CHAPTER 11· BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTERNET MARKETING
reseller markets following the collapse of the dot-com bubble, circa 2000. Indeed, it is
possible that the more an organisation is in a position to take advantage of such limiting
factors the more likely will be the shift towards the online trading environment.
Other notable innovations with the potential to alter online channel relationships are:
Infomediation– a related concept where middlemen hold data or information to bene-
fit customers and suppliers.
Channel confluence– occurs where distribution channels start to offer the same deal to
the end-customer.
Peer-to-peer services– music swapping services such as Napster and Gnutella opened up
an entirely new approach to music distribution with both supplier and middleman
removed completely, thus providing a great threat but also an opportunity to the
music industry.
Affiliation– affiliate programmes can turn customers into sales people. Many consider
sales people as part of distribution. Others see them as part of the communications mix.Restructuring of the channel to market through the use of Internet technologies can
deliver significant benefits in improved efficiency and reduced costs.
This section has focused on the potential impact of the Internet on the exchange
process, the buying function and trading relationships. Through the use of Internet and
network technologies it is becoming possible for an organisation to build a highly
streamlined sales channel online. In many organisations, there are no observable stages
between inbound logistics and distribution to the final customer. There is minimum
human intervention in the whole supply process, which raises the question: To what
extent are trading relationships becoming ‘transactional’ rather than ‘relational’?
Perhaps this is because organisations have been developing strong links with suppliers
and other stakeholders through the use of technology, which has resulted in many activ-
ities being outsourced and the creation of new and different arrangements of trading
networks. Deise et al. (2000) describe value network management as ‘the process of
effectively deciding what to outsource in a constraint-based, real-time environment
based on fluctuation’. (For discussion of customer relationship management techniques
see Chapter 6.) A key point to remember is that whatever the incremental changes
taking place at various stages of the trading relationship, for many organisations, trading
relationships are becoming a more strategic issue. There are greater opportunities to
create competitive advantage by redefining the participants of the exchange process and
developing competitive differentiation by rethinking sales and service processes.The final theme of this chapter is Internet marketing strategies. It should be noted that it
is not the aim of this section to revisit the process of planning online marketing strate-
gies (which has been discussed in Chapter 4), but to consider how Internet marketing
strategies might be used and integrated into organisational planning activities.
So far this chapter has focused on the online trading context, the electronic market-
place and trading relationships. In essence, each of these sections forms an integral part
of the online strategic planning process. According to Nicholls and Watson (2005),
although e-commerce is still a relatively new business activity for many organisations
there is a growing understanding within the literature of the importance of strategic
thinking to the successful development of online activities. During the dot-com boom