The use of Internet and Web technologies in business – commonly known as “EBusiness” – has changed how marketers implement and enhance their business processes and interact with their environments. In order to develop a successful e-business model understanding the customer needs in the light of the new environment is very essential.
MEANING AND CONCEPT
The use of term e-business was coined by IBM in October 1997, when it launched a thematic campaign built around the term. Today, e-business has become a buzz word and most of the corporations are rethinking their business in terms of the Internet and its new culture and capabilities.
Electronic business, commonly referred to as “e-business”, or an internet business is generally referred as buying and selling of goods or services through internet. However, this definition just reflects one aspect of e-business i.e., trading. E-business in a broader perspective involves the use of information and communication technologies to facilitate and support processes and activities of business. Processes and activities of business includes buying, selling, customer services, advertising and promotion, supply chain management, processing orders electronically and cooperating with stakeholders of business and much more. Therefore, EBusiness is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners.
FEATURES:
1.
Wider reach in terms of market
access.
2.
Operational round the clock and
across the year.
3.
E-business covers all the
activities of business.
4.
Use of information and
communication technologies.
5.
Attractive, interactive and
collaborative.
NEED, IMPORTANCE AND ADVANTAGES:
1.
Helps in presentation of
products and services effectively.
2.
Provides adequate information
about products and services.
3.
Eliminates location and
availability restrictions.
4.
Reduces time and money spent.
5.
Expedites customer service.
6.
Provides scope for online
interaction.
7.
Worldwide presence and 24/7
business hours.
8.
Makes shopping convenient.
9.
Easy to start and manage a
business.
10. No need for a physical store.
11. Eliminates market intermediaries.
DISADVANTAGES:
1.
Security concerns
2.
Lack of personal touch
3.
Lacks tangibility as product
before purchase cannot be experienced.
4.
Lack of clearly defined cyber
laws.
5.
Not suitable for all products
& services e.g., perishable commodities.
6.
Consumes a lot of time for
delivery of physical products.
7.
Returning goods, replacement
and exchanging is a problem.
E-BUSINESS MODELS:
The major different types of e-commerce are business-to-business(B2B); business-to consumer(B2C); business-to-government(B2G); consumer-to-consumer(C2C); and mobile commerce(m-commerce).
|
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E.g.: selfcare.sdc.bsnl.co.in/is
portal offered by BSNL for customer care. |
In this model transactions take place between consumers and
business houses. Here individuals are also involved in the online business
transactions. The basic concept of this model is to sell the product online
to the consumers. |
|
Business-to-Business (B2B) E.g.: Professional couriers-
Track N’ Trace for dealers. |
Business-to-business (B2B) is one of the major forms of commerce
and represents business transactions between businesses, such as between a
producer, distributors and wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a
retailer. |
|
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) E.g.: Sulekha.com,
99acres.com, shaadi.com, Quikr.com |
In this model business transaction is carried between two
individuals using a platform (website) in the form of intermediary. It helps
the online dealing of goods or services among consumers. |
|
Business-to-Employee (B2E) E.g.: Infosys TalentEdge
hosts an interactive employee self-service portal called MyNest. |
B2E model an intra-organization web portal which facilitates
organizations to provide products & services to their employees.
Typically, companies use B2E model to provide services such as salary slips,
income tax returns, promotions and recruitment, performance appraisals etc. |
|
Business-to-Government
(B2G) |
Business-to-government
(B2G) is a business model that refers to businesses selling products,
services or information to |
|
|
governments or government agencies. An example of a business to
government company is a firm that offers IT consulting services to a government
agency. |
|
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) E.g.: iMesh, Rapidshare |
It is another model of e-business in which people instantly shares
related computer files and computer sources without having to interact with
central web server. |
