Strategy Formulation:

1
MIS 6322

• Chapter 5.
• Strategy Formulation
• Customer Interface

2
Chapter 5 Strategy Formulation Customer
Interface

• Questions Answered in this Chapter
• What are the seven design elements of the
  customer interface?
• What determines the look-and-feel of the design?
• What are the three content classifications?
• Why be concerned with community?
• What are the two ways in which websites can
  achieve customization?

3
The 7Cs of Customer Interface Exhibit 5.1
Context Sites layout and design
Content Text, pictures, sound, and video that
webpages contain
Commerce Sites capabilities to enable
commercial transactions
Community The ways sites enable user-to-user
communication
Connection Degree site is linked to other sites
Customization Sites ability to self-tailor to
different users or to allow users to personalize
the site
Communication The ways sites enable site-to-user
communication or two-way communication
4
Context What Determines the Look-and-Feel of
the Design?

• The CONTEXT of a website captures its aesthetics
  and functional look-and-feel
• Dimensions of Context
• Function organization and accessibility of
  information
• Section Breakdown- is the way the site is
  organized into subcomponents
• Linking Structure- enables users to move easily
  between sections
• Navigation Tools- facilitate how the user moves
  through the site
• Speed- the time needed to display a page on a
  users screen
• Reliability- how often a site experiences
  downtime
• Platform Independence- is measured by how well
  the website can run on multiple platforms,
  including old versions of Web browsers
• Media Accessibility- the ability of a site to
  download to various media platforms
• Aesthetics the visual characteristics of a site
• Color Scheme- refers to the colors used
  throughout the site
• Visual Themes- help to tell the story portrayed
  across the site

5
Context (contd)

• Context Classifications
• Aesthetically Dominant Emphasis is on the
  look-and-feel of the site. This type of site
  makes heavy use of visual elements (KMGI.com)
• Functionally Dominant Emphasis is on the display
  of textual information. This type of site limits
  the visual design to a minimum (Brint.com)
• Integrated Balance of form and function. These
  sites have a clear and appealing theme that
  support the underlying graphics (Patagonia.com)

6
Form vs. Function -The Design Context Frontier
Exhibit 5.3
Integrated
High
Aesthetically Dominant
1
2
AESTHETICS
Frontier is gradually moving outward as
technology advances
3
4
Low
Functionally Dominant
Low
High
FUNCTION
7
Content Deciding What information to Include

• The Content of a website refers to all the
  digital information on the site
• Dimensions of Content
• Offering Mix The content of a site can include
  products, services, information, or a mix of
  these three
• Appeal Mix The Company's value proposition is
  projected in the promotional and communications
  messages of a site
• Multimedia Mix Refers to the choices of media
  including text, audio, image, video and graphics
• Timeliness Mix The information presented on a
  site is time-sensitive
• Current Content - Highly time-sensitive
  information with very short shelf life
• Reference Content - less time-sensitive
  information with longer shelf life

8
Content (contd)

• Content Classifications
• Product Dominant Encompasses store sites that
  primarily sell physical goods
• Superstore - One-stop shop offering a wide range
  of goods in multiple product categories
• Category Killer - Sites offering a comprehensive
  selection of products and services but only
  within a specific category (E.g. PetSmart)
• Specialty Store - Stores offering exceptional
  quality and exclusivity in single or multiple
  categories of products (Frontgate.com)
• Information Dominant Encompasses store sites
  that focus heavily on information (Fast Company)
• Service Dominant Encompasses store sites that
  focus on the services offered, often for a fee
  (PlasticsNet)

9
What Makes A Community?

• Community includes a feeling of membership in a
  group along with a strong sense of involvement
  and shared common interests
• Five components determine the shape of online
  communities
• Characteristics
• Member Motivation
• Member Participation
• Member Benefits
• Interaction Tools

10
Community Characteristics

• The more evolved the community the more likely it
  is to have these six characteristics
• Cohesion- the community develops a group identity
• Effectiveness- the group has impact on members
  lives
• Help- members feel comfortable asking for and
  receiving help from other members
• Relationships- interaction between individuals
  leads to friendships
• Language- members develop a specialized language
  and/or abbreviations with unique meaning within
  the community
• Self-regulation- the sets rules for its own
  interaction and develops a system for policing
  itself

11
CommunitiesElements, Types, and Benefits
Exhibit 5-12
12
Community Classifications

• Nonexistant- sites that have no community offer
  no way for users to interact with one another, on
  either a one-to-one basis or one-to-many basis
• Limited- sites that offer features such as
  reading and posting information, stories, or
  opinions
• Example - Gillette Womens Cancer Connection
• Strong- sites that offer interactive community
  functions such as chat rooms and message boards
• Example - Bolt.com

13
Customization Creating an Individualized Website

• Customization a site's ability to tailor itself
  to each user or to be tailored by the user
• Dimensions of Customization
• Personalization The user initiates and manages
  the customization process (MyLook.com)
• Tailoring (Amazon) Software dynamically
  publishes unique versions of the site to address
  specific user's interests, habits and needs more
  appropriately
• Commonly used customization features
• E-mail accounts Users can send and receive
  e-mail from the site, using a free, unique e-mail
  address
• Content and layout configuration Users can
  design their own homepage, within limits, by
  choosing background colors, layout design, and
  content sources
• Storage Users can store e-mail, URLs, favorite
  content, or items they want to buy
• Agents Computer programs can perform simple
  tasks upon request, such as notifying a user via
  e-mail when a product is in stock

14
Communication Keeping in Touch with Users

• Communication dialogue between a site and its
  users
• Dimensions of Communication
• Broadcast One-way information exchange from
  organization to user. Broadcast communication can
  be in the form of mass mailing, FAQ, e-mail
  newsletters, content-update reminders and
  broadcast events
• Interactive Two-way communication between the
  organization and a user. Interactive
  communication can be in the form of e-commerce
  dialogue, customer service and user input
• Communication Archetypes
• One-to-Many, Non-Responding User Site messages
  are announcements that users receive without
  needing to respond
• One-to-Many, Responding User Site messages are
  invitations to users to submit their comments and
  responses (LivePerson.com)
• One-to-One, Non-Responding User User receives
  personalized messages to address specific
  interests or needs without a need to respond
• One-to-One, Responding User User responds to
  personalized messages sent by the site

15
Connection Linking with Other Websites

• Connection degree to which a given site is able
  to link to other sites
• Dimensions of Connection
• Outside Links Links that take the user
  completely outside the home site and into a
  third-party site (Windows Media Site)
• Framed Links Links that take the user to a
  third-party site that open in the same browser
  window and that are framed by the home site in
  some way
• Pop-Up Windows Links that open up the new site
  in another browser window while the original
  website stays in the background
• Outsourced Content Content that comes from an
  outside supplier

16
Connections Classifications

• Destination Site Provides almost exclusively
  site-generated content with very few links to
  other sites
• Destination SiteNYTimes.com
• Hub Site Provides a combination of
  site-generated content and selective links to
  sites of related interests
• Hub Example Industry Central
• Portal Site Consists almost exclusively of links
  to a large number of other sites
• Portal Site Example - Yahoo

17
Commerce Enabling Financial Transactions

• Commerce refers to the sale of goods, products or
  services on the site.
• Dimensions of Commerce
• Functional tools that are the commerce-enabling
  features of a website

18
Commerce (contd)

• Commerce Classifications
• Low These websites have the ability to process
  transactions, but with few of the tools that
  enable e-commerce
• Medium Some websites have no need for all the
  commerce bells and whistles and contain financial
  transactions as a necessary feature but not as
  their main purpose
• High These websites are fully equipped with all
  or almost all the functional tools that enable
  e-commerce

19
Map of 7Cs Framework Exhibit 5-22
20
Foot Locker ww.footlocker.com - Exhibit 5-23
Nonexistent