ABSTRACT
In business, the long tail has been called market niches, low-demand products, non-hits, modest sellers, non-blockbusters, non-bestsellers, less popular goods, low-sales products, obscure items, slackers, and so on. This chapter focuses on how using the Internet’s phenomenal properties organizations can take advantage of long tail niches in their business models and strategies. The Internet can be used to dramatically reduce production costs while increasing the quality of products. In a long tail strategy, a firm focuses its resources on a large number of likely low sellers. The focus is on niche buyers and sellers finding each other and transacting. In contrast to a blockbuster strategy, a long tail strategy is more likely to work in a world of more available distribution channels, shelve space, and better access to technologies, information, and other resources that can be used to offer products that better meet each individual consumer’s unique needs.
