technologies and how well they are used, are all likely to affect success.
• Overall, success may not be guaranteed, as such, but business performance could be
  enhanced by using new technologies in marketing activities.