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3.2.3 Sites for different market segmentsFrequently, a selling enterprise instantiates sites targeted to specific market segments. The most typical distinction is that B2B and B2C customers are addressed by different sites. In addition, within the B2B direct division, unique sites may be created for such segments as Education, Travel, Transportation, Industrial, and so on. All of these sites are based on the same set of catalog data, but each site needs to filter out the portions of the catalog that are applicable to it. As with branding, marketing campaigns and messages are typically unique to the site, but a given set of marketing messages may be common to several market segments, to a division, or to the entire enterprise. In the B2B direct space, each site serves the needs of multiple customers. This is important in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) space, where a seller may have a very large number of customers in the same segment. Each customer may have its own customizations, such as shipping and billing options, and contractual arrangements that affect pricing or product entitlement. In many cases, common typical contracts are set up ahead of time to address the needs of most typical customers. In such an arrangement, a customer is granted one of the predefined sets of terms and conditions, though some additions or exclusions are also applied on top of the predefined contract. In addition, a customer may negotiate special bids with unique prices, or may have entitlements to made-to-order products that are available only to that customer. Different business customers may also need to have distinct options in the site flow. For example, some customers may require order approval, while others do not. There are variations in how purchase order numbers are handled, and occasionally a customer may want to see a logo of their company on the site when it is accessed by their employees. |
 ibm.com/redbooks |