INMA_A01.QXD

In the second example of changing behaviour within the environment, we look at

achieving sales rather than awareness. Look at Figure 2.2 which shows the index of

online sales in the UK compared to an index of 100 in April 2000. Between April 2000

and June 2005, retail sales increased 17-fold! Masked within this general increase will be

large variations in online sales figures for different companies according to the type of

product and the Internet marketing capabilities developed in organisations during this

period. It is important for companies to evaluate their relative performance in their

market – an individual company’s online sales may have increased by 20% in a period,

which sounds positive, but it is not when compared to a competitor whose sales have

increased by 100% in the same period.

Different environment components

The Internet introduces new facets to the environment that must be considered by mar-

keters since strategy development is strongly influenced by considering the environment

the business operates in. Figure 2.3 illustrates the key elements of a business’s environment

that will influence the organisation. Many authors such as Porter (1980) on corporate

strategy or Kotler et al. (2001) on marketing strategy make the distinction between

INTRODUCTION

Activity 2.1 Reviewing the increase in popularity of online media sites

Purpose

To apply a tool to analyse the popularity of online media sites. The ABCe audit service is

completed to prove the popularity of online sites to advertisers purchasing ad space on the

site. It is the online equivalent of the audited bureau of circulation for magazines.

Activity

Visit the ABCe site and choose ‘Database’. Select a media site that you might visit and plot its

changes in visitors over the last 2 to 5 years. Visit the site to see how advertisers use the site

to promote their products and interact with consumers.

Figure 2.2The IMRG retail index shows online sales volume in the UK relative to 100 in April 2000
Source: Interactive Media in Retail Group (www.imrg.org)

1900

IMR

G

Index

1700

1500

1300

1100

900

700

500

300

100

Apr 00Jun 00Aug 00Oct 00Dec 00Feb 01Apr 01Jun 01Aug 01Oct 01Dec 01Feb 02Apr 02Jun 02Aug 02Oct 02Dec 02Feb 03Apr 03Jun 03Aug 03Oct 03Dec 03Feb 04Apr 04Jun 04Aug 04Oct 04Dec 04Feb 05Apr 05Jun 05