Business Internet Plan

Business Internet Plan

Business Description:

Texhoma Special Effects, Inc. (TSE) is a company that offers audio and video special effects for the advertising and entertainment industries. TSE's offices are located in Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami. All of the offices are in need of better Internet connectivity. With improved Internet connectivity, TSE will be able to operate in a more efficient and effective manner. The main office located in Dallas is TSE's headquarters. This is where most of the administrative functions take place along with some basic production capabilities. The other locations have small administrative functionality, but the main function of these sites is production. These offices have been strategically located to address TSE's prime customers, but can also help the other offices as the need arises and possibly even act as backups to one another.

TSE has various products and services to offer its customers. TSE prides itself as one of the industry leaders in special effects. The products that are provided not only involve things that can be seen or heard, but at times can also cross over into the other three categories of senses: taste, smell, and touch. Some examples of the work that TSE has done can be found in many professional commercials and in various hit movies. Other examples can be seen in national newspapers and mailer ads.

With better Internet connectivity, TSE could also improve the way does business with its customers. TSE has had various successes over the years but as technologies and ways of doing business have changed; consequently, TSE must change. TSE has started to see these changes in the way others have done business and it has affected their bottom line. Services that their customers want to have included the ability to place orders online and review their orders as they are being processed. Customers have also, in previous surveys, requested online catalogs for them to review. Having the ability to view the various products anytime online is something many customers have said they would like to have as an option. With better Internet connectivity and various implementations of technologies, TSE will improve the customer's overall experience.

The Internet and Texhoma Special Effects, Inc.

The Internet has revolutionized TSE's communication options. It has opened doors that nobody knew existed. Communication lines have radically changed in the past few years and all for the better. Instant Messaging and Email are both options that TSE could use to help with the communications gap within their off-site offices. It could also aid in customer relations, sales, and provided additional ways to share information.

It is projected that once TSE startes using the Internet to communicate with customers, business will steadily increase beyond its current state. TSE's web site could provide customers with product specs and updates on a continuous basis, ensuring clients get the latest drivers for the specialized software that TSE offers. For security purposes the site would require customers to login with a username and password, also providing an email. Promotional emails could be sent out monthly to all customers offering deals and specials. A site with similar capabilities is the Precision Lightworks site. The Precision Lightworks web site (http://www.precisionlightworks.com) distributes emails to their customers when an update for a product is released. A link within the email could provide the customer with an easy way to a download page (example below), ensuring all customers have the most recent product.

The Internet could allow TSE to provide an "Ask Us" web page, where the customer would fill in a form with a question about a product, to get a quote, make a comment, or just provide a suggestion on how to better improve the site. All inquiries would be replied to promptly, personally, and professionally. This type of communication is a kind of personal touch with the customer, where he/she would feel their needs are important. Providing this type of professional interaction would ensure that customers keep coming back, and a little professional and courteous care goes a long way.

The Xerox site (http://www.xerox.com) displays this type of communication perfectly.

Another important way in which TSE could improve is by using the Internet to communicate with its employees is through an internal Intranet. The Intranet could give TSE a chance to publicly recognize employees, locate personnel, display benefits and job opportunities, and house many other items which are only privileged to those who work for TSE. An online forum could give employees and management a chance to communicate in a more efficient manner.

Marketing via the Internet

With the Internet becoming more of an integral part of a successful business environment, TSE could use this medium to promote designing strategies and improve its own business. By providing the customer up-front examples of TSE's superior work, TSE could increase sales as well as help the customer gain confidence in TSE before the company begins the customer's project.

The following example (http://www.designfirms.org/awards/) demonstrates the approach that TSE could take to display its most prestigious sites. The customer can click on any one of the links and can see the working site in action.

Demonstrating results should work well for TSE, but the Web site would not be as successful without something driving business to the site. TSE could start optimizing its Web traffic by site map optimization. Images and content would be fed into various search engines. This would provide a high level of relevancy with each search engine query.

Below is an example of the Web site map optimization process that TSE could be using to increase traffic volume to the Web site.

Lastly, TSE could start working with various affiliates to ensure that TSE's name is included in the site sponsors' lists. Sponsoring a site would allow TSE to reach customers from sites other than its own. Consequently, this tactic would channel customers to the TSE Web site and revenue should increase.

Enhancing Customer Service via the Internet

TSE has numerous customers who have various requirements. Some of the customers have requirements that require a quick turnaround time as well as quick resolution to the problem. TSE has staffed call centers in the previous years but lately