In Response to Chris French's Post...

"E-Marketing- Friend or Foe?"- Do you agree that these traditional forms of marketing should be kept in place? What other problems to you think of in the advent of e-marketing? Do you think appreciation marketing really works?

Like everything, there are benefits and risks with e-marketing. The traditional forms of marketing are greatly beneficial for a company to excel. There is much less room for error using traditional forms of marketing. I believe that the traditional forms of marketing should be kept in place. Like it was stated in the article, many people accidentally delete or never receive an important e-mail from a company. With the use of traditional marketing, there isn't any way an individual can delete a letter from a company. Granted, there mail could be lost or stolen, but the chances of that happening are very slim. Traditional marketing should be kept in place because of the problems that could come along with e-marketing. E-marketing can be a huge risk due to the fact that one is relying on electronics to market their company and distribute information. Technology always has risks due to system failures. If a company is relying on a computer, there is much room for error. This company could potentially lose valuable information such as customer information, contact information, company information and even lose items that are still in the works, but stored on the computer. If a company used purely the computer to keep track of all information for the company, a system failure would be a huge negative impact. Not only would the company not be able to contact their customers, but they could lose business as well. I don't believe traditional marketing will be completely eliminated anytime soon, but eventually in many years that may be seen. Another reason why the traditional approach should remain, is the benefits of appreciation marketing. I know for me personally, I enjoy receiving letters from company's that I use. The appreciation letters seem more personable than an e-mail in your inbox. Do you believe a simple appreciation letter could sway a first time customer, who doesn't know whether or not they want to use that company again?

Traditional Marketing vs. E-Marketing

The evolution of technology has created many opportunities for marketers. Within the past eight years alone, there have been many upgrades in the marketing industry. For example, on Valentines Day, my sister and her husband were on an electronic bulletin board in New York City. The company they were promoting was Walgreens (as shown above) with their slogan, “share a kiss in Times Square”. My sister lives in Yucca Valley, California and was able to get herself on a bulletin board in Times Square through Walgreen's usage of E-marketing. About eight years ago it would probably be rare to see something like this.

Based on the article “Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing”, it seems at this point in time that direct mail is more beneficial than e-mail. Like it said in the article, many people who get the e-mail rather than the “snail mail” may accidentally delete their letter. Since most e-mail accounts now have spam control, it is easily to delete something that is placed in the spam mailbox. I know for me personally, I rarely check what is actually in the spam mailbox before deleting the contents. Also, “snail mail” has the benefit of being more personable with your customer. Not only that, but “snail mail” leaves much less room for being thrown out or deleted, since most people check their mail daily.

Based upon the article, “From Print to Phone to Web. And a Sale?” the usage of barcodes in various magazines seems very beneficial at a glance. All any customer has to have available to them is a camera phone to take the picture. This seems like a very good idea to focus on the product variable in the marketing mix. This technique isn’t quite as personal as talking on the phone, or receiving letters, but the main focus is on the product. The only thing to consider when using this barcode idea is your target market. I know from personal experience that my mother doesn’t even know how to text message, let along scan a barcode on her phone. I believe if the target market is for the younger generations (where technology is everything); the company can make a lot of money.

I think E-Marketing will eventually take over traditional forms of marketing. I don’t think it will be extremely soon, but I do see it eventually happening. Since every generation learns about more and more technological advances, there will be no need for traditional marketing. Another company that would benefit from using the traditional marketing approaches would be the United States Postal Service. This company relies on other companies to use “snail mail” to make profits and provide jobs. A good example of E-Marketing would be Canobie Lake Park (where I work). Since the park will be opening for the season in April, the park must hire back as many prior employees as possible. They do this using “snail mail”, then if you agree to have the rest of the information sent be e-mail, you can do so. It is much easier filling out the paperwork online then e-mailing it back to them rather than using the postal service. If E-Marketing took over the mailing industry, do you believe it would put many people who work for the United States Postal Service out of work?