Internet Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Internet Strategies - Essay Example Drawing upon this idea, Treese and Stewart (1998) assert that the internet offers two key sources of value – the ability to transform customer relationship and the ability to displace traditional sources of business value. They suggest four key competitive internet-marketing strategies – the Channel Master, Customer Magnet, Value Chain Pirate, and the Digital Distributor. Channel Master strategy opens up new channels to the customers on the internet. It facilitates better customer service including delivery of products. The customers are directly connected to the companies offering the products and the services. Amazon.com is an example of how a virtual storefront is available to the buyers (Webonomics). Customers have the flexibility to choose the hours of business. Ghosh emphasizes that companies can master their internet channels by providing the same level of service as they would in person. This strategy helps the customer to track the status of delivery too. The Customer Magnet helps the companies to focus on a specific type of product or service. They then become dominant players in the field, have controlling access to customers and define the business rules. Customers are attracted through meeting knowledge needs and then a virtual community is formed of the people who share similar interests. Tripod has used this strategy and is able to provide online sales to its customers. The Value Chain Pirate on the other hand, is very useful in eliminating the intermediaries or the cybermediaries or the existing distributor chain. It helps fight competition. The costs are lowered because the agents’ remuneration can be done away with. The travel trade benefits immensely as most airlines have reduced their agents’ commissions. As Ghosh states, in pirating its value chain, publishers can bypass retailers or distributors