E-Business

The chapter started with a discussion on how the marketing function has evolved over the years, from the barter system to its present state. The four stages of marketing: barter system, mass production, product differentiation, and information age, were discussed. The Internet has enabled organizations to perform the marketing function more effectively. There is a fundamental change in marketing; earlier sellers had greater power and hence they dictated the terms of sales and marketing. But now marketing is becoming more customer-centric. Marketing is now becoming more interactive and the customers are considered as an integral part of the organization. It is also essential for a company to understand its priorities in the e-marketing era. Another marketing concept which has gained much popularity in the Internet era is database marketing. Here, databases are used to store and retrieve the wealth of information related to marketing. The various database marketing strategies used are targeting, tailoring, tying, and tapping. The chapter detailed benefits that organizations can reap from database marketing. Finally, the chapter discusses telemarketing, and details strategies for electronic marketing.