What is the significance of network marketing?

Since the 1990s, the rapid development of information technology, especially the Internet, has had a great impact on all walks of life and brought new things. Network marketing is one of the opportunities and challenges for enterprise development.

Philip kotler, an international authoritative marketing scholar, believes that paying more attention to online marketing is the future marketing trend, and online marketing is the marketing of 2 1 century;

Professor Lu Taihong, a domestic marketing authority, believes that online marketing is the focus of marketing innovation in the 2 1 century, which fully reflects the affirmation of online marketing to the enterprise significance in the 2 1 century by domestic and foreign theoretical circles.

At the practical level of enterprise management in China today, from the three major portals, e-commerce websites represented by 8848 and my8848, and other network companies to Lenovo, TCL and other traditional enterprises, they are actively exploring online marketing, from strategy to tactics, from marketing activities to brand building, using websites, online advertisements, emails, message groups, bulletin boards, forums and other ways. The development of network marketing is in the ascendant.

Connotation of network marketing

Internet marketing, which some people call Internet marketing and Internet marketing, has similar definitions at home and abroad. Qu Yunbo believes that "network marketing is to achieve marketing goals with the help of online network, computer communication and digital interactive media". Some people think that online marketing uses the Internet as a medium to implement marketing activities in new ways, methods and concepts, which can more effectively promote the realization of individual and organization trading activities.

In English, online marketing, online marketing, online marketing, electronic marketing, etc. They all mean network marketing, but they have different connotations.

Network marketing mainly refers to the operation of network marketing in virtual cyberspace. Network marketing refers to the marketing activities carried out on the Internet;

Network marketing is a marketing activity conducted on the Internet. At the same time, it also means that the network is not only the internet, but also some other types of networks, such as the diffusion network van.

At present, the commonly used term is e-marketing, which means electronization, informationization and networking. Simple and intuitive, corresponding to e-commerce and e-market.

Judging from the different expressions and definitions of online marketing at home and abroad, online marketing has one basic element: network and Internet.

Without network and internet, there would be no network marketing.

However, the marketing subject is not limited to network companies and e-commerce companies. In other words, network marketing is not the patent of network companies and e-commerce companies.

The emergence and development of network marketing

The development of network marketing is accompanied by the development of information technology and network technology. In the early 1990s, the development and application of network technology changed the way of information dissemination, changed the way of people's life, work, study, cooperation and communication to a certain extent, promoted the wide application of the Internet in business, set off a global Internet application upsurge, and the scale of network users continued to grow, with increasing commercial benefits.

According to IDC's statistics, at present, the direct transactions on the Internet amount to $38 billion, and the transactions facilitated by borrowing the Internet are even greater. It is estimated that by 2003, the scale of Internet market will be as high as $65,438+3 trillion.

The emergence and rapid development of the Internet, as well as the realistic and potential benefits it can bring, have prompted enterprises to actively use new technologies to change their business concepts, organizations, models and methods, catch the fast train of technological development, and promote the rapid development of enterprises.

For customers and marketers, the benefits of online marketing are obvious. For customers, it is convenient to order products anytime, anywhere and around the clock, and the company, products, competitors, prices and other incomparably rich comparable information. , providing other added values such as not going out and not queuing. For marketers,

Quick adjustment to adapt to the market environment: companies can quickly increase product supply and change prices and specifications.

Cost reduction: Information exchange and communication through the Internet can reduce printing and mailing costs, avoid store sales, avoid paying rent, save water, electricity and labor costs, and reduce losses caused by circuitous communication.

Build relationships: Online marketers can talk to consumers and get to know them.

Calculate audience size: marketers can know how many people visit their website and how many people stay in which part of the website. This information can be used to improve supply and advertising. Moreover, no matter how big or small the company is, it can use online marketing. Compared with advertisements in print media and broadcast media, online advertisements have fewer restrictions, richer information on the network and faster updates. In this historical background, marketing is carried out on the network platform, and network marketing came into being.

Characteristics of network marketing

Information communication and exchange between organizations and individuals is the essence of marketing. Therefore, the Internet has some characteristics required by marketing, which makes network marketing show the characteristics of cross-time, multimedia, interaction and personalization.

1. Time travel. The concepts of time and region are no longer the limitations of online marketing. Enterprises can provide cross-time and cross-regional marketing services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2. Interaction. Internet can not only display and link commodity information, but also realize two-way communication with customers and collect customers' feedback and suggestions, so as to improve products and services and provide efficient customer service.

3. Personalization. Internet can collect users' information more conveniently, so as to find and meet users' needs. Through information provision and interactive communication, one-to-one personalized service can be realized, promotion is more targeted, and it is easier to establish long-term good relations with consumers.

4. Multimedia. The information on the Internet no longer stays in words, but sounds, images and streaming media can be realized and provided on the Internet. Information exchange can exist and be carried out in various forms, and marketers can give full play to their creativity and initiative, display commodity information in various forms and impress consumers.

Network marketing is establishing new rules of the game in the field of marketing, such as attaching great importance to attracting customers' attention and retaining customers, which has become the overriding primary pursuit goal in marketing; Reengineering the process of access, logistics and supply chain; Customers are no longer just objects or goals, but participants and controllers, and a new marketing concept of customer participation and interactive cooperation is taking shape; New ways and means of communicating with customers and establishing relationships are emerging.

The Impact and Integration of Network Marketing on Traditional Marketing

As a brand-new marketing concept and practice, network marketing is and will continue to have a great influence on marketing theory and traditional marketing. Theoretically speaking, the consumer's consumption behavior and habits are changing, and the marketing theory will also change. The impact of network marketing on traditional marketing theory is reflected here.

First, the impact on market segmentation standards and methods. In online marketing, the traditional target market segmentation criteria are no longer fully applicable. The personalized demand of consumers leads to more "fine" segmentation and more difficult market segmentation, which is manifested in the change of standards and the difference of segmentation degree. In addition to the traditional segmentation criteria, target consumers are also grouped according to new segmentation criteria, such as whether they are online, online ability, online time and language used.

Secondly, we have a new understanding of the role of consumers. Traditional modern marketing theory attaches importance to consumers, but online marketing has a deeper understanding of the role of consumers. Because, in online marketing, consumers are no longer passively accepted. If the motto of traditional marketing theory is "please pay attention to consumers", then the motto advocated by online marketing is "please pay attention to consumers".

Although it is only a change in the position between the two words, the position of consumers in the marketing process has changed fundamentally, and the marketing strategy has also changed from passive and passive adaptation to active communication with consumers. In numerous enterprise and product information, the exchange process becomes initiated and controlled by consumers, and it is consumers rather than marketers who identify and control the interaction. Consumers decide what information they need, what they are interested in and what price they are willing to pay. In many aspects, this kind of marketing initiated and controlled by consumers has completely changed the marketing practice, thus changing the theories of marketing planning, strategy formulation and marketing control.

Third, deepen the theory of differentiated marketing. Personalized consumption behavior will not converge, but the demand difference will further widen. Because consumer behavior is obviously personalized, with the support of internet environment and technology, marketing will deepen the concept and rules of differentiated marketing and pay more attention to the analysis of environment and consumer behavior.

Fifth, in marketing strategy, we will pay more attention to the research of interaction and integration of network marketing. How to achieve the goal of communicating with a wide range of stakeholders is a new topic, which should not only fully reflect the idea of consumers participating in marketing, but also consider combining various Internet technologies with new marketing variables.

Sixth, establish a new marketing communication theory. Due to the low or even free communication cost in network information communication, information communication has new characteristics such as immediacy, cross-time and personalization, which will certainly promote the emergence of new marketing communication theory. As Professor Lu Taihong said, traditional integrated marketing will evolve into Internet integrated marketing (I2M), which integrates products and services, public relations, word of mouth, popular culture, advertisements, personal experiences, logos, employees, atmosphere and even electronic waste, and provides a way to communicate with so many stakeholders.

In practice, network marketing challenges the traditional marketing strategies and tactics.

Influence on marketing strategy

First of all, the impact on enterprises with different market positions. Internet has the characteristics of openness, equality and freedom, and the cost of online marketing is low. The main body of marketing can be large and small enterprises, and the competitive advantage of multinational companies with economies of scale reduces the threat to small enterprises and is conducive to small enterprises to participate in competition on a global scale; How to obtain, analyze and use the information obtained from the network in time, and analyze and study the product information and marketing behavior of competitors is very important to the competitive strategy; Strategy and strategic alliance will be the main form of competition in the network age. How to use the network to establish a strategy and strategic alliance and create a competitive advantage with the scale of resources formed by the alliance will be an important means of enterprise management in the future.

Secondly, the impact on the global marketing strategy of enterprises. Although the cross-time characteristics of the network are beneficial to the global marketing of enterprises, on the other hand, it also poses great challenges to the global marketing strategy of enterprises. How to apply differentiated marketing to global marketing strategy, how to solve the contradiction between globalization and localization marketing strategy, including the contradiction between products and brands, and how to build a global logistics management system are all problems that enterprises have to face and solve.

Influence on traditional marketing strategy

-Impact on traditional products and brand strategy. The first is the impact on traditional standardized products. Providing personalized products will become the pursuit goal of enterprises. How to achieve the goal more effectively and meet the personalized needs is a big challenge for every Internet company. Of course, the Internet also provides conditions for meeting individual needs. For example, it can quickly get feedback information about product concepts and advertising effectiveness tests, and test different recognition levels of customers, so that it is easier to track consumers' behavior patterns and preferences, thus providing different products for different consumers. Secondly, adapt to the global management of brands. The characteristics of the Internet across time and space pose a challenge to the brand management of network enterprises. Enterprises must flexibly handle the unified image brand strategy and regional brand strategy with local characteristics, and strengthen regional management.

-Impact on pricing strategy. On the internet, the price is "transparent", so the level tends to be consistent. How to price correctly, especially for companies that implement differentiated pricing strategies, is a big problem.

-Impact on traditional marketing channels. In network marketing, channels no longer mean the concepts of middlemen and distributors, nor franchise stores and chain stores. Because enterprises can realize direct contact, communication and interaction with consumers through the internet, the importance of middlemen has decreased; It is a new task for enterprises to establish a new marketing channel management model, realize the benign combination and interaction between direct selling and distribution, and establish a new logistics management model.

Indeed, the Internet has had a great impact on the traditional way of operation, and network marketing is forming new marketing concepts and strategies. However, it must be recognized that this process is not a process in which network marketing will completely replace traditional marketing, but a process in which network marketing and traditional marketing are integrated. First of all, online marketing has not changed the essence of marketing. The integration of network marketing and traditional marketing is to use integrated marketing strategy to realize consumer-centered communication and two-way communication and realize the marketing objectives of enterprises.

Some core concepts of marketing, such as need, desire and demand, product, value, cost, satisfaction, etc. Exchanges and transactions, relationships and networks, markets, marketers and potential customers all exist, which are equally important and play a role; Some basic principles of marketing, such as establishing customer satisfaction through quality, service and value, winning the market through market-oriented strategic planning, analyzing consumer market and buying behavior, industries and competitors, determining market segments and selecting target markets, have not changed.

In short, enterprises should integrate network marketing and traditional marketing strategies according to their own business objectives and market segments to achieve the best marketing objectives at the lowest cost. Under the guidance of "please pay attention to consumers", enterprises should integrate various marketing tools and internal resources to convey information to consumers in a unified way, that is, speakwithonevoice, to ensure that the information consumers get from any media is unified and consistent, to establish and maintain a highly loyal customer base, and finally to establish a long-term, two-way and inseparable relationship between enterprises and consumers.

Secondly, network marketing and traditional marketing promote each other and complement each other. Network marketing also emphasizes differentiated marketing and service marketing. The traditional principles of analyzing industries and competitors and determining market segments and target markets are also applicable to online marketing. The new product development strategy and competitive strategy of traditional marketing still have guiding significance.

Thirdly, 4C theory is still the basis and premise of network marketing. ① Focus on studying consumers' needs and desires and selling products that consumers want to buy, instead of rushing to make a product strategy (Proct) and selling products that you can or like to manufacture; (2) Study the cost that consumers are willing to pay to meet the demand, rather than considering the price); Strategy first; (3) consider how to give consumers the convenience to buy goods, and as for the channel strategy (place), it is second; ④ Strengthen communication with consumers, and then consider the promotion strategy. How do traditional enterprises face network marketing? Although global scholars have different views on how the marketing theory and practice will develop in the 2 1 century, the focus of attention is not concentrated. However, network marketing is a new thing to adapt to the development of network technology and social change in the information network era. With the further development and popularization of the network and the expanding and extensive user groups, network marketing will surely become a cross-century marketing strategy, which is worthy of China enterprises' great attention. The "P" marketing strategy facing the 20th century will be the combination of "E" marketing strategy and "P" marketing strategy in the 20th century. First of all, enterprises should attach great importance to network marketing, realize the important significance of network marketing to enterprise management and development, act as soon as possible and take corresponding countermeasures.

Second, establish strategies and strategic alliances with network companies and e-commerce companies. Large companies can set up their own websites, and small companies can set up "homes" with related network companies, set up their own online information display and distribution channels, and catch the express train of online marketing;

Fifth, focus on differentiated marketing and direct sales. Use the Internet for differentiated marketing, and vigorously carry out direct sales including e-mail marketing.

Sixth, establish a customer rapid response mechanism. Including quick response to customers' opinions and suggestions, complaints and complaints, and rapid logistics mechanism. We should seize every opportunity, communicate with customers to the maximum extent, and provide services that meet customers' unique time and delivery requirements as soon as possible.

Network marketing is not a panacea for all diseases, nor is it suitable for every product of every company. For books and music, stock trading or news reading, cars and computers and other products and services, the current online marketing practice has proved to be effective, but for products that must be contacted or inspected in advance, it is not suitable for promotion and direct purchase, but online marketing can be used for product promotion and brand promotion.