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Abstract
This research, used benefit needs to segment the online marketing market. Focus groups and a random sampling survey were used to search for consumer benefit needs. The online marketing market was then segmented using the benefits sought by consumers. The results showed that the different segments have significant differences in the benefits sought, lifestyles and demographics etc. Thus the benefits sought is an effective segmentation variable for the online marketing market. Based on the benefit segmentation results, marketing managers can focus on one or a few segments that show salient consumer preferences for the benefits provided by their products or services. Satisfying the consumers' needs produces company success.
Keywords: benefit segmentation, online marketing
Introduction
On-line marketing is a popular marketing tool today. It is conducted through interactive on-line computer systems that link consumers with sellers electronically. There are two types of on-line marketing channels: commercial on-line services and the Internet (Armstrong and Kotler, 2000). The on-line marketing products include Catalog Centre, Personalization Centre, Marketing Studio, and Syndication Centre (Messmer, 2000). Many companies take one or more products that fit Internet-style delivery, build a minimum number of pages and infrastructure to allow customers to purchase that product and then agree to deals with certain key media owners that target their prospective customers (Sinden, 2001). Companies such as Volkswagen, Sony Playstation.com, Winstar, Nike and New Line Cinema have produced the five bets e-marketing campaigns (Cholewka, 2001). Many of their approaches to on-line marketing can be practiced across a variety of expenditure brackets. In the traditional marketing method, consumer research into brand awareness and consumer need identification is highly developed within the TV and print media has created information aggregation and choice via direct marketing and transactions via POS. On-line marketing includes all of the functions in the purchase decision process (Goodwin, 1999).
Consumer purchase decisions are influenced by many factors, including: direct marketing (TV, print and radio advertising), in-store marketing (POS displays and price promotions), personal referrals from friends and families, and now, the Internet (Stanley, 2000). Using on-line marketing solutions, major retailers can drive both on- and off-line purchase behaviours. The Internet can be used as an effective marketing tool to drive brand understanding and continuity of purchase because it is a...