A REPORT ON

MARKETING

Monika Malik-07030241013
Pamee Shah – 07030241015
Raveesh Goswami-07030241024
Sourabh Soni-07030241032
Surbhit Bansal-07030241033

ITBM-MBA- 2007-2009

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Google: a brief history of the Google search engine

Google is now the most dominant search tool on the web, setting
the standards that others try to follow and better, as yet
unsuccessfully. It was founded in 1998 - relatively late compared to
many of the popular search engines - by Larry Page and Sergey
Brin, who were graduate students from Stanford University.

Google, Inc. was established on September 7, 1998. The founders

hired Craig Silverstein - who was later to become Director of
Technology - as their first employee, and started the business in a
friend's garage.

Google was still in an alpha stage, with an index of just 25 million

pages, but it was handling 10,000 search queries every day. The
search engine and the company grew quickly through word of
mouth, initially with regular web users coming across the tool and
finding the results to their liking.Usage spread rapidly through press
coverage, awards and recommendations, whilst Google's
effectiveness and relevance, its speed and reliability, plus clean
visual effects and 'quirky' nature all contributed to a rapid increase
in the number of new advocates.

Google took a major step forward in 2000 when it replaced

Inktomi as the provider of supplementary search results on Yahoo.
Following this it won further successes and provided search data to
Yahoo as its primary results, as well as to AOL, Netscape, Freeserve
and BBCi in the UK. This gave Google exceptional coverage of web
searches and established its reputation as one of the most reliable
and accurate search tools, making it the clear market leader.

In addition, following Google's IPO in early 2005 it has set itself on a

course for Internet domination and to challenge the position of
Microsoft as the leading provider of computer services. There has
been a series of announcements of new products, including the
email service Gmail, the impressive Google Earth product, Google
Talk to compete in the growing VoIP market, Google Base and
Google Book Search, which is part of its ambitious project to make
the content of thousands of books searchable online

Google has become synonymous with search and has entered the
dictionary as a verb - 'to google' something. The expansion and
integration of all Google's different services is making it a dominant
player in the online market, but to many websites, Google is also
the ultimate ranking target that will make a significant difference
between the volumes of traffic received from prospective customer
searching the web.

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SEARCH ENGINE DEMOGRAPHICS

The Market:
Over the past year, Web traffic has grown by 300% . Users in the U.S. alone are
projected to increase from 157.6 million (55% of U.S. population) in 2002 to 210.8
million users (71% of U.S. population) in 2006.

The Growth:
U.S. online retail sales are projected to increase 272.6% from $47.8 billion in 2002 to
$130.3 billion in 2006.

The Volume:
An estimated 625 million searches are conducted daily, 4 times the 1998 volume.
Online searches are the most widely used method of attracting traffic to aWebsite.
A staggering 90% of searches are performed through the top 10 search engines.
Among whom google shares about half of the search market
Also 85% of Web users use search engines to find solutions and vendors. But only
the Top 30 search results will ever generate any significant traffic.
The first 10 search results receive 70% - 83% of user click-through. This underlines
the fact, how much the users trust the search results.

BRANDING

Google is rated as Global Brand of the year for two consecutive years.

How Google created its brand?

For B2C:

Google has many qualities that make it a likeable brand. It helps you answer questions
and solve problems. It enables you to discover new things, which is always fun. It
plays little jokes with its visual identity to fit special occasions like the Olympics and
St Patrick's Day. Oh, and it's free to use.

For B2B:

Being free (in both senses) is a large part of Google's charm. Google doesn't need to
charge its users for its services because the internet changed the rules, creating a
different environment for communicating information - and for advertising. So
Google is funded by the advertisers who pay for a linked presence on the internet.

In terms of developing a brand, Google gave clarity and commitment to an idea at the
heart of its business. That idea was to make searching for knowledge easy using the
internet.

What makes Google a brand?

What makes Google a brand is that it operates in an environment (a virtual one, the
internet) where it has many competitors. If you want to carry out an internet search
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you can choose a number of search engines (Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, AOL - carry out a
Google search to find out). Most people use Google. Google gets people coming back
to it because it obeys the first principle of branding (get your product right and keep
improving it) and has developed its own distinctive approach (building a strong
perception of its brand). Google is a dynamic source of innovation and customer
loyalty.

Challenges

The challenge for Google will be holding onto its sense of self as it continues to grow
and expand into new product areas. Brands that become generic terms always face a
particular challenge: a cultural success can easily slip into a commercial failure
through overfamiliarity. One of the biggest challenge for Google in future is
Microsoft who is trying to build a strong grip in every section of internet.

Future Growth:

In terms of future growth, Google has been churning out ideas and imaginative
developments faster than seems feasible for a publicly listed corporation. Google is
providing the realistic prospect of the world's greatest libraries being instantly
available online, of any published book being brought up as an extract on computer
screen to see whether to buy it. Of its own email system (done) or its own internet
phone system (coming).

MARKETING CHANNELS

COMMUNICATION CHANNELS-

ADS BY GOOGLE is one of the ways Google communicates with the users
Putting Google Search Bar is the other way Google reaches its customers. The
affiliate site gets 3 cents per search it sends to Google.Google now puts ads on the
other sites as well.

SERVICE CHANNELS-

Google makes money by selling targeted advertising space. That’s its core business.
Providing search results is simply the vehicle for doing so. Search doesn’t generate
revenue in itself.

Google being an online search engine as a product it is directly marketed through

internet. But on other hand Google works as level-1 channel distributor for all the
companies advertising on Google.

B2B:
Google acts as facilitator for its customers i.e. companies advertising in Google for
promotion of their products. Google Adwords and Adsense are the facilities available
in Google as level1 distributor channel where companies can promote their products
or services by advertising on Google.

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B2C:
Google as a product is distributed directly via internet i.e. level-0 distribution.
Google’s customers’ desired service output levels are discussed below:

1. Lot size: The number of units the channel permits a typical customer to purchase on
one occasion.
In Google there is no concept of lot size in case of B2C, where as in B2B the
customer can purchase advertising space for a single ad (lot size 1) or for multiple ads
(lot size n).

2. Waiting time: The average time customers of that channel wait for receipt of the
goods.
Google being an online search engine waiting time for processing search queries is
very low.

3. Spatial convenience: The degree to which the marketing channel makes it easy for
customers to purchase the product.
Spatial convenience in using Google is very high, since customer can use it anywhere
and anytime where internet is available.

4. Product variety: The assortment breadth provided by the channel. Normally,

customers prefer a greater assortment, which increases the chance of finding what
they need.
Relentless expansion of product variety is the special edge to Google, there is high
probability of finding any product or information on Google which user is searching
for, which is the reason for its lead as Online search engine.

5. Service backup: The add-on services (credit, delivery, installation, repairs)

provided by the channel. The greater the service backup, the greater the work
provided by the channel.
Continuous updates and new features are added in Google that add-on to the core
service (searching, advertising) provided by Google.

MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX

ADVERTISING- so far google has not run any mass advertising campaign. The only
way it advertises itself is by putting a search bar on the affiliate sites.

SALES PROMOTION- Google offers free storage space to its users of mail service.
Google has a tradition of creating April Fool's Day jokes — such as Google
MentalPlex, which allegedly featured the use of mental power to search the web. In
2004, they featured Google Lunar (which claimed to feature jobs on the moon), and in
2005, a fictitious brain-boosting drink, termed Google Gulp was announced. In 2006,
they came up with Google Romance, a hypothetical online dating service. In 2007,
Google announced two joke products. The first was a free wireless Internet service
called TiSP (Toilet Internet Service Provider) . By doing this Google gets free
publicity.

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EVENTS AND EXPERIENCES- Google Store sells customised Google merchandise
to connect with the customers at a personal level. Google also conducts quizzes and
various competitions to connect with student fraternity who tend to be biggest users.

PUBLIC RELATIONS-In 2004, Google formed its not-for-profit philanthropic wing

Google.org, giving it a starting fund of $1 billion. The express mission of the
organization is to help with the issues of climate change (see also global warming),
global public health, and global poverty. Google has announced commitments to
various initiatives to reduce its environmental impact, including the use of solar
panels, and other carbon-reducing actions.
Marketing Mix Table
Product. Service Price Image Cost Time Effort Risk
Function
Product Imp Imp Imp
Price Imp
Place Imp Imp sec
Promotion Imp sec

Imp- prime importance

Sec- Secondary Importance

CUSTOMER VALUE & SATISFACTION

Google offered narrow casting rather than broadcasting, it tried to reach the customer
at the point of decision of buying a product, rather than plastering ads at the right
places with the right consumer demographics.

Google customises its logo during the festive season and events like Halloween,
Olympics, Independence day to connect with the customers in a better way. By doing
it Google taps the customer values. Secondly, Google places enormous onus on their
users .They trust their users to rank the ads. it is customer pull rather than business
push. Showing the most relevant ads was the best PR ploy used by Google.
The ads were text-based to maintain an uncluttered page design and to maximize page
loading speed. They separated the sponsored links from the relevant results. Google
only runs keywords targeted text ads ie. You don’t see the ads unless you are
searching for particular information. Studies that tracked the user’s eyeball showed
that users look first on the left side of the page where the search results were placed
Features like the desktop search function and personalized home page provide service
to customers.
Google has tried to set the standards that will define the future of mobile content and
improve the experience of Google users by the use of Google.mobi.

Product Level Hierarchy

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 Core benefit -> the basic benefit which a customer needs from the search engine is
“information”. If it is being given very quickly then it serves the purpose of both
customers and the company

Basic Product -> Web links related to information available easily i.e. Search Engine.
The company’s main product is the search engine which provides links to various
sites.

Expected product-> Books, Discussion, Images, Videos, notes, news etc. are some of
the products which a customer would want from Google. During searching the
customer would like to get images, news articles etc. from the site regarding their
search and if they are already provided by the company it feels the customers with
satisfaction.

Augmented product -> Offers for products, on discounted price and Advertisements
by various companies etc. These are some of the facilities being provided by company
which are not expected but are a bonus for the customer.

Potential Product-> Google TV, Google Video search, Google storage etc. These are
some of the products that Google could develop I the near future. Google which is
now converting from a web based engine to a media corporation could continue its
operation with this

Google’s Product Mix

Advertising Solutions Buiseness Solution Google Store Customer Application

Adwords Editors Secure Access Tangible Items 1 Desktop products

Ad sense Google Search Access Shirts a) Standalone Applications
Audio Ads Google Mini Notebook b) Desktop Extensions
Click to Call bag
AdWords Website Optimizer Caps 2) Mobile Products
Analytics Lava Lamps a) Online Mobile Products
b) Downloadable Mobile
Etc. to almost anything
Base Products
Checkout
TV Ads 3) Web Products
Apps a) Advertising
b) Communication & Publishing
c) Development
d) Mapping
e) Search
f) Statices

for details please see the

Annexure.

4 P’S THAT AFFECTS GOOGLE’S PERFORMANCE

INTRODUCTION –

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Google could attribute its success to innovative marketing plan. The highly skilled,
computer nerds & innovators are its source of success. It has found a good market
niche and profoundly placed itself in the internet search market.

PRODUCT-
For B2C:-Search engine, email service, social networking platform.

FOR B2B:-
The products that Google offers are industrial products. These business products offer
services to their customers such as advertising and technologies that are going to help
them solve their search problems within intranet.
The products could basically be classified into three types i.e. advertising solutions,
Business Solutions and Google store.
In advertising there are ADWORDS, for business solutions they provide a search
appliance to connect the companies with their client and finally Google store includes
shirts, notebooks, clamps etc. on which they can print their company’s name.

PRICE –
For B2C:-For B2C Google is a free online search engine.

FOR B2B:-Google provides certain online promotion programs which is an excellent

means of promoting products to prospective buyers.It uses Pay-Per-Click advertising
to its advantage which can be explained by Google Adwords and Google Adsense.

PLACE-
Google’s place is the internet where it is offering services to its customers. Processing
has increased from 100 million searches on one day to 200 million. It uses more than
100 languages at present.

PROMOTION –

Google has never used any sort of advertisements. It has been the biggest success
through word of mouth publicity. It never shows any advertisements on its home page
and as a result is easiest and fastest to open.
It never advertised for Froogle, Adwords or Adsense but they all have been a great
success.

B2B GOOGLE:

“We believe the company is rapidly becoming the digital advertising agency for
every company in the world.”
--Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Scott Devitt

Google is into B2B business via AdSense and Adworld.

Google AdWords

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Google AdWords is a quick and simple way to purchase highly targeted cost-per-click
(CPC) advertising. AdWords ads are displayed along with search results on Google,
as well as on search and content sites in our growing ad network, including AOL,
EarthLink, HowStuffWorks, & Blogger. With more than 200 million searches on
Google each day and even more searches and page views on our ad network, Google
AdWords ads reach a vast audience.

In Adwords when an ad is created the consumer(company) have to choose keywords

for which ad will appear and specify the maximum amount company is willing to pay
for each click. Company only pay when someone clicks ad.

Google AdSense
Google AdSense is a program enabling online businesses to earn revenue from
serving ads precisely targeted to specific web content and search pages. With service
levels ranging from online sign-up to dedicated support management, a broad range of
sites profit from AdSense. Thousands of Google advertisers also benefit from
AdSense by gaining exposure on sites across the Google Network, which includes
many of the Top 100 Media Metrix sites such as AOL, About.com, Amazon,
Ask.com, and Lycos.
Cost savings
In addition to this, as an extra facility AdWords provides Discounter which
automatically reduces the actual CPC and the consumer have to pay the lowest cost
needed to maintain ad’s position on the result page, which is a cost saving facility
provided by Google.
Low Cost
There's no minimum monthly charge -- just a $5 activation fee. The ads start running
within minutes after submiting billing information. Companies can easily keep track
of ad performance using the reports in your online account Control Center.

Google as a Buying Centre for SMEs

Many of the purchase decisions of small firms,who do not have the available
resources to invite tenders and bids for its processes use the help of Google to select
the potential supplier from search results.
Google may be seen acting as Gatekeeper for those firms that don’t place
their ads through Google and as an Approver for those who do so. The Initiator in
this case would be the various department heads who address that there is a need and
Deciders would be purchase dept. people.

GOOGLE’S COMPETITORS

7 largest search engines of the world are(% age of market)

1. Google 55.2% 2. Yahoo 21.7% 3. MSN Search 9.6%
4. AOL Search 3.8% 5. Terra Lycos 2.6% 6. AltaVista 2.2%
7. Ask Jeeves 1.5%

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GOOGLE VS. THE REST

GOOGLE ranks so high among the various search engines because of the relevant
search results that it offers and the targeted ads that it places along with it. the search
toolbar that it offers is one of the best and they have a wide spectrum of products that
facilitate search process of users.Google has a very positive image among the users
that go by its motto “Do no evil”. The array of products that google has launched
have received unprecedented applause from its users only because either they are
niche products or better than their competitors. Google has always set new
benchmarks for the industry to follow.

Three variables that are of prime importance wrt competition are

SHARE OF MARKET-Google has about 55% of the market share,so it is virtually

unchallenged as for now.

SHARE OF MIND-Google has now become synonymous with web search.Presence

of Google desktop on our computer and search bar on all major sites has made it the
most seen word on the web.

SHARE OF HEART-Google’s immaculate white homepage and their corporate moto

“Do no evil” definitely catches the users imagination in this mean world of web where
everyone is vying for your credit card number.

Customer’s verdict: Google does rest follow.

INTENDED POSITIONING

There are many reasons why Google is on the top of mind of people in
performing online searches all over the world. The first and foremost being the fact
that it enables Web users all over the world to access information anytime, anywhere
and about anything. The results are highly relevant because of Google’s sophisticated
ranking algorithm. Google has a very high speed. Your results appear within a second
and the site’s focus never deviates from search so it has no ads available on the home
page. Google crawls and indexes many web pages, thus increasing the likelihood of
its returning what you’re seeking. It tends to be good at selecting links that closely
match your search query. Ads generally relate to content and aren’t distracting in fact
they are the sponsored links. Google takes a snapshot of each page it examines and
caches (stores) these as a backup. If the original isn’t available, you can access
Google’s cached version. Its capabilities are enhanced and expanded to match the
dynamic growth and changing nature of the web. Millions of people who use Google
in more than 100 languages regard internet and Google as one entity. In comparison
to cluttered sites in vogue, Google stayed Spartan and clean. In the community of web
users Google is used as a verb instead as a tool, it was such popularity of Google that
it was endorsed by AOL which connected 34 million subscribers.

Point of Parity-
Google also has many POP’s like it gives free search toolbar for the customers like
Yahoo, Starware and MySearch. It is also a fast provider of information like any other

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competitor. It provides search facility which helps in getting the information. the
revenue for Google also comes from the advertisements that are present on its web
pages. It has also started advertising on radio like yahoo does. Recently the mail and
chat forums facility has also been started by Google and is similar to that being
provided by its competitors like Yahoo. It has also started the mobile applications. .

Point of difference-
Google provides search bar facility on the high traffic web sites such as “New York
Times”, “Amazon”, “AOL” etc. which facilitates the user to go back to the Google
search page. Google is now available in around 100 languages which makes it one of
the favourite search engine world wide. It’s Home page is devoid of any ads which
places it miles apart of the competitors. Its page ranking system gives it a leading
edge. It gives the page rank to the company according to the payment and according
to the number of clicks it gets from the customer. This method is different from that
of yahoo where the rank is given according to the payment. The advertisements are in
text format rather than images.It also customizes its logo during the festive seasons
which brings it closer to the users. It has also developed the video sharing forum
known as “You Tube” which was first of its kind.

POTENTIAL MARKET

Internet Usage Surpasses TV For Teens

An average teen spend 16.7 hours/week online (excluding email) vs. 13.6 hours/week
watching TV. The teen market is huge bringing in billions of dollars a year. Teens
influence all levels of commerce, advertising, and often set the latest trends.

People Rely on Search Engines to Find Entertainment Info & Product

A vast number of users use Google to find movie sites, gaming sites, music sites and
to check movie timings. Thus search can act as an complement to entertainment
industry.

Solutions for Financial Services

The Google network reaches countless qualified financial services customers every
day. Targeted advertising messages can reach customers when they search for
particular products and services and when they are reading relevant content on major
financial websites.

SEGMENTATION

As Google is used by a large number of people it’s a case of mass marketing. Google
users can basically be categorised under segment with Diffused Preferences because
all people who search through Google are basically looking for information for a
variety of products or services. Google is used by people across segments but it
cannot be called a Niche product because it caters to more than 5% of the people who
use net.

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CUSTOMERISATION-The search results that are given by Google are customised
according to the keyword typed by the user.

SEGMENTING CONSUMER MARKETS

Geographic Segmentation: Internet as a medium overcomes all the geographic

boundaries, so does Google but Google does resort to geographic segmentation by
modifying its logo according to the festivals and days of importance by this it targets
people of a particular area by cashing on their religious sentiments.

Demographic Segmentation:

Gender- among the users 51% are Male while the rest are Female

Education- 59% of the users has at least completed college.

Income average income of a Googler is $77,000

Google Users are Savvy Users-73% of users have had Online experience of 4+ years
.Among whom 92% have shopped online in last 6 months.54% users are online
everyday among which 45% have broadband connections

Psychographic Segmentation: Google being a company run by youth reflects the

youthful exuberance which attracts young people to it. Google Trends is a product
that keeps a track of what the world is searching for.

Behavioural Segmentation: Google’s PageRank algorithm gives its loyal customers

the relevance of the search they are performing.

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