Phyllis Young

Formal Report/Proposal Outline Template

Your name:

Directions: Refer to your textbook (Chapter 2, page 48 and Chapter 10, page 311) and the Week 4 Lecture to complete this outline. Write in complete sentences, not single words or short phrases. Be as detailed as possible, adding in-text citations for all references noted on your References page from Week 3, which should also be included here. The more information you place in this final outline, the less work you will have to do for the report drafts.

Introduction: This section sets the stage and purpose of the report. See page 320 in the text for help in completing this section. (Minimum of one sentence per point)

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to take research found from various sources to create a formal report or proposal on the Importance of the Internet.

Description/Background: To fully understand this report, you need to know at least basic information on business strategies, marketing, the internet, and finance.

Scope: This report was researched mainly online and through marketing strategy books. It will include the best practices for marketing, why a business needs to have a presence online, and how cost effective it is to use the internet as a tool.

Discussion: This section, the longest in your report, will vary depending on your topic, but you should have at least three main points (facts, arguments, etc.) to be developed, which should stem from solid evidence. The sub-points further define each of the main points. Include correctly formatted APA in-text references within the outline below for each reference listed on the Reference page. (Minimum of one sentence per point)

I. Accessibility is extremely important to a business. Online marketing enables a business to stay open at all times. Accessibility also comes in where customers are able to have access to the products from their home and make purchases at the click of a button (Sunil, 2014). The internet offers an important platform for retaining customers and creating a good relationship. A company can follow-up on whether the customer has received a product (Philip, 2012).

A. Studies have shown that there is an increase in the number of consumers using online research on mobile and social media to check the products and their prices (O'Rourke, 2012).

B. In the ecommerce world, doing business around the globe, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day is a reality. (Hossein Bidgoli, 2002) Online Marketing or e-commerce creates the ability to sell virtually any product that can be sold in a traditional retail environment. Nights, weekends, holidays, and time zones are no barriers to e-commerce. Online marketing can also reach customers that for various reasons can not personally visit a traditional retail store.

II. Internet tools can also be cost effective to a company, especially a start up one. Cost effective design and well planned campaign strategies can reach a broader target audience (which can be viewed from virtually anywhere in the world) for a smaller price tag than most traditional advertising budgets.

A. The greatest impact to the company may be the establishment of a globally presence. This means company growth at relative low cost. . Online marketing does not require the overhead cost associated with maintaining a “brick and mortar” store. This results in lower cost, increased efficiency and greater profit margin. Another potential impact, online sales increases in-store sales

B. Increase sales, increased brand recognition coupled with the low cost of operating online leads to increase revenue. These are only a few of the overall impact of online marketing.

III. The most useful and important tool that the internet has to a business is Marketing. The marketing strategies are product description, better promotion plans and placement. With just the use of a Website and an Ad campaign, a company can increase the visibility of a business significantly. With social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, a company can create and reach more customers.

A. Internet Marketing allows you to customize your offerings and products to the build to the public. Advertising online is a very effective way to provide customized offerings to a very targeted demographic. Internet Marketing strategies will usually call for advertisements to be placed in such a way that the target audience will see them and respond. (Blank, 2013)

B. Some shoppers do not like to shop online due to the loss of social contact experienced when shopping with others. This is why the step of gaining the trust of the customer is needed. (Constantinides, 2004)

Conclusions:

There are many advantages to the online presence of a business. The internet gives a business accessibility, visibility, lowers costs, and allows for easier marketing. It also allows business to track customers activities on their sites and customize the product for the consumers to better market them.

Recommendations:

Based on research data, the company should expand into the online sales arena by creating an ecommerce arm of our traditional retail operation. Expansion into online sales is a much more cost effective mean of growing the company. The recommended model is integration of the traditional retail segment with the new online arm. This is in opposition to establishing a purely online business. Analysis suggests that firms should tailor their e-commerce approaches to improve service to existing customers in addition to pursuing new customers and markets. (Adelaar, Bouwman, & Steinfield, 2004) Integration is advantageous in that perceived shopping risks are lower when a company also provides a physical location. Integrating online and offline operations adds additional cost saving measures such as such as ordering online for pick-up at physical location. . The current marketing strategies should be modified to include the online segment and used to promote the website

References:

Blank, M. (2013, May 1). 10 Reasons Internet Marketing is Important to Your Business | AGI Marketing Solutions | El Paso, Tx. Retrieved September 27, 2014

This article shows goes over the importance of Internet Marketing to a business. It describes each important, part of this type of marking and how it can be utilized.

Hossein, B. (2002). Electronic commerce: principles and practice. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Academic Press.

This book is a four-part overview of electronic commerce. The book provides a balance of theories, applications, and hands-on material. Dr Hossein Bidgoli is a Professor of Management Information Systems. School of Business and Public Administration California State University, Bakersfield, California

O'Rourke, J. S. (2012). Management communication. Pearson Higher Ed.

Strategic communication methods that support the development of ethical and effective managers at all levels of business. It shows that not only do you need good communication skills but also practical management skills as well. It focuses on how important communication is when running a business as well as the type of communication needed.

Philip, K. (2012). Marketing Management. New York: Pearson Press.

This book focuses on theory and practices of today’s marketing strategies. It is used for graduate students to learn about current marking trends and strategies that will help them in the future.

Steinfield, C., Adelaar, T., & Liu, F. (2005). Click and mortar strategies viewed from the web. Electronic Markets, 15(3), 199-212.

The authors analyzed retail store websites and found that few engaged in online and offline integration such as allowing customers to order products online for pickup at physical store locations. Dr. Adelaar currently has 7 publications in Academic Journals. Charles Steinfield is a professor and chair in the Department of Telecommunication,

Sunil, G. (2014). Managing Consumers as an Investment. The Strategic Value of the Consumers in the long Run , 24(4)70-77.

Sunil Gupta won an AMA book prize for this book for being the best book on marketing. It goes into detail on viewing consumers as commodities and what they are worth to your company. It teaches the reader how to find out information about its customers and how to use that information.