Electronic Marketing Resources
Abstract:
The purpose of this report is for the reader to understand that technology is a necessity to nearly all aspects in modern day businesses to compete with others. Internally, technology is used to provide faster and cost efficient services to deliver the needs to the consumer. Externally, technology is offered for better response from the customer. Considering that technology evolves, competitors must evolve along with it to stay ahead of the competition. After reading this, readers will learn a simple process for business to business technology (B2B) and business to consumer technology (B2C) and how it’s implemented into the environment.
The food industry has come a long way from the traditions of placing an order and paying with cash. Now days, its common that customers have options to pay with credit/debit cards, or gift cards, to almost every restaurant they eat at. Moreover, restaurants have several technologies to better serve their customers with touch-screen LCD cash registers, wireless headsets to take orders, and for a luxury, some even offer free wireless internet. As an example, a new pastry company has been quite successful among its competitors, consider there is limited technology used within the building (phone, computer, cash register). The owners are now looking to invest towards better technology. These technologies are likely to increase profits due to offering more productive and cost-efficient strategies they now lack.
Currently, the pastry company is using a push button cash register, with external credit/debit card dial-up modem to checkout customers. The owners are looking to invest in a new technology for LCD touch-screen cash registers with internal credit/debit card cable modem. This new piece of equipment is pricy, however 100 times faster by comparison to the dial-up modem. The reason why owners are so interested is during “rush hour” service times, the dial-up modem is so slow that some customers often walkout. Another technology owners are interested in, is offering free wireless internet services because most of their competitors offer the same services. Between these B2C (Business to Consumer) technologies, they have the potential to increase customer interest for this pastry company. Although costly at first, profits are obtainable.
Aside from customers being able to pay faster or enjoying the internet while eating their pastries, owners are looking to invest in technologies that increase their productivity. One technology is an order-to-serve-timer. This timer starts as soon as an order is placed and stops once an order is delivered. An average time is tracked per day and per month. The reason why this is important is because goals and standards for order-to-serve times can be set, increasing service effort from employees. For example, as soon as an order is placed on the register, the chef can begin preparing the customer’s order and is likely to be finished before the order is paid out. For better communication between each employee, wireless headsets should be used if, for example, an order is changed. These two B2B (Business to Business) technologies can increase productivity, service, and customer satisfaction.
Outside of the pastry business, other industries implement new technologies into their environment as well. UBM Asia, a company that specializes in online trading for jewelry, rereleased their new portal in early 2011. Manager of e-business, Jerome Hainz said “"We now offer a faster and simpler interface to find wholesale fashion, jewelry and engage with suppliers and manufacturers” (Asia Pulse, 2011). Another example, Saudi Post recently “launched the first e-shopping portal designed and developed by Link Development” (Saudi Economic Survey, 2010). Opposed to traditional walk-in shopping center, customers now have the opportunity to purchase their items online.
If I had my own retail store, I would look into having an online store before a walk-in store. Marketing my products online would be much more effective than marketing to the local public. Given that I live in a small community, the target market is small, however compared to an online market, the target market is much larger. Developing online applications that scrape and place keywords throughout other webpage’s would be a great way for my products to be ranked higher in search engines.
In conclusion, regardless of what type of business there is, owners must always consider the use of technology to improve their business. Investing in B2B or B2C technology to improve the environment is almost a certainly to bring profits and allow opportunity to stay ahead of competition. The examples given from the pastry company scenario, is just a few of several ways how technology can improve company’s performance.
References:
Leading jewelry, accessories B2B portal gets new look and feel. (2011, February 28). Asia Pulse. Retrieved from AIU online library, ABI Inform Global
Saudi post launches first virtual mall. (2010, November 15). Saudi Economic Survey. Retrieved from AIU online library, ABI Inform Global
Sir Shannon Scott Williams
April 22nd, 2011
MGMT230
Unit 5: Discussion Board
The International University of Japan (IUJ) is an educational facility based in Japan. IUJ mission is to “train candidates to contribute a practical resolution for global problems in various countries and regions of the world, as well as organizations including governments and companies” (IUJ, 2011). Students may chose from an international relations program or focus on international business management. Here students will learn the importances of international business lifestyles as well as experience different customs from other countries. Graduates are most likely to work in an industry where international business is conducted. Some graduates may work for governments facing international business issues.
As this e-business was developed, it is clear that the university wanted to inform the world as effective as possible. Since the campus was founded in 1982, internet use was probably close to nonexistent. However, as the internet became more popular over the years, this becomes a great advantage for IUJ to attract more students. The website gives an ideal perspective to what an actual campus would consist of. A campus directory is provided, media relations to inform the public on current events, career support which has a feature to guide students career path. In addition, if students have unanswered questions, contact comes in a variety of options to answer questions.
When searching for international businesses in Japan, IUJ was nearly at the top of the list and their use in advertising appears to be quite efficient. The design of the website is very professional and bilateral for both English and Japanese versions. Although security is openly insecure, the setup has no need for viewers to create accounts and sign in to view content. It is very possible that IUJ has sufficient internal security to protect from unwanted intruders. IUJ has upper management, faculty, and staff to make both the e-business and actual business complete.
Typical market influences are those interesting in obtaining an education abroad, primarily focused on Japan oriented companies. IUJ offers many incentives for students to become interested in the international business world. As a promotion to talented students whose grades are higher than average, IUJ offers a scholarship program to help students for their extra efforts in their education. Financial aid is also an option. For students studying from other countries, they have an option to stay in the dormitory for their room and board. Also, there is a message board provided by the students and alumni regarding their education experience and current life which IUJ provided.
In conclusion, not all e-businesses are targeted specifically for the internet, or solely for the purpose to sell products online. Some companies, just like IUJ, are located in other countries and create websites to increase their potential to attract customers. In the case for IUJ, this company is located in Japan; however its purpose is to not only attract domestic customers, but also international customers.
References:
International University of Japan. (2011). IUJ Education. Retrieved from http://www.iuj.ac.jp/web/iuj_section.cfm?category=0104#program
Sir Shannon Scott Williams
April 13th, 2011
Unit 4: Discussion Board
The process for deciding what to name a company is very important for many reasons. Reasons that include legal matters, attracting customers, and a name that helps define a company are just a few to name. Regardless if a company is new, merging, or changing structure for example these are situations which companies must consider choosing the perfect name.
Possibly the most important reason why a company name should be chosen wisely are due to legal matters. If a company name is similar to a competitor’s name, this becomes a legal matter against trademark laws. For example, if a small business is named Coca Cola it faces legal matters against the large corporation Coca Cola.
Choosing a company name to attracting customers can also be important. For instance, if a company’s division is limited to the northeast area of a state, this helps customers search easier. When it comes to the industrial maintenance industry for example, their customers are usually those within a limited distance. If a customer finds a company that is across the nation, this would be more of an inconvenience compared to a company that is closer by. On the other side, some companies are very large, yet limited to the domestic country, so the term intercontinental or national is often used.
A company name should also define the service or product types offer. A gun store may want to have a name such as Gunners, or a cleaning service may want to have Spiffy Clean. If a poor name is chosen, if can make the company look bad to its customers. For example the healthcare company Perrigo had a recall on one of its products Acetominophen, “ironically Perigo in Portuguese translation to English is danger” says Chefguy from StraightDope.com.
If a new education e-business wants a good name which specializes in tutoring for grades 9-12, I suggest the naming the company Online Educatio, which is built on the Latin language. The English translation for educatio means education. Latin language is not used very often in modern day times, however many new words in a variety of different languages are based on the Latin language. Combining e-Business with Latin language create a unique approach. In addition, Online Educatio is an available name online and doesn’t face legal matters.
In conclusion, naming a business should be taken into careful consideration. If not, the company can face legal matters. It is more effective if a company name defines its products or services. Although these are just the basics to what a company name faces, the person or persons naming a company should consider researching more in depth before making a final decision.
References:
Chefguy. (2006, November 15). A very poor company name choice [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=396368
Sir Shannon Scott Williams
MGMT230
Unit 3: Discussion Board
The idea of converting a traditional walk-in store into an e-business takes careful planning and consideration. For those who are interested, they should plan a gap analysis first. A gap analysis is a technique used to “help managers decide upon marketing strategies and tactics” (Marketing Teacher 2011). This helps determine where the business currently is, and where management would like the company to be. In the case for a shoe store, managers are practicing gap analysis to determine if converting to an e-business would be more profitable. If decided to convert to e-business, management should arrange and execute a well planned transition or else risk failing.
Using the gap analysis, managers will to need consider tactics and strategies for product development and how to penetrate a target market. They should research as much as possible to authenticate possible profit margins. For the shoe store, walk-in customers restricts only to the local community. A manager using gap analysis can consider where the company would like to be by implementing, or reformatting to e-business. This will open target markets to the entire world. A new format may result in a change in prices. Prices will be more competitive online versus a competition level for prices within a local community.
To begin the transition, notify customers that the walk-in store will be changing to an e-business for customer’s easy access. Customers should be explained that they will be able to shop the all the same products online. It is highly recommended that the store implement a marketing campaign informing customers the change to e-business, this is also a gap analysis technique. Not letting customers become aware will risk losing several customers who have enjoyed the former shoe. Advertisements for mass email newsletters, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), local advertisements, and other marketing tactics will be needed for the campaign to be more successful.
Other planning should be the placement of employees and their new tasks. Compared to the traditional walk-in store, cashiers, sales persons, greeters, etc. will have new responsibilities. In addition, management could consider losing some of their staff being that some positions will no longer be needed. For example, a greeter could be effective for a walk-in store, however for an e-business; a greeter could be replaced with an automated answering service. This is also useful to determine gap analysis effects for employees.
The shoe store does not specialize in the internet industry, so it is recommended to consult with web-development professionals to design the online store. The “architectural implementation is to establish a computer system consisting of the databases, applications and user-interfaces” (Metal Pass, LLC. 2002). Proper internet security should be implemented to protect customer’s private data. VPS (Virtual Private Server) or standard servers should be used to store all online data. Also, user friendly graphic design should be coded throughout the website so viewers can easily navigate. Product development for target markets also affects gap analysis.
The new e-business should allow customers a variety of methods for checkout, such as PayPal, credit/debit card, money orders, and checks. In addition to checkouts, a variety of methods for delivery should be offered such as standard, 2 day air, and next day delivery.
In conclusion, gap analysis is a useful technique to determine where a company would like to be in the future, such as a walk-in store to an e-business. Although a company may go through many changes, if the opportunity costs can provide a return, then new change is well worth it. Gap analysis may involve labor, equipment, location, and product development. Although these are the mere basics, gap analysis can become as technical as the investigator specifies. Prices for everything between one option and another, will ultimately determine which is best for the company.
References:
Architecture for transformation into e-business. (2002). Retrieved from, http://metalpass.com/metaldoc/paper.aspx?docID=198
Gap Analysis. (2011). Retrieved from,
http://marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-gap-analysis.html
March 31nd, 2011
MGMT230
Unit 2: Discussion Board
In the market world there are two different types, we have the traditional walk-in stores and the e-commerce stores; e-commerce being an online store. Walk-in stores in the past were much smaller compared today due to the simple fact that if you buy more in bulk, your inventory will be cheaper, thus these stores today are very large in size (e.g. Wal-Mart). Being in the information age today, e-commerce stores are becoming more popular compared to traditional walk-in stores. Consumers shopping at e-commerce stores do not have to worry about the travel for walk-in stores. In fact, what they desire can be just a few clicks away. Also, in some cases e-commerce does not enforce sales taxes. Particularly for the store owners, and possibly the most important reason why e-commerce is becoming more common is because developers have access to open-source applications, in other words meaning the applications are absolutely free and are able to be customizable however the owner choices.
Open source e-commerce applications probably hurt the market world more than it helps it because of the simple fact of being free. In this case, specifically subjecting towards the current economic recession around the world is taxes. E-commerce businesses in the USA, for example, are by law, required to have a sales tax as long as the business is located somewhere within the USA and if “the value of goods and services sold online” (IRS.GOV, 2009). There is a catch, due to anyone throughout the world may own their own online business, and consumers from one country purchasing a product from another country are not obliged to pay taxes limited to the location of the seller. For example, if I live in the USA, and want to buy some special socks from an online store located in Kenya, then “those transactions are left out of a VAT (Value Added Tax) bracket for both USA and Kenya” (Juma, 2010). Now for consumers, that is a great thing because of lower prices; however for governments needing to meet their budgets, that is a bad thing.
Another reason is that the competition level between each online business is way too high. For example, BestBuy.com is a major walk-in store as well as a well known e-commerce store. Being that anyone may have access to open-source e-commerce application, they may duplicate a store quite similar to BestBuy.com. Not limited to a business such as BestBuy.com, given that open-source applications are fully customizable and FREE, the keyword there is important, the possibilities for any e-commerce business are near limitless. For example, say I enjoy buying products from BestBuy.com, but one day I come across a website called GreastestBuy.com (not affiliated with the actual GreatestBuy.com) offering the same products as BestBuy.com but cheaper. Then the next day, I discover PerfectBuy.com (not affiliated with actual PerfectBuy.com) which offers an even better deal than GreatestBuy.com. Logically any consumer will favor the cheapest deal of the same product. The scenario could continue on and on, and for that matter the competition level continually increases given that anyone can start an e-commerce business using open-source application.
Ironically, I’ve come across some websites using open-source based applications, such as e107, WordPress, Blogger selling custom open-sourced e-commerce applications. Moreover, open-source e-commerce applications can be found even in mobile technology today such as the Android Market or Apple Apps Store.
To consider what may happen in the future for open-source e-commerce to be open-sourced, I do not know. But my best guess is that these applications will become the standard. Technically, it already is due to the fact of how easy they are to obtain. Unless you heavily funded and want a custom design e-commerce store, open-sourced is the way to go! Though it may not be best for e-commerce businesses in general, but you can’t force the developers to not give away their work when they choose to do so.
References:
Electronic Business & Electronic Commerce. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/industries/article/0,,id=209249,00.html
Juma, V. (2010) Kenya: Online shopping keeps consumers out of revenue authority's reach. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201008160015.html
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