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Marketing Industrial Products on the Internet

Article in Industrial Marketing Management · January 1998

DOI: 10.1016/S0019-8501(97)00038-2

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 Marketing Industrial
Products on the Internet
Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr.
Theresa B. Flaherty
Ken Benassi
Electronic media, such as the World Wide Web, are playing
an increasingly important role in the global commerce of in-
dustrial firms. This article examines the experiences of three
industrial companies that adopted a Web strategy and identi-
fies lessons learned in the process. Based on these experiences,
managers are provided guidelines for enhancing the successful
implementation of the Internet into their firm’s day-to-day
operations. © 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.
INTRODUCTION
As a rule, we say anything you can sell through conven-
tional venues can find a niche on the Web (1, p. 25)
One of the hottest topics in business and the media to-
day is electronic commerce, including such technologies
as EDI (electronic data interchange), kiosks, electronic
classified advertisements, and on-line services such as
CompuServe and America On-line [2]. The Internet and
Address correspondence to Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr., Professor of Marketing,
Department of Management & Marketing, College of Business & Public
Administration, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0220.
Industrial Marketing Management 27, 63–72 (1998)
© 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010
its graphical interface, the World Wide Web (WWW),
are key components of an electronic commerce initiative
that is playing an ever-increasing role in the future of the
global marketplace [3]. Indeed, many firms are bringing
a global edge to provincial businesses by adopting the
WWW [4]. Incorporating the WWW into a firm’s busi-
ness strategy eliminates a number of national and global
market entry barriers, such as marketing costs, distribu-
tion, and shelf-space acquisition [5–7]. Additionally, in-
ternational communications generated by the Internet are
likely to result in greater levels of satisfaction between
companies and customers [8].
The Internet provides opportunities for an organization
to enhance its business in a cost-effective and practical
manner [9]. That is, the Internet can be used to conduct
marketing research, reach new markets, serve customers
better, distribute products faster, solve customer prob-
lems, and communicate more efficiently with business
partners [10]. The Internet is also a useful tool for gather-
ing intelligence on customers, competitors, and potential
markets [11], as well as communicating information
about companies and/or products [12].
0019-8501/98/$19.00
PII S0019-8501(97)00038-2
 A unique aspect of Internet marketing is that
it can develop closer customer relationships.
One unique aspect of the Internet is that it is appropri-
ate for developing closer customer relationships [13]. In
addition to being viewed as a low-cost alternative to the
facsimile, express mail, and other communications chan-
nels [14], the Internet enables employees to access vital
information without being present in the office [15].
However, experts advise that Internet marketing differs
from traditional marketing [16]. This medium requires a
paradigm shift because marketing over the Internet is sim-
ilar to traditional person-to-person networking where the
quality of the information provided and the credibility of
the organization doing the offering are everything [16].
In general, computer users are enthusiastic about the
Internet and its potential to improve their business [17].
With all the media talk about “cyberspace,” industrial
marketing managers may be pondering the notion of es-
tablishing an Internet presence. Possible questions going
through the minds of current industrial marketing manag-
ers include: Should we be on the Internet? How do we
get on the Internet? When is the right time to get on the
Internet? What purpose would we serve on the Internet?
How much will it cost to get on the Internet? What types
of information and services should we provide to our In-
ternet customers? and Would being on the Internet im-
prove our business? Since every industrial business is
different, it is not easy to provide generalized answers to
all these questions. However, we can share with you the
experiences of three industrial distributors that recently
established an Internet presence.
EARL D. HONEYCUTT, Jr. is Professor of Marketing at Old
Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
THERESA B. FLAHERTY is Assistant Professor of Marketing at
Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
KEN BENASSI is an M.B.A. student at Old Dominion University
and a sales manager for National Welders Supply Company in
Norfolk, Virginia.
64
The purpose of this article is to illustrate real-life ex-
amples of industrial companies that have ventured onto
the WWW. First, a brief overview of the nature and uses
of the Internet as a marketing tool is provided. We then
present a case study of three companies’ first few months
as new entrants on the Internet. Based on the experiences
of these companies, the article concludes with recom-
mendations for industrial marketing managers to con-
sider in Web marketing development. It is believed that
by providing this case study, industrial marketing manag-
ers can glean insights about the process of setting up,
managing, and marketing a new Web site on the Internet.
INTERNET AS A MARKETING TOOL
Much has been written about the overall size of the In-
ternet user-base and its phenomenal growth rate. Al-
though the precise number of individuals currently con-
nected to the Internet is unclear, 1995 estimates ranged
from between 2.2 million [18] and 40–50 million com-
puters [19, 20]. By the year 2000, it is projected that the
total core economy for Internet commerce will reach
$45.8 billion [21]. Some of the major types of industries
conducting business on the Internet today include: com-
puter products, travel, entertainment, apparel, gifts, flow-
ers, food, and drink [22].
While the exact size of the Internet is difficult to pin-
point, many experts in the field agree that the growth rate
of Internet users has doubled every year since the incep-
tion of the WWW in 1993 [23]. Fifty-one percent of
large companies and twenty-five percent of medium-
sized companies are connected to the internet [24]. Addi-
tionally, the number of new WWW pages created on the
Internet doubles every two months [7]. Polls indicate that
approximately 3.7% of all American adults or 9.7 million
people currently have Internet access [25] and that the
median household income of these users is between
$50,000 and $75,000 [26]. Eighty percent of Internet us-
ers possess a college degree, compared with 33% of all
households [27]. The sheer magnitude of the Internet
 Dull Web sites, unreliable technology, and
security must be addressed if the Internet is
to reach its full potential.
market and generally high income and education levels
of its users appear to represent a potentially lucrative op-
portunity for marketers, since many consumers believe
that companies marketing via the Internet or WWW offer
higher service quality than conventional stores [28].
There are several shortcomings that must be effec-
tively addressed before the Internet can reach its full po-
tential as an electronic commerce vehicle. These down-
sides include dull Web sites, unreliable technology and,
one of the biggest concerns, security issues [22, 29, 30].
Industry experts are, however, attempting to overcome
the security concerns of both consumers and businesses.
For instance, Electronic Publishing Resources (EPR) de-
veloped Virtual Distributed Environment (VDE) technol-
ogy that encrypts secure information passing over the In-
ternet [31].
Another challenge is the fact that the Internet culture
operates within very specific behavioral protocols or “ne-
tiquette” [32]. One of the noteworthy characteristics of
today’s Internet users is that they tend to hunger for in-
formation, yet they are highly resistant to traditional, ag-
gressive advertising [33]. To utilize this medium effec-
tively, smart advertisers have learned to be more “low-
key,” by making their Web sites value-added information
services for the consumer [18].
Finally, with the tremendous growth of on-line users,
traffic congestion has become a significant problem [34].
Coupled with the growth of on-line users is the plethora
of information available on the Internet. As the amount
of information available on the Internet increases, the
more difficult it will become to efficiently search for in-
formation [35]. One recently announced method for nav-
igating the Internet maze is Webcasting [36].
The cost of establishing a Web site varies greatly, de-
pending upon the firm’s initial goals and in-house exper-
tise. The type of Internet connection is also an important
initial cost factor to consider. There are two primary
types of access for connecting to the Internet: full-time or
dial-up [37]. If a company wants to be completely inde-
pendent, it can connect full-time to the Internet by pur-
chasing its own capital equipment (a router, a server, and
full Internet connectivity) that costs between $7,000–
$10,000 [37]. This option also requires an additional
charge of between $70 to $4,000 per month for a full-
time connection to the Internet, as well as the salary of a
“Webmaster” to administer the Web connection. While
the full-time option provides faster speed and a “perma-
nent” Internet connection, it also requires substantially
higher capital and labor costs. The other option, a dial-up
connection, is less expensive in comparison and inter-
faces with the Internet through a service provider. Re-
cently, the Internet service provider market has evolved
to the point where varying degrees of services are pro-
vided based on customer requirements [38]. Presently,
computer hardware investments range from $2,000 to
$4,000, and commercial access to the Internet through a
provider ranges from $50 to $200 per month [37]. If no
more than a few thousand users are expected to visit the
site per month, businesses should use a dial-up connec-
tion through a service provider [39].
INDUSTRIAL COMPANIES MOVE
TO CYBERSPACE
To understand the impact of the Web on industrial
companies, we collected information from three firms.
To preserve the identity of those firms, we refer to them
according to their industry: the welding firm, the flooring
firm, and the metal-producing firm. The welding firm
serves as the primary focus of this analysis because of the
more detailed information provided by this company. We
present the experiences of the other two firms as well in
order to compare the different experiences industrial
companies can have on the Web.
65
 The new Web site benefitted the welding
firm by expanding the potential customer
base at minimal expense.
Welding Firm
The welding supply industry has historically been a
business where sales occurred within a distributor’s local
market radius, which is usually defined by a delivery
truck’s working range (normally 60 miles in more
densely populated areas and 120 miles in more sparsely
populated areas). The welding supply business has two
primary offerings: (1) cylinder gases such as oxygen,
acetylene, and helium, and (2) hard goods such as weld-
ing rods, welding machines, and welding supplies.
Welding supply distributors serve such industrial seg-
ments as: metal fabricators; large industrial concerns
such as paper mills and railroads; laboratories; hospitals;
service industries such as sign erection; construction; and
municipalities. Like many other industries, the welding
supply industry’s sales are characterized by the “80–20
rule.” Because the industry focuses most of its marketing
resources on personal selling, the more lucrative 20% of
the industry receives the majority of promotional efforts,
while the other 80% of the industry’s market may be ig-
nored by welding suppliers. The high cost of calling on
small firms is not justified by the small sales volume
these customers generate. The welding supply industry
has entered the mature stage of the industrial product life
cycle, which is characterized by relatively few techno-
logical breakthroughs, declining prices, and industry
consolidation. Nonetheless, there are still opportunities
associated with the disregarded 80% of the welding in-
dustry because they still have a need for basic technical
welding information.
Historically, the welding industry has been dominated
by a conventional supplier/distributor that sells a full com-
plement of welding-related products. However, within the
last five years, alternative channels of distribution have
begun to penetrate the traditional distributors’ segments.
These alternate channels include mass merchandisers
such as Sam’s Wholesale Club, W.W. Grainger, and MSC
66
(catalog sales). These alternate channels are very inter-
ested in soliciting and serving the 80% of the customers
neglected by the traditional welding supply distributor.
Although less able to assist the customer with technical
support than full-service welding supply companies,
these alternate channels do offer discounted prices and
convenient business terms.
The welding supply company was initially skeptical
about how they would fare on the Internet, since exhaus-
tive Internet searches for other welding supply compa-
nies yielded no results. However, the welding firm no-
ticed the Internet trends in other industries and believed
the Web could provide an opportunity to better serve
those customers who had traditionally been ignored.
While their initial Internet strategy was not clearly de-
fined, the welding firm’s view of the marketplace was
one of the huge potential that could be exploited by be-
coming a market leader in this technological area. Thus,
the firm decided to become a pioneer in the cyberspace
marketing of welding supplies.
The firm’s original proposition was that a Web site
would add value to existing customers within their cur-
rent working radius. The expectation was that their more
sophisticated, computer-literate customers would utilize
electronic mail to enhance business communication with
them. More futuristically, the welding firm believed that
the WWW could become the “poor man’s electronic data
interchange (EDI).”
The welding firm did not view its business as one with
a potential mass appeal. However, to arrive at a gross es-
timate of market potential, it was assumed that one quar-
ter of 1% of the population had a potential interest in or
need for welding supplies. Based on the previously noted
Internet usage statistics, approximately 4% of the Ameri-
can population has Internet access. By multiplying these
two statistics against the American population of 260
million, the welding firm obtained an initial market po-
 The development of virtual shopping carts
and on-line catalogs greatly reduces
printing and mailing costs.
tential of 26,000 prospects. The firm’s estimates of the
worldwide market potential were significantly larger.
Like many smaller firms, it was difficult for the weld-
ing distributor to justify the establishment of a full-time
Internet connection. In their search for a dial-up connec-
tion provider, the firm heard about a “freenet” service of-
fered by a local university. A freenet is a free, or rela-
tively inexpensive, public access information service in
the form of a bulletin board system or an Internet pro-
vider. A local university was establishing an “electronic
business village” for area companies that wanted to ex-
periment with the Internet.
Initially, the welding firm’s offerings on the Web site
included a brief company history, a list of corporate offic-
ers, a company mission statement, listings and details of
some of the company’s specific product and services, a de-
scription of physical properties of the gases marketed, and
a customer comments page. It was also decided to add one
promotionally-oriented page called the “Cyberspace Spe-
cial.” This page featured a literature sheet and ordering in-
formation for one attractively-priced, special product. Be-
cause the firm did not expect to generate many sales from
the Web site, no telephone number was listed. In retro-
spect, this was not a wise decision. At this early juncture,
the welding firm’s thrust was focused on such broad mar-
keting communications as information dissemination and
public relations, with less emphasis on selling.
After submitting the Web site address to such major
search engines as Lycos, Magellan, Excite, and Yahoo, a
significant number of Web page responses was experi-
enced. Many of the early inquiries were curiosity seekers
who requested printed catalogs; however, there were also
several inquiries for technical information. One corre-
spondent suggested that, in addition to current informa-
tion, the company’s surplus inventory should be listed on
the Web site.
Several key suppliers noticed the new site and began
sending complimentary electronic mail messages. One of
the first correspondents was an Australian subsidiary of
one of the welding firm’s suppliers. This subsidiary had
established a Web site and suggested a reciprocal hyper-
text link, to which the welding firm agreed. Hypertext
links allow users to move from one document to another
on the Web. The American Welding Society’s home
page [http://www.amweld.org/] was located and the firm
established their first reciprocal link with an industry
trade association.
By the third month, a surplus inventory listing had
been added to their Web page, and serious sales inquiries
began. One of the largest suppliers, Lincoln Electric, was
so impressed with the Web site and its potential that they
suggested the firm list some of Lincoln’s obsolete and
surplus equipment. Even though this inventory changed
rapidly, the expanded listing initiated a substantial in-
crease in inquiries. Almost immediately, the firm began
serious negotiation with a metal sculptor in Minneapolis
about purchasing an item from this listing. However, by
the time the metal sculptor finally committed to ordering
this unit, it was no longer available. Thus, the first order
placed over the Internet to the welding firm did not lead
to a sale!
The first two Web orders were received four months
after the Web site was activated on the Internet. A week
later the Minneapolis metal sculptor asked if the firm
could offer better terms on new welding equipment, in-
cluding the freight charges. This time a deal was struck
with the sculptor for $2,300 and payment was made by
credit card.
Next, an 800 telephone number was added to the Web
page, which increased the number of phone inquiries
generated by the electronic medium. This surge implied
that some shoppers were using the WWW as a yellow
page or buying guide in order to begin the information
search process. Sales were now becoming more frequent
and repeat customer orders were received from new cus-
tomers generated by the Web.
67
 While the Internet attracted new customers,
it had a modest impact on the firms’ sales!
The welding firm concluded that the original proposi-
tion about adding value to existing customers through the
WWW was invalid, since reaching their existing cus-
tomer base on the Web was not working. Of all the in-
quiries, none were from customers within their existing
60–120-mile distribution radius. Furthermore, it was be-
coming clear that the primary outcome of their Web site
was not broad communications-oriented marketing tar-
geted to their existing customers, but instead direct sell-
ing to new customers. These two observations yielded a
new finding: the new WWW presence benefited the
welding firm by expanding their potential customer base
to the entire world at minimal expense.
Flooring Firm
The flooring firm produces monolithic epoxy and mar-
ble flooring products sold through select distributors. A
decision to develop a Web site was made about a year
ago and it took approximately one month to fully develop
the Web site. This was a new technological venture for
the firm because, at the time of Web site development,
the company was not even using e-mail. The flooring
firm’s primary objective for its Web site was to increase
international business opportunities. They also wanted to
educate the public about their products, plus garner leads
for their sales force. Based on what little they knew about
the WWW, it was believed that a web site could achieve
these objectives at minimum cost.
Initially, the flooring company hired a Web advertis-
ing agency to conduct the strategic planning and devel-
opment of their Web site. They experienced great dissat-
isfaction with the Web site produced by this ad agency.
The flooring firm reports that a very disorganized site
with little logic, unattractively colored backgrounds, and
numerous spelling errors was developed. In response, the
flooring firm immediately changed agencies. Their sec-
ond Web advertising agency corrected the initial site and
the flooring company was so satisfied that they plan to
continue working with this advertising agency in the future.
68
As a result of their Web site, the flooring company has
experienced positive changes. Within two weeks of launch-
ing their new and improved Web site, they conducted
several international transactions and received an in-
creased number of inquiries from customers around the
globe. Overall, the flooring company is very satisfied
with the positive impact of their Web presence.
The flooring company does not run any promotional
offers through their Web site, nor do they use a counter
to track the number of visitors. They also do not cur-
rently have any hypertext links on their site to any of
their suppliers or customers. They do, however, believe
that it is very important to regularly change the look of
their Web site. The flooring company reports making
Web site changes on a weekly or monthly basis, and
much of their success is atttributed to this strategy. They
also believe that regular changes to their site communi-
cates to their customers that they are not just improving
their products and product applications, but their own
ability to progress as a company. The flooring company
plans, at this time, to remain on the Web indefinitely.
Metal Products Firm
The firm produces corrosion-resistant and light-weight
specialty metal products that are sold to such specialized
industries as medical research, medical implants, the mil-
itary, aerospace, and the racing car/bike industries. The
metal products firm decided to develop a Web site ap-
proximately seven months ago. From the time this initial
decision was made, it only took one day to create the
Web site! This company was already using e-mail exten-
sively and was familiar with the WWW. The firm felt
that it was time to “get our products out there,” so they
utilized in-house expertise to develop their Web site as
expeditiously as possible. The firm’s primary goal was to
expose their products to the public at a very low cost.
The metal products firm reports that, to date, their
Web presence has only marginally impacted their retail
business. Sales have not increased dramatically since the
inception of their Web site. For instance, out of every
100 hits, the company receives one or two serious inquir-
ies about a possible sale. However, they believe they are
better serving their customers by providing improved ac-
cess to information about their company and products.
They have also experienced a dramatic decrease in ex-
penditures because they no longer have to print and mail
as many catalogs, since that information is now provided
on-line.
Unlike the flooring company, the metal products firm
uses a counter to track the number of visitors to their site.
Also, they have a reciprocal hypertext link with one of
their distributors. In the past seven months, they have
made occasional updates to their Web site. The metal
products company intends to remain on the Internet for
the long term, planning many exciting developments for
their site in the near future. While reporting satisfaction
with their site, the company wants to make substantial
improvements. Specifically, they want to enhance the
overall appearance of their site by making more frequent
updates about their surplus items available for sale, as
well as incorporating secure on-line ordering capabilities
for their customers.
STRATEGIC SHIFTS AS A RESULT OF
THE WEB SITE
As a result of adopting an Internet presence, numerous
new and existing customers were attracted to the three
businesses highlighted in this article. However, in the
case of all three firms, various adjustments needed to be
made to the firms’ marketing mix in order to properly
serve their WWW customers. With regard to the four Ps
of marketing the place was established as the Internet it-
self. One commonality between all three firms is that
they each had a new channel for distributing their prod-
uct offering. An advantage of using this medium is the
ability to change and adapt its look on a regular basis.
The flooring firm attributes much of its success to the
flexibility inherent in the “place” aspect of their market-
ing mix. The firms also learned that their prices had to
remain competitive with companies that did not utilize
the Internet. Customers were not willing to pay a pre-
mium for shopping on the WWW. Because the product
lines of these three firms are generally very broad, they
needed to offer specific products that were attractive to
their target Internet customers. All three firms took ad-
vantage of this new medium to provide specific, detailed
information about their product offerings.
The opportunity for creating a unique, interactive sell-
ing opportunity on the Internet comes when the last of
the four Ps, promotion, is considered. Surprisingly, the
welding firm realized new opportunities existed only af-
ter discovering Internet customers were interested in
their product offering. One of the promotional programs
implemented by the welding firm was adding more items
to their “Cyberspace Special” page. However, as the
number of offerings increased, the welding firm realized
the need to develop a user-friendly way for their custom-
ers to access information and view the various Web
pages. To address this need, the welding firm intends to
develop a dual-purpose CD/Internet catalog. The metal
products firm also concluded they needed a similar ser-
vice, so they incorporated an on-line catalog into their
Web page. In addition to offering a user-friendly product
information directory, metal products customers are also
able to facilitate order entry by selecting an item and
placing it into a “virtual shopping cart.” As discovered
by all three firms, one of the greatest advantages of an
on-line catalog is the elimination of paper and postal
costs [40].
To provide technical support assistance to their Inter-
net customers, one of the firms plans to offer a newsletter
that features technical education, new processes, safety
information, new product developments, and a question-
and-answer forum. The newsletter will be written ap-
proximately 6 to 12 times per year by specifically se-
lected field employees. It will then be posted on the
firm’s Web site where a free “subscription” and notifica-
tion of a new edition will be electronically mailed to all
interested subscribers. This superior customer service of-
fering will provide value to the customer and enhance re-
sidual business through education and increased market-
place exposure.
LESSONS LEARNED THROUGH THE NEW
VENTURES INTO CYBERSPACE
After completing this case study, it is still difficult to
precisely predict the impact Web sites will have on in-
dustrial businesses. Although a Web site can be an effec-
tive way to add value to current market segments, this
was not the case for two of the three firms investigated
by this study. What was found is that the Internet acts as
an avenue to reach new national or global markets. This
finding is similar to that of many other companies that
use the Internet to expand the market reach of their sales
organizations [41]. The Internet can also be utilized to of-
69
fer entirely new products to either new or existing market
segments. Whatever the case may be, the experiences of
our three study firms lead us to conclude that many in-
dustrial-distributors can enhance their overall marketing
program by establishing an Internet Web site. The les-
sons learned by our three companies suggest the follow-
ing seven recommendations for industrial marketing man-
agers wishing to venture into cyberspace.
Expect the Unexpected
As discovered by two of the three firms, they had to be
prepared to deal with an entirely new customer segment
once they were established on the Internet. This particu-
lar scenario may entail re-focusing the firm’s current
marketing plan or adding a marketing plan aimed at a
new market segment. For example, after serving a lim-
ited geographical area for many years, the welding firm
found itself dealing with new customers in the national
and international arena—one order arrived from Guam!
If a business has a WWW site, it must be prepared to deal
with customers anywhere on the globe.
Plan on Managing Your Own Web Page
The flooring firm experienced serious setbacks because
of the shoddy work performed by their first advertising
agency. While many contractors are available to create a
Web page at relatively modest prices, it can be created on
your own by learning Hyper Text Markup Language
(HTML) [42], the system of commands and punctuation
that defines a Web page. Not only is this language for de-
veloping Web pages relatively straightforward to learn,
but it is much easier to update, refresh, and manage a
Web site when an in-house employee does the work.
HTML training is available through local colleges, soft-
ware distributors, books, and on-line tutorials. The de-
mand for this software has become so strong that the new
editions of the most popular software programs include
HTML in its offerings. There are even programs on the
market today that utilize a menu-driven format to con-
struct the Web page. It is recommended that Web sites be
managed by marketers, rather than information systems
specialists, because they tend to have the most detailed
knowledge of their customers [43].
Have Realistic Initial Expectations
It is quite unlikely that an industrial company will im-
mediately make a significant impact on its bottom line
70
through the WWW. However, one of the most important
long-run benefits is the potential for building a new,
stronger customer following. A Web page can also pro-
vide a more efficient and cost-effective system of provid-
ing information and support to customers [33]. This was
the case for all three firms examined by this study. In
time, this enhanced customer support system generates
greater customer value, which in turn creates stronger
customer loyalty for the firm.
Keep Your Web Site Fresh
To entice Internet users to return to your site, changes
should be made on an on-going basis. Create a site that
motivates clients to bookmark your address on their
browser. Industry experts suggest that a Web site must
have clear and consistent information that is constantly
revised and updated [44]. Inevitably, competition will
enter the Internet arena, and as competition proliferates,
you must differentiate your Web site from others. Like
all other marketing media, customers compare the value
of your information and its helpfulness in aiding them in
decision making.
Promote Your Web Site Address
Everywhere Possible
Promote the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for
your Web page as much as possible. Try to register your
Web site in as many of the 300-plus search engines avail-
able [45]. The address to your Web site can also be com-
municated on business cards, through word-of-mouth,
advertisements, invoices, and letterhead. The welding
firm promoted its URL on managers’ business cards and
product sheets, and they are now expanding promotion of
their WWW address. With skillful negotiation, reciprocal
hypertext links to your site can also be placed on the Web
pages of your suppliers, customers, and related trade as-
sociations. The two firms utilizing hypertext links with
their suppliers reported positive results and increased site
traffic. Remember that Internet marketing is a comple-
ment to, rather than a replacement for, other marketing
programs already in place.
Customer Service is Key
Once the Web site is established, be prepared to handle
a heavier load of correspondence from new and/or exist-
ing customers. Keep in mind that some of your new cus-
tomers may come from the other side of the globe. Before
the Web site is launched to the search engines, prepare an
efficient, internal system for responding to customer re-
quests, questions, and comments. Customers correspond-
ing with companies through the regular mail system ex-
pect to wait days, or perhaps weeks for a reply. However,
customers communicating electronically often anticipate
responses within 24 hours [19]. Therefore all inquiries
should be responded to, in some manner, as quickly as
possible. Some firms use an automatic, cannned ac-
knowledgment with a reference to their FAQ (frequently
asked questions) site. FAQs can be posted just about any-
where on the Internet and should contain the answers to
basic questions that are asked repetitively [46]. However,
a personal, prompt response within 24 hours of receipt of
the initial inquiry is preferable.
Add Value through the Web Site
The majority of on-line users come to the Internet for
information, so organizations that say a lot about their
company and products are more likely to succeed [47].
About 90% of your Web site should provide value to
your customers, while the remaining 10% can be sales
oriented [45]. Therefore, continually seek ways to add
value for your customers and differentiate your Web site.
The Internet medium has extraordinary potential as a
low-cost information dispenser. Once you provide visi-
tors with the content and information that they need, then
the sales begin. Therefore, let relevant and engaging con-
tent drive your Web site rather than fancy graphics, sounds,
and video. Also, remember that few computer systems
are configured to conveniently view all of the latest Web
technology.
CONCLUSIONS
The establishment of an Internet Web site had a very
modest initial impact on the sales and profits of the
study’s three industrial firms. However, from the firms’
perspective, Web technology provided improved public
relations and communications among suppliers, custom-
ers, and employees. Additionally, the Web site attracted
new customer segments to each company’s product of-
ferings. This medium of communication appears to hold
tremendous future potential for marketing industrial
products. Many Internet customers are seeking more effi-
cient and cost-effective ways of conducting business. A
Web site allows industrial firms to inexpensively enter
the world of electronic commerce and utilize the Internet
as a flexible part of their marketing effort.
While the Internet necessitates changes in the overall
sales and marketing process, it does not diminish the im-
portance of customer value. The Internet client is like
other consumers in that he or she wants to purchase the
highest quality product, for the lowest possible price, us-
ing the most convenient method available. Furthermore,
each customer places varying degrees of value on extra
services, such as information. Based on the experience of
these three firms, customers will not pay a premium for
the “privilege” of buying over the Internet. However,
customers purchase goods, physically sight unseen, when
competitive prices and higher levels of service are of-
fered in comparison to competitors operating in other
channels.
One of the firms noted they received a surprising num-
ber of compliments about their attention to detail and
prompt response to inquiries. Apparently, this is not a
level of service their customers currently receive through
other industrial channels, perhaps because competitors
have not taken advantage of a cost-effect medium—like
the WWW—to deliver value to their customers.
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