Emerging trends: e-marketing, direct, digital and green marketing
Marketing has moved online and direct: e-commerce models, digital channels and metrics, permission and social media, and green marketing that must avoid greenwashing.
E-commerce models
| Model | Meaning | Indian example |
|---|---|---|
| B2C | Business sells to consumers online | Tata CLiQ, JioMart |
| B2B | Business sells to business | IndiaMART, Udaan |
| C2C | Consumers sell to consumers through a platform | OLX |
| C2B | Consumers offer value to businesses | Freelancers and creators selling services to brands |
| D2C | Brands sell directly to consumers online, skipping intermediaries | New personal-care and apparel brands |
| Marketplace vs inventory | The platform connects buyers and sellers vs the platform owns the stock | For domestic sales, Indian FDI rules permit the marketplace model only (since 2026, an export-only inventory model is also allowed) |
Digital marketing tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| SEO | Improves organic (unpaid) search ranking |
| SEM / pay-per-click | Paid search ads; the advertiser pays per click |
| Social media marketing | Brand pages, content and ads on social platforms |
| Content marketing | Useful content that attracts and keeps an audience |
| Email and mobile marketing | Permission-based emails, SMS, app and WhatsApp messages |
| Affiliate and influencer marketing | Partners or creators earn a commission or fee for promoting |
| Programmatic advertising | Automated, data-driven buying of ad space |
| Paid, owned and earned media | Ads you buy; channels you control; coverage and shares others give you |
Worked example: digital campaign metrics
An ad gets 2,00,000 impressions and 3,000 clicks for ₹45,000. It leads to 150 orders worth ₹1,80,000. Find CTR, CPC, CPM, conversion rate, CPA and ROAS.
- CTR = clicks ÷ impressions = 3,000 ÷ 2,00,000 = 1.5%.
- CPC = cost ÷ clicks = 45,000 ÷ 3,000 = ₹15.
- CPM = cost ÷ (impressions ÷ 1,000) = 45,000 ÷ 200 = ₹225.
- Conversion rate = orders ÷ clicks = 150 ÷ 3,000 = 5%.
- CPA = cost ÷ orders = 45,000 ÷ 150 = ₹300.
- ROAS = revenue ÷ ad spend = 1,80,000 ÷ 45,000 = 4, i.e., ₹4 of sales per ₹1 spent.
- Check: CPC × clicks = 15 × 3,000 = 45,000; CPA × orders = 300 × 150 = 45,000.
CTR 1.5%, CPC ₹15, CPM ₹225, conversion 5%, CPA ₹300, ROAS 4:1.
Forms of direct marketing
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Direct mail and catalogues | Mailers and printed catalogues |
| Telemarketing | Outbound sales calls; inbound helplines |
| Direct-response television | Teleshopping with a number to call |
| Kiosk marketing | Self-service machines in malls and stations |
| Online, email and mobile | Websites, apps and targeted messages |
| Direct selling (face to face) | Amway, Eureka Forbes, Tupperware |
Green marketing and greenwashing
Related ideas: social marketing (Kotler and Zaltman, 1971) sells social causes, as India's Pulse Polio campaign did; cause-related marketing ties sales to a cause.
Other new-age terms
- Permission marketing (Seth Godin, 1999): send messages only to people who opt in.
- Guerrilla marketing (Jay Conrad Levinson, 1984): low-cost, unconventional, surprise tactics.
- Viral and buzz marketing: customers pass the message on; word of mouth amplified online.
- Ambush marketing: a non-sponsor links itself to a big event, such as a cricket tournament, without paying for rights.
- Neuromarketing: brain and biometric measures of how people respond to ads.
- Kotler's Marketing 4.0 (2016) replaced the 4A path (aware, attitude, act, act again) with the 5A path: aware, appeal, ask, act, advocate.
- ITC's e-Choupal (2000) used internet kiosks to link farmers directly with markets.
NET asks you to match new-age terms with authors (Godin, Levinson, Kotler-Zaltman), compute CTR, CPC or ROAS, define greenwashing, and classify e-commerce models.
Typical MCQ: “An ad gets 50,000 impressions and 1,000 clicks. What is the CTR?” 1,000 ÷ 50,000 = 2%. Trap: CTR is clicks over impressions; orders over clicks is the conversion rate.
Typical MCQ: “Who wrote 'Permission Marketing' (1999)?” Seth Godin. Trap: Levinson wrote 'Guerrilla Marketing' (1984).
Funnel maths: CTR = clicks/impressions, CPC = cost/clicks, CPA = cost/orders, ROAS = revenue/spend. Kotler's 5A: Aware, Appeal, Ask, Act, Advocate.