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Emerald Article: Information marketing in a digital world

Jennifer Rowley

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 Introduction
Information marketing With the increasing growth of digital
in a digital world environments, such as digital libraries and
e-businesses, digital information is becoming
Jennifer Rowley ever more important in marketing processes.
Digital information fulfils the following two
roles:
(1) A significant component of e-commerce
activity and public sector e-enterprise
relates to the marketing and delivery of
information products. Examples of such
digital information products include:
electronic journals, magazines, newsletters,
The author
e-books, digital music, audio, video,
Jennifer Rowley (rowleyj@edgehill.ac.uk) is Head at the software, images, and even pornography.
School of Management and Social Sciences, Edge Hill (2) Information is used as a surrogate for
College of Higher Education, Ormskirk, UK. experience through touch, sight and human
contact in promotion of products and
Keywords services by e-merchants. Product
Information, Marketing, Internet, Business development catalogues, special offers, FAQ lists, and
Communications help sections are obvious uses of
information in promoting and supporting
Abstract
the extension of customer relationships.
Some community-based sites also go as far
This article analyses the role of information in the marketing
as structuring marketing communications
processes associated with a digital world. The distinctions
into an online magazine. This is strictly a
between information products and goods and services are
promotional device, designed to attract
explored. The unique characteristics of information products
repeat visits from regular visitors.
may demand a new approach to marketing, defined as
information marketing. An analysis of the different levels of Together these concepts provide an agenda for
product demonstrates that information is often used to consideration of the role of information in
augment services or goods, and that it may be difficult to digital environments. The distinctions between
delineate the category ``information products''. In marketing information products and goods and services
communications, digital information can be a rich resource are explored. The unique characteristics of
for organisations, consumers and communities. The multi- information products may demand a new
faceted role of information in the virtual world has approach to marketing, defined as information
consequences for information producers, consumers and marketing. An analysis of the different levels of
marketers. These groups need to understand the unique product demonstrates that information is often
features of information marketing. used to augment services or goods. This leads
to continuing evolution of the nature of
Electronic access information products and the structure of the
The research register for this journal is available at
information marketplace. In marketing
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregisters
communications, digital information can be a
rich resource for organisations, consumers and
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is communities.
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm

Information as product
Library Hi Tech
Volume 20 . Number 3 . 2002 . pp. 352±358
# MCB UP Limited . ISSN 0737-8831 Products are the key components in the
DOI 10.1108/07378830210444540 marketing exchange. Successful marketing rests
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 Information marketing in a digital world Library Hi Tech
Jennifer Rowley Volume 20 . Number 3 . 2002 . 352±358

on the ability of the product to deliver a solution information is of value after it has been
to the customer's problem, or to deliver the created, distributed and even purchased,
bundle of benefits that a customer seeks provokes the collection and archiving of
(Webster, 1994). The range of products in the information. Some documents and the
information marketplace is vast and, to make information that they contain may be
the picture yet more complex, there are a required many years after they were first
myriad different relationships between these published. On the other hand, some
products. We define an information product information becomes obsolete, and
thus: an information product is any product different information has different life spans
whose core or primary product is information or (obsolescence). Information, then, has a
knowledge. variety of different levels of perishability,
Further insight might be gained from like goods, but unlike services.
coupling this definition with that of a product: a (2) Heterogeneity. Goods demonstrate a high
product is a physical good, service, idea, person level of homogeneity, but services, due to
or place that is capable of offering tangible and the personal elements in service delivery,
intangible attributes that individuals or are much less consistent. Information
organizations regard as so necessary, products are at the extreme end of the
worthwhile or satisfying that they are prepared homogeneity spectrum, since each copy is
to exchange money, patronage or some other identical to each other copy, and to the
unit of value in order to acquire it. original. Managers have the opportunity to
Freiden et al. (1998) argue that the unique emphasise a standardised, quality
nature of information as a product demands a controlled product. On the other hand, the
new approach to marketing, which they ease of customisation of digital information
describe as information marketing. The value of products may lead to considerable
information is contextual, since information has heterogeneity in respect of the product
no intrinsic value, and depends on its context offered to individual customers.
and its use by particular users on specific (3) Inseparability. This refers to the physical
occasions. Information can be shared and and institutional distance between the
copied, and transferred between media. It can originator of the product and the final
be packaged in many different forms. consumer. Goods may pass though several
Information is used in decision making, and is intermediaries between manufacture and
integral to the learning process; it has the purchase by the customer. Services, on the
potential to change individuals and other hand, are inseparable, because the
organisations (Eaton and Bawden, 1991). producer and the consumer need to interact
Freiden et al. (1998) compare information to create, deliver and consume the service.
with goods and services, using the four Information is more akin to a good than a
dimensions often used to differentiate between service, in that it is produced, stored,
goods and services: perishability, heterogeneity, transported and can exist without being
tangibility, and inseparability: consumed. Information needs to be
(1) Perishability. Goods have varying levels of distributed, either through
perishability, but services only have value telecommunications networks, or through
when they are produced and consumed. bookshops, libraries and other
Information, on the other hand, is intermediaries.
essentially non-perishable. Information (4) Tangibility. This refers to the product's
does not deteriorate over time physical properties and the extent to which
(permanence), although the medium in it can be seen, felt, heard or smelt using our
which it is stored may do so. On the other senses. Goods are tangible and have
hand, the value of information can vary physical attributes such as size and colour,
with time. Information can have multiple whereas the performance of a service is
life-cycles, as ideas come into, move out of, largely intangible. Information exhibits
and finally come back into fashion. The intangibility, with no tangible aspects. The
uncertainty associated with how long tangible element of information products
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Jennifer Rowley Volume 20 . Number 3 . 2002 . 352±358

does not rest with the information itself, but as size, are typical features of the actual
with the medium through which it is product. In the case of information
conveyed. Thus information products, such products the actual product may have
as books and magazines, are tangible, structuring, indexing, quality, presentation,
although the information that they contain design, style, and physical characteristics.
is not. For example, an entry in an encyclopaedia
in print form may contain similar
The discussion above relates to information,
information to the same entry in electronic
but also starts to touch on how information is
form, but layout, presentation, and the
packaged into products and services. While
ways in which the information can be
these characteristics are important, because
manipulated may all be very different. In
information is threaded through all the
addition, the electronic version may have
products in the information-based industries,
other multi-media elements, such as a video
the nature of the product and, accordingly,
clip, which allows a more multi-
marketing options, depend to a significant
dimensional expression of the information.
extent upon the way in which the service, good
Many actual products provide information
and information components are drawn
to supplement the core good or service.
together to create the information product.
Thus, in order to sell online airline tickets
through a Web site, it is necessary to
provide flight schedules.
The essence of products (3) The augmented product also includes any
other features that constitute part of the
A widely recognised model of the product
product and add value to the exchange. For
shows three levels of product: the core product,
a can of baked beans augmentation is
the actual product, and the augmented product.
limited because the product is simple, but
These three levels are useful in the relationship
typically includes a quality guarantee. With
between information and information products,
more complex products, such as a
but also demonstrate how many products are
computer, the augmented product includes
complex amalgams of goods, service and
a warranty, after-sales service, installation
information:
arrangements, and customer help lines.
(1) The core product is what actually meets the
The augmentation in an information
consumer's needs. For information
product is the added value components.
products, the core product is always
For an online search service, the actual
information. In most cases the user seeks
product might be database access through a
information on a specific subject to fulfil a
user-friendly interface. The augmented
specific purpose (leisure, education, writing
product might embrace a document-
a report, undertaking a market research
ordering and delivery option, a selective
exercise). In the case of a can of baked
dissemination of information (SDI) service,
beans, the core product is the baked beans.
and training seminars. Some elements of
(2) The actual product is what is delivered to the
the augmented product, such as a
consumer. For information products this
maintenance contract or insurance, may be
will be the various different ways in which
charged for, while others may be available
information can be packaged into products,
free. For example, in the Daewoo new car
such as books and journals, or into a
package the actual product is the car,
service, such as database access. In the case
augmented by a service package, but most if
of a can of baked beans, the actual product
not all of the profit made on the sale of the
is the baked beans (of a given quality,
car arises from maintenance and finance
colour and flavour) in a can (of a specified
deals.
size), with a label, and the branding and
information that are printed on the label. In In many product categories the boundaries
other words, brand names, design and between core, actual and augmented products
style, packaging, and characteristics, such are not fixed for all time, and are, in any case,
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more difficult to draw for services (and intermediaries between publishers and the end-
probably for electronic information products) user include libraries, consortia of libraries, and
than for physical products. Organizations in the aggregators (previously subscription agents and
same marketplace all share the same core the like).
product. They differentiate themselves on the In summary, while in the e-world it remains
basis of the actual product. In the many important for e-businesses to define very
marketplaces where the opportunity for carefully their product at the core, actual and
innovation is limited (all washing-machines augmented levels, many product portfolios will
exhibit a similar range of washing cycles), include products whose basic product has
differentiation may be on the basis of the changed. Indeed, information itself has changed
augmented product. This augmentation may be from the static text on the page. It is now
added by the producer, with a view to achieving interactive and dynamic. Information content
differentiation from the products of other is, for example, key to the delivery of learning
producers, as well as by the retailer. (the core experience), but this information
Generally, the core product will coincide with content needs to be presented to the student in
one of the core businesses of the organization interactive packages that promote learning. In
but, with the advent of e-commerce, many information products, and those services and
more organizations are redefining their role and goods that offer information products as part of
entering the knowledge business. Thus, an the augmented product, merchants need to
organization such as a supermarket, whose core understand what customers will pay for, and
service was retailing, may find that e-commerce what information they have to provide free in
activities allow them to generate rich order to make a successful sale.
customer information. If they choose to market
this information to other organizations, then
that information becomes one of their core The pluri-signified product
products. A recent venture for Amazon is
zShops, through which hundreds of small Recent thinking in the context of the
e-commerce providers can be accessed through relationship-marketing paradigm has caused
the Amazon site. These shops gain access to marketers to re-visit the concept of product,
Amazon's 13 million customers as well as its and to explore the true nature of the core
tools for online ordering. Amazon gains revenue product from a consumer perspective, rather
from these shops, as well as additional traffic. than from the dominant producer perspective.
This venture turns Amazon into a distributor This section summarises the key strands of this
not of books and related information products, concept, in order to encourage continued
but of online shops, on the basis of its core reflection on the nature of products.
capabilities such as its market visibility and its The most fundamental level of the product is
ordering system, both of which are information- the core product, or the fundamental service or
based (Hardaker and Graham, 2001). benefit that the customer is really buying. For
In other sectors, such as in the electronic example, in the case of a hotel, the guest is
journal arena, publishers are not sure what their really buying rest and sleep, but this is
core or actual product is, and indeed whether to achieved through the purchase of the actual or
promote different core products to different generic product, which may be the rental of a
audiences, not by changing the fundamental hotel room. Saren and Tzokas (1998) argue
product, but by customisation and different that core benefits cannot be pre-determined by
exchange (or licence) arrangements. the marketer, but that core needs have been
Specifically, they are not sure whether to offer replaced by a complex constellation of needs
bundles of journals (and, if so, how should activities. So, for example, hotels have evolved
these be bundled?), individual titles, or as conference centres, fitness and leisure
individual journal articles, and with which of centres, and locations for dining and
the various intermediaries to form market wedding receptions.
relationships that will be both sustainable and This concept of a constellation of needs-
profitable in the longer term. Potential activities is consistent with the proposal that
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Jennifer Rowley Volume 20 . Number 3 . 2002 . 352±358

consumers do not consume products for their reflect some of the characteristics of digital
material utilities but, instead, consume the information delivery that impinge on
symbolic meaning of those products (Poster, information products.
1988). The symbolic meaning of products is Janal (1998) argues that in the online world,
not fixed but free-floating, and each compared with traditional media, information is
individual may ascribe different and everything and image, king in traditional media,
inconsistent cultural meanings to a product takes second place. Communication is
(Mick and Buhl, 1992; Hollbrook, 1994). interactive, and the objective is to achieve two-
Saren and Tzokas (1998) introduce the way communication, by pulling the customer
concept of the pluri-signified product, in into engagement with the organisation. In this
which ``the product is the outcome of a way information and realities are dynamically
continuous tripartite signification process created, and embedded in the marketing
between buyers, suppliers, and the `object' ''. communication, and marketing exchange. They
Further, ``the relationship between the three become a key component in defining and
actors (buyer-supplier-object) defines the evolving the relationship that the customer has
product'' (Saren and Tzokas, 1998, p. 451). with the organisation, and even with other
The product itself does not exist customers. In the consumer marketplace this
independently of this tripartite relationship. It remains a relatively unequal relationship, since
is created and becomes at any point in time organisations generally have many more
realised, interpreted and re-interpreted by resources at their disposal than individual
means of the continuously negotiated consumers, but between businesses this
relationship between these three actors in relationship may be associated with the
what is traditionally termed the ``market exchange of significant information and
exchange process''. knowledge, in a way that supports business
These concepts suggest a perpetual evolution syndicates, and alliances.
of the concept of product, and emphasise the Finally, Janal (1998) suggests that with online
need to consider not only the provider's marketing communication there is a tight
definition of the product, but also how the coupling to links to further information, and
customer perceives, and interacts with, the even transactions. Television advertisers need
organization's offering to satisfy the needs that customers to remember brands and images and
they bring to the interaction. As a key to recall them, perhaps some weeks later when
component in the interchange or relationship they are considering the purchase of, say, a
between customer and supplier, the product is holiday. An online advertisement can be clicked
continually subject to re-definition, in order to on immediately. If the advertisment is
respond to the dynamic nature of the complex successful in grabbing attention, the consumer
bundles of benefits that customers seek in can click through to product information or
products. catalogues, and evaluate and compare aspects
of the product immediately.
Traditional marketing communications
Information in marketing communications models, such as the AIDA model, focus on
individual transactions and purchases, and the
Organisations have always used information to emphasis is on awareness and presence. In the
persuade and influence audiences. Marketing AIDA model the four stages are: awareness,
communication is concerned with the creation interest, desire, and action. More recently there
and promotion of marketing messages. In the has been a growing interest in relationship-
digital world, marketing communication has marketing (Moller and Halinene, 2000;
become more complex and extends beyond GroÈnroos, 1996; Buttle, 1996; Newell, 2000).
simple one-way transmission to a number of This acknowledges the importance of customer
arenas in which communication is two-way. retention, and recognises that customer loyalty
Changes to marketing communication not only (Dick and Basu, 1994; Jevons and Gabbott,
are important in relation to an understanding of 2000; Oliver, 1999; Reichheld and Schefter,
the use of information in this context, but also 2000) is an important characteristic of a stable
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Jennifer Rowley Volume 20 . Number 3 . 2002 . 352±358

customer base. In the digital world, marketing of online communities. Without value creation
communications are concerned with the three such communities will not continue to exist.
steps of creating presence, creating Community members value member- and
relationships, and creating mutual value. organiser-supported contents, and the
Information is at the heart of all of these steps. opportunity to share and form opinions and
Creating presence is concerned with the expertise. Community hosts, and their partners,
awareness-building phase of marketing such as advertisers, may derive value from the
communications, in which the organisation opportunities for transacting business, and from
seeks to ensure visibility for its product offering. messages about products and services that are
The organisation introduces itself and its wares of interest to consumers. Once again valuable
to the audience, and seeks to create an identity information is an important component in the
and personality that will encourage customers dynamic of value creation.
to get acquainted. Web site information content Business alliances are a special type of
is crucial in this process. community, which are created to support
Creating relationships occurs when effective operation of the value chain.
customers and organisations work together. Specifically, virtual organisations may be
The relationship is built as interactions created to:
increase. Mutual perceptions may be positive or . Gain access into new markets or
negative, but they are based on experience. Too technologies.
many negative perceptions on the part of the . Break down market barriers to new
customer are likely to lead to disengagement products by rallying the required skills and
with the relationship, and the relationship will expertise from groups, individuals and even
not advance further. Similarly, as organisations rivals beyond traditional organisational
become acquainted with customers, they may boundaries.
choose to differentiate the quality and extent of
their offering or services in favour of customers Knowledge sharing is a key process within such
who are profitable. They are able to make these communities.
judgements on the basis of the information that Information is a key component in all these
they collect through transactions with levels of marketing communication. Whether
customers. There is a growth in knowing of the objective is to create awareness, develop a
each party with each transaction, customer dialog, or to create mutual dependence,
service dialog, customer feedback information is an integral part of the
questionnaire, user registration, cookie data communication process.
collection, and user visit to the Web site.
Businesses may use customer information to
customise or personalise marketing Conclusion
communications, so that on the basis of past
purchases they might draw customers' attention The Internet is an information channel. This
to new items. In relation to some information has significant implications for both
products, this might be a current-awareness- information products and their marketing, and
type service announcing new information the use of information in marketing
products. For an online bookshop it may be communications. Indeed, as the channels for
best ten buys listings and special offers and, for the distribution of information develop, each
an online insurance company, it may be a new advance or new opportunity impacts on the very
deal in an area of insurance products in which nature of information. Games are one
the customer has previously expressed an well-established and sophisticated information
interest. Exchange and use of information are at product. Estate agents are using virtual reality
the core of all of these exchanges. to allow customers to experience a shop.
Creating mutual value occurs when Simulated touch and smell are also under
customers and organisations work together to development. Not only can information be
create value in a way that is beneficial to both communicated through a variety of different
parties. This is normally achieved in the context media, and sometimes simultaneously
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(multimedia), but its fundamental nature is References

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