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B2C websites already influence over 40% of offline transactions will continue to experience straight-line
growth for e-commerce as a percentage of total retail sales for the next five years 1. This places great
importance on defining a primary B2C goal as too many companies have no goal or a confusion of goals
for their B2C website. A lack of focus results in site implementation where all goals are acted on
simultaneously – confusing the organization and the consumer.
If no clear value proposition for visiting the site is evident, no purchase or desired action will result.
Companies with a clear direction and understanding of what they provide online will, in turn, be best
positioned to demonstrate the value to their online customers.
You don’t buy a soda by putting four quarters in four different machines. 2
Difficult economic times impact retail sales, and the web has already become crucial for businesses and
consumers to support the buying process. For an organization like Rockridge Museum, it is essential to
start with a clear goal for their website focus and this Gartner article has identified four major types of
focus to consider: The informer, the influencer, the facilitator and the seller.
The informer – seeking to be the focal point and source of information that drives the traffic and
revenue from membership, store purchases, event attendance or all of these actions. This model will
also encourage a community tone allowing web visitors to interact with other like minded members
about products, news, events and other areas of interest – a powerful pull model for engaging members
with on site activity. Each member is also able to personalize their experience.
The influencer drives sales. This model also extends the online sale with promotions, test marketing,
additional product/service information and other complementary applications. The influencer assists
with raising consumer awareness of the company or product. There are many ends to this means:
consumers could be influenced to go to the Museum pick up their product. Online marketing material
could coax site visitors to physically visit the Museum and its library, collection, cafe or shop.
The facilitator extends the relationship online through many other channels than just a transactional
one and seeks to understand where the web fits best in the overall relationship or buying process, and
to optimize online functionality, ensuring compatibility and integration with the applications that are
used in other channels3. Gartner’s example describes an airline which uses a multi-channel relationship
in which the web facilitates the booking of flights, displaying frequent-flier mileage and publishing web
flight updates supported by a call centre to handle cancellations, seating arrangements, etc., and then
the airplane delivers the product, the actual flight.
The seller creates a retail environment with the goal of transactions. Its purpose: driving business
online. Unlike the facilitator, the seller doesn't mind what you buy, as long as you buy it from the seller,
and preferably online. Focus is on high-volume products and multibrands. Like the influencer, it uses
marketing to drive a sale, often relying on push marketing and promotions to get customers to buy
online.
Rockridge Museum
Rockridge Museum is truly a professional service offeringshould look at the type of business model focus
they should be gravitating towards and whether it matches the Museum's overall value proposition.
When looking at the type of website they already have and the goal focus they have selected, they can
then plan around the type of website they want for future development.
I took a look at www.asiasociety.org as a best practice model of aand thought the best model to start off
with for this
Technological Support:
The informer: needs support from web content management, social application and web analytics -
technologies to gather and disperse information. Analytics will assist in converting visitors into members
and members into site evangelists.
The influencer: online campaign management, e-mail marketing, brand management, product
marketing collateral and lead management are most important for influencing and increasing awareness
to ultimately drive a sale.
The facilitator: customer analytics, online dialogue and multichannel integration are the most important
technologies.
The seller: E-commerce includes order management, catalogues, interactive selling tools, web analytics,
e-mail marketing/e-mail response management, and customer self-service, which are all important
technologies in the seller's environment.
1. Charlesworth, A. (2009). Internet Marketing: A Practical Approach. Oxford: Butterworth-

Heinemann.
2. Sarner, A. (2009, February 20). Defining a primary goal for your b2c
website. Computerweekly.com, Retrieved from
http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/02/20/234947/Defining-a-primary-goal-for-
your-B2C-website.htm
3. Eisenberg, B., Eisenberg, J., & Davis, L. (2006).Waiting for your cat to bark?. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, Inc.
Posting:
Bitpipe.com defines professional services as “Industries whose products and services are based on
professional expertise rather than on discrete products or commodities
(http://www.bitpipe.com/tlist/Professional-Services-Industries.html).” Rockridge Museum would fit this
definition and that of a business to consumer (B2C) website 1. B2C websites already influence over 40%
of offline transactions will continue to experience straight-line growth for e-commerce as a percentage
of total retail sales for the next five years 1. This places great importance on defining a primary B2C goal
as too many companies have no goal or a confusion of goals for their B2C website. A lack of focus results
in site implementation where all goals are acted on simultaneously – confusing the organization and the
consumer.
If no clear value proposition for visiting the site is evident, no purchase or desired action will result.
Companies with a clear direction and understanding of what they provide online will, in turn, be best
positioned to demonstrate the value to their online customers.
You don’t buy a soda by putting four quarters in four different machines. 2
Difficult economic times impact retail sales, and the web has already become crucial for businesses and
consumers to support the buying process. For an organization like Rockridge Museum, it is essential to
start with a clear goal for their website focus and this Gartner article has identified four major types of
focus to consider: The informer, the influencer, the facilitator and the seller.

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B2C websites already influence over 40% of offline transactions will continue to experience straight-line

1. Charlesworth, A. (2009). Internet Marketing: A Practical Approach. Oxford: Butterworth-

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