E-Commerce with Digital Marketing

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Retailing In Electronic Commerce Products × The first-generation of B2C e-commerce

And Services sold books, software, and music – simple to
Internet Marketing And B2C Electronic understand small items (known as
Retailing commodity items) that were easily shipped
× The amount and percentage of goods and to consumers. The second wave of online
services sold on the Internet is increasing growth started in 2000, as consumers started
rapidly, despite the failure of many dot-com researching and buying complex products
companies. such as furniture, large appliances, and
expensive clothing.
× Internet users shop online and conduct
research online about a product before × Today consumers research product
purchasing the item, whether online or in a information and purchase online from
physical store. categories such as bedding, spas, expensive
jewelry, designer clothes, appliances, cars,
Electronic Retailing flooring, big-screen TVs, and building
× A retailer is a sales intermediary between supplies.
manufacturers and customers. Even though Goods with the following characteristics are
many manufacturers sell directly to expected to sell the most:
consumers, they usually do so to ➢ Brand name recognition (e.g., Apple, Dell,
supplement their major sales through Sony). A service guarantee provided by
wholesalers and retailers. well-known vendors.(For example, return
× In the physical world, retailing is done in policies and expedited delivery; free
stores (or factory outlets) that customers shipping.
must visit physically in order to make a ➢ Digitized format (e.g., software, music, e-
purchase, although sometimes customers books, or videos).
may order by phone. ➢ Relatively inexpensive items (e.g., office
× Retailing conducted over the Internet is supplies, vitamins).
called electronic retailing (e-tailing), and ➢ Frequently purchased items (e.g., books,
sellers who conduct retail business online cosmetics, office supplies, prescription
are called e-tailers. drugs).
× B2C e-commerce is growing rapidly, ➢ Commodities for which physical
especially in developing countries (e.g., inspection is not necessary (e.g., books,
China, Russia, Brazil and India). CDs, airline tickets).
× Internet users shop online and conduct ➢ Well-known packaged items that you
research online about a product before normally do not open in a physical store
purchasing the item, whether online or in a (e.g., canned or sealed foods, chocolates,
physical store. vitamins).
× Despite the inconsistency of the data, it is
clear that B2C is growing each year. This is
due both to more shoppers and to more
money spent online.
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Advantages of E-Tailing o Create their own designs and products.

E-tailing provides advantages both to sellers and o Find collector’s items.
buyers. o Buy in groups: buy with friends and engage
o Lower product cost, thus increasing in social shopping.
competitive advantage.
E-tailing business models can be classified in
o Reach more customers, many outside the
five categories:
vendor’s region, including going global.
1. Traditional mail-order retailers that also
For example, some Chinese and Taiwanese
sell online.
e-tailers operate sites that sell electronic
2. Direct marketing by manufacturers.
products all over the world.
3. Pure-play e-tailers.
o Change prices and catalogs quickly,
4. Click-and-mortar (“brick-and-click”)
including the visual presentation. Such
retailers.
flexibility increases competitive advantage.
5. Internet (online) malls.
o Lower supply chain costs
6. Flash sales.
o Provide customers with a wealth of
information online as a self-service option, × The idea of selling both online and offline is
thus saving customer service costs. part of a model or strategy known as a
o React quickly to customer needs, multichannel business model.
complaints, tastes, and so forth. × A business model, as defined is a
o Provide customization of products and description of how an organization intends
services, self-configuration, and to generate revenue through its business
personalization of customer care. operations.
o Enable small companies to compete with × Various B2C models are:
larger companies. o Direct Marketing by Mail-Order
o Better understand customers and interact Companies - direct marketing describes
with them. marketing that takes place without
o Sell specialized items country-wide, or even physical stores.
worldwide o Direct Sales by Manufacturers and
o Engage customers in interesting search, Make-to-Order - describes the process
comparison, and discussion activities. by which customers can configure and
o Contact customers who are not reachable order online from manufacturers.
by traditional methods of communication. o Virtual (Pure-Play) E-Tailers - are
o Pay less than in traditional or even discount companies with direct online sales that
stores. do not need physical stores.
o Find products/services not available in local o Click-and-Mortar Retailers and Multi-
stores. channeling - This is probably the most
o Shop globally: compare prices and services. commonly used model of e-tailing
o Shop anytime and from anywhere. competing with pure play e-tailers.
o Find it unnecessary to go to the store › A click-and-mortar retailer is a
wasting time and gasoline, and being combination of both the traditional
pressured by salespeople. retailer and a web store.
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› A brick-and-mortar retailer • Online Private Shopping

conducts business exclusively in Club – like an offline
the physical world. In some cases, shopping club (e.g., Costco),
sellers also might operate a enables members to shop at
traditional mail-order business. a discount, frequently for
o Retailing in Online Malls - There are short periods of time (just few
two types of online malls: referring hours or days).
directories and malls with shared • Group Gifting Online – in
shopping services. many cases, a group of
› Referring Directories - This type friends can collaborate on
of virtual mall contains a directory gifts for events such as a
organized by product type. Banner wedding.
ads at the mall site advertise the • Location-Based E-
products or vendors. When users Commerce (l-commerce) –
click on the product and/or a is a wireless-based
specific store, they are transferred technology used by vendors
to the webstore of the seller, where to send advertisements
they can complete the transaction. relevant to the location where
› Malls with Shared Services - In customers are at a given time
online malls with shared services, a by using GPS.
consumer can find a product, order • Shopping in Virtual Worlds
and pay for it, and arrange for – B2C in virtual worlds is also
shipment. The hosting mall available. The objective is to
provides these services. foster user interaction with
o Other B2C Models and Special one another and the products
Retailing in the virtual world, hopefully
› B2C Social Shopping leading to purchases in the
• Flash Deals (Deals of the real world.
Day) – These are sales in
which companies offer ONLINE TRAVEL AND TOURISM
heavily discounted products (HOSPITALITY) SERVICES
to consumers for a limited × Online services are provided by many travel
time. vendors.
• Online Group Buying – in × Online travel services generate income from
these depressed economic commissions, advertising fees, lead-
times, more people are using generation payments, subscription fees, site
the Internet as a smart way to membership fees, etc.
save money. × Online travel agencies offer almost all the
• Event Shopping – is the B2C same services delivered by conventional
model in which sales are travel agencies, from providing general
designed to meet the needs information to reserving and purchasing
of special events. travel accommodations and event tickets.
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× Many online travel services offer travel EMPLOYMENT AND THE ONLINE JOB
bargains. Consumers can go to specialty MARKET
sites, such as those offering standby × The online job market connects job seekers
opportunities and last minute bargain with potential employers. An online job
tickets. market is now very popular with both job
× Other special services include: seekers and employers.
o Wireless services × The following are examples of activities in
o Advanced check-in social networks related to job search:
o Direct marketing 1. Search for posted positions
o Alliances and consortia 2. Track people in your field
× The use of mobile device is increasing 3. Learn from the experts
rapidly, with hundreds of apps related to 4. Engage and communicate with people
comparing prices, making reservations, and ask for help
looking at travel reviews, and finding the 5. Make connections
best travel deals available. × job referral social networking sites solve
× Travelers are using sites like Facebook, the need for finding the right people for the
YouTube, Twitter, IgoUgo, Gogobot, Flickr, job
Foursquare, and TripAdvisor to plan their × Virtual job fairs as well as recruiting via social
trips and share experiences (both good and networks are becoming popular for
bad) afterward. expeditiously finding qualified candidates at
× The benefits of online travel services to a reduced cost.
travelers and travel providers are extensive. × To facilitate recruitment, top recruiters are
The amount of free information is seeking the benefits of using new tools like
voluminous, and is accessible at any time video conferencing to interview and connect
from any place. Shoppers can find the lowest with candidates from remote locations.
prices. Travel providers also benefit by
eliminating commissions and selling ONLINE REAL ESTATE, INSURANCE, AND
otherwise empty spaces. Finally, processing STOCK TRADING
fees are reduced. × Online infrastructures enable additional
× Online travel services do have some marketing channels, new business models,
limitations. First, complex trips are difficult to and provide new capabilities.
arrange and may not be available on some × Changes in online real estate information
sites because they require complicated search and transactions significantly impact
arrangements. Therefore, the need for travel the way that business is conducted.
agents as intermediaries remains, at least for × An increasing number of companies use the
the time being. Internet to offer standard insurance policies,
× The corporate travel market is huge and its such as auto, home, life, or health, at a
online portion has been growing rapidly in substantial discount, mostly to individuals.
recent years. Corporations can use all the × With online trading, there are no busy
online travel services mentioned earlier telephone lines, and the chance to err is
where they may receive special services. small, because there is no oral
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× Communication in a frequently noisy × E-grocery takes orders online and provides

environment. Orders can be placed from deliveries on a daily or other regular
anywhere, at any time, and there is no biased schedule or within a very short period of
broker to push a sale. time, sometimes within an hour.
× An express delivery option is referred to as
ONLINE BANKING AND PERSONAL FINANCE
an on-demand delivery service. In such a
× Electronic (online) banking (e-banking), case, the delivery must be done quickly after
also known as cyber banking, and virtual an order is received.
banking, refers to conducting banking
× Speed of delivery is critical not only for
activities online.
groceries and perishable items but also for
× E-banking saves users time and money. For other on-demand and large items.
banks, it offers a rapid and inexpensive
× Certain goods, such as software, music, or
strategy to acquire out-of-the-area
news stories, can be distributed in physical
customers.
format (such as hard copy, CD-ROM, DVD,
× Banking applications can be divided into the and newsprint), or they can be digitized and
following categories: informational, delivered over the Internet.
administrative, transactional, portal, and
× Online entertainment is growing rapidly and
others.
is now the most popular medium among
× Virtual banks have no physical location and young people.
conduct only online transactions.
× Social TV is an emerging social media
× Online banking enables the move of technology that enables several TV viewers
personal loans to the Web in what is called who are in different locations to interactively
online person-to-person money lending, or share experiences such as discussions,
in short P2P lending. reviews, and recommendations while
× Many financial institutions (e.g., Bank of watching the same show simultaneously.
America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank) allow × Internet gaming is comprised of all forms of
customers to view images of all of their gaming such as arcade gaming, lotteries,
checks, and other related material online. casino gaming, and promotional incentives.
× Many people prefer online payments of
monthly bills such as mortgage payments, OTHER SERVICES
car loans, telephone, utilities, rent, credit OTHER B2C SERVICES: FROM DATING
cards, cable, TV, and so on. SERVICES TO WEDDING PLANNING
On-Demand Delivery of Products, Digital × Online dating enables people to identify
Items, Entertainment, and Gaming potential mates and contact them, usually
× Most e-tailers use third party logistics via the service’s e-mail or chat functions.
carriers to deliver products to customers. × The wedding planning business is going
They might use the postal system within online also. A large number of companies
their country or they might use private are active in online wedding planning.
shippers such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. × For many the idea of buying cars online
seems crazy. However, today, more and
more cars are being sold online; or at least
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some of the steps in the purchasing process o Price

are completed online. o Information available to buyers
× There are hundreds of unique services o Other influencing factors
available online. Here we present only a
ISSUES IN E-TAILING AND LESSONS
short representative list:
LEARNED
✓ Online pharmacies are all over the
Internet × The following are representative issues and
✓ Stamps online problems (and some lessons learned from
✓ Online flower delivery them) that need to be addressed when
✓ Online food ordering conducting B2C EC.
✓ Virtual farmer’s marketplace × Disintermediation refers to the removal of
an intermediary that is responsible for
ONLINE PURCHASING-DECISION AIDS certain activities between trading partners.
× Many sites and tools are available to help × Consumers might have problems selecting
consumers with online purchasing decisions. an online vendor, vendors might have
Some sites offer price comparisons as their problems delivering goods to customers,
primary tool. and both might need an escrow service to
× Shopping portals are gateways to ensure the transactions. Thus, new types of
webstores and e-malls. Specifically, they intermediaries might be needed, and
host many online stores simultaneously. Like services might be provided by new or by
any other portal, they can be comprehensive traditional intermediaries. This new activity is
or niche-oriented. called re-intermediation.
× Shopping robots (shopping agents, × Intermediaries that may be eliminated, or
shopbots) are search engines that look for whose status and pay may decrease, might
the lowest prices or other search criteria. resist the change.
× Ratings and reviews by friends, even by × Channel conflict refers to the case in which
people that you do not know (e.g., experts or online sales damage the well-being of an
independent third-party evaluators), are existing channel partner.
usually available for social shoppers × Pricing a product or service on the Internet,
especially by a click-and-mortar company, is
THE NEW FACE OF RETAIL COMPETITION:
complicated. One reason is that prices need
RETAILERS VERSUS E-TAILERS
to be competitive both on the Internet and
× The Oxford Handbook of the Digital in the physical stores.
Economy from oxfordhandbooks.com
× The Internet also allows for easy self-
provides a comprehensive study by Lieber
configuration (“design it your way”). This
and Syverson ( 2012 ), which describes the
creates a large demand for customized
nature of the competition as well as the
products and services.
interplay of online and offline retail markets.
× A major problem in B2C is the increasing rate
o Customers’ search cost
of online fraud. This can cause losses both to
o Delivery time
buyers and sellers.
o Distribution costs
o Tax differences
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CONCEPTS, CHARACTERISTICS, AND materials, fulfilling orders, shipments, and

MODELS OF B2B E-COMMERCE logistics.
Business-to-Business E-Commerce (B2B EC) Parties to the Transaction: Sellers, Buyers,
Also known as eB2B (electronic B2B), or just B2B, and Intermediaries
refers to transactions between businesses × B2B commerce can be conducted directly
conducted electronically over the Internet, between a customer and a manufacturer or
extranets, intranets, or private networks. it can be conducted via an online
intermediary. An online intermediary is a
The Basic Types of B2B Transactions and
third-party entity that brokers the
Activities
transactions between the buyer and seller; it
The number of sellers and buyers and the form can be either virtual or click-and-mortar.
of participation used in B2B determine the five
basic B2B transaction activity types: Types of Materials Traded: What Do Firms
Buy?
1. Sell-side – One seller to many buyers.
2. Buy-side – One buyer from many sellers. × Two major types of materials and supplies
3. Marketplaces or Exchanges – Many are traded in B2B markets: direct and
sellers to many buyers. indirect.
4. Supply Chain Improvements × Direct materials are materials used in
5. Collaborative Commerce making products, such as steel in a car or
paper in a book.
The Basic Types of B2B E-Marketplaces and × Indirect materials are items, such as office
Services supplies or light bulbs, which support
The following are the descriptions of the basic operation and production. They normally are
types of B2B e-marketplaces. used in maintenance, repair, and
1. One-to-Many and Many-to-One: Private operation (MRO) activities. Collectively,
E-Marketplaces – Also referred to as they are also known as nonproduction
company-centric EC. One company does materials.
either all the selling (sell-side market) or all B2B marketplaces can be classified as vertical
the buying (buy-side market). or horizontal.
2. Many-to-Many: Public Exchanges (or E- × Vertical marketplaces are those for one
Marketplaces) – In many-to-many e- particular industry or industry segment.
marketplaces, many buyers and many Examples include marketplaces specializing
sellers meet electronically to trade with one in electronics, cars, hospital supplies, steel,
another. or chemicals.
3. Supply Chain Improvers and
× Horizontal marketplaces are those in which
Collaborative Commerce - B2B
trading is in a service or a product that is
transactions are conducted frequently
used in many types of industries.
along segments of the supply chain.
× The strategy of providing such
Therefore, B2B initiatives need to be
comprehensive, quality e-services for
examined in light of other supply chain
activities such as procurement of raw
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business partners is sometimes called ✓ Reaches a more geographically

partner relationship management (PRM). dispersed customer base (S)
✓ Provides a better means of
The Benefits and Limitations of B2B communication with other media (J)
× The benefits of B2B are for buyers, sellers, or ✓ Provides 24/7 coverage of the shop
for both, and they depend on which model front (J)
is used. In general, though, the major ✓ Helps equalize small enterprises (B)
benefits of B2B (the beneficiaries are marked
after each benefit: S = seller, B = buyer, J = ONE-TO-MANY: SELL-SIDE E-
joint) are that it: MARKETPLACES, SELLING VIA E-AUCTIONS
✓ Creates new sales opportunities (S) × In a B2B sell-side e-marketplace, a business
✓ Eliminates paper and reduces sells products and services to business
administrative costs (J) customers electronically, frequently over an
✓ Expedites processing and reduces extranet.
trading cycle time (J)
✓ Lowers search costs and time for The one-to-many model has three major
buyers to find products and vendors (B) marketing methods:
✓ Increases productivity of employees (1) selling from electronic catalogs with fixed
dealing with buying and/or selling (J) prices;
✓ Reduces errors and improves quality of (2) selling via forward auctions; and
service (J) (3) one-to-one selling, usually under a
✓ Makes product configuration easier (B) negotiated long-term contract
✓ Reduces marketing and sales costs (S) The Benefits of Auctions on the Sell Side
✓ Reduces inventory levels and costs (J) ✓ Revenue generation
✓ Reduces purchasing costs by cutting ✓ Cost savings
down on use of intermediaries (B) ✓ Increased “stickiness.”
✓ Enables customized e-catalogs with ✓ Member acquisition and retention
different prices for different customers
(J) ONE-FROM-MANY: E-PROCUREMENT AT
✓ Increases production flexibility, BUY-SIDE E-MARKETPLACES
permitting on demand delivery (S) × The term procurement refers to the purchase
✓ Reduces procurement costs (B) of goods and services by organizations.
✓ Facilitates customization via self- Procurement is usually done by purchasing
configuration(J) agents, also known as corporate buyers.
✓ Provides for efficient customer service
(B) Procurement management
✓ Increases opportunities for → refers to the process of planning,
collaboration (J) organizing, and coordinating of all the
✓ Web-based EC is more affordable than activities pertaining to the purchasing of
traditional EDI (J) the goods and services needed by an
✓ Allows more business partners to be organization.
reached than with EDI (J)
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× The following are the major activities that retailers, and possibly by
may be included in a single purchase: negotiation.
• Search for items using search engines, o Buy at private or public auction
catalogs, virtual fairs and showrooms, sites in which the buying
and sellers’ sales presentations. organization is one of many where
• Learn details of items and buying terms suppliers compete against each
using comparison engines and quality other.
reports, and research industry report o Buy from the catalog of an
and vendors’ information. intermediary (e-distributor) that
• Negotiate or join group purchasing aggregates sellers’ catalogs
using software support (if available). o Buy from the company’s own
• Determine when and how much to internal buyer catalog. Such
order each time. Authorize corporate catalogs usually include agreed
buyers. upon prices of items from many
• Join business-oriented social network suppliers.
such as linkedin.com. o Join a group-purchasing system
• Sign agreement or contract using e- that aggregates participants’
contract management (e.g., from Ariba, demands, creating a large volume.
Inc. ariba.com; a SAP company); o Buy at an exchange or industrial
arrange financing, escrow insurance, mall.
etc. E-procurement (electronic procurement)
• Create specific purchasing order(s) → is the online purchase of supplies,
using a computerized system. materials, energy, work, and services. Four
• Arrange packing, shipments, and major methods of e-procurement are
deliveries using electronic tracking, available:
RFID, etc. (1) Buy at own website
• Arrange invoicing, payments, expense (2) buy at sellers’ store,
management, and purchasing (3) buy at exchanges, and
budgetary control using software (4) buy at theirs’ e-market sites.
packages (e.g., from ariba.com).
The Benefits of E-Procurement
Maverick buying
✓ By automating and streamlining the
→ occurs when a buyer makes unplanned
procurement process, corporate
purchases of items needed quickly,
purchasing buyers can focus on more
resulting in buying at non-pre-
strategic activities that result in:
negotiated, and usually higher, prices.
✓ Increasing the productivity of purchasing
Procurement Methods agents, providing them with more
→ The major procurement methods include nonroutine time and reducing job
the following: pressures; possibly reducing purchasing
o Buy directly from the catalogs of departments’ overhead.
manufacturers, wholesalers, or
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✓ Lowering purchase per item prices o The total cost (TCO) may be too
through activities such as product high.
standardization, reverse auctions, volume o It may be subject to hacker attacks.
discounts, and consolidation of purchases o It may be difficult to get suppliers
from fewer suppliers. to cooperate electronically.
✓ Improving information flow and its o The system may be too complex
control (e.g., price comparisons). (e.g., when it uses a traditional EDI;
✓ Reducing the frequency and cost of see Online Tutorial T2).
maverick buying. o It may be difficult to have internal
✓ Improving the payment process, and and external integration
sellers’ savings due to expedited payment (sometimes it involves different
cycle. standards).
✓ Establishing more efficient and o The technology may change
collaborative partner relations due to frequently
information sharing.
✓ Improving the manufacturing process for REVERSE AUCTIONS AT BUY-SIDE / E-
the suppliers. MARKETPLACES (E-TENDERING)
✓ Ensuring delivery on time, and fewer stock → A reverse auction is a process in which
outs. many sellers (suppliers) compete to fulfill
✓ Reducing the skill requirements and orders requested by one buyer.
training needs of purchasing agents. → The major benefits of the technology to a
✓ Reducing the number of suppliers. buyer are:
✓ Streamlining and expediting the (1) lower cost of items purchased,
purchasing process. (2) reduction of administrative costs of
✓ Controlling inventories more effectively at procurement,
the buyers’ end. (3) reduction of corruption and bribes,
✓ Streamlining invoice reconciliation and and
dispute resolution. (4) decrease in time to receive the
✓ Reducing the administrative processing goods, which may result from the
cost per order by as much as 90% by suppliers’ ability to produce its
reducing purchasing overheads and products and services faster.
intermediary fees. OTHER E-PROCUREMENT METHODS
✓ Finding new suppliers that can provide → Desktop purchasing refers to purchasing
goods and services faster and/or less by employees without the approval of
expensively (e.g., by going global and use supervisors and without the involvement
online price comparisons). of a procurement department.
The Limitations and Challenges of E- → Many companies, especially small ones,
Procurement are moving to group purchasing. With
→ Unfortunately, e-procurement practices group purchasing, orders from several
have some limitations and risks such as: buyers are aggregated so that better
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prices due to larger quantities purchased × Dynamic pricing refers to the rapid
can be negotiated. movement of prices over time and possibly
across customers. Stock exchanges are a
Acquisition Via Electronic Bartering
prime example of dynamic pricing. Another
→ Bartering is the exchange of goods or
good example of dynamic pricing occurs in
services without the use of money. The
auctions, where prices vary all the time.
basic idea is for a company to exchange
its surplus for something that it needs. B2B PORTALS AND DIRECTORIES
→ Bartering intermediary can use a manual
× B2B portals are information portals for
search-and-match approach or it can
businesses. They usually include lists of
create an electronic bartering exchange.
products offered by each seller, lists of
With a bartering exchange, a company
potential buyers and what they want to buy,
submits its surplus to the exchange and
and other industry or general information.
receives points of credit, which the
o Corporate portals - facilitate
company can then use to buy items that
collaboration with suppliers, customers,
it needs.
employees, and others.
B2B EXCHANGES (E-MARKETPLACES): o Customers portals - can use these
DEFINITIONSAND CONCEPTS customer-facing portals to view
products and services and to place
× The term B2B exchange, or simply exchange, orders, which they can later track.
implies the existence of many potential o Employee Portals - are used for
buyers and many potential sellers in B2B e- training, dissemination of company
marketplaces. news and information, discussion
× Functions of and Services Provided by groups, and more.
Exchanges o Mobile portals - are portals accessible
× Exchanges have the following four major via mobile devices, especially cell
sets of functions: phones, smartphones, tablets, and so
1. Matching and connecting buyers and forth.
sellers,
2. facilitating transactions, B2B IN WEB 2.0 AND SOCIAL NETWORKING
3. Developing and maintaining exchange × The opportunities of B2B social networking
policies and infrastructure, And depends on the companies’ goals and the
4. providing services to buyers and sellers perceived benefits and risks involved.
× Exchanges, portals, and directories are × E-communities connect employees,
usually owned by a third-party operator. partners, customers, and any combination of
Both sellers and buyers prefer such an the three. E-communities offer a powerful
arrangement. Alternatively, exchanges may resource for e-businesses to leverage online
be owned by a few very large sellers or discussions and interactions in order to
buyers. This kind of arrangement is referred maximize innovation and responsiveness.
to as a consortium. × Companies that use B2B social networking
may experience the following advantages:
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o Use the network to advertise to large × Virtual games, or gamification, refer to

audiences and create brand awareness. virtual games designed to support B2B
o Discover new business partners and training and decision making. Players
sales prospects. compete against each other and make
o Enhance their ability to learn about market predictions.
new technologies, competitors, × Virtual trade shows are an application of
customers and the business virtual worlds. A virtual trade show, also
environment. known as a virtual trade fair, is the online
o Generate sales leads via ‘contacts,’ analogy of a physical trade show.
especially on linkedin.com and by
tweeting (twitter.com), or engaging on SOME B2B SUPPORT MECHANISMS
facebook.com. × Interpersonal influences, such as authority,
o Post questions and facilitate and the possibility of group decision making
discussions on linkedin.com by must be considered.
searching the “Help Center,” asking the × B2B marketing refers to marketing and
community a question through the sales made by manufacturers and
“Help Forum,” or by using the posting wholesalers along the sell- side of the supply
module on your homepage to ask your chain.
network a question. × Collaboration Networks and Supply
o Post questions on the question and Chain Facilities Collaboration is about the
answer forums on other social relationships among organizations. Many
networks. companies provide tools that facilitate
o Improve participation in industry collaboration.
association activities (including
× Payments for B2B transactions differ from
lobbying).
B2C. While credit cards are used for smaller
o Create buzz about upcoming product
purchases, larger purchases are paid for by
releases.
other methods.
o Drive traffic to their Facebook page
and other social sites and engage
visitors there (e.g., provide games,
prizes, competitions, etc.).
o Word of mouth also may increase
traffic.
o Create social communities to
encourage discussions among
business partners (e.g., customers and
suppliers) about their products.
o Use social networks, such as
facebook.com and linkedin.com to
recruit new talent.