In the old days, when an artist released a new single or album, you depended on the radio to play it or had to travel to a music store to try and get sneak peak of it. All you have to do today is make a fast Google search (it literally takes google less than 0.10 seconds to generate over 20 million results for a search like "Elvis Presley") of the artist and you will be presented to links that contain whole versions of the songs/albums or at least a preview of them. Doing so is an example of how e-marketing influences one of the three basic steps of the Buying Decision process.
The Buying Decision Process can be divided into three phases: Recognition, Development, and Fullfilment of a need or want. E-marketing is a powerful tool to influence the consumer in all of these steps and help him chose your product. Let's examine how e-marketing can be used in each step of the way:
Recognition: The consumer has to first recognize that he/she has a need or want that they must fulfill. How do you reach them and create that spark? Easy, Google Adsense. This is one of the many ways you can entice your audience to look at your product. Google Adsense's targeted ads will automatically display your content to users who are interested in what you have to offer. Another great way of creating an interest in your product is through Social Media, when you allow people to share with each other they will basically spread the word for your product. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace... all these websites allow users to share songs, videos, and other media.
Development: After the consumer has seen an advertisement or liked the song they heard on a video in a friend's page, its time for them to search for further information in relation to their new-found interest. E-marketing works great in this part of the process, lets take that song they heard in the video as an example, the consumer can now go online and visit Midomi which is a website that will allow users to hum or sing a part of a song and after a quick search will display the results and allow them to preview and even purchase the song on the spot.
Fulfillment: This is the final step of the process, where the consumer, after gathering a certain amount of information, decides to go through with the purchase. Websites like Amazon, iTunes, and even the previously mentioned Midomi, facilitate the transaction and allow the users to do it all online from the comfort of their home.
E-marketing is the innovative and creative way to reach customers, it's potential grows daily and we must grow with it to retain that edge that will make them choose our product over the competition's.
Stay creative my friends,;:
-MGM
Sources:
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=9713
http://www.midomi.com/
Smaug,
ReplyDeleteE-marketing has definitley changed the way marketers and companies reach out to their market and it has also changed the way we acess our products, in your case music. I feel that social media sites play a BIG role in this, especially with sites like MySpace (that have played a big part in the success of musicians) and Facebook. I spoke about branding and the buying decision process in my post. I think that it is important for companies to facilitate the ease of access to products that consumers desire. Your comment about Midomi caught my attention. I had never heard about the site before and find it genius that someone came up with the idea. There are so many songs that flood through our radios (online and in the car) and its sometimes hard to remember that ONE song that you loved. Knowing that you can find it online just by humming the tune is very creative and definitely a first of its kind.
E-markteting has quite an impact on both companies that are trying to promote their product and on conumers when they are trying to fullfill their desired through the buying decision process.
The buying decision process for the music industry has indeed been impacted by E-marketing in leaps and bounds! Well before iTunes and Youtube the only places you could "sample" the tracks on a CD were at Virgin (personal favorite), FYE, and another select few and that wasn't implemented until early last decade! There has been some significant decline in sales of albums and yes it does have a lot to do with file-sharing culture, however, with the dawn of digital sampling of music from your own computer, one can now literally "knit-pick" album tracks and buy them as singles! The marketing strategy for selling music however, is only a reflection of what consumers needs and desires are. No one wants to buy a CD because of one catchy single anymore and that's what the digital retailers are offering.
ReplyDeleteVery good observation of an industry dramatically affected by e-marketing.
E-Marketing has definitely revolutionized the way that people interact and purchase music. Thanks to iTunes simplistic and revolutionary approach, the music industry was salvaged from total chaos of P2P sharing brought on by in the Napster late 90's. The simplest idea of allowing people to buy individual track at .99 cents is what did it. Now iTunes aim to take it one step further with the new implementation of Ping, Apple's take on what a music social media should be like. Now Steve Jobs aim to have people share music in a more legal and profitable fashion.
ReplyDeleteLike the previous posters said, iTunes and Napsterr have changed the way the music industry has performed. Some for better , some for worse. Many online companies have flourished over the years.
ReplyDelete