Evaluating E-Business Website - Assignment Example

?E-Business Executive summary: This study relates to on to evaluation of E-Business Website of the M&M, which falls under of chocolate manufacturing industry. The industrial organizations compete with one another and hence M & M requires generating the new integration technique to stay ahead in the competition. This type of modern integration scheme can prove to be very useful for the business development. It encompasses creation of new model and new business activities that facilitate improvement in all aspects of the business. Customer performance is the one of the inevitable features in the growth of business organizations. The innovative e-business schemes are necessary to modify old business needs by generating new marketing facilities and manufacturing activities. E-business practices have to potential to influence the customers in a direct manner. It not only boosts the sales and enhances profits but also can create a good atmosphere in M&M Company. Besides, creates information sources, and is very practical to business marketing. Nowadays, e-business is developing due to the reason of high utilization of information technology by people. Therefore, information being provided to customers has to be accurate, easily understood and reliable. The study focuses on Branding Social Networking, Mass Customization and various recommendations to improve the e-business in M&M. E-business website is significant aspect for organizations’ for deploying technological inventions, and for withstanding competition worldwide. The accomplishment of the organization will depend on the incorporation of a number of functions focused on tapping the best from commerce activities. 2. Introduction: The concept of E business is gaining significance in the modern world. The ever evolving environment of technology has made it possible for innovating new systems in business. The increasing rivalry also forces business organizations to put into practice new models. Here the topic is to evaluate the E-business website. E-business resources facilitate 24*7 business transactions through the internet. In the course of purchasing and selling of products, e-business goes ahead of ecommerce. It is apparent that e-business is the leading business environment which organizes various significant business systems such as staffs, retailers and customers. The program of e-business concentrates generally on three different areas such as, production practice, consumer focused activities, and internal running actions. “In the present market both e-commerce and e-business have turned into be significant aspects of the company strategy” (Andam, 2003, P. 5). There are two major differences among traditional and e-business with regard to customer relations. The first one is that the consumers are often unseen to the company and vice versa which results in lack of direct contact between the consumers and the business organization. Consumers cannot physically see or examine the goods that they are about to buy which is an important concept in marketing. Communication often takes place through the internet or sometimes through the telephone. Customer dealings in such a setting are more demanding. Furthermore, such customers who are well-known with online shopping have the choice of choosing the several other websites that offer the same services or product, sitting at home. This is particularly true for a company that utilizes only online sales to do business. The best choice for a company in that uses e-business as a strategy is to make the website as friendly and pleasing to the customers as possible. E-commerce and e-business are the terms widely used in the present circumstances. The competitions from different business organizations are forcing the organizations to increasingly incorporate and mechanize their businesses activities and they necessitate the establishment of e-business and e-commerce in their industry field. E-business is an overall policy and e-commerce is a significant factor of e-business. The difference is that e commerce is an ancient term whereas e business is a new term. Naturally, “the description of an e-Business category website consists of one, which may not generally be straightforward, sell or trade goods or services online but recommends a list of goods or things for transaction, such as a land park organization or retail of goods to the general community” (E-Business Website Design, 2011).The study consists of mass marketing, branding and Mass Customization of the M&M. E-business which can speak to new business causes and processes is associated to data management. It helps to preserve the customer of the business. E-business system can exhibit to explain and supervise all problems in the company in an easy manner. It decreases the more complex trouble and develops the customer satisfaction. So when e-business is carried out according it helps the M&M to increase overall profitability of the organization. Productivity further enhances the marketing and business earnings. Every business a corporation intends to maximize profit making E-business method is an important means to every business process. 3. Main body: “E-business means dealing on the net. It contains selling and buying and also works together with other business for services and even research, joint promotions etc” (E-Business Solution, n.d). As the business of today’s world is carried out mainly through websites, it is important that websites should be maintained properly. The main thing to note here is its design. Presence of a good design for a web page is very important for the existence and development of an online business as it reveals the quality and professionalism of the deals being offered. In online business as the people have direct contact with the business firm, they make their judgments based on the webpage of the firms concerned. In the case of a book, its cover should contain an apt title or image related to the story which would attract the readers to buy them same goes in the case of the case of the e-business websites. Should be designed to promote the marketing activity of any business organization. (Potts, 2007, P.146). Evaluating the website of M&M’s company we can see that it is designed in a good and well planned manner. Some of the importances of this website are, The website is created in a manner that its designed to attract customers of a wide range. It consists all information about various products of the company. It consists of various options of selecting different products of customers choice and get details about them. It consists of various provision to include new offers and products about the company Information such as, its history, character, and various sources are included in one section. Company has also included a section for entertainment like games, cards, funs, downloads etc; with a view to attract children who would intern encourage their parents to visit that site. Various purchasing methods are mentioned clearly on the website. Despite all these facts there are some short comings. Comparing to the website www.universalorlando.com, we can see that the website lacks various features like music, high standard animation and multimedia features. Previous website lacks the suspense which we can see on large basis in the later one, as this suspense provides the readers to proceed further into the website and go through its features. Considering various other business section of this website we have to evaluate many features like its branding, publicity, and customization and so on. 1. Branding: As the people prefer a definite brand for their shopping, it should be confirmed that companies name should be among the top brands. The successful internet marketing is making a recognized brand name. (Business Branding, 2011). To have a definite identity a company should have features of top brands like Design for identification like logos, lay outs, captions, etc to have an edge over the other. Reputation, people should have the right opinion and good expectation regarding the company. Awareness, people should be aware about the company’s products and the service they offer. One of the factors affecting the name is experience, as such it should be clearly revealed. Personality of the company should be unveiled from its website. Company should focus on one point and try to spread the feature among the people. “The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as “a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers” (Lake, 2011). It is the method of continuous struggle among consumers and creators to describe its meaning and assurance. Following are the main objectives of good brand; Verifies trustworthiness. Distributes the message clearly. Connects goal prospects expressively. Concretes Customer allegiance Inspires the customer. Online branding is an essential element of most businesses in the digital period. The internet has become known as a vast equalizer, permitting any brand, though small, to turn into global simply by containing a website. “Online branding is a very intelligent business choice for any person looking to create a long-term dealing on the internet” (3 Distinct Advantages of Online Branding, 2010). In truth, business branding should be considered a standard element of any online marketing plan. Starting a brand online is done during repeated relationship with a place, product type or image that leaves a positive feeling on customers. The main benefits of effective branding strategies in e-business are building trust and credibility and increasing marketing efficiency. These points provide extra proof as to why this strategy needs to be integrated in the online device chest in particular if long-term achievement is what we want. In the case of M&M candies, online branding is most powerful. It creates positive impression on customers. E-business can reduce the more complex problem and expand the customer’s satisfaction. So good e-business assists the M&M to boost overall productivity of the organization. Valuable branding makes product loyalty that leaves consumers indifferent to the marketing plans of the competition. Relevant brands stay in touch with customer’s desire, fluctuating for change and excitement for product developments. An M&M candy is continually starting new colures and regularly makes imaginative and exiting plans. The branding position of M&M candy is higher than other candies. M&M’s come in different colors and have the single shape. M&M’s nearly stands for enjoyment, and this is the main reason that children of all ages like this small product. “A serous marketing tool is now branding. Now people look for brands, so the companies should focus on this topic before any sales process” (Clifton & Ahmad, 2009). Social Networking: A social networking facility is an online facility, site or platform that concentrates on reflecting and building of social relations or social networks with people. A social network facility basically consists of an image of each user social links, and a variety of extra services. It is a large way to make good relationship with clients and positive exposure around the internet. The majority social networks are web based and give means for customers to interact more than the internet, for instance e-mail and immediate messaging. While online community facilities are occasionally measured as a social network service. In a broader sense, social network facility generally means an individual-centered facility but online community facilities are group-centered. “It simply means if classying persons into particular groups such as small rural areas or an area subdivision” (Advantages of Social Networking, n.d).The main benefits of online social networking are building meaningful relationships, generating traffic, providing help in developing links, increasing visibility, facilitating business opportunities and enabling mind sharing and insight. Social networking sites permit customers to share activities, ideas, interests and events within their personal networks. From small to old, every one now has the ultimate time pass or a chat in front of social networking sites. From the various surveys of last few years we can see that, most visited website by any person around the world today are social networking sites. With the increasing publicity of these sites, it has become most valuable and easy way of advertising of any product. This is proven by the increasing number of advertisements in social networking sites like Face book, twitter etc. In this case also, there should be provision included in the advertisement section or any community to take advantage of the publicity enjoyed by these sites. It can attract many students to this venture. “These sites increase the publicity among people about different products, by increasing the chances of communicating with people about different themes of the company” (Tuten, 2008, P. 35). Any smart dealer understands that inclusion of an online social network site in any promotional campaign is very important for gaining access to wider viewers. Social media marketing and social media optimization are two new campaign fundamentals, which have indebted their inception to the social network sites, but also there is a huge scope to learn their life styles and preferences, which will enable improved selling plans to be created. In the modern culture, M&M’s candy has fought industriously to stay cool, modern and pertinent to customers in the 21st century. Social networking sites have played an essential role in raising the high position of M&M candy. M&M brand plans include brand characters brand merchandise and use of retail channels and internal marketing to build modified relationship with the consumers. Social Networking sites provide entry to a unlimited number of consumers for services and goods. They are set up to find, screen, value and focus on the excellent people using the sites. Many of the steps involved in dealing and relating with people that become serious consumers and long term clients can occur quickly through the internet. The main demerit of social networking is the security related problems, which occur out of putting too much personal information at forums and open page. 2. Mass customization: Mass customization means “Production of personalized or custom-tailored goods or services to meet consumers' diverse and changing needs at near mass production prices. Enabled by technologies such as computerization, internet, product modularization, and lean production, it portends the ultimate stage in market segmentation where every customer can have exactly what he or she wants” (Mass customization, 2011). It mainly refers to the production of wide variety of products with different specifications to meet the customer in a cost effective manner. When production is carried out on a large scale, the cost of production can be effectively compensated from the sale. Here also, the company produces products with different specification for entertaining different customers, however, in a cost effective manner. Challenges and solutions of mass customization: Various challenges are faced by company to have mass production and then sale of those products that to earn a considerable profit. “The solution of which can be adopting various cost effective methods for production, considering large scale and effective sale with proper publicity” (Blecker, & Friedrich, 2006). Considering all these facts we can now see how a website plays an important role in marketing, guaranteed that the website should increase the human of customers. For these needs, the best only option is to increase the publicity of the website. Including the name of the product and website in the local media like news or papers, which can reach out to many people Adding various interesting facilities or features like games in the website, and advertising about that, can attract the customers to the sites A process of Conducting various contests and announcing prizes through the website can also increase the publicity Wallpapers on website name during public events can bring in even more people. Using strategies like search engine optimization techniques. The process of improving the visibility of a web page in a search engine is called search engine optimization. This is not a process which can make your business website rank top in the world rather, it is a planned approach towards a systematic implantation for attaining high rankings. This can make the people to go through the website. This is now the one of them most common techniques used by the organizations. According to Phil Robinson, Lindsey Annison, Dave Chaffey in his book Search Engine Optimisation says that the processes which helps in making your website attains high rankings search results. (Robinson, et al, 2011, P. 6). Comparing the facts and the website of the company we can see that there are many stages which require up gradation, especially in the field of design. As the site is mainly meant for a particular company and its various products, a viewer should automatically go through the various sections. There should be sufficient service given through the site in promoting it. Customers should be able to access your product with in no time by going through your site, for this, customer service number or links should be given in the website itself. The sites can also use some animation and multimedia effects to catch their eyes. It should be included in social networking sites like face book to increase publicity, all these should be done to make the website more effective. “Integration of various processes into website programs codes to improve its efficiency” (Rich, 2008, P. 130). 4. Conclusion: To conclude, the term e-business website is common in the field of worldwide economy. The use of electronic Medias and internet facilities help most successful incorporation of different business ventures. Different application systems such as Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and EAI play a fundamental position in e-business. This paper deals primarily with the evaluate E-business website and its advantages and problems in the M&M.  The problems in the process of integration, of people, the course itself and technology across and inside the organizational concept are described. The theory and recommendations of integration of business across and inside organizational context is also included in the paper. E-business assists any business establishment to work more resourcefully. “It is a huge term encompassing the variety of business procedures that aim to incorporate the sellers or dealers with the customers and suppliers using internet” (Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Business, 2011). It provides a logical and consistent approach to incorporation which will direct the execution procedures and reduce the expenses on strategic projects. It will turn out to be a foundation for making the business faster and also for the projects that are to be done in the future. The worldwide alterations in finance, relocate of the viable edge and the development of modern technologies frequently change the trade and manufacturing surroundings in which the organizations function. In e-business the functions are related among the business partners and the communication of data among the businesses is managed automatically. The study stones mass marketing, branding and Mass Customization of the M&M. Besides the overall profitability of the company E-business also helps to generate a good atmosphere in the M&M. 5. Recommendation. E-business provides various advantages to the organization. Therefore, every organization should put E-business into practice for the improvement of the organization. For capturing real trade information the data needs to be incorporated properly. Integrated outputs facilitate in the development and utilization of good responses to generate a definite output. It also assists to optimize the performance which will permit the production of excellent products. The organizations can be properly handled and planned with the help of an incorporated business structure only. E-business modifies marketing trends, demands and ways. This business method facilitates to organize the expenditure and enhances the business development process by enhancing intensity of the business service intensity. E-business is the concept of enhancing the overall value for the customer and increase business through the use of information technology. Reference List Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Business, 2011. [Online] Buzzle. Available at: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-e-business.html [Accessed 28 March 2011]. Advantages of Social Networking, n.d. [Online] iloveindia. Available at: http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/advantages-of-social-networking-7852.html [Accessed 28 March 2011]. Andam, ZR., 2003. e-Commerce and e-Business. [Online] apdip. Available at: http://www.apdip.net/publications/iespprimers/eprimer-ecom.pdf[Accessed 28 March 2011]. Blecker, T. & Friedrich, G., 2006. Mass customization: challenges and solutions. 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