Business-to-Business Internet Marketing, Fourth Edition - Lifecycle ...

270 BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS INTERNET MARKETING
Partnering, Internet Style: What the Future Holds
In March 1999, Amazon.com and Dell affiliated in an unusual Internet
business relationship that could be a forerunner of future Internet
partnering. Each company agreed to link its sites to the other at the
point of purchase pages. In effect, the companies are “advertising each
others’ products at their on-line checkouts,” reports Reuters. Dell customers
are being given the option of purchasing a book from
Amazon.com, and Amazon.com offers its customers Dell PCs on the
way out of its electronic store. As these two online giants share customers,
the results of their efforts could lead the entire e-commerce world
into collaborative ventures.
The business reason for this partnership is simple—each company is
gaining access to the other’s customer base. In so doing, both companies
share the potential to rapidly expand their businesses and attract new
Internet buyers. The key word is “Internet” because, as Amazon.com
and Dell realize, the old direct marketing adage applies even to electronic
audiences: Buyers tend to repeat their purchases using the buying channel
with which they are most comfortable. Since Internet buying is a relatively
new and growing phenomenon, reaching a large base of new potential
Internet buyers at a reasonable cost, in association with another
premier Internet brand, is like striking a vein of gold in cyberspace.
Dell was involved in another partnership formed in October 1999
with the goal of helping a chemical company move aggressively into
e-business. Eastman Chemical has begun a partnership with Dell to
offer its customers an opportunity to purchase discounted Dell computers.
Eastman at the same time announced a partnership with
UUNET (www.uu.net), the leading business Internet Service Provider.
Eastman customers can sign up for UUNET’s Internet service through
Eastman and get a credit on their purchase.
America Online (www.aol.com) aggressively pursues Internet partnerships
as a way of growing and solidifying its 30-million-member
subscriber base. In June 2001, for example, America Online announced
a major alliance with AT&T Wireless in which the companies will develop
a new AOL/AT&T Wireless mobile service, integrating AOL desktop
features and functionality into a wireless handset. The agreement
will include the marketing of AT&T Wireless products and services on
AOL Time Warner online and offline brands.
W.W. Grainger (www.grainger.com) is a classic story of a traditional,
industrial b-to-b company that reinvented itself as an Internet