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Question by quackerjackets: What is meant by “Characteristics of the E-Market”? In terms of a Situational Analysis.?
I am in a University E-Marketing course and my group need to make an e-marketing plan for Epson Video Projectors. So far we are on the first step which is Situational Analysis. The first part to be resolved is “Characteristics of the E-Market.” We are unsure what is meant by that since it is not usually included in normal marketing plans. Does it mean what ways Epson and its competitors are currently using IT, E.G, Internets, cell phones, TV??? Hopefully a Business/Marketing Major can tell us if we are on track or what needs to be found/researched to answer the question. Please give a example if you can. Thanks

Best answer:

Answer by Mark Welch
I don’t know the answer, because the question uses a phrase in a way that implies an “understood” or “pre-defined” meaning. Often, this may be a definition provided orally in the classroom, or drawn from a textbook — and often instructors use terms to mean something quite different (or broader or more limited) than what general usage or common sense might imply.

My assumption is that “Characteristics of the E-Market” would be a section in the marketing plan that explains how the “E-Market” audience may differ from the traditional retail market. For example, if I buy a projector at a store, I might expect a salesperson to answer questions (probably ineptly, in my experience); and I routinely cannot access technical information about products in the store. Retail-store customers may be less likely to have conducted research and done price comparisons. Online customers will expect delivery to their selected destination, while retail store customers expect to pick up the item at the store.

Other differences might include: manufacturer-direct transactions; training and setup options; return policies; handling warranty claims; hesitation to purchase a large-ticket item from an unknown and “unseen” online store, as compared to shopping at a known retail store.

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