Introduction to Electronic Commerce

Online business has many names; e-Commerce, e-business, online shopping and others involving the use of the internet or a modern telephone or smart phone to place transactions for desired products and services. As you read, think about the power a successful online firm has over his store-based counterpart. What is online business? What is the role of the Internet and other communications media in providing an organization's e-business presence? What are some similarities and some differences between e-business and brick and mortar commerce? How can they complement each other? Are the days of brick-and-mortar stores coming to an end?

Key themes addressed

Chapter Four: Promotion

This is the first of a series of five chapters that discuss the four major functions of marketing: promotion, price, distribution, and product (service). As the Web is a new communications medium, we devote two chapters to promotion. In Chapter Four, we introduce a model for thinking about communication strategy in cyberspace: the Integrated Internet Marketing model.