Strategy

E-Business Strategy

Strategy defines the area of focus and the activities to be undertaken in order to achieve business goals. E-Business strategy can very greatly, however, fundamentally speaking an E-Business strategy is going to be driven by an overarching Marketing and Sales strategy.

(I regularly update this page and topics of E-Business strategy. View my blog posts for recent insights, thinking, and industry news. -Eric)

B2C (Business-to-Consumer) & B2B (Business-to-Business) Strategy

B2C and B2B strategies while having different target end-users are fueled by the same fundamentals and principles in the other spheres of E-Business. B2C/B2B strategy is largely a business planning responsibility requiring the utilization of consumer insights and industry experience to establish growth guidelines and financial objectives. As a part of this strategy, this role must garner alignment with Marketing, Sales, Operations, and agency partners to sustain the strategy.

Channel Strategy: P&L responsibility, pricing strategies, and channel conflict management

A component of any E-Commerce strategy impacting end-buyers will ultimately need to incorporate channel strategy, too. Managing channel conflict, especially for manufacturers selling direct to consumers, is a critical component to your E-Commerce strategy. Pricing, promotions, product offerings, how you communicate where and how to buy your products -- these all play into your E-Commerce Channel strategy.

For online retailers, pricing strategy is important particularly if you are a manufacturing selling direct-to-consumer. As a manufacturer, disintermediating the channel can be smart strategy for your business, however you are in business to grow sales, and this means maintaining acceptable profit, pricing strategies across channels of business, and healthy relationships with your channel partners.