It is worth noting that e-business, e-commerce, and e-marketing are not different wording or equivalents for the same meaning. Indeed, e-business and e-commerce have a more expansive scope than e-marketing.
E-commerce entails the execution of a company’s business transaction over a computer-mediated network, which involves the transfer of rights of ownership to use the services. In this process, the transactions do not necessarily require price tags, as in the case of face-to-face commerce, but the description and the benefit of a particular product. In addition, the transactions are made on the internet, extranet, intranet, fax, email, and the World Wide Web.
E-marketing refers not only to the use of digital media, such as email, mobile phones, intranets, and extranets, but also to electronic relationship management systems and the digital management of data for customers. On the contrary, e-business and e-commerce have a broader scope than e-marketing because of their holistic approach to business transactions. In that connection, e-business and e-commerce also focus on organization suppliers, business partners, and employees, as well as the process of buying and selling.
E-business is broader than e-commerce in terms of the transaction because it encompasses both digital business, which uses e-commerce, and traditional business that incorporate online activities. In addition, e-businesses can run their processes online, including risk management, inventory management, human resource, and finance. Specifically, to integrate both e-business and e-commerce in its operations, a business should sell its product online and handle additional sales or other company activities offline.
E-business, e-commerce, and e-marketing involve developing new value chains within the company and between the company, suppliers, and customers. Electronic networks and the Internet are instrumental to the success of all three processes. In fact, as businesses continue to adopt and gain knowledge in e-commerce and e-marketing, they develop higher chances of success in the world of e-business. Therefore, the success of one of the strategies mentioned above leads to the success of the other two and, eventually, the entire business’s success.