Post-It Final Project Report by Pam

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Advance Diploma Final Year Project Student: Pamella Jane Coqui Cusi Student ID: HS102052 Lecturer: Mr. Kelvin Yeo

Transcript of Post-It Final Project Report by Pam

Page 1: Post-It Final Project Report by Pam

Advance Diploma Final Year Project (Marketing)

Student: Pamella Jane Coquia Cusi

Student ID: HS102052

Lecturer: Mr. Kelvin Yeo

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Table of Contents Page #

Introduction 3

SWOT analysis 4

Current Standings

Position 5

Competitors 5

Customers 6

Marketing Mix

Product 6

Place 7

Price 7

Promotion 8

Area of Concern 9

E-marketing Analysis 10

e-Marketing Strategic Planning 11

E-marketing Strategies 12

Implementation Plane 18

Evaluation 19

Conclusion 20

Reference List 21

Appendix 22

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Introduction

"Yellow, square and sticky" is what comes to people’s mind when the brand Post-it® is mentioned.

Post-it® has been a part of our daily lives whether as a student, a working individual or even at home. Those sticky papers have helped us organize our things, labels certain materials or simply allowed us to leave a note on the fridge. Since 1980 the original Canary Yellow Post-it® Note has become a ubiquitous mainstay in offices, homes, schools and everywhere in between. (3M ,2010).But before moving on with the report, the background of the company is important to know as well. The Post-it brand is under a main global company, 3M.

3M

3M was founded in 1902 (3M Company, Na). 3M is a renowned leader in research and development as well as ground-breaking products and solutions for their customers (3M, Na). 3M is basically a science-based company and produces lots of products that seems only possible in people’s imaginations. Furthermore the company is a leader in various markets such as the health care and highways safety till office supplies, stationeries, abrasives and adhesives (3M ,Na) . The company makes $25 billion in sales across its brands and products and employs 76,000 worldwide and operates in more than 60 countries (3M, Na). The leading brand products of 3M in the worldwide markets are 3M, Scotch, Scotch Brite, Command and the report’s focus, Post-its adhesive notes.

Company Background

Post-it is a brand leader in its industry. The idea of the self adhesive note pads originated from Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist in the 3M Research Lab ( Post-its, Na) however he did not know what the product could be used for or solve. Then another R&D scientist in 3M came along and had some problems regarding losing pieces of paper or notes used as bookmarks and Dr Silver came to his remembrance and the start of the Post-it Journey took place from there.

Through the years, the original 3x3 Canary Yellow note pads which officially entered the market in the year 1980 ( Post-its, Na), has evolved into different shapes, sizes and color that it could transform a boring black and white text book into an attractive and vibrant reading material which encourages the reader to actually read the book or browse through it at least. It is not only the color and shape that Post-it® developed but also made different product lines out of the original 3x3 adhesive writing pads.

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SWOT analysis

Strength Weakness

Under a market leader, 3M. Good product position in customer’s

and consumer’s mind Promotion in stationary shops (Popular

and Harri’s) Products reach different markets More product offering compared to

competitors Global presence 1st mover advantage in the self-adhesive

notes industry ( Post-its, Na) Product used widely in offices, schools

and houses Provides different solutions such as

decorating, labeling and organizing. Different shapes and colors give

customers more variety. Introduces recycled product line

No direct online transactions available Minimum visual advertisements

(billboards, screens, etc) More competitors

Opportunities Threats Ventures into technology. 3M forecast 2011 earnings of $6.17 to

$6.37 which will encourage more investors. (Tita, 2010)

Technology affects how consumers arrange their materials

Positioning

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When a survey asking customers what is the brand that sells “sticky-notes” 67% answered 3M Post-its (Cusi, 2010). This suggests that the company created a brand position in most people’s mind that self-adhesive notes are automatically Post-its. In some colleges and schools, students tend to ask their classmates for “Post-its” referring to the adhesive note pads which in fact are not under the brand name Post-it. In most, if not all, the brand “Post-it” has become a just jargon. This positioning is both beneficial and a challenge for the company.

It is beneficial because awareness about the company’s core product is being spread even without the use of advertisements and it is the first brand that people recall when talking about self-adhesive paper. The challenge that marketers face would be to address customers that Post-it is a brand name rather than just any other stationary object.

Competitors

In Singapore, Post-it is not the only self-adhesive notes that are in the industry. The brand faces competition with other brands such as Popular, Sticky Notes (other sticky note pads).

List of competitors:

Bug Fly Sticky Notes Sign Fos Info-Notes Popular house Brand

In terms of pricing, Post-it is slightly expensive yet still affordable and competitive compared to its competitors. However the price is still slightly higher especially when compared to the house brand of Popular Bookstore in Singapore. Customers could base their purchasing decision on the quality and the value for their money. In an experiment done, basic self-adhesive products were purchased and one of the results shown was that the competitors’ products lacked in color stickiness. The color of the competitor’s brand was not as vibrant and attractive as Post-its.

Moreover, in terms of the product offerings, Post-it has got an advantage because as said on earlier, the brand has more product offerings than its competitors. For instance, Post-it offers a 2-in-one product which is the Flag Pens. It is a combination of a ball point pen and the Post-it Flags. Only Post-it has this type of product and other competitors such as the home brand, Popular, don’t offer. Based on an observation, competitors such as Popular and Sticky Notes only offers basic shapes, rectangle and square. But Post-it offers different shapes such as heart, star etc. This factor gives customers a more variety and options to choose from.

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Fortunately, apart from all the competitors in the market, a New York Times article stated that the self adhesive category is dominated by Post-it notes, which accounts for $106 million in sales in office shops an stationary shops between June 2006 and May 2007 (Green, 2007)

Customers

As the brand offers solutions for office and at home, the company sells their products to their targeted markets which are the office and individual consumer markets. According to the survey conducted 39.28% of the people who answered the surveys were students and the remaining were working adults. Some of the positions held by the working adults were Draftsmen, Physiatrist and Administrators.

Current Post-it 4Ps (product, place, promotion and price)

Products

Post-its have been around since 1980 and their products are being sold worldwide (Post-it, 2010). The company is famous for its self-adhesive 3x3 yellow note pads and from then on, their products have been developed and their product lines also increased. The company has been doing well in terms of selling their products in stationary shops and groceries. They are easy to use and to carry around. The product is used in schools, offices and even at home for labeling, organizing and even decorating.

Post it sells has various product offerings. Below are the categories of products that the brand offers in Singapore

1) Notes: Note Pads Super Sticky Notes Pop-up Notes Specialty Notes Portable Notes Recycled Notes Fax Notes Custom Printed Note

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2) Flags & Tabs Flags Printed Messaging Flags Arrow Flags Pen & Highlighter Flags Desktop Dispenser Flags Tabs Page Markers Correction Tape

3) Easel Pads Notes Easel

4) Bulletin Boards5) Dispensers & Organizers

(Post-its, Na)

Place

In Singapore, Post-its sells it product to in major bookshops such as Popular and Harris, Supermarkets and other small retail shops as well as in online markets such as E-bay.com.

Price

Pricing plays a significant role in the customer’s buying decision. If the pricing if the product is too low, then they will assume that the product is of low quality. However if it is priced higher, then customers will feel that it is too expensive to purchase and doubt if the product is actually worth the money and satisfies them after purchase.

According to the survey conducted, 78% of them said that the prices of the product are affordable.

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Currently, 3M has implemented a strategy of offering its products at an affordable price line to remain competitive in more market segments (Tita, 2010). The affordable pricing of the products still encourages customers to purchase Post-it products and this allows the brand to be more competitive in the market.

Below is the price list of the Post-it products that have been provided by marketing personnel in Popular Bookstore. The prices are categorized to the categories that the products are in)

Pricing Product Retail Price $SGD/packNotes 4.50- 8.50Flags 3.50-6.00Writing tools 4.50-8.00Labels 4.00-11.50Easel Pads 8.00-10.00Bulletin Boards 18.00-25.00

Promotion

The product is not widely advertised nowadays on billboard advertisements but the product is promoted by means of activities such as designing a wall using only the self-adhesive notes. Recently a wall in the Esplanade Exchange mall was decorated by thousands of Post-its sticky notes and passer bys would already brand is the design made out of.

As a part of the company’s promotional methods, marketers builds a separate booth just for the brand. This attracts more customers to visit the booth because it is attractive and eye-catching. At PopsCentral, Bras Basah Complex Singapore, Post-it Product has its own section and is not displayed in the same aisle as the other self-adhesive product. Again this creates more attention. In addition to that, customers who are looking for a “sticky note” product, they would tend to look in the area where the Post-it products are displayed because of the brand positioning in their mind and would integrate the product as Post-its.

In addition, whenever a new product is introduced in the market, video clips would be shown in stalls where Post-it products are displayed. This recently took place with a new product, the Post-

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Cheap7%

Affordable78%

Value for money15%

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it Dispensers. Videos of how the product is to be used and how helpful it was were shown in small TV screens in the stationary shops itself to promote the product more. This allowed customers and passer-by to stop for a minute and watch the video. In addition to that, real life demonstration also took place in the booths. This method will secure the trust of consumers that the product actually works and not exaggerated in the video.

Moreover, when a survey was conducted, it shows that 48% of them answered that they knew the product through word-of-mouth. Customers would get information and recommendations about the product through their friends and family.

Source: the above

diagram is an extract from a primary research survey based in Post-it (Cusi, 2010)

However, in this generation, word-of-mouth advertisement is still fast growing but it is also important to keep up with technology to in order to reach a wider market and this report will tackle the e-marketing plan to achieve the company’s objective to grow and expand online which leads to the observed area of concern of this report and recommendations as well as implementations will be given.

Area of concern

Technology is advancing and taking place especially with the advancement on the web and internet. More consumers and customers are purchasing online due to convenience and lower prices. As shown on the diagram below the world’s internet usage is increasing which means that by doing activities online, the company could reach more of their target market and potential consumers.

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Currently, the Post-it website is at an informatory stage. Information about the product every product offerings in Singapore is stated. It gives information about the attribute of every product such as its color, sizes and shape. However, Post-it’s website does not allow direct transactions for consumers but instead it provides links to all the official and legal online retailers that do sell the product/s. The website shows a lot of details about their products so that customers could know the company and its offerings better. In addition, so promotions on the web are scarce plus the website’s click through and website advertisement is kept to a minimum. Famous and often visited websites such as Facebook or Myspace does not have any advertisement (such as banners) relating to the company as of now.. Using the web to do transactions and promoting the product will be beneficial to the company as it will allow them to reach more of their targeted markets who are geographically scattered.

E-marketing analysis

Strengths Weakness Creative and innovative employees Website allows customers to share

information through videos, Twitter and Facebook (Post-it Products, 2010)

Market leader (Post-it, 2010) Website is more interactive and attractive

compared to competitors Website is descriptive Allows customers to create accounts which

could increase customer database The company is under one major global

company, 3M

Limited language in the website (Spanish and English)

Nature of the product is tangible and is small in size.

Customers may be in doubt to purchase online as the physical size of the product is small unless they are to buy in big bulks

More sales are likely to be made online and in physical shops (such as stationary shops and groceries)

Opportunities Threats

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Faster internet connection (fiber optics and broadband)

Key words typed in search engines such as Yahoo! and Google prioritizes the Post-it brand

Improving technology infrastructure in developed and developing countries

Increase in Web and Internet users. Target markets are increasingly using the

Web (Strauss & Frost, 2009).

Culture of the product. Most people are using computers and technology to take notes rather than writing on paper.

E-marketing Strategic planning

Segmentation

Currently, the company is segmenting their products to the individual consumers and office market as they are keener on taking notes and bookmarking their schedules, etc. In a recent survey that is primarily done, 63% of them were students while the remaining 37% were working adults (Cusi, 2010).

Targeting

In the area of expanding online, the company could target certain profitable market which is the young adults aged 17-25 years old or the Generation X as they are more interested in the internet and uses the technology most of the time. They are capable of multi-tasking (Strauss & Frost,2009) and have the ability to concentrate on most of the activities they are doing in front of the computer.

In addition, this will combine the two segmentations, students and working adults, however in a more narrow sense as the age range will play an important part. For instance the company is more likely to target the working adults who are approximately 25 years of age compared to a working individual who is above 35 years old.

This target market will tend to be profitable in both tangible and intangible areas as they tend to spread the brand awareness through the work-of-mouth and friends and family are likely to consider their ideas and views (Strauss & Frost, 2009). Furthermore, they tend to explore more and at the same time spend more on the offline shops or on the internet.

Differentiation

The company tries to innovate and develop their products to be more competitive in the market. Form the classic yellow 3x3 self-adhesive pads, Post-it was able to create new product and diversify their product line (Post-it, 2010). Now they have pens, highlighters, bulletin boards and

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all types, shape and sizes of self-adhesive papers. However, online differentiation might vary. The company could differentiate themselves through better CRM and online customer service in comparison to the company’s competitors.

Currently, the website allows customers to post comments through Facebook, Twitter, Flikr and Youtube which the website indicates as the Social Buzz as shown in the image below:

Source: (Post-it Products, 2010)

E-marketing strategies

Product

The company is currently selling self adhesive papers and notes and they are mainly small materials which can discourage customers to purchase online as they could easily get hold of it by simply going into groceries or stationary shops. Therefore to increase the revenue and sales online, the company is suggested to create a different brand for the online business or develop the existing one in ways that will encourage customers to purchase online.

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“Post-omized”. As stated in the product strategy, it is suggested for the company to create a new brand for the online market to generate more revenue and sales. Post-omized is a proposed product line under Post-it that is specifically catered to the online customers. Compared to the regular stick notes, customers can now customize the design of product that would fit them more individually or as a company and this can only be done through the website. For instance have their pictures on the note pads instead of the regular yellow sticky ones.

As mentioned earlier, the nature of the product may discourage people from purchasing online due to its physical size however this strategy would encourage more customers to visit the website and purchase the customized product online. This will generate more sales through the internet. Furthermore, the company would save in terms of employing or paying an existing worker to physically consult the customers on how they want the product to be but this cost could be used in the actual making and customizing of the preferred product.

Enterprise Resource Planning system in the company could be improved because the product line that is being suggested requires the company to gather more preference from the customers. However the preferences that is keyed in by the customers will be stored in the company’s data base and would accumulate a certain pattern or trend that the company could use for further product development or marketing strategies. For example, if most of the customers prefer the color blue as a color bas of the pads, then the company could develop a pad that is blue and make it available in the physical market.

Price

This is the same in the virtual world but could be a challenge for marketers because as customers have the access to more information while deciding on the potential purchase then tends to compare the products and the prices online simultaneously. If another company offers a better price then the customer could easily terminate the purchase being done in the Post-it website.

To aid the company in pricing their products online, there are certain trends the company could follow but according to the nature of the company, it is suggested to go with the dynamic pricing strategy.

Dynamic pricing strategies allow the company to vary product prices according to different customer levels or circumstances (Strauss & Frost, 2009). For instance, the price of a product could sold to students at more cheaper price compared to an executive manager or a ordering in a rush could be more expensive compared to ordering a few weeks in advance.

The dynamic pricing categories are narrowed down to the following and are already according to priority order:

A first-time online buyer Orders in rush or made 3 weeks in advance

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Students Vs. Working adults (Singapore context)

In order for the dynamic pricing to be in place, the company needs to invest in improving the automation systems online. This system will trace who the customers are and will indicate prices differently if they are under any of the categories stated. However clashes of the categories may occur. For example, the student may be a first-time buyer therefore according to the category, a price for the 1st time online buyer is given instead of him/her being notes as a student.

Customers will only benefit from the dynamic pricing strategy of they are purchasing the materials and products online as they have to register and the system will automatically detect whether they are under any of the categories stated above. This will encourage customers who are under the categories to buy online instead of buying the materials in shops.

Below is the current and suggested pricing of the company’s product:

Pricing Product

Retail Price $SGD/pack

Purchasing online/pack Dynamic Pricing

Notes 4.50- 8.50 2.00-6.50 First-time buyer25%less of online price

Rush order: 35% increase of online price2 weeks advance order: 25%decrease of online price

Students: 25% less of online pricing

Flags 3.50-6.00 2.00-5.00Writing tools

4.50-8.00 3.00-6.00

Labels 6.00-11.50 5.00-9.50Easel Pads 8.00-10.00 6.00-8.50Bulletin Boards

18.00-25.00 16.00-23.00

Post-omized

NA Additional of S$5 (online price) depending on the product selected

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Distributional Strategies

Currently, the company does not provide any online direct selling but uses agents to sell their products online. Below are the online retailers which Post-it officially sells their product through.

Amazon.com BuyOnlineNow KirtzBros Office Depot Office Max Quill.com School Specialty Staples Walgreens 3M

Source: (Post-it, 2010)

Doing this will save the company time because they don’t need to invest greatly on the sophisticated systems as those companies are specialized in those areas and also additional costs such as employing a different team specialized in that area is eliminated. However, it is also suggested that the company should venture into direct marketing

Direct marketing is selling and marketing directly to the customers (Strauss & Frost, 2009) in terms of allowing them to purchase online via the official webpage of the company. This may tend to increase customer’s satisfaction of the webpage as they don’t have to go to another website just to search for a particular product offering. This is not only more convenient for the customers but also builds up the sense of security and reliability of the website.

Some customers may feel that it is a hassle to purchase a product online via another website. Therefore it is suggested that Pos-it directly sells its product via their official website. This would save the time of consumers to look for another website that sells the product.

To directly market and sell the product online, the company must have another link under their website that focuses on customer’s orders and specifications. Web designers must see to it that the procedure upon making a purchase is simple to understand and short so that the customers won’t be bored and might be discouraged to continue with the purchase. Furthermore the company could clear the customer’s doubt regarding the security of their credit card information by including some of the online security credential earned by the company.

The layout of the new link is not the only issue that the company needs to improve on but also update its existing ERP systems along with the rest of the information technology already available. A better system that tracks customer’s transaction and handle orders can be invested

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on however all this would be insufficient without the human knowledge and ability to control these technologies.

Online companies such as E-bay co-operates with another freight forwarding company, Fed-ex to deliver the ordered good to E-bay’s customers. In the same manner, Post-it could work and outsource their company’s deliveries to Fed-ex and this enables the company to save more on cost as delivering the goods by themselves would be more expensive. This will also satisfy customers because a reliable freight forwarding company as Fed-ex allows customers to continuously track where their products are geographically. This is possible only with the help of internet and information technology.

One major factor that hinders customers to purchase online is the security of their information. To aid this, the company is suggested to include information such as awards relating to security and a statement that they are legally allowed to have transactions online, on the webpage to make customers more secure.

Marketing Communication Strategies

The company needs to communicate information about their products to their consumers and potential customers to create brand awareness, build up the brand image and to convey information about the products. However it is not as easy as it sounds. Struggles that most companies encounters when advertising online are:

Not communicating and reaching the right target market Customers may find the advertisements annoying Customers ignore the advertisements Lack of information regarding to whom the advertisements are for and how to get them to

pay attention

In order for the company to utilize the internet, they need to have more customer and target market’s database. The company needs to know where and which website their target audiences are visiting more often, Database marketing allows the company to maintain records about customer behavior, preferences and needs which will be helpful for the company in order to satisfy and communicate with them accordingly.

As the company is creating and developing new products to attract more online customers, the company needs to communicate this information and introduce it to their market. The company is suggested to undergo the following communication tools: rich media and display ads

The company could create an advertisement online which is interactive and offers click through which direct the consumer to the main website of the company and allows them to make a transaction as well. The company could include games in their advertisements which tends to catch the attention of customers especially when they are sitting idle in front of the computer.

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Games tends to generate interest and causes the user to pay attention and when they are done playing the game, a congratulation message appears and users will tend to click the “Next” button which will direct the to the company’s website. Awareness of the product and company can already be introduced when a game is played at the same time. For example, the game instructs the user to stick 100 pieces of Post-its in the board within 30 seconds. So whether or not the user continues playing and clicks through the official website, they are already informed that the advertisement is conveying a message about Post-it products. The game designers and marketers need to ensure that the games are not too long or as this may cause the user to exit the game.

Another communication method that can be used is through display ads. Display ads can now be in any shape, color or sizes to create brand awareness and catch the customer’s attention. Display ads can be placed on websites which target customers tends to go often which are search and online communities such as Facebook and Google which are the top two most visited website according to HitWise United States (Experian Hitwise, 2010). Social media and search engines are the main means of discovering information and both types of website contains vast pool of content (Adweek, 2009). These websites are where Post-it could set up their banner as they are two of the most visited websites. Designers of the advertisement and banner has to make the advertisement stand out because the Post-it brand is likely not the only advertisement banner that will be placed on the website. The marketing team could aim for the top part of the selected webpage as it is the first content that the users will see and it is the first one to be loaded as well. However this location is not cheap therefore budgeting for this method is needed.

Relationship Management Strategies

Once s transaction has been carried out whether it may be between the company and the suppliers or the company and its customers, it is important, cost consuming and helpful to maintain a good relationship with them.

The company could do this by continuous communication with their customer via e-mails and update them with any products, events or services that the company is undergoing. The company can grab this opportunity in the following ways

When a purchase is made: Once a customer makes a transaction online, the marketer could include an opt-in or opt-out checkbox so that customers can choose whether or not they want to be updated about any products that might be of value them or if they are interested in knowing about the company in general through e-newsletter.

24hours online customer service: By having a 24hour help service, the customer will tend to feel that they are being taken care after. However this may not be the case all the time. To save more on cost and time, the company could just set up a system where in an automatic and customized letter (in term of having the customer’s name on the letter) will be automatically sent back to the customer. And example could be:

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“Dear Ms Pamella Cusi,

Thank you for your inquiry and we will get back to you as soon as possible

Kind Regards,ABC Marketing Team”

Improved CRM system: A CRM system allows the company to gather more data and respond to the customer according to the information that was given earlier. Post-it could use this system a lot when it comes to the Post-omize product as the company has to update their customer about the progress of the product they have requested for. In addition, the system allows the management and the users of the system in the company to know and learn more about their customers and try to please them by meeting their demand and wants. As mentioned by (Strauss& Frost, 2009), it is more expensive to build up more customers compared to maintaining currents ones.

Implementation Plans

Aside from the suggested implementations relating to the 4Ps of the company, marketers also need to focus on their relationship management tactics and their marketing organizational tactics.

Relational management tactics relates on how customers are attracted back to revisit the website, make transactions online and even spread the word about the company’s online services and this could be achieved by having a good relationship managements. Customers nowadays want to feel differentiated from others and according to Alfie Yee, Hilton’s Asia Pacific Director, “ The key to business success would be to target each individual segment with programs catered to their needs” (Davidson, 2009). To assist the company in achieving customization and improve customer relationship, a system called CRM has to be in place.

Customer relationship managements is the process of targeting, acquiring, transacting, servicing, retaining and building long-term relationship with customers (Strauss & Frost, 2009). This system captures records from customers and allows marketers to enter data in the system and then translate them into information that the marketers might need in the future. For example, a customer registers as a student. The CRM captures this information and now will automatically change the regular online prices according to the price allocated using the dynamic pricing for students. In addition, the system could track customers in real time therefore any changes made with the customer’s preferences is automatically captured and changed to prevent any mistakes.

The next factor that is needed for implementation is the staffs and the departments in the company. As the company is seriously planning to expand online, a small department should be

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built up just for that purpose only. A group/team of 5 will do to handle the online business but will work hand in hand with the marketing, production and sales department. As the company is expanding, more human resources are needed. However, to reduce costs, the company could train, promote or re-assign employees to the department. The team should be experienced with the software that are in place therefore further training is needed. In terms of call centre and customer services through the phone or internet, the company could use and utilize its man power in branches where in the cost of labor is relatively lower.

Evaluation

The question at the end of the day is whether or not the strategies would work. The company could enforce a tracking system which will allow the company to track the flow of click through via the location where marketers have places their advertisements and the traffic that the website encountered. If the selected websites In which the company had advertised in on generated a lot of click-through then more can be invested on that location to improve and maintain the banner and advertisement, On the other hand, if those location does not attract any customers to the Post-it website to view the page or make a transaction, then the company could decide to withdraw from the spot and look for another site in the internet where they think will attract more customers and the target market. For instance, if the company chooses to use MySpace as a location for the banner to target those who are involved in social networking but for some reason the campaign did not succeed, and then marketers could pull back and spend on advertising on Facebook instead.

Furthermore, the company could compare the actual revenue and sales generated by the new strategies that were implemented to the forecasted revenue and budgeting plan. Nevertheless, marketers could compare the intangible and tangible results that was gained or lost. Intangible factors could include the amount of traffic is and the amount of people who visits the website on a regular basis. This could be beneficial as this means that the customers are interested in knowing more about the product but may just visit the webpage to gain information but will not actually purchase online. On the contrary, marketers could reflect the effectiveness of the strategy by looking at the actual revenue and sales that the company made through the website. Marketers are interested not only if their customers are aware of the website and the product but most importantly, does it give them a tangible result which is revenue in electronic money.

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Conclusion

To conclude, the use of the internet is proven to give the company a better way to reach more of their target markets and potential consumers. For instance, the company could still reach those target markets in the rural area even while operating in the urban area of a country. The company could reach those people who are not keen on going outside and purchasing materials from the physical shops as well. However, to continuously use the internet for the benefit of the company, Post-its should know who, where and how to communicate with their target markets online.

In addition, direct marketing gives the customer the convenience of purchasing directly through the website which tends to save their time as they are not directed to another website of online retailer to make the purchase, In order for the company to do this successfully, the steps and process in which the customer has to make an order should be short and simple and most importantly secure the customers trust in terms of their information.

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Reference List

Post-its. (Na, Na Na). Post-it Celebrating 30 years of Keeping it Simple. Retrieved November 12, 2010, from Post-it Web site: http://www.post-it30years.com/main/celebration-history.aspx

3M . (Na, Na Na). 3M US: Company Information- Who We Are. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from 3M Web site: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/about-3M/information/about/us/

3M . (2010, NA NA). 3M Us| Company information. Retrieved October 25, 2010, from 3M Website: http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/about-3M/information/about/us/>

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