Online Marketing
respond to these two students
(first student) While Google is now ranked second on Forbes list of most powerful Brand, this was not always the case. Yahoo was once one of the top technology companies in the world but they have fallen outside of Forbes top 100 brand ranking. This decline can be attributed to many different factors but the most pressing issues were their failure to acquire Google, not pursuing Facebook, lack of clear vision and a sting of poor leadership. Yahoo had the chance to purchase Google and Search for $1 billion in 2002, because search only generated 6% of their revenues they dragged their feet and lost the opportunity. Yahoo also made an offer to purchase Facebook for $1 billion dollars but again the executives didn't follow up as later board members revealed that an offer of $1.1 billion would have been accepted. All of Yahoo's mishaps started at the top. From the beginning, Yahoo as a whole lacked a clear vision regarding the overall purpose of the company. Yahoo's ultimate demise was foreseen by some former employees.
On the other hand, Google, Inc. focuses on improving the ways people connect with information. It provides variety of services and tools for advertisers of all sizes, from simple text ads to display and mobile advertising and to publishers, whether small or large. The company primarily focuses on the areas which include search, advertising, operating systems, platforms, enterprises and hardware products. By focusing on establishing and improving the ways people connect with information, Google has become the 2nd most valuable brand per Forbes.
(second student) As more and more customers shop online, retailers are competing to sway consumers to buy from their website instead of a competitor. A top brand is Amazon and the declining brand is eBay. Amazon is the number one online retailer in this country. Amazon has numerous items that you can select from and their website is user-friendly. Customers typically take a closer look at what other people have to say about an item before checking out. And for Amazon, you can get an accurate evaluation of what to expect from that item based on customer reviews. Amazon was one of the online stores that offered overnight delivery at a reasonable price (Brown, 2018) and incorporated free two-day shipping on many amazon products to their prime member customers. On the other hand, eBay has been declining because their products are limited, and seller feedback is only limited to 80 characters or less (All you need to know, 2018). This shows that eBay clients cannot get many details to track consumers experience from the transaction. I believe market testing is the most important step in the product development process. Marketing testing helps to ensure that product and marketing strategy are sound, and it can also provide valuable information on consumers response, marketing channels, and distribution issues (Conducting Effective Test Marketing, 2007). Testing can be done in a small-scale group and one must be open to constructive criticism during the testing process. Business decisions should be tested before fully revealing it to your target audience.