Экономические науки/ 6.Маркетинг и менеджмент.
Vlasova I. A.
Glushenko
E.N.
Donetsk National University of
Economics and Trade Named after Mikhailo Tugan-Baranovsky
TOURISM MARKETING AND INTERNET
The Internet is the global 'network of networks",
an information exchange system, the most important aspect of it is the
connectivity, the ability that allow everyone to access the network. The
potential of using the Internet for marketing activities is derived from its
general use as an information exchange system in the digital age. The
information can be
stored, indexed, retrieved, restructured and redistributed
automatically by software and without human intervention.
The Internet connects
companies with companies, companies with customers, and
people with people without regard to time, space and hardware software
platforms.
This paper intends to investigate two
fundamental but interrelated issues in Internet marketing - the potential of
the Internet for marketing and the current constraints on the full realization
of such potential.
The Internet is widely recognized as an extremely
valuable marketing tool. It is generally held that the Internet
offers substantial advantages over traditional means of
communication: reduced costs of information exchange; increased speed of
information transfer and retrieval; increased customer
involvement in and control of transactions; and greater
flexibility of using the marketing mix. Its main business uses include
communications (both internal and external), market research, customer
services, market penetration, product development, cost savings through
process reengineering, direct marketing, advertising and product delivering.
The Internet has the unique quality that, through its
addressibility, can transform the prominent marketing communication paradigm
from one-to-many to one-to-one or from broadcasting
to narrowcasting. The traditional media, such as print, radio and television,
follow a passive one-to-many communication model, whereby a
company reaches many current and potential customers through the broadcasting
of the same message. This approach to communication has three problems:
1.
uncustomised message to every consumer
2.
wasted exposures to uninterested audiences
3.
"noise" distraction from competing and
conflicting messages.
In contrast, the Internet enables a company to
individually "address" consumers in its marketing communications
because each time a user visits its web site, its server has a record of the
user's electronic address. The company can then "narrowcast" - send
tailor-made message content - to a smaller target audience or an individual
consumer.
Another feature of the Net that distinguishes itself
from traditional communication media is its ability to respond to user inputs,
i.e. interactivity. The Internet is capable of giving feedback in response to
the actions users perform on the computer, resulting in the sense of engagement
with the computer. This two-way dialogue forms an important component of
relationship marketing, and is an important factor in building customer
loyalty. Customers are effortlessly communicatewith companies to find
product information and conduct transactions with a few keystrokes while
companies can easily contact customers to clarify their needs or inform them of
new products.
The Web is a much more flexible marketing medium than
the traditional mass media. A web page can be considered as an electronic
billboard, electronic advertisement, or electronic catalogue that provides
information on products or services plus contact information for interested
consumers. But a virtual advertisement or catalogue is much flexible than a
physical advertisement or catalogue. It can gather fresh and updated
information based on the direct feedback received from consumers. A virtual
catalogue can be gradually developed and organized based on the actual interest
of consumers. It can also keep consumers constantly informed of the company's
new product offerings, latest price changes and sales promotion initiatives.
In order to market tourism products successfully on
the Internet, a tourism organization must first of all have a strategic vision
whereby it can fully comprehend the changing market space, from physical to
both physical and virtual, and the underlying forces shaping this new marketing
space.
Second, the Internet must not be treated as just a
promotion aid or distribution device, but be seen as a major force in itself
that profoundly changes the way tourist business is conducted. 'Marketers will
need to rethink fundamentally the processes by which they identify,
communicate, and deliver customer value. They will need to improve their skills
in managing individual customers and allies. They will need to involve their
customers in the act of codesigning their desired products. Indeed, tourism
marketers should change their business paradigm and marketing practices to suit
the new Internet era.
Third, as the Internet alters the critical success
factors in many businesses, tourism organisations must use it effectively to
create new competitive advantages.
List of literature:
1. Kiani, G.R. (2010). Marketing opportunities in the digital world.Internet
Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp.185-194.
2. Smith, C. and Jenner, P. (2009). Tourism and the Internet.Travel and
Tourism Analyst, No.1, pp.62- 81.
3. Stern, J. (2009). World Wide Web Marketing:
Integating the Internet into your marketing strateg. New York: John Wiley.