A PROJECT REPORT ON

UNDERSTAND THE ECOSYSTEM IN DIGITAL MEDIA MARKETING

FOR

ZAPZHOOP INTERNET SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Mr. Mahesh Patil CEO & Founder

TOWARDS PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OFTHE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION IN TELECOM MANAGEMENT

SUBMITTED BY

PADMAVATI CH

Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management(14B)Pune 412115

20145-17MBA TM | Batch 2015 – 17

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT1

I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management for giving me an opportunity to work in ecommerce sector, namely Zapzhoop Internet Services Private Limited, for my summer internship programme.

I express my sincere gratitude to Institute’s Director Mr. Sunil Patil and faculty guide Ms. Tripti Dhote for their exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragementthroughout the course of this internship and also to placement team for their excellent coordination with the industry for the Summer Internship program. The blessing, help and guidance given by them time to time shall carry me a long way in the journey of life on which I am about to embark.

The summer internship at Zapzhoop Internet Services Private Limited. gave me an opportunity to know and learn about the entire process which starts with placing an order by the customer till its delivery. It also provided a platform to enhance my management skills in the sense of organizational activity.

I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to Mr. Mahesh Patil, CEO and Founder of Zapzhoop Internet Services Private Limited for his cordial support, valuable information and guidance, which helped me in completing this project through various stages.

I would also like to extend my indebted gratitude and special thanks to Mr. AmarBandarapu, COO & co-Founder, Zapzhoop Internet Services Private Limited, who in spite of being extraordinarily busy with his duties, took time out to hear, guide, support & constantly motivate to keep me on the correct path for successful completion of the project.

I would also like to extend a deep sense of gratitude to Mrs Divya Mehta, Director Operations for her support and guidance. Her recommendations and suggestions have been invaluable for the success of this project.

I am obliged to staff members of Zapzhoop Internet Services Private Limited, for the valuable information provided by them in their respective fields and for their cooperation during the period of my summer internship.

Padmavati Ch

ABSTRACT

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Incubators Hub is designed to help the entrepreneur or small business get the new leads flowing from their website promptly, while granting them to rate up and add to their website over time. Their main aim is to maximize the budgets of a small business and not waste valuable resources. Its Partners are:

Equipments Bank Zapzhoop Stock dilute Loyalty cart IIFT Hyeap

Zapzhoop is an ecommerce company, with their key goal to be the India’s largest supplier of all products through online shopping. It is an online shopping portal that gives the best international and domestic products in India from books to electronics and health to apparels. Their vision is to become an accessible website that is entertaining to surf. Like a trip to favourite store where one can always find something new that they want. The main objective is to provide:

Products/services at affordable prices. Faster delivery Great customer experience Easy navigation Unique and different products.

As a part of Summer Internship Programme, I worked for IIFT as a Business Development Executive where I had to get agencies supplying Direct Selling Agents (DSAs) in bulk, on board as IIFT is coming up with 200 franchises all over India.

For the second month I was placed as a Marketing Executive and worked for Zapzhoop’s online shopping portal where I had to understand the consumer behavior of the customers in Indian marketing, study about digital marketing in India and recommend suggestions that need to be implemented for better revenue generation of the company.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Digital Marketing is still at its initial phase in India. Most of the companies are still thinking to adopt the medium while many top brands have already rolled their digital marketing campaign. Seeing the large number of youth population in India (more than 40% of total population of India, around 460 millions youth is there, in which 333 millions are literate) and the rising technology savvy young generation, corporate will be happier to engage the target audience and spread their products and services among them via digital media. Thus there will be a big change in coming future.

The objectives of the report are: To know the importance of social media and digital marketing in online retail

industry. To understand the consumer buying behaviour in the digital era. To learn the concepts of digital marketing. To suggest strategies that the company can adopt for better revenue generation.

Methodology is the process used to collect information and data for the purpose of making business decisions. The methodology may include publication research, interviews, surveys and other research techniques, and could include both present and historical information. The methodology adopted for this report includes both primary and secondary research.

Indian customers are highly information seekers. They collect more information about a product before buying it. Internet penetration in India is key player for this phenomenon. Most of the Indians are getting stimulus through advertisements, but they are not reaching to end phase of customers purchase journey, mainly in high involvement purchases. Brands are getting more touch point to reach their target group in this digital era. More details about findings are given in this report.

Competition is fierce within the online ecommerce marketplace. There are a number of tasks and tools that one can use to help optimise every aspect of the online store to drive sales. One such tool is digital marketing. A blend of digital marketing and ecommerce is the need of the hour.

CONTENTS

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(i) Acknowledgement(ii) Abstract(iii) Executive Summary

CHAPTER-IAnalysis Of Online Retail Industry…………………………………..1

1.1) Porter’s Five Forces Model 21.2) Swot Analysis 5

CHAPTER-IICompany Profile……………………………………………………....8

CHAPTER-IIIDigital Marketing………………………………………………………113.1) Digital Ecosystem 123.2) Types of Digital Marketing 143.3) AIDMA as AISAS IN Digital Era 153.4) Advantages of Digital Marketing 163.5) Digital Advertising 173.6) Basic Terms in Digital Marketing 183.7) Types of Ads 193.8) Monetary Terms Used 193.9) Branding in Digital Era 19

CHAPTER-IVUnderstanding the consumer behaviour in Digital Era…………..22

CHAPTER-VAnalysis and Interpretations…………………………………………25

CHAPTER-VIFindings & Recommendations………………………………………37

CHAPTER-VIIConclusion…………………………………………………………..42

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CHAPTER-VIIIAnnexure & References………………………………………………................44

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C HAPTER-I

ANALYSIS of Online Retail Industry

1.1PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL- Online Retail Industry

Porter's five forces analysis is a framework that attempts to analyze the level of competition within an industry and business strategy development. It draws upon industrial organization (IO) economics to derive five forces that determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of an Industry. Attractiveness in this

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context refers to the overall industry profitability. An "unattractive" industry is one in which the combination of these five forces acts to drive down overall profitability.

THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS

Profitable markets that yield high returns will attract new firms. This results in many new entrants, which eventually will decrease profitability for all firms in the industry, unless the entry of new firms can be blocked by an incumbent (which in business refers to the largest company in a certain industry).

Threat of New Entrants is very high in this online retail industry because of the following reasons:

Indian government has allowed 51%FDI in multi brand online retail and 100%FDI in single brand online retail. So this means foreign companies can come and start their own online retail companies.

There are very less barriers to entry like less capital required to start a business, less amount of infrastructure required. All one needs to do is tie up with the suppliers of the products and needs to develop a website to display the products so that the customers can order online and tie up with online payment gateway like billdesk.

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Industry is also growing at a rapid pace. It is going to touch $76 billion by 2021. Industry is going to experience an exponential growth rate.

BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERSThe bargaining power of suppliers is also described as the market of inputs.

Suppliers of raw materials, components, labour, and services (such as expertise) to the firm can be a source of power over the firm when there are few substitutes. Suppliers may refuse to work with the firm or charge excessively high prices for unique resources.Depending upon the context of the suppliers, the bargaining power varies. This statement is supported by following factors:

Any pricing change or disruption in postal and delivery services as well as shipping carriers could hamper the industry’s delivery time of products/services offered. Hence, these carriers hold some bargaining power.

Tens of millions of sellers list their products on marketplaces; hence their individual bargaining power is limited.

Any policy changes made in the sources that bring traffic to these marketplaces also affect their bargaining power.

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES

Substitute in terms of industry, as of now is physical stores. Their threat is very low for this industry as with the advent and penetration of internet and smart phones, future in retail belongs to online retail.

On comparing relative quality, relative price of product a person buys online and from physical store, both are almost same and in some cases the online retail store offers discounts which attract the customers even more.

A wide range of products offered on the online retail store with continuous updating them would retain customers for longer period of time and decrease their switching power.

BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS

The bargaining power of customers is also described as the market of outputs: the ability of customers to put the firm under pressure, which also affects the customer's

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sensitivity to price changes. The buyer power is high if the buyer has many alternatives. The buyer power is low if they act independently.

The huge competition in the e-commerce market allows the customers to win as companies have to keep their prices in check to attract buyers.

Buyers can choose from a wide range of offline as well as online players. A large number of companies have entered the e-commerce space with relatively niche product offerings. Hence, buyers can always buy from some other website or some other store in case they are not satisfied with any one player.

Since buyers demand not only low prices, but also a large range of services and products, their bargaining power is huge.

RIVALRY AMONGST EXISTING COMPETITORS

For most industries the intensity of competitive rivalry is the major determinant of the competitiveness of the industry.

Competition is very high in this industry with so many players like Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart, HomeShop18 etc. many competitors means more choices for the customers to choose from. This also increases the cost incurred by the company to stay in customers’ mind, i.e. promotions and advertisements, etc. giving the customers better deals, making customers’ experience delightful and continuous innovation can help a company to stay at top.

Following are the factors to be considered by an online retail industry:

Sustainable competitive advantage through innovation

Competition between online and offline companies

Level of advertising expense

Powerful competitive strategy

Degree of transparency

SUMMARY

Threat Of New Entrants Medium to HighBargaining Power Of Suppliers Low to Medium

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Threat Of Substitutes LowBargaining Power Of Buyers HighRivalry Amongst Existing Competitors Medium to High

1.2 SWOT ANALYSIS-ONLINE RETAIL INDUSTRY

SWOT analysis (alternatively SWOT matrix) is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—and is a structured planning method that evaluates those four elements of a project or business venture. A SWOT analysis can be carried out for a company, product, place, industry, or person. The degree to which the internal environment of the firm matches with the external environment is expressed by the concept of strategic fit.

Strengths: characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage

over others

Weaknesses: characteristics that place the business or project at a disadvantage

relative to others

Opportunities: elements that the business or project could exploit to its

advantage

Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or

project.

SWOT analysis groups key pieces of information into two main categories:

internal factors – the strengths and weaknesses internal to the organization external factors – the opportunities and threats presented by the environment

external to the organization

STRENGTHS

An ecommerce company’s strengths are the unique points that differentiate them from their competitors. It can be a wider selection of products, better customer support, quicker shipping, lower prices, better terms and conditions, etc. These are competitive advantages that can increase a company’s strengths.

Ecommerce vendors also benefit from lower operational costs and a 24-7 shopping experience, compared to a ‘brick and mortar’ business. These are structural advantages.

Other strengths of online retail store as a whole can be:

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Boundary less (global location): E-commerce can be dealt globally as no specific boundary is required. It enables all the companies to expand them to global level.

No time constraints: It can be used any where any time as there is no time constraints.

Price/Product comparison: Helps consumers to compare price and product effectively and efficiently.

Flexible target market segmentation: Target market segment here in e commerce is flexible can be modified any time.

Faster buying procedure: E commerce means better and quick customer services. Online customer services make customer happier. Due to absence of intermediaries for buying products, so buying procedure will be fast and quick.

WEAKNESSES

One of the top problems that all ecommerce merchants will face is excessive Chargebacks. With security and fraud lurking in every corner, customers are often reluctant to use their credit cards for online purchases.

Shipping of products is another issue, where heavy, large, and perishable goods are often a pain and very expensive. Shipping duration could also open the customer’s options to purchase the products elsewhere.

No idea about quality and physical condition of the product: Online products cannot be touched, wear or sit on the products.

Limitation of products: Limited number of products can be available. Lack of personal services: Physical products can be available but lack in

personal services which are intangible. Limited exposure: In developing areas where internet is not accessible, will have

no or little exposure to ecommerce.

OPPORTUNITIES

Technology is a perfect example to expand a company’s growth and take advantage of areas where the competitor’s vulnerable. In the ecommerce world, changes happens every single day, and technology has help level the industry with traditional retailers.

For example, the online shopping cart softwares has been improved for a smoother, quicker, and more customer-friendly experience. Live customer support chat has increased the level of support the customers need. Social media is an excellent platform for free or low cost promotions to increase product awareness.

THREATS

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Changes in environment, law and regulations: Change in trends, fashion and fad can distress E Commerce side by side change in law and regulations can also affect it.

Innovation: Customers now a days are always in a search of innovative products. Innovation can be either in product, place, promotion and even price.

Privacy concerns: Fears that information can be misused lead to spam e mail or identity fraud.

Risk: Nature of fraud and risk is different because when a customer relies on unseen set up, he trusts and makes transactions. In such a way he is ready to face risk.

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C HAPTER-II

COMPANY PROFILE

Zapzhoop, an ecommerce company started with an idea in 2012 and became private limited firm in the year 2014 and has been doing business right from its start year and making its way towards its decided goal and vision. It was started by four enthusiastic boys with an idea of serving the people by providing the unique and standard products at their doorstep with best prices.

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Zapzhoop got its name by intersecting the two terms “Zap” which means things move fast and “zhoop” is actually the sound which things make while moving fast or rapidly.

Zapzhoop.com

Zapzhoop is an online shopping portal fulfilling its customers’ needs in the best way possible. They aspire to create a complete shopping portal that provides easy navigation, exciting products and a great user experience. They wish to increase their distribution all over the world and create an easy and hassle-free logistic channel to make shopping a memorable and easy experience for their customers. PRODUCTS CATEGORY

Corporate/Bulk Orders

Zapzhoop can offer all products required by corporate companies at their door steps.

Single point of Coordination. Less Operating Cost / Man Power. Wide range of products. Best Market Price.

Zapzhoop Food

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Usually the food being sold at PVRs is not affordable by the middle class and the lower middle class of the society. So Zapzhoop is tying up with PVRs as well as hygiene food vendors on the streets. With the help of this tie up, Zapzhoop would be selling food at a nominal price at PVRs. This is going to be their initial step with further more plans in mind.

The following are the upcoming verticals are:

Zapzhoop NGO

Zapzhoop Auto

Zapzhoop Government

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C HAPTER-III

DIGITAL MARKETING

Digital marketing is the promotion of your business, organization or brand using channels such as the Internet, mobile devices, television and radio in addition to using

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creative online advertising, video, podcasts and other such methods to communicate your message. Internet marketing in particular plays a huge part in any digital marketing strategy and is becoming the core of many organizations overall marketing strategies, particularly with regard to social media and viral marketing.

Digital marketing ecosystem is not only concerned with internet marketing and social media marketing. Digital marketing ecosystem consists of internet marketing and social media marketing. They are just channels for communication, digital ecosystem consist of integrating channels and integrating services.

3.1) DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM

3.1.1) Search EngineSearch engine optimization (SEO) is the art of getting a website to work better with search engines (like Google, Bing & Yahoo), and to look for achievable, profitable, ranking opportunities through keyword research. It is a quest for increased visibility in search engines via relevant copy, quality links, domain trust, social popularity and search engine connectivity.

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a broader term than SEO, and is used to encompass different options available to use a search engine’s technology, including paid ads. SEM is often used to describe acts associated with researching, submitting and positioning a website within search engines.  It includes things such as search engine optimization, paid listings and other search-engine related services and functions that will increase exposure and traffic to the website. 

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3.1.2) DisplaysDisplay advertising is a type of advertising that typically contains text (i.e., copy), logos, photographs or other images, location maps, and similar items. In periodicals, display advertising can appear on the same page as, or on the page adjacent to, general editorial content. Normal banners, Rich media banner, Interstitials and pops are example of displays.

3.1.3) Mobile Marketing Mobile marketing is used in reference to any marketing efforts on or with a mobile device. It involves planning, creating, and implementing a mix of initiatives to bring together sellers and buyers via mobile devices. Mobile ads, Mobile websites, Apps and Games are some of examples for mobile marketing.

3.1.4) Social Media Marketing Social Media refers to any software tool that enables and encourages engagement in conversation or sharing. Popular forms of social media include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, Google + and blogs. Now-a-days social media become platform for marketer to make conversation with customers. Brands are now engaging customers through social media.

3.1.5) Email MarketingEmail Marketing is a type of direct marketing that involves sending personalized, targeted messages to a specific audience. Email Marketing is easy to use, low cost, and effective. Most of the B2B businesses in present era are following email marketing, but in B2C also email marketing is productive.

3.1.6) VideoMarketers are now use video to make customers aware of brands and to sharing the experience of other customers. YouTube ads are too popular in video ads. In social media platforms also brands are sharing video.

3.1.7) Analysis Analytics is the practice of evaluating data, and the process by which a company arrives at a most advantageous decision. Here marketer analyses the integrated channels to understand the effectiveness of communication. Analysis may be based on numbers of visitors or likes in social media pages...etc.

3.1.8) Content ManagementAfter analyzing the integrated channels, marketer can understand the problems with the current content. Later he/she can manage the content to increase the engagement rate. Content may be text in banners, images or websites.

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3.1.9) Advanced TargetingAdvanced targeting are techniques which involve sending of targeted messages to a specific audience. It is used to increase the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. Behavioral targeting is also a part of advanced targeting. Here marketer can target the customer based on their past online behavior. Marketer can put up ads on other WebPages where customers visit frequently.

3.1.10) CreativityCreativity is the artistic component of an ad or website. It usually includes an image present in ads or website. Marketers can make those contents attractive to customers. Depending upon the response rate, marketers might have to change the entire design of websites, apps…etc.

3.1.11) Research and PlanningMarketers will do some research to understand the behavior, taste and preference of customers in digital platform. This research can be done by using paid-tools like ComScore...etc. Through this research marketer can understand where Target Group is present. After research marketer will plan new campaigns based on those research reports. These campaigns are more effective to reach the target group properly.

3.1.12) Digital StrategyDigital strategy is the process of specifying an organization's vision, goals, opportunities and initiatives in order to maximize the business benefits through digital media. Strategy will be different for each brand; it will be based on the brand objective and target groups’ interest. It is actually a plan formulated by the marketer to explore the opportunities. Strategy may be short term or long term, but it needs to fit with market situations.

3.2) TYPES OF DIGITAL MARKETING In normal outbound marketing, we use pull and push marketing strategy. Like that in digital marketing also pull and push are types.

In push digital marketing the marketer sends a message without the recipient actively seeking the content, such as display advertising on websites and news blogs. Email, text messaging and web feeds with customized contents can also be classed as push digital marketing when the recipient has not actively sought the marketing message. Push marketing allows one to target demographics and use marketing skills to promote their product to the people who are interested in what one has to sell. A push marketing campaign can be more expensive when it comes to upfront costs, so one really needs to be sure that marketing is going to reach the right people at the right time. Behavior targeting is good example for push digital marketing.

Pull digital marketing includes blogging, email marketing, social media, info graphics and other forms of visual messaging and search engine optimization (SEO). A pull

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marketing campaign also includes public relations or other ways of reaching out to potential or already realized customers whom one wants to keep engaged. While a pull marketing campaign can be less expensive to get started, one will incur costs in other ways. For example, if an individual is running a social media campaign, he/she will need to hire someone to manage their social media and respond to people who leave comments or ask questions. Social media gets people talking and that has a major impact on sales. Pull marketing also requires a greater investment in time, but it gives you more ability to entertain your customers and educate them about your company.

There is a difference in sending emails by push or pull digital marketing. If marketer is sending emails with customized content or banners to specific group of customers is push digital marketing. If marketer is sending emails with the same content or banner to all customers is pull digital marketing.

3.3) AIDMA as AISAS in Digital EraAIDMA widely accepted model describing the psychological process leading up to the consumer’s decision to purchase a product. This model is similar to AIDA model. The AIDMA Model was first advocated by Roland Hall, an American economist, around 1920.

According to this model, there are five key processes: Attention, in which the consumer first notices the product or advertisement, followed by Interest, Desire, Memory, and Action.This model has been used extensively in the advertising and marketing industries.

AISAS is a process model of consumers purchasing activities in the Internet age. AISAS is a consumption behavior model that has been advocated by Dentsu since 2004. It was developed to observe behaviors based on the understanding that the Internet has become prevalent, and that consumers now have access to environments in which they can obtain and transmit information themselves.

In this model, the key processes are: Attention, in which the consumer first notices the product or advertisement, followed by Interest. After this, the consumer Searches for

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information, and then makes a purchase (Action), after which information is shared with others. In comparison to “AIDMA,” the psychological process has become more compact, and the Action process has expanded.

These changes are shown how presences in digital are important for brands. Brands cannot be able to create awareness without going digital. But it will not lead to action in current scenario. Customers need more information in present era; they are information seekers and always search for best deal. Brands can’t sustain without digital media.

3.4) Advantages of Digital MarketingDigital Advertising is increasingly an inherent budgetary component of many organizations today. Organizations of all sizes use the medium to promote their products and services. So well, why do so many organizations use the medium? Simply put, it is due to the numerous advantages that online advertising offers. These are discussed in the paragraphs ahead.

Reach - The ability of the online medium to target a certain demographic of users is one of the greatest advantages of digital advertising. In addition, the geographical reach of the online medium is far greater than that of traditional media. It’s not only cost effective to achieve a wider geographic area but the ads can also be targeted to the desired audience. For example, if an advertiser is keen on selling his or her products targeted to a certain demographic of people, it is quite possible through online advertising. Digital advertising has matured to the extent that web publishers, media agencies and advertisers themselves know the optimal ways and websites for a certain category of products or services.

Measurement - With various tools becoming available, tracking effectiveness of ad campaigns is becoming possible today. In other words, measuring Return of Investment (ROI) is increasingly possible today. Organizations that were previously reluctant to spend online, now realize that the online medium does offer means to alleviate any such fears. Moreover, when properly designed online marketing campaigns generate the desired results, advertisers are further encouraged to continue advertising online.

Interactive and Engagement - The Internet is arguably the most interactive and engaging medium among various others. Interactive campaigns have become a norm

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with the power of the online medium. Customers are basically just a click away from the advertisers. In other words, direct response between end users and advertisers is possible through the online medium.

Time - Through the Internet, an advertiser can reach a desired target group or demographic in a much shorter time frame. For example, if an advertiser needs to plan some sort of ambush marketing, the online medium can be an effective means of achieving it. Even otherwise i.e. for regular marketing campaigns, the total time necessary to complete an online advertising campaign is less than that of traditional advertising methods.

Cost - When compared to traditional forms of advertising, digital advertising is cheaper. Various payment models are available between the advertisers and publishers. Many a time, advertisers are charged only when visitors click on their ads.

3.5)   DIGITAL ADVERTISING: AD AVENUES SEARCH ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements made up of text (displayed largely as sponsored links on search engines) come under this category. These are backed by hyperlinks that when clicked on, take the potential customer to the advertisers website.

DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements that are placed at various points on a web page that typically contain logos, photographs, other images or even text. Technologically these comprise of Image, Simple flash and Rich media with& without video ads.

MOBILE ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements that are viewed or consumed on mobile phones or tablets come under this category. These comprise of Mobile Web ads, SMS, MMS, Mobile Video & TV ads and In-App ads.

SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements of any type: text, display, stamp pads etc displayed on various social media websites like: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and etc fall into this category.

EMAIL ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements that involve sending across a commercial message to a group of people using email comprise of this ad type. Emails are used to engage with existing customers to get repeat business as well as to acquire new customers.

VIDEO ADVERTISEMENTS: Advertisements that fall broadly under the display type but have video within them and are served before, during and/or after a video stream on the internet. This type comprises In-Video ads, Standard In-Stream ads (pre rolls, mid rolls or post rolls) and TrueView ads.

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3.6) BASIC TERMS IN DIGITAL MARKETING Impression

An impression is a measure of the number of times an ad is seen, whether it is clicked on or not. Each time an ad displays it is counted as one impression.

Page View

Viewing the page is known as page view. It gets counted once the page loaded.

Leads

When one person fills his details in the given box is known as lead.

Conversion

The percentage of people whose activity can be tracked while clicking on an ad or visiting a website to actually purchasing a product or service. A high conversion rate indicates that the link, ad or site was successful.

Inbound link

Link connecting to your website from a different website.

Profiling

To build a picture of a target customer based on information from various sources including customer transactions completed forms and demographic data.

Unique Visitor

Unique IP address accessing a website.

Landing Page

A custom we page designed to convert visitor into leads or sales. Email, banner ads and even offline outbound marketing campaigns drive traffic to a landing page to capture information or trigger a sale. Landing page is also called as destination page or splash page.

3.7) TYPES OF ADS Above The Fold: Above the fold refer to banners ads which are displayed at the

top of a web page.

Rich- media: Online ads that contain motion, sounds or video are termed as rich media ads

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Interstitial Ads: Ads that appear between web pages.

Banner Ads: Embedding an ad into a web page- know as a click through due to interactive actions where the consumers clicks and is taken to the banner ad’s company websites.

Pop-up: Ads that displays in a browser window either in the front or behind the current browser window.

3.8) MONETARY TERMS USED IN DIGITAL MARKETING Cost –Per- Action (CPA): Cost of advertising based on a visitor taking some

specifically defined action in response to an ad. “Action” include such thing as a sales, transaction, a customer acquisition or a click

Cost- Per -Click (CPC): Cost of advertising based on the number of clicks received.

Cost- Per-Thousand (CPM): The standard unit for buying or selling Internet advertising. The thousand stands for ‘thousand advertising impression or views’.

Pay- Per- Impression: Online advertising where an advertiser pays a pre-agreed price each time a user clicks on their advertisement. The cost for the click is often negotiated through auction, with ad placement determined by the relative size of the bid, as well as other factors.

Pay-Per-Inclusion: Search engine marketing programs that guarantee web site listing for specific keyword search term for a fee.

Pay-Per-Lead: Paying to acquire leads from an outside party at a set rate or amount per lead

3.9) Branding in Digital EraMarketer is not a custodian; he/she is a person who guides a product to become a brand.

Today, brand custodians are the connected users who exist across digital platforms. They are multifaceted. They are the publishers, circulators, ambassadors, instigators and at the same time they are the custodians as well. Their digitally connected existence has power, credibility, influence, depth, and reach. Their digital messaging has the velocity, acceleration, and momentum required to impact brands. Yet brands and their default custodians continue to live blissfully in an illusion about the control they exercise over their brand.

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Brand is an enabler in the current age. It is the participants, the brand conversations and the platforms that amplify the brand and drive the brand philosophy. Businesses need to, therefore, understand the consumers and the evolving digital sphere better and continue to build brands within the digitally connected ecosystem by focusing on the following 3 elements-

People

The digital age has democratized individuals. They are no longer passive consumers, but active and creative participants. They expect and believe in the co-creation of an experience, thereby evolving from consumers to users. They are becoming the most credible and reliable source of the true picture of a brand.

Consumers are beginning to seek a relationship of fair exchange between themselves and the businesses where each contributes and everyone gains. Individuals are seeking a multidimensional relationship that provides them with more than just the brand product/service.

The fair exchange relationship is also offering new opportunities to the business to build more human connections. Businesses will have to become receptive to this new age definition of relationship that consumers seek. They may do well to go a step ahead and create an environment that is receptive to this fair relationship.

Channels

With consumers evolving into users and participating in co-creation, it is important for brands to offer those channels and platforms that allow them to participate in this process. Users are seeking channels that offer them more than just digital promotional activities; they want channels that allow them the freedom to be publishers of content, information and data, that give them control over what content they produce and consume, that allow them to co-create brand experience.

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The channels also need to be device agnostic. Users are adapting to the usage of different devices throughout the day to execute tasks at hand. They might use a Smartphone or tablet to complete functional tasks etc. while on the move, but they use a PC for heavy content creation and research. According to a Google research, 90 percent of people move between devices to accomplish a task, with virtually all of them completing their task in one day. The most popular starting point is the Smartphone. In most cases, the tasks are continued on a PC though tablets are also becoming a popular option for continuing social networking and watching videos.

Businesses and brands need to accept that it is the consumer who has become a more credible publisher by virtue of their access to a device which is always on and active. Creating an environment of device agnostic platforms and channels that allow co-creation of content between brands and consumers will address this shift.

Engagement

It is about creating a window with enhanced attention to influence behavior and motivations. With every business eyeing the opportunity to engage users, it is critical to focus on engagement by increasing brand salience and influencing buyer behavior and choice. Brands should be able to map a customer’s journey to understand where they can add value and create an opportunity to engage them. Brands need to understand that engagement is not about pushing product messages; it is about capturing the imagination and the attention of the user. It is about designing a naturally engaging experience.

Businesses need to understand that digital environment is not about technology but about attention, where the consumer is at the core, armed with powers like never before. Businesses and brands should, therefore, focus on connecting the dots and realize that now, in the digital age, it is all about co-owning a brand.

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C HAPTER-IV

Understanding the consumer behavior in digital era

TOPIC OF THE STUDY

The topic of the research is to “Understand the consumer buying behavior in Digital Era”.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Primary objective

The main objective of the study is to understand the consumer buying journey in Digital era.

Secondary objectives

To know affinity in customers for collecting information before purchase.

To understand the media consumption of customers. To figure out how customers will purchase a product. To understand post purchase behaviour of customers.

SampleSample means a representation of the whole universe by a small population. Sample for

this research are customers whose age ranges between 10-40 years (maximum respondents from 21-30 years age group) and customers who have online presences.

Sample Size

29

The number of sample units selected from the total population is called sample size. Sample size selected for this study is 110. Among them 75 are males and 35 are females.

LIMITATIONS OF THE SURVEY:

The research was conducted within a limited duration. So a detailed and comprehensive study could not be made.

The sample was confined to 100 respondents. So this study can be regarded as “fool-proof” one.

The findings and conclusions are based on knowledge and experience of the respondents and the study made by the researcher.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is the process used to collect information and data for the purpose of making business decisions. The methodology adopted for this report includes both primary and secondary research. The report consists of both Primary Research and Secondary Research.

Primary Data- Primary data can be collected either through experiment or through survey. In case of a survey, data can be collected by observation, personal interviews, telephonic interviews, questionnaires or through schedules.

Here the data has been collected by conducting a survey through questionnaires.

Secondary Data- Secondary data is the data that have been already collected by and readily available from other sources.

30

C HAPTER – V

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

1. How many of you have your accounts in the following networking sites?

Accounts in networking sites No of Respondents

31

Facebook 109Twitter 74Instagram 67Google+ 72Pinterest 20Tumblr 7Quora 47

Facebook Twitter Instagram Google + Pinterest Tumblr Quora0

20

40

60

80

100

120 109

7467

72

20

7

47

Accounts in Networking sites

No of respondents

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

Almost 100% of the respondents have their accounts in Facebook.

67.27% of the respondents have their accounts in Twitter.

65% of the respondents have their accounts in Google+.

61% of the total respondents have their accounts in Instagram.

Few respondents have their accounts in Pinterest, Tumblr and Quora.

2. Which networking site is the best medium to communicate its product/service to its target customers?

Best networking site to reach TG No of Respondents

32

Facebook 97Twitter 7Instagram 3Google+ 0Pinterest 1Tumblr 0Quora 2

88%

6%3%

1%2%

Best networking site to reach TG

FacebookTwitterInstagramGoogle+PinterestTumblrQuora

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

88% of the respondents agree to the fact that Facebook is the best networking site for an organization to reach its target customers.

Next to Facebook, 6% of the total respondents feel Twitter is the best networking site for an organization to reach its target customers.

Very few respondents feel Instagram, Pinterest and Quora can be few of those networking sites for an organization to reach its target customers.

3. Do you access the ads being displayed on your screen while surfing?

Accessing Ads while surfing No of respondentsOften 17

33

Sometimes 63Never 30

15%

57%

27%

Acessing Ads while surfing

OftenSometimesNever

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

16% of the total respondents often access the ads which appear on the screen

while surfing on net.

27% of the total respondents never access the ads which appear on the screen

while surfing on net.

Whereas, 57% of the respondents sometimes access the ads which appear on

the screen while surfing on net.

This shows that organizations can communicate their products to their target

audience with the help of contextual advertising or flash ads and/or by providing

hyperlinks to their main website where the customer can gather more information

regarding the product.

4. What kind of brand communication attracts you the most?

Kinds of Brand Communication No of Respondents

34

Interactive Fan pages 36

Flash Ads 22

Banner Ads 16

Games, quiz or updates 30

Video Ads 41

Interactive fan pages

Flash ads Banner ads Games, quiz or updates

Video ads0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Kinds of brand communication

No of respondents

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

38% of the total respondents feel Video Ads is the best kind of brand communication which attracts them the most.

33% the total respondents feel Interactive fan pages is the best kind of brand communication which attracts them the most.

Very few respondents feel flash ads, banner ads and games, quiz or updates attract the customers a bit less comparatively.

5. Do you Collect information before purchasing the products?

Collecting Information before purchase

No of Respondents

35

Yes 100No 10

91%

9%

Collecting Information before purchasing the product

YesNo

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

91% of the total respondents collect information before purchasing the product.

9% of the total respondents do not collect information before purchasing the product.

Indian customers are highly information seekers. They collect more information about a product before buying it. Internet penetration in India is key player for this phenomenon. Be it sports, medical, IT, ecommerce or any other sector, customers are able to access information regarding them through smart devices.

6. How do you get information about new Products?

Sources of Information about new products

No of Respondents

36

News 61Advertisements 80Family & Friends 48Social Media 79

News Advertisements Family & Friends Social Media0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Sources of Information about new products

No of Respondents

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

73% of the total respondents get information about new products from Advertisements.

Next to advertisements, 72% of the total respondents get information about new products from social media.

Respondents also get information about new products from news and family & friends.

7. If yes, then what type of information do you collect?

Type of Information No of RespondentsCustomers’ experience 99

37

Quantity 23Attributes 55Price 90Quality 85

Customers’ experience

Quantity Attributes Price Quality0

102030405060708090

100

Type of Information

No of Respondents

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

Indian customers are becoming high information seekers. Different kinds of information are collected by individuals before purchase of the product.

90% of the total respondents collect information regarding customers’ experience before purchase of the product.

Price is the second most important factor which is essential for consideration before purchase of the product.

Quantity, quality, attributes and specifications are other factors which are necessary for consideration before the purchase of the product.

8. What type of product / services do you purchase online?

Types of Product No of RespondentsFashion 75

38

Electronics 84Books & media 62Baby & Kids 10Home & Living 35Health & Sports 46I never purchase online 2

Fashion Electronics Books & media

Baby & Kids

Home & Living

Health & Sports

I never purchase

online

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Types of Products/Services

No of Respondents

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

77% of the total respondents purchase from the category Electronics online.

68% of the total respondents purchase from the category “Apparels (Fashion)” online.

57% of the total respondents purchase from the category “Books & Media” online.

Very few respondents purchase products from the category “Home & Living”, “Health & Sports’ and “Baby & Kids”. This can be a limitation to the survey as maximum respondents were from the age group 21-30 years.

9. Mention one form of media, which you give more importance?

Medium of utmost importance No of RespondentsRadio 3

39

OOH 5Newspapers 11Online 69TV 22

3%5% 10%

63%

20%

Medium of utmost importance

RadioOOHNewspapersOnlineTV

INFERENCES DRAWN

From the above graph, it is clear that:

63% of the total respondents feel Online is the medium of utmost importance to reach the target group. In this global world, it has become a necessity for all the organizations to go online.

The above graph shows that there is a lot of scope for online retail industries.

20% of the total respondents feel Television is the best medium for any organization to reach their target customers.

10% of the total respondents agree to the fact that Newspapers is the medium of utmost importance to reach target audience.

10.How do you normally purchase a product?

40

Way of purchasing a product No of RespondentsResearch online and purchase from retail shop

40

Research online and purchase online 40Visit retail and purchase online 10Visit and purchase from retail shop 20

010203040

Ways of purchasing a product

No of Respondents

INFERENCES DRAWNFrom the above graph, it is clear that:Research done about a product is mostly online. After doing the research respondents buy product either online or offline (from retail stores) depending upon:

Price of the product. Type of the product. Offers and discounts given online and offline

Few of the respondents feel there is no hard and fast rule of way of purchasing a product. Wherever the product is provided cheap, they go for it.

Still there is a certain percentage of the crowd who do the research and purchase from retail shop. So the companies have to put an extra effort to capture this segment of the population.

11.How do you share your after experience with others?

Ways of sharing after experience No of Respondents

41

Word of Mouth 80On company’s website 5Writing a blog 5Messaging 5Social Networking sites 15

73%

5%

5%

5% 14%

Ways of sharing after experience

Word of MouthOn company’s websiteWriting a blogMessagingSocial Networking sites

INFERENCES DRAWN

Post purchase behavior of the customers is as important as the way opted by them to buy a product. Organizations must focus on how their customers share their after experience with others, whether it is positive or negative. If the experience is negative, then what actions should be taken and if positive, then how to capture the untapped audience.

From the above pie chart, it is clear that: Word of mouth (73%) is the most popular way of sharing after experience with

others. 14% of the total respondents share their after experience through social

networking sites. 5% of the total respondents share their after experience through messaging. Rest of the respondents share their after experience by writing on company’s

website or by writing a blog.

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C HAPTER- VI

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

43

FINDINGS

Almost 100% of the respondents have their accounts in Facebook. 67.27% of the

respondents have their accounts in Twitter.

88% of the respondents agree to the fact that Facebook is the best networking

site for an organization to reach its target customers.

57% of the respondents sometimes access the ads which appear on the screen

while surfing on net. This shows that organizations can communicate their

products to their target audience with the help of contextual advertising or flash

ads and/or by providing hyperlinks to their main website where the customer can

gather more information regarding the product.

38% of the total respondents feel Video Ads is the best kind of brand

communication which attracts them the most.

73% of the total respondents get information about new products from

Advertisements.

Indian customers are highly information seekers. They collect more information about a

product before buying it. Internet penetration in India is key player for this phenomenon.

Be it sports, medical, IT, ecommerce or any other sector, customers are able to access

information regarding them through smart devices.

90% of the total respondents collect information regarding customers’ experience

before purchase of the product.

77% of the total respondents purchase from the category Electronics online.

Online retail industries must focus on this category as maximum respondents go

for electronics.

63% of the total respondents feel Online is the medium of utmost importance to

reach the target group. In this global world, it has become a necessity for all the

organizations to go online.

Research done about a product is mostly online. After doing the research

respondents buy product either online or offline (from retail stores) depending

upon:

44

Price of the product.

Type of the product.

Offers and discounts given online and offline

Word of mouth (73%) is the most popular way of sharing after experience with

others.

RECOMMENDATIONS

From the survey, it is clear that customers have endless online and offline options for researching and buying new products and services. Under this scenario, digital channels no longer just represent “a cheaper way” to interact with customers; they are critical for executing promotions, stimulating sales and increasing market share.

MCKINSEYS CONSUMER DECISION JOURNEY

The decision-making process is now a circular journey with four phases: initial consideration; active evaluation, or the process of researching potential purchases; closure, when consumers buy brands; and postpurchase, when consumers experience them.

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The survey shows that 75% of the respondents share their after experience through “Word of Mouth”. Marketers may spend millions of dollars on elaborately conceived advertising campaigns, yet often what really makes up a consumer’s mind is not only simple but also free: a word-of-mouth recommendation from a trusted source.

The digital revolution has amplified and accelerated its reach to the point where word of mouth is no longer an act of intimate, one-on-one communication. Today, it also operates on a one-to-many basis: product reviews are posted online and opinions disseminated through social networks. Some customers even create Web sites or blogs to praise or punish brands.

Top 3 factors influence whether a product is considered at each stage of the consumer decision journey, mobile phone example,

Word of Mouth is the only factor that ranks among the three biggest consumer influencers at every step.

WORD OF MOUTH Equity

To assess the impact of different kinds of recommendations, a way has been developed to calculate what is called as word-of-mouth equity. It represents the average sales impact of a brand message multiplied by the number of word-of-mouth messages. By looking at the impact—as well as the volume—of these messages, this metric lets a marketer accurately test their effect on sales and market share for brands, individual campaigns, and companies as a whole. That impact—in other words, the ability of any

46

one word of-mouth recommendation or dissuasion to change behavior—reflects what is said, who says it, and where it is said. It also varies by product category.

The science behind word-of-mouth equity helps reveal how to hone and deploy that art: it shows which messages consumers are likely to pass on and the impact of those messages, allowing marketers to estimate the tangible effect word of mouth has on brand equity and sales. These insights are essential for companies that want to harness the potential of word of mouth and to realize higher returns on their marketing investments.

Since Zapzhoop is at early stage and is a startup, word of mouth marketing is what the company can focus on as maximum number of customers shares their after experience through word of mouth.

47

C HAPTER-VII

CONCLUSION

48

CONCLUSIONDigital is the communication technology used to market a message. It includes computers, smart phones, cell phones, tablets, game consoles. And it uses platforms like websites, email, apps and social networks.

Marketing is a process. Its ultimate purpose is to communicate the value of a product or service to such a level that the people want to purchase the product or service.

Marketing means telling the story of a brand to people. Culture, society, gender, demographics are all environmental and should be a vital part of all marketing efforts- but it still boils down to getting a message in front of people. The message must appear where the target market/ideal customer is already looking. This is where Digital Marketing comes to picture.

If there is no budget constraint, than the company can go for SEO, SEM, Pay per click, Conversion optimization.

If there is budget constraint, than the company can go for email marketing, content marketing, mobile marketing, video marketing and social media marketing.

Along with this the digital marketing model “McKinsey’s consumer decision model” combined with word of mouth is a recommendation given to the startup as it is at the early stage.

49

C HAPTER – VIII

ANNEXURE AND REFERENCES

50

QUESTIONNAIRE

1) How many of you have your accounts in the following networking sites?

Facebook twitter Instagram Pinterest Google+

Tumblr Quora

2) Which networking site is the best medium to communicate its product/service to its target customers?

Facebook twitter Instagram Pinterest Google+

Tumblr Quora

3) Do you access the ads being displayed on your screen while surfing?Often Sometimes Never

4) What kind of brand communication attracts you the most?

Interactive fan pages Flash ads Games, quizzes or updatesBanner Ads Video ads

5) Do you Collect information before purchasing the products?

Yes no

6) How do you get information about new Products?

News Advertisements Family & friends

Social media

Others (If any) __________________________________

7) What type of information will you collect?

Customers’ experience Quantity Attributes Price

Quality

51

8) What type of product / service do you purchase online?

Fashion electronics books & media baby & kids

Health & sports home & living I never purchased

9) Mention one form of media, which you give more importance?

Radio OOH (out of home advertising) newspapers

Online TV

10)How do you normally purchase a product?

Research online and purchase from retail shop

Research online and purchase online

Visit retail and purchase online

Visit and purchase from retail shop

11)How do you share your after experience with others?

Word of mouth on company’s website write a blog messaging,

Social networking sites

52

REFERENCES

http://www.ciim.in/whats-the-future-of-digital-marketing-in-india

http://www.managementstudyguide.com/secondary_data.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter%27s_five_forces_analysis

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/11/24/ebay-through-the-

lens-of-porters-five-forces/#694e49462179

http://www.awepay.com/ecommerce-swot-analysis/

http://www.smartinsights.com/marketing-planning/marketing-models/digital-

marketing-models/

http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/

the-consumer-decision-journey

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