A

SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AT CARS

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED
BY

DR ABHISHEK NEGI MOHD. AADIL

GRAPHIC ERA DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY,

DEHRADUN
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that MOHD AADIL student of MBA (MARKETING

- IIIRD Semester) GRAPHIC ERA DEEMD TO BE UNIVERSTY

CLEMENTOWN, Dehradun, Uttrakhand has successfully completed 45

days (from 10th June, 2019 to 10st August , 2019) long internship

programme with us. During the period of her internship programme with

us she was found punctual, hardworking and inquisitive. We wish good

luck for all future endeavors and look forward to working with him again

in future.

DATE:

PLACE: MOHD.
AADIL
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare "DITIAL MARKETING submitted in partial

fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of MBA to Graphic Era
DEEMED TO BE University, at Dehradun is my original work and
not submitted for award if any other degree/ diploma or similar title or
prize.

DATE:
PLACE: Dehradun

MOHD. AADIL
 CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction

Digital Marketing is any form of marketing products or services, which

involves electronic devices. It can be both online and offline. According to
institute of direct marketing "the use of internet and related digital information
and communication technologies to achieve marketing objectives."

According to CAM Foundation – “Digital Marketing is a broad discipline,

bringing together all forms of marketing that operates through electronic
devices – online, on mobile, on-screen. Over the years, digital marketing has
developed enormously, and it continues to do so.”

Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing or Pay per Click

Advertising, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Mobile Marketing,
Web Analytics, Marketing Automation, Content Writing & Rate Optimization
are the popular and most-demanded areas in digital marketing.

It is the creative use of management information system (MIS) and technology

which supports customers interaction with e-marketers. Marketers need to use
technology and information and intuition to set brands and grab opportunities.
E-Commerce has unleashed the revolution which is changing the way of doing
business. In 1997 U.S. govt. allowed use of internet by commercial
organization. This gave impetus to new way of conducting trade and commerce.

In 2015 e-commerce activities get boost up with rapid expansion, multiplicity of

campaign, deals based user acquisition and more. This shift in e-commerce
become more noticeable with higher focus on consumer knowledge and
retention, improvement in experience, and depth of assortment across an ever
wider range of categories. E-commerce players are focusing on retention on
existing customers and acquisition of new users.

To enhance loyalty of customers towards e-commerce as a category they are

differentiating in leveraging data and assortment trends to finally move towards
one to one marketing principle. Customers are rewarded for their loyalty with
better experience across delivery, pricing, exclusive offer and return policies

Early e-commerce trialists and adopters have clearly understood and

experienced the immense benefit of e-commerce. Therefore companies are
scaling down mass media advertising description of e-commerce targeted early
trialists and adopters. Main digital platform such as Google, Facebook, Twitter,
You Tube etc. are rolling out more advertiser friendly products that are allowing
smaller as well large players to market with high efficiency to early adopters.
This is resulting in increase in digital marketing spending. Due to innovation of
digital media coupled e-commerce players system is moving from application
download and visit metrics to user metrics instead.

Investment made so far to generate early adopters of e-commerce are rotating

into targeting late adopters through regional and vernacular offline media.
Advertisers have finally accepted that there will be end of long form of
advertisement and branded content will rise. Digital video-advertising even
started issuing advisories asking consumers to keep edit length short. Brand are
experimenting, to large extent, with expressing themselves through digital and
youth content. This has driven wider choices of content, sharper entertainment
propositions, and increase in the smart phone viewership dividend. Sustained
advertiser investment depends on how fast the emerging digital content industry
adopts scientific measurement tool. Innovations in the core products are
generating big impact on user acquisition and retention due to digital store and
service experience. The players who are delivering gaining more consumer
friendly products and service improvement are gaining more.
2. Some facts about Indian Digital Marketing Industry

As per a report by IAMAI and Boston consulting group, India has one of the
largest and fastest growing populations of Internet users in the world—190
million as of June 2014 and growing rapidly.

According to a report, India will cross 500 million Internet Users Mark in 2020

According to Direct Marketing Association, Digital Marketing Industry is worth

$62 billion

According to eMarketer, advertising via mobile phones and tablets rose 180
percent, to $4 billion in 2014

According to a report published in The Hindustan Times, New Delhi digital

advertising space in India is worth Rs. 6000 crore and video is Rs. 1600 crore of
that. In 2016 the digital ad space will grow to Rs. 8100 crore and video will
grow faster than search and classified.

According to a research firm eMarketer ecommerce sales in India are expected

to grow from $14 billion in 2015 to $55 billion in 2018. India has seen the
fastest growth in retail ecommerce among Asia-Pacific countries, surging
133.8% in 2014 and 129.5% in 2015. The combined gross merchandise value,
or total value of sales of country's top three ecommerce places i.e. (Flipkart,
Amazon and Snapdeal) in 2015 was $13.8 billion exceeded that of the top 10
offline retailers, which stood at $12.6 billion for the same period.

1.1IMPACT OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Unremitting technological changes are significantly altering the behaviour of
the consumers across the globe. Pervasive, inexpensive, compatible, easy and
advanced technology has urged customers to become smarter, informed,
connected, updated, and empowered (Miller, Michalski and Stevens, 1998;
Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004a). Consumers have become „prosumers‟
whereby consumers are not only at the receiving end but are also getting
actively involved in co-creating, customizing and passionately promoting the
marketing content in socially connected era (Bollier, 2007; Gerhardt, 2008).
Marketers have also understood and appreciated the change brought by
technology that has been registering its stark presence among the consumers.
This change is affecting the lives of both the marketers and consumers in
concrete ways. The greatest example of change is the „internet‟ that has
significantly altered the ways of communication, sharing and finding
information and doing business. The tremendous growth of the internet and
particularly the „World Wide Web‟ (WWW) made consumers and firms
participating in a global online marketplace which eventually urged marketers
to try and deal with the innovative ways of marketing in computermediated
environments (Kothari and Saxena, 2004; Ricciuti, 1995). The steady and swift
integration of internet with myriad devices and proliferation of digital
technologies in recent times has further fuelled the change (Brinker, 2012). This
interactive medium of today has crossed the borders of a conventional
computer‟s screen and has embraced many digital devices namely mobile
phones, smart phones, tablets, digital outdoors and digital TV (Dahiya, 2014).
This revolution in digital technologies has urged companies to restructure the
marketing practices, especially in communication to engage successfully with
past, present and potential customers Chapter 1 2 (Dahiya, 2015a; Gay,
Charlesworth and Esen, 2007). Market players have not been left with the
choice of denial to change. They have to change by practically adjusting their
behaviour and operations; else they will be the victim of „Digital Darwinism‟
(Schwartz, 2002; Wertime and Fenwick, 2008). Digital technologies,
particularly the internet, has transformed the every aspect of business namely
the business communication, branding, product management, supply chain
management, buying and selling and customer relationship management to
name a few (Hudson, Roth and Madden, 2012). Technology‟s usage in business
has accounted for reducing the numerous business costs along with offering
competitive advantage (Edelman and Heller, 2015). Companies have been able
to leverage the power of digital technologies to obtain accurate customers‟
input that has led to improvement in overall product development capabilities of
the firm. Digital media provide a broad platform to acquire new customers and
engaging with them meaningfully that helps spreading awareness about brands,
building brand image and positioning the brand in target customers‟ mind
(Holliman and Rowley, 2014). Customers can be targeted profitably due to
resultant accurate customer profiling over digital media. Better customer
relations can be maintained with the help of latest technological tools which
unravel the specific needs of the customers to the marketers. The vital
information about target customers obtained through digital channels, leads to
valued customer engagement and augmented customer experience resulting in
sustainable competitive advantage (Adobe, 2014).

1.2 DIGITAL MARKETING: THE CONCEPT Digital marketing as a concept

is used differently by different people. Many times it is used synonymously
with „internet or web marketing‟, „e-marketing‟, „ecommerce‟ and „e-
business‟. Although, these terms are inter-related, yet there lies a difference
among all the terms (Rowan, 2002). Internet marketing refers to the promotion
of goods and services over internet requiring a real time live internet connection
(Hanson and Kalyanam, 2007). E-business is a broader term that deals with
application of technology in business‟s internal processes and transactions with
third party. It involves e-commerce which represents its commerce side and e-
marketing which includes its marketing side. E-marketing also known as
„electronic marketing‟ makes use of internet and digital technologies and
involves the promotion of goods or services through electronic methods or
media (Hoge, 1993). Rowan (2002) defined emarketing as practice of using
information technology for completing the marketing process that involves
creation, communication and delivery of value to customers along with
managing customer relationships (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2001). E-
commerce which reflects the commercial side of the business refers to buying
and selling using the internet and involves the financial transactions using
electronic media. The term „digital‟ can be defined as a data transmission
technology which is finite and non-variable in nature (Kaufman and Horton,
2014). Digital is expressed in contrast to „analog‟ which is a continuous data
transmission technology. A marketing action becomes digital if relies over a
digital medium to execute a marketing function Chapter 1 3 (Deighton and
Kornfeld, 2009; Yasmin, Tasneem and Fatema, 2015). Kierzkowski McQuade,
Waitman and Zeisser (1996) explain digital marketing as promotion of products
and services via one or more form of digital or electronic media. Techopedia
(n.d.) defines digital marketing as disposition of various promotional practices
and methods to access customers through various digital technologies. Bird
(2007) defines digital marketing as a communication activity conducted over
media using digital transmission that establishes a direct relationship between a
company and its customers or prospects as an individual. The term medium
used here refers to the channels, instruments, applications, manners and devices
which for their functioning use digital codes (Rowan, 2002). Digital media
include content based platform like „websites‟, „social networking sites‟,
„online communities‟, „search engines‟ etc. using primarily the internet
technology and devices such as „mobile phones‟, „digital TV‟, „digital
outdoors‟ using both internet and mobile technology. Digital marketing
differentiates itself from the internet marketing as digital marketing not only
includes the channels that require real time internet connection, but also
includes digital outdoors, digital TVs, SMS (Short Message Service),
billboards, mobile apps, MMS (Multimedia Message Service), call-back and
on-hold mobile ring tones, e–books and games with a digital platform which
can run offline too (Scharl, Dickinger and Murphy, 2005; Pandey and Shukla,
2010; Gayatri and Rekha, 2014). It uses digital devices, channels and platforms
irrespective of their online or offline nature. Moreover emergence of new age
concepts like wearable technology and augmented reality is pushing the
boundaries of digital marketing beyond internet (Merisavo et al. 2008; Yasmin
et al. 2015). So, it can be said that internet marketing is a subset of digital
marketing. 1.2.1 Internet: The Core of Digital Marketing Internet remains at the
core of digital marketing due to its easy integration and compatibility with
various digital devices like mobile phones, tablets, watches, TVs and many
more (Smith, 2011). Internet, probably the most important invention of 20th
century, has changed the scope of marketing. It has emerged as a medium
serving multi-channel function of marketing, sales, distribution and relationship
building. Now products are positioned, marketed, distributed and purchased
over internet. Internet has also altered the traditional marketing mix strategy. It
enables the marketer to sell more variety of mass customized products. Internet
facilitates the easy price comparison among available products for the
customers. Internet has added a new channel of distribution which is
convenient, fast and easy. Promotion has experienced the paradigm shift
whereby conversations have taken place of commercial messages and customers
have become story tellers. Marketers are now using many marketing tactics to
implement the digital marketing strategy like SEO* (Search Engine
Optimization), SEM* (Search Engine Marketing), affiliate marketing* and
PPC* (Pay-per-click) and others. Internet refers to an interconnected network of
computers connected globally through dedicated servers and routers (Whittaker,
2002). The computers in this global * See Glossary given in the end for details.
Chapter 1 4 network hold files known as web pages that can be accessed by the
other interconnected computers (Tanenbaum, 1996). „Intranet‟, „Extranet‟ and
„Web‟ are three main types of network that form internet. Intranet runs
internally in an organization using hypter text markup language (HTML) and
browsers. Extranet is comprised of two or more proprietary networks which are
connected with the purpose of sharing information. Web supports a graphic user
interface for hypertext navigation with a browser (Beal, 2010). One can trace
back the underpinning of internet back to1960‟s when two of the MIT‟s
researchers namely J.C.R. Licklider in 1960 and 1968 and Leonard Kleinrock in
1961 wrote about galactic networks and packet switching theory. In 1972, first
public demonstration of Advanced Research Project Agency Network
(ARPANET), the precursor of today‟s internet and electronic mail was made.
By 1985, internet was already well established as a technology supporting a
broad community of researchers and developers. Till 90‟s internet was not open
for business (Leiner et al. 2009). It was Tim Berners- Lee‟s development of
World Wide Web (WWW) in the year 1991 that fuelled the internet revolution
of today. In the year 1993, internet was fully opened to commercial traffic.
„Mosaic‟, the first web browser was released in 1993 which was followed by
„Netscape Navigator‟ browser released in mid-1994 (Ratliff and Rubinfeld,
2010). „WebCrawler‟, first search engine service was launched in the year
1994. This was rapidly followed by a proliferation of search engines, such as
„Lycos‟, „Magellan‟, „Excite‟, „Infoseek‟, „Inktomi‟, „AltaVista‟ and
„Yahoo‟. „Google‟, incorporated in the year 1998 became the world‟s leading
search engine. Slowly internet became the main tool for searching information
and technological advancements like wireless connection and digital data
transmission technology paved the way for digitalization. Digital marketing was
then related to wireless connection (Merisavo et al. 2007). There is no
consensus on when advertising on the internet began. Tim O‟Reilly, founder of
the web portal Global Network Navigator (GNN), states that the first
advertising appeared in the year 1993 on GNN (O'reilly, 2007). Some others
mention „HotWired‟ site on which banner ad sold to the company called AT&T
was displayed in the year 1994 (Medoff, 2000; Evans, 2009). Google launched
its „AdWords‟ service in October, 2000 that placed ads on the search results
pages on „google.com‟. By March 2003, Google had over 100,000 advertisers
who bought search ads through the „AdWords‟ program. Google by the year
2003 was serving 200 million searches per day on all of its sites worldwide
(Levy, 2011). Internet also evolved overtime and allowed people to generate
and share content with others with web 2.0* technology. It offered features like
interactivity, customization, connectivity and personalization that altered
consumer behaviour also. Media proliferated further with new services, network
and devices that exerted profound effects on consumers and marketers and
digital channels became the most important medium of marketing. Now,
consumers are using internet for different reasons ranging from socializing,
downloading, uploading, reading, searching, comparing, buying and selling to
giving feedback. Internet is emerging as a primary * See Glossary given in the
end for details. Chapter 1 5 destination for searching information. Most of the
customers are starting their decision making journey with internet. VSNL in
1995 launched public internet services in India. It was followed by major
newspapers like „Indian Express‟, „Hindustan Times‟ and „Times of India‟ set
up their websites in 1995. ICICI opened first online banking site in the year
1997. Private internet service providers were allowed to operate in the country
and „Sify‟ became the first national internet service provider. Year 1999 was
marked as „dot com‟ boom year when „sify.com‟ bought „India world‟ for 499
crores and listed on NASDAQ, large no. of dot.com companies were formed,
number of internet kiosks* were opened and satellite international gateways
were established for Indian internet service providers. Parliament passed
Information Technology Act in the year 2000. In last 15 years, Indian internet
industry has seen splendid growth and one can see the application of internet in
every sector and category like railways, stock market, shopping, banking,
gaming, news, aviation, education, entertainment, tour, travel and many others.
Emergence of social networking sites and internet compatible devices has also
significantly affected internet‟s adoption and popularity in India (Rao and
Manzar, 2013).

1.3 DIGITAL MARKETING COMMUNICATION Marketing communication

can be defined as an exchange process dealing with ideas, thoughts and
information between two parties i.e. the marketer and consumers with the aim
of achieving commonality (Smith and Taylor, 2004). Marketing communication
is an activity aimed at conveying information like promoting a product, new
product launch and community initiatives that a marketer wishes to share with
public or customers (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Communication process is an
organized and systemic activity in which message travels from the sender to the
receiver(s) via some media or channel (Steinberg, 2007). A business must
choose and invest in the most suitable channel keeping in mind the cost,
benefits and communication flows. Today, with the expansion and universal
acceptance of information communication technology, the most commonly used
channels are digital relying heavily on internet and mobile network services and
communication flows are digital packages including data, text, sound, images or
combination of these (Corniani, 2006). Digitalization of communication
channels has enabled corporate to build both the private and public channel of
communication. Private channels have high development cost whereas public
communication channels have very low development cost. Corporate are
increasingly using the public channels of digital communication which are not
only less costly to set up and maintain but are also becoming very popular
among the masses. These channels have the inherent capacity to profile target
audience, track the activities of an individual, personalize, customize and
generate feedback (Salehi, Mirzaei, Aghaei, and Abyari, 2012.). Digital
technologies enable marketers personalizing the customer experience that
ultimately leads towards an active interest of the customer. Active interest by
the customer in digital communication represents a * See Glossary given in the
end for details. Chapter 1 6 shift towards pull communication* whereby target
audience actively seeks the content or information rather than being passively
subjected to the marketing communication. The Digital Marketing Institute,
Dublin, Ireland explains digital marketing communication as an integrated,
targeted and measurable communication with the customers by using digital
technologies which in turn helps marketer to acquire new customers and
retaining existing customers along with nurturing long-term and fruitful
business relations with them. In simple words, digital marketing communication
refers to promotion aimed at individual customer about the goods and services
offered by a marketer over digital channels of communications (Ryan, 2014).
Digital channels include computers, mobile phones, digital outdoors and digital
TVs to name the most popular. Digital marketing communication refers to the
interactive, targeted, individual and measurable communication about the
products of the marketer with target audience made over digital media
(Merisavo et al. 2007). Digital marketing communication keeping online
marketing at its core essentially performs the function similar to its
conventional colleague i.e. traditional communication. It appeals customers,
apprises them about the new updates, influences their decisions and upholds
their satisfaction as its supreme objective; but its ability to customize and
personalize the communication as per target customers‟ needs gives it an upper
edge over traditional media (Hawks, 2015). Marketing communication in digital
environment can be made by many ways. A marketer can use search engine and
apply SEO and SEM to inform target audience about its products and services.
Internet marketing especially the e-mails, banner advertising, pay-per click and
e-newsletters can also be employed by the marketer to communicate with the
potential consumers. Manufacturer‟s website that furnishes vital information
about the company, brand, products and services offered, can act as vital source
of information for the consumers. Social media especially the social networking
sites and video sharing sites facilitate the meaningful relationship with the
customers (Solomon, Marshall and Stuart, 2012). Digital TV promotes the
important information in the manner desired by the customers and provides the
additional information if desired by the target customers. Strategically placed
digital outdoors with interactive features like touch-screen and QR codes,
enable the marketer to target the potential customers. No one can underscore the
importance of mobile phones that remain closest to target audience all the time
and inform marketers about the customer‟s tastes and preferences. Marketers
also inform the target customers via SMS, MMS, VAS (Value Added Services),
mobile friendly sites, being the most popular mobile marketing options. New
age digital channels coupled with traditional channels produce exceptional
results for marketers.
1.3.1 Characteristics of Digital Marketing Communication Digital
communication has the characteristics of being informative, interactive,
responsive, compatible, measurable, quick, cost effective, versatile and
customized (Merisavo et al. 2007). Digital marketing facilitates communication
at a faster pace and reaches more number of people than traditional marketing
communication (Smith, * See Glossary given in the end for details. Chapter 1 7
2011). Digital marketing communication banks heavily upon data storage* and
data mining* to function effectively. Data storage and data mining unveils the
most profitable customer segment, product and territory, potential customers,
opportunities for cross and up-selling*, most effective promotional media, most
appropriate pricing policy and most desirable distribution channel for a
marketer. Digital marketing offers huge quantity of information to consumers
which allow consumers instantly accessing the unimaginable information
sources. Digital marketing communication is also interactive (Deighton, 1996).
Interactivity deals with two way communication between marketers and
consumers. Digital communication aims at establishing a dialogue which
enables marketers to effectively respond to the queries of individual customer
by knowing their requirements. Unlike traditional marketing, digital
communication enables individual targeting also whereby individual customer
can be reached via his/her preferred channel of choice with a tailored message.
Measurability of the digital medium allows marketer to track the important
parameters related to consumer behaviour which deals with the keywords used
for searching information, type of digital channel used to obtain information,
time spent on particular website, frequency of visit, sharing of digital content,
amount and time of purchase, details of conversion, demographic details and
others (Ryan and Jones, 2012). The tracking is made possible by use of many
analytical tools available in the market with „Google Analytics‟ being the most
popular. Digital marketing communication is very cost effective in comparison
to traditional marketing. Digital communication can reach more number of
people than the traditional marketing communication at a very reasonable cost.
Digital marketing techniques which include content marketing, MMS, SMS,
search engine optimization, search engine marketing, social media marketing
and channels like websites, online forums, e-mails and others are not very costly
to create and maintain. Moreover, advertising over digital platforms are usually
charged as per pay per click method which is also more cost effective than
traditional commission method. Digital communication also benefits the
marketer many folds apart from being cost effective. It enables the enormous
amount of data collection for the marketer as every individual action like click,
stop, listing or interaction over digital channels can be tracked. Media
effectiveness can also be easily measured over digital channels. Customer
profiling can be easily done over digital channels which leads to long-term
valued relationship with the customer (Ryan, 2014). Digital marketing
communication empowers customers by allowing customers‟ participation.
Customers can connect with others sharing similar interests by accessing the
link or communities created by them, leaving behind the barriers of time and
space. Digital communication offers customers an environment in which they
can initiate the conversation with the brand and pull the content of their choice.
Digital mediated communications enable the marketers to cultivate intimacy
with the customers and foster the strong customer relationship management.
Marketers can identify their customers before they make the purchase, thereby
making them addressable.

1.4 TRADITIONAL MARKETING VS. DIGITAL MARKETING Digital

marketing communication has many unique characteristics which give digital
communication an edge over traditional communication and make it a preferred
choice for many. Consumers in digital environment can have anytime access to
huge information base which was not possible in case of traditional
communication due to its outbound nature. Traditional marketing offers limited
information and low consumer engagement whereas digital marketing offers
immense information to the consumer that a consumer can copy and save for
future also. Traditional marketing offers limited or no interaction with the
consumers except personal selling. Certain other techniques like coupons, direct
mails and catalogue provide limited interactivity, that too after a fixed time
period. On the other hand, digital marketing communication facilitates
individual interaction anytime anywhere. Consumer might initiate the
interaction process and can also participate in various activities initiated by the
marketers. Consumers can also interact with other consumers and seek their
advice, feedback and opinion for the particular product or service. They can be
a part of numerous online communities based on their interest. Traditionally
consumers used to contact family, relatives and friends for advice or banked
upon word-of-mouth product recommendations before making a purchase
decision. Now consumers search online, read online reviews, compare features
and prices on websites, and discuss options via social networking sites.
Traditional marketing mix has also undergone significant change in digital
environments. Product, the core offering of the marketer, has become an
experience now. Consumers talk about various products/ brands of marketers,
fetch the details from various digital sources and share with others through
social media (Charan, 2011). Price has become an exchange which varies
according to time of the day, location and loyalty to name a few. Restrictions of
place have been removed and consumers can search, compare, evaluate and buy
products irrespective of their physical location. Promotion in digital
environment has probably seen the biggest shift in digital world as almost every
marketer irrespective of size, type and territory is making use of digital channels
to communicate with its target customers. Consumers have become co-partners
with marketers in shaping and spreading the marketing message. Consumers
have acknowledged digital as a medium offering timely, quick and relevant
marketing information (Urban, 2004)
Internet

A worldwide system of interconnected computer networks. The origins of

the Internet can be traced to the creation of ARPANET (Advanced Research
Projects Agency Network) as a network of computers under the auspices of the
U.S. Department of Defense in 1969. Today, the Internet connects millions of
computers around the world in a nonhierarchical manner unprecedented in the
history of communications. The Internet is a product of the convergence of
media, computers, and telecommunications. It is not merely a technological
development but the product of social and political processes, involving both
the academic world and the government (the Department of Defense). From its
origin in a no industrial, no corporate environment and in a purely scientific
culture, it has quickly diffused into the world of commerce.

The Internet is a combination of several media technologies and an

electronic version of newspapers, magazines, books, catalogs, bulletin boards,
and much more. This versatility gives the Internet its power.
Online Marketing

Internet marketing is the process of building and maintaining customer

relationships through online activities to facilitate the exchange of ideas,
products, and services that satisfy the goals of both parties 40.

The definition can be divided into five components :

A Process : Like a traditional- marketing program, an Internet marketing

program involves a process. The seven stages of the Internet marketing program
process are setting corporate and business unit strategy, farming the market
opportunity, formulating the marketing strategy, designing the customer
experience, designing the marketing program, crafting the customer interface,
and evaluating the results of the marketing program. These seven stages must
be coordinated and internally consistent. While the process can be described in
a simple linear fashion, the marketing strategist often has to loop back and forth
during the seven stages.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
 Building and Maintaining Customer Relationships : The goal of
marketing is to build and create lasting customer relationships. Hence, the focal
point shifts from finding customers to nurturing a sufficient number of
committed, loyal customers. Successful marketing programs move target
customers through three stages of relationship building: awareness, exploration,
and commitment. It is important to stress the goal of Internet marketing is not
simply building relationship with online customers. Rather, the goal is to build
offline (as relevant) as well as online relationships. The Internet marketing
program may well is part of a broader campaign to satisfy customers who use
both online and offline services.

Online : By definition, Internet marketing deals with levers that are

available in the world of the Internet. However, as noted above, the success of
an Internet marketing program may rest with traditional, Offline marketing
vehicles. Consider, for example, the recruiting and job-seeking

effectiveness of its television advertising and, in particular, its widely

successful super bowl ads of the past two years.

Exchange : At the core of both online and offline marketing programs is

the concept of exchange. In both the online and offline worlds, exchange is still
the heart of marketing. In the new economy, firms must be very sensitive to
cross-channel exchanges. That is, an online marketing program must be
evaluated according to its overall exchange impact-not just the online exchange
impact. Hence, online marketing may produce exchanges in retail stores. Firms
must be increasingly sensitive to these cross channel effect if they are to
measure the independent effects of online and offline marketing programs.

Satisfaction of Goals of Both Parties : One of the authors of this book is

a loyal user of the website weather.com each day he arises and checks the
weather in his city as well as the weather in cities he will be traveling to during
the week. He is clearly satisfied with and loyal to the

site. To the extent that weather.com can monetize this loyalty-most likely, in the
form of advertising revenue-both parties will be satisfied. However, if the firm
is unable to meet its financial obligations to employees, suppliers, or
shareholders, then the exchange is unbalanced. Customers are still happy, but
the firm is unable to sustain its revenue model. Both parties must be satisfied for
exchange to continue.
Various economists & social scientists in India & abroad have conducted
seminars & various micro as well macro level studies on online marketing.
Their main findings have been discussed in the following paragraphs.

Jeffery, Mahajan revealed ‘with the emergence of the internet associated

technology enabled, screen to face interfaces (e.g. mobile phones, interactive
T.V.) a new era of marketing has emerged, well respected academics &
practitioners have called for new rules & urged debate about fundamental tenets
of marketing, including segmentation, mastering and regionalized programs
investigated that “ the revenue earned from online advertisements in India is
less than 1% of the total advertisements. There is a classified market of 1800cr
in India, We I just have to search it” indicated that “Digital advertisement
are interactive, enable meeting of minds, enable immediate feedback (through
reply e-mails, SMSes) & offer an Opportunity for Interaction. He further stated
that we have to extend the benefits of online media to the traditional media. 6 on
the customer through coordinated efforts in the pursuit of the firm Focusing on
the need to integrate online marketing with the The avoidance is less on online
and much lowers on mobile SMS8 observed, "Offline bill payment is a
time-consuming process, and doing it online not only benefits billers but
consumers as well. It offers convenience, control, trust, privacy, and improved
record-keeping; another plus factor is that they can depend on customer service
for recourse." stated , “Online job search is a winner all the way! For job
seekers it eliminates the disadvantages of location, cost and time. For recruiters,
it provides easy access to the best talent at a competitive cost. Given the
obvious advantages, this segment is set to grow at a scorching pace Ra “
Referrals given by online shoppers work because they come from a trusted
source since the messenger, the consumer, is more credible and trusted than the
advertiser or marketer11. Merrier pointed that, the declining coast of
information ga the ring and processing on the Internet, firms will be able to
more accurately, segment customers. While the 1980s and 1990s may have seen
the use of broader segmentation, firms in the new economy will be able to
conduct finer gradations of segments through the use of better data-gathering
tools, so that the needs and types of customers can be better understood. By
using better offline sources - such as the recent census, which provides the most
detailed demographic snapshot of America yet produced-as well as online data
gathered by tracking customer behavior, valuable profiles can be readily created
that customers easier to understand, indentify, and segment,” carper, and
Walker explained that, “Three Common Strategies for choosing target segments
Mass-Market Strategy, Niche-Market Strategy, and Growth-Market Strategy.
And for online marketing, strategy should be Mass-Market Strategy . According
to a report The Mobile Value Added Services (Mobile VAS or MVAS) industry
could be worth nearly a billion dollars (Rs 4560 crores) by the end of 2007,
from its current size of Rs. 2850 cores.

According to another survey, number of Indians seeking jobs online

reached 5.5 million in 2005/06 recording a rise of 71% over last year. This was
revealed by a survey conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI) recently. Thaker pointed out that, " value added service (VAS) is
taking a wider view to content providers and expanding the demographic
segments anadem revealed that India is lagging behind China as the later has
been using VAS for the past 4 years while India is still an infant. The role of
VAS is very critical to the growth of the industry in India.
 Sohoni, focused on the need to encourage online research in India, as he
pointed out that 50 percent of quantitative research in the US is done online.
Lloyd Mathias, felt that the digital medium should not be used as a built up to
the traditional medium. He said, "As the reach of the digital media spreads,
marketers will have to wake up to the reality and invest more on talent that will
think online."
The Internet has dramatically changed the role of technology in
businesses today. A survey conducted by A.T. Kearney of 251 global CEOs
identified technology as the number one CEO concern . The Internet has been
adopted faster than any previous technology. It took 38 years for the radio to
reach 50 million users, 16 years for the PC, 13 years for television, and only 4
years for internet.21 In early 1998, forecasters suggested that business-to-
business e-business might rise to $300B by 2002. Later on most forecasters
considered that estimate to be too low Gartner Group predicted that business-to-
business transactions will reach $7.3 trillion by 2004.23 In the consumer
banking industry, the costs of completing a transaction have gone from
$1.05/transaction just a few years ago to under $0.02/transaction using the
Internet. A.T. Kearney CEO Survey identified customer orientation, flexibility,
and using technology well to be the top three critical success factors for the
future.

A survey by Deloitte Research of 900 executives in 35 countries

concluded that manufacturers would be 60% more profitable if they became
customer-centered. In July 2000, the Federal Trade Commission fined seven
Internet companies a total of $1.5M because they did not have proper business
processes in place to handle orders and notify customers of problems during the
1999 Christmas season.

Cambridge Technology Partners (www.ctp.com) identified how the

business model is morphing AMR research predicts ERP vendors will continue
to grow at a rate of about 30% per year from 2000 through 2005 and so on by
addressing the needs of those companies that have work to do in this area. A
total of 26% of respondents in the A.T. Kearney survey of 251 global CEOs
from 26 countries across 10 industry segments identified organizational
structure and existing business processes as the top challenges to implementing
e-business . Forrester Research Inc. estimates a basic site costs $1.5M and the
most sophisticated of sites more than $15M. Forrester also states that a business
can count on spending another $700K/year to maintain a basic site and up to
$4M/year to run a high-end site. The majority of the costs are labor, including
programmers, graphic designers, content creators, and business analysts.

A study by Jupiter Communications LLC (www.jup.com) found that 42%

of top sites surveyed failed to provide adequate customer services by taking
longer than 5 days to reply to e-mail inquiries, not replying at all, or not being
accessible by e-mail32. The Gartner Group predicts that, by the end of 2001,
over 70% of companies will have failed to plan a coherent approach to e-
business, leading to a significant loss of competitiveness. Giga Information
Group estimates that e-commerce projects saved U.S. businesses more than
$15B in 1998 and could save as much as $600B by
2002. After 20 years of talking, this so called convergence of computing and
communications is happening. Professor Likelier be true: “People tend to
overestimate what can be done in one year and underestimate what can be done
in five or ten years

Dr. Ray, was hopeful that the new policy will bring in some norms and
standards to the relationship between online publishers and agencies which is
currently bilateral and haphazard37. Mr. Krishnan was of the view that the
demand for internet still continued to be primarily from the urban areas.
Therefore, while the government was justifiably drawing up plans to reach
internet to the rural areas, it was also necessary that the urban digital divide
should also be bridged with appropriate policy measures . According to a
survey, superior performances in internet and mobile content and services
 industry are rewarded by out of turn salary hikes, faster growth opportunities;
performance bonuses and recognition About 17% of the organizations surveyed
have a profit sharing plan in place for the Senior and Top management.

Research Gap

There is engulfing potential for further research in this area. This section
suggests these potential avenues for future research, which may be pursued by
researchers of their interests.

 Since the study is based on general condition of tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the
researchers can confine the study to a specific geographical location and find
out the exact problems in that area.

 Researcher may concentrate on marketing mix to have in depth knowledge of

the state.

 Researcher may examine how marketing strategies affect consumer perception

for passenger car.
 CHAPTER 3

COMPANY PROFILE

Maruti Suzuki is one of India's leading automobile manufacturers and the market leader in
the car segment, both in terms of volume of vehicles sold and revenue earned. Until recently,
18.28% of the company was owned by the Indian government, and 54.2% by Suzuki of
Japan. The Indian government held an initial public offering of 25% of the company in June
2003. As of May 10, 2007, Govt. of India sold its complete share to Indian financial
institutions. With this, Govt. of India no longer has stake in Maruti Udyog.

Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) was established in February 1981, though the actual
production commenced in 1983 with the Maruti 800,based on the Suzuki Alto key car which
at the time was the only modern car available in India, its' only competitors-the Hindustan
Ambassador and Premier Padmini were both around 25 years out of date at that point.
Through 2004, Maruti has produced over 5 Million vehicles. Marutis are sold in India and
various several other countries, depending upon export orders. Cars similar to Marutis (but
not manufactured by Maruti Udyog) are sold by Suzuki and manufactured in Pakistan and
other South Asian countries. Its manufacturing facilities are located at two facilities Gurgaon
and Manesar south of

New Delhi. Maruti’s Gurgaon facility has an installed capacity of 350,000 units per annum.
The Manesar facilities, launched in February 2007 comprise a vehicle assembly plant with a
capacity of 100,000 units per year and a Diesel Engine plant with an annual capacity of
100,000 engines and transmissions. Manesar and Gurgaon facilities have a combined
capability to produce over 700,000 units annually. During 2012-13, Maruti Suzuki sold
764,842 cars, of which 53,024 were exported. Maruti Suzuki offers 13 models, Maruti 800,
Omni, Alto, Versa, Ritz,

Gypsy, A Star, Wagon R, Zen Estilo, Swift, Swift Dzire, SX4, and Grand Vitara. Swift,
Swift dzire, A star and SX4 are manufactured in Manesar, Grand Vitara is imported from
Japan as a completely built unit (CBU), remaining all models are manufactured in Maruti
Suzuki's Gurgaon Plant.
Established in December 1983, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. has ushered a revolution in the
Indian car industry. This car is meant for an average Indian individual which is affordable as
well as has elegant appeal. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. is the result of collaboration of Maruti
with Suzuki of Japan. At this time, the Indian car market had stagnated at a volume of 30,000
to 40,000 cars for the decade ending 1983.

This was from where Maruti took over. The company has crossed the milestone of becoming
the first Indian company in March 1994, by manufacturing in totality one million vehicles. It
is known for its mass-production and selling of more than a million cars. Maruti Suzuki India
Ltd. is the India's largest automobile company which entered in the market with affirmed aim
to render high quality fuel – efficient and low - cost vehicles. More than half the number of
cars sold in India wear a Maruti Suzuki badge. We are a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor
Corporation Japan. We offer full range of cars- from entry level Maruti 800 & Alto to stylish
hatchback Ritz, A star, Swift, Wagon R, Estillo and sedans DZire, SX4 and Sports Utility
vehicle Grand Vitara. Since inception, we have produced and sold over 7.5 million vehicles
in India and exported over 500,000 units to Europe and other countries. Our turnover for the
fiscal 2008-09 stood at Rs. 203,583 Million & Profit After Tax at Rs. 12,187 Million.
Sales figure in the year 1993 has reached up to 1,96,820. Maruti comes in a variety of models
in the 800 segment. Its cars operate on Japanese technology, pliable to Indian conditions and
Indian car users. By the year 1998-99, the company has modernize the existing facilities and
expand its capacity by 1,00,000 units.
Recently to ward off the growing competition, Maruti has completed Rs. 4 billion expansion
project at the current site, which has raised the total production capacity to over 3,20,000
vehicles per annum. With the coming of each and every year, the total production of the
company exceed by 4,00,000 vehicles.
MISSION

An Organization’s mission is the purpose or reason for the organization’s existence,

means, what the company is providing to society.

“Maruti seeks to create a more prosperous society through automotive

manufacturing”

Mission critical attitude and fiscal prudence has been a way of life within Maruti, good or bad
times notwithstanding. And what has fuelled this over the last 18 months is the Japanese major's
3-G philosophy pushed by Nakanishi, which he refers to as 'going back to basics'. "Arm chair
management doesn't help," says Nakanishi. Genba (go to actual spot), Genjitsu (see what's
happening) and Gembutsu (identify actual problem) have laid down the framework for Maruti in
its 3-year rolling plan till 2010-

11. Maruti’s fundamental mission is to contribute to people’s lifestyles, society, and the
economy through automotive manufacturing. In upholding this mission, we have always focused
on the future of the automobile industry when deciding how best to position our company.

VISION

While the global economy is deep in the recession roil and its tremors being felt in India, the
country's largest automaker seems unfazed, What is helping Maruti today, is the company's
ability to constantly innovate even beyond product ,so the company’s vision is “We have to
ensure that any disruption in the environment doesn't jeopardize your market position. If we say
this vision in one line then it is

2.4 FACILITIES

Maruti Suzuki has two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in India. The first facility is at
Gurgaon spread over 300 acres and the other facility is at Manesar, spread over 600 acres in
North India.

The Gurgaon facility

Maruti Suzuki's facility in Gurgaon houses three fully integrated plants. While the three plants
have a total installed capacity of 350,000 cars per year, several productivity improvements or
shop floor Kaizens over the years have enabled the company to manufacture nearly 700,000 cars/
annum at the Gurgaon facilities. The entire facility is equipped with more than 150 robots, out of
which 71 have been developed in-house. More than 50 per cent of our shop floor employees
have been trained in Japan. Our Gurgaon facility also houses `K' Engine plant. The `K' family
engine plant has an installed annual capacity of 240,000 engines and was commissioned in 2008.
Spread over an area of 20,300 m2, the `K' family engine facility is part of the Rs 9,000 crore
investment plan drawn by Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki Motor Corporation. The next generation
`K'engine like all Maruti Suzuki earlier technologies is highly fuel efficient, while offering the
best in refinement and performance. It will take the engine technology to the next level in India.
A-Star is the first car to be powered by `K' family engine. The forthcoming models will be
powered by other `K' family engines The in-line plant layout consisting of Casting, Machining
and Assembly processes has high level of automation, effective material handling and inventory
reduction techniques in place, aimed for high operational efficiency. The facility employs global
manufacturing best practices like cold testing, 100% on line automated checks to ensure global
quality.
 CHAPTER – 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
. Develop Brand Awareness
. Increase Size of Social Communities and Accurately Target Audiences
. Strengthen Engagement Strategies to Increase Customer Loyalty
. Monitor Customer Feedback
. Convert Social Followers into Qualified Leads and New Business
-

Methods of Data Collecting

The research includes both primary and secondary data.

 The primary data is collected from questionnaire.

 The secondary data is collected from magazines, newspapers and articles.

Research Design

This study is descriptive in nature

Sampling Technique

The technique used for collecting primary data is questionnaire. A simple

questionnaire is made and filled by customers.

Sampling Tools
"Frequencies and cross classification have been determined for the reactions of the
respondents."

No. of Samples

The no. of sample taken in research was 70.

Area of Sampling

The area of sampling of this research was Dehradun

Coverage of the Study

The universe of the present study is the companies engaged in online
marketing like Tele shoppers Planet Earth, Homeshop18 (TV 18) etc.; matrimonial
moderators like shaddi.com, bharatmatrimony etc.; employment providers like
naukri.com, monster.com etc. have been taken into consideration. It has been
further be assessed that the online marketing is in the age of childhood in India
how it can be promoted in a significant manner among the buyer who are most
busy in their affairs & have no time to purchase their essentials.

Data Collection

In this present study both primary & secondary data have been used in order
to achieve various objectives of the study. Primary data have been collected
through personal enquiries from the companies who are engaged in online
marketing and search of Internet to examine the online marketing giants in the
world. The secondary data have been collected from various surveys & studies
conducted by internet and mobile association of India (IAMAI) who is the
premiere institution to have a close look on the whole online marketing in India.
Various newspapers like Economic Times, Times of India & the publications of
ministry of Information Technology

& ministry of commerce and various business magazines & journals

like Business world, Business Today, Business Standards etc. have been consulted.
On the other hand various libraries have also been visited to collect relevant data in
this regard.
 CHAPTER – 4

RESEARCH ANALYSIS

1. From where do you get information with the help of digital marketing?

YouTube 30

Twitter 20

Google ads 20

Instagram 30

Chart Title
YouTube Twitter Google ads Instagram

30% 30%

20% 20%

INTERPRETATION :- 30% of the respondent says that You tube 20 says that
Twitter 2-% says that Google Ads and 30 % says that Instagram.
2. Which form of advertisement do you like more for purchasing of cars?

You tube 20
Digital marketing 30
Twitter 50

Chart Title
You tube Digital marketing Twitter

20%

50%

30%

Interpretation :- 2-% of the respondent says that you tube 30% says that from
Digital Marketing and 50% of advertisement are like more for purchasing cars.
3. For you advertisement is a good source of purchasing of cars?

GOOGLE 50
DIGITAL MARKETING 50

Chart Title

Digital
marketing Google
50% 50%

Interpretation :- 50% of respondent says that advertisement is good source of

purchasing car and 50% are of digital marketing.
4. For you online advertisement made you thinking of purchasing of cars?

YES 60
NO 40

Chart Title
Yes No

40%

60%

Interpretation :- 60% or respondent says that online advertisement thinking of

purchasing car and 40% are of not interested.
5. Does information provided in advertisement affects your opinion about the cars?
Yes 58
No 42

Chart Title
YES NO

42%

58%

Interpretation :- 58% of the respondent says that advertisement affect your opinion
about the car. And 42% of the respondent says that advertisement affects your
opinion about the car.
 LIMITATION

There were few limitations of this survey which are as follows:-

1. Limited number of sample size, near seventy.

2. The survey questionnaire was made available only for four days, so, there were
time constraints for study.
3. The research only conducted in Dehradun city so it shows only data of Dehradun
city only.
4. The third limitation is that assumptions were made that respondent disclosed the
correct information
5. The car buyer include both actual and potential.
6. Intention is to use digital communication were studied; actual purchase behaviour
was not studied.
 CHAPTER – 5
CONCLUSION

With the rapid development of information technology along with

product and process innovations, there is a shift in traditional retail industry to
move towards online retail industry. Online shopping has become one of the
most sensible ways to procure the desired goods and services. The existing
retail shops need to adopt the changes in trends of customer needs, desire,
attitude and behavior. The traditional views about shopping have changed and
the retailers can no longer sustain successfully unless they don’t enact their
business through online medium. Though the online shopping medium cannot
completely replace the traditional method, it adds a new perspective to
shopping and is never negligible. However, online shopping will go beyond the
mere transaction and become a pillar of daily virtual activities. It is in fact easy
for the traditional brick and mortar retailers to go online. The cost of logistics
and supply chain management is one of the major challenging aspects of online
retailing. This makes it easy for the traditional retailers to go online, since they
already have warehouses, inventory and transportation systems in place. Also,
the traditional retailers have a strong reputation for their brand, which again
makes it effortless to establish their business online.

This study attempted to analyze the attitude of online cosmetic buyers in

Tirunelveli district and the underlying factors that influence online shopping
attitude of the customers to buy cosmetics. The factors that have major
influence online shopping attitude are Web and Internet self efficacy,
Subjective norms and Enjoyment. Therefore, measures to increase these factors
shall be implemented. Further, measures to increase Perceived usefulness,
Perceived ease of use and Trust may also be enhanced and Perceived risk of
the customers may be reduced. Online shopping services can be extended to
rural parts of the country also since there are evidences for the availability of
potential customers in rural locale also. This study also gives an idea about the
demographic nature of potential online cosmetic buyers.
 SUGGESTIONS

The following suggestions are put forward by the researcher on the basis
of findings of the study and though direct observation.

1. The study reveals that majority of the customers of Tirunelveli district have
only an average level of performance towards the online shopping of cosmetic
products. So, efforts may be taken in order to increase the level of
performance. This could be due to inadequate knowledge to use computer,
internet or electronic gadgets, poor network, lack of Infrastructure, lack of
awareness, time consumption, risk involved in online shopping. The e-retailers
shall come across these problems with different types of solutions and
marketing strategies such as, customer education, assistance and assurance.
The customers can be imparted education to get awareness about the different
services provided by the e-retailers, their benefits and the ways to deal with the
problems occurring during an online purchase.

a. Customer education: E-retailers shall organize education campaigns through

communication media such as posters, publications, radio, television, lectures,
seminars, trainings and so on regarding uses of online services and its benefits.

b. Customer assurance: the e-retailers shall provide assurance regarding the

security and privacy of the financial and personal information provided by the
customers at the time of online purchase. The online shopping websites shall
provide a secured payment system in order to protect the customer from
fraudulence.
2. There is significant difference among the demographic groups- gender,
marital status, age, education qualification, occupation, level of income,
area of ethnicity and internet usage pattern towards the online shopping
attitude of cosmetic products. Some of the demographic groups are more
liable to indicate the progressiveness of online purchasing chronicles..
8. Effective marketing - Advertisements through television as well as social
media websites such as facebook, twitter, blogs, forums, will help in
influencing the online shopping attitude of the customers from external
environment. Third party recommendations also help in popularizing the
website through word of mouth.

9. Apparent web site design - The design of the website may be in such a way
that it may attract the customers to visit the website. The website may be user
friendly, as well as colorful, trendy, eye-catching with adequate information
content. The design of the website may have sufficient number of product sub
categories so that the customers can find their products easily at a glance. The
website may provide a richer, lively, more relevant online shopping experience
to the customers visiting it.

10. Follow up - Follow-up of customers is a critical aspect to be focused

by the online retailers. Customer database may be maintained appropriately.
The customers who carry out Cart abandonment also shall be noticed and
follow up can be done with them. Unique reminder mails focusing on the
products searched by the customers online shall be sent to them so as to make
them aware of the products and their specifications related to their need and
desire. These types of customers may be contacted through telephonic calls so
as to understand the reason for cart abandonment and rectification can be done.
This helps the e-tailers to avoid the loss of valid and potential customers.

11. Ensuring quick delivery of products - Better logistics system and

supply chain management can be sustained by the online retailers so as to
deliver the product at the right time to the right place.
 Collecting feedback - Facilities can be made available for the customers to post
their feedback and complaints in the web portal directly. This helps to understand
Marketing strategies targeting teenagers and youngsters through social media can
help in motivating them towards online shopping of cosmetics. Privacy is one of
the major benefits given by the online stores while purchasing cosmetics. The
future is moving towards an e-lifestyle age that will enable people to be more
social, recreational, and fulfilled with the help of retail power of the Internet. The
competition prevailing among the uncountable online retailers is a big challenge in
future. E-tail websites are shifting towards mobile applications to get rid of the
problems such as multi-screen customer, tracking the customer information,
advertisements through cookies. The loyalty of the customer and privacy is
maintained as well as a good relationship is developed between the customer and
the online retailers through these mobile applications. Further, the increased power
and portability of computers will smooth the progress of easy, untroubled and daily
use of online shopping options. Besides these developments, government may take
necessary measures to make online marketing possible without any fraudulence.

Overall, it can be concluded that the average level of performance

prevailing among the customers in Tirunelveli district with respect to online
shopping of cosmetic products can be increased potentially

• By increasing awareness ( self efficacy)

• by increasing external influences (subjective norms) and

• by increasing motivational factors (enjoyment).

IMPLICATIONS

This section is divided into two sub-sections. First is the theoretical

implication, which discusses the robustness of the proposed model and depth
of the proposed constructs from empirical and theoretical point of view.
Second is the section focuses on the practical managerial implications of the
research.

5.5.1 Theoretical Implications

First, the model of online shopping attitude presented in this study is

supported by the previous empirical results. The model of online shopping
attitude tested in this study is quite comprehensive. The traditional variables-
Perceived usefulness and Perceived ease of use as well as the newer variables –
Web specific self efficacy, internet self efficacy, personal innovativeness,
Perceived risk, Trust, Subjective norms, Website features and Enjoyment have
been examined. All the factors are significantly related to online shopping
attitude of the customers towards the purchase of cosmetic products. Thus, it
can be articulated that the model is relevant for online shopping of cosmetic
products in Tirunelveli district. The causal direction of the relationship
between the variables could be better generalized through longitudinal
research. Second, the findings clearly give an idea about the relationship
between the online shopping attitude, behavioral intention and actual purchase
of cosmetics through online medium. The last and most important outcome of
the study is the scientific testing of the reliability and validity of an instrument
to identify the predictors of online shopping attitude of cosmetic products.
5.5.2 Practical Implications

An important contribution of the study is that it examines online shopping

attitude of the customers towards cosmetic products in Tirunelveli district. As
already outlined, there is a lack of research in the Indian context exclusively
discovering the applicability of the internet for shopping. In such a
circumstance, systematic research aimed at identifying and
understanding potential and actual internet shoppers is of utmost importance
for the success of online shopping and for providing strategic guidelines to e-
retailers. The most important finding as revealed through the study is the ten
different factors responsible for positive attitude of the customers towards
online shopping and is very important for targeting online shoppers. India
being a collectivistic country and Tirunelveli being a traditional and sensitive
area, perceptions and social interaction have a big impact in most of the
shopping decisions. The key motivators may be enhanced and de motivators
may be eliminated so as to improve the positive perceptions of the customers.
The study also evaluated applicability of Technology Acceptance Model
(TAM) in Indian context, in which additional new variables are added and
proved to have impact over online shopping attitude. The marketers may focus
on improving these factors so that they can succeed in their online business.
The marketers may concentrate in reducing the factors that have negative
impact on online shopping attitude of the customers. Perceived risk, security
and privacy concerns are to be taken care by the e-retailers since they are
important in converting Behavioral Intentions to actual purchase through
online shopping medium. In the absence of this, the marketing efforts taken to
induce behavioral intention will not result in the actual purchase of cosmetic
products through online medium, which in turn will impact the potential
adoption of e-tailing.
5.7 AVENUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

The future research can focus on various other factors involved in

determining the online shopping attitude of customers such as situational
factors. There may be other factors that are responsible for cart abandonment
such as perceived behavioral control, lack of trust or any other hidden factor.
Research can focus on these areas as well as can focus on other product
categories other than cosmetics. With respect to geographical area, the future
research can focus on other parts of the country. Comparison studies can be
carried out regarding the online shopping attitude of urban and rural customers.
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