ABSTRACT
Nowadays internet advertising has become more important. The e-mail advertising belongs to the essential tools for the firm to advertise itself on the internet. This dissertation is focused on designing the e-mail campaign based on the relevant theory.
Czech Computer s.r.o has been chosen as an example where the new e-mail campaign could be launched. Afterwards the current e-mail campaign is confronted with the suggested one and it is examined what is the best solution for this particular firm.
The research is aimed on gathering the customer’s attitude about both of the designs of the e-mails and the firm’s capability, suitability, feasibility and acceptability of suggested solution. The results about each e-mail campaigns are compared. Finally the recommendations are given and the conclusions are made.
The evaluation from the research can provide useful information for the firms, which are thinking about launching a new e-mail campaign to increase the sales and customer’s loyalty.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to thank my parents for their support and encouragement during all of the academic year. Without their help studying in UK would have been unthinkable.
Secondly I would like to thank Mr. Kevin Rowles for his support with my dissertation.
He helped me during all of the project and helped me in the formation of the ideas.
I also would like to thank Mr. Josef Matejka, the owner of the Czech Computer s.r.o, who dedicated his time to help me.
Finally I would like to thank all of the respondents who dedicated time and effort to complete my questionnaire.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...2
TABLE OF CONTENTS...3
TABLE OF FIGURES...7
LIST OF TABLES ...8
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ...9
1.1 Background ...9
1.2 The aim of the dissertation...10
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW ...11
2.1 Introduction into marketing theory about customers behaviour...11
2.1.1 The key questions about the buyers... 11
2.1.2 Who are the buyers?... 11
2.1.3 Decision making process... 12
2.1.4 Purchase classes ... 13
2.2 Promotional mix...14
2.2.1 The major components of the promotional mix... 14
2.3 Online buyer behaviour...15
2.4 Using the Internet as an advertising medium ...16
2.4.1 Brief history of internet business... 16
2.4.2 Internet promotion... 17
2.5 E-mail marketing ...20
2.5.1 What is an e-mail?... 20
2.5.2 Why e-mail marketing matters ... 20
2.5.3 Spam and permission policy... 20
2.5.3 Why e-mail marketing beats web site-based marketing ... 21
2.5.4 Measuring e-mail marketing effectiveness ... 21
2.5.5 Email campaign planning ... 23
2.5.6 Layout design ... 30
CHAPTER 3 – COMPANY BACKGROUND AND SUGGESTED SOLUTION..32
3.1 Czech Computer – general background ...32
3.1.1 Porter’s five forces analysis of Czech Computer s.r.o... 32
3.2 The description of the current e-mail campaign...33
3.3 My suggested improved solution ...34
3.3.1 Customer approach ... 34
3.3.2 Chaffey’s (2003) 12 decisions ... 35
3.3.3 Layout of the e-mail... 38
CHAPTER 4 - METHODOLOGY...39
4.1 Introduction...39
4.4 Research strategy ...40
4.5 Selecting samples...40
4.6 Collecting primary data by questionnaire...41
4.6.1 Type of the questionnaire ... 41
4.6.2. Questionnaire design... 41
4.6.3 The aim of the research questions... 42
4.7 Collecting data by interview ...45
4.8 Limitation ...46
4.8.1 Size of the sample ... 46
4.8.2 Geographical limitation ... 46
4.8.3 Firm’s limitation ... 46
4.9 Pilot study ...46
5.1 Introduction...47
5.2 Respondents’ characteristics ...47
5.2.1 Basic characteristics ... 47
5.3 Hypothesis - findings ...49
5.3.1 Hypothesis 1 - Is the importance of e-mail advertising as high as the literature declares? ... 49
5.3.2 Hypothesis 2 - Does unsolicited commercial e-mail have a negative impact on selling products and the firm’s prestige? ... 50
5.3.3 Hypothesis 3: Is following the customer’s needs and desires important? ... 51
5.4 Customers’ attitude ...51
5.5 Results from the interview ...55
CHAPTER 6 – DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION ...56
6.1 Research questions and their relation to the research results and the literature ...56
6.1.1 Hypothesis 1 - Is the importance of e-mail advertising as high as the literature declares? ... 56
6.1.2 Hypothesis 2 - Does unsolicited commercial e-mail have a negative impact on selling products and the firm’s prestige? ... 56
6.1.3 Hypothesis 3 – Is following the customer’s needs and desires important? ... 56
6.1.4 Hypothesis 4 - Can the new design of e-mail advertisement be more persuasive?... 57
6.1.5 Hypothesis 5 - Is the firm disposed to replace old e-mail campaign with improved one? ... 58
6.1.6 Hypothesis 6 - Will the new design of the e-mail campaign based on relevant theory create more benefits for the firm?... 59
6.2 Limitation of the study ...59
6.3 Recommendations...59
CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION ...61
7.1 Research questions and their establishment ...61
7.2 Summary...62 REFERENCES: ...63 APPENDIX 1 – DESIGN A – THE CURRENT DESIGN OF THE COMMERCIAL EMAIL
APPENDIX 2 – DESIGN B – THE DESIGN OF SUGGESTED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL
APPENDIX 3 – FINAL VERSION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
APPENDIX 4 – THE INTERVIEW WITH OWNER OF THE FIRM CZECH COMPUTER S.R.O
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1.1 Percentage of individuals, who have bought on internet in the last 12
months, sorted by gender and age ...9
Figure 2.1.3.1 Factors, which influence customers’ decision-making...13
Figure 2.3.1 Popular online activities in the UK showing variation between October 2000 and October 2002 ...15
Figure 2.3.2 Reasons why businesses do not buy supplies online ...16
Figure 2.4.2.1 Offline and online communications techniques for e-commerce ...18
Figure 2.5.4.1 A simple model for objective setting for e-mail marketing...22
Figure 2.5.4.2 Part of spreadsheet model showing best case and worst case scenarios for an e-mail campaign against the actual campaign result ...23
Figure 2.5.5.1 Loyalty drivers for e-commerce ...26
Figure 2.5.5.2 Options for split between content in an e-mail an on a web site ...28
Figure 3.3.2.1 Screenshot of firm’s web site ...35
Figure 3.3.2.2 Screenshot of the confirmation page ...36
Figure 5.2.1.2 Pie chart –Diversification by age...48
Figure 5.2.1.4 Pie chart – Diversification by gender ...49
Figure 5.4.2 Pie chart – Customers’ preferred design...52
Figure 5.4.3 Comparison of catchiness ...52
Figure 5.4.4 Comparison of clarity ...53
Figure 5.4.5 Comparison of simplicity ...53
Figure 5.4.6 Comparison of directivity ...53
Figure 5.4.7 Comparison of length ...54
Figure 5.4.8 Bar chart – Comparison of length...54
LIST OF TABLES
Table 5.2.1.1 Diversification by age ...48 Table 5.2.1.3 Diversification by gender...48 Table 5.2.1.5 Diversification by location...49 Table 5.3.1.1 Different types of internet advertisement and their ability to persuade the
customers...50 Table 5.3.2.1 Are customers bothered with unsolicited commercial e-mails? ...50 Table 5.3.2.2 Are customers annoyed with companies which send unsolicited
commercial e-mail? ...51 Table 5.4.1 Customers’ preferred design ...51 Table 5.4.9 Control question – Customers’ preferred design ...55
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
According to the Czech Statistical Office (31.3.2006) the Czech Republic has 10 259 017 inhabitants. According to the Czech Statistical Office report (2nd quarter 2006) 47% of the whole population older than 16 years have access to the internet and 41% of the whole population older than 16 years are regularly connected to the internet.
The most popular activities on the internet are communication and searching information. 84% of the users of the internet have used their e-mail in the last 3 months.
Around 14% (1.16 million) individuals have used the internet for a buying product or service at least once. The most popular commodities are electronics, books, magazines, tickets and travel services. Figure 1.1.1 shows the development of the Czech online sales. The number of Czech online customers has rapidly grown.
Figure 1.1.1 Percentage of individuals, who have bought on internet in the last 12 months, sorted by gender and age
The Czech Statistical Office report (2nd Quarter 2006) shows that there are 2 692 000 (76%) internet users who have a personal e-mail address.
The Czech Statistical Office report (2005) exhibits that hotel accomodation is the most successful (almost 37%) of all the enterprises that received orders from private consumers via the internet. However in total only 6.3% of entire enterprises that received orders from private consumers via the internet.
Figure 1.1.1 Percentage of individuals, who have bought on internet in the last 12 months, sorted by gender and age
Aggregate Men Women 16+ 16+ 16+
Percentage of the aggregate number of individuals in the group
1.2 The aim of the dissertation
The main aim of the research is to understand customer’s behaviour on the Internet environment and to identify the most suitable e-mail advertisement solution for Czech Computer s.r.o.
The relevant literature is reviewed in Chapter 2. The theory derived from this information has been used in designing the suggested e-mail campaign.
The firm Czech Computer s.r.o is presented in the Chapter 3. It is also made Porter’s five forces analysis for better understanding the firm’s business environment. Also the suggested e-mail campaign and its characteristics are detailed.
Chapter 4 is focused on how the primary data was gained. The techniques and tools that were used are described and what and the possible respondent’s characteristics are theorized. The research questions are also set in this chapter.
The results from the research are presented in the Chapter 5. The charts and tables are made for the purpose of creating a better understanding of the data.
In the Chapter 6, the relation between the results and the research questions are explained. Furthermore the recommendations are also presented.
Chapter 7 examines whether the research proved research questions. Here is also discussed if the theory is constructed on reasonable base.
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction into marketing theory about customers behaviour 2.1.1 The key questions about the buyers
Jobber (2004) lists 5 key questions, which help us to understand the buyers.
1) Who is important in the buying decision?
2) How do they buy?
3) What are their choice criteria?
4) Where do they buy?
5) When do they buy?
(Jobber, 2005, p.66) 2.1.2 Who are the buyers?
Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) argue that there are two types of buyers, the first of them are customers, “who are buying products and services for themselves or on behalf of their households”, but not only to “satisfy their physiological needs, but also their sociological and psychological needs”, the other are organisational buyers who are buying “products and services on behalf of the organisations they work for”.
Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) goes on that satisfying need of organisational buyers are different, there is no personal need in the first row, but it is the organisational needs which are the most important, but organisational buyers are still human beings, therefore they can not “step out of their personal attitudes and preferences”. (p. 83-84) Jobber (2004) and Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) defines that if the buyer is not only one individual person, there are different customer roles:
1) Initiator: the person, who comes with idea of buying product or service.
2) Influencer: someone who persuades others in the group to buy specific product or service.
3) Decider: the person who has enough authority to make the final decision about buying a specific product or service.
4) Buyer: someone who makes the transaction of money.
5) User: the person who is using the product or service.
Jobber (2004) adds that in organizational buyers, there is a 6th role: Gatekeepers, who controls the information which go to the members of decision-making unit, for instance secretaries.
2.1.3 Decision making process
Christopher & McDonald (1991) write that the everyday decision is a balance between personal influences and external influences and it is coming through 3 stages, first of them is Awareness, where a “buyer becomes aware of a product, service or new brand through some sort of communication”, this is a part where marketer can influence the buyer, secondly it is Trial, where buyer is using and appreciating the product or service.
The third stage is Repeat buying, where “the decision to re-buy depends largely upon what happened during the trial phase”. It is really hard to persuade the buyer to re-buy or try the product or service again, if he has bad experience in trial phase. (p. 89-91) Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) divide Personal influence in 2 different groups, first are Personal characteristics and second are Individual circumstances.
As you can se in the Figure 2.1.3.1, Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) are presenting that the consumer decision-making processes are influenced by different factors. These factors are personal characteristics (for instance personality, lifestyle or motivation), social environment (for example culture and social class) and individual circumstances (like gender, age and education).
Figure 2.1.3.1 Factors, which influence customers’ decision-making
Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) 2.1.4 Purchase classes
Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) defines various types of purchase classes.
“Impulse purchases are made with no planning.” This class is specified by impulse purchase. After the purchase the customer may be disappointed about the product or service. The emphasis is given on visual stimulus. The biggest use is with non-essential items (e.g. magazines near supermarket check-outs, where in short time customers can take items, which are not in their shopping lists).
Routine purchases are made on basic items for every day use. Customers are used to choosing their favourite brand and they are only thinking about the changing in limited situations, when their brand is not available. This is the reason why all producers of these types of products are giving emphasis on good availability of their products. It is hard for competitors to come to market and defeat well-established positions.
Familiar purchases happen when customers are using some sort of products, but they want to try something new. It occurs because of better price or bad experience with their brand. But it is only a limited decision-making purchase, because customers are looking
for new products in the same type of products. Advertising can be based on persuading customers to try something new.
Unfamiliar purchases occur when customers are buying product or services which customers are not used to purchasing (e.g. household appliance, holidays or sports equipment). Customers are deciding more carefully and they are using more criteria.
Critical purchases have the highest risks. If decision was bad, it would have huge impact to customer, therefore customers are more sceptical about advertisement and they are looking for more information from public and personal sources.
Hill & O’Sullivan (1999) summarize that every person is different, what is an unfamiliar purchase for someone for another one can be everyday purchase. Firms have to study “decision processes that most commonly relate to their own products” to provide to their customers the most appropriate information.
2.2 Promotional mix
2.2.1 The major components of the promotional mix Jobber (2004) lists 6 principal parts of marketing mix.
1) Advertising: “any paid form of non-personal communication of ideas or products in the prime media, i.e. television, the press, posters, cinema and radio.”
2) Personal selling: oral communication with potential buyer.
3) Direct marketing: The use of interactive communication with customers, which allow them to respond.
4) Internet and online marketing: electronic media are used to distribute information to customers.
5) Sales promotion: the purpose is to stimulate customer or trade purchases.
6) Publicity: “the communication of a product or business by placing information about it in the media without paying for the time or space directly”.
2.3 Online buyer behaviour
Chaffey (2004) writes that "an understanding of novel buyer behaviour in the online environment is essential for e-marketing managers".
Figure 2.3.1 Popular online activities in the UK showing variation between October 2000 and October 2002
Source: Chaffey (2004) Figure 2.3.1 shows that using email is the most popular activity on internet. Chaffey (2004) argues that using text to persuade customers "should not be underestimated and managing these messages presents many challenges".
Chaffey (2004) explains why online shopping is not the most popular activity. Figure 2.3.2 shows us the barriers, which inhibit development of online sale. The biggest barrier is that goods or services are not suitable for buying online (for example because a customer can not try size of the clothes or the price is so high, that customer prefers face-to-face contact - for example estate or car buying.)
Figure 2.3.2 Reasons why businesses do not buy supplies online
Source: Chaffey (2004) There are different individual ways of how to use the web. One person can be a combination by more of them.
Directed information-seekers. Experienced user, which is skilled in search engines. He is looking for "product, market or leisure information".
Undirected information-seekers. This user is browsing internet sites by following hyperlinks. This is the type of user, who likely clicks on the internet advertisement.
Directed buyers. "These buyers are online to purchase specific products".
Bargain hunters. These users are online to find an opportunity to get offers from sales promotions (for example free samples)
Entertainment seekers. This type of user is looking for internet entertainment (for example online games).
2.4 Using the Internet as an advertising medium 2.4.1 Brief history of internet business
Jobber (2004) writes that in 1989 the first commercial transaction was made by the internet. In the course of time the number of computers connected to the internet was
invention allowed the unqualified users to have an access to the advanced possibilities such as text, graphics and multimedia content. More than ten thousand companies came online with their websites. There were vast investments into this area (which Jobber (2004) compares to the “Californian gold rush era of 1849”). Unfortunately “the dotcom boom period turned into dotcom bust”. Many companies went bankrupt, but some of them (for instance eBay, Lastminute.com, Yahoo! or Amazon) have survived.
Nowadays the internet business has turned into the success.
Ray Welling & Lesslie White (2006) write that “nearly all businesses, regardless of size, now have a web site”. E-commerce brings the benefits in term of increasing sales.
T.C. Melewar & Nichola Smith (2003) add that the internet business has also great impact to the organisations’ product awareness. Marius Janson & Dubravka Cecez- Kecmanovic (2005) summarize that “e-commerce creates significant economical benefits for both sellers and buyers due to availability of information and new online services, access to new markets, lower transaction costs, increased transaction speed and accuracy, and shorter delivery times”.
2.4.2 Internet promotion
Bickerton et al (2000) explain that online advertising passed through long development.
At the beginning the adverts were only coloured text with simple graphics. Nowadays there are several innovations.
First of them are web banners which have outside of relevant information also possibility to use some extra services (for example to order a brochure, to watch a video etc.), these information are placed on the firm’s web site.
Secondly there are web banners, which are more interactive. There is the possibility to write straight to the banner or to interact with it (for examples games or scripts).
Banners can also contain an audio and a video.
However Chaffey (2004) has a different view of the internet advertising. Figure 2.4.2.1 shows 2 different types – Referrals from offline sources and Referrals from online sources. The main aim of all of these techniques is to acquire the customer attention.
Figure 2.4.2.1 Offline and online communications techniques for e-commerce
Chafey (2004) also explains the changes in communication between traditional media and new media.
1. From push to pull. “Traditional media such as print, TV and radio are push media, “a one-way street where information is mainly unidirectional, from company to customer unless direct-response elements are built in”. The opposite are pull media such as the web. This approach is consisted of strengths, but also of weaknesses. It is the strength from the view that customers, who are visiting firm’s web pages, they are coming with their own belief. They are “proactive and self-selecting”. The weakness is that marketers have less control how the advertisement is pushed into customers.
2. From monologue to dialogue. The important aim of new media is the ability to create a dialogue between company and customer. This dialogue can be short- term (for example online chat to customer support) or long-term.
3. From one-to-many to one-to-some and one-to-one. The traditional push media is based on one-to-many principle. It means that one company is sending one messages to many customers, this influence is same for everyone and therefore poor targeted. The new media allows the one-to-some or better one-to-one
communication. The main advantage is ability to send different messages to particular customers, therefore there is a possibility for personalization.
4. From one-to-many to many-to-many communication. The new media have brought the completely new view of customer approach. Many-to-many communication allows customers to communicate between them (for example through firm’s bulletin board). The threat is in negative communication about company and therefore it is necessary to control this communication.
5. From ‘lean-back’ to ‘lean-forward’. The web page as an example of the new media has to impress in the first time. It has the full customer attention, therefore when the web page is slow, with poor design or is not clear enough, the customers can leave and never come back. For example a TV advertisement has not full customer attention.
6. The medium changes the nature of standard marketing communications tools such as advertising. Internet is changing the view of “elements of the communication mix including advertising.”
7. Increase in communications intermediaries. The companies from the traditional media (for example TV, radio) penetrate with the new media. For example radio channels are coming online.
8. Integration remains important. It is important to appreciate that the most effective is to combine different media according to their strengths. Chaffey (2004) uses useful example of product sale. Firstly customers see the TV advertisement for awareness of the brand, than according to print advert they are referred to the web pages, where they can find additional information. In the end they order the product by phone (with phone number, which they extract from the web page).
2.5 E-mail marketing 2.5.1 What is an e-mail?
According to Adam (2002) it is possible to say, that the first electronic message was sent in Paris in 1746 through telegraphy trial, but it was in 1840s when Morse succeeded with effort to convince US to advance telegraphy from the experiments to the practice. The next step was in 1931 when there was firstly sent message, which had a
“text output readable directly by someone else than a telegraph operator”. The first electronic mail, how we know it nowadays, was sent in 1960s. However it could be send only locally by users connected to the same computer. In the same decade there was invented a command for sending “mail” by Bolt, Beranek and Newman. But it was Ray Tomlinson who succeeded in sending mail between two different computers in 1971. For interestingness it was also Ray Tomlinson who used the symbol ‘@’ “to signify that a user was ‘at’ the named host computer”. However “it took 15 to 20 years for e-mail to move out of the academic/military sector and become popular with the general public”. From this time the development has been rapid.
2.5.2 Why e-mail marketing matters
Chaffey (2003) compares the direct mail with an e-mail. The result is that it is clearly seen that e-mail can be rival for other media as a form of direct communication. The example is from UK; in January 2002 around 550 million e-mails and 258 million domestic letters were sent. Nowadays e-mail is used for communication for both customers and businesses. It is known that people spend “more time with” their “e-mail than using the web”.
2.5.3 Spam and permission policy
Evangelos Moustakas, C. Ranganathan, Penny Duquenoy (2006) explains that. “The growth in the use of e-mail marketing has been accomplished by an enormous increase in the amount of unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), popularly known as spam”.
Spam became a serious problem, because the community pays billions of dollars every year. According to the Office for Personal Data Protection (2007) every commercial e- mail has to have a possibility to unsubscribe from the further commercial e-mail
Chaffey (2003) continues that customers want to have control over communications.
Therefore “permission marketing, or gaining consent for marketing communications to be received, is fundamental to successful e-mail marketing”. Permission marketing is based on seeking the customer’s permission before the first e-mail is sent. Permission marketing also increases response rates from the customers.
Chaffey (2003) shows 2 different ways how to acquire the list of customers’ e-mails.
1. Purchase of opt-in bought-in list. The company buys a list from the broker or list owner, which contains e-mails from the individuals who agreed with receiving marketing advertisement.
2. Building a house list. The company is making its own list using a company’s website or other techniques. The advantage of this alternative is that customers agree with receiving e-mails from the company, therefore the response rate will be higher.
2.5.3 Why e-mail marketing beats web site-based marketing
As it is written above, the web page is pull media. Chaffey (2003) goes on that the customers are willing to come to the firm’s web page. However e-mail is a push medium, firm can use e-mails to “remind the visitor about the company and its products”, Paul Hewitt (2006) agrees with this point. It is also possible to use e-mail like alerts. Firm can inform their customers by e-mail very fast, because e-mail can contain up-to-the-minute information. Another advantage of e-mail is in its flexibility.
Firms can quite easily adapt their business e-mails to the customers’ preferences and needs (for example with using personalisation or sending special offers). However the web site works better in some areas. For example it is more useful to use web pages for detailed and complex information. The result is that the most efficient situation is a combination of both e-mail and web page marketing.
2.5.4 Measuring e-mail marketing effectiveness
Chaffey (2003) argues that “one of the great benefits of e-mail, in common with other forms of direct marketing, is its accountability”.
Figure 2.5.4.1 A simple model for objective setting for e-mail marketing.
Figure 2.5.4.1 shows the framework used for this model. Chaffey (2003) explains that firm may consider these variables:
Number of e-mails sent: “how many e-mails are sent to list members”
Clickthrough rate (%): “the percentage of recipients that respond to the e-mail by clicking on a link.”
Completion rate on landing page (%): “the percentage of the recipients who clicktrough that go on to complete form”
Conversion rate to action: This variable shows us where how many customers were persuaded to make initial sale or repeat sale of the product through e-mail advertisement.
Chaffey (2003) adds that by using these variables firm can set the realistic objectives for its e-mail campaign. Firm can create similar scenario, which is shown in figure 2.5.4.2.
There are used different possibilities (the best and the worst) for the result of the campaign. Firm can compare its actual results with the forecast.
Figure 2.5.4.2 Part of spreadsheet model showing best case and worst case scenarios for an e-mail campaign against the actual campaign result
2.5.5 Email campaign planning
Chaffey (2003) explains that the firm needs answer 5 questions for the successful campaign.
1) “What we are trying to achieve through our campaign?” What are ours objectives?
2) “What are our opinions for the list to target of incentives or offers in a campaign?”
3) “How do we segment the list to target recipients with a relevant offer and creative?”
4) “How can we integrate the e-mail campaign other marketing campaigns through time?”
5) “How we measure the success of the campaign and how can the metrics collected be used to improve future campaigns?”
Chaffey (2003) argues that the first question can be answered by objective setting. It is necessarily to create a balance between “customer acquisition, retention and brand building”. The main aim of the acquisition-focused strategy is to acquire new customers. This strategy is more expensive and has less profitability than retention strategy. Retention-focused strategy is trying to increase sales from current customers.
Usually both of these strategies are used in the same time.
Chaffey (2003) explains how important is to control the four main variables, when the firm is designing its campaign. These main variables are:
1. Creative: the design and layout of the mailshot 2. Offer: the proposition or the benefits of responding.
3. Timing: the season, month or day when the offer or mailshot lands on a desk or in a house
4. Targeting: the segments we are targeting; the mailing list or section of a database Chaffey (2003) goes on that because of limited recourses and time it is useful to assign a relevance to every critical variable (for example from 1 to 4, therefore creative:1;
offer:2; timing:2; targeting:4).
Chaffey (2003) shows that firm can use 2 different strategies.
First of them is strategy for customer acquisition. This strategy is focused on gaining new online customers. This means not only acquiring new customers, but also migrating existing customers to online customers.
Secondly there is a strategy which is focused on customer retention. Chaffey (2003) shows that almost 80% expenditures are on retention campaigns. Also a cost per order is lower than costs of customer acquisition. The retention strategy needs to have a long-
term view of the aims. The most important aim is to increase customer loyalty. There are 4 different types of loyalty.
No loyalty: customers have no relationship with supplier. They are moving from one supplier to another and discounts are often used to encourage repeat purchases.
Spurious loyalty: customer perception of products from different suppliers is still perceived as similar, but the costs of switch between supplies are the obstruction, therefore the customers tend to favour one brand.
Latent loyalty: “customers have a preference for a particular product or service, but do not exclusively buy from one source”.
True loyalty: “there is a clear preference for a particular brand among competitors and purchase patterns will reflect this”.
Chaffey (2003) goes on that it is important to know the loyalty drivers. The first five primary determinants of loyalty online are:
Quality customer support
On-time delivery
Compelling product presentations
Convenient and reasonably priced shipping and handling
Clear trustworthy privacy policies
Chaffey (2003) shows on figure 2.5.5.1 loyalty drivers for e-commerce. From the figure it is possible to see that support and fulfilment is the most important loyalty drivers.
Figure 2.5.5.1 Loyalty drivers for e-commerce
Source: Chaffey (2003)
Chaffey (2003) goes on that other parts of the retention campaign are forms of communication (for example if the e-mails will be regular newsletters, e-mail discussion lists or e-mail promotions), types of offers (for example for retail sites, for B2C sites or B2B sites), frequency of campaign and targeting (for example demographics, lifestyle or purchase history). Chaffey (2003) argues that firm should answer 12 decisions, which they help firm to gain more customer response.
Decision 1: What is the newsletter’s purpose?
Firm should have an emphasis on setting the primary purpose of e-mail campaign.
Decision 2: How should we gain subscribers?
There are various ways how to collect customers’ e-mail addresses.
1. Existing e-mail addresses: firm is using e-mail addresses, which are collected from the website or sales representatives.
2. Researching e-mail addresses: e-mail addresses are collected by third party firm by phone.
3. Bought-in list: firm can buy a list of e-mails from a list vendor.
4. Driving traffic to the subscription page: e-mail addresses can be also collected by on-line and off-line advertisement. These advertisements motivate customers to subscribe their e-mail address.
Decision 3: What is our proposition and what do we call it?
Customers should know what benefits they will get from firm’s newsletter. If firm holds customers’ interest, customers are more likely to subscribe for e-mail newsletters.
Decision 4: How will the subscription process operate?
“This should be as seamless as possible”. However in the confirmation page there should be further information.
Decision 5: Who is our audience?
Firm should identify their customers, because of further targeting.
Decision 6: What is our content?
Content is essential part of the e-mail campaign. Quality content will lead to regular reading by subscribers and that will prevent unsubscription.
Decision 7: What length should we use?
Advertisement e-mail should be clear and concise, however it should link to further more detailed information. Chaffey (2003) goes on 5 different options of e-mail structure, which you can see on figure 2.5.5.2.
1. Minimise content in e-mail, full content on web site in multiple pages. In the e- mail there are short articles referencing to the details in the firm’s website situated in the separated parts. The advantage is that customers can read the articles rapidly and find relevant information easily.
2. Minimise content in e-mail, full content on we site in a single page. Articles in the website are in one single page. It is not recommended to use this structure with long articles
3. Some content in e-mail, full content on web site (multiple pages). Similar to option a) but in this option there are extracts from each articles. Therefore for reader it is easier to choose articles more related to him.
4. Some content in e-mail, full content on web site (single pages). It is similar to b), but it is easier to find information on the landing page.
5. All content in e-mail. All information is provided in the e-mail. Therefore it is the best method to transmit information, but it is not suitable for persuading customers for action.
Figure 2.5.5.2 Options for split between content in an e-mail an on a web site
Source: Chaffey (2003)
Decision 8: Should we archive?
For a B2B business it is necessary for success. With quality content it “provides an excellent resource for the customers. For B2C newsletters it is less clear, but in general firm should archive its content.
Decision 9: What format (text or HTML) should we use?
Chaffey (2003) explains that HTML format is better for achieving action to repeat sales through promotions. There are also few recommendations:
- “HTML, relative brief, works best for B2C”
- “text, relatively long, works best for B2B”
- “give a choice of text or HTML”
- “HTML e-mails cost more to create and dispatch”
Decision 10: Which frequency and time of dispatch should we choose?
Firstly firm has to decide if e-mail campaign will be episodic or periodic. According to Chaffey (2003) customers prefers receiving e-mails regularly, however customers can start ignoring them because of routine. Therefore it is recommended to revive e-mail’s subject line.
Decision 11: Which mechanism should we use for broadcast?
There are several solutions and firm has to choose its preferences.
Decision 12: How should we measure the success of our newsletter?
There are accurate measure, how to determine a success of the e-mail campaign.
- clickthroughs to more detailed content or promotions - number of unsubcribes
- number of new subscribes
2.5.6 Layout design
Chaffey (2003) explains that the firm has only 30 characters in the subject line to interest the potential customer. Daniella Koren (2007) gives the examples, that
“marketers should avoid use word ‘free’, the dollar symbol ($), or a series of question marks (???) or exclamation marks (!!!)”. These e-mails can be deleted by spam filters.
Sweeney (2005) adds that subject line in the e-mail is like a headline in the newspaper.
Therefore customers will open only e-mails, which grabbed their attention. It is not recommended to use capitals in the subject line, because it could look as the firm is shouting at the customer.
Sweeney (2005) goes on that it is also important to “use personal names in the ‘To’ and
‘From’ headings”, because it is more personal and customer would rather open the email.
Sweeney (2005) explains some advices with effective e-mail formatting. Firstly e-mail should be focused on one topic, secondly e-mail is partially written as business letter (therefore spelling and grammar have to be correct) and it should be partially written as polite conversation, which could help marketer to establish closer relationship with customer.
Sweeney (2005) gives several tips how to conceive e-mail letter:
a) “Keep paragraphs relatively short”.
b) “Make your point in the first paragraph”.
c) “Be clear and concise”.
d) Because of simplicity use http:// before all links.
e) “Give a reader a call to action”.
f) Use a fancy formatting very carefully
g) Be sure that the grammar and spelling are correct
Chaffey (2003) and Sweeney (2005) agree that, another part of the email is the body, where firm can use more sophisticated tools than plain text (for example HTML code).
There are also several resolutions, which firm has to resolve. For example if it would use HTML code and make its e-mails more interactive and attractive or it would use plain text with no graphics, but 100% compatibility. User preferences are changing during the time, in the past plain text was more popular (due to capability of the internet connection). Nowadays HTML code is more common. Heinz Tschabitscher (2007) adds that the good way how to satisfy customer is to let him to choose which type of coding he prefers.
Sweeney (2005) adds that the signature is a very important part in the e-mail structure.
The signature is called electronic business card (e-business card) and it is situated at the end of the e-mail. E-business card should include all basic information, such as name, organisation, postal and e-mail address, fax and telephone number and firm’s website address.
Heinz Tschabitscher (2007) wrote that e-mail design should reflect the company design, therefore the customers can make a connection between e-mail and company.
Sweeney (2005) explains how to use the attachments in the e-mail. It is necessary to use the attachments with circumspection, because attachment can contain viruses or attachments can be too big, therefore a customer with slow internet connection would download it for ages.
Heinz Tschabitscher (2007) explains that it is better to avoid sending e-mail marketing during the holidays, because customers could delete it without look. After holiday customers receive plenty of emails and they often ignore them because of rush.
CHAPTER 3 – COMPANY BACKGROUND AND SUGGESTED SOLUTION
3.1 Czech Computer – general background
The firm was established in 1998 in Prague. Czech Computer is a young, but dynamic developing firm, which is focusing on selling quality, but cheap computer equipment.
The firm can maintain low prices, because the sale is mainly made though an internet site and it has a close relationship with its suppliers.
In the year 2001 Czech Computer increased its sales by 50% to the year 2000. Year 2002 was even more successful than 2001 and the rise was 60% to the year 2001. The firm was continuing with success and in the year 2003 the rise of sales was 50%. Year 2004, where the sales reached 300 millions of Czech crowns, predicted great future for the firm. Years 2005 with sales of 570 millions (according to the MarketLine Business Information Center (2006) aggregate sales in the Czech Republic in year 2005 was 43.4 billion) and 2006 with sales of 760 millions were proof of a healthy and successful firm.
The firm is also involved in charity sponsorship. Out of this it also sponsors the first 3D animated movie (Stories of the goat – Legends of the old Prague) and sporting activities.
Zive.cz (2007) writes that in 2006 Czech Computer won the first price in the E-shop category in the ‘Kristalova Lupa 2006’ public inquiry.
3.1.1 Porter’s five forces analysis of Czech Computer s.r.o Analysis of the competition
Czech Computer s.r.o as an internet retail store has intense competition. In the Internet environment there are plenty of internet shops which can offer the same product for even a less price. However Czech Computer s.r.o is part of small group of internet shops which have an excellent reputation, therefore customers are not only influenced by price but also by brand preference. This group of trustful firms represents the most intense rivalry. The group is consisted of firms like Mironet s.r.o, AT Computers a.s, Alzasoft a.s., BGS LEVI Czech a.s., Vltava Stores a.s. (Cybex.cz) and Czech Computer
s.r.o. Czech Computer s.r.o is well known for a good customer approach, large offer, reasonable prices and additional services.
Generally it is hard to gain and maintain success in this type of business. The firm has to be innovative and flexible for customer’s needs.
The threat of entry
The threat of new entrants is very high. Only few barriers can slightly protect current firms these are economies of scale and access to distribution channels, where firms may have tight cooperation with their suppliers.
The threat of substitutes
The threat of substitutes is not very high. The firm’s offer is wide enough, therefore when a customer decides to change a firm, the customer is still likely to buy the same product, but from another shop.
The power of buyers
The power of buyers is extremely high. Customers can change an internet shop without any expenses therefore the firm has to be constantly adapting to the customers’ needs. It is also important to offer to the customers quality and additional services, therefore customers are more likely to make repeat buying.
The power of suppliers
The firm may have an opportunity to become an accredited agent, therefore it can offer exclusive products for special prices. However mostly the power of suppliers are not high because of their high concentration.
3.2 The description of the current e-mail campaign
As you can see in the Appendix 1, which is the example of email advertisement, the current firm’s email marketing is quite simple.
The firm has approximately 30 000 unique emails in its database. It has not any special approach or criterion of the emails.
Every email is send several times. Each version is different only in the type of the attached pricelist (Excel file, PDF file, Zip file). There is also problem with Czech text coding (this is due to not defined text coding in the head of the HTML code).
The first part is about new products. These products are placed randomly and without any logical connection. The list of the new products is according to Sweeney (2005) uselessly long.
The next part is concerned with special price actions. The list is made only by product name and product brand (for example Asus A3HF-5A034). This part is not clear and concise therefore according to Sweeney (2005) there should be improvements.
In the last part there are links to the different independent product reviews on the internet sites.
The layout of the current e-mail campaign is possible to see in Appendix 1.
3.3 My suggested improved solution
I have used the theory to plan and design e-mail campaign. I have chosen a customer retention campaign, because Czech Computer s.r.o is using e-mail advertisement only for current customers.
3.3.1 Customer approach
From Chaffey’s (2003) forms of communications I have chosen e-mail promotion, because it is the most suitable solution.
Frequency of campaign is set by Czech Computer. E-mails are sent every week.
According to the Chaffey (2003) I have chosen product B2C targeting. This is because the firm’s customers are in different groups as regards age, gender and geography (this is because Czech Computer is providing e-shop, therefore geography is not important). I have been focused on action with photo cameras (it is possible to focus on different products (Graphic cards, notebooks etc.)), but I also tried to follow the original e-mail concept with new products in the offer.
According to the Chaffey (2003) I suggest to make a survey across the customers, therefore firm can learn more about their customers. I didn’t cover it in my work, but by using this survey the firm can more easily meet a customer demand.
3.3.2 Chaffey’s (2003) 12 decisions
According to Chaffey (2003) firm should answer 12 questions about campaign planning, therefore the campaign can be more successful.
Decision 1: What is the newsletter’s purpose?
I think that Czech Computer’s e-mail campaign should be focused on persuading the customers into repeat buying and customer’s awareness about new products, the firm and current product prices.
Decision 2: How should we gain subscribers?
Czech Computer s.r.o is using their webpage for the purpose of gaining subscribers.
According to Chaffey (2003) this is the best way, when firm is focused on customer retention.
Figure 3.3.2.1 Screenshot of firm’s web site
Source: http://www.czechcomputer.cz Decision 3 and 4: What is our proposition and what do we call it? How will the subscription process operate?
Chaffey (2003) advises to give customers something more than just information.
Customers should know what they are subscribing to. Therefore I propose to change the confirmation page (which is on figure 3.3.2.2) from choosing from the format of the attachment (which is solved in new design directly in the e-mail, therefore it is not necessary) to the information page, where the firm explains where the customer subscribed and what type of information he can expect.
Figure 3.3.2.2 Screenshot of the confirmation page
Source: http://www.czechcomputer.cz Decision 5: Who is our audience?
Because Czech Computer s.r.o is an internet firm, their cliental is limited by the customer’s ability to use internet and e-mail. Most of the customers are end users, therefore I designed e-mail more dynamically.
Decision 6: What is our content?
Content is the most important part of the e-mail design. I tried to bring value with thematic focused e-mail. In my example there are not only professional cameras, but
also its accessories. Therefore customers could be interested in some details about professional photo equipment, which they have not known before.
Chaffey (2003) also explains that it is important to put a link, where customers can unsubscribe from receiving e-mails. This is also important, because Czech legislation demands this information in every commercial e-mail.
Decision 7: What length should we use?
According to Chaffey (2003) the original firm’s advertisement e-mail was too long.
Therefore I cut it into approximately 2 pages and I created a link to the remaining information which is situated separately in the web page.
I have followed the original concept which was based on Chaffey (2003) “Minimise content in e-mail, full content on web site in multiple pages” structure. This structure is the most suitable for my design because it is used pictures instead of text.
Decision 9: What format (text or HTML) should be chosen?
For B2C relationship Chaffey (2003) recommends to use HTML.
Decision 10: Which frequency and time of dispatch should we choose?
Czech Computer s.r.o sends commercial e-mails every week. Customers are accustomed to this cycle and Chaffey (2003) recommends periodic frequency therefore I decided to sustain it.
Decision 11: Which mechanism should be used for broadcast?
The firm Czech Computer s.r.o already has the software solution for sending multiple e- mails therefore there is not any reason for a change.
Decision 12: How should be measured the success of our newsletter?
Chaffey (2003) argues that the biggest advantage of the e-mail campaign is its measurability. There are different ways how to measure the success of the campaign - the statistics of the clickthrough to the details about the products directly from the e-
mail and subscribed and unsubscribed customers from the e-mail advertisement. The results are easy to process and the firm can use them for further design of the e-mail campaigns.
3.3.3 Layout of the e-mail
I have chosen HTML coding, because nowadays it is more common and there is the possibility to use pictures, which is more interactive.
In the subject line, I have used simple and clear sentence ‘CzechComputer.cz – Take pictures like a professional’ according to the Sweeney (2005). In the first instance customers should know, who is sending an e-mail and what is its content.
To the ‘From’ heading I have used name ‘Josef Matějka’, according to Sweeney (2005) recommendation, because Josef Matějka it is an owner of the company and customers will rather open e-mail, when it is more personalised.
To the ‘To’ heading I have to use only email address without nick names, because the firm has no evidence of customer’s real names.
The body of e-mail is mostly made by pictures, so it is easier to follow Sweeney’s (2005) recommendations about content creation. I tried to keep the body of e-mail clear, short and concise.
According to the Heinz Tschabitscher (2007) I tried to follow firm’s website colours.
Therefore customers will be more familiar with environment and they will make the link between e-mails and firm more simply.
I have avoided using attachments therefore it is not necessary to send commercial e- mail 4 times. I put links to the price list directly from the e-mail. The price list will be available on the firm’s website, therefore e-mails are not big and they are not occupying much of the customers’ e-mail box capacity.
According to the Sweeney (2005) I put electronic business cards with information about firm in the end of e-mail.
CHAPTER 4 - METHODOLOGY
4.1 Introduction
The main aim of the research is to understand customer’s behaviour on the Internet environment and to identify the most suitable e-mail advertisement solution for Czech Computer s.r.o. Therefore the primary research is split in two parts.
I have decided to use mostly qualitative methods, because it will help me to better understand both the customers’ and the firm’s environment.
In the first part, where the data was collected by questionnaire, it is possible to comprehend customers’ e-mail advertisement preferences and customers’ behaviour in the internet environment. Responders were also assigning their subjective preferences about two examples of advertisement e-mails.
The second part is focused on the firm’s capability, suitability, feasibility and acceptability of the improved solution, which is made through e-mail interview.
The questionnaire was carried out in the beginning of March and the data was collected during March 2007.
4.2 Research questions
The aim of the dissertation is to determine whether the new design of Czech Computer’s e-mail campaign, which is based on relevant theory, has more impact on the customers and whether it is acceptable for the firm in term of capability, suitability and feasibility. Therefore these research questions were set.
Is the importance of e-mail advertising as high as the literature declares?
Does unsolicited commercial e-mail has a negative impact on selling products and the firm’s prestige?
Is following the customer’s needs and desires important?
Can the new design of e-mail advertisement be more persuasive?
Will the new design of e-mail campaign based on relevant theory create more benefits for the firm?
Is the firm disposed to replace old e-mail campaign with improved one?
4.3 Secondary research
Saunders et al (2000) show 3 categories of literature sources: primary, secondary and tertiary.
Secondary research was used as a review of the published literature, for example books, journal articles, statistical researches and web pages. The main aim of the secondary research is find out related information on the topic.
4.4 Research strategy
Saunders et al (2000) classify research strategy into experiment; survey; case study;
grounded theory; ethnography; action research
I have chosen Case study, because of its definition as “the development of detailed, intensive knowledge about a single ‘case’ or a small number of related ‘cases’”. I picked existing e-mail campaign of particular firm and this ‘case’ I am trying to improve with relevant theory.
4.5 Selecting samples
Saunders et al (2000) explains that the sampling techniques are divided into 2 different types – probability sampling and non-probability sampling.
I have chosen non-probability sampling because samples of my questionnaire are chosen randomly. From non-probability sampling I have chosen convenience sampling, because of Saunders et al (2000) definition “Convenience sampling involves selecting those cases that are easiest to obtain for your sample”.
I have chosen a specific sample of the population, which can use the Internet. Czech Computer s.r.o is firm which is selling products on the Internet, therefore it is not
4.6 Collecting primary data by questionnaire 4.6.1 Type of the questionnaire
I have chosen a self-administered on-line questionnaire, because it is the most suitable for the research. According to Saunders et al (2000) on-line questionnaire is suitable for
“Literate individuals who can be contacted by email or Internet”, which is with regards to type of firm’s business the best solution. Another advantage is that data input is fully automated.
With an on-line questionnaire I can save time and costs (for example for printing). I have used free internet service for student questionnaire (available at http://www.dotaznik.net). Data output from this internet service is already in Excel format.
4.6.2. Questionnaire design
Saunders et al. (2000) explain that in the questionnaire there are 4 types of variable.
Attitude
Belief
Behaviour
Attribute
Saunders et al. (2000) go on to say that it is very important to ensure that essential data is collected. Therefore every question has to be precise and designed to gain appropriate data according to the research objectives.
According to Saunders et al. (2000) research questions can be divided into 2 types.
“Open questions allow respondents to give answers in their own way”. Closed questions provide to the researcher the exact numbers. Closed questions are usually quicker and easier to answer, however they are harder to interpret and marginal. Saunders et al.
(2000) list the types of closed questions – List questions, Category questions, Ranking questions, Scale questions, Quantity questions and Grid.
In the questionnaire only one open question was used. In this question the respondent can express their overall impression from the two designs.
The rest of the questions are constructed as closed. (Saunders et al. 2000). Respondents can tick only one appropriate box, however due to the scale of the questions it is possible to gain reliable information about respondents’ attitude.
The questionnaire is constructed to be as short as possible, because according to Saunders et al. (2000) it is better to design a shorter questionnaire.
The final design of the questionnaire is possible to see in Appendix 3.
4.6.3 The aim of the research questions
Table 4.6.3.1 Characteristics of the questions used in the questionnaire
Question Type of variable Reason Type of question
1) Which one of these types of Internet
advertisement is more persuasive for you?
Attitude Used to identify if commercial e-mail is as effective as literature says.
Category question
2) Do you open every e-mail, which you have received?
3) What criteria do you use, when you are deciding which e-mail you will
Behaviour Used to identify customers criteria
for opening
commercial e-mail
Category question
4) Are you bothered with unsolicited commercial e-mail?
5) Are you annoyed with companies which send you unsolicited
commercial e-mail?
(for example therefore you would avoid buying their products in the future?)
Attitude Used to identify if the impact on selling products and brand is positive.
Category question
6) Would you participate in a survey through e- mail, if it will lead
to service
improvements?
Attitude Used to test if
customers want to participate if it will lead for better services.
Category question
7) Which coding of e-mail do you prefer?
Attitude Used to identify if HTML coding is more desirable then plain text
Category question
8) When you look at the 2 designs of e-mail, which are enclosed, which one
Attitude It is used to find out which is more desirable and why.
Category question
is more persuasive?
9) Why? Attitude It is used to find out
which is more desirable and why.
Open question
10) Assign a quality of Design A in the different criteria a) Catchiness of the Design A
b) Clarity of the Design A
c) Simplicity of the Design A
d) Directivity of the Design A
e) Length of the Design A
11) Assign a quality of Design B in the different criteria a) Catchiness of Design B
b) Clearness of Design B
Attitude The essential part of the research. The aim is to identify, what are advantages and disadvantages of every design.
They are also used to find out which is more desirable and why.
Scale question
c) Simplicity of Design B
d) Directivity of Design B
e) Length of Design B
12) Which of them you would rather receive?
Attitude The question is
designed as control question for the question 8.
Category question
13) What is your gender?
14) What is your age?
15) Where do you live?
Attribute Used to identify the respondent basic characteristics
Category question
4.7 Collecting data by interview
Structured interview is the most suitable for the research, because it was made with Josef Matejka, who is owner of the firm. It was impossible to arrange an appointment, firstly because it is Czech firm and secondly he had not enough free time to make a face-to-face interview. I sent a structured interview on 29th March.
The interview is possible to see in Appendix 4.
4.8 Limitation
4.8.1 Size of the sample
Because of the lack of time, money and resources it was impossible to gather data from large group of respondents. The internet questionnaire service helped me a lot, because the output was already in Excel format, however gathering more data from respondents would be time consuming and statistically difficult.
4.8.2 Geographical limitation
Because of my sample is from the Czech Republic, geographical limitations leads to the fact that I had to use internet questionnaire rather than printed form. It also is a reason why the interview had to be done by e-mail than face-to-face or telephone.
4.8.3 Firm’s limitation
The interview was made with the owner of the company. As an owner he has a lack of time, therefore the interview was carried out by e-mail.
4.9 Pilot study
The pilot study was conducted by giving the pilot questionnaires to 10 people. The questionnaire was also checked by experienced teacher for content and grammar mistakes. On average it takes 7 minutes to fill the questionnaire. I relocated the open question into another place, because the answers were influenced by previous questions.
I asked respondents for their suggestions and most of them claimed that the questionnaire is clear enough and quite attractive. They also said that the length is appropriate.
CHAPTER 5: RESEARCH RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the results from the research. The primary data from the questionnaire is presented firstly. The primary data from the interview is presented afterwards.
The questionnaire was completed by 56 respondents. The results will examine customers’ attitude towards the two e-mail designs.
The interview was made with the owner of Czech Computer s.r.o. The results will identify firm’s capability, suitability, feasibility and acceptability of the suggested email campaign.
5.2 Respondents’ characteristics 5.2.1 Basic characteristics
Age
In response to question 14, from 56 respondents which completed the questionnaire, 36 were in the age group “16-29”, 17 were in the age group “30-49” and 3 were in the age group “50-64”. Age groups “Under 16” and “64 and above” have 0 respondents, this is reflective of the real situation, because by the Czech Statistical Office population under 16 years old is not included in the statistic report about internet environment and population above 64 years usually has no skills for using internet. According to The Czech Statistical Office report (2nd Quarter 2006) the most important age groups, which are mostly buying products through internet are 16-44, therefore mostly respondents are from the age groups “16-29” and “30-49”.
