Research Methods
PayPal E-marketing plan
Introduction
The emergence and the growth of e-marketing are accounted to be among the most significant as well as influential concepts in business marketing. The advancement has offered most businesses with the changes through which businesses can extend their services. Payments have thus been eased as it can be made directly, through online credit cards or even PayPal. PayPal Corporation is a united states based company whose headquarter is situated in San Jose (Dann, & Dann, 2011). PayPal has grown to be the leading provider of online services for payment (Dann, & Dann, 2011). The corporation is additionally involved in funds holdings and additionally responsible for the security of the consumers. PayPal thus provides a differentiated online located platform where sellers accept online transactions and payments with businesses as well as consumers. Efficiency and the development of marketing approaches and services are the product of a well-developed website. PayPal has acquired the success through creating a unique site that provides a number of solutions, guidance as well as extensive services to its consumers (O'Connor, Galvin & Evans, 2004). The report will seek to establish some of the aspects that have contributed to PayPal’s E-marketing existing growth. The aim of the report is to investigate the level at which e-commerce is being utilized by businesses and how efficiency has been achieved through the use of such services. The objective is to understand the general e-marketing plan effects on businesses and what can be done in attaining efficiency.
Literature Review
There is a need for marketers to understand generally that certain products hold differentiated target groups and each firm should take a step on acquiring a significant segment (Teece, 2010). The targets differences are particularly driven by the attitudes of the consumers, social affiliations, consumer’s needs, geographical positions, and demographics. Thus segmentation permits firms to make deliveries of a given product to the targeted audience in regard to their particular preferences or needs. In this context, there is a need to establish specific consumers for the goods for effective promotion to occur (Steenkamp & Ter Hofstede, 2002). The segmentation process is highly significant because if the segmentation is not effective this, therefore, implies that inefficacy and additional costs will be generated. Segmentation can be accomplished on the grounds of description, benefits, and performance. This involves understanding consumer’s demography preferences, needs and so on. The descriptive factors can be accessed easily since this involves establishing preferences as well as the needs of consumers.
The most effective segmentation strategy is the use of descriptive attributes which involves consumer’s preferences and needs. Consumers are in the high necessity for innovativeness, quality services, and convenience when it comes to the acquiring of online services. This, therefore, implies that the service providers should always be willing to center their products based on these needs as well as innovative preferences (McDonald, 2012). E-payment services have achieved rapid growth in the recent years based on their concentration on providing unique experiences for their consumers, flexibility as well as convenience. The services offer a bridge amid the physical as well as the digital commerce by creating products that are applicable to most of the consumers. This is normally achieved by being on the innovation Centre all the times which permits mobile as well as in-store payments services. The e-marketing sector is today changing at a high stage and this raises the need for the marketers to be competitive through understanding the consumer’s needs (Wedel & Kamakura 2012).
Methodology
The research will utilize a descriptive design which will incorporate a qualitative method in gathering primary data. This will be accomplished through the use of questionnaires and interviews based on the ability of the strategies in maximizing data. The research will utilize a sample population of 15 people who are current PayPal users. The population was selected based on their increased use of on-line payment and transactions services. The target population is not limited to any particular age based on the fact that businesses are currently being run by both young as well as older persons. In addition, online credit use as well as purchases have advanced and are being utilized by most businesses due to consumer’s preferences and demands changes. The target population will be acquired from retail operators because they are generally the most users of the services.
The research will utilize structured interviews as well as questionnaires which will utilize both open as well as closed-ended queries for fifteen queries. The questionnaires will randomly be distributed to the consumers in form of either hard or soft copy based on the flexibility of the respondents which will help in reaching even those that are located distantly from the researcher. This will particularly be conducted in order to acquire relevant as well as crucial information (Vogt, Gardner & Haeffele, 2012). Interviews will be achieved on individual basis mostly through the phone at the chosen period by the respondents after returning the filled questionnaires.
Discussion of Findings
Based on the primary research it is apparent that PayPal has established itself in the e-marketing and commerce market as an innovative and consumer-centered firm. The increased growth of the use of the company’s services is based on its convenience, flexibility, improved consumer services as well as the ability to embrace changing needs. The services offered by the corporation additionally enhances safety as well as privacy for all its consumers as its objective is to become a secure and a more confidential funds holder. The corporation is more objected on creating flexibility and the high ability for businesses to be effective (McDonald, 2012). Through this consumers have acquired a high dependency on what it offers.
Based on the study’s literature review most of the marketers are mainly objected at extending the target base rather than attempting to sort and categorizes the needs of each set to find the one that fits the business well. Segmentation is an essential strategy that every business ought to practice because the strategy does not just save time but it is also a cost-efficient one that will not result in the rise of charges that are not expected (Wedel & Kamakura 2012). The efficiency of the business operations increases consumer’s level of satisfaction thus helping in achieving the highest results. Segmentation does not only include the selection of the suitable target but additionally incorporates the identification of their preferences as well as needs in general and develop a plan through which they should be accomplished. The objective of examining the attributes of these markets is to gain a relevant and convincing understanding of the specific segment market in comparison to all the others. This helps in the establishment of the consumer's behaviors. Marketing is always effective given that it holds an effective plan and a well-segmented market (Teece, 2010). This implies that the strategies for accomplishing the necessities for the consumers should be well defined in ensuring that it achieves success. Not all the products are suitable for all the targets and there is a need to sort the market.
Opportunities that are present in the market should be identified so that businesses can understand the potential in meeting the needs and any issue that can be solved. Most businesses have benefited from the development of the technology but most of the services providing firms are still not acquiring maximum benefits based on their inabilities to understand the needs of the consumers. Cost differentiation is not the primary mean through which success can be acquitted because for quality and innovative services consumers are normally willing to pay even highest premiums (Steenkamp & Ter Hofstede, 2002). In this success can easily be acquired through focusing on the preferences as well as the general needs of the consumers rather than basing a business on cost. In that most business normally segment the markets on the grounds of benefit with the assumption that the consumers are aware of what is they are bound to attain. On the other hand, some businesses are more objected on maximizing their earnings in general rather than focusing on the general needs of the consumers.
Conclusions and Limitations
In summing up, it is apparent that effective marketing requires the business to establish its consumer’s segment first. PayPal has effectively established a number of solutions to its consumers through unique servicing as well as differentiation which strives in meeting the preferences as well as the needs of their well-segmented consumers. Adapting to a lower segment is essential as it helps in creating focus and identifies the needs and the suitable strategies for customizing products so that the needs of the consumers can be met. Innovativeness and embracing market changes can help an organization in achieving success particularly in the e-commerce market that is characterized by rapid and consistent changes. Some of the limitations faced by the research are time respondent’s availability and the unwillingness to provide relevantly as well as accurate information. Most of the respondents feared that through providing the information they would be exposing their business strategies to the competitors. In addition, time was an additional threat since most of them were continuously business and only had limited time to participate in the research and this necessitated the researcher to contacting them often.
References
Dann, S., & Dann, S. (2011). E-marketing: theory and application. Palgrave macmillan.
McDonald M. (2012). Market Segmentation: How to Do It and How to Profit from It, Dublin: Goodfellow Publishers.
O'Connor, J., Galvin, E., & Evans, M. J. (2004). Electronic marketing: Theory and practice for the twenty-first century. Pearson Education.
Schneider, G. P. (2011). Electronic commerce. Boston, MA: Course Technology Cengage Learning.
Steenkamp, J.E., & Ter Hofstede F. (2002). “International market segmentation: issues and perspectives”. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 19(3) 185-213.
Teece D.J. (2010). “Business models, business strategy and innovation”, Long range planning, 43(2) 172-194.
Vogt, W. P., Gardner, D. C., & Haeffele, L. M. (2012). When to use what research design. New York: Guilford Press.
Wedel M., & Kamakura W.A. (2012). Market segmentation: Conceptual and methodological foundations (Vol. 8). New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.
