E-Marketing and Its Strategies: Digital Opportunities and Challenges ()
1. Introduction
In view of the significant development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), various institutions are racing to use the latest innovations in organization and business management. The goal is to facilitate practical procedures and provide accuracy and speed, especially with the advent of the Internet, which has had a significant impact on communication and information exchange while providing a lot of services such as: facilitating business exchanges and improving relationships with customers and agents. It is, then, an interactive medium between organizations and customers, and even among customers themselves. The Internet is a strategic focus of the organization’s activity, especially for commercial and marketing roles, which are the main drivers on which decision makers depend in enterprises, thus pushing numerous institutions to invest in this field owing to the efficient services provided by the Internet. Put differently, it is considered a key pillar in the marketing process as it allows for the development of a new form of communication with customers, which contributes to the development of their sales. The use of the Internet has led to the emergence of so-called electronic marketing, with which the majority of enterprises are currently doing various business transactions such as: buying, selling and trading online. These enterprises seek to take advantage of the various services provided by search cues and networks, which contributed to the expansion of markets and increased profits. The technological devices also imposed themselves as a key anchor for development and competition, especially since the majority of leading and successful institutions are the ones controlling these technologies.
E-marketing is one of the modern concepts that has imposed itself in the transaction market, due to the latter’s role in developing and achieving the goals of modern institutions. Indeed, it is a business style per se with the distinction of achieving several goals at the same time beginning with the achievement of the customer’s needs to attain profit for the product based on various strategies suitable for the digital environment. This integration has greatly contributed to facilitating and rationalizing the various practices and marketing work, making it a necessity of the times. It also improved the mental image of the organization and facilitated the methods of searching for customers, which helps the organization to gain a strategic position capable of facing competition and imposing itself on the trade and business market. E-marketing is based on several methods, the most important of which is marketing through search devices or through advertising and e-mails as well as interactive advertising. All mechanisms contribute to the development of marketing if expertise and control over the use of modern technologies are available, which has transformed the form of world trade from traditional to electronic, and the Internet has become the environment supporting e-marketing and the primary tool driving economic growth in all countries of the world in the context of globalization.
The use of e-marketing obliges strategies in line with the characteristics of the digital environment, as well as more effective working methods. It also necessitates the ability to attract customers and stimulate business transactions in various marketing areas due to the latter’s ability to complete marketing operations in a record period with fewer costs compared to traditional methods. It generally represents a set of operational plans and procedures to control marketing opportunities by developing the means to attract the buyer and finding outlets to contact the potential buyer of the products offered. The achievement of this goal requires examining the overall environment of the organization, including strategic analysis of the electronic environment, ensuring the changing needs of customers along with analyzing the competitive environment. Doing this helps the organization to respond to the changing environment and adapt its work to it. It must be pointed out that there are several e-marketing strategies that can be relied upon by e-marketing operators and these strategies vary depending on the nature of customers and their needs and trends plus the nature of the environment. The success of these strategies is linked to the organization’s success in selecting appropriate strategies and successful implementation by translating plans into action and adopting a flexible and adaptive view of marketing activity management. To perform this step successfully, the organization should invest a range of skills and high efficiency in choosing the right strategy to ensure the success of e-marketing as well as achieving goals in the new digital environment. Therefore, in this research we will try to answer the following questions: what is the nature of the strategies that can be used to activate the role of e-marketing? What are the opportunities and challenges posed by the new digital environment? Besides, what are the opportunities and challenges posed by the new digital environment?
2. Research Questions
The current study tries to examine the following questions:
What are the types of e-marketing strategies? What are the stages of their development?
What are the strategic implementation skills of e-marketing in the digital environment? And what are the criteria for strategic choice?
What are the opportunities and challenges of e-marketing strategies in the digital environment?
3. The Objectives of the Study
The study seeks to achieve a set of objectives, perhaps the most prominent of which are:
• Highlighting what e-marketing is and the most important mechanisms on which it depends.
• Explaining what the components of the e-marketing strategy are.
• Addressing the types of strategies adopted in e-marketing.
• Clarifying the most important stages adopted in the development of these strategies not counting the criteria adopted in the selection of strategies and mechanisms for their application.
• Illuminating the contents and skills of strategic implementation of e-marketing required to achieve success and highlighting the opportunities offered by e-marketing strategies, other than underlining the various challenges faced by developing countries in the digital environment.
4. The Importance of the Study
The importance of this study lies in the fact that it addresses one of the most imperative and current topics, namely e-marketing in its strategic dimension. It takes into account that the Internet has become a strategic tool for different establishments, and so communication technology can greatly support marketing strategies. It provides mechanisms through which establishments can interact with the customer to know his tastes and orientations. Online services contribute to the development of the marketing strategy and provide great opportunities in raising sales, especially since internet services are characterized by speed and accuracy. On the other hand, the success of these strategies requires challenges in the digital environment.
5. Methodology Adopted in the Study
The study relies on the descriptive approach as it is one of the approaches used in the study of current problems and topics, demanding deep reading and then doing the process of description and analysis to come up with a set of basic results using the method of surveying. Moreover, the use of this methodology is especially essential since the subject of e-marketing is an important and current topic that still needs further research and studies and a new field of knowledge.
6. The Structure of the Study
The study initially defines the basic concepts related to electronic marketing, showing its advantages and multiple stages, and its multiple mechanisms. It then addresses the reasons for the spread of e-marketing, showing its pros and cons, the strategies required for e-marketing, the skills of implementing these strategies, and the challenges of e-marketing in developing countries.
7. Literary Review
Due to the importance, development and modernity of e-marketing, many studies have dealt with the subject of e-marketing in general, but studies that addressed the constraints and challenges of e-marketing were few. Among these studies, it is worth referring to Haddad and colleagues (2005). They examined the impact of internet use on changing the behavioral patterns of shopping in the Greater Amman region. They focused on the effect of demographic factors, income level and incentives and constraints and the impact of this on The Jordanian consumer. By “demographic factors” they mean gender, age, social status, and educational level. By “income level and incentives”, they refer to saving time, saving costs, providing detailed information, easy comparison of purchasing alternatives, and after-sales services. And by “constraints”, they imply lack of knowledge of internet use, high cost of communication and mistrust, distrust of the online vendor, and lack of sense of pleasure in e-shopping. The conclusions they reached is that the Internet as a means of purchasing by the Jordanian consumer is still weak and that distrust of this method and high costs of internet service prevent its use. Despite the consumer’s awareness of the advantages of online shopping, the impact of obstacles is greater than the impact of incentives. They, therefore, recommended the need to segment the market based on demographic factors with a focus on the element of privacy and security, and to find alternatives to payment methods to reduce the risks perceived by the consumer.
The study of Haddad and colleagues (2005) addressed the impact of the electronic marketing mix on tourist trends towards tourism in Jordan by identifying the trends of tourists coming to Jordan towards electronic marketing practices, especially users of electronic portals in the shopping process for tourist services. The study found that the dimensions of e-marketing were different in influencing tourist trends. The most influential dimensions were the accuracy of the information, while personalization had no impact on tourists. The second factor was the impact of the price. The tourists’ trends towards the cognitive side were more influenced by price, website and accuracy of information. Put differently, tourist modes of behavior were more effected by accurate information and electronic service, while payment methods and accuracy of information were the most influential in tourist trends in feeling.
Bostanshirin (2014) discussed online marketing, which involves the use of interactive and virtual spaces to promote and sell goods and services. The study focused on the effects of interactive spaces supported by the Internet in marketing practice by highlighting different types of online marketing. The marketing opportunities stem from the introduction of this new virtual space, and the study found challenges such as security, privacy and other marketing problems from the implementation of virtual space. Bostanshirin believes that online marketing has particular disadvantages such as integrity, personal communication, security, privacy and mistrust.
Kaur and Sandhu (2017) examined the opportunities and threats facing digital marketing in developing countries by discussing problems such as education, awareness, privacy, the Internet and other problems facing the digital market in developing countries such as India and Nigeria. More specifically, they discussed the growth and challenges in digital marketing. They maintained that despite the urgent need to keep up with computer science and information technology, there are some programs and applications that lead to mistrust among customers and marketers such as identity theft, intrusive advertising, and technical barriers like non-compliance with contract/agreement terms, and the gap between the required products and actual products. All these factors have created considerable distrust of deliveries in electronic marketing. Thus, the growth of digital marketing depends on the growth of work ethics on the one hand and consumer protection laws on the one hand. The importance of “credibility” in business in general and e-marketing in particular is very vital and can be addressed by the development of skills in the field of information technology. Although companies will continue to use traditional marketing methods, such as advertising, direct mail and public relations, e-marketing adds a whole new element to the marketing mix, and their flexible and effective nature in terms of cost, makes it particularly suitable for small businesses.
And Devi and Micom (2013) discussed the issue of the impact of the electronic environment on the marketing process. They present and analyze the use of different tools and techniques focusing on the emerging challenges in the new reality. The finding showed that e-marketing affects business in a number of important ways when used effectively. E-marketing campaigns and strategies have the ability to reach customers in a fast and low-cost way and can provide promotion of a wide range of products and services. E-marketing also provides companies with the opportunity to obtain data about the consumer base to the extent that it has been very difficult to achieve similar results so far through traditional marketing methods.
The development of e-marketing through social media advertising has increased business in recent years. Despite the global reach, speed and amount of information that can be obtained from e-marketing, there are a number of important flaws to this type of marketing that companies must take into account. The technology-driven e-marketing approach leaves some companies weak for being overly technology-dependent. Besides, it may increase the number of consumers who are far more dissatisfied than ever. Moreover, it could lead to bad reviews that could significantly destabilize some e-marketing campaigns and processes. However, despite these problems, the scholars conclude that e-marketing in general is a positive development for companies and that despite some risks its impact on the business has been largely positive.
As already said, the studies on the realities and challenges of e-marketing are very few because of the novelty of the subject. Most studies on the realities and challenges of e-marketing in certain environments are different from this study.
8. Conceptual and Theoretical Overview: Definition of the Study Concepts and Definition of Marketing
Marketing is an Anglo-Saxon term introduced in France in the 1950s and is defined as all that contributes to attracting and drawing as many new customers as possible and maintaining the loyalty of the company’s customers. It generally represents the various mechanisms that the enterprise effectively uses to sell its goods (Salim et al., p. 7). There have been many definitions of thinkers and researchers provided for the concept of marketing, the most important of which are:
The Definition of the American Marketing Association for 1985 (AMA):
According to AMA, “marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals” (Al-Jany, 2009: p. 20). Dr. Philip Kotler defines marketing as
the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market at a profit. Marketing identifies unfulfilled needs and desires. It defines, measures and quantifies the size of the identified market and the profit potential. It pinpoints which segments the company is capable of serving best and it designs and promotes the appropriate products and services (https://www.kotlermarketing.com/phil_questions.shtml/).
So, it is an activity based on prior knowledge of the needs and requirements of marketing in order to satisfy its needs using a variety of marketing activities.
Definition of E-Marketing:
Here are some well-known definitions for e-marketing:
E-Marketing (a.k.a. electronic marketing) refers to the marketing conducted over the Internet. Two synonyms of E-Marketing are Internet Marketing and Online Marketing which are frequently interchanged. E-Marketing is the process of marketing a brand (company, product, or service) using the Internet through computers and mobile devices mediums. By such a definition, e Marketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts via the worldwide web with the aim of attracting new business, retaining current business and developing its brand identity. (https://conversionpipeline.com/what-is-emarketing/)
Experts see that E-marketing means using computers and communication technology to market goods and services; it’s also using information technology to connect the actor between the functions provided by vendors and buyers. And Arafa maintains that e-marketing is linked to the use of the Internet and various services of modern technologies to communicate in marketing activities, which helps to attract the largest number of customers as a result of continuous communication with the organization and focus on its needs (Arafa, 2010: p. 225).
According to Encaclopedia.com., “E-marketing is a process of planning and executing the conception, distribution, promotion, and pricing of products and services in a computerized, networked environment, such as the Internet and the World Wide Web, to facilitate exchanges and satisfy customer demands. It has two distinct advantages over traditional marketing. E-marketing provides customers with more convenience and more competitive prices, and it enables businesses to reduce operational costs” (https://www.encyclopedia.Com/finance/finance-and-accounting-magazines/e-marketing ).
Definition of the Strategy:
The strategy is considered one of the concepts common in the majority of sciences and disciplines, noting that it was used for the first time in the military field and in wars where it was regarded as the art of leadership to achieve victory. One of the most important definitions provided is that the strategy “is the science and art of carefully considered and coordinated public plans designed to use different resources to achieve the great goals” (Al-Sayyed, 1985: p. 13). And it is reflected in those actions and decisions that are taken to achieve the organization’s goals in the long term. As said by Sans Annee Bouhadida, 195 “the strategy is the tool or means that helps management to think inclusively now and in the future in an orderly, targeted manner based on coexistence with the external environment” and Al-Jany (2009: p. 105). He thinks, “the strategy means those decisions and major trends implemented through long-term plans to achieve the organization’s objectives and to harmonize with various environmental challenges in order to survive” (Ibid).
Theoretical Input:
Defining E-Marketing Strategy: E-Marketing Strategy is defined as “a comprehensive plan for all business objectives, marketing goals and opportunities, because all companies and site owners will have access to different beneficiaries in different ways” (Blake, 2015). He adds it as a long-term plan with which one works to achieve certain objectives or allocate certain benefits. Its implementation requires appropriate means to carry out the immediate and necessary actions and processes (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 271). They believe that the e-marketing strategy represents those steps adopted in marketing products based on the Internet and its various applications in order to attract customers and achieve a significant percentage of sales in order to achieve the organization’s objectives.
9. The Advantages, Phases and Mechanisms E-Marketing
The great development of digital technologies has made marketing enter the digital space in order to communicate with target customers through virtual communication. This development has provided the potential customer with a major role in the communication process. Starting from this point, I will try to clarify the advantages, stages and mechanisms of e-marketing:
Advantages of E-Marketing: e-marketing has a range of advantages that can be summarized in the following points:
Using websites to publish marketing information at a low cost relative to the cost of advertising in other media.
Expanding the customer base as a result of instant and permanent access. The site is open and can be accessed whenever the customer wants, for electronic marketing allows access to everyone at any time.
Easy access to new markets, and access to all global markets and identification of their products without ethnic or geographical restrictions.
Greater access to experts’ assistance and advice.
Flexibility in quickly displaying product information while quickly updating information and obtaining accurate statistics on the number of visitors to the site, time of the visits, length of the visits, and the frequency of these visits, which help to evaluate the company and the success of its online marketing.
In addition to these advantages, e-marketing can contribute to the promotion of the organization on a large scale as well as to its efficiency, speed and direct interaction in the completion of digital transactions and interactions, which contribute significantly to attracting customers, building loyalty relationships with them, welcoming them and bringing profits at the lowest cost and effort.
9.1. E-Marketing Phases
Arthur D. Little’s Management Consulting Firm has proposed a model with four basic stages, which he calls the e-marketing course. These stages are:
Preparation Phase: In it, the necessary information about prospective customers—needs, wishes—target markets and the nature of competition is collected by various traditional or electronic means. The most important thing at this stage is for the seller or product to study the market in terms of determining the needs and desires of consumers to display the item or service on demand in the domestic or external market. This helps to provide a database of the wishes of local, prospective or actual consumers, market size and competition and in consequence these help to achieve the organization’s goals more effectively and efficiently than its competitors (ibid.).
Contact Phase: Here the customer is contacted to be introduced to the new products being put on the market online. The organization will use various means of communication to communicate with the customer while at the same time promoting its products and trying to convince them and urge them to buy its products, and the web page in this area plays an important role through what is known as: Website or Webpage. It also enables the consumer to process the information carried by electronic means in the advertising and promotion process through the AIDA model in advertising and promotion of enterprise products, which consists of the following phases:
Attention-Grabbing Phase: The goal is to attract customer attention using Ad Banners and e-mail tools, tools and videos, and E-mail message.
Data Collection Phase: At this stage, the information needed by the customer is collected, which helps him build a special opinion on the new product.
The Phase of Arousing Desire: It focuses on arousing the desire of the customer based on the presentation of an impressive demonstration and in this area multimedia technology can be used.
The Phase of Actual Performance and Action: This phase is ultimately concerned with making the purchasing decision after being convinced of the product that has been introduced (Abu Fara, 2004: p. 136).
Exchange Phase: At this stage the process of acceptance and exchange between the seller and the consumer is done. This step is considered the essence of the electronic marketing process, during which the customer receives the item or service, while the organization receives the cash return using secure payment systems that ensure confidentiality and protection of security and credibility.
Post Sales Phase: E-marketing does not finish with the end of the exchange, but the customer must be maintained by communicating with him and serving him through various means, including virtual communities, chat rooms, e-mail, frequently asked question lists, technical support services and modernization.
It should be noted that the success of these stages requires looking at the major trends in this area and knowing the mechanisms that can help to actually embody the ground. It is also very significant to send meaningful messages after viewing and analyzing the data available to the networks, as well as to measure the effectiveness of marketing practices and their response to the organization’s strategy (Marrone & Gallic, 2018: p. 22).
9.2. E-Marketing Mechanisms
In addition to the different stages discussed, e-marketing take care of a variety of mechanism and channels that play a crucial role in the success of the process. Of the most important channels adopted in e-marketing are:
The Social Channels: The most famous are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others. The results of the Institution’s conference dedicated to study marketing for the 2009 have shown the following findings: 42 percent of the world’s marketing companies plan to increase their marketing spending on social media, and that global spending will increase by 10 percent annually. The same study added that the goal of network marketing is: to support the trade mark Branding by 29 percent, increase activities on their websites and introduce their products by 26 percent; meet the new generation’s desires by 18 percent; and increase direct sales by 11 percent. It is noted that the most used social media sites being marketed by companies are: Facebook at 65 percent, Twitter at 49 percent, YouTube at 39 percent, LinkedIn at 38 percent and Daily Shows at 31 percent (Abdel Fattah, 2014: pp. 191-192).
Search Mechanisms: Through these mechanisms it is possible to target people looking for the product.
E-mail: It is dome by collecting subscribers in a mailing list through the private website, thus providing the opportunity to view services and products when available.
Content Marketing: It is performed by providing articles and advice to customers, which helps to build trust and gain customers’ loyalty, and in consequence, encourages the demand for purchases and services provided.
Video Marketing: This process is done by preparing videos that are displayed on special networks such as YouTube, and ads can be provided for these special videos (https://www.ebdaonline.com/category/emarketing). These various mechanisms allow customers to interact with business organizations, and allow organizations to open channels of communication with customers in an interactive manner. Naturally, the various services provided by modern technologies are imposed by the new digital environment and have become one of the pillars of the modern era. Now survival requires keeping up with these developments.
10. Reasons for the Spread of E-Marketing, Advantages and Drawbacks
Perhaps the most important reasons for its spread can be summarized in the following points:
The achievement of an online presence by obtaining an organization’s location in the digital environment.
Access to the global market in the absence of geographical boundaries in the virtual world.
Providing new and much-changed information easily and comfortably to the consumer.
Availability of interaction between the producer and consumer and ability to get feedback in the digital environment.
The availability of photos, videos and sounds on the website without the need for more costs (Farghaly, 2007: pp. 129-130).
These various services have made e-marketing a necessity to keep pace with the modern times and to keep the organization in the digital environment first and then in practical reality.
10.1. Advantages of E-Marketing
Among the advantages of e-marketing the following points are highlighted:
Distribution capacity at very low costs, as it is easy to reach all consumers through the network provided that the consumer has access to the service in the digital environment.
The possibility of direct interview between companies and consumers, which also reduces marketing costs.
Good time investment that increases the effectiveness of companies across the digital environment.
Transfer of sales tasks from salesmen to the customer directly by offering order forms and using complete and ready models.
Collecting market survey information and following customer choices.
The possibility of communication between the different companies by opening virtual dialogues between companies and customers about a particular product.
Promotion and the possibility of penetrating new markets and e-marketing helps the increase of competition on the basis of specialization rather than price, which provides opportunities for excellence (Arafa, 2010: p. 227).
10.2. The Drawbacks of E-Marketing
Among the drawbacks of e-marketing, the following are highlighted:
Environmental factors and their direct impact on e-marketing: the constant change in the business environment makes it difficult for customers to change the business partners and networks they serve.
Rapid technological development: the very quick development in the technological fields makes it difficult for customers to follow it and in consequence to understand the market.
Security and privacy policies: Network users do not trust the electronic payment mechanism.
Legal and administrative issues: They occur as a result of problems facing companies through the legality of the electronic contract, trademark infringement, copyright, commercial liability and loss of the right to their secrets (Arafa, 2010: p. 229).
11. Characteristics of E-Marketing, Strategies, Features, Prestige and Stages of Development and Environment
11.1. Characteristics of E-Marketing Strategy
The e-marketing strategy has a set of characteristics that can be illustrated in the following points:
It requires scanning or analyzing the internal and external environment.
It requires a clear statement of the vision and objectives desired.
The strategy is developed through new formulation and good selection of available strategic alternatives.
The marketing strategy should be responsive to changes in structure and market (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 272). This implies the success of the e-marketing strategy requires flexibility and scalability in accordance with the development of the digital environment.
Requirements for Adjusting E-marketing Strategies: If the e-marketing strategy is one that combines the organization’s technological strategy with the marketing strategy of the organization, its design process requires several considerations including:
The availability of information on the product’s formal and objective characteristics.
The handiness of information on the target markets for new products.
Using current and past experiences in the creative development of new services.
Identifying the expected competitive activities between competitors and their impact on the organization.
Analyzing all information on strategies that have been successfully implemented during a specified period of time (Dardour, 2015-2016: p. 118). The marketing strategy uses technological means to improve performance and achieve goals.
11.2. Components of the E-Marketing Strategy
The strategy is a long-term plan, and therefore, it represents a set of objectives to be achieved as well as the necessary possibilities. Any marketing strategy generally consists of key components reflected in market segmentation, targeting of market parts, and positioning within the market. In the case of e-marketing, market segmentation takes place more deeply and information collection is easy due to the availability of communication technology. Thus, the development of the marketing strategy is more quickly done. E-marketing and the use of Internet technology allow sellers to follow and monitor marketing efforts in addition to the possibility of a greater integration between marketing strategies and the overall strategy of the enterprise and its operations (General Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, 1429 Ah: p. 27). Responding to this point, Stephen Dann and Susan Dann point out that a good e-marketing strategy should include:
Achieving an advantage in search engine: It is critical to successful marketing and this requires: improving the website, i.e. the site should be classified on the front pages of the search so that those who visit the site can see the content during the search. It should also use phrases and keywords that generally show users the product or service required in online search places.
E-mail marketing: Product information is sent to influence potential customers who use e-mail. This strategy has proven to be efficient and effective in building good business relationships with potential customers.
Online advertising: Online advertising is a high-value investment method because it includes placing product and service ads on the organization’s website, on front-page sites for search status, and on sites that get a large amount of interaction by Internet users.
Online News Bulletins: This process is done by spreading news to the general organized customers to inform them about the new introductory offers available. This is done at regular intervals of time.
Media newsrooms: This device is an important online medium and includes information that can be circulated on social media. Importantly, these rooms do not take long for information and news circulation (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: pp. 272-273).
11.3. Stages of Development of the E-Marketing Strategies
Internet Marketing Consulting proposed in 2009, based on versions developed by Chaffey in 2002, that there are four stages to the development of the e-marketing strategy. These are:
Strategic analysis: It means the strategic analysis or analysis of the state of e-marketing including internal sources and various processes and activities carried out by the organization in the market.
Analysis of the appropriate environment: This item embraces customer requests, competitors’ activities and market ranking, not counting the overall environment in which the organization operates. It also comprises the political, economic, social and technological factors. The internal and external environment analysis process is based on the development of an electronic marketing strategy that takes account of: internal source analysis, electronic marketing impact, sources and financial cost, quality, strengths, weaknesses and technological infrastructure sources.
The micro-Internet environment: It contains the analysis and evaluation of demand and customer activity on the Internet as well as future estimates of customer requests for e-commerce services in different market sectors, in addition to the analysis of competitors or monitoring electronic competition in order to gain and retain customers interested due to the dynamic nature of the Internet (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 276).
12. Strategic Goals and Types of Strategies
The organization’s success in achieving its objectives requires a range of conditions. These are: clarity, applicability, compatibility and harmony. Besides, the objectives must be desirable, real, in line with the prevailing legal, social and political context and assessable. It should be noted that there are three criteria for measuring objectives: the time standard for the completion of the scheme, the quantitative standard, which represents figures for achievement ratios and is compared with the planned, the qualitative standard which represents the quality of achievement and the level of efficiency in performance through the implementation stages and the degree of flexibility and adaptability of the objectives according to internal and external conditions.
Defining the strategy: This stage represents the stage of selecting the appropriate strategy according to the requirements of the situation, noting that there are several strategies that can be used in electronic marketing. The various strategies are used along with the nature of the product and the size of the organization in order to ensure the fastest, highest quality and easiest way to implement the strategy in the best way possible and for a long term, especially since the Internet has opened the way for everyone to market various services and goods without exception. The success of e-marketing strategies requires the success of strategic planning of marketing activity as it helps to diagnose potential problems and it is the basis of marketing strategies in general.
Implementation of the strategy: It is a very important stage requiring high efficiency for the effective implementation of electronic marketing programs (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 292). Some experts in this realm consider that building an effective electronic strategy obliges undergoing a number of stages: analyzing the location in the market where the FFOM analysis method can be used in this area (i.e. Forces, Faiblesses, opportunitésetmenaces); adjusting the objectives of the digital strategy; analyzing the competing strategies; identifying the target audience with a special budget adjustment; adjusting a digital communication strategy and finally adjusting the appropriate strategic means for each mode (Sauvage, 2018: pp. 2-6). It should be indicated that FFOM is a way to help identify opportunities and the status of the organization compared to competitors, as well as potential vulnerabilities and threats to the implementation of the project. While smart style means: Spécifique. Mesurable. Atteignable. Réaliste. Fixer dans temps le—discovered by Peter Druker focuses on determining the real and measurable target on time. In addition, there is no better method than the other, but the masked method must be chosen with the possibility of pairing two methods at the same time, which is important to achieve quick and tangible results (Do Igenia, 2020: pp. 4-5). SMART also helps frame the organization’s strategy and achieve goals and confirm its success (Marrone, 2018: p. 487).
13. Types of E-Marketing Strategies and Standards of Use
There are several strategies that can be relied upon in e-marketing management. These strategies can be discerned in the following points:
Target Market Strategies: Target market strategies include many of the strategies adopted by the e-marketing department to meet the needs of consumers with similar or parallel needs. Attaining this goal is performed by segmenting the market and targeting sectors whose components are homogeneous in terms of delivering different presentations through the organization’s websites and by adopting a marketing mixture suitable for each category or sector. In this area, Heidi Cohen (2001-9) point out that there are three types of strategies:
Market segmentation strategy: It implies that access to any consumer is done not only at the local level but also at the international level provided that the consumer owns a computer, which provides great ease in the activities of promotion, advertising but also distribution. This provides the shopper with access to the necessary information and to compare between products, sellers and payment etc. This strategy also allows the possibility of personalized marketing, i.e. reaching out to each consumers and trying to serve them based on their wishes and needs through e-marketing. This strategy is primarily geared to the end consumer using modern communication methods and technologies.
Target marketing strategy: It is called a focus strategy based on marketing management assessing the attractiveness of every market sector it wants to deal with. The results of the assessment will determine which of the selected sectors will be targeted and that can produce the greatest profitable customer value, and maintain this value over time by establishing a profitable and long-term customer relationship. This strategy assesses the attractiveness of each market sector, selects one or more sectors to enter, and formulates a marketing mix offer targeting these sectors.
Market location strategy: It means that the organization has made offers that allow the organization’s products to occupy a clear, distinctive and desirable position in the minds of customers compared to the products of competing organizations. It is performed by designing an effective and attractive site that focuses on the value of the product, affecting the public’s mind.
Excellence strategy: According to this strategy, the organization distinguishes its products from other competing products. Excellence is defined as the important points in differences in product or service presentation. Porter defines it as creating something that is recognized in every industry as something distinct and unique. Achieving excellence or differentiation requires a number of costly activities such as design, research, development, packaging, packaging, and brand. All these are aimed at distinguishing the product from competing products in order to leave a positive image to the customer and differentiation in e-marketing.
Product development strategy and pricing: Product development strategy is divided into the following types:
A whole new industry addition strategy: The organization and its e-marketing department introduce entirely new products to the organization or to the market at markets where neither the organization nor the markets have ever dealt with.
The strategy of adding production lines to products that have not been produced before: the basis of this strategy is that the organization offers products that are not new to the market but new to the organization, as it tries to add them to its production lines in order to exploit and invest marketing opportunities in the Internet environment and market requirements and needs.
Strategies for expanding existing product lines: This strategy is carried out by expanding production by making adjustments, adding properties, elements and benefits to existing products, or making adjustments to the way different organizations offer their products to customers.
Product implicit characteristic modification strategy: This strategy redesigns and develops existing products in terms of their characteristics, elements and benefits to the customer, while making him aware through his visit to the organization’s website that what is being offered is a new product and that the improvements made to the product are clearly recognized by the customer.
Product repositioning strategy in the market: In accordance with this strategy, the organization redefines the position of its products in new market segments due to the discovery of new uses of its products. This is done through interaction with visitors through the website or via email, SMS and other methods of e-marketing.
Pricing strategy: Choosing the appropriate pricing strategy in dealing with customers and site visitors represents an important critical stage as it is linked to many internal and external considerations, divided into the following types:
Dynamic pricing strategy: It is used to counter fluctuations in different markets, especially since e-marketing is not market specific and includes different global markets that dissimilar economic, cultural, legal and other characteristics. This entails a method of treatment that caters to the characteristics of each market. This strategy can allow the adjustment of product prices based on the willingness and readiness of the customer to pay according to his financial capabilities and prevailing conditions.
Price differentiation strategy: According to this strategy, price determination for the product is based on the nature of the market and the difference in purchasing power as well as the need and desire of the visitor or customer, in order to gain the largest number of visitors and turn them into customers for example: setting prices for students.
Promotional pricing strategy: It aims at stimulating sales of products specified in the offers made on the organization’s website, and takes several types: critical price policy, special event price policy, competition price pricing policy, geographical pricing policy. All are policies aimed at increasing sales bulks (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 297).
Distribution channel modification strategy: The Internet environment in which business organizations operate is rapidly changing and varies from market to market, and these environmental changes require e-distribution managers to adapt to them through modifications to electronic distribution channels. The most important reasons for change are: change in the digital environment, change in organization trends, change in marketing strategy, and change in distribution channel structures themselves, all of which require adjustment of distribution channels and strategies.
Customer relations management strategy: The use of the Internet and websites brought organizations closer to the CRM strategy because it changed consumer purchasing behavior and influenced their opinions and locations towards the organization and its products. In addition, it contributed to the activation of this relationship, i.e. the development of communication technologies and services such as web service, email and SMS made the organization more interactive with the customer.
Features of E-marketing Strategies: The most important features of e-marketing strategies for the customer or marketer are: presence and global choice, improved competitive position, quality of service, product tailoring to customer size, reduced procurement procedures with rapid response to requests, significant cost abundance, innovative business opportunities, and renewable products and services (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 298).
The various strategies that have already been talked about are used in electronic marketing at varying degrees in line with the nature of the product and the size of the organization. This various use ensures the fastest, highest quality and easiest way to implement them and the best for the long term. This is so since the Internet and various social networking sites have opened the way for everyone to market various services and goods without exception. The success of e-marketing strategies requires the accomplishment of strategic planning of marketing activity as it helps to diagnose potential problems. In other words, it is the basis of marketing strategies because it helps to predict potential problems and help develop appropriate situation strategies while keeping pace with the analysis of strengths and weaknesses.
14. Factors Influencing the Determination of the Strategic Option, Skills, and Challenges
The strategic option for the organization represents a strategic decision or alternative chosen from among the alternatives available in accordance with the organization’s management philosophy, capabilities, and objectives to be reached. In general, there are three factors that contribute to the determination of the strategic option:
Internal factors: These factors are related to the physical and human qualifications which provide the requirements to ensure the implementation of marketing activities, such as the organizational structure and the possibility of modifying it along with the use of the Internet in marketing and identifying functions and responsibilities to ensure the implementation of e-marketing activities, in addition to the executive culture and management style. All these points contribute to identifying the strengths and weaknesses on which the organization’s e-marketing strategy is built.
External factors: These factors are related to the external environment that identify opportunities and threats associated with the organization’s work and e-marketing. The formulation of an e-marketing strategy is highly linked to this environment in order to exploit appropriate opportunities in different markets and adapt to potential threats.
Special factors: They are personal and administrative factors intended for strategic managers, and represent major strategic selection factors for working towards e-marketing. It is clear that the strategic choice requires careful studies of the internal and external environment and the nature of the objectives to be achieved, especially in light of the difficulties imposed by the digital environment and intense competition between institutions.
Strategic Implementation Skills for E-marketing: These skills represent the implementation of those processes that include events or activities applying the marketing strategy. They also entail the translation of decisions into practical action. The long-term strategic plans need a strategic dimension in the implementation process, and successful strategic implementation requires a flexible and adaptive view of marketing activity management. Given the specificity of the e-marketing business and the nature of the Internet environment, its success requires highly efficient skills for the effective implementation of electronic marketing programs. The most essential of these skills are:
Knowledge skills in everything related to information technology.
Internet technologies and the foundations of e-marketing.
Personal abilities in managing websites dedicated to e-marketing, like the ability to dialogue and interact with customers, the ability to convince the customer as well as the ability to manage good relationships with customers and visitors.
High skills at website design and information about the organization’s products, price offers and sales and delivery methods and at diagnosing problems and addressing them.
Skills to follow the opinions of customers provided on the organization’s website.
Marketing performance assessment skills when problems appear and how to address them.
Skills in the implementation of the plan according to the stages of its planned completion.
Performance results assessment skills as well as strategic application of e-marketing (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 269).
These various skills can help effectively implement strategic e-marketing plans to ensure survival and continuity.
Opportunities and Challenges of E-marketing Strategies
The process of designing the marketing strategy with the use of modern communication technologies facilitates and improves various marketing practices and we can explain this through the opportunities they provide.
E-marketing strategies help to achieve the efficiency of various processes and activities of organizations while reducing their costs and improving the services provided to the customer as a result of the optimal use of information.
They contribute to improving the strategic planning process by developing support systems and analyzing the organization’s policies, while opening up new markets that can only be achieved through available sites.
They improve operational efficiency while reducing labor costs.
They create new business opportunities, promote innovation and generate strategic infrastructure for modern technologies.
They obtain customers and maintain them while finding a close relationship with them and improving quality.
They increase marketing share while improving organizational cooperation (Al-Somaid & Rudeineh, 2012: p. 306).
They attracting new customers, improve employee loyalty, and enhance the image of the organization.
The merging of marketing strategies and modern technologies has greatly contributed to improving marketing performance in terms of gaining customer satisfaction and loyalty, satisfying their needs, meeting their desires, and creating esteem and satisfaction which helps to protect loyal customers. The merging also contributes to improving the services in terms of product quality, ease of use, speed of storage and retrieval with customer databases that helps to carry out research to diagnose the customers’ requests and needs and try to achieve them in order to maintain their status. This is especially significant because of the intense competition between organizations and diversity of services and opportunities where only the stronger, smarter and fitter have a chance to survive.
Currently modern organizations use the strategy of e-marketing in various trades, especially businesses, where they seek to build a picture of their products through the information and images they publish. Marketing on Facebook pages is one method. There, for example, e-marketing pages are either linked to global sites such as Amazon, or local e-marketing sites such as Kaymo, or pages belonging to certain people or companies dedicated to e-marketing (Dardour, 2015-2016: p. 124).
Various Internet services reflect interaction between individuals, organizations and stakeholders, who seek specific to achieve benefits by communicating through their sites and achieving immediate interaction between different parties. Yahoo and Google search websites also provide a database of a large number of websites that are an effective tool in e-marketing. Perhaps one of the most important facilities provided by integrating marketing strategy with modern technologies to communicate on marketing practices can be summarized in the following points:
Widespread promotion of the organization facilitates access to target segments in a short time.
E-marketing helps to conduct research, studies and measure the effectiveness of promotional processes.
Completing transactions electronically provides speed, seriousness and low prices.
Building relationships with customers and providing messages along with the characteristics of the public.
Providing an interactive communication tool that supplies the customer with the freedom to express an opinion (Iben Khalifa, 2015-2016: p. 41).
Perhaps some of the most important opportunities offered by the e-marketing strategy are:
Flexibility of use and the ability to correct concepts about the organization.
The ability to build a brand name and develop new competencies (Iben Khalifa).
Access to global markets due to the lack of geographical boundaries in the digital environment.
Providing goods and services in accordance with the needs of customers in a way that meets their expectations and works to satisfy their needs.
Reducing costs and using flexible pricing especially as the buyer is looking for the best prices.
Providing goods and services in accordance with the needs of customers in a way that meets their expectations and works to satisfy their needs.
Reducing costs and use flexible pricing especially as the buyer is looking for the best prices. The development of new forms and channels of distribution without the need for intermediaries, with the emergence of so-called electronic knowledge intermediaries, which are organizations that provide and facilitate the exchange between producers and customers.
Using interactive promotion methods with customers: organizations are deliberately delivering their promotional messages to targeted environments through specific sites which are expected to be distinguished by their audiences.
Supporting and activating customer relations management as a strategic partner in businesses.
Achieving a competitive advantage and a strategic position in the market while improving the competitive position of different organizations (Abdel Fattah, 2014: p. 192).
The Challenges of E-marketing:
As much as e-marketing offers significant and diverse opportunities in the trend towards globalization and the transition to the digital economy, it faces some challenges and difficulties limiting its use and utilization. The most important of them can be identified as follows:
Regulatory challenges: Business development through e-marketing needs to bring about fundamental changes in the infrastructure of the structure, path and organizational philosophy of organizations. As a matter of fact, there is an urgent need to reorganize their structures and integrate e-marketing communication activities and events with their traditional strategies while updating their business processes in line with renewed technological developments.
High costs of setting up websites: The creation and design of websites require specialized and highly efficient experts. Moreover, there is an urging need for marketing and technical studies in order to create attractive sites capable of charming customers and arousing their attention and attention; marketing in this manner is able to provide additional value to the organization competitive advantage.
Language and culture barriers: Language and culture are two important challenges that hinder the interaction between many customers. Therefore, there is a requisite to develop sophisticated software that will make a qualitative shift in the translation of texts into languages understood by customers, taking into account cultural barriers, customs, traditions and values so as not create obstacles in the use of different commercial sites.
Privacy and security: Confidentiality and privacy are challenges that hinder and affect the acceptance of the idea of online shopping by some customers, especially since the electronic exchange process requires the availability of some data about customers such as name, gender, nationality, payment method, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to use special software to protect the confidentiality and privacy of electronic business transactions such as cookies.
Distrust of electronic payment methods: Online credit card payments are the biggest challenges facing e-marketing, so there is a tendency to use software to secure electronic payment methods and establish customer confidence (Salim, et al., p. 119).
Cybercrime and images of electronic commercial fraud: various crimes and offences are committed against individuals and groups in order to harm the victim’s reputation, namely, an act that would attack material or moral funds. Among the most important types of crimes in this area are: fraud, theft, forgery and deceit. The answer to these crimes lies in using a software that provides information security (Salim et al., pp. 122-124).
Challenges Related to Developing Countries:
In addition to the general challenges aforesaid they are additional challenges encountered by developing countries. These are:
Technological illiteracy: there are many underdeveloped countries where technology is used as a civilized appearance only to hide the reality of technological illiteracy.
The absence of serious thinking, bold action and sufficient effort on the part of developing countries to break the technological cordon imposed on them by the industrialized countries that exploit them in this respect. Some developed countries export to them technological industries with imaginary sums of money (Lehmar, 2018: p. 223).
Lack or weakness of the infrastructure necessary for this type of marketing.
Blurred vision for the future of e-marketing.
High material cost of switching to e-marketing.
Customers’ refusal of the idea of buying online because of their sense of risk.
Shortage of the internet use in the majority of developing countries.
Slow network and difficulty navigating websites in some developing countries (Kandaliji, 2015: p. 223).
15. Conclusion and Recommendations
The success of e-marketing requires successful strategic planning and the selection of strategies suitable for marketing activity. Since e-marketing strategies combine planning and the use of communication technology, this complementary relationship can help organizations monitor potential problems and threats, while providing them with opportunities to achieve excellence and gain a strategic position in the market. This requires the organization to plan its promotional mix by taking care of the most powerful elements of the strategy and providing the basic requirements for the success of these strategies.
It can be said that the most imperative results of the study are:
The application of e-marketing requires the provision of the appropriate digital environment.
The availability of the Internet and the proliferation of e-management have made e-marketing a necessity of modern times.
The success of e-marketing involves relying on careful and wisely thought-out strategies.
Several strategies can be used in the same organization in accordance with the development of the organization’s internal and external environment.
There is no better strategy than the other, but the nature of the environment and the objectives established to make the organization resort to strategies at the expense of the other.
The successful choice between strategies is based on studies and analytical research of various inputs and outputs of information as well as the accuracy and actual ability of objectives to be operated in reality.
The use of e-marketing strategies provides a lot of opportunities, such as achieving a competitive advantage and a strategic position in the market.
The success of e-marketing strategies necessitates a range of skills in the implementation process.
Despite the effectiveness of the e-marketing strategy, there are still many challenges that oblige intensified efforts to address the negative effects of establishing confidence in customers and encouraging them to access their services and instilling a culture of digital communication.
Perhaps the most important suggestions and recommendations that can be made in this respect are:
Detecting the digital environment to learn about the various developments in this area.
The need to conduct research of the digital environment before selecting and developing e-marketing strategies.
To benefit from the expertise of developed countries in this field.
The need to spread electronic culture using various means of communication to encourage electronic consumer behavior.
Electronic vigilance must be provided in order to overcome the risks that may be produced in the digital environment.
The need to take care of the mechanisms of activating the role of e-marketing strategies.