Экономические науки/ 6.Маркетинг и менеджмент.

Vlasova I. A.

Glushenko E.N.

Donetsk National University of Economics and Trade Named after Mikhailo Tugan-Baranovsky

TOURISM MARKETING AND INTERNET

The Internet is the global 'network of networks", an information exchange system, the most important aspect of it is the connectivity, the ability that allow everyone to access the network. The potential of using the Internet for marketing activities is derived from its general use as an information exchange system in the digital age. The information can be stored, indexed, retrieved, restructured and redistributed automatically by software and without human intervention.  The Internet connects companies with companies, companies with customers, and people with people without regard to time, space and hardware software platforms.

This paper intends to investigate two fundamental but interrelated issues in Internet marketing - the potential of the Internet for marketing and the current constraints on the full realization of such potential.

The Internet is widely recognized as an extremely valuable marketing tool. It is generally held that the Internet  offers  substantial  advantages  over traditional means of communication: reduced costs of information exchange; increased speed of information transfer and retrieval;  increased customer  involvement  in  and  control  of transactions; and greater flexibility of using the marketing mix. Its main business uses include communications (both internal and external), market research, customer  services,  market penetration, product development, cost savings through process reengineering, direct marketing, advertising and product delivering.

The Internet has the unique quality that, through its addressibility, can transform the prominent marketing communication paradigm from one-to-many to  one-to-one  or  from broadcasting to narrowcasting. The traditional media, such as print, radio and television, follow a passive one-to-many communication model, whereby a company reaches many current and potential customers through the broadcasting of the same message. This approach to communication has three problems: 

1. uncustomised message to every consumer 

2. wasted exposures to uninterested audiences 

3. "noise" distraction from competing and conflicting messages.

In contrast, the Internet enables a company to individually "address" consumers in its marketing communications because each time a user visits its web site, its server has a record of the user's electronic address. The company can then "narrowcast" - send tailor-made message content - to a smaller target audience or an individual consumer.

Another feature of the Net that distinguishes itself from traditional communication media is its ability to respond to user inputs, i.e. interactivity. The Internet is capable of giving feedback in response to the actions users perform on the computer, resulting in the sense of engagement with the computer. This two-way dialogue forms an important component of relationship marketing, and is an important factor in building customer loyalty.  Customers are effortlessly communicatewith companies to find product information and conduct transactions with a few keystrokes while companies can easily contact customers to clarify their needs or inform them of new products.

The Web is a much more flexible marketing medium than the traditional mass media. A web page can be considered as an electronic billboard, electronic advertisement, or electronic catalogue that provides information on products or services plus contact information for interested consumers. But a virtual advertisement or catalogue is much flexible than a physical advertisement or catalogue. It can gather fresh and updated information based on the direct feedback received from consumers. A virtual catalogue can be gradually developed and organized based on the actual interest of consumers. It can also keep consumers constantly informed of the company's new product offerings, latest price changes and sales promotion initiatives.

In order to market tourism products successfully on the Internet, a tourism organization must first of all have a strategic vision whereby it can fully comprehend the changing market space, from physical to both physical and virtual, and the underlying forces shaping this new marketing space.

Second, the Internet must not be treated as just a promotion aid or distribution device, but be seen as a major force in itself that profoundly changes the way tourist business is conducted. 'Marketers will need to rethink fundamentally the processes by which they identify, communicate, and deliver customer value. They will need to improve their skills in managing individual customers and allies. They will need to involve their customers in the act of codesigning their desired products. Indeed, tourism marketers should change their business paradigm and marketing practices to suit the new Internet era.

Third, as the Internet alters the critical success factors in many businesses, tourism organisations must use it effectively to create new competitive advantages.

List of literature:

1. Kiani, G.R. (2010). Marketing opportunities in the digital world.Internet Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp.185-194.

2. Smith, C. and Jenner, P. (2009). Tourism and the Internet.Travel and Tourism Analyst, No.1, pp.62- 81.

3. Stern, J. (2009). World Wide Web Marketing: Integating the Internet into your marketing strateg. New York: John Wiley.