E-marketing strategies for Dresser-Rand's compressor industry expansion

E-marketing has become an essential part of the marketing strategies for corporations around the globe. Organizations must find innovative ways to market their products through the technologies of the 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the integration of e-marketing strategies into the overall marketing plan of Dresser-Rand which sells parts and energy solutions for the compressor industry. Our discussion will focus on understanding e-marketing. We will also discuss how segmentation and positioning strategies will affect the marketing and media mix. Let's begin our discussion by presenting some background information about the company.

Dresser-Rand

Dresser-Rand has an established reputation for the quality and reliability of their products. ("A Rugged Reputation for Reliability and Expertise") The company's compressors are world renowned and the company aims to please customers. Dresser Rand's products are designed with the use of computers and are formulated to require very little maintenance. ("A Rugged Reputation for Reliability and Expertise")

According to the company's official website Dresser-Rand manufactures several different products including steam turbines. The website allows clients to purchase parts online which are delivered within 48 hours. (Products and Services) Customers are allowed to purchase products with credit cards and pre-approved accounts. (Products and Services) The company also provides clients with a national and an international phone number which allows them to fulfill critical needs for products and to speed up shipment. (Products and Services)

Understanding E-marketing

Frost and Strauss (2000) define traditional marketing as "the process of planning and executing the conception, distribution, promotion, and pricing of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives." (Frost and Strauss 2000) The authors go on to explain that e-marketing simply makes traditional marketing more efficient because of the technology that is involved. E-marketing increases profits and customer satisfaction. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

The first step in the development of a successful strategy for Dresser-Rand is understanding e-marketing and the challenges that it presents. According to Frost and Strauss (2000), e-marketing is slightly different than traditional marketing. The authors state that there are ten rules that a business must understand if they are to adapt an e-marketing plan. These ten rules include;

Knowledge management -- the digital age has provided organizations with the ability to track the spending patterns of customers. It is vitally important that organizations use this information to create strategies that will create consumer loyalty and benefit the company. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Increase velocity-within the internet environment organizations have the ability to observe the strategies of their competitors instantly and mimic them. For this reason organizations must be assertive and innovative when creating new products and services. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Power shift from sellers to buyers- e-marketing is quite different from traditional marketing because buyers are in a more powerful position. Frost and Strauss (2000) explain that "Both individual and business buyers are more demanding than ever because they are just one click away from a plethora of global competitors, all vying for their business." With this in mind, organizations must focus on meeting the needs of consumers. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Global reach- the advent of the Internet has contributed greatly to the creation of a global market. This provides firms with the ability to reach large populations with their products and services. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Death of distance- technologies such as email and teleconferencing have eliminated the distance barriers that many organizations have dealt with in the past. Companies can now collaborate without having to meet in person. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Intellectual capital rules- the intellectual capital that a company possesses is priceless in the technology age. Investors are more likely to invest in a firm that has intellectual capital than one that simply has tangible assets. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Interdisciplinary focus- If an e-marketing strategy is to work effectively marketers and information system professionals must work together to create solutions. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Time compression- the internet allows firms to communicate 24-hour a day and eliminate time constraints. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Market deconstruction-because of the absence of time constraints and space constraints the product bundling that use to be prevalent no longer exist. Customers can now go to several different sites to get information about a product before they purchase them. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Interoperability- this has to do with the standards for software design. The Internet has created an open standard for the design of software. Frost and Strauss (2000) explain,

Open standards exist in the public domain and are sanctioned by international bodies. Designing for open standards creates systems that will work well together. Such systems are said to be interoperable. The advantages are tremendous. Firms can purchase best of breed systems in each functional area with some assurance that the systems will smoothly integrate." (Frost and Strauss 2000)

Once Dresser-Rand understands these rules they will be better equipped to create an e-marketing strategy. All of these rules play a role in the integration of an e-marketing strategy into the overall marketing plan.

Segmentation and Positioning Strategies

Positioning

The Internet is saturated with businesses that are jockeying for position, because of this Dresser-Rand must utilize positioning strategies that will get them recognized by potential customers. One of the key concepts in positioning is search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is a fundamental online marketing strategy. When it comes to online promotion, optimization for the Search Engines is the key to obtaining visitors at very little cost! Search engine optimization and submission is definitely the most important step for allowing your online business to flourish. For your web site to sell successfully over the Internet, you need to be recognized by the top search engines" ("Search Engine..." 2003)

Another method that is often used as a positioning strategy is net linking. ("Web positioning..." 2000) This involves the creation of links on partner sites. This strategy can dramatically improve traffic to the Dresser-Rand website. The key to net linking is to place links on sites that cater to the market segments that the company is trying to reach.

In the case of Dresser-Rand the links should be with sites that serve small and large businesses in the compressor industry.

Affect of Segmentation and Positioning Strategies on the marketing and media mix

Segmentation and Positioning can prove to be beneficial to the marketing and media mix for Dresser-Rand. The segmentation and positioning strategies of the company will still allow them to use the traditional forms of marketing and media promotions. However these strategies and the nature of the Internet in general may create shorter product life cycles. According to Frost and Strauss (2000) product life cycles occur because of the increased level of global competition that now exists because of the Internet. Product life cycles are also decreased because of the current pace in the development of various technological advancements. (Frost and Strauss 2000)

If Dresser-Rand pursues these segmentation and positioning strategies aggressively the competition will increase tremendously. (Fraud and Strauss 2000)

As far as the media mix is concerned these segmentation and positioning strategies include television, print and radio ads. It is quite common to see ads that include a company's web site address and promote online purchases. Segmentation and positioning strategies may allow Dresser-Rand to use other forms of media and various technologies such as email promotion, web TV, cell phones with Internet access, and personal assistants. (Frost and Strauss 2000) All of these gadgets can be used to promote the company's products.

The segmentation and positioning strategies that Dresser-Rand may integrate will enhance marketing and media mix because they will be aimed at the segment of the market that is likely to purchase the company's products.

However there will be some problems associated with the velocity of the internet and the amount of competition that exist on the web.

Conclusion

The purpose of this paper was to discuss the integration of e-marketing strategies into the overall marketing plan of Dresser-Rand which sells parts and energy solutions for the compressor industry.

We began our discussion by providing some background information about the company. We found that Dresser-Rand has an established reputation in the compressor industry. We also found that the company allows customers to purchase products with credit cards and pre-approved accounts over the Internet.

Our discussion also focused on understanding e-marketing. We discovered that there are several rules that govern e-marketing strategies. We concluded that these rules are essential and must be understood in order to create an effective e-marketing strategy.

We also discussed segmentation and positioning strategies. Our investigation found that Dresser-Rand could create segmentations based on business to business conditions in the market. We concluded that these segmentations should include small businesses, large businesses, geography, and Internet usage.

Finally we discussed the affect of segmentation and positioning strategies on the marketing and media mix. We found that these strategies will improve the marketing and media mix by making them more efficient. We also found that the company's segmentation and positioning strategies would present great challenges because of the competition that currently exist in the market.

It is my sincere desire that this discussion has increased you awareness of e-marketing strategies that can be utilized to enhance Dresser-Rand's overall marketing strategy. I also hope that this discussion has given you a better understanding of e-market and doing business on the Internet.