Free Essay Sample: Reflection on Personalized Online Marketing

While personalization delivers great promise for online marketers, it is also controversial. The papers in context both seek to highlight personalized online marketing. The main focus is on definition of personalization, relevance, personalization process, benefits, disadvantages and controversies surrounding this marketing method. This paper seeks to bring out the key ideas in the papers and their strengths and arguments.

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Key ideas

Both papers express personalization of online marketing as the most popular form of marketing in the industry. Both small scale and large scale businesses of all kind are going online in order to create opportunity for growth in sales and compete with other businesses of the same level. The personalization process includes understanding the customers needs and personality, delivering personalized products, measuring the impact of personalization process and making changes or upgrades to suit clients as per their growing needs. Personalization is also seen as a method in which customer relationship management is enhanced because product sale revolves around knowing and understanding the customers needs (Blythe, 2009).

The key factors that enable online marketing is the availability of internet access, identification and analysis of the target market, gathering data on online habits and preferences and finally analysis of the data in order to get information relevant to the business. The evolution of business knowledge is demonstrated as well through assessment of data in order to transform it to meaningful knowledge and wisdom to be used by the business.

There is stress on the need to take time and use the right measures to analyze data collected online correctly. The internet provides various platforms for businesses to conduct their marketing for example via social media, popular websites and emails. For a business to conduct a successful online marketing strategy they need to understand the effectiveness of these mediums mentioned (Kerin, et al., 2009).

Strengths of the argumentation and evidence provided in the papers

Evidence

All people across the world have access to material on the internet therefore no limit as to where the message reaches. Unlike traditional marketing means there is no geographical limitation of marketing material. Accessibility of the internet increases greatly the exposure of a business creating room for client and subsequent sales growth. Online marketing also increases job opportunities in the market as more people are employed as online marketers.

I support this claim because the internet has no limit as to who has access to information unless made private by website owners. There is expansion and exposure of businesses globally for both large and small scale businesses without discrimination. Creation of marketing job opportunities also lead to the growth of a business because the higher the staff the more the marketing reach and more exposure is equivalent to more sales.

Traditionally business market their products via electronic and print medium. Examples include use of billboards, newspaper ads, commercials, posters and word of mouth in a bid to reach clientele on a wide range. The internet has provided a cheaper medium for reaching out on a larger scale. There is also ease of accessing the internet and measuring the business success online.

I support this claim because the internet has been successful in reaching larger masses. The cost of marketing has also been reduced. Limitations like pricing, logistics, location and additional costs incurred in production of marketing have been greatly reduced by the internet. Depending on the strategies chosen businesses are still able to conduct efficient online marketing without the need to pay other sites to advertise on. The only thing needed in order to get an advertisement to its audience is internet access thus proving that technological advancement has eased the marketing process for businesses. Businesses are also able to easily keep track of progress and success due to the reduction of big data issues.

Argument

The arguments in each paper support the relevance and importance of the internet in business marketing. They also contrast online marketing with traditional marketing methods showing the superiority of personalized online marketing and the importance of personalization in the whole process.

Weaknesses of the argument and evidence as provided

Evidence

Although internet marketing is the most popular means of marketing it has its own disadvantages. There is a security and privacy issue in that internet users do not feel secure conducting transactions online. Personalization portrays an invasion of privacy to a certain level which makes online users skeptical about the process. People are also less trusting of those they are unable to see hence in such cases prefer to pay cash on delivery of goods or have virtual contact while doing the transaction. Some online businesses are also scams as people take advantage of lack of contact to sell fake or imitations of the promised goods. This can work both ways as conmen can pose as buyers of services by taking up new identities in order to scam business people. Individuals making purchases while posing as other people also leads to incurring of losses.

A review of the papers also indicate that analyzing the data collected from the internet can be a challenge. As internet users are highly versatile and segmented in their use it is difficult to capture everyones needs and preferences. This makes businesses choose to target a specific group. Targeting a specific group means some people get locked out and this turns to revenue loss.

Argument

One of the weaknesses in the argument is the assumption that internet marketing is only restricted to social networking and use of emails. These are examples avenues in which businesses can market their products but not the only ones. This theory skips other avenues like websites and styles like use of search engine optimization.

In addition to this the arguments focus more on the weaknesses and controversies of online marketing as opposed to focusing on the personalization process in online marketing which is the main concept being brought out in the work.

Recommendations

The paper by Monia Rakho is well illustrated with use of appropriate diagrams to further expound on the message conveyed. However it does not highlight the personalization process and application in the internet. This application is necessary to inform readers on what the process is to enable them make up their mind on personalization and making transactions online.

The paper done by Uma Shankar Damani is simple, well explained and has good flow of information which makes it easy for readers when reading. I suggest that this writer encompasses uses of a few diagrams for in order to make the reading better illustrated. The writer also needs to be give more information on the personalization process from a deeper aspect in order for the work to be more insightful.

References

Blythe, J., 2009. Key Concepts in Marketing. 1st ed. Los Angeles: Sage Publishers.

Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W. & Rudelius, W., 2009. Marketing. 1st ed. Boston: Mc Graw Hill.