For instance online marketing is not free to set up or to start up and it can cost a lot just to get it running. The cost of all the hardware and software that is needed to get things going is very high. This also includes the cost of website designing, further maintenance of the website, and all the costs over time as well. This shows us that although internet marketing can give the business a lot of profit over time, however, at the start they will need twice as much just to get everything is position so that they can start their own online business. The web design cost for the site will depend on a range of factors such as the number of pages, the content and complexity of the design, whether a contact form is required, or a banner design etc. ASOS have many of these factors included in their website, which shows their web design cost if quite high.
From the print screen above we can see that ASOS's website is designed well and a lot of thought has been put into it. They have included many different factors such as moving pictures, complex design and banner at the top. ASOS must spend a lot out of their profit on maintaining their website, therfore the cost must be high too, this is an disadvantage for online businesses.
There are also many rules and regulations that online businesses have to keep in their minds all the time, when either designing or updating their website. There are many laws out there that have to be abided by online businesses. These laws are set to make thing easier for customers and to make sure their personal information is secure. Some legal requirements that on line businesses in the UK have to keep in mind when they are designing their wesbite is to ensure they include certain information on their websites and in their emails. Minimum information is: name, registered office address, telephone number, email address, VAT number, prices must be clear and easy to understand (unambiguous), and delivery charges. This is an advantage for on line businesses because they will have to make sure all these little bits are included in their website, otherwise action can be taken against them.
Also as technology is growing rapidly more and more businesses are starting up online so it is a very hard and tough competition because you will have to make your website the best without any flaws at all with it so that customers again and again come back to you without thinking of shopping from another website. You also get many new businesses trying to do something similar to businesses who are doing well in the market. This means they try and make their website look alike, or they may use the same colours, pictures and even the same design of another website so that they can attract their customers to their new website, because they will use someone else's ideas to snatch customers and persuade them to shop at their new website since they will try and make them believe that theirs is better and they are offering a lot more than other websites. This means that businesses have to make sure their website is secured and that their customers know about it too, so they can shop with them without any worries in mind. ASOS are doing very well for themselves and when a survey was done in July 2009, they were ranked number 2 of the top 10 online businesses. This shows that even though ASOS have many competitors out there they are still at the top, just below Next who are at the number 1 position. Below i have added a print screen to show this.
Another disadvantage of internet marketing is that many online shoppers expect something in free or for less, because if they go shopping at a shop, they will come across many offers and deals that the business is offering them which then makes them happy because they are saving some money and it persuades them to buy the product. So online businesses will have to offer something like that to their customers as well, otherwise they may lose all their customers because they prefer shopping somewhere where they get things for half the price or for free. ASOS offer their customers many kinds of deals all the time to attract their attention and persuade them to buy from them. On their website they have a clearance section which provides customers with really good quality goods at a much cheaper and affordable price.
Online businesses will also have to gain the trust of their customers as well which is another disadvantage. The reason they have to do this is because purchasing online means that customers have to give their personal details as well as their card details in order for the transaction to be completed. So customers will definitely have to feel safe and secure for them to give out such details without knowing how the data is been used on the other side of the screen. This shows us that businesses will have to work hard to gain the trust of the customers first and this can be done in many different ways. For example they can try and get to know their customers firsts by sending them emails every know and then keeping them informed about anything new that is happening with them. They can also provide a large choice for their customers to select from, which will show them that the organisation wants to do business with them that why they are spending so much money bringing in more that one choice to choose from. However, ASOS have gone a step further and have ensured their customers that their website if fully safe to use. They did this by having a secure login sign that can be clicked onto and a new page will open (shown below) that has the full details of ASOS and how well they are protected.
Another drawback of internet marketing is that its very hard to tell if the people on the other end are telling the truth or not. This means that there is so much information on the world wide web now that you cant judge what is right and what is wrong. This can be an disadvantage for online businesses because they have to work hard and meet their expectations of their customers because only then will they believe they are telling the truth and not lying. Also, customers will have to find out if what businesses say is what they really do and this can be bad for businesses as well because if customers don't believe the business and if they don't trust them how will they be able to do business with them and shop through them, they obviously are not going to then.
Another disadvantage of internet marketing is that some people still believe its always better to go into the shop and purchase product like that because at least you can feel, touch and try the product on and then decide if you want to buy it or not. But if you are shopping online there is no way you can either touch, feel or try the product on so questions can arise in the customers mind deciding if they should or shouldn't make the purchase. So businesses will have to provide their customers with a lot of information about the product so they can read about it and make their decision, and also it will be helpful if the business can provide customers with video clips that they can watch so they can get a better idea of what the product will look like on them. At ASOS they have videos of models cat walking clothes, which customers can pause, play, stop and zoom in and out from. This is a good thing, since customers can not try the product on as they are shopping online, but it gives them an idea about how the product will look on them and it also gives them a closer look of the product.
Another drawback of internet marketing is the problem of trying to manage the overload of feedback that is sent back to businesses. This is hard work for businesses because they have millions of customers all around the globe and they all want the best customer service. For this to be possible they are going to send emails to the business letting them know how they feel about the services they are getting and also any complaints they have. This is going to give the business a lot of stress because they have to make sure they reply back to every single email solving all their problems. This can be a tough situation for the business as they can not even let one customers down. ASOS also send emails out to all their customers and they receive feedback as well. They will have to make sure they give a response mail back to them, as it will make the customers feel happy about the service they are getting.
ASOS are an online business and only function from there.
This means they do not have any shops which customer can visit and purchase
their goods. ASOS operate from a warehouse in which they store all their stock.
But they do have a headquarter that is situated in London, England, UK. This is
the online place ASOS can be found at since they do not operate from shops or
any other buildings apart from their warehouse. So as an online business they have to make sure they are attracting enough customers as they would if they had a shop. This is one of the major disadvantage of being an online business beacsue you do not have the same advantages as a store or shop would have. Instead you have to pull customers towards youself by offering them a life long experience and keeping a loyal relationship with them.
Every business, whether its one that functions from online using the internet, or if its one that can be found through a shop, will they both need to make sure they advertise their business to the world around them. This is because they need to let customers out there know that they exist and are providing goods or a service that can be brought from them. They also need to make sure they are targeting the right audience using the right advertising methods, and they also have to ensure that people are getting effected by them. Because if they do not advertise right, then no one will be aware of them, therefore how can the business expect to make a profit without customers who are the main factors.
Promotion is all about the way businesses decide to advertise their business, products, services or whatever they have to offer to their customers. There are many different types of ways a business can advertise their products, this includes, print advertisements (newspapers, magazines, posters, fliers) outdoor advertisements (billboards) and broadcast advertisements (television, radio, internet). Businesses try and promote all the special and unique features of their products because that's what attracts customers and over time a unique selling point is created. Through promotion businesses try and create awareness of themselves and whatever they have to offer with the hope that they will be successful in persuading and informing their customers.
ASOS are an online business which means they to will need to advertise their goods to all the customers out there. Although advertising might not seem like a big issue, businesses including ASOS will go through some trouble to get their word out there to the right people. For instance ASOS only operate from online, which means there is no shop out there called ASOS, nor can their goods be brought anywhere else, this is simply because they are only an online business. This means they will have to advertise extra to make sure people think twice about going to a shop to do their shopping, but never think twice about them.
This is a disadvantage for ASOS and their business because advertising online can be a problem as there are many competitor out there who want the light to shine on them the whole time. There are businesses like Next, New Look and Debenhams who on their website provide the same service as ASOS do, but the main disadvantage here is that they also have shops under their name as well. So people walking past them will notice them very easily, so they don't have to advertise a lot to let their customers know they have a website too, which they can browse through and do their shopping, It's very easy for businesses who have a shop as well as an online website to advertise, because they can simply write their website on the back of their receipts or on the bags and people will see it very easily.
Whereas ASOS do not have this advantage instead they have to make sure they get through all their competitors and steal the light for themselves. They will have to work harder and hope that their word gets out there to people. For this to happen they do many thing. For example they email their existing customers and keep them up to date with all the latest news and with all the new products they have in stock. The reason why they do this is because firstly they want to provide the best service to their customers and make sure they know about everything thats happening on their website. And secondly because they know that people will resend the email out to other people in their contact list informing them about ASOS.
Through some research I found out that this methods works really well for ASOS. On their website i found this page where customers can have conversations with one another, and if they have any questions for ASOS, then they can simply write it their and people will get back to them. One example I found was of a customer who was saying she received their email and through that she saw a really nice necklace worn by the model promoting the products. But now she is having problem finding it on their website and wants some help. She also wrote that she sent the same email out to her friends who are also interested in the necklace and wishes they get back to her as soon as possible. This proves that emails sent out by ASOS are forwarded to other people making them aware of their existence. However, ASOS got back to her and she made the sale. Below is a print screen showing this.
Above is an example of Viral Marketing. This is when a marketing message is sent by email to existing customers or to a target group, which is then forwarded by them to their friends, This cycle keeps going on and on and more people are being informed each time unknowingly promoting the business. ASOS use this method as well because they send emails to their existing customers as well as a target group, which then gets forwarded by them forming a whole group of people. This sort of method is very popular as once the email has been sent off, it can spread very rapidly and at a low cost.
ASOS have many different advertising methods that they use. For example they use billboards on which they advertise their products. Below there is an example of a poster that was hang up on a billboard. From it we can clearly see that they are advertising women clothes to their customers, and along with that they have also managed to include their website address so people know where to find them.
Another technique ASOS use to advertise their products to customers
that I came across is the banner advert. This is when businesses
somewhere on the website page have a banner that include other
businesses adverts. ASOS also have one on their website, which is
situated right at the top going all the way across. Below I have
added two different print screens. One proving that ASOS has a banner
on their website and there other of a banner adverts promoting ASOS
that I came across.
Banners, Spotlights, Pop-Ups and Sponsored Links, these are the most common way of promoting a website on other websites. They are also known as online advertisements because once they are clicked on a new window browser page will open of the website that was clicked on displaying it. These adverts can either be animated or interactive. ASOS also use this kind of communication method as they are promoting their website on other websites and once clicked on, you will be taken to their home page which is ASOS.com. Online businesses trying to promote their goods over the internet can be a really tough challenge as there will be a lot of hurdles that will come in their way. A lot of their competition party will be applying the same methods to get the same job done, that's why ASOS will have to make sure they are targeting the right audience and the right age group using the right methods. However, the next stage is converting leads into sales. This can be a hard job because informing people about your business is never enough. Instead you have to make sure they are actually purchasing goods and as a business you are making a large number of sales.
Even though there are many disadvantages and drawbacks about internet marketing, they can all be solved very easily and an organisation would never face these problems if they do everything right and by following a few steps. However, one should never forget that there are also many positive things, advantages and benefits of internet marketing to organisations as well, so it balances things out well.