Triangle Business Journal

David Chapman

Next Big Web Push Has Business Focus

TBJ is introducing a new column on websites by David Chapman, who owns 919 Marketing, a Triangle marketing and consulting firm. Future columns will examine website trends.

There’s some great “eye candy” on the Internet these days. Sleek, consumer-driven websites offer high-impact animations, web banners, sexy graphic rollovers, free downloads and hoards of information for consumers and investors.

Pretty entertaining stuff – and much of it the result of retailers jumping into cyber space with both corporate feet. For a number of reasons, including the Y2K bug, the business-to-business marketplace has been slower than retailers to embrace the power of the Internet to bring them closer to suppliers, wholesalers, distributors and customers.

But that will change. Two well-known research firms recently estimated the business-to-business e-commerce market will grow to about $65 billion by 2001. Clearly, business-to-business e-commerce, so far largely ignored by the media and most web design shops, is huge, lucrative and growing by leaps and bounds.

Business-to-business e-commerce is a boon to businesses looking to find a better channel to interact with suppliers, distributors and partners. Not only can it reduce the physical costs of doing business, but in some cases, cut out expensive middlemen.

As with all things technical, the devil lies in the details. Many retailers have discovered that the snappy looking virtual storefronts generate sales, but the rest of their company isn’t organized well to take full advantage of the new medium.

One research organization had this advice: “Approach e-business holistically. A key challenge will be to integrate technology in the core of the business, rather than use technology to create ancillary or parallel businesses. Enterprises that fail to do this will waste valuable time and may not survive.”

Customer Relationship Management provides a case in point. At its simplest level, it represents a sales person using a laptop to log calls and contacts. Somewhat farther up the Internet e-commerce spectrum, the same salesperson might be able to access a centralized customer database that displays all account relationships, cross-sell opportunities and other statuses in real time. Perhaps our sales person can also access manufacturing and inventory databases that provide real time information about pricing and availability. Clearly, the Internet can provide sales forces with better information and a competitive advantage in the field, but it requires connectivity with cumbersome, existing computer systems and databases.

This integration of legacy systems is perhaps the biggest technical roadblock companies face as they chase the Internet’s real blessings. Data flow in most American companies is segmented, at best. Data from sales, manufacturing, finance, distribution, marketing and customer service seldom shares common databases.

From a marketing standpoint, the challenge lies in taking full advantage of the Internet’s unique character. By creating portals of interest for a company’s various stakeholders, companies can both initiate and manage discussion and information exchange among key target groups. Internet technologies offer the promise of not only personalized products, but promotions, sales incentives and even payment and deliver terms.

Over the next decade, successful companies will find a way to generate competitive advantage using Internet technologies. The Internet can streamline the sales process, cut costs, speed cycle times and create better customer relationships. Despite all the hype already out there, it’s a journey we’ve only just begun. As business-to-business companies begin to weigh in with their digital investments, we’ll see a whole new marketplace.

Chapman is president of 919 Marketing, a Triangle-based marketing and public relations consulting firm. He can be reached at (919) 557-7890.