Reflective Note

“Online Marketing- Boon or bane to the society”

Kalindi Jindal 20172066
Executive Summary
In the age of innovation and technological advancements, internet-based communication
technologies have underwent a massive growth. This has further sponsored the
restructuration of marketing as well. How? Due to a significant rise in Internet penetration
and the time that an individual spends in the virtual space. When customers are online, an
effective way of communication with them has to be digitally or via an online platform.
This is popularly termed as “Digital Marketing” and very often used interchangeably with
“Online Marketing”.[ CITATION Haf \l 1033 ] However, Digital Marketing is an umbrella
term used for all marketing techniques that use electronic media. This term has been in
place since the 1890s with the invention of radio etc. And online marketing is a subset of
Digital Marketing which has managed to bring an unprecedented shift in the market.
[ CITATION Yam18 \l 1033 ]
Online Marketing is the use of web-based channels such as Social media, E-mail, Search
Engine Optimization, Display Advertising etc. to promote a business’s products or services to
its potential customers.
E-marketing has brought Unbelievable gains for not only businesses’ but the society at
large-
- It is a two-way communication- It is no longer a “spray and pray” approach for
businesses where they were to send a message to as many people as possible and
then pray that their advertisement would push some to purchase. Now, consumers
can take part in creating the content of a brand by giving suggestions to re-develop
or sharing reviews on a product, service or campaign via social media platforms etc.
- These reviews also help other consumers while taking a purchase decision. Before
making an investment in a product/service, these reviews help consumers take an
informed decision. [ CITATION Web \l 1033 ]
Also, these feedbacks are received in real-time i.e., instantly. Therefore, it helps
businesses keep a reaction check. For instance, if a campaign, product isn’t well

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 received on social media. It can instantly be worked on minimizing the damage to
the brand.
- This spray and pray approach also intended “one product for the entire market”.
Which led to a lot of wastage. E-marketing enables “targeting of one”. The
communication is highly interactive and personalized. Google enables a business to
understand the consumption habits of consumers by efficiently monitoring the
tastes, preferences and user behavior. Businesses then customize their offerings,
content, segment their target group and devise effective strategies to reach to them.
This also considerably increases the likelihood of your leads turning into customers.
- With the traditional marketing, the high cost of prime time advertising slots
prevented small businesses to reach out to a sizeable market. Now, there exists a
level-playing field for small businesses due to lower cost.
- Quantifiable Results- With several analytical tools and numerous metrics like
impressions, likes, comments, views, CTR (Click through rate), businesses can
efficiently monitor the effectiveness of their campaign. [ CITATION Web \l 1033 ]
- You can leverage strategies like content marketing, video marketing, social media
marketing to reach to a wider audience. People will not buy from brand they haven’t
heard of. Online marketing fosters “Awareness”.
Therefore, Online Marketing can be reckoned as the advancement that has revolutionised
the whole style of ‘Marketing’. However, it has Some Setbacks too-
- Possibility of Internet Frauds – Cookie frauds, paid engagement, social media
disruption, use social media bots etc. [ CITATION Sha \l 1033 ]
- Cyber-security and Privacy Concerns- There are several risks associated to Email
marketing i.e., hacking email accounts etc.. Then how each digital movement is
monitored can be daunting to a few users. The minute you search for something.
You start getting Ads related to similar or exact interests. Sometimes, this data or a
sensitive information is exploited by hackers etc. for wrong means. [ CITATION Sha \l
1033 ]
- Placement of Ads- Too many Ads on a webpage may turn down a consumer’s
interest.
- It doesn’t reach areas with low penetration of communication technology.
[ CITATION Mrs17 \l 1033 ]

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 - Reputation Risk- Since, virtual groups are also in a better position to express
dissatisfaction. This can also be exploited by competitors to put fake negative
feedbacks and reviews of a product. This hampers the brand.
Furthermore, The whole virtual community also holds a better position to influence
each other. For example, Ola’s campaign of “too expensive to take girlfriend on a
ride” wasn’t received well by few viewers. They shared this opinion on review
portals which may have influenced other viewers as well. This affects the stock
performance of a company considerably.
There are a few Strategic Issues with Online Marketing as well. Such as getting value of
Search Engine Optimization, competing with noise, inability to integrate e-marketing
communications, organizing resources for e-marketing i.e., analytical skills, database
marketing to support online marketing etc. [ CITATION Mrs17 \l 1033 ]
The companies can benefit from online marketing considering few recommendations-
- Using the 3I principle to create successful marketing strategy. First, listen to the
digital activity of your customers. This is the start and end point of a business’s
online marketing strategy. Next is Iterate, which is tweaking the campaign in
response to the user. Finally, the most important and ignored one is integrating your
traditional and online marketing efforts.
- Revamping the strategy: the current marketing structure should be changed in
response to a new media i.e., setting up a e-communication mix, defining your
‘Internet Value Proposition’ etc. [ CITATION Mrs17 \l 1033 ]
Conclusion
Online Marketing has indeed brought an unprecedented shift in the lives of both marketers
and society at large. However, There are two sides to every coin. Just like most things in the
world, Online Marketing also comes in a mixed bag. It has both pros and cons. In my
opinion, it’s benefits far exceeds its set- backs. With such a massive rise in digital activity,
the best way to communicate and reach to their customers is via an online platform. Also, a
strategic integration of online marketing with traditional and other means intends to bring a
renaissance in the area of marketing. Internet should be used to complement the existing
tools of marketing. Furthermore, the various strategic, cybersecurity and privacy issues
must be addressed before leveraging this innovative way of marketing.

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References
Chourasiya, M. A. (2017). Online Marketing: Impact on society. International Journal of
Engineering Development and Research.
Hafiz Muhammad Ali. (n.d.). Difference between Digital Marketing & Online Marketing.
Abud, Y. A. (2018). WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIGITAL AND ONLINE
MARKETING? .
WebFX. (n.d.). 7 Reasons Behind the Importance of Internet Marketing.
Pollard, S. (n.d.). Privacy and Security Concerns in Digital Marketing.