0019-8501/98/$19.00 PII S0019-8501(97)00038-2 Industrial Marketing Management 27 , 63���72 (1998) �� 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010 Marketing Industrial Products on the Internet Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr. Theresa B. Flaherty Ken Benassi Electronic media, such as the World Wide Web, are playing an increasingly important role in the global commerce of in- dustrial firms. This article examines the experiences of three industrial companies that adopted a Web strategy and identi- fies lessons learned in the process. Based on these experiences, managers are provided guidelines for enhancing the successful implementation of the Internet into their firm���s day-to-day operations. �� 1998 Elsevier Science Inc. INTRODUCTION As a rule, we say anything you can sell through conven- tional venues can find a niche on the Web (1, p. 25) One of the hottest topics in business and the media to- day is electronic commerce, including such technologies as EDI (electronic data interchange), kiosks, electronic classified advertisements, and on-line services such as CompuServe and America On-line [2]. The Internet and its graphical interface, the World Wide Web (WWW), are key components of an electronic commerce initiative that is playing an ever-increasing role in the future of the global marketplace [3]. Indeed, many firms are bringing a global edge to provincial businesses by adopting the WWW [4]. Incorporating the WWW into a firm���s busi- ness strategy eliminates a number of national and global market entry barriers, such as marketing costs, distribu- tion, and shelf-space acquisition [5���7]. Additionally, in- ternational communications generated by the Internet are likely to result in greater levels of satisfaction between companies and customers [8]. The Internet provides opportunities for an organization to enhance its business in a cost-effective and practical manner [9]. That is, the Internet can be used to conduct marketing research, reach new markets, serve customers better, distribute products faster, solve customer prob- lems, and communicate more efficiently with business partners [10]. The Internet is also a useful tool for gather- ing intelligence on customers, competitors, and potential markets [11], as well as communicating information about companies and/or products [12]. Address correspondence to Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr., Professor of Marketing, Department of Management & Marketing, College of Business & Public Administration, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0220.

64 One unique aspect of the Internet is that it is appropri- ate for developing closer customer relationships [13]. In addition to being viewed as a low-cost alternative to the facsimile, express mail, and other communications chan- nels [14], the Internet enables employees to access vital information without being present in the office [15]. However, experts advise that Internet marketing differs from traditional marketing [16]. This medium requires a paradigm shift because marketing over the Internet is sim- ilar to traditional person-to-person networking where the quality of the information provided and the credibility of the organization doing the offering are everything [16]. In general, computer users are enthusiastic about the Internet and its potential to improve their business [17]. With all the media talk about ���cyberspace,��� industrial marketing managers may be pondering the notion of es- tablishing an Internet presence. Possible questions going through the minds of current industrial marketing manag- ers include: Should we be on the Internet? How do we get on the Internet? When is the right time to get on the Internet? What purpose would we serve on the Internet? How much will it cost to get on the Internet? What types of information and services should we provide to our In- ternet customers? and Would being on the Internet im- prove our business? Since every industrial business is different, it is not easy to provide generalized answers to all these questions. However, we can share with you the experiences of three industrial distributors that recently established an Internet presence. The purpose of this article is to illustrate real-life ex- amples of industrial companies that have ventured onto the WWW. First, a brief overview of the nature and uses of the Internet as a marketing tool is provided. We then present a case study of three companies��� first few months as new entrants on the Internet. Based on the experiences of these companies, the article concludes with recom- mendations for industrial marketing managers to con- sider in Web marketing development. It is believed that by providing this case study, industrial marketing manag- ers can glean insights about the process of setting up, managing, and marketing a new Web site on the Internet. INTERNET AS A MARKETING TOOL Much has been written about the overall size of the In- ternet user-base and its phenomenal growth rate. Al- though the precise number of individuals currently con- nected to the Internet is unclear, 1995 estimates ranged from between 2.2 million [18] and 40���50 million com- puters [19, 20]. By the year 2000, it is projected that the total core economy for Internet commerce will reach $45.8 billion [21]. Some of the major types of industries conducting business on the Internet today include: com- puter products, travel, entertainment, apparel, gifts, flow- ers, food, and drink [22]. While the exact size of the Internet is difficult to pin- point, many experts in the field agree that the growth rate of Internet users has doubled every year since the incep- tion of the WWW in 1993 [23]. Fifty-one percent of large companies and twenty-five percent of medium- sized companies are connected to the internet [24]. Addi- tionally, the number of new WWW pages created on the Internet doubles every two months [7]. Polls indicate that approximately 3.7% of all American adults or 9.7 million people currently have Internet access [25] and that the median household income of these users is between $50,000 and $75,000 [26]. Eighty percent of Internet us- ers possess a college degree, compared with 33% of all households [27]. The sheer magnitude of the Internet EARL D. HONEYCUTT, Jr. is Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. THERESA B. FLAHERTY is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. KEN BENASSI is an M.B.A. student at Old Dominion University and a sales manager for National Welders Supply Company in Norfolk, Virginia. A unique aspect of Internet marketing is that it can develop closer customer relationships.