CHAPTER 11· BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTERNET MARKETING
B2B markets
Traditionally, there are three main types of organisational markets in which businesses
primarily trade with businesses. In the UK, the economic activities a company engages
in allow it to be classified using Standard Industry Codes (SIC) that facilitate statistical
analysis (at a government level) and common activity structures (for non-governmental
administrational purposes). SICs were first introduced in 1948 but are regularly updated
to reflect changes over time and to accommodate new products and new industries. SIC
UK are integrated into European and international coding to ensure consistency in clas-
sification of organisations by activity (Central Statistical Office, 1992): for example,
computer and related activities have a primary code number 72 and secondary codes for
hardware (721), software (722) and data processing (723).Industrial markets
Companies in such markets are heavily dependent on raw materials and actually pro-
ducing tangible goods. SIC industrial markets include: Agriculture and hunting and
forestry, Fishing, Manufacturing (fuel processing and production, chemicals and man-
made fibre, metal goods, engineering and vehicles industry, printing and other
manufacturing), Electricity and gas supply, and Construction. The nature of these types
of industrial markets is such that some of the manufacturing sectors are dominated by a
small number of very large companies. This is particularly noticeable in areas of manu-
facturing that require major capital funding and investment (e.g. ship building and the
manufacture of chemicals). In the case of extraction industries, geography impacts on
the dispersion of companies, physically bringing companies together in specific regions
based on availability of and access to required raw materials. It should be noted that this
does not mean all manufacturers operate on a vast scale. In the case of specialist engi-
neering companies, they can be quite numerous, small in size and widely dispersed.Reseller markets
Organisations in these markets buy products and services in order to resell them. Under
the SIC systems these types of organisations include those engaged in: Wholesale and
retail trade, Repair of motor vehicles, Motor cycles, Household and personal goods,
Hotels and restaurants, Transport, storage and communications, Financial institutions,
Estate agents and letting. This covers a very diverse collection of organisations and as a
result company size and market-sector structures vary considerably.Government markets
These markets consist of government agencies and bodies that buy goods and services
that are required to carry out specific functions and provide particular services.
Governments control vast funds of public money generated from direct and indirect tax-
ation. In many instances, purchasing requirements exceed those of large private
commercial organisations. Under the SIC system the types of organisations include:
Public administration, Education, Health services, Armed forces, and Other community,
social and personal services activities.Growth, volume and dispersion of B2B electronic markets
In the first instance, questions about growth and the rise of electronic networks and the informa-
tion revolutionprimarily focused on reseller markets (B2C Internet marketing is discussed in
detail in Chapter 10) and questioned whether the online trading environment was ‘merely
another revolution in retailing formats’ (Evans and Wurster, 2000). However, as commercial