Obstacles May Affect the 2-Party Communication B2C and Their Solutions over World Wide Web: Ebay.Com - Research Paper Example

? E-commerce: the obstacles may affect the two-party communication' B2C' and their solutions over World Wide Web: A Case Study of ebay.com Name] [Course Title] [Instructor’s Name] [Date] Introduction With the enormous growth in its sales, the top management of e-Bay started to develop strategies to expand the size of the market. But before going on to further expansion, the management reviewed the performance of the business in recent years and where it is lacking. By pointing out these areas, the management aimed at rectifying the underperforming areas and eliminates any hindrance which might be causing the company not to increase productivity. After thorough diagnoses of the organizational systems, it was found out that the sales and support staff is not communicating with the customers effectively. As a result of certain barriers in the communication process of e-Bay with its customers, the company found to be lacking in maintaining a loyal customer base. It was revealed that e-Bay’s 10% new customers never return for second purchase just because they were not being served properly by the company staff. On the other hand, around 7% of sales were lost each year as a result of e-Bay’s staff’s failure to explain the product features and usage to the customers. Another negative impact on ineffective communication is that around 9.3% of the customers returned the purchased goods due to the fact that they were misguided about product features and its usage. The top management articulated these findings in its final reports and formulated a strategic plan to bring improvement in its B2C communication systems. This strategic planning aimed at adding more to the revenues of the company and expand the size of the company’s loyal customer base. Moreover, leaders of the human resource department of the company were asked to develop an effective training and development plan to improve the communication with the customers. This research work is aimed at creating a case study for an E-commerce business which is experiencing obstacles in its communication processes with its customers. Communication processes in E-commerce businesses is usually used for gaining customer loyalty and evaluating customers’ demands and preferences with the help of enterprise business solutions. As the business is situated in the virtual world of internet, therefore, there is no physical presence of the business where customers may go and acquire knowledge about the products and services. In this sense, it becomes essential for businesses to avoid obstacles in its communication processes with the customers as it reflects upon the clarity of marketing and promotional communication that e-commerce businesses carry out with their customers (Donaldson & Smit, 2007; Hughes, 2008).   Context/Problem Koontz (2001) asserts that problem in organizational communication may arise due to other deep-rooted issues in the organizational structure and policies. A poorly designed organizational communication system would always result in unclear message transmission throughout the organization and to the customers. In the coming lines, the readers would find out what are the problems that a typical e-business would face in its communication system that is becoming a barrier to superior performance. The top most reason for an e-business to achieve superior productivity is the trend of negativism while giving feedback to a customer’s message. These types of problems arise in a B2C business, when the level of trust amongst the business and the client are lacking. In this way, the sender becomes demoralized and loses the enthusiasm on the course (Hou, 2012). Another reason for poor communication flow between an e-business and the customer is the delays in providing feedback which automatically reduces the significance of the message sent by the customer. These delays are caused by the inability of the receiver to understand the message or answer according to the professional requirement. Another reason behind poor communication is the customers’ natural adaptability of physically shopping for the good or service. This natural adoptability sometimes confuses the buying and inquiry process (Barnes & Hinton, 2004; Dave, 2008). By adopting efficient means of communication internally, E-commerce businesses aim at achieving excellence in overall productivity of the business. It is the bridge between customers and the business, which helps them to link together, share information and discuss desired mutual resultant of operational activities. In the absence of effective communication, e-commerce businesses struggle to maintain the decorum of operations and take informed decisions, keeping in view the preferences of the customers. A number of researchers have seen communication as means of transferring knowledge from one end to another. Onuoha (1991) suggests that communication facilitates two or more people to share meanings, ideas and information from the sender to the receiver. Hyblers and Weaver (2001) argue that “Communication is a process in which people share information, ideas and feelings, and that it involves not only the spoken and written word but also body language, personal mannerism and style anything that adds meaning to a message.” (Hybels & Weaver, 2001) The best way to understand communication and its importance in e-commerce businesses are to quote Oakland here, who states: “If one department or an organization has problems recruiting the correct sort of staff, and human resources have not established mechanisms for gathering, analyzing and responding to information of employees correctly, then frustration and conflict will replace communication and cooperation, and would reflect on the business’s relation with its customers.” (Oakland, 2000) The case study would be beneficial for E-commerce businesses as it would provide an insight into the communication barriers that an e-business might face. Besides, the case study would also provide solutions to the obstacles that E-commerce businesses experience during their business activities.  Moreover, it would also enable readers to understand the communication processes of E-business with its customers. Definition of Key Terms Conceptual: The context of the proposed strategy would be to identify the barriers in B2C communication of an E-commerce business. Considering this, the variables for this study are communication barriers and their impact on the performance of the business. 1. Communication barriers: Low level of trust, Wrong assumptions about the customers, Reacting quickly, Emotional association, Quality of internet service, Permitting distraction, Improper use of technology. 2. Impact: Reduced sales, reduced purchases, reduced profitability, Low Loyalty on customers’ side. Operational: Operationalizing of variables means identifying the dependent and independent variables of a case study and manipulates them into meaningful information to conclude a research work. For this purpose, the researcher has identified: 1. Dependent Variable: a. Business performance of a E-commerce Business: E-commerce businesses usually do not have a physical outlet or presence in the market. Therefore; they rely completely on their B2C communication for marketing, promotion and creating public awareness about the products and their usage. In this scenario, it becomes important for them to adopt effective communication strategy so that the products are marketed properly and the customers are guided about the product effectively. By doing this, organizations win customers’ loyalty and maintain a healthy customer base. 2. Independent Variable: a. Customer Satisfaction: If the communication systems are working properly and the customers are provided with clear information about product usage over the communication with company staff, the satisfaction level of the customer is increased. As a result, the customers prefer to make purchase again and show loyalty towards the company and its products. b. Improper Communication Training: When the staff is not properly trained about how to communicate with the customers, they will fall short of providing accurate information to the customers. As the customers are not provided with required information, they may not make purchasing decision and look for alternative provider, who can provide information to the customers effectively. In this way, lack of communication training also becomes a barrier to communication in B2C communication. After establishing the dependent and independent variables, it is easier for the researcher to formulate the hypothesis of the proposed study. These are as following: H0: Barriers in the communication process of e-businesses with their customers affect the overall performance of the business. H1: Barriers in the communication process of e-businesses with their customers does not affect the overall performance of the business. H0a: Proper communication leaves the customer satisfied H1a: Proper communication does not leave the customer satisfied H0b: Training and development helps the company to improve B2C communication H1b: Training and development does not helps the company to improve B2C communication Method of data collection Measure: For the purpose of carrying out primary research on the subject, the research would use an interview guideline and a survey questionnaire. The survey questionnaire would be helpful in retrieving real time view of the respondents by presenting certain statements aimed at understanding respondent’s view of the particular variables (Thomas 2003). The responses provided by the respondents will be measured with the help of a grading scale known as Likert Scale. The Likert scale enables the researcher to determine the degree of agreement or disagreement of the respondent pertaining to particular statements. On the other hand, the interview guideline would enable the researcher to gather in-depth detail about the subject. The data retrieved from the interview guideline would be beneficial as it provide the detailed background of the company and its communication systems, the barriers in communication systems and the remedies that the company adopted to avoid or eliminate those barriers. Data collection would be carried out by sending the data collection tool to the respondents via e-mail. In this way, data collection procedure would be completed in short time period. A consent letter will also be attached with the data collection tool guarantying the respondents that their information will be kept secret. Procedures: For the purpose of testing the validity of the hypothesis, the research would use information retrieved from primary and secondary data. This data will be used to support the findings with the help of scientific testing. For evaluating the gathered data scientifically, the researcher will be using software called SPSS. This software provides statistical trends along with the graphical presentation of these trends to help researchers in asserting the primary information and answer research questions. In this manner, the software would be beneficial to accomplish the objectives of the proposed study. Sample Identification: For the purpose of carrying out surveys, the researcher has selected the case study of eBay. The researcher would identify the members of the communications department of eBay along with their leaders. Then the researcher would assess their responses gathered with the help of the survey questionnaire.    Method of analysis Statistical analysis of surveys: For the purpose of checking the reliability of the data and the hidden information in the form of patterns, the researcher would use Regression analysis, Corn Bach Alpha test of reliability and Mean analysis. Another technique, thematic analysis wil be used by the researcher to assess the quality and trends of data retrieved from interview guideline. This would help the researcher to look for identical patterns or trends in the collected data and answer the research questions to accomplish research objectives (Gratton and Jones 2010). Summary By conducting the proposed research work, the researcher would be able to practice his academic learning on a professional level. The exposure to the e-Bay’s communication systems would enable the researcher to experience how communication systems work and how these systems become so important for the organizations, that it influences organization’s business level performance. The exposure to the real business world would help the researcher to polish his skills and implicate his ideas into reality. Furthermore, the findings of this research work would be interesting as it would give its reader an insight into the importance of communication processes for the success of the business. Lastly, the findings of this research work will be beneficial for other e-commerce businesses facing issues in their B2C communication systems. Reference List Barnes, D., & Hinton, M. M. (2004). E-Commerce in the old economy: three case study examples. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management , 15 (7), 607-617. Dave, C. (2008). E-Business and E-Commerce Management. New Delhi: Pearson India. Donaldson, W., & Smit, L. (2007). FCS marketing communication L2. Durban: Pearson South Africa. Gratton, C., & Jones, I. (2010). Research Methods for Sports Studies. New York: Routledge. Hou, Z. (2012). Quality Evaluation Model Study of B2C E-Commerce Website. In D. Zeng, Advances in Control and Communication (p. 39). NY: Springer. Hughes, B. (2008). Exploiting It for Business Benefit. NY: BCS. Hybels, S., & Weaver, H. R. (2001). Communicate effectively. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Koontz, H. (2001). Management: A global perspective. NY: McGraw-Hill. Oakland, J. S. (2000). Total organizational excellence: Achieving world-class performance. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Onuoha, C. B. (1991). Fundamentals of business and management in Nigeria. Aba: Unique Press. Thomas, M. (2003). Blending qualitative & quantitative research methods in theses and dissertations. California: Crowin Press, Inc. Appendix-I Data Collection Tool Dear Mr/Mrs XYZ, Presented here is the interview guideline and survey questionnaire which is designed by me to gather vital information. The information gathered with this data collection tool would be utilized to answer the research questions and accomplish the objectives of study. The aim for carrying out the present research is to assess the influence of communication barriers on B2C communication of e-Bay’s business. The interview guideline would take around 15 minutes to complete whereas the survey questionnaire is expected to take less than 3 minutes to complete. With your help, I would formulate the findings of the study with reliable and concrete information provided by you. In this manner, your help would add value to the results presented in this research work. Hereby, I request you to complete the survey and return the filled data gathering tool on the same e-mail address from where you received it. I give my personal guarantee, that any information you will provide, is not going to be disclosed to anyone except the course instructor and myself. Regards. Age: Qualification: Position in the Company: Period of Services at Current Job: 1. Why do you think the success of your business is dependent on the effective B2C communication? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Can you give an insight into the communication systems of your company? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What are the potential barriers in your organization’s B2C communication systems? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Do you think there is an impact of ineffective communication on customer satisfaction? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. So, do you see customer satisfaction as a barrier to B2C communication? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. To overcome the communication barriers, is there any training provided to the communicating staff? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. So, do you see any improvement in the communication systems of your company? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. How do you see that the barriers in B2C communication of your company can be avoided or eliminated from the root? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Note: Please circle the option which suits you best: Statement Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree Ineffective communication creates confusion in the mind of customers Ineffective communication leads to misguidance Training and development can improve the B2C communication Effective B2C communication increases customer loyalty Effective B2C communication increases customer satisfaction Effective B2C communication helps the company to attract more customers Read More