Article Analysis:” The Wired Teens” September 18, 2000 Thesis: On-line

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Article Analysis:" The Wired Teens" September 18, 2000 Thesis: On-line promotion and the sale of products has to be given Careful consideration to attract a new line of potential Consumers.

I. Situation analysis (SWOT) A: Identify industry trends B. Analyze competitors C. Assess Company D. Research consumer II. Market product focus and goal setting A. Set market and product goals B. Select target markets C. Find points of difference D. Position the product III. Marketing program A. Develop the program's marketing mix B. Develop the budget by estimating revenues, expenses and profits IV. Implementation phase A. Obtain Resources B. Design a marketing orientation C. Develop schedules D. Execute marketing program Today, computers are taking the place of the more traditional means of communication, such as the written letter the usually takes days even weeks to receive (in some instances) or the telephone. Society has now given way of the ever-increasing popularity of the e-mail, or the fax machine rather then these slower less productive means of communication.

People that used to bring a newspaper to work are now downloading whole articles from whatever paper or magazine that interests them. This increased popularity of on-line promotion and sale has caused business to "sit up and take notice," in attempts to attract potential consumers.

News, sports and weather can all be accessed from this information super-highway. The inter-net is not only used for its vast amounts of information, but also for it's wealth of endless products and services that is offered. Only with this new found tool can people order flowers, check bank accounts and go shopping all at the same time without leaving the comfort of their home or office. No more long line-ups or fighting your way through crowded shopping centres on lunch breaks.

Teens utilise the inter-net to perform such tasks as homework, chatting with friends about the events of the day in chat rooms (ICQ) or just to roam the net in search of interesting sites. Companies such as Nike and Reebok have noticed this trend, and are taking advantage of this new found opportunity by buying up valuable internet space on frequently accessed sites like MSN messenger service or ICQ. If our company purchased a small plot of inter-net land, and advertised for just one week it would have been viewed by more people than if our ad ran in 5 magazines for 3 months.

Figure 1. Shows the internal and external factors affecting the marketing opportunities. This situation analysis starts with a snapshot of the current environment in which our company finds itself. By providing a brief SWOT analysis.

Internal Factors Strengths Weaknesses Management Experienced management Small size restricts options Offerings Unique, high quality products Lower priced, lower quality competitors Distribution in 3 markets with No, national awareness or distribution Marketing excellent acceptance Personnel Good workforce, little turnover Not, enough workers to compete with Foreign markets Finance Excellent growth in sales and revenues Limited resources may restrict growth Opportunities, when compared to giant Competitors Opportunities Factors Threats External Consumer/Social Upscale markets likely to be stable Premium price may limit access to mass In fast growing segment mass markets Completive Distinctive name Completive companies can manufacture Quality goods at low cost Technological Technology breakthroughs Enable smaller companies to achieve Many of the same products available To larger companies Economic Consumer income is high; convenience Is very important to Canadian households Legal/Regulatory High government regulations eliminate "fly by night" companies By setting goals and focusing on a basic direction of the product, we too can compete "head to head" with the giants of the inter- net advertising world. Finding a focus on our product offerings and finding what potential consumers that these offerings will be directed towards will determine the products success, by specifying both market and productive goals.

We know that our targeted markets are youth, who use the inter-net not only as a means to play video games and chat with friends on such sites as ICQ. But, also as a learning apparatus to solve math problems, do research papers and other related schoolwork. By purchasing advertising space on these youth frequented sites we could obtain a new perspective on our marketing plans, and utilize our company's knowledge and capability of marketing.

The most important points of difference that separates our company from the rest are, our energetic well trained employees and our new cutting edge technology, which allows us to offer the consumer the highest level of quality, and a service warranty beyond compare.

Our customers expect and deserve the very best quality, product, price and grantee. We as a company know that our responsibilities do not end after the product has been sold. Therefore, to be able to reach all our loyal and potential customers we should offer them consumer support, with the aid of consumer friendly web site, that offers answers to frequently asked questions. This site will enable us to maintain utmost level of support that our organization has to offer.

Our companies Marketing mix promotion is already set into place. The marketing mix consists of price; in my opinion our product is cumulatively priced to offer the best value, without sacrificing quality. Product; our product is innovative and it very efficient, and it also comes with an excellent customer service plan/warranty. Promotion; by promoting our product via the inter-net we can access a number of people that would be impossible to match using our old system of advertising in periodicals like newspapers, magazines or even television. With a well-placed eye-catching ad on the Internet on a web site like ICQ, we could reach more potential markets. Place; by placing our ad on-line interested consumers could have access to our web site by a simple click of a mouse. Then they can easily and in the comfort of their own home fill out one of our order forms on-line, and purchase our product by either Visa or MasterCard. But, we have also taken into account the fact that people are sometimes hesitant to give out such potentially damaging information about themselves like credit card numbers, so we will also offer product purchasing by C.O.D, cheque or money order. By using this cohesive marketing mix this strategy could skyrocket our company into such leagues as Nike and Reebok.

Advertising space on the inter net is relatively inexpensive, (depending on the site) when you look at how many visitors a given site may receive in a day in relation to circulation of newspapers and magazines. Many major companies have invested huge amounts of time and money into these web campaigns.

Another factor is the four components of the imprecation phase. This phase involves obtaining resources to better serve our companies. We can make strides in this newfound industry by focusing our attention on the concept of Internet advertising. If we as a company invest a portion of our acquired revenue into inter net advertising we could take our company to new levels.

Our marketing program needs "marketing organization" to improve it. This is epically true for our firm because we are constantly looking for new global markets to peruse.

One key to an effective implementation is setting deadlines, and acquire a approximate time frame as to when we will peruse our inter net ad campaign. Every day prime plots of Internet land gets purchased by emerging firms and marketing giants, so I feel we have to strike this Internet trend while the iron is hot.

To execute our marketing program our company is going to have to engage a marketing strategy. Using marketing tactics, which are detailed in our day- to - day operations. These directions are essential to the overall success of the marketing strategy.

In conclusion I feel that our company should observe and benchmark the companies that have went before us and purchased internet space and are now in such leagues as Nike, and Napster. So we too can be a part of this faced paced technology.

3. The typical influences that affect the consumer decision process are concepts such as motivation/personality; perception; learning; values; beliefs; and attitudes. In reference to the article "The Wired teen" the decision process of web consumers would be influenced the most by social needs, friendship and belonging. Teens use the web to communicate with their friends and complete schoolwork. Therefore, a marketing campaign directed toward them to appeal to their social activities. Another influence that could affect these web consumers is "safety needs, because some have a perceived risk of giving out information about themselves on the web could put them in (physical or fanatical) danger. Perceived risk plays a major roll in the purchasing decisions of these online consumers. Because of this perceived risk, a potential consumer may harbour some anxieties because they cannot anticipate if 1) the web site that they are on is secure, or 2) if the product would be delivered, 2) and the condition of the product after it is purchased. Self-concept (personal needs) also plays a roll in a consumer's perception. Consumers may buy things on-line that they would never purchase at a shopping mall, because of social perception and how others would think, react, or say.

4.Marketing on the Internet either to regular consumers or to the business sector would be executed it the same way. A good Marketing strategy weather it is being targeted to a potential single consumer buying one unit, or to a business buying hundreds would all executed in the same way. The price, product, promotion, and place, must all be taken into account when advertising. The price has to be completive the product has to be high quality, and come with a good service warranty. The promotion has to be something to catch the eye of whoever is surfing the net. And the product must be readily available, either through delivery or through a central location where the product can be picked up.

5.After reading the article "The Wired Teen," and looking at similar Internet sites, it is my belief that the best-suited target market segment would be the youth. The fact remains that teenagers use the computer more that all the household appliances combined, and that they spend most of their leisure time surfing the web. According to a survey designed by "North star Research Parties For Youth Culture Inc," which stated that a full 85% of Canada's teenagers are "wired." These young inter-net users are being revered to as the "Net Generation," are more likely to make on line purchases, because they are more comfortable on or around the computer.