Sales
force automation systems use mobile computing
and Internet technologies to automate many
information-processing activities for sales
support and management. Lets take a look
at some of the newer marketing applications.
Interactive Marketing
The goal of interactive marketing is to enable
a company to profitably use the Internet to attract
and keep customers who will become partners with
the business in creating, purchasing, and improving
products and services.
Interactive marketing encourages customers to
become involved in products development, delivery,
and service issues. This is enabled by various
Internet technologies, including chat and discussion
groups, web forms and questionnaires, and email
correspondence.
Finally, the expected outcomes of interactive
marketing are a rich mixture of vital marketing
data, news product ideas, volume sales, and strong
customer relationships.
Targeted Marketing
Targeted marketing has become an important tool
in developing and advertising and promotion strategies
for a company’s electronic commerce websites.
Community: These can be communities of interest,
such as virtual communities of online sporting
enthusiasts, or geographic communities formed
by the websites of a city or local newspaper.
Content: Advertising such as
electronic billboards or banners can be placed
on various website pages,
in addition to a company’s home page. These
messages reach the targeted audience.
Context: Advertising is targeted
only at people who are already looking for
information about
a subject matter that is related to a company’s
products.
Demographic/Psychographic: Marketing
efforts can be aimed at only specific types
or classes
of people - unmarried, twenty-something, middle
income, male college graduates, for example.
Online
Behaviour: Advertising
and promotion efforts can be tailored to each
visit to a site
by an individual. This strategy is based on a
variety of tracking techniques such as “Web
cookie” files stored in on the visitor’s
disk drive from previous visits.
Sales Force Automation
Increasingly, computers and networks are providing
the basis for sales force automation.
For example, sales people use their laptops
or mobile devices to record sales data as they
make their calls on customers and prospects during
the day. Then each night sales reps in the field
can connect their computers by modem and telephone
links to the Internet, which can access intranet
or other network servers at their company.
Then, they can upload information on sales orders,
sales calls, and other sales statistics, as well
as send electronic mail messages and access website
sales support information.
Thus, business firms are increasingly
turning to information systems to help them
perform vital
marketing functions in the face of the rapid
changes of today’s environment.
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