Unit 12 – P5 Kojar Ahmed
In this report I will explain how internet marketing has made a selected business more efficient,
effective and successful. The business I have chosen for this is ASDA. Most if not all businesses will
implement the internet into their business plan, this can be done by creating social media accounts
for your business or by creating a dedicated website where consumers can buy or browse your
products. With the ever growing presence of the internet, it has become vital now more than ever to
get your businesses name out there, this can be done by having an online presence and is an
especially popular method for smaller businesses who lack the funds to buy a domain for their own
website.
Not only can the business use the internet to sell their products, but it can also be implemented into
other parts of the business, such as when conducting market research or interacting with their
customers, this helps improve the businesses public image because they can respond to customer
service issues and can properly tailor their advertising to their target market.
The internet has been widely used by larger businesses to advertise their goods and services as it is
one of the easiest and cheapest ways to do so, although this is only cheap for them due to their
substantial profits and the benefits that come from having a website, therefore much smaller
businesses should consider cost as a factor when deciding whether or not to implement internet
services in their business. The costs included with implementing a website could include things such
as domain names, servers, Wifi and internet service providers, as well as the cost of hiring skilled
employees who can not only set up but also maintain the website.
The internet can help increase ASDA’s marketing efficiency in various ways. Firstly, the internet will
allow more people to gain an awareness of the brand and its products, this can be done through
their official website or their social media, such as Twitter or Facebook. A benefit to using the
internet for marketing purposes is that it is much cheaper than a television or radio advert, despite it
being cheaper, it is arguably a better tool because a large portion of the demographic consumes
most of their media through the internet.
When it comes to buying supplies and ordering stock, the internet opens up many opportunities
which would have been impossible a few years ago, this helps improve and speed up the channel of
distribution and increases the efficiency of the supply chain. The internet does this by allowing
retailers like ASDA to track when they need to order more stock as well as how long it will take for
ordered stock to arrive, this can be useful when the demand for a product is exceptionally high and it
needs to be kept in stock.
Even though the majority of consumers are aware of the online services provided by ASDA, they may
be unaware of how they can be used. An online service that is provided by ASDA is online shopping
and home delivery, this is beneficial to both existing and new customers. Online shopping helps
customers who may be unable to leave their house for various reasons, or simply for the sake of
convenience. This will help ASDA stand out from retailers who do not provide home delivery.
There are many different competitors when it comes to retail, a few of these are Sainsburys,
Waitrose, Morrisons and Tesco to name just a few. Most if not all of these retailers will implement
the internet into their business model in some way. Because of this, it is relatively easy for a business
like ASDA to conduct market research on their competitors, this gives them an edge and allows them
to monitor the activity of their competitors. This could be useful if a store such as Sainsburys
promises to beat other retailers on price, allowing ASDA to decrease their prices to compete with
this.