Professional Project Online Relationship Marketing

Question: Business project and sets down the key milestones that must be achieved within the term. Your plan should include: Proposal Working Title - Provide a short descriptive title . Project Description - provide aims and background to the research (brief introduction to the literature in the area) The significance (locally, nationally and/or potentially internationally or in terms of theory development or application to a problem) Research questions. A Gantt chart and assessment milestones. Answer: Project Description E-commerce or electronic commerce implies to conducting business over the internet. XYZ has retail stores across Melbourne, and now the company wants to take the business venture to a new level by developing an e-commerce website. This project shall help in introducing the new business model for XYZ, increase their sales and expand business opportunities (Chiu et al., 2012). Aims The e-commerce website project shall fulfil the following aims- Reach out a larger audience- As internet access reaches a wide range of customers, the products or services can be made available globally (Park et al., 2012). 24-Hours operation- The e-commerce website shall be fully operational 24x7 as the virtual stores remain open and consumers can shop anytime from anywhere (Bilgihan Bujisic, 2015). Building brand name- The e-commerce website shall help in building the brand quicker as it can be advertised over blogs and social networking sites. Objectives The e-commerce website project shall fulfil the following objectives- Retention- The creation or development of website shall help the customers repeat orders and retain them in the industry (Park et al., 2012). Increase in sales- the website shall give a new platform for the customers of XYZ Company. There shall be increased demand since the customers have another portal to shop from XYZ Company. Identify shopping behaviours- The website shall also help in determining shopping behaviours as the consumers have a tendency to know about products in detail before shopping. Their habits can be analyzed that would help in assessing demand, thereby generating smooth supply (Kim et al., 2012). Background The purpose of this document is to state the benefits of website for retailers. In the developing and advanced digital world, it is necessary for the business to grow, and reach new customers. The internet shopping mode is shaping up at a faster mode and is gaining market share. The researchers also believe that the internet shall replace the traditional brick and mortar stores for which an ecommerce model is necessary for retail distribution of customers. The potential customers shall have the ability to find the store online. Ecommerce sites give an ability to sell the products through the web (Hartono et al., 2014). The ecommerce store shall also be an avenue for special promotions. Site development project shall make an online website dynamic and act as an effective business source. Internet shopping is not just a popular, but a safer and more secure mode of shopping. The increasing popularity and faith of people makes it necessary for the businesses to have an ecommerce website. Due to the convenience of shopping online, the people are looking online rather than physical stores to fetch products (Rose et al., 2012). Significance The internet is profoundly making changes or leaving its footprints in almost all businesses. The ecommerce store is significant at multiple levels, namely- local, national and international. The ecommerce website shall be valuable to the local people in Melbourne as they can be given delivery within 24 hours of their purchase. It shall be easy and quicker to deliver the products in Melbourne. Also, as the website shall be accessible for people, the potential customers can visit and shop using the website from anywhere in the world (Tingchi et al., 2013). The website shall be of great importance to customers in Australia as well as globally. The internet and ecommerce is dramatically impacting the ways firm operate in product design, procurement, distribution, marketing, after-sales support and inventory. With the advent of ecommerce, the retail stores need not keep inventory as the procurement of particular products can be made after receiving the order. The consumer demand is incre asing not just among different products and brands, but also among retailer formats such as catalog retail stores, departmental stores and online electronic shopping stores. The business format is feasible for primary internet shoppers, traditional store shoppers and cross-shoppers (Kim et al., 2012). Research Questions A few research questions shall be answered through this project proposal: In what ways do traditional business stores reinvent themselves to stay competitive? What are the benefits of having an ecommerce website? What are the factors influencing customers to shop online through ecommerce portal? Why may the customers prefer online shopping over visiting the physical stores? What are the ethical and legal issues concerned with the internet in ecommerce business? What is the impact of ecommerce on sales revenue and profitability? How does the shopping behaviour of customers change with the introduction of websites? Will the ecommerce business model replace the traditional brick and mortar model of the retail stores? Gantt Chart and Assessment Milestones Activity Plan Time Milestone Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Requirement Analysis Stakeholder Analysis 1 Risk Analysis 1 Cost Benefit Analysis 2 Technical Analysis 3 Operational Analysis 3 Web Design Design Layout 3 Database Design 7 Payment Gateway Development 2 Product Category Listing 3 Items Listing 3 Website Implementation Domain and Hosting 2 Website Deployment 3 Website Testing or Beta Testing 3 Training Employees 3 Hand over Project Maintenance Daily Backup Regularly Update price, product and offers Regularly Marketing Web marketing Regularly Social media marketing Regularly Search engine optimization Regularly Team Charter Project Purpose The project team shall determine and recognize the steps for developing an e-commerce website that shall encompass a combination of business models. The ecommerce website shall reflect these models through XYZ retail store business. The researchers shall examine each business model and the ways in which it shall incorporate it into the website. Every member of the team shall conduct an extensive e-commerce research for discovering possible solutions for the customers. The project team shall explore the following business models: Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Peer to Peer (P2P) (Kim et al., 2012). Scope The project scope is to deliver quality ecommerce site within the time constraints and costs as defined by the project team (Kim et al., 2012). Approach The project manager shall conduct meetings on a weekly basis. He shall also be responsible for assigning duties and delegating tasks. The project manager shall communicate by the means of emails, mobile and conference calls (Kerzner, 2013). Project Deliverables Milestone Deliverables Initiation Defining the overall specifications of website Identifying business models Estimate time and resources Research products and services Analysis costs, benefits, stakeholders, technicalities and operations. Execution Applying researched business models to the website Deployment or moving the website from local environment to the servers. Testing the ecommerce website Handing over project After execution, the employees need to be trained for using the website Marketing of the ecommerce website Regularly maintaining and updating product range, prices and related offers Source: (Kerzner, 2013) Members and Roles The project shall be managed by every team member in different weeks. The team Project Team Role Project Team Member Responsibilities Project manager Damon Salvatore Looks after the organization and implementation of project Marketing expert Caroline Forbes Understanding the market scenario and motivating consumers to make purchase Business analyst Ned Stark Looks after the changing trends and assesses the business model while integrating it with technology Web developer Catherine Petrova Looks after the design and layout of the website as required for building and maintaining it. Source: (Kerzner, 2013) Project Risks Risk Area Likelihood Risk Owner Impact Marketing and Advertising Costs Medium to high Project Manager The branding and communications may not effectively reach the potential or existing customers. Technology Costs Medium to high Project Manager There may be a compromise in the efficiency of website layout and design Project team members activity delays Medium Team members Deadline of the project shall be missed Shortage of Fund High Project sponsor Change the project scope Source: (Kerzner, 2013) Cost Estimation Milestone Deliverable Items Cost Estimation Initiation Analysing stakeholders, cost-benefits, operations and technicalities. Designing website, creating domain, listing items and products. 50% of price Execution Website Deployment and Beta testing 30% of Price Handing over project Handing over website and marketing it 20% of Price Source: (Kerzner, 2013) Communication Plans Stakeholder Learning Needs Discussion Reporting Method of communication Owner Project sponsor Feedback Project progress and issues encountered Weekly Emails and face-to-face meetings Project manager Project manager Time management and problem solving Progress of the project. Design, problems, layout Regularly Calls, Emails and face-to-face meetings Team members Team members Business process, feedback and issues Ecommerce website As and when required Calls, Emails and face-to-face meetings Project manager Customers Interacting with users and receiving feedback Website engagement Testing certain phases, modules Survey and personal interviews Team members Source: (Kerzner, 2013) References Bilgihan, A. Bujisic, M. (2015). The effect of website features in online relationship marketing: A case of online hotel booking.Electronic Commerce Research And Applications,14(4), 222-232. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2014.09.001 Chiu, C., Wang, E., Fang, Y., Huang, H. (2012). Understanding customers' repeat purchase intentions in B2C e-commerce: the roles of utilitarian value, hedonic value and perceived risk.Information Systems Journal,24(1), 85-114. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2575.2012.00407.x Hartono, E., Holsapple, C., Kim, K., Na, K., Simpson, J. (2014). Measuring perceived security in B2C electronic commerce website usage: A respecification and validation.Decision Support Systems,62, 11-21. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2014.02.006 Kerzner, H. (2013).Project management. New York: John Wiley. Kim, C., Galliers, R., Shin, N., Ryoo, J., Kim, J. (2012). Factors influencing Internet shopping value and customer repurchase intention.Electronic Commerce Research And Applications,11(4), 374-387. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2012.04.002 Park, E., Kim, E., Funches, V., Foxx, W. (2012). Apparel product attributes, web browsing, and e-impulse buying on shopping websites.Journal Of Business Research,65(11), 1583-1589. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.02.043 Rose, S., Clark, M., Samouel, P., Hair, N. (2012). Online Customer Experience in e-Retailing: An empirical model of Antecedents and Outcomes.Journal Of Retailing,88(2), 308-322. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2012.03.001 Tingchi Liu, M., Brock, J., Cheng Shi, G., Chu, R., Tseng, T. (2013). Perceived benefits, perceived risk, and trust.Asia Pacific Journal Of Marketing And Logistics,25(2), 225-248. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13555851311314031