2.1. The Definition of E-Marketing
E-business refers to the use of digital interactive technologies and information technology in order to conduct a firm’s business. It is a term that is often used synonymously with e-commerce and e-marketing. However, these latter terms are merely parts of those e-business activities.
E-marketing makes use of these same technologies specifically as a logical extension to complete the traditional market practices of creating, communicating and delivering value to customers. Closely aligned with this, e-commerce refers specifically to the facilitation of the transactions created by the businesses marketing activities. In the same manner, internet marketing and e-marketing are often used synonymously and taken to mean the same thing (O’Connor et al., 2004; Strauss & Frost, 2005). The Internet is the arena where e-commerce takes place; it provides information via the World Wide Web, e-mail, allows for real-time communications and enables the sharing of databases.
However, e-marketing is about much more than just the internet. It involves other technologies that enable customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, text messaging, bar code scanners and digital TV. For this study, the definition of e-marketing includes using the Internet and its related technologies and features such as the world wide web, web presences, e-mails, real-time communication, and delayed and mixed time communication to help achieve marketing objectives in conjunction with other marketing communication tools. The terms e-marketing and internet marketing will be used interchangeably and will be taken to include the activities of e-commerce.