Ebus 500.1 E-Business Models
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For the purpose of this paper, I selected the following three categories for comparison : B2C, C2C and e-Government. For the sake of ease, I chose representative entities for each category : Amazon (B2C), EBay (C2C) and Arizona government, www.az.gov (e-Government). In the following paragraphs, I will identify the differences and similarities of those three business models by addressing the questions in the syllabus.
Who is the target audience for this Web site?
Amazon targets consumers and seeks revenue from small transaction markups on thousands of small sales each day. Originally they started with new books as their primary product. Once they established name recognition, they expanded into cross-category consumer goods and even used goods to continue growth. They have limited themselves to shippable products and have not yet expanded to services to my knowledge. EBay also targets consumers and seeks revenue from transaction fees on sales each day. EBay is different in the fact that it doesnt warehouse or distribute anything, but instead provides an auction format for consumer to consumer transactions. Originally it was focused on used products, which made it unique compared to other online marketplaces. Consumers were often looking to EBay to find a used product at a cheaper price or a product that is no longer available on the retail markets. EBay has since expanded to sell nearly anything, from new and used products to services. AZ.gov (AZ) targets Arizona residents and prospective residents. It provides information about Arizona, from weather to businesses to taxes, as well as services such as drivers license renewal. AZ intends to market the state of Arizona as a great place to live to promote growth.
What are they offering to their buyers or consumers via the Web?
Amazon offers hundreds of thousands of products, shippable directly to the consumer without leaving their home. The idea is one stop shopping for non-perishable goods, available at reasonable prices due to volume purchasing power. The most recent value added to Amazon was their creation of an “Amazon marketplace”, where they allow other businesses to sell their products through Amazon for a fee. Amazon does not have to pay for inventory or distribution of these products, only the cost of maintaining the business link with the retailer (i.e. accurate inventory, transfer of information). This marketplace has added thousands of retailers, more specialized products and more used products, all under the “one stop” umbrella. EBay, as already mentioned, cuts out the middleman and allows consumers to buy directly from other consumers or businesses. In a sense, it duplicates Amazons marketplace with retailers, but also offers the ability to buy a used product from another citizen. The major difference is that Ebay has less overhead in their relationship with retailers. Retailers dont have their inventory systems linked to Ebay, they must instead constantly enter their retail items into Ebays inventory. AZ offers a central location for information about AZ as well as links to Arizona related services. AZ residents can renew their drivers license, register a car, order license plates, get applications for business licenses, etc. Essentially, it offers the ability to avoid the phone and lengthy wait times for getting these things done.
What Web site features or functions are used to reach this target audience?
Amazon offers many features and functions to reach their target audience. They have real time inventory, shopping carts, wish lists, gift certificates, associated products, recommendations, database searching and more. They use an intelligent marketing technique that recommends related products based on a users buying history which can be very effective. They also offer a web services interface to their site so other web sites can incorporate Amazon search results without leaving their site. The presence of Amazon in the internet marketplace is enormous as the result of these tactics. The most unique feature that EBay offers is customization. When a seller lists a product, they can create their own marketing material instead of conforming to someone elses format. EBay also has web services that give it great presence on the internet. Search in Google for almost any product, click on a few links and very quickly you will end up in Amazon, EBay or another site that is using their web services. Another unique feature that Ebay offered was the ability to rate sellers. This feature