This book explores customer-supplier relationships in B2B markets focusing on interaction between parties. Drawing on three fields of research – studies of relationships in marketing, social interactionism in sociology, and sense-making in social psychology – the author explores the concepts and roles of actors in business relationships and how the behaviour of actors within an interaction affects the development of those relationships. Based on a review of prior research and an original empirical study, the author argues that the presence of continuous close relationships between the customer and supplier organisations bestows features of a business network on B2B markets, with distinct interdependencies and ubiquitous interactions. Exploring buyer-seller interactions, the author contends that actors’ mutually perceived identities – continuously emergent and relationship-specific – are the main factor in the development of business relationships and discusses the implications for management practice and research.

This title was first published in 2003. An exhaustive and synthetic framework for the use of Internet tools in customer-supplier relationships is one aspect of e-business that is still missing from existing literature. This book analyses the main management implications related to the adoption of the Internet in the supply chain and unifies different research studies and contributions in order to build such a framework. It is based on wide empirical evidence including four in-depth case studies in both Europe and the US, a cross-industry survey of more than 160 US companies and website research describing emerging Internet initiatives in B2B relationships. By creating a concrete link between theory and practice it should appeal to academics and practitioners alike.

The first book devoted entirely to B2B social marketing B2B markets are fundamentally different from consumer markets. Decisions are made on value, not impulse. Buying cycles are complex, often with many stakeholders involved. Relationships and support are critical. Bet-the-business decisions demand discipline, knowledge, and lots of information. This hands-on guide covers topics unique to this segment, including cost justification, prospecting and lead generation, matching tools to the sales funnel, building, B2B search engine optimization, social media monitoring, social media policy development, long-term client relationships, gaining stakeholder support, building a more transparent organization, and what's coming next. Features plentiful examples, case studies, and best practices Focuses on the channels that are most effective for B2B marketers Builds on the authors' more than 30 years of combined experience in the new media/social media space, as well as two previous successful books Leverage the vast business-to-business potential of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many other social media platforms today with Social Marketing to the Business Customer!

International Academic Conferences: Management, Economics and Marketing (IAC-MEM) Teaching, Learning and E-learning (IAC-TLEl) Engineering, Transport, IT and Artificial Intelligence (IAC-ETITAI)

B2B Customer Experience shows readers how to deliver the very best customer experience (often referred to as CX), within the business-to-business realm. Marketers have long known that emotions are important in driving our experiences, and the subject is now high on the agenda of B2B companies who want to deliver a 'wow' to their customers. Achieving this 'wow' factor helps organizations distinguish themselves from their competition, while simultaneously winning new business and retaining existing clients. B2B Customer Experience is the essential handbook that guides the reader through the process of creating an exceptional customer experience. Intensely practical in its approach, B2B Customer Experience is divided into five parts to walk readers through the journey of planning, mapping, structuring, implementing and controlling an effective customer experience, all bespoke for the B2B environment. Clearly argued and supported by real-world examples, this text will help readers understand critical features including the difference between customer experience, loyalty and inertia; how to use journey maps to establish strengths and weaknesses in an organization, and how to ensure that sales teams are engaged in the customer experience programme. Discussing some of the best known examples of consumer-focused customer experiences from companies such as Zappos, Nordstrom and John Lewis, B2B Customer Experience is the must-have text for any marketing professional working within a B2B environment.

This essay attempts to structure a forward-looking approach to the evolving role of marketing in today's economy. Many organisations today recognize the need to become more market responsive in the global and interconnected market in which they operate.

This book offers a novel perspective on starting-up new business ventures through examining the process by which they become part of the existing business environment. The book highlights the importance of inter-organizational business relationships. Asserting that new ventures need to interact and connect with customers and suppliers, alongside policy actors and universities, Starting up in Business Networks demonstrates how beginning a new venture demands initiating and developing business relationships. Noting a lack of prior research into the process by which start-ups embed into an existing business network, this book presents examples from countries such as Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and China to analyse the emergence and evolution of start-up business networks.