CHAPTER 14: E- BUSINESS

E-BUSINESS MODELS

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS (B2B)

It applies to businesses buying from and selling to each other over the Internet. Examples include medical billing service, software sales and licensing, and virtual assistant business. B2B relationships represent 80 percent of all online business and are more complex with greater security needs than the other types.

BUSINESS-TO-CONSUMER (B2C)

It applies to any business that sells its products or services directly to consumers online.

CONSUMER-TO-BUSINESS (C2B)

It applies to consumer who sells a product and service to a business on the Internet.

CONSUMER-TO-CONSUMER (C2C)

It applies to customers offering goods and services to each other on the Internet. A good example of C2C is an auction where buyers and sellers solicit consecutive bids from each other and prices are determined dynamically.

EBUSINESS TOOLS FOR CONNECTING AND COMMUNICATING

CHALLENGES OF E-BUSINESS

IDENTIFYING LIMITED MARKET SEGMENTS

The main challenge of e-business is the lack of growth in some sectors due to product or service limitations. The online food sector has not grown in sales, in part because food products are perishable and consumers prefer to buy them at the supermarket a needed. Other sectors with limited e-business appeal include fragile or consumable goods and highly sensitive or confidential businesses such as government agencies.

MANAGING CONSUMER TRUST

Internet marketers must develop a trustworthy relationship to make that initial sale and generate customer loyalty.

ENSURING CONSUMER PROTECTION

An organization that dominate with superior customer service as a competitive advantage must not only serve but also protect its customers, guarding them unsolicited goods and communication, illegal or harmful goods, insufficient information about goods and suppliers, invasion of privacy and misuse of personal information, and online fraud.

ADHERING TO TAXATION RULES

Internet marketplace remains mostly free of traditional forms of sales tax, partly because e-commerce law is vaguely defined and differs from state to state.