Internet Marketing
The World Wide Web has attracted considerable attention from marketers in the popular business press (Verity and Hoff, 1994, p. 80-88) and academic marketing (Hoffman and Novak, 1996, p. 50-68) and practitioner (Watson, Pitt, and Akselsen, 1998, p. 36-56) journals. Understandably, at this early stage, the focus has been on the technology from a general marketing perspective or as a marketing communication medium. With few notable exceptions, less attention has been given to the Web as a potential distribution channel. However, the Web provides direct marketers with the opportunity to exploit various international markets (Harsh 1998)
Overall, the Web is best conceptualized as a developing marketing channel that transcends national boundaries and encompasses elements of informing, investigating, interacting, distribution, transacting, eliciting feedback, and supporting. In the pre-purchase stage, the Web can be used to investigate (e.g., conduct market research into consumer attitudes, needs, and wants; monitor competitors; benchmark other service organizations), for which the flow of information is primarily toward the service provider, and inform (promote, position, advertise, and inform consumers of the service and its options), for which information flows toward the consumer. In the purchase stage, the Web can be used to facilitate transaction, in which the consumer provides information regarding order specifications, payment details, and delivery; interaction, in which the consumer and service provider interact to co create unique customized service packages; and distribution, in which the provider actually distributes the service to the consumer. Finally, in the post purchase stage, the Web can be used to elicit feedback (the service pr ...