Within this model, the customer himself accesses the Company's front-end application, now in the form of a Web site. A new framework has been emerging to support this model, eCRM, where interactions are conducted electronically and without assistance. The corresponding functional silos still exist, but now they don't necessarily map into departments. It is this one to one marketing that allows mass-customised messages and even products. We can call these e-business applications outward applications, since they are designed for use by people outside the organisation.
Most people enjoy shopping in supermarkets because of the self-service model.
We all appreciate to freely handle and compare products, as well as to check product prices against one another. That experience is much enhanced by the fact that we are tempted into impulse buying by original new products that supermarket managers judiciously display along the aisles. But regardless of how well designed and informative the supermarket is, we frequently encounter situations where we want to be assisted by a supermarket employee. And we have all felt exasperated while looking around for someone to help us find a product or understand the difference between two apparently similar products. The same principles apply on the Internet within e-commerce sites.