Managing Electronic Commerce and On-Line Marketing 327
Electronic Presence
A company can establish an electronic presence on the Web in three ways:
- Buying space on a commercial on-line service.This involves renting storage space on the
on-line service’s computer or establishing a link from the company’s own computer
to the on-line service’s shopping mall. For example, the retailer JCPenney
(www.jcpenney.com) has links to America Online and Prodigy. The on-line services
typically design the storefront for which the company pays an annual fee plus a
small percentage of its on-line sales. - Selling through another site.Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) broke new marketing
ground by starting zShops, a special section on its Web site where manufacturers and
retailers can sell their products. For less than $10 per month and a small percentage
of on-line revenues, businesses of any size—even competitors—can reach out to
Amazon’s 12 million customers.^21 - Opening its own Web site.On a corporate Web site,the firm can offer basic information
about its history, mission and philosophy, products and services, and locations; in
addition, it may post current events, financial performance data, and job opportuni-
ties. One example is McDonald’s (www.mcdonalds.com), which announces new pro-
motions, helps visitors find the nearest outlet, posts news about its charitable works,
and generally builds the firm’s image—even though the site does not actually sell any
food. On a marketing Web site,the firm seeks to bring prospects and customers closer
to a purchase or other marketing outcome by offering a catalog, shopping tips, and
possibly promotional features such as coupons or contests. The Garden site
(www.garden.com), for example, offers a “garden planner” that lets visitors create
and save their own ideal garden designs, then buy the plants and tools they need.
Business marketing is actually the driving force behind the e-commerce jug-
gernaut. Major corporations such as Chevron, Ford Motor Company, General
Electric, and Merck have invested millions in Web procurement systems to automate
corporate purchasing. The result: Invoices that used to cost $100 to process now cost
as little as $20. General Electric now requires its partners to join its Web procure-
ment network (www.geis.com), which could save GE as much as $200 million per
year by 2003.
Many companies are also developing “microsites”—small, specialized Web sites
for specific occasions or products. For instance, the big motion picture studios are set-
ting up separate sites for new films rather than sending people to the studios’ main
Web sites. Now other companies are using microsites for new-product launches, pro-
motional campaigns, contests, recruiting, crisis communication, specific product
information, and media relations. Frito-Lay, for example, has both a corporate Web
site (www.fritolay.com) and a microsite (www.gosnacks.com) where consumers can
place large orders for Cheetos and other snacks in special resealable containers.
Companies should consider developing a microsite for any situation in which specific,
detailed information needs to be made available quickly and easily.^22
Advertising On-line
Companies can place on-line ads in three ways: (1) in special sections offered by the
major commercial on-line services; (2) in selected Internet newsgroups that are set up
for commercial purposes; and (3) using ads that pop up while subscribers are surfing
on-line services or Web sites, including banner ads, pop-up windows, “tickers” (ban-
ners that move across the screen), and “roadblocks” (full-screen ads that users must
click through to get to other screens).