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Mobile commerce

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

E-commerce

Digital content
Ebook Software Streaming media
Retail goods and services
Advertising Auctions Banking DVD-by-mail Distribution Food ordering Grocery Marketplace Pharmacy Ride-hailing Travel
Online shopping
Comparison shopping Social commerce Trading communities Wallet
Mobile commerce
Payment Ticketing
Customer service
Call centre Help desk Live support software
E-procurement
Purchase-to-pay
Super-apps
v t e

The term mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, to mean "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer's hand, anywhere, via wireless technology."^[1] Many choose to think of Mobile Commerce as meaning "a retail outlet in your customer's pocket."

Mobile commerce is worth US$800 billion, with Asia representing almost half of the market.

History

The Global Mobile Commerce Forum, which came to include over 100 organisations, had its fully minuted launch in London on 10 November 1997. Kevin Duffey was elected as the Executive Chairman at the first meeting in November 1997. The meeting was opened by Dr Mike Short, former chairman of the GSM Association, with the very first forecasts for mobile commerce from Kevin Duffey (Group Telecoms Director of Logica) and Tom Alexander (later CEO of Virgin Mobile and then of Orange). Over 100 companies joined the Forum within a year, many forming mobile commerce teams of their own, e.g. MasterCard and Motorola. Of these one hundred companies, the first two were Logica and Cellnet (which later became O2). Member organisations such as Nokia, Apple, Alcatel, and Vodafone began a series of trials and collaborations.

Mobile commerce services were first delivered in 1997, when the first two mobile-phone-enabled Coca-Cola vending machines were installed in the Helsinki area in Finland. The machines accepted payment via SMS text messages. This work evolved into several new mobile applications such as the first mobile phone-based banking service launched in 1997 by Merita Bank of Finland, also using SMS. Finnair mobile check-in was also a major milestone, first introduced in 2001.

The m-Commerce(tm) server developed in late 1997 by Kevin Duffey and Andrew Tobin at Logica won the 1998 Financial Times award for "most innovative mobile product," in a solution implemented with De La Rue, Motorola and Logica.^[2] The Financial Times commended the solution for "turning mobile commerce into a reality."^{[citation needed]} The trademark for m-Commerce was filed on 7 April 2008.^[3]

In 1998, the first sales of digital content as downloads to mobile phones were made possible when the first commercial downloadable ringtones were launched in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa Oyj).

Two major national commercial platforms for mobile commerce were launched in 1999: Smart Money in the Philippines, and NTT DoCoMo's i-Mode Internet service in Japan. i-Mode offered a revenue-sharing plan where NTT DoCoMo kept 9 per cent of the fee users paid for content, and returned 91 percent to the content owner.

Mobile-commerce-related services spread rapidly in early 2000. Norway launched mobile parking payments. Austria offered train ticketing via mobile devices. Japan offered mobile purchases of airline tickets.

In April 2002, building on the work of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum (GMCF), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) appointed Joachim Hoffmann of Motorola to develop official standards for mobile commerce.^[4] In appointing Mr Hoffman, ETSI quoted industry analysts as predicting "that m-commerce is poised for such an exponential growth over the next few years that could reach US$200 billion by 2004".^[5]

As of 2008, UCL Computer Science and Peter J. Bentley demonstrated the potential for medical applications on mobile devices.^[6]

PDAs and cellular phones have become so popular that many businesses^[specify] are beginning to use mobile commerce as a more efficient way to communicate with their customers.

In order to exploit the potential mobile commerce market, mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, and Qualcomm are working with carriers such as AT&T Wireless and Sprint to develop WAP-enabled smartphones. Smartphones offer fax, e-mail, and phone capabilities.

"Profitability for device vendors and carriers hinges on high-end mobile devices and the accompanying killer applications," said Burchett.^[who?] Perennial early adopters, such as the youth market, which are the least price sensitive, as well as more open to premium mobile content and applications, must also be a key target for device vendors.

Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, mobile commerce has moved away from SMS systems and into actual applications. SMS has significant security vulnerabilities and congestion problems, even though it is widely available and accessible. In addition, improvements in the capabilities of modern mobile devices make it prudent to place more of the resource burden on the mobile device.

Unlike online banking using bank websites, mobile banking allows a smaller number of operations based on short messages or applications installed on mobile devices. At present, it is estimated that by 2022, the number of customers adopting mobile banking will increase to 2 billion, and banks are investing more and more in improving mobile applications to improve security and customer satisfaction.^[7]

More recently, brick and mortar business owners, and big-box retailers in particular, have made an effort to take advantage of mobile commerce by utilizing a number of mobile capabilities such as location-based services, barcode scanning, and push notifications to improve the customer experience of shopping in physical stores. By creating what is referred to as a 'bricks & clicks' environment, physical retailers can allow customers to access the common benefits of shopping online (such as product reviews, information, and coupons) while still shopping in the physical store. This is seen as a bridge between the gap created by e-commerce and in-store shopping, and is being utilized by physical retailers as a way to compete with the lower prices typically seen through online retailers. By mid summer 2013, "omnichannel" retailers (those with significant e-commerce and in-store sales) were seeing between 25% and 30% of traffic to their online properties originating from mobile devices. Some other pure play/online-only retail sites (especially those in the travel category) as well as flash sales sites and deal sites were seeing between 40% and 50% of traffic (and sometimes significantly more) originate from mobile devices.

The Google Wallet Mobile App^[8] launched in September 2011 and the m-Commerce joint venture formed in June 2011 between Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile are recent developments of note.^[9] Reflecting the importance of m-Commerce, in April 2012 the Competition Commissioner of the European Commission ordered an in-depth investigation of the m-Commerce joint venture between Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile.^[10] A recent survey states that 2012, 41% of smartphone customers have purchased retail products with their mobile devices.^[11]

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Consumer-to-business (C2B)

Consumer-to-business (C2B) e-commerce is when a consumer makes their services or products available for companies to purchase.^[2] The competitive edge of the C2B e-commerce model is in its pricing for goods and services. This approach includes reverse auctions, in which customers name the price for a product or service they wish to buy. Another form of C2B occurs when a consumer provides a business with a fee-based opportunity to market the business's products on the consumer's blog.^[9]

For instance, food companies may ask food bloggers to include a new product in a recipe and review it for readers of their blogs. YouTube reviews may be incentivized by free products or direct payment. This could also include paid advertisement space on the consumer website. Google Adwords/Adsense has enabled this kind of relationship by simplifying the process in which bloggers can be paid for ads. Services such as Amazon Affiliates allow website owners to earn money by linking to a product for sale on Amazon. Examples of C2B include: a graphic designer customizing a company logo, or a photographer taking photos for an e-commerce website.^[2]

The C2B model has flourished in the internet age because of ready access to consumers who are "plugged in" to brands. Where the business relationship was once strictly one-directional, with companies pushing services and goods to consumers, the new bi-directional network has allowed consumers to become their own businesses. Reductions in the cost of technologies such as video cameras, high-quality printers, and Web development services give consumers access to tools for promotion and communication that were once limited to large companies. As a result, both consumers and businesses can benefit from the C2B model.^[9]

The disadvantages of C2B transactions are that one must be well-versed in web design to create such a website and the amount of money earned is far less than what could be earned by selling the mortgage directly to the consumer instead.^[10] The advantages of C2B can be expressed through an example: The C2B website thefreemortgagecalculator.com offers a LendingTree advertisement at the top of the page. The advantage of this website is that the owner does not have to sell mortgages, meet with customers, or pay for everyday business operation expenses in order to make money. If the LendingTree advertisement is used by a visitor, the website owner gets paid a commission from LendingTree for the lead.^[10]

Consumer to consumer (C2C)

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C), or customer-to-customer, represents a market environment where one customer purchases goods from another customer using a third-party business or platform to facilitate the transaction.

In this case, the third-party platform typically earns their money by charging transaction or listing fees.^[11]^[3] These businesses benefit from self-propelled growth by motivated buyers and sellers, but face a key challenge in quality control and technology maintenance.^[3] Another customers' benefit is the competition for products. Customers may often find items that are difficult to locate elsewhere. Also, margins can be higher than traditional pricing methods for sellers as there are minimal costs due to the absence of retailers or wholesalers.^[11]

Opening a C2C site takes careful planning.^[5] Examples of C2C include Craigslist and eBay, who pioneered this model in the early days of the internet.^[3] Generally, transactions in this model occur via online platforms (such as PayPal), but often are conducted using social-media networks (e.g., Facebook marketplace) and websites (Craigslist).^[2]

The advantages of C2C include:^{[citation needed]}

Availability: It is always available so consumers can shop on demand;

Websites are updated regularly;

Higher profitability: Consumers selling products directly to other consumers can achieve higher profits;

Low transaction cost: Selling via online platforms is much cheaper than the costs incurred on having physical store space;

Direct relationship: Customers can directly contact sellers without having to go through an intermediary.

The disadvantages of C2C include:^{[citation needed]}

Payment may be less secure;

Security issues: There could be theft due to scammers falsely impersonating well known C2C sites;

Lack of quality control of products.

Business to administration (B2A)

Business-to-administration (B2A), also known as business-to-government (B2G), refers to all transactions between companies and public administrations or government agencies. Government agencies use central websites to trade and exchange information with various business organizations.^[1] This is an area that involves many services, particularly in areas such as social security, employment, and legal documents.^[2]

Businesses that are accustomed to interacting with other businesses or directly with consumers often encounter unexpected hurdles when working with government agencies. Layers of regulation can harm the overall efficiency of the contracting process, and thus, governments tend to take more time than private companies to approve and begin work on a given project.^[12]

While businesses may find that government contracts involve additional paperwork, time, and vetting, there are advantages to providing goods and services to the public sector. Government contracts are often large and more stable than analogous private-sector work. A company with a history of successful government contracting usually finds it easier to get the next contract.^[12] One example of a B2A model is Accela, a software company that provides government software solutions and public access to government services for permitting, planning, licensing, public health, and so on.^[1]

Consumer-to-administration (C2A)

Consumer-to-administration (C2A) e-commerce encompasses all electronic transactions between individuals and public administration. The C2A e-commerce model helps the consumer post their queries and request information regarding the public sector directly from their local governments/authorities. It provides an easy way to establish communication between the consumers and the government.^[1]

Examples of C2A include taxes (filing tax returns), health (scheduling an appointment using an online service), and paying tuition for higher education.^[2]

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Types of e-commerce

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are many types of e-commerce models', based on market segmentation, that can be used to conducted business online. The 6 types of business models that can be used in e-commerce include:^[1] Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Consumer-to-Business (C2B), Business-to-Business (B2B), Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C), Business-to-Administration (B2A), and Consumer-to-Administration

Business-to-business (B2B)

B2B e-commerce refers to the sale of goods or services between businesses via an online sales portal.^[2] While sometimes the buyer is the end user, often the buyer resells to the consumer.^[3] This type of e-commerce typically applies to the relationship between producers and wholesalers; it may additionally remain applied to the relationship between the producers or the wholesalers and the retailers themselves.^[2] However, the same relationship can also occur between service providers and business organizations.^[4] B2B typically requires more venture capital and a longer sales cycle, but results in higher order value and more recurring purchases.^[3]^[5]

As newer generations become decision makers in business, B2B ecommerce will become more important. In 2015, Google found that close to half of B2B buyers were millennials—nearly double the amount reported in 2012.^[3]

Examples of this model are ExxonMobil Corporation, the Chevron Corporation, Boeing, and Archer-Daniels-Midland. These businesses have custom, enterprise ecommerce platforms that work directly with other businesses in a closed environment.^[5]

The advantages of B2B e-commerce include:^[6]

Convenience: While companies can sell through physical storefronts or take transactions by phone, B2B commerce often takes place online, where companies advertise their products and services, allow for demonstrations and make it easy to place bulk orders. Sellers also benefit from efficient order processing thanks to this digital transaction model.

Higher profits: B2B companies often sell their items in wholesale quantities, allowing buyers to receive a good deal and restock less often. Larger order numbers lead to higher potential sales and additional profits for B2B sellers. At the same time, the ease of advertising to other businesses through B2B websites can help cut marketing costs and boost conversion rates.

Huge market potential: From business software and consulting services to bulk materials and specialized machinery, B2B sellers can target a large market of companies across industries. At the same time, they have the flexibility of specializing in an area like technology to become a leader in the field.

Improved security: Since contracts are a common part of B2B commerce, there's some security for both buyers and sellers in that there's less concern that one will pay and the other will deliver goods as promised. Since sales usually get tracked digitally, it's also more secure in that B2B sellers can track and monitor their financial results.

The disadvantages of B2B e-commerce include:^[6]

More complex setup process: Getting started as a B2B retailer takes work to figure out how to get customers who stay dedicated and make large-enough orders. This often requires thorough research to advertise to potential businesses, set up a custom ordering system and adapt quickly when sales are underwhelming;

Limits to sales: While B2B companies can sell a lot, they do miss out on potential sales to individual customers. The smaller pool of business buyers and the need to negotiate contracts can put some limits on profits, especially when the company loses key buyers to other competitors;

Need for B2B sellers to stand out: At the same time, the B2B market has many companies competing and selling similar products and services. Sellers often need to cut prices and find special ways to grab companies' attention to succeed in the market;

Special ordering experience needed: B2B companies selling online need to put much effort into designing a website and ordering system that buyers find easy to use. This means presenting product and service information clearly, offering online demos or consultations and using order forms with appropriate options for quantities and any special customization needed.
Complex payment process: B2B online payment solutions are both time-consuming and expensive for both parties. The buyer has to be credit checked, they'll often negotiate payment terms and trade discounts and the business will manually have to create a custom invoice.^[7]

Business-to-consumer (B2C)

Business-to-consumer (B2C), or direct-to-consumer, is the most common e-commerce model. It deals in electronic business relationships between businesses—both producers and service providers—with end consumers. Many people like this method of e-commerce as it allows them to shop around for the best prices, read customer reviews, and often find different products that they would not otherwise be exposed to in the physical retail world. This e-commerce category also enables businesses to develop a more personalized relationship with their customers.^[2]

Anything one buys online as a consumer is done as part of a B2C transaction. The decision-making process for a B2C purchase is much shorter than a business-to-business (B2B) purchase, especially for items that have a lower value, thus having a shorter sales cycle. B2C businesses therefore typically spend less marketing dollars to make a sale but also have a lower average order value and less recurring orders than their B2B counterparts. B2C innovators have leveraged technology like mobile apps, native advertising and re-marketing to market directly to their customers and make their lives easier in the process.^[3]

Examples of B2C businesses are everywhere: exclusively-online retailers include Newegg, Overstock.com, Wish, and ModCloth. Major B2C-model brick-and-mortar businesses include Staples, WalMart, Target, REI, and Gap.^[5]

The advantages of B2C e-commerce include:^[8]

Unlimited marketplace: The marketplace is unlimited, enabling the customers to explore and shop at their convenience. We can check on the desired product from home, offices and anywhere else without any time restrictions. Products can be purchased from around the world. It represents the breaking of international barriers, giving people the opportunity to purchase products virtually;

Lower costs of doing business: B2C has reduced several business components including employees, purchasing cost, mailing confirmations, phone calls, data entry and the requirement for opening stores with physical existence. This has reduced transaction costs for customers;

Business administration made easier: It has made it easier to record store inventory, shipment, logs and overall business transactions compared with traditional methods of business administration. These calculations are now occurring automatically. Moreover, real-time updates can be provided, through which any issues can be flagged;

More efficient business relationships: Building new and improved associations with the dealers and suppliers;

Workflow automation: This process enables the shipping of products in a timely manner. Furthermore, it automatically adjusts stock levels and figures out location availability. It includes highly reliable security systems, with step by step verification, account entry and admiration mode to look after business transactions. The third-party direct sales are backed up with familiar banking and accounting features that enable businesses to reach out to vendors and perform internal business transactions accordingly.

The disadvantages of B2C e-commerce include:^[8]

Infrastructure: Even though the internet enables reaching a huge, international pool of customers, many still do not have access to the internet;

Competition: Competition is severe. There are certain companies that have managed to maintain sizeable market shares giving them a chance to survive in the long run. New and improved products must be rolled out consistently to secure customers;

Limited product exposure: Despite rewarding the customers with ease-of-access and a unique level of flexibility for choosing products, e-commerce has restricted product exposure for buyers over the internet. Most websites would not allow customers to go beyond the glamorous product images and their descriptions at the time of purchasing the product. It gives consumers the idea that e-commerce supports 'limited product exposure', which is why some products disappoint customers at the time of shipment and are sent back to companies immediately.

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B2B e-commerce

B2B e-commerce, short for business-to-business electronic commerce, is the sale of goods or services between businesses via an online sales portal. In general, it is used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a company's sales efforts. Instead of receiving orders using human assets (sales reps) manually – by telephone or e-mail – orders are received digitally, reducing overhead costs.^[1]

Definition

The differences between business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B)

B2B and B2C e-commerce may look the same, but they are quite different. Business buyers and retail consumers have different purchasing needs.^[2] The differences can be:

Buying Impulsively Vs. Buying Rationally - B2C buyers will buy on impulse and make one-off purchases, while B2B buyers plan for purchases and make recurring purchases.
Single Decision Maker Vs. Multiple Decision Makers - B2C purchases are decided upon by the buyer, B2B purchases often involve several layers of approval and may involve different departments.
Short-term Customer Relationship Vs. Long-term Customer Relationship - B2C purchases are often one-off purchases, and B2B purchases are based on long-term and ongoing relationships.
Set, Fixed Prices Vs. Diverse Prices - B2C prices are generally not negotiable. B2B prices are usually negotiated individually.
Pre-Delivery Payment Vs. Post-Delivery Payment - B2C e-Commerce is generally paid by credit card, debit card or PayPal before the goods are shipped B2B payment is often on terms and maybe 30 or more days after goods are shipped.
Deliveries focused on speed Vs. Deliveries focused on punctuality - B2C buyers are looking for speed of delivery and B2B buyers want deliveries on a reliable schedule.

B2B buyer characteristics

Supply chains are more important to B2B transactions. Manufacturing companies obtain components or raw materials from other companies and then sell to a wholesaler, distributor, or retail customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windscreens, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single B2C transaction.^[3] Wholesalers and distributors still have a supply chain, but their chain consists of finished products.

Generally, B2B and B2C web stores both have search, navigation, detailed product information and personal account history pages. However, in some ways, B2B greatly differs from B2C. Most B2B businesses have complex ordering processes, large collections of attributes and elaborate back-end systems. Moreover, in a B2B scenario, buying is part of the customers' jobs. He needs to make sure he buys all the necessary products or components for keeping his company up and running. Thirdly, since organizations can be very large, they need a lot of products or components to keep their business going. Therefore, B2B buyers often place large orders. B2B purchases are also characterized by recurring orders instead of single purchases. Because of that, companies make deals based on their monthly or even yearly demand. They closely collaborate, and each B2B customer can have its specific prices for certain products. Lastly, multiple people are involved in B2B purchases. For instance, a company can have multiple buyers or buying centres. They are responsible for finding the right products and making the right deal with resellers. Because multiple people are involved in a single deal, B2B is more fact-based instead of based on emotions. It's not about the nicest packaging, but the best deal for the company. In general, the ratio is leading.

The characteristics mentioned above can be summarized as follows:

B2C	B2B
Single buyer	Multiple Decision Makers
Fixed consumer prices	Customer specific prices
Direct payments	Payment on credit sales
Stocks (for a.s.a.p shipments)	Smart shipments (i.e. truckloads)
Low frequency purchases	Reoccurring purchases
Single visits	Long-lasting relationship between customer and manufacturer
Buying because you like it	Buying as part of the job
Consumer	Buyers as part of an organization with a relationship defined by a contract, terms and conditions

The differences between B2B e-commerce and EDI

B2B transactions can be processed online in various ways, of which Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and B2B e-commerce is most often used. Although EDI and B2B e-commerce both have their own, distinctive features, they are frequently confused.^[4]

EDI is the electronic transfer of purchasing information between the buyer and seller. EDI transmits the information from the buyer's purchase order to the seller's sales or customer service department for conversion to a sales order. EDI is well suited for placing large, recurring orders to supply raw materials to manufacturers.^[5] For instance, following the example above, an automobile manufacturer regularly needs to order a specific brand and size of tires for a certain car model. When manufacturing a certain number of that type of car, the buyers can use EDI to place an order for the number of tires needed. So, the seller need not worry about providing product information – like a description, images or pricing –for reordering purposes.^[6]

Although, like EDI, sales orders are processed online, with B2B e-commerce it is possible for customers to order occasionally and in irregular order quantities. Also, B2B e-commerce enables the display of many different types of detailed figures and images. It is possible to exhibit a full range of products or parts. Therefore, a web store provides the opportunity to cross- and upsell.^[5]

Market development and trends

The B2B e-commerce market is growing rapidly. In 2014, 63% of industrial supplies buyers made their purchases online. The US market was projected to grow from $780 billion in 2015 to $1.1 trillion by 2020, ^[7] but recent data suggests that it is even larger. In 2022, just over 10% of B2B product sales, totaling $1.676 trillion, were made through e-commerce websites. This growth trend is expected to continue strongly until at least t 2026.^[8] The European Union Enterprise policy aims to "enhance trust and confidence" in B2B electronic markets.^[9]

In the US, B2B e-commerce is expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2023.^[10] This growth is being driven by a number of factors, including the increasing adoption of cloud computing, the growth of mobile commerce, and the rising demand for end-to-end supply chain solutions.

Mobile

The phrase mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, to mean "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer's hand, anywhere, via wireless technology."^[11] Mobile e-commerce for B2B is becoming increasingly popular.^{[citation needed]} B2B has features different from mobile e-commerce for B2C.^{[citation needed]} Whereas B2C is mostly classic catalogue browsing, mobile e-commerce for B2B requires specific features, which include:^{[citation needed]}

Displayed prices that are customer specific;
Stock indication that is always up-to-date;
Discounts that are calculated in real-time;
Orders can be placed quickly, for example with order histories or lists based on filtered product sets;
Sales agents should be able to represent their customers.

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Business-to-business B2B

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The "electronic components district" of Guangzhou, where numerous shops sell electronic components to other companies that would use them to manufacture consumer goods

Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB) is a situation where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. This typically occurs when:

A business is sourcing materials for their production process for output (e.g., a food manufacturer purchasing salt), i.e. providing raw material to the other company that will produce output.
A business needs the services of another for operational reasons (e.g., a food manufacturer employing an accountancy firm to audit their finances).
A business re-sells goods and services produced by others (e.g., a retailer buying the end product from the food manufacturer).

Business-to-Business companies represent a significant part of the United States economy. This is especially true in firms of 500 employees and above, of which there were 19,464 in 2015,^[1] where it is estimated that as many as 72% are businesses that primarily serve other businesses.^[2] One possible argument of economics to explain the levels of Business-to-Business activity is that it allows for business segmentation.^[3]

B2B is often contrasted with business-to-consumer (B2C) trade.

Organization

B2B involves specific challenges at different stages. At their formation, organizations should be careful to rely on an appropriate combination of contractual and relational mechanisms.^[4] Specific combinations of contracts and relational norms may influence the nature and dynamics of the negotiations between firms.^{[citation needed]}

Business to business model

Vertical B2B model

Vertical B2B is generally oriented to manufacturing or business. It can be divided into two directions: upstream and downstream. Producers or commercial retailers can have a supply relationship with upstream suppliers, including manufacturers, and form a sales relationship.^[5] As an example, Dell works with upstream suppliers of integrated circuit microchips and computer printed circuit boards (PCBs).

A vertical B2B website can be similar to the enterprise's online store.^[5] Through the website, the company can promote its products vigorously, more efficiently and more comprehensively which enriches transactions as they help their customers understand their products well. Or, the website can be created for business, where the seller advertises their products to promote and expand transactions.

Horizontal B2B model

Horizontal B2B is the transaction pattern for the intermediate trading market. It concentrates similar transactions of various industries into one place, as it provides a trading opportunity for the purchaser and supplier, typically involving companies that do not own the products and do not sell the products. It is merely a platform to bring sellers and purchasers together online.^[6] The better platforms help buyers easily find information about the sellers and the relevant information about the products via the website.

Growth of e-procurement

A 2022 Amazon report highlighted a "rapid transformation of B2B e-procurement in recent years", with 91% of the B2B buyers surveyed in their study stating that they preferred online purchasing.^[7]

Comparison with B2C

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In B2B commerce, it is often the case that the parties to the relationship have comparable negotiating power, and even when they do not, each party typically involves professional staff and legal counsel in the negotiation of terms, whereas B2C is shaped to a far greater degree by economic implications of information asymmetry. However, within a B2B context, large companies may have many commercial, resource and information advantages over smaller businesses. The United Kingdom government, for example, created the post of Small Business Commissioner under the Enterprise Act 2016 to "enable small businesses to resolve disputes" and "consider complaints by small business suppliers about payment issues with larger businesses that they supply."^[8]

The principal difference between B2B and B2C is that the first one refers to commerce transaction between manufacturer and retailer, and the second one it is the retailer supplying goods to the consumer.^[9] In B2B there are business people on both sides, whereas in B2C there is normally one business person and one consumer. In the first case, the decision is pursued by need (because the other business needs it), and in the second case, they are expectations rather than needs. B2B has many sellers and different stores, whereas B2C, is usually just one supplier. B2B concentrates on raw data for another company, but B2C focuses on producing something for consumers. A B2B transaction entails direct-sourcing contract management, which involves negotiating terms that establish prices and various other factors such as volume-based pricing, carrier and logistics preferences, etc. B2C transaction is clearer, it has spot sourcing contract management that offers a flat retail rate for each item sold. Time is also different as B2B has a slower process than B2C which is concluded in shorter periods (that could be minutes or days).

Business-to-business generally requires an upfront investment whereas business-to-customers do not need a business to spend money on infrastructure. The last difference mentioned here is that in B2B, lagging behind in the digital transformation, have to deal with back-office connectivity and invoicing a number of different partners and suppliers, while B2C results in more seamless transactions as options, such as cyber-cash, allows the business to accept a wider variety of payment options. B2B typically only allows payment via credit card or invoice, making the purchasing process longer and more expensive than with B2C. B2B, as there are normally bigger amounts involved over longer periods of time, usually have higher costs than B2C, which consists of quick, daily transactions. Businesses typically want to buy on net terms, meaning that B2B merchants have to wait weeks, if not months to get paid for their goods or services. As a result, smaller businesses with less capital often struggle to stay afloat. In B2B, brand reputations greatly depend on the personal relationship between businesses. On the other hand, in B2C, the business's reputation is often fueled by publicity through the media.

In many cases, the overall volume of B2B (business-to-business) transactions is much higher than the volume of B2C transactions.^[10]^[11]^[12] The primary reason for this is that in a typical supply chain there will be many B2B transactions involving subcomponents or raw materials, and only one B2C transaction, specifically the sale of the finished product to the end customer. For example, an automobile manufacturer makes several B2B transactions such as buying tires, glass for windows, and rubber hoses for its vehicles. The final transaction, a finished vehicle sold to the consumer, is a single (B2C) transaction.

B2B2C

B2B2C means "business-to-business-to-consumer". According to the TechTarget website, the purpose of the terminology is to "extend the business-to-business model to include e-commerce for consumers". B2B2C aims to "create a mutually beneficial relationship between suppliers of goods and services and online retailers".^[13] According to Lomate and Ramachandran, it enables manufacturers (the first "B" in B2B2C) to connect with, understand and serve their end customers ("C") without undermining their sales and distribution networks, including online sellers (the second "B") or excluding them from continuing customer engagement.^[14]

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Email marketing

Email marketing is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It involves using email to send advertisements, request business, or solicit sales or donations. Email marketing strategies commonly seek to achieve one or more of three primary objectives, to building loyalty, trust, or brand awareness. The term usually refers to sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing a merchant's relationship with current or previous customers, encouraging customer loyalty and repeat business, acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, and sharing third-party ads.

History

Email marketing has evolved rapidly alongside the technological growth of the 21st century. Before this growth, when emails were novelties to most customers, email marketing was not as effective. In 1978, Gary Thuerk of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) sent out the first mass email^[1] to approximately 400 potential clients via the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). He claimed that this resulted in $13 million worth of sales of DEC products,^[2] and highlighted the potential of marketing through mass emails.

However, as email marketing developed as an effective means of direct communication, in the 1990s, users increasingly began referring to it as "spam" and began blocking out content from emails with filters and blocking programs. To effectively communicate a message through email, marketers had to develop a way of pushing content through to the end user without being cut out by automatic filters and spam removing software.

Historically, it has not been easy to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns because target markets cannot be adequately defined. Email marketing carries the benefit of allowing marketers to identify returns on investment and measure and improve efficiency.^{[citation needed]} Email marketing allows marketers to see users' feedback in real-time and monitor how effective their campaign is in achieving market penetration, revealing a communication channel's scope. At the same time, however, it also means that the more personal nature of specific advertising methods, such as television advertisements, cannot be captured.

Types

Email marketing can be carried out through different types of emails:

Transactional emails

Transactional emails are usually triggered based on a customer's action with a company. To be qualified as transactional or relationship messages, these communications' primary purpose must be "to facilitate, complete or confirm a commercial transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender" along with a few other narrow definitions of transactional messaging.^[3] Triggered transactional messages include dropped basket messages, password reset emails, purchase or order confirmation emails, order status emails, reorder emails, and email receipts.

The primary purpose of a transactional email is to convey information regarding the action that triggered it. But, due to their high open rates (51.3% compared to 36.6% for email newsletters), transactional emails are an opportunity to introduce or extend the email relationship with customers or subscribers; to anticipate and answer questions; or to cross-sell or up-sell products or services.^[4]

Many email newsletter software vendors offer transactional email support, which gives companies the ability to include promotional messages within the body of transactional emails. There are also software vendors that offer specialized transactional email marketing services, which include providing targeted and personalized transactional email messages and running specific marketing campaigns (such as customer referral programs).^{[citation needed]}

Direct emails

Direct email involves sending an email solely to communicate a promotional message (for example, a special offer or a product catalog). Companies usually collect a list of customer or prospect email addresses to send direct promotional messages to, or they rent a list of email addresses from service companies.^{[citation needed]}

Comparison to traditional mail

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using email marketing in comparison to traditional advertising mail.

Advantages

Email marketing is popular with companies for several reasons:

Email marketing is significantly cheaper and faster than traditional mail, mainly because with email, most of the cost falls on the recipient.^[5]

Email marketing platforms provide detailed analytics, allowing businesses to track open rates, click-through rates, and other important metrics to evaluate campaign performance.^{[citation needed]}
Automation tools make it easier to schedule and send emails at specific times or based on user actions, saving time and effort.^[6]

Businesses and organizations who send a high volume of emails can use an ESP (email service provider) to gather information about the behavior of the recipients. The insights provided by consumer response to email marketing help businesses and organizations understand and make use of consumer behavior.^[7]
Almost half of American Internet users check or send email on a typical day,^[8] with emails delivered between 1 am and 5 am local time outperforming those sent at other times in open and click rates.^[9]^[10]

Disadvantages

As of mid-2016 email deliverability is still an issue for legitimate marketers. According to the report, legitimate email servers averaged a delivery rate of 73% in the U.S.; six percent were filtered as spam, and 22% were missing. This lags behind other countries: Australia delivers at 90%, Canada at 89%, Britain at 88%, France at 84%, Germany at 80% and Brazil at 79%.^[11]
Companies considering the use of an email marketing program must make sure that their program does not violate spam laws such as the United States' Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM),^[12] the European Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, or their Internet service provider's acceptable use policy.
An overwhelming amount of commercial email or untargeted emails can be irritating to consumers. This irritation can lead to consumers unsubscribing from all messages or building a negative brand association. Untargeted emails lead to low click through rate, hindering marketing campaign performance. ^[13]

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Friday, January 12, 2024

The role of Graphic design

Graphic design is essential for advertising, branding, and marketing, influencing how people act. Good graphic design builds strong, recognizable brands, communicates messages clearly, and shapes how consumers see and react to things.

One way that graphic design influences consumer behavior is through the use of visual elements, such as color, typography, and imagery. Studies have shown that certain colors can evoke specific emotions and behaviors in consumers, and that typography can influence how information is perceived and remembered.^[49] For example, serif fonts are often associated with tradition and elegance, while sans-serif fonts are seen as modern and minimalistic. These factors can all impact the way consumers perceive a brand and its messaging.^[50]

Another way that graphic design impacts consumer behavior is through its ability to communicate complex information in a clear and accessible way. For example, infographics and data visualizations can help to distill complex information into a format that is easy to understand and engaging for consumers.^[51] This can help to build trust and credibility with consumers, and encourage them to take action.

Ethical consideration in Graphic design

Ethics are an important consideration in graphic design, particularly when it comes to accurately representing information and avoiding harmful stereotypes. Graphic designers have a responsibility to ensure that their work is truthful, accurate, and free from any misleading or deceptive elements. This requires a commitment to honesty, integrity, and transparency in all aspects of the design process.

One of the key ethical considerations in graphic design is the responsibility to accurately represent information. This means ensuring that any claims or statements made in advertising or marketing materials are true and supported by evidence.^[52] For example, a company should not use misleading statistics to promote their product or service, or make false claims about its benefits. Graphic designers must take care to accurately represent information in all visual elements, such as graphs, charts, and images, and avoid distorting or misrepresenting data.^[53]

Another important ethical consideration in graphic design is the need to avoid harmful stereotypes. This means avoiding any images or messaging that perpetuate negative or harmful stereotypes based on race, gender, religion, or other characteristics.^[54] Graphic designers should strive to create designs that are inclusive and respectful of all individuals and communities, and avoid reinforcing negative attitudes or biases.

The future of Graphic design

The future of graphic design is likely to be heavily influenced by emerging technologies and social trends. Advancements in areas such as artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and automation are likely to transform the way that graphic designers work and create designs. Social trends, such as a greater focus on sustainability and inclusivity, are also likely to impact the future of graphic design.^[55]

One area where emerging technologies are likely to have a significant impact on graphic design is in the automation of certain tasks. Machine learning algorithms, for example, can analyze large datasets and create designs based on patterns and trends, freeing up designers to focus on more complex and creative tasks. Virtual and augmented reality technologies may also allow designers to create immersive and interactive experiences for users, blurring the lines between the digital and physical worlds.^[56]

Social trends are also likely to shape the future of graphic design. As consumers become more conscious of environmental issues, for example, there may be a greater demand for designs that prioritize sustainability and minimize waste. Similarly, there is likely to be a growing focus on inclusivity and diversity in design, with designers seeking to create designs that are accessible and representative of a wide range of individuals and communities.^[57]

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Graphic design career

Occupations

Graphic symbols are often functionalist and anonymous,^[44] as these pictographs from the US National Park Service illustrate.

Graphic design career paths cover all parts of the creative spectrum and often overlap. Workers perform specialized tasks, such as design services, publishing, advertising and public relations. As of 2023, median pay was $50,710 per year.^[45] The main job titles within the industry are often country specific. They can include graphic designer, art director, creative director, animator and entry level production artist. Depending on the industry served, the responsibilities may have different titles such as "DTP associate" or "Graphic Artist". The responsibilities may involve specialized skills such as illustration, photography, animation, visual effects or interactive design.

Employment in design of online projects was expected to increase by 35% by 2026, while employment in traditional media, such as newspaper and book design, expect to go down by 22%. Graphic designers will be expected to constantly learn new techniques, programs, and methods.^[46]

Graphic designers can work within companies devoted specifically to the industry, such as design consultancies or branding agencies, others may work within publishing, marketing or other communications companies. Especially since the introduction of personal computers, many graphic designers work as in-house designers in non-design oriented organizations. Graphic designers may also work freelance, working on their own terms, prices, ideas, etc.

A graphic designer typically reports to the art director, creative director or senior media creative. As a designer becomes more senior, they spend less time designing and more time leading and directing other designers on broader creative activities, such as brand development and corporate identity development. They are often expected to interact more directly with clients, for example taking and interpreting briefs.

Crowdsourcing in graphic design

Jeff Howe of Wired Magazine first used the term "crowdsourcing" in his 2006 article, "The Rise of Crowdsourcing."^[47]^[48] It spans such creative domains as graphic design, architecture, apparel design, writing, illustration, and others. Tasks may be assigned to individuals or a group and may be categorized as convergent or divergent. An example of a divergent task is generating alternative designs for a poster. An example of a convergent task is selecting one poster design. Companies, startups, small businesses and entrepreneurs have all benefitted from design crowdsourcing since it helps them source great graphic designs at a fraction of the budget they used to spend before. Getting a logo design through crowdsourcing being one of the most common. Major companies that operate in the design crowdsourcing space are generally referred to as design contest sites.^{[citation needed]}]

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