Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

The only main difference is the e-business does business primarily over the web. A brick and mortar business has a store/office which they do business out of.

When it comes to e-business marketing, they primarily function around a web site. Advertisements and such all aim at drawing people to the web site, and then doing business. (note - some e-businesses do have other, non-web aspects, but usually these are secondary).

Brick and mortar uses other approaches (in person, phone, printed supporting literature, etc.) in conjunction with web based marketing.

In the US, a good comparison would be Amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles. Both sell books. When I buy from Amazon, I go to their web site, find what I want, and buy it. I am sure Amazon has a phone number, but I have never used it.

When I buy from Barnes and Noble, I go to their store, find what I want on a shelf, and the go to the cashier to buy it.

Sounds like someone has a "compare and contrast" homework assignment!

The Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble example is a fine place to start, although there are tons of other places other than the cash register where similarities and differences can be found.

For example, from a marketing perspective, a Web-based business, even with only one employee, could potentially get customers from anywhere in the country, perhaps even the world, whereas a "mom and pop" store is not going to have the same market.

Similarly, those two businesses won't have the same competition, either, because one man's worldwide Web business is another man's worldwide competition. So, while there's a possible benefit that the market is wherever people have an Internet connection, there's also an increased amount of competition (which partially explains the amazing popularity of paid search and search engine optimization services).

There are plenty of other topics on which you could compare and contrast (the types of employees you need, the type of office and warehouse you need, the type of marketing and advertising you do, the demographics you serve), but that's all outside the scope of this thread.

Hope this helps! If you get an A+, let us know.