Conceptualization of Global Marketing Strategy - Case Study Example

Name Course name Professor Date COMPANY WEBSITES Introduction A large number of companies and organizations have websites that are of much benefit to them. Websites have become the epitome of e-business and have steered most companies into embracing the internet and the perks that come with it. With the emergence of a global economy as a result of globalization and changes in technology, the implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has resulted in e-Business. E-Business basically means that firms are using ICT technologies such as websites to deliver their services at locations that are convenient to their customers. This has led to improved customer participation, heightened productivity, mass customization of company products and services and as a result, maximum profits and reduced costs (Cavusgil, 20011. With E-Business being mostly associated with the purchase and sale of goods or services over the internet, it is expected to capture all the aspects of recent developments in the internet and other technological aspects. However, it does not. In order to make the definition capture the aforementioned aspects, the definition should mention that E-Business employs the use of electronic communication and digital information processing technology (Roehl, 2001)2. A website is a perfect example of digital information and electronic communication. Websites have reduced communication costs while at the same time increasing flexibility in identifying and locating activities. This in turn causes an increase in international trade. The globalization of companies and organizations is a key factor that has enabled the widespread of E-business (Roehl, 2001)3. With highly global firms employing more use of e-business, firms that face foreign competition have come under high pressure to adopt internet technologies such as websites in order to operate with even more efficiency. This goes to show that firms that adopt the use of websites will have a greater increase in their performance. Live worst scenarios In some scenarios, information about a company or organization may not be available on a website. The company may be up coming and are yet to put up a website or cannot afford to put it. In other cases the website could be undergoing maintenance and therefore is down for a while. In such cases, users need other ways to get information. A good number of companies and organizations have accounts on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Instagram and so forth. These accounts contain information about the company ranging from the contact details (Phone numbers, Email address, Postal address and office locations), updates on new products and services, pictures of the products and services, schedules and customer care FAQs. In addition to these, there are also online review platforms that act as forms where consumers can share their views and opinions on the products consumed. These online forums give very relevant information that assists the users when making important decisions about the acquisition of services or goods. This is a good way of exploring information as everyone gives their opinion and the user chooses which one to go with. When it comes to international purchases, one can be able to do that without a company website. This is because one can be able to make an international order through email and the order be delivered directly to the users’ preferred location (Rosen, 2000)4. The delivery is made using the users’ courier of choice making it safe and more convenient. An email is a good choice to make a purchase order as you can be precise about what you want. You can give a detailed description of the item and even make inquiries on any updates and changes. There is also no traffic when it comes to sending an email as could be the case with a website. Factors to be considered when designing a website Colour When designing a website, there are very important factors that need to be considered. These are the factors that will determine whether the people who visit your site will choose to stay and read on or leave and look for something more interesting. This means that the colour that a user sees immediately they look at your website means a lot (Romano, 2001)5. It will create an impression that will forever be engraved in that users mind. When you log into the Etihad Airways website, you’re met with clear pictures taken of people who are seemingly very happy, pictures of destinations and also the airlines. This makes you want to read more on the site (ETIHAD AIRWAYS, 2015)6. Qatar airway also has a site that draws you to it instantaneously. The picture of he beautiful air hostess and the awards that the airline has recently won showcased right beside the picture is a big win for the website. The site is colourful and creates a really good impression (QATAR AIRWAYS, 2015)7. On the other hand, Emirates airlines; website does not match up to the first two. There is a picture of smiling airhostesses and that is just about all that catches the eye of anyone visiting the site (EMIRATES, 2015)8. This makes the Qatar and Etihad Airlines Website more appealing. Website layout A site’s layout also tells a lot about its content. A site that has too much information on one side of the page makes it hard for a reader to want to read the content The site layout should be in such a way that the most relevant information is placed at the easiest visible part of the page in order to prevent the page from looking cluttered (Romano, 2001)9. On the Etihad website, information has been arranged in such a way that just below the logo, the option of booking flights is shown. Options for a round or one way trip are also clearly visible at the top. This makes it covenant for anyone who visits the site for the first time. Despite being overly plain, the Etihad Airlines website has a site that can easily be understood. All the relevant information is just one look away and this makes it more convenient. The Qatar Airways website also has a convenient layout that is well organized and makes it easy to find information due to its simplicity. Accessibility When developing content for the site, it is very important to pick the relevant key words and phrases that will enable your website be easily accessed when somebody searches for your good or service (Romano, 2001)10. For example when you type the word ‘airline’ or ‘airways’, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar all appear since the key words are all used in the websites and that makes them easily accessible on the internet. Content It is important for a website to have enough relevant content that will be helpful to the user. This does not mean that you have to be extremely detailed. It just means that you should have more valuable content (Romano, 2001). If need arises to use diagrams and pictures then do so as that engages the visitors and makes your website have a higher rank on search engines. The Etihad Airlines website has all the content one would expect to find in an airline website from bookings, travel, locations, offers, experience and also customer useful information. This gives the visitor of the site motivation to come back and check for updates and anything new. The Qatar Airlines also offers all this and also has sections for newsletters, in-flight entertainment, flight status and also the latest news. This also makes it easy to find when using a search engine. However, the Emirates Airlines website lacks enough content that will make a visitor want to check in on the site every now and then. Most of the information available just involves the flight and nothing more. Social Media Links With a website comes the need to always keep people talking about your good and service. Most of the things we do are influenced by things we see or read about on social media (Romano, 2001). 11From where we vacation to the phone we use, it all goes down to social media. It is therefore important to link your website to us many social media platforms as you can. From Facebook to LinkedIn to Twitter, share your link on those pages and it will lead to an increase in traffic to your website. Qatar Airways has Facebook and Twitter accounts which are updated on a regular basis to keep their followers up to date with anything new. It also has an app that is available on google play store. The app gives you details about anything that involves the flight and the airline as a whole. Emirates Airline has a twitter account that is also updated regularly. Etihad Airlines also has a twitter account which is active and regularly updates its users. It also has a LinkedIn account that gives details about the airline. Security 12When developing a website, security against viruses and hackers is very to consider. Firstly, the three airlines need to stay up to date with the merging hacking threats. This will help them to understand the kind of threat they are exposed to and take the required precautions. Secondly, they should install a web application firewall. It is either software or hardware based. It sets a wall between data connection and your website server and reads every bit of data exchanged through it. Thirdly, they should hide their admin pages by using robots_txt files to prevent search engines from listing them. Lastly, they should always backup their information. Every time a person saves a file, it should back-up in multiple locations (Rampton, 2015). Effectiveness of the factors 13 In regards to the colour of the sites, a good colour is effective in creating traffic to the website. This is because people are more attracted to organized, neat and colourful content (Rosen, 2000). Therefore they are able to come and regularly check for new offers on flights, latest airplanes to be purchased by the airline and also the latest customer services that are available on the plane. Web layout of a website gives the visitors the morale to do more than just look at the pictures (Rosen 2000). It gives them the psych to keep on reading in order for them to figure out what the site is all about. From the first glance at an airline website one can only see the flight bookings information but with a good layout a visitor finds themselves reading more about the particular airline. Keywords in a website are very much effective when it comes to search engines (Rosen, 2000). Everybody wants their website to appear first upon the search of a keyword. Anything from airlines and flights should be able to direct a user to the websites of the above mentioned airlines. This is because these keywords have been used a good number of times throughout the website. The effectiveness of content is seen in how much relevant information is on the website (Rosen 2000). An airline website should mostly have information about fights and services related to this before anything else. If it is filled with advertisements then it beats its original purpose of attracting people interested in finding a suitable airline for their trip. Social media links are undoubtedly very effective in creating awareness if a product. In the case of an airline, it helps users who can’t visit the site every so often get updates through tweets or messages that will trigger them to go visit the sites. Conclusion In conclusion, websites have revolutionized e-Business in so many ways. By improving service delivery and reducing he cost of operation by the companies and organizations, it has proved to be a process that takes globalization to the next level. Although globalization challenges many companies and organizations to become more efficient and conform to recent technological developments while expanding their geographical reach, use of ICT developments such as websites has reduced the strain on these firms and made it easier for them to adopt and adapt to the new and better changes. Bibliography Cavusgil, S.T,’A broad Conceptualization of Global Marketing Strategy and its Effect on Firm Performance’, Journal of Marketing, 66/3(200), 40-56. EMIRATES, ‘Welcome to Emirates’ (2015) https://mobile.emirates.com/english/home.xhtml, accessed 15 August 2015. ETIHAD AIRWAYS,’ National Airline of the U.A.E’ (2015) https://www.etihad.com/en-ke/, accessed 15 August 2015. QATAR AIRWAYS, ‘About Qatar Airways’ (2015) https://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/homepage.page, accessed 15 August 2015. Rampton, J.,’12 Tips to protect your Company Website from Hackers’ (2015) http://www.entreprenuer.com/article/241620, accessed 15 August 2015 Roehl, T.W, Globerman, S. and Standifird, S., ‘Globalization and Electronic Commerce: Inferences from Retail Brokering’, Journal of International Business Studies, 20/1 (2001), 15-29. Romano, F., & Goldberg, R., Printing to the power of eSalem (NH: GAA, 2001) Romano, F., E-Business Paramus (Pocket University Series, NJ: National Association for Printing Leadership, 2001) Rosen, A., the E-Commerce Question and Answer Book (USA, American Management Association, 2000) Read More