Learning objectives

After reading this chapter, the reader should be able to:


 Identify the different elements of the Internet environment that

impact on an organisation’s Internet marketing strategy


 Assess competitor, customer and intermediary use of the Internet


 Evaluate the relevance of changes in trading patterns and business

models enabled by e-commerce

Questions for marketers

Key questions for marketing managers related to this chapter are:


 How are the competitive forces and value chain changed by the

Internet?


 How do I assess the demand for Internet services from customers?


 How do I compare our online marketing with that of competitors?


 What is the relevance of the new intermediaries?

Links to other chapters

This chapter, together with the following one, provides a foundation for

later chapters on Internet marketing strategy and implementation:

Chapter 3, The Internet macro-environment complements this

chapter

Chapter 4, Internet marketing strategy explains how environment

analysis is used as part of strategy development

Chapter 5, The Internet and the marketing mix considers the role of

‘Place’ in the online marketing mix

2

Main topics

Marketplace 45

Customers 61

Online buyer behaviour 74

Competitors 85

Suppliers 86

Intermediaries 86

Case study 2

Zopa launches a new lending
model 90

Chapter at a glance

The Internet

micro-environment