Identifying key opportunities for increasing effectiveness of Business-To-Business internet marketing

Abstract

The study is aimed at studying the emerging phenomena of B2B internet marketing. Although internet has been used by marketers for quite some time but its use was predominantly limited to B2C space. Oft-cited social media marketing bandwagon can also be viewed as an offshoot of internet marketing. Hence we decided to explore this topic in detail under Contemporary Concerns Study subject. For the purpose of conducting the study, the project can be neatly divided into two parts – secondary research on the subject matter to build theoretical foundation of the topic and primary research. Primary research was mainly conducted by analysing web content of 20 corporations – 10 each Indian and MNCs with operations in India. The rationale was to analyse the B2B internet marketing practice firsthand. We analysed the web content from mainly two angles 1. What are the major similarities/differences among the two groups of companies? 2. How, if at all, are companies differentiating them from one another in the market? With these two key objectives in mind, we have come up with inferences and recommendations for companies to better their performances on the web with organizational customers. Listed are prominent among the inferences – • For Indian companies, web based marketing focused on o Inform customers about current/new product offerings o Generate leads o Announce major media events organized by the company • Competitive focus not very pronounced in Indian companies unlike MNCs where one can often observe benchmarking studies done with competitors’ products • Differentiating techniques vary across Indian companies and MNCs • Few Indian companies are focusing on their partners and suppliers through online marketing. • Some MNCs are direct selling to B2B customers through their sites Contemporary Concerns Study • Some companies (e.g. Perot Systems and Microsoft) have built very active blog, user communities around their product offerings • By addressing common problems faced by consumers , communities becoming mainstream tier of seeking support by customers for a better return to investment ratio, key recommendations to companies are • Designing easier Web Response Forms & quick turnaround of customer queries • Be consistent in messaging – highlight core strengths of the company often • Providing Integrated Market Offerings available online including support • Focusing on the Gatekeepers in the B2B Purchasing Process • Using mobile-friendly web interfaces suitable (a la TCS) for use by key decision makers in customer organizations • Offering Product Trials and Beta codes to customers • Creating and Managing extensive Partner Programs • Integrating Online & Offline Media Channels, eliminating diverse communication • Updating and announcing Events, Product Launches and Media announcements more often Major limitations of the study are to not measure or quantify the return on marketing investments for determining the efficacy of the marketing spending. This has been due to paucity of data on the internet marketing spending in the public domain. The findings could also have been better corroborated by interacting with industry experts.