How Marketing Works

In a nutshell:

1) Suppliers have products posted on the ERBN site that they want merchants to sell. They offer a discount to customers and a commission to merchants. However, they set the discount and commission at whatever amounts they wish.
2) Merchants access the ERBN to find and scan suppliers' pages. They use this data to generally see the products available for them to sell and to see their commission rates--but also to see if they wish to place special emphasis on particular products.
3) The suppliers' products are also posted on pages which don't list info that is available to merchants. Customers access said pages to find and view ERBN products. After customers have their contact info recorded by the ERBN, they relay their messages through the ERBN. The ERBN then posts their messages on the suppliers' Personal Pages while also notifying the suppliers by e-mail that they have a message. The suppliers then contact the customers directly to answer inquiries or to make arrangements to process orders. If customers purchase products, applicable merchants are credited with the sales and receive commission payments from suppliers.

In more detail:

   Suppliers are each assigned a supplier number by the ERBN. They then submit, to the ERBN, products that they want merchants to market. They give each product a distinct ERBN product number (which includes their supplier #) and then they provide product pricing, commission offerings, and other info. The ERBN then posts their contact info and other info on the PARTICIPATING SUPPLIERS page so that merchants can contact them for further info if they wish. (The URL of this page will be given only to suppliers and merchants.) This page leads to the SUPPLIER'S OFFERINGS TO MERCHANTS page, where a particular supplier's product data will be posted. The products, pricing and descriptions are also listed on the ERBN PRODUCTS FOR SALE page--the page that customers will visit in order to view products.
   Merchants are assigned an ERBN merchant #. (The merchants and contact info will be listed on the PARTICIPATING MERCHANTS page.) They then begin advertising the ERBN and their merchant #s to customers. (If they wish, merchants may place special emphasis on specific products.) Merchants direct customers to the ERBN PRODUCTS FOR SALE page and instruct them to include their merchant # when inquiring about or ordering products. (ERBN banners are available for merchants to e-mail to customers or to post on their sites--click here.)
   Customers must first become registered before they can acquire about or use ERBN services, and they are further instructed by the ERBN to use their registered e-mail address for all product inquiries or orders. These steps help ensure that customers must go through the ERBN in order to reach suppliers. They also help the ERBN ensure that customers credit merchants with sales and that customer identities are recorded and, if necessary, linked with their original merchants.  (This is also a great advantage to customers if they wish to inquire about or order many products by many different suppliers because they'll only have to send them to a single e-mail address.) Customers are also instructed to identity products by their ERBN product #s--which will include the supplier #, standard product #, and merchant #. The ERBN then relays the messages to the suppliers while keeping record of all said messages for future reference.
   Suppliers receive customer messages and then process orders or answer customers directly regarding questions. Suppliers notify the ERBN of all orders, including the order numbers and shipping dates, ERBN product numbers, quantities, and all refunds given. The ERBN then stores this data for future reference and also uses it to notify suppliers when to pay commissions. (*Merchants will also be allowed to know how much they are owed by suppliers and the approximate time they can expect to be paid. The amount they are owed and the suppliers who owe them will be available to them via their Personal Pages.) Also see The Ratings System. (Merchants should take note of Harassment Warnings while reading "The Ratings System.")

   And there you have it!

   Suppliers can grant discount prices either directly or by rebates:

1) You may post an alternative page with electronic-payment ability that offers the discount. (Note: PayPal payments are free to receive for personal accounts.)
2) You may mail a rebate check to the customer. (Note: PayPal personal accounts would be useful here as well.)
3) If you do your own shipping, you may include the rebate check with the order.
4) If you humanly process orders (whether electronically or via paper payment), simply charge ERBN customers the discount price.

(SUPPLIERS DO NOT place a link to the ERBN on their own websites. Customers who visit suppliers' regular sites due to the suppliers' past efforts should be charged the regular price. Advertising suppliers' products for the ERBN is the job of the merchants. Let them worry about placing links and about advertising this project.)

   No one has to be just a merchant or just a supplier. Suppliers can also be merchants, and merchants can also be suppliers. All they must do is receive assigned numbers from me and submit their preferred contact info and data. (See ERBN INSTRUCTIONAL OUTLINE.)
   Suppliers can offer as many products as they wish. However, to keep merchants informed of price or policy changes, suppliers should send such updates to the ERBN, wherein they will be posted on the  PARTICIPATING SUPPLIERS and ERBN PRODUCTS FOR SALE pages.

   Everyone--suppliers, merchants, and customers--is instructed to use "ERBN Reply" as the beginning of the subjects in all e-mails sent to and through the ERBN. Example: "ERBN Reply--Question About Hat Sizes."

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