Strategies for building a customer base on the internet: Symbiotic marketing

Abstract

The advent of the Internet is leading a re-evaluation of existing business practice as the methods employed in a non-virtual world may not necessarily be as effective in a virtual environment. The present paper examines the different strategic options facing organizations as they attempt to build a customer base on the Internet. The traditional site-centric approach of directing traffic to a central Internet site suffers from the problems of the increasing costs and decreasing effectiveness of Internet advertising. An alternative strategy is the symbiotic approach which is based on the concept of mutuality. A strategy of symbiotic marketing involves one organization providing functionality for another organization's Internet site. In exchange for the provision of functionality for another Internet site the provider benefits from a increased market coverage and reach. Although the strategy of symbiotic marketing may initially appear counter-intuitive,the following paper highlights the potential advantages for a company pursuing such a strategy.The case demonstrates such a strategy exits as a low cost method of developing a customer base on the Internet. Finally, the potential scope of symbiotic marketing is discussed.