Internet Editorial

Citation

Winzar, H. (1999), "Internet Editorial", Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, Vol. 5 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jmpams.1999.15505caa.002

Internet Editorial

Edited by Simpson Poon, Murdoch University, Western Australia

There's no such thing as an "E-business"

Most businesses have a telephone, but not many firms would call themselves telephone businesses. Many medium-sized to large companies advertise on television, but few could be called "telemarketers" ­ that title has come to apply to a particular business model that involves a very well-defined formula of integrated systems of television, telephone, credit card, warehousing and delivery. Why then do we regard a firm that uses computer-mediated transactions as engaged in "e-business"? This commentary posits that e-business is a limiting concept, restricting firms in their options and reducing the opportunity for many firms to engage profitably in the "information revolution". When we say "e-business", or any of its alternative phrases, we tend to think of a particular formula ­ we design "me-too" business with little innovation and/or ability to adapt.

These comments apply to all the different definitions and manifestations of new technology applied to business. Technology companies such as IBM, Sun Microsystems and Microsoft, as well as big-six consulting firms such as KPMG and Ernst & Young, have formal and often contradicting definitions of what is "e-business", "e-marketing", "cyber-commerce", "virtual business" and so on. Typically one definition relates to business-to-business transactions, while another relates to business and end-consumer sales.

It is difficult to see why. If a firm is dealing in what is essentially an online mail-order service then why not call it what it is: retailing, or mail-order? (Unless we hope to leverage the hyperbole and mystery of new technology into more consulting dollars.) The fact is very few businesses conduct all aspects of their transactions online. If a physical product is involved then some solution to inventory and fulfilment is necessary at the very least. Even an online graphic design service or online stockbrokerage needs employees that sit somewhere, even if they are "distributed". Neat definitions and straw-splitting amongst synonyms risks ignoring the purpose of the utilities delivered by the Web.

The World Wide Web, and related technologies, is a tool for communicating information. More correctly, the Web really is a system of systems: a typical browser includes WWW access, FTP, e-mail and programs that allow for special scripting for manipulating files on a client computer or on a host computer. With this combination of seamlessly integrated and often transparent tools, a customer is able to access information, download files, send information, and change data. Each of these tools effects a different task and of course when they are used creatively in concert they can produce new services. Unfortunately, these Web tools are seen by many in industry as fixed "solutions" for neatly categorised online business or marketing opportunities.

In every airport bookshop we can find a dozen books offering advice on how to set up a Web business. The examples and tips offered generally are for small-scale specialist mail-order services. This is an excellent application of Web technology, but is it the only way we can apply such tools? Other writers have discussed the viability of certain product categories for online trading. Services and products that are "information rich" are seen as the best opportunities for success. These views come about because we insist on the notion that we should develop "Web-based business" rather than "business that uses the Web".

It is a subtle distinction that, once grasped, suddenly opens up a new range of opportunities for successful commerce using computer communications tools. Instead of attempting to apply a formula to an existing organisation, or trying to create a new business using someone else's recipe, we should examine the functions of a business and address ourselves to those functions that can be reasonably serviced by Web tools. What a difference we see when we ask ourselves to describe, first, a business that is based on the telephone and, second, one that uses the telephone. The same profound differences emerge when we compare Web-based business with business that uses the Web, or allows customers to use the Web to access its services ­ more applications appear and many more firms become potential users of online technology. We should avoid thinking about what types of product or service can be sold online and instead think about what business functions can be effectively substituted or enhanced with an electronic tool. Here are a couple of examples.

Can a hairdresser benefit by dealing on the Web? In other words, can a hairdressing salon profit by serving customers online? Obviously the haircut itself can't be delivered online, but there are other "functions" required to have a haircut. In the simplest case, an appointment must be made with the salon, often with a preferred stylist. Customers could log on to a site and make their own bookings by accessing the salon's electronic "appointment book".

A housepainter can't paint a room online but there are other functions required to close a deal. Would it take much to derive a set of instructions for readers to measure up their room, select a style of service and then fill out a form that calculates a ball-park cost and time estimate?

These are suggestions from a group of students in a half-hour brainstorming session a few days before writing. If they are not profound or economically viable they are at least novel, and they underscore the way that so many "really great ideas" have appeared on the Web. They are not electronic businesses but they are using the technology to reduce their costs and to better serve their customers by empowering them to access the organisation's own systems.

So let us avoid using the term "e-business" and other similar phrases and pay more attention to the functions of a business, recognising those that can be better met by Web technology and adapting to that combination of product, target customers and organisational culture that produces successful business.

Hume WinzarSenior Lecturer in Marketing, Murdoch University, Western Australia