This document presents on the reasons for growth in direct marketing and the range of direct marketing techniques. It discusses the three main types of direct marketing: business-to-consumer (B2C), which generates most e-commerce revenues in India mainly through online travel; consumer-to-consumer (C2C), which is currently small but growing with new entrants; and business-to-business (B2B), where most users are micro, small and medium enterprises since online portals help increase their visibility and overcome barriers of time, communication and geography.
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Business-to-Consumer (B2C): The B2C market in India generates the bulk of
revenues across the consumer-facing modes of e-Commerce. Furthermore,
though online travel has typically held a major share of the B2C market, online
retail is also growing rapidly and is expected to significantly increase its share.
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C): India’s C2C market, though currently small, is
set to grow with the entry of several players. These entrants are attracting VC
investment. Their online portals are also garnering significant traffic. We
expect the C2C segment to show rapid growth in coming years.
Business-to-Business (B2B): The most common users of B2B online classifieds
are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). These small businesses
lack the requisite financial resources and, therefore, find it difficult to market
their products and services to potential clients through traditional media such
as newspapers, banners and television. Trade through online B2B portals
increases the visibility of MSMEs in the marketplace and helps them overcome
barriers of time, communication and geography