Business Models
For BCNs to have credibility in the eyes of business decision makers they should ideally be hosted by an independent third party such as a publishing company, a professional institution or a trade association that is already respected as an authority in a particular field. Their remit should already be to act as a "middle man" between specifiers and suppliers.
Such hosts are in a position to kick-start the membership of the site by encouraging a core selection of specifiers and suppliers to sign up, and in turn to invite their own colleagues and business contacts to participate. They can also use polls to instigate debates; and provide panels of experts to answer FAQs as a way of encouraging traffic as well as offering a genuine service.
In a few years time BCNs will probably be a standard media CRM tool for increasing customer retention and strengthening brand loyalty. In the long term, the ROI is therefore likely to come from a reduction in the cost of customer acquisition. In the short term, revenue is most likely to come from site sponsorship, where yield is driven by the quality rather than the volume of traffic.