Internet Strategy for Brite Cleaning Services
You are to select 1 business that does not already have a Web site, and develop an Internet strategy for it. Most large corporations already have Web sites, so you may have to think of something on a smaller scale such as a local bike store. Sole proprietorship businesses that provide services like car repair, house cleaning, tax preparation, and that use the Internet and similar services are also good options. You will also consider and describe how the business that you select can use social media to achieve its objectives. Use the Internet and the library to research and analyze markets and competitors.
After selecting a business, you will need to answer the following questions:
What Internet business model would be appropriate for the company to follow in creating a Web site and why?
In what ways can the business benefit from a Web site? What functions should it perform for the company (e.g., marketing, sales, customer support, internal communications, etc.)?
In what other ways might the company use the Internet for its own benefit?
Prepare functional specifications for the company’s use of the Web and the Internet. Include links to and from other sites in your design.
Prepare a list of technological specifications for implementation (e.g., what hardware and software are necessary to support your design)
Internet Strategy for Brite Cleaning Services
Internet strategies are becoming the new norm to businesses today as they try to penetrate the industry and outdo their competitors. It’s all about the consumers! Judging by the amount of time people spend on their phones these days, it’s only reasonable for a business to make a website. Not only does it bring companies closer to consumers but it also allows the business to learn of their client’s behaviour. As big data becomes popular, predicting consumer trends has created a large margin between those, who use analytics and those who don’t. Having a business website is the first step to ensure that company decisions are influenced by and for the consumer. Brite Cleaning Services is a small company that is working its way to implementing a website to make their presence known online. Brite offers a management platform for freelance cleaners who are looking for part-time jobs around their areas and helps connect them to potential clients. Like many other companies, Brite could expand its operations if it gets active on social media and creates a website with consumer considerations in mind.
The utility or on-demand model is the most appropriate strategy for Brite Cleaning Services as it is based on a pay-as-you-go method whereby the client is charged according to the amount of work they want to be covered. Time spent at work is also considered when choosing this model to compensate workers for both their labour and precious time. This type of model allows business owners to track current work and respond to all requests made over the site by potential customers. Clients can pay via such a site for the services given which acts as a guarantee that the worker has been paid. Moreover, consumers and clients can rate each other which makes it easier for new clients to make decisions over the maid or service they need.
Choosing an internet business model is vital as it defines the nature of the business offered by a company. When consumers get on a website, they expect to understand the model whether they know it or not immediately. There are other internet business models which include: merchants, manufacturers, affiliates, brokers, and so on. The site intended for Brite is meant to offer a platform that acts as a cleaning service bureau. This way, an on-demand model is a perfect fit as consumers are likely to search for such services when they need them. Also, the ability to allow various cleaners, maids, plumbers, and gardeners to load their content on the site makes it easy to grow content on the site. The more the content, the easier it becomes to outperform weaker competitors (Haines, 2019). For a small business, an on-demand model may prove to be the fastest way to grow.
Since the internet became commercial, businesses have realised that they can benefit in several ways if they take advantage of the innovation. Websites offer companies improved advertising, cost-saving, mobility, and an easy way to acquire new customers. Since the internet is available on a global scale, Brite will benefit from the possibility of being available from anywhere on the world. That way, if the business were to expand, it would be relatively easy. Consumers can access the platform from different states/countries as well as cleaners. Mobility also assists businesses to become more flexible as they can set up branches all over the world and still connect to the same database over the cloud (Weedmark, 2019). Since websites were introduced, the business has enjoyed the benefit of saving on printing and distribution costs since adverts can reach a mass of people over the net. The internet is hence making it easy to acquire new consumers altogether.
The website should be able to perform several functions for Brite such as marketing, analytics, and customer support. The marketing part can be done through bio pages that tell consumers more about the company as well as the goals that Brite hopes to achieve when giving service to its consumers. Telling the story behind the success of the company helps create consumer trust as they view the business to have a greater purpose than just moneymaking. Another function is within analytics which has taken over businesses in the 21st century. The ability to use websites to analyse consumer behaviour and predict trends before they happen is another advantageous function that helps in decision making. It is also essential that the website offers 24/7 customer care to show consumers that the business is always ready to listen to their queries, suggestions and ideas.
Traditional times saw computer users rely on physical storage media to store their information as opposed to the new cloud technology trend on the rise. With massive amounts of data being generated each day, it’s only reasonable for organisations to rethink their storage and network services. Adoption of cloud tech requires companies to evaluate the acquisition as they would any other IT acquisition (Hsu et al., 2014). Some of the cloud services offered include IaaS, PaaS and cloud storage. The company will be able to access virtual machine instances as well as shared software resources hence reducing fees for buying software. Cloud security and data centre operations are vital to the retention of consumers and portray the effectiveness of a vendor (Hugo’s et al., 2010). There is also the option of both private and public clouds where cleaners can set up profiles on the public cloud while the company staff work on the private more secure cloud. The various login options will enable both parties to access the cloud.
In general, the company can use the internet to educate the staff and cleaners to improve their performance. With vast amounts of information on the internet, users can tap into resources and increase their knowledge. Cleaners can be able to acquire more knowledge about presentation during work, dealing with clients, settling conflicts, and professional techniques to adapt to their routines. The company staff as well can use the internet to search for ideas and monitor websites by other competitors. Not only is the internet a way to make money but it can also be a means to individuals educating themselves and expanding their knowledge.
Functional specifications act as a blueprint that guides the functions and behaviour of a website. Brite should ensure that these specifications consider the needs of the consumer as they will determine the nonverbal message communicated by the site in place of the company. The functional specifications for the company’s use of the Web and the Internet will include:
Business Rules: the terms, facts and rules of the business will be used to control the nature of business over the website. These specifications will be made available for all participating cleaners and consumers to ensure they understand the behaviour expected when one indulges in services offered under the company.
Certification requirements: certification will be given by signing up to be a member of the website. Consumers will have their platform while cleaners will also have their platform. This is to ensure that only authorised personnel can participate in business and track their activities when doing business together. Non-certified members will only view limited content as they will not be able to sell or buy services.
Administrative functions: the admin will offer support to users who need it to ensure that the functions of the website are running smoothly. They will also be responsible for managing the infrastructure that is crucial to the running of the site, hosting of the site, and access of users.
Transaction rules: payments shall be made via VISA, Mastercard, or wire transfer. Paying in cash will be highly prohibited to protect clients from fraudulent activity. These transaction rules will also require consumers to pay before services whereby their money will be retained by the company and later paid to the cleaner unless an issue arises.
A list of technological specifications for implementation is important as it details what hardware and software are necessary to support the website design. Software specifications are essential as they determine the software system to be developed. WordPress and MSOffice 365 will be needed to complete the design of the website as there is the need for an operating system to run computer operations. Furthermore, WordPress is a software that may be used to help in designing the layout and function of the website. Hardware specifications determine the capabilities the computer components will be able to achieve.
Computers: having a computer to design the website is essential, especially with the great leaps made in technology that can allow developers to make powerful graphics. The RAM should range between 8GB-64GB while the Nvidia Geforce GTX 1050 Ti-1080 is recommended. An Intel Core i7 is also recommended.
Server: a computer server should also be accounted for to ensure that the other computers feed on it. The specs for the server include a CPU of 3 GHz or more, at least 16GB, 1TB for secondary partition, and 1Gbps for the network interface.
Modem: the specs for the internet model include a built-in firewall, IEEE 802.11n 2.4GHz, 1xGigabit Ethernet WAN port, and 256 MB RAM (DDR3) 128 MB Flash
In conclusion, it takes a lot of determination to make a website to ensure that it covers both company and consumer needs. The website for Brite Cleaning Services could be used to expand business for the company and move it from a small business to a large business. Considering the number of users online these days, the utility model may enable users to find services they are looking for and pay for them when they need them. More businesses are moving online as more technological advances are made. The internet has become the new market that is ever-growing. If the specifications and functions of the company are captured accordingly, the chances are high that Brite will enjoy maximum benefits offered by websites in this era.
References
Haines, B. (2019). 3 Most Common Online Business Models. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/most-common-online-business-models-2531863
Hsu, P. F., Ray, S., & Li-Hsieh, Y. Y. (2014). Examining cloud computing adoption intention, pricing mechanism, and deployment model. International Journal of Information Management, 34(4), 474-488.
Hugos, M. H., & Hulitzky, D. (2010). Business in the cloud: what every business needs to know about cloud computing. John Wiley & Sons.
Weedmark, D. (2019). Benefits for Businesses Using the Internet. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-businesses-using-internet-322.html
