| 2.3.1.3 Customer Relations
Figure 2.3 emphasizes how the internet can be used by companies to build strong relationship with customers. To build strong relationship with customers, companies must get hold of information about customer’s needs and attitudes. The internet provides an easy way of doing this, for instance through discussions groups, blogs, bulletin boards, web survey and polls, companies can collect customers view of a product or service (Cronin, 1995)
The three units of the internet value chain illustrate how the internet can be applied in all marketing functions from presales, sales and after sales activities. According to Sigala (2003) the model identifies three areas of internet marketing functionality, namely marketing and product research, sales and distribution, and support and customer feedback.
Zott et al., (2000) argued that, the internet value chain does not consider the three internet capabilities, thus studies investigating the internet use by companies operating in the tourism and hospitality industry using the internet value chain as their frame of reference to list websites features into specific business functions (example, Baker et al., 1999, Weeks & Crouch, 1999) failed to incorporate internets transformational impact. (ibid)
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