Fusion: Buyer/Seller Communities

Traditionally, Buyers Guides have been print or online publications designed to aid the connection of buyers and sellers in a specific business marketplace. The buyers’ guide worked by presenting supplier or product information in a searchable environment, therefore enabling the buyer to find specific solutions based on the explicitly expressed needs.

Most online buyers' guides are based loosely on their print predecessors. The supplier or product data is presented to the buyer based on a search, leaving the buyer to make the connection of take the inquiry further. As buyers become more sophisticated, online buyer-seller communities are evolving that enable the buyers and sellers to interact and engage in a community environment, around the subject of the supplier and product information. Buyers expect to hear from other buyers, see what other buyers think and be able to leave their own views for others. Sellers expect to be able to engage the buyer at the moment of interest – identify buyers based on behavior and answer buyer questions without the buyer having to go offline and make a separate contact.

Firestarter's Fusion module is specifically focused on enabling business publishers migrate legacy buyers' guides to a Buyer-Seller Community model. Flexible enough to handle most supplier information structures, BSC incorporates all of the Firestarter functionality into an online environment where the sell-buyer relationship is key. To find out more, call or contact us today.