A few days back, I read some interesting facts about Bangalore... though not sure how much of it is correct... but it is an interesting read neverthless :)
DID YOU KNOW....................
• Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
• Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
• Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
• Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city. Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
• Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
• Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
• Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
• Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i.e.Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians,15% Telugites, 11% Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
• Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
• Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
• Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
• Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
• Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
cheers!!
Jumat, 10 Februari 2006
Some interesting facts about Bangalore
A few days back, I read some interesting facts about Bangalore... though not sure how much of it is correct... but it is an interesting read neverthless :)
DID YOU KNOW....................
• Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
• Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
• Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
• Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city. Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
• Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
• Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
• Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
• Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i.e.Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians,15% Telugites, 11% Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
• Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
• Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
• Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
• Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
• Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
cheers!!
DID YOU KNOW....................
• Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
• Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
• Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
• Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city. Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
• Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
• Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
• Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
• Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i.e.Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians,15% Telugites, 11% Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
• Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
• Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
• Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
• Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
• Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
cheers!!
Some interesting facts about Bangalore
A few days back, I read some interesting facts about Bangalore... though not sure how much of it is correct... but it is an interesting read neverthless :)
DID YOU KNOW....................
• Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
• Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
• Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
• Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city. Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
• Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
• Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
• Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
• Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i.e.Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians,15% Telugites, 11% Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
• Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
• Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
• Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
• Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
• Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
cheers!!
DID YOU KNOW....................
• Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
• Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
• Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
• Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city. Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
• Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
• Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
• Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
• Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i.e.Kannadigas). Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians,15% Telugites, 11% Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
• Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
• Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
• Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
• Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
• Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
• Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
• Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
cheers!!
Kamis, 20 Oktober 2005
10 Reasons Marketing Strategy should include the Internet
It may seem surprising but many companies, big and small, have yet to develop a rational Internet marketing strategy. Considering the Internet has now been used effectively by marketers since 1994, any organization without a strategy to utilize the Internet for marketing is probably making a big mistake. For any organization that still does not have a meaningful Internet marketing effort we offer 10 Reasons why you should.
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
The above article appreared in www.knowthis.com
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
The above article appreared in www.knowthis.com
10 Reasons Marketing Strategy should include the Internet
It may seem surprising but many companies, big and small, have yet to develop a rational Internet marketing strategy. Considering the Internet has now been used effectively by marketers since 1994, any organization without a strategy to utilize the Internet for marketing is probably making a big mistake. For any organization that still does not have a meaningful Internet marketing effort we offer 10 Reasons why you should.
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
The above article appreared in www.knowthis.com
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
The above article appreared in www.knowthis.com
10 Reasons Marketing Strategy should include the Internet
It may seem surprising but many companies, big and small, have yet to develop a rational Internet marketing strategy. Considering the Internet has now been used effectively by marketers since 1994, any organization without a strategy to utilize the Internet for marketing is probably making a big mistake. For any organization that still does not have a meaningful Internet marketing effort we offer 10 Reasons why you should.
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
The above article appreared in www.knowthis.com
1. The Go-To Place for Information
Possibly the most important reason why companies need to have an active Internet marketing strategy is because of the transformation that has occurred in how customers seek information. While customers still visit stores, talk to sales representatives, look through magazines, and talk to friends to gather product information, an ever-increasing number of customers turn to the Internet as their primary knowledge source. In particular, they use search engines as their principle portal of knowledge as search sites have become the leading destination sites for most Internet users. Marketers must recognize that the Internet is where customers are heading and, if the marketer wants to stay visible and viable, they must follow.
2. What Customers Expect
The Internet is not only becoming the resource of choice for finding information, in the next few years it is also likely to be the expected location where customers can learn about products and make purchases. This is especially the case for customers below the age of 25. In many countries, nearly all children and young adults have been raised knowing how to use the Internet. Once members of this group dominate home and business purchases they will clearly expect companies to have a strong Internet presence.
3. Captures a Wide Range of Customer Information
As a data collection tool the Internet is unmatched when it comes to providing information on customer activity. Each time a visitor accesses a website they leave an information trail that includes how they got to the site, how they navigated through the site, what they clicked on, what was purchased, and loads of other information. When matched to a method for customer identification, such as login information, the marketer has the ability to track a customer’s activity over repeated visits to the site. Knowing a customer’s behavior and preferences opens up tremendous opportunities to cater to customer’s needs and, if done correctly, the customer will respond with a long-lasting loyalty.
4. Extreme Target Marketing
The most efficient way for marketers to spend money is to direct spending to those who are most likely to be interested in what the marketer is offering. Unfortunately, efforts to target only customers who have the highest probably of buying has not been easy. For instance, consider how much money is wasted on television advertisements to people who probably will not buy. Yet the Internet’s unrivaled ability to identify and track customers has greatly improved marketer’s ability to target customers who exhibit the highest potential for purchasing products.
5. Stimulate Impulse Purchases
Whether customers like it or not, the Internet is proving to be the ultimate venue for inducing impulse purchases. Much of this can be attributed to marketers taking advantage of improvements in technologies that: 1) allow a website to offer product suggestions based on customer’s online buying behavior, and 2) streamline the online purchasing process. But online impulse purchasing also takes advantage of the “purchase now, pay later” attitude common in an overspending credit card society. How this plays out over time as many customers become overwhelmed with debt will need to be watched and could impact online marketer’s activities.
6. Customized Product and Service Offerings
Companies know they can develop loyal customers when product and service offerings are designed to satisfy individual needs. This has led many online marketers to implement a mass customization strategy offering customers online options for configuring products or services. The interactive nature of the Internet makes “build-your-own” a relatively easy to implement purchasing option. An empowered customer base that feels a company will deliver exactly what they want is primed to remain loyal for long period of time.
7. Takes Prospects Right to the Sale
No other form of communication comes close to turning exposure to promotion into immediate customer action as the Internet, which allows customers to make purchases immediately after experiencing a promotion. Prior to the Internet, the most productive call-to-action was through television informercials that encourage viewers to call toll-free phone numbers. However, moving customers from a non-active state (i.e., watching television) to an active state (i.e., picking up the phone to call the number) is not nearly as effective as getting people to click on an Internet ad while they are actively using the Internet.
8. Conveys Perception of Being a Full-Service Provider
For distributors and retailers the Internet makes it easy to be a comprehensive supplier. Unlike brick-and-mortar suppliers who are often judged by the inventory that is actually on hand or services provided at a store, e-commerce sites can give the illusion of having depth and breadth of inventory and service offerings. This can be accomplished by placing product and service information on the company’s website but behind the scenes having certain orders fulfilled by outside suppliers via shipping and service agreements. With such arrangements customers may feel they are dealing with providers that offer full-service when in reality a certain percentage of the products and service are obtained from other sources.
9. Lower Overhead, Lower Costs, Better Service
Internet technologies are replacing more expensive methods for delivering products and services, and for handling customer information needs. Cost savings can certainly be seen with products and services deliverable in digital form (e.g., music, publications, graphic design, etc.) where production and shipping expenses are essentially removed from the cost equation. Cost savings may also be seen in other marketing areas including customer service where the volume of customer phone calls may be reduced as companies provide online access to product information through such services as Knowledge Bases and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Field salespeople may also see benefits by encouraging prospects to obtain product information online prior to a face-to-face meeting. This may help reduce the time devoted to explaining basic company and product information and leave more time for understanding and offering solutions to customer’s problems. As these examples suggest, the Internet may lower administrative and operational costs while offering greater value to customers.
10. Create Worldwide Presence
The Internet is a communication and distribution channel that offers global accessibility to a company’s product and service offerings. Through a website a local marketer can quickly become a global marketer and, by doing so, expand their potential target market to many times it current size. Unlike the days before e-commerce when marketing internationally was a time-consuming and expensive undertaking, the uploading of files to establish a website is all that is needed to create a worldwide presence. While establishing a website does not guarantee international sales (there is a lot more marketing work needed for the site to be viable internationally), the Internet provides a gigantic leap into global business compared to pre-Internet days.
The above article appreared in www.knowthis.com
Jumat, 16 September 2005
Internet eating up TV viewership
The Internet portal Yahoo! recently hired one of the world's best known war correspondents, Kevin Sites, to report solo from every 'hot zone' in the world over the coming years. The American cameraman became famous for filming the shooting by a US soldier of an apparently unarmed civilian in a Falluja mosque. This move by Yahoo! is seen as an attempt to widen its horizons and challenge traditional media companies.
In a speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on April 13, 2005, Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive, News Corporation, said, "Scarcely a day goes by without some claim that new technologies are fast writing newsprint's obituary. Yet, as an industry, many of us have been remarkably, unaccountably complacent. Certainly, I didn't do as much as I should have after all the excitement of the late 1990s. I suspect many of you in this room did the same, quietly hoping that this thing called the digital revolution would just limp along."
Last week, Murdoch had gathered his top editors for two days of discussions on what he has described as the company's highest priority: how to grapple with the threat and opportunity of the internet to the media empire he has spent a lifetime building. On the agenda was how to turn News Corp's web properties into a hub for entertainment-related content. The strategy can be viewed as an attempt to create a one-stop shop for all those looking for computer games, movies, music or chat online.
News Corp owns a clutch of media assets - including The Times, Sun, New York Post, Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Broadcasting - that are the envy of his peers. Now, Murdoch wants replicate his success in cyberspace.
In July, the company formed an internet unit, Fox Interactive Media, run by a former Foxsports.com executive, Ross Levinsohn, to oversee its website interests. Days later, the firm agreed to pay $580 mn for Intermix Media, a company with more than 30 websites led by MySpace.com, the fifth most popular site on the internet. Then, last week, News Corp reached a $650 mn deal to buy IGN Entertainment, which runs sites such as GameSpy.com for video game fans. It also bought Scout.com, which owns about 200 niche sports websites. Murdoch has said publicly that the company is in talks to acquire a search engine, thought to be Blinkx.
Murdoch has often been regarded as a giant in the world of media. He is one among those who could foresee the future media. So, does his enthusiasm for cyber media indicate that the future of media belongs to the internet?
Statistics on advertising moolah strongly supports Murdoch's obsession with the internet. Advertising revenue is rapidly migrating online. Jupiter Research recently forecast that the online advertising market would reach $18.9 bn by 2010, compared with $9.3 bn at the end of 2004, at the expense of traditional media.
Television's share of global advertising spending is expected to slip by 2007 as more money is diverted to internet. Television's share is expected to peak in 2006 at 37.9 per cent of global ad spending, before slipping to 37.8 per cent by 2007, according to ZenithOptimedia. Newspapers are expected to end 2005 with a 29.8 per cent global ad spend share, and see their market share fall to 29.3 per cent in 2007. Internet's share of ad spending is projected to be about 3.8 per cent in 2005 and rise to 4.4 per cent by 2007. Net ad spending on the internet grew 21 per cent in 2004.
It is estimated that in 2005, there are 26 mn internet users in India, largely in the age group of 20-40. India's advertising industry generates about $2.2 bn annually, according to industry sources. Currently, online advertising comprises less than 1 per cent of the pie.
The total spending for 2004-2005 was about $18 mn, but the Indian Online Association (IOA), predicts this will touch $34 mn in the next financial year and will cross $57 mn in 2006-2007. Print and television still hog a major share of Indian advertising at $700 mn- $920 mn annually.
The many advantages of the medium include the fact that it is a two-way communication. Unlike print and TV, the consumer can decide when and how he wants to be exposed to a campaign, and the advertiser too can zero in on targets more specifically. Internet combines the audio-visual effect of the TV and the detailing capabilities of the print medium and makes the entire customer interface interactive.
Internet is far more cost effective compared to traditional media. "The Net reaches out to the affluent and Net savvy. This is a dream audience which brand managers spend mega bucks to address. Internet delivers them with very little wastage. Internet allows the message to be targeted by various parameters like timeband targeting, daypart targeting, geographic targeting and even interest-based targeting or contextual targeting. Targeting reduces the wastage and the overall effectiveness of the advertising spend," says an industry expert.
Leading portals in India are relishing this attention. Rediff saw an increase of over 70 per cent in online revenue on its India operations in 2004. Yahoo! India saw a 100 per cent growth in advertising in 2004. Indiatimes.com, the online operations of one of India's leading media groups, estimated total advertising on its site to be around $3.5 mn-$4.6 mn in 2004.
On the other hand, younger viewers are drifting away from TV, spending more time online. They're using the Web to socialise and communicate, downloading songs, listening to radio and podcasts, and playing online games. It won't be long before they turn to the Web for longer-form video and TV, thanks to the rise of broadband. In the US, among 25-34-year-olds, almost a third of viewing now takes place away from the TV set, according to a survey by branded content specialist Contentworx. Instead they are using PCs, mobile phones and handheld computers, the survey found, with results that will make interesting reading for broadcasters and advertisers.
The same trend has been catching up fast in Indian. The restless Gen Y prefers internet to TV. “TV viewing in India is still a family affair. You have to fight for the remote with your family members. Besides, my favourite programmes are broadcast at fixed timing. Surfing the net is more personalised. I can view whatever I want at my own convenient time,” says Rajeev Malhotra, student of Delhi University.
Traditional media, however, is still not ready to accept the challenge thrown by internet. In fact, barring a few many of them hardly take it as a challenge.
“I do not think internet can match the popularity of television or print media. Go to the interiors of India and you will hardly find anyone surfing,” says Sameep Rajguru of Aaj Tak.
Rezaul Lashkar of Indo-Asian News Service does not see the Net as a threat to traditional media. “Every form of media has its own advantages and disadvantages. They all can co-exist or rather they complement each other,” he says.
Despite these sceptical views emanating from traditional media workers, the success of www.indiatimes.com, which is one of its kind website in the world, forces everyone to cast aside apprehensions about the future of internet as a new age media. In fact, Indiatimes is the most diversified internet company in the world, a model, which even Murdoch is trying to follow.
“When it comes to getting the latest news, I prefer logging on to a website than to switch on my TV. I can at least log on to the news that interests me instead of being forced to watch Karishma's spat with husband as breaking news,” says Manoj Das, AGM, Nedfi.
“The most visible advantage of internet is its accessibility. Whenever I go abroad, the only media, which keeps me abreast of Indian political scenario is the internet,” says Sandeep Phukan of NDTV.
Copyright © 2005, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Source: The Economic Times (www.economictimes.com)
In a speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors on April 13, 2005, Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive, News Corporation, said, "Scarcely a day goes by without some claim that new technologies are fast writing newsprint's obituary. Yet, as an industry, many of us have been remarkably, unaccountably complacent. Certainly, I didn't do as much as I should have after all the excitement of the late 1990s. I suspect many of you in this room did the same, quietly hoping that this thing called the digital revolution would just limp along."
Last week, Murdoch had gathered his top editors for two days of discussions on what he has described as the company's highest priority: how to grapple with the threat and opportunity of the internet to the media empire he has spent a lifetime building. On the agenda was how to turn News Corp's web properties into a hub for entertainment-related content. The strategy can be viewed as an attempt to create a one-stop shop for all those looking for computer games, movies, music or chat online.
News Corp owns a clutch of media assets - including The Times, Sun, New York Post, Twentieth Century Fox and Fox Broadcasting - that are the envy of his peers. Now, Murdoch wants replicate his success in cyberspace.
In July, the company formed an internet unit, Fox Interactive Media, run by a former Foxsports.com executive, Ross Levinsohn, to oversee its website interests. Days later, the firm agreed to pay $580 mn for Intermix Media, a company with more than 30 websites led by MySpace.com, the fifth most popular site on the internet. Then, last week, News Corp reached a $650 mn deal to buy IGN Entertainment, which runs sites such as GameSpy.com for video game fans. It also bought Scout.com, which owns about 200 niche sports websites. Murdoch has said publicly that the company is in talks to acquire a search engine, thought to be Blinkx.
Murdoch has often been regarded as a giant in the world of media. He is one among those who could foresee the future media. So, does his enthusiasm for cyber media indicate that the future of media belongs to the internet?
Statistics on advertising moolah strongly supports Murdoch's obsession with the internet. Advertising revenue is rapidly migrating online. Jupiter Research recently forecast that the online advertising market would reach $18.9 bn by 2010, compared with $9.3 bn at the end of 2004, at the expense of traditional media.
Television's share of global advertising spending is expected to slip by 2007 as more money is diverted to internet. Television's share is expected to peak in 2006 at 37.9 per cent of global ad spending, before slipping to 37.8 per cent by 2007, according to ZenithOptimedia. Newspapers are expected to end 2005 with a 29.8 per cent global ad spend share, and see their market share fall to 29.3 per cent in 2007. Internet's share of ad spending is projected to be about 3.8 per cent in 2005 and rise to 4.4 per cent by 2007. Net ad spending on the internet grew 21 per cent in 2004.
It is estimated that in 2005, there are 26 mn internet users in India, largely in the age group of 20-40. India's advertising industry generates about $2.2 bn annually, according to industry sources. Currently, online advertising comprises less than 1 per cent of the pie.
The total spending for 2004-2005 was about $18 mn, but the Indian Online Association (IOA), predicts this will touch $34 mn in the next financial year and will cross $57 mn in 2006-2007. Print and television still hog a major share of Indian advertising at $700 mn- $920 mn annually.
The many advantages of the medium include the fact that it is a two-way communication. Unlike print and TV, the consumer can decide when and how he wants to be exposed to a campaign, and the advertiser too can zero in on targets more specifically. Internet combines the audio-visual effect of the TV and the detailing capabilities of the print medium and makes the entire customer interface interactive.
Internet is far more cost effective compared to traditional media. "The Net reaches out to the affluent and Net savvy. This is a dream audience which brand managers spend mega bucks to address. Internet delivers them with very little wastage. Internet allows the message to be targeted by various parameters like timeband targeting, daypart targeting, geographic targeting and even interest-based targeting or contextual targeting. Targeting reduces the wastage and the overall effectiveness of the advertising spend," says an industry expert.
Leading portals in India are relishing this attention. Rediff saw an increase of over 70 per cent in online revenue on its India operations in 2004. Yahoo! India saw a 100 per cent growth in advertising in 2004. Indiatimes.com, the online operations of one of India's leading media groups, estimated total advertising on its site to be around $3.5 mn-$4.6 mn in 2004.
On the other hand, younger viewers are drifting away from TV, spending more time online. They're using the Web to socialise and communicate, downloading songs, listening to radio and podcasts, and playing online games. It won't be long before they turn to the Web for longer-form video and TV, thanks to the rise of broadband. In the US, among 25-34-year-olds, almost a third of viewing now takes place away from the TV set, according to a survey by branded content specialist Contentworx. Instead they are using PCs, mobile phones and handheld computers, the survey found, with results that will make interesting reading for broadcasters and advertisers.
The same trend has been catching up fast in Indian. The restless Gen Y prefers internet to TV. “TV viewing in India is still a family affair. You have to fight for the remote with your family members. Besides, my favourite programmes are broadcast at fixed timing. Surfing the net is more personalised. I can view whatever I want at my own convenient time,” says Rajeev Malhotra, student of Delhi University.
Traditional media, however, is still not ready to accept the challenge thrown by internet. In fact, barring a few many of them hardly take it as a challenge.
“I do not think internet can match the popularity of television or print media. Go to the interiors of India and you will hardly find anyone surfing,” says Sameep Rajguru of Aaj Tak.
Rezaul Lashkar of Indo-Asian News Service does not see the Net as a threat to traditional media. “Every form of media has its own advantages and disadvantages. They all can co-exist or rather they complement each other,” he says.
Despite these sceptical views emanating from traditional media workers, the success of www.indiatimes.com, which is one of its kind website in the world, forces everyone to cast aside apprehensions about the future of internet as a new age media. In fact, Indiatimes is the most diversified internet company in the world, a model, which even Murdoch is trying to follow.
“When it comes to getting the latest news, I prefer logging on to a website than to switch on my TV. I can at least log on to the news that interests me instead of being forced to watch Karishma's spat with husband as breaking news,” says Manoj Das, AGM, Nedfi.
“The most visible advantage of internet is its accessibility. Whenever I go abroad, the only media, which keeps me abreast of Indian political scenario is the internet,” says Sandeep Phukan of NDTV.
Copyright © 2005, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Source: The Economic Times (www.economictimes.com)
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