Internet Marketing • MKT 401 • Copyright ©2005 C.Siegel
MKT309 • MKT401 • GBU201
Assignment 3 is valued at 30 points and is a team assignment. It is due at the beginning of class on 3/17/05. Late work will not be accepted. The assignment must be typed, single space, using a readable font.
This assignment
has two parts:
•
Competitive Analysis
•
Client Questions
Assemble the completed assignment in the following order. Five points will be deducted for failure to follow these directions exactly.
•
Cover page (Team name, names of team members, class, assignment number, date)
•
Competitive analysis tables
•
Screenshots
•
Site maps
•
Client questions
Staple the pages together with one staple in the upper left-hand corner.
Assignment 3 will be evaluated for thoughtfullness, completeness, Web marketing insight, following directions, effort, grammar, and spelling. If you have questions, ask them now... don't wait until the night before the assignment is due!
COMPETITIVE
ANALYSIS
Our client has identified two bead stores that he considers among the
best in the business: Shipwreck Beads
(http://www.shipwreck-beads.com/) and Fire
Mountain Gems and Beads (http://www.firemountaingems.com/). Performing a
competitive analysis of these sites should give your team some direction in
creating a Web site for our client. It may also provide some examples of features
to avoid.
Work as a team
and together to visit and evaluate both sites. Print a screenshot of each homepage
in color. The ITDS Combs computer lab on the 2nd floor has a color printer.
Print the site map for each site. If a site doesn't have a site map, create
one in a Word document.
Carefully and thoughtfully perform the competitive site analysis using the tables
below to record your observations. Download the tables in a document
formatted for word processing, in landscape format. Type your observations directly
beside the item. Be concise -- quality NOT quantity counts! If information is
absent, note the absence beside the item number.
Table
1. General Information
1.1. Site URL - http://www.
1.2. Company name -
1.3. Store address -
1.4. Store phone number, fax number -
1.5. Is there a map to the store? If so, how useful is it? -
1.6. Web site copyright date -
1.7. List key word descriptors used in the source code -
1.8. Store hours of operation -
1.9. Identity of site creator -
1.10. Does the site have a privacy statement; a security statement? -
1.11. Name of store owner -
1.12. Is there a mission statement? If so, what is it? -
1.13. Is there information about the owner(s)? If so, what is provided?
Table
2. Offer
2.1. Identify the types of products offered -
2.2. Are products sold online, offline, by catalog, or other channel? -
2.3. Are prices listed? -
2.4. Are there discounts or specials? Explain. -
2.5. Are classes offered? Explain. -
2.6. Are examples of finished products shown? -
2.7. Describe shipping options -
2.8. Are visitors encouraged to sign-up for an e-newsletter? -
2.9. Are patterns offered from the site? -
Table 3. Customers
3.1. Clearly and completely describe the primary target market using as many
descriptors as possible -
3.2. Clearly and completely describe the secondary target market using as many
descriptors as possible -
3.3. What needs does the business satisfy? -
3.4. What problems does the business solve? -
3.5. Why would a customer (or potential customer) visit the Web site? -
3.6. Why would a customer (or potential customer) return to the Web site? -
3.7. What benefits are there for a customer visiting the Web site? -
Table 4. Web Marketing Goals
4.1. Why is this business online? -
4.2. What are the owner's goals for this site? -
4.3. Identify specific examples of how the Web site drives customers to the
store -
4.4. How well do you think the Web site achieves the owner's goals? -
Table 5. External Links
5.1. Identify any external links from the site -
5.2. Are the links hot? -
5.3. Are the links appropriate for a business of this type? -
Table 6. Site Design
6.1. What strikes your eye when you first view the site? Is this an effective
marketing tactic? -
6.2. What are the principal colors of the site? -
6.3. Are the colors appropriate for a business of this type? Explain -
6.4. Does the site have pictures of products, customers, employees, the store?
-
6.5. Are the pictures appropriate? -
6.6. Are the pictures effective at marketing the business? -
6.7. Does the site use animation? -
6.8. Is the animation appropriate to the business or distracting? -
6.9. Is the site clean or cluttered? -
6.10. Is the design consistent throughout the pages of the site? -
6.11. Consider the products offered: Is the design effective for this offer?
Explain. -
Table 7. Usability
7.1. Do all the links in the site (external and internal) work? -
7.2. Is the site readable (type font is large enough)? -
7.3. Do the navigation links work? -
7.4. Do all pictures and graphics load? -
7.5. Does the site load quickly? -
Table 8. Analysis & Recommendations
8.1. Identify the single best feature of this site from the customer's perspective
-
8.2. Identify the single worst feature of this site from the customer's perspective
-
8.3. Identify everything from the site that might get customers to return to
it -
8.4. Based on your evaluation, what content do you recommend for your client's
site? -
8.5. Based on your evaluation, what design elements do you recommend for your
client's site? -
8.6. Based on your evaluation, what technology elements do you recommend for
your client's site?
8.7. Based on your evaluation, what do you recommend not be used in your client's
site? -
CLIENT
QUESTIONS
Working together as a team, identify all the information you need from your
client in order to complete a Web marketing site and Internet marketing plan
for him. You need to determine what content must be included on the site, what
design elements must be used, and what features cannot be used. Number each
question. In addition to turning in the questions with this Assignment, bring
copies of the questions to class on March 1st so you can note the answers.