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

The Age of the “e” 31
The company can set up an extranet, using the Web as a place
where business can be privately conducted between the company
and worldwide customers and suppliers.
The company principal could even hold special events or conduct
live video conferencing via the Web.
The marketer can take full advantage of the Internet’s global reach
in numerous ways. The following are just a few of the possibilities.
Expanding Markets and Territories
Marketing no longer has to artificially stop at a country’s borders. An
Internet marketing program can make a global initiative not only possible
but also practical. A company’s Web site can be mirrored in several
languages, and it can address country-specific issues. An intranet
can be established to provide low-cost, instant communications with
every sales office, sales representative, distributor, reseller or retailer
worldwide. An extranet can be used to admit partners, suppliers, and
customers into select portions of the intranet. The Web site can be promoted
inexpensively throughout the world with links on other Web pages
and in e-mail newsletters. Simple, inexpensive mailings can be executed
in each target country to drive prospects to the corporate Web site.
Developing Global Marketing Partnerships
Internet marketing makes joint ventures attractive and easy to implement.
A b-to-b marketer can join together with one or more partners
whose products or services complement the marketer’s products or services.
Then this consortium can pool their resources. They can execute
cooperative e-mail campaigns by sharing each other’s lists or form a
collaborative Web site that features their solution set. They can also use
their own extranet to speed communication with sales and marketing
personnel from all participating companies throughout the world.
Providing Worldwide Customer Service
In an era of emphasized customer service, the b-to-b marketer can now
use the Internet as the foundation for 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, 365day-a-year
customer support. How a company services its business customers
differentiates it from its competitors. The Internet can facilitate
online customer service centers and provide customer-only information,