By maximizing these relationships, Cyberware can forge new and stronger customer relationships. In other words, Cyberware as an ISP can use the internet in other interesting ways in their attempt to maintain customer relations. Partnering with internet related organizations and/or other companies working to make the internet a powerful new business tool is one marketing approach that is sure to work for the company. "In September 1998, for instance, Dell announced its ConnectDirect (SM), a wide-ranging technology initiative to provide Dell customers with easy, fast and personalized access to the Internet. The initiative included agreements with at&T World Net Service, Excite, Inc., and SBC Communications, Inc. To provide services to Dell customers." (Steinbock)
VI. Is the area media strong?
The local area has a very modern telecommunications and media market system and infrastructure. There is a great deal of national investment incorporated into the systems so they will offer a great many technologically advanced opportunities for Cyberware including increased levels of bandwidth and the fact that over ninety five percent of the homes are already telephone, satellite of cable ready.
The area encouraged the growth of modern telecommunication technology; fiber-optic cable trunk lines have been installed between all major areas in the community and the major networks are entirely digital and the available telephone service is at a point where it is better than the majority of the country. The area also has several local television broadcast systems and internet use is very strong. The area's radio stations are mostly unlicensed but the licensee stations attract well over ninety percent of the listening audience.
VII. What are some competitive concerns and who is the competition?
A thorough analysis of the existing competitive strengths and weaknesses will be needed. Through a simple survey process, we could attain the existing service providers and their strengths and weaknesses in the opinions of the consumers. For example, similar to the Free ISP survey listed below, we would also need the basic competitive scenario data:
ISP New Jersey - Area Code 201
City
ISP
Cost
Rating
Platform
Bayonne mFire
Cheap
SBC Yahoo
Free Trial
Earthlink
Cheap
NetZero Platinum
Cheap
AOL
Free Trial
Bluelight
Cheap
Juno
Free
NetZero
Free
Cliffside mFire
Cheap
Earthlink
Cheap
Bluelight
Cheap (All Free ISP, 2005)
VIII. What are some innovative marketing approaches?
Any approach to increase the level of new customers must be presented in such a way that it does not turn off existing clientele. The acquisition strategy of choice for new customers therefore should be a combination of 'Buzz Marketing' and 'Word-of-Mouth' advertising. Cyberware as an organization is just now grasping the power of organizationally created Word-of-Mouth advertising. "But buzz is no longer a hit-or-miss proposition used exclusively by fringe marketers. These days, plenty of big players are trying hard to systematize buzz techniques." (Khermouch & Green, 2001)
History proves that almost all products and services are more influenced by Word-of-Mouth than by any other form of advertising including television and radio. Cyberware has approached customer recruitment through an saturating markets with marketing materials, events, and salespeople. "Word of mouth is the reality that intervenes between your communication and sales." (Silverman, 1997)
The Internet has become the biggest marketing continuum in the history of man and the communication capabilities that have been recognized in email and chat for instance make the internet as important an invention...
These mediums can offer an ability to pass opinions and other word-of-mouth marketing ideals at will such as the adverse event of the early 1990's promotion of 'Intel Inside.' At the time the idea was a hit in promoting computer sales - however, when the Intel brand name took a hit for allowing a faulty chip to make its way to the market, internet-based Word-of-Mouth made the 'Intel Inside' a marketing nightmare.
Cyberware can create a major internet-based Word-of-Mouth and buzz marketing campaign for ISP use in the local area. The major secret of the Cyberware Word-of-Mouth campaign will be to create unexpected face-to-face scenario that will promote the products and services over the existing identified competition and to create a buzz of credibility for our ISP services and product lines. The approach can be focused to fully take advantage of the time we have the consumer's undivided attention.
The Cyberware Word-of-mouth and Buzz marketing campaign can pass scripted advertising shorts about the advantages of being a customer of our ISP to average people on the street in movies, book stores, or at lunch and they will pass our scripts on to other consumers including friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members. A similar approach can be utilized on our Web pages and various other sites to promote our products in the same fashion which in turn will create a positive spin or Internet wide buzz about our products and services.
Our marketing research has shown that the Word-of-Mouth and Buzz marketing approaches are highly effective and much more reliable than any available print or television ad. Consumers have already been overly saturated by those other mediums so this approach will be better. An example of the success of this methodology can be seen by the success of a popular American film 'Fahrenheit 911.' The film turned out blockbuster results in revenues and these were on a shoestring advertising budget -it was simply word of mouth.
Summary
This economic analysis was for the Cyberware because they intend to market and sell their products and services ISP in a new local market. The company will utilize this report to understand the economic situation of the local area and then will apply the 4 P's of marketing:
Product
Price
Placement
Promotion
Success for all businesses is a matter of attracting and retaining customers. This questionnaire attempted to derive at a viable set of questions and logic to firmly establish the company in the new area.
References
All Free ISP. (n.d.). Free ISP Database - Find Free Internet Access Service Providers Instantly. Retrieved May 17, 2005, at http://www.all-free-isp.com/new-jersey-providers.php
Durgee, Jeffrey F., Gina Colarelli O'Connor, and Robert W. Veryzer. "Translating values into product wants." Journal of Advertising Research Vol. 36 (1996).
Glanz, William. "Industry ads target Bell broadband bill." The Washington Times [Washington] June 1, 2001.
Khermouch, Gerry & Green, Jeff (2001, July 30). "Buzz Marketing: Suddenly This Stealth Strategy Is Hot -- but it's Still Fraught with Risk." Business Week Online. Retrieved May 17, 2005, at http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_31/b3743001.htm
Lambin, Jean-Jacques. Market-Driven Management New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pages: 137-167
Lemke, Tim. "Cable, DSL or Satellite? High-Speed Internet Connections Can Download Information 50 Times Faster Than a Standard 56-Kilobyte Modem. But Technology Hasn't Caught Up With Demand" Insight on the News, Vol. 17 December 17, 2001.
Silverman, George (1997, November). How to Harness the Awesome Power of Word of Mouth. Direct Marketing Magazine, 32-37. Retrieved May 17, 2005, from Market Navigation, Inc., Web Site: http://www.mnav.com/H2HarnWOM.htm
Steinbock, Dan. The Birth of Internet Marketing Communications Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books, 2000.
Marketing Internet
