Analyse the Marketing Opportunities and Challenges Faced by a Selected Business When Using Internet Marketing

M2 – Analyse the marketing opportunities and challenges faced by a selected business when using internet marketing. Footlocker is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, its headquarters is located in New York City. This company originated in America but has made an international expansion buy placing stores in Europe, Canada, Asia and Australia. The internet gives Footlocker many opportunities to advertise and promote online to a wider audience which results in more sales and profits. Footlocker has exploded internationally and because of this, the company has to take into consideration the choices they make because of their international buyers. An advantage of marketing online would be immediate sales. For example, in my opinion it is easier to shop online because it is more comfortable to shop within the comforts of your own home and it is easier to resolve problems when you are ordering from the country however for international buyers, company’s have to make sure there are procedures put in place that will secure people’s bank card details preventing any troubled to be caused. Things such as the padlock and security checked tags this automatically wins over your customer because it shows that the company cares about the customer’s well being. In order for footlocker to succeed internationally they have to meet to customers expectations and provide them with a good customer service. Another opportunity that the internet brings is exposure. The internet gives footlocker the opportunity to become more known and become global. Different ways that the internet could help to advertise footlocker is by advertisement banners, pop up adverts with a link that leads customers to the website of footlocker, advertisements on other company’s websites. For example if you buy over ?50 worth of clothes from office then you get a 10% voucher off footlocker purchases. The internet helps these promotions to expand even more widely. This is a positive impact because everybody likes to save money so by having this promotion it would interest your customer, however the negative is because this is only for a short period of time some customers might not return and only use the sale as an excuse to take interest. However a challenge that footlocker faces is other competition with other companies. For example JD Sports ships products internationally just like foot locker and offers the same services like footlocker does. In certain countries JD Sports is more recognised in more European countries. A way that Footlocker could resolve this is by using a celebrity endorsement (preferably an influential sports person) to enhance their sales to attract a wider audience making a bigger audience aware of the organisation. A way that the internet benefits by internet marketing is by providing all the necessary information about the product or service that the person is providing. Businesses are increasingly enabling the customers to find out even more information about their product. For example some companies advise you how to wash certain clothes so they do not get ruined and stay preserved. Organisation strives on building a customer and business relationship so by maintaining this they cater to the customer’s needs and wants. On the other hand on a customer’s point of view, this is a down fall because they would not be able to see or feel the product unless they purchased it first which increases product risk. Also another disadvantage of this is because the items get shipped, and if product gets to the consumer damaged the company does not have to be liable for this. Marketing on the internet gives organisations the opportunity to sell to a wider market; however some companies do not have the right amount of staff to be able to fulfil orders on time. The company has to be well structured in order to do this. For example footlocker has different departments in order for the company to succeed by sharing the work load. They have departments such as marketing, merchandising, finance, technology and human resources. Human resources would have to analyse the employees to see whether they would have to employ more people or spend money on training people how to cope with a larger customer base. Shops are easier to have a set structure because you only have to really please your customers. On the other hand when you are marketing online you have to have many departments to deal with your customers queries. For example Footlocker provides a page on their website which answers general frequently asked questions (FAQ) if the customer experiences any type of problem, such as payment problems or assistance using the website they provide an automated system which helps customers within 24 hours. The negative thing about this could be that the customer does not get the straightforward or type of answer they were hoping for, whereas in the shop you would be able to go up to an sales assistant to help you.