Social networks are forming the catalyst of an entirely new approach to connecting with prospects, transforming them into customers, and earning their loyalty and trust for the long-term. Any e-business strategy today needs to concentrate on social media, as it invites customers into the conversation (Bernoff, Li, 36)
Over and above all of these benefits, Web-based supply chain management systems integrate the many tasks involved in managing suppliers profitably into a single system, greatly increasing the productivity and profitability of a small business (Pramatari, 210). A second B2B-based technology in pervasive use throughout small businesses is Web-based accounting and payment processing systems (Hammermaster, 22)
In conjunction with websites, blogs and the supporting social networking sites, small businesses are increasingly relying on e-mail campaigns that have analytics applications supporting them. This gives small businesses the ability to track who opens the e-mails they send as part of a campaign, how long they read them, and what their interests are by seeing what items are clicked on (Russell-Bennett, McColl-Kennedy, Coote, 1253)
) Another essential aspect that relates to B2B, and differs from the B2C mode of transactions and marketing, is that with B2B purchases are often made on different terms for different products." (Karake-Shalhoub, 2002, p
Inaccurate information is more likely to whip through a B2C market supply chain, causing a buildup of unwanted or unnecessary inventory. (Davidson, 2005) The variables studied in B2B marketing segmentation also tend to be more concentrated than the many different kinds and levels segmentation methods used for B2Cmarket segmentation
B2B Exchanges Analysis of the Three Types of Business-to-Business Exchanges There are three types of exchanges that are prevalent in business-to-business (B2B) in seller and buyer relations incouding New Buyer, Modified Rebuy and Straight Rebuy (Coupey, 2005)
The process workflows vary for New Buyer, Modified Rebuy and Straight Rebuy. All are integrated into the underlying IT platform through the use of Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) and role-based access to the specific systems of record and databases (Li, Jhang-Li, 2011)
The foundation for communication and platform for communicating with customers is the Internet in this exchange (Coupey, 2005). This type of exchange is also nuanced from the standpoint of tailoring the user interface to support specific preferences, needs and wants of the customer (Coupey, 2005) (Porterfield, Bailey, Evers, 2010)
Integrating analytics and CRM systems to provide a scalable, secure platform for measuring and managing IMC strategies is the goal many B2B marketers are striving towards globally. IMC-based strategies are increasingly relying on advanced analytics and big data to gain insights into how they can be improved over time (Svilar, Chakraborty, Kanioura, 2013, pp
The said information could, although similar, present different (and hence distorted) information -- resulting in some level of confusion. By utilizing "the portal as a single authoritative source of information, users can feel confident that the information on the portal is accurate and timely" (Barber, 2006, p
It is important to note that thanks to the internet, it has become easier for buyers as well as sellers of goods and services to not only meet, but also transact in virtual cyber markets. A B2B portal, in basic terms, "provides access for B2B customers to do online ordering, check order status, payment status, and product information" (Tatnall, 2007, P
eBay and the Early e-Business Categories The early e-business categories represented a novel approach to conducting business no matter the method, whether business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), or consumer-to-consumer (C2C) as eBay was. As a C2C e-business, eBay created a platform whereby consumers could cut out the middle man and engaged directly with sellers (which were typically other consumers, as eBay represented itself as a giant yard sale, where everyone was invited to post their goods, but gradually began to include small businesses which viewed the portal as a place where they could market directly to buyers as well) (Steiner, 2014)
eBay's growth, therefore, was predicated on the fact that it was on the frontier of the e-business world, forging the path. When others caught up and started making new paths, eBay's business model hit a way (Thompson, 2015)
In general, Apple Inc. is largely focused on increasing the user experience of its consumers (Ang, 2014)
Marketing Communications Objectives The AIDA Model ascertains perceptive phases an individual goes through in the course of the purchasing process for a product or service. In other words, it is a buying funnel where consumers go back and forth at each phase, to facilitate them in undertaking the ultimate purchase (Hanlon, 2013)
Online Advertising In order to undertake the exclusive launch party, online and email-marketing will be best suited to be used as promotional tools in implementing this objective. This is because social media will enable the organization to have interactive tools in which they can get to consumers in a direct manner (Shrimp, 2010)
There are opportunities also to use service excellence to win over customers who might otherwise be dissatisfied. A customer who complains, and then is happy with how the company handled the complaint, is often a very loyal customer through subsequent purchase decisions (Ah & Loh, 2006)