Page 67 - E-Bussiness and E-Commerce Management Strategy, Implementation, and Practice

M01_CHAF9601_04_SE_C01.QXD:D01_CHAF7409_04_SE_C01.QXD 16/4/09 11:02 Page 34

34 Part 1 Introduction

Figure 1.11 North West Supplies Ltd site (www.northwestsupplies.co.uk)
Source: Opportunity Wales

Improved graphic design – this was to be changed to sub-categories would provide a clear link to the areas
a more professional and up-to-date look. of interest and contain fewer pages to browse, thus
Best, featured and latest products – the introduction of helping the customer to make a choice more easily and
a dynamic front page to entice customers to revisit the more quickly. A new search tool and order tracking
site on a regular basis. The contents of this page would were also seen as important parts of the online
feature the best sellers, and latest or featured products. customer experience (Chapter 8).
Reviews and ratings – to provide confidence to
consumers and allow some kind of interaction with Benefits

them, this would allow users to review products they
have purchased and give them a star rating. The owners describe the benefits of the improvements
Cross-selling – when customers view a product there to the site as follows:
may be other products or categories that may be of
Increased direct sales – ‘The new launch increased
interest or complementary, hence there was a proposal sales and appealed to a broader audience – young
to allow staff to link products and categories so that and old.’ The annual turnover of the business has
these would be displayed. increased from £250,000 to £350,000 and this is
Segmentation – the site would be split into two mainly attributable to the new web site. The high-
sections emphasizing the segmentation of product profile launch aimed at existing customers, the
lines into military wear and outdoor wear sectors, greater visibility in search engines, and the greater
thus being less confusing, and easier to use for the usability of the site have all contributed to this.
respective users (see Figure 1.11 section labelled Improved promotion of the whole range of stock – ‘We
‘Best, featured and latest products’). started selling stuff that we hadn’t sold before.’ The
Navigation by sub-categories – as the product range changes in navigation, particularly division into two
had expanded, the additional pages created in each market segments (military and outdoors) and greater
category made it harder for customers to find specific use of sub-categories, meant that products were easier
items or made them have to browse many pages to find and hence easier to buy, leading to increased
before finding a suitable product. The introduction of sales of products that had previously been slow sellers.