A Two-Level Approach to Establishing a Marketing Strategy in the Electronic Marketplace

This study concerns an analysis of what kinds of products are more suitable for distribution via the Internet than via traditional markets. The purpose of the analysis is to identify and fit marketing strategy to product in the virtual marketplace. The amount of product information needed by the consumer to reach a purchasing decision varies with the degree of consumer involvement with the purchase. We conjecture that two major factors affect the consumer’s disposition toward online shopping: (1) the purchase involvement on the part of consumer, and (2) product information exposure provided by the Web. Therefore, in the virtual market products may be grouped into four categories. The implication of this is that online marketing functions at two levels. (1) Level-1: PNF (primitive network function), which is derived from the primitive network characteristics associated with the product’s attributes fitting with the consumer’s involvement. (2) Level-2: ANF (advanced network function), which is the marketing communication created by the virtual store to meet the demands of consumers purchasing online.