BUILDING BRANDS ON INTERNET Prof Chaitali Chandarana MEANING

BUILDING BRANDS ON INTERNET Prof. Chaitali Chandarana

MEANING • This futuristic aspect of an information technology oriented marketing strategy is building brands through internet. • Web sites are effective at building brand relevance, differentiation, and loyalty, but they should not be relied on to build awareness and recognition. • "Internet malls" maybe exciting and topical but building brands on internet malls have to come to grips with certain accepted norms of shopping behavior. • There are three aspects related to building brands on internet. Mindset of consumers towards internet shopping. Consumer behavioral aspects and building brands on the internet. How could brands be built on the internet?

COMPARING BRAND BUILDING IN CYBERSPACE TO BRAND BUILDING IN THE 'BRICKS AND MORTAR' WORLD • Web sites offer two-way (versus one-way) communication. • Ability to customize content depending on the situation. • The consumer is in control - he or she selects what he / she wants to see and for how long. • It is easier to gather far more information on the consumer • Instant feedback is possible - and is sometimes desired by the customer. • In the 'dirt world', product accessibility is primarily driven by number of retail locations - and large companies have many such locations. In cyberspace, only one Website is needed - which doesn't necessarily require the resources of a large company. • Web sites of smaller companies are usually much more critical and important components of their businesses.

INTERNET USER SEGMENTS • Ketchum Interactive, the global public relations agency, has identified four different Internet user segments : 1. The Adventurous Kind: It includes the users, who would perhaps know about the product, but would not seek it out on their own. They surf the net casually with no specific reason. These crowd can be attracted by entertaining , attracting appeal through offers, freebies or contest and games. 2. The Expert Kind: They are focused about what they are searching. They have the complete detail about product as well as they know what they are looking. These people would not be attracted with attractive appeal, but with easy information, quick download, clear sitemaps etc.

CONT…D 3. The Investigator Kind: These people are basically curious by nature. They may have no knoweldge about the brand, but they know what they are looking out for. They are overconfident and have no patience. They look out for TO THE POINT information. Users cane be attracted by tagging appropriate KEY WORD to the brand names and need straight forward search tools. 4. The Wanderer Kind These are not looking out for anything specific. These are casually surfing net. For them, visiting websites is like a pastime to increase the knowledge what is available. Such users are attracted by have some HOLDING POINTS or creating a BUZZ about the site.

WEBSITE OBJECTIVES • Make it easier for consumers to do business with us (accessibility). • Reduce our costs of doing business (customer value and business profitability). • Enhance our relationship with our customer (creating emotional connection). • Build our brand.

IMP CONSIDERATION FOR BUILDING WEBSITE • The site must download quickly. The average person will only wait 10 seconds or less for a page to download. • The home or splash page must capture the user's attention and invite him or her deeper into the site. • Provide a site search engine. • Ideally, every page should have home, search and site map buttons. • Provide an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section. • Provide activities to unobtrusively build a database (games, contests, sweepstakes, surveys, newsletters). • Consider personalizing the site to the user's preferences: wallpaper, first page viewed, customized content.

CREATING A BRAND BUILDING SITE • The domain name (URL) should be the brand name (to provide intuitive site access). • People are increasingly trying to the type the name as the URL. If that does not work, they then use a search engine. • Protect your domain name through ongoing surveillance and enforcement. • Weave a story about the brand's history, heritage and character. • Brand-building sites should avail themselves to the full spectrum of brand identity Consider using a brand sound icon as a mnemonic device. Use good judgment to ensure the sound is pleasing and not distracting or annoying. • A well branded site will have a consistent look and feel across all of its pages. Ideally, the brand name and logo appear in the upper left corner on each page.

THE IMPACT OF THE INTERNET ON BRANDS • An Internet presence has become an essential requirement for brand building. • A Web site can create an integrated brand experience that consistently reinforces the brand positioning. • A well-known brand name is the most important factor in directing people to your e-commerce site (top-ofmind awareness is the desired end). • To be successful, e-commerce sites must deliver superior value to their bricks and mortar competitors. There are four primary ways in which the Internet can add value: information, entertainment, convenience and cost savings.

BRAND BUILDING ON THE INTERNET SOME DIMENSIONS • Traditional Pull Vs Relationship Pull • Involving the Consumer with the Web Site • Technology for One-To-One Marketing • Innovating Continuously

HOW THE INTERNET CAN BOOST YOUR BRAND • Rebuilding Brand Promise • Enhancing Brand Delivery

ORGANIZING FOR BRAND BUILDING

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