656 The Marketing Book
Interaction– dialogue to learn about customers’
needs.
Integration– of knowledge of customers into all
parts of the company.
Integrity– develop trust through non-intrusion,
as in permission marketing.
Although the mix provides a useful framework
for marketers, other factors also need to be
considered. Decisions on the mix are not made
until marketing strategy first determines target
markets and required brand positionings. New
marketers also need to know how to manage
alliances or partnerships and build customer
relationships to build lifetime value through
using customer knowledge stored in databases.
We will now review the implications of the new
media for the different elements of the market-
ing mix.
Product
The on-line world offers a host of new opportun-
ities and prompts these product-related
questions:
What benefits do you deliver to your
customers?
Can they be delivered on-line?
What other benefits might your customers like?
Can these benefits be delivered on-line?
What is your business? Can it be delivered
on-line?
Ghosh (1998) suggested companies should con-
sider how to modify product and add digital
valueto customers. These are huge questions
that can reshape your whole business. He urged
companies to ask:
Can I afford additional information on or
transaction services to my existing customer
base?
Can I address the needs of new customer
segments by repackaging my current information
assets or by creating new business propositions
using the Internet?
Can I use my ability to attract customers to
generate new sources of revenue such as
advertising or sales of complementary products?
Will my current business be significantly harmed
by other companies providing some of the value
I currently offer?He suggests you need to analyse each feature of
your product or service and ask how each of
these features can be improved or adapted on-
line. Developing these on-line services should
be customer-led by asking what information
the ideal target customers seek. How can a
company excel at giving them this on-line?
Communities of customers can be tapped into
to help answer this question. This is the idea of
the ‘prosumer’ – the proactive consumer. The
prosumer concept was introduced in 1980 by
futurist Alvin Toffler in his book The Third
Wave. According to Toffler, the future would
once again combine production with consump-
tion. In The Third Wave, Toffler saw a world
where interconnected users would collabor-
atively ‘create’ products. Note that he foresaw
this over 10 years before the web was
invented!
These changes to products can be sub-
stantial – one such example is Hughes Chris-
tenson, an oil drilling tool company who
discovered they could provide a more lucrative
on-line oil drilling advisory service.
The different elements of extended product
can also be highlighted or delivered on-line.
Often, extended product contributes greatly to
quality. Think about these aspects of extended
product which can be highlighted or delivered
on-line: Endorsements.
Awards.
Testimonies.
Customer lists.
Customer comments.
Warranties.
Guarantees.
Money-back offers.
Customer service (see ‘People’ and ‘Process’).