Conclusion
In today's highly competitive, global, fast-paced, cluttered marketplace, a number of influences are at work, which has had a dramatic effect on commerce. These new developments and technologies have created amazing efficiencies in production, optimizing stock levels, communication, warehousing, and delivery, and has increased productivity accordingly.
The long-term effect of the Internet on business-to-consumer purchasing patterns is still far from known.
One thing that is for certain is that the consumers' access to detailed information on products and services has been greatly increased. It is my view that the much-hyped revolution in customer purchasing behavior created by the Internet is overemphasized. The overwhelming majority of online business has commenced with a product focus, and the product and its price have been the primary drivers of the marketing strategy. In fact, most of these products have not been marketed at all; they have simply been advertised. There are two flaws in this approach.
First, it ignores all but one of the valuable tools that are available in the full marketing armory. Second, it leads to a commoditization of products, and competitive advantage relies on price. This is disastrous for all but the largest of companies. Success in business comes about from differentiating your product from those of your competitors and selling product at a premium, increasing ROI and, therefore, competitiveness.
Being product driven, these companies ...
