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The advent of the Internet has made this world an almost borderless world. In
the context of enterprise, the Internet is becoming more and more important
to many companies and organizations around the globe. It has greatly expanded the
market and enhanced the market reach of businesses, be they small businesses or
multinational corporations, to the extent that whatever market segments they can't
reach previously, they can now do so to a large extent.
In the context of Internet Marketing, my central message to business owners is
that in order for you to have the competitive advantage, you'll need to effectively
identify and attempt to satisfy the genuine needs and wants of specifically defined
target markets, and that you'll have to do so more effectively than your competitors.
Your ability to do so will have a positive profound impact on your business.
What Is An Internet Market?
There're many definitions of the term "market"; it all depends on the context in
which it is used. The way I look at "market" is that it consists of people and/or
organizations that have needs to be satisfied, have the purchasing power or money, and
are willing to spend the money on whatever you have to offer. It generally implies
a demand for a product or service, whatever context in which it is used.
From the marketing standpoint, a market consists of your existing customers as
well as potential customers.
Why Internet Market-Orientation?
You should realise, as a business owner, that in order to effectively relate your
product and/or service offerings to the needs of the marketplace, you should be
market-oriented as opposed to product-oriented. What I mean by market-orientation is
that you look at the marketplace through the media of marketing research and sales
forecasting.
Market-orientation therefore makes it impossible, with the exception of a few
special circumstances, to treat the market as a mass of homogeneous potential
customers, as the overall market consists of many diverse sub-markets and groups,
each with sufficient similarities to be treated as separate markets by themselves.
Furthermore, within each of these sub-markets or groups, there're further divisions
or sectors. For a product category (e.g., computers), your focus should be on those
sectors within the sub-markets or groups which are most commercially attractive to you
for a given product form (e.g., the desktop market or the laptop market),
rather than be concerned with the whole population of potential customers for that
product category.
This is common sense as you're in business to make profits.
Identifying these sub-markets or groups would allow you to more effectively
position your product and/or service offerings, your internet marketing communications,
your pricing policy, and the rest of the 7 marketing mix elements.
The result is more satisfied customers and increased profits.
About the Author
Copyright 2004 by Larry Lim, MarketingSphere.com
Larry Lim is a marketing strategist and tactician who dishes out highly
effective marketing strategies and tactics that will enable you to successfully
start and grow your business on the Internet.
Check out his Internet Marketing Strategy
website that is jam-packed with internet marketing secrets and softwares that will
skyrocket your sales, and shoot your profits through the roof.
To read more, please visit
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