Multichannel Publishing: From The Consumer’s Perspective

The emergence of e-commerce as a way of doing business has created an environment in which the needs and expectations of business customers and consumers are rapidly changing and evolving. This situation presents marketing managers with the challenge of ascertaining which elements of market space are new and how much continuity can be retained from the past. Some marketers apparently believe that it is enough to offer a Web site, maintaining a superficial appearance that the firm is progressive, or they ignore the Web altogether, possibly making use of digital technology to support existing business plans. Others take the opposite tack, saying that everything is changing and that nothing can remain the same (e.g., Feather, 2000; Murphy, 2000). A more balanced view proposes that people are basically the same but that new technologies are changing many of the ways customers shop and buy – thus, many businesses must overhaul their operating models to create digital strategies that meet changing needs and preserve competitiveness (Downes & Mui, 1998; Wind, Mahajan & Gunther, 2002). Researcher’s position is consistent with this balanced view. Researcher believes that while much is changing, many fundamentals remain. Thus, researcher suggests ways that managers can use well-grounded concepts from consumer attitude and marketing theory, adapting them to new technologies.