Business Website Simulation

Simulation Overview

Primus Securities is a small full service brokerage firm. It currently has a website with limited features such as a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section which was implemented to reduce the time staff members spent answering questions. The website also has general company information and financial new which can be accessed using a search feature. The website currently ranks 60th out of 600 brokerage websites. The goal is to increase website traffic and offer more robust online trading features that will increase current customer activity, improve industry rankings and attract new customers.

ÐŽ§An e-business strategy requires selecting technology opportunities and initiatives that are aligned with the business strategy, whether the focus is operational efficiency, customer excellence or product innovationЎЁ (Raumer, 2001). This paper will explore various operational, technology, marketing research and marketing strategy decisions that could be implemented to assist Primus Securities in meeting their goals.

Simulation ÐŽV Marketing, Marketing Research, Technology and Operational Decisions

Primus Securities marketing strategy was to add various critical and non-critical information to the website to gain new customers and retain existing customers. The stock ticker was considered to give customers up to the minute information on what the stock market is doing at any given time. Other features such industry news; company financial data and analysts ratings, recommendations and a portfolio tracker were also marketing considerations.

Marketing research showed the majority of other brokerage website offered fee discounts to increase online trading. In addition, they also offered streaming real-time stock quotes on their members wireless devices for impromptu decision making. These options were considered by Primus Securities along with the option of having a discussion board where me members could see a list of topics being discussed and reply to them if desired.

Various technology options were also considered during the simulation. The main technology decision was whether or not to have a shared or co-hosted server. The shared sever was the least expensive option but website availability was dependent on whether the host was up or not and if there were scheduled or unscheduled activities. The shared hosting option also had various security concerns. The co-hosted option was the optimal solution because it offered the company more control over site availability and was also more secure and convenient.

Other operational decisions were made to have an amateur web designer assist in making key feature decisions. The company may have felt that this person could do the research necessary to make informed recommendations. The company might have benefited more by contracting with a more knowledgeable company that would be able to do industry benchmarking and research. The company could have also compared the typical price for certain features, whether they had the technology to support these wanted features and what staff would be needed to maintain the site long term.

Decision-Making

Management must decide between hiring technology professionals or outsourcing the functions associated with maintaining a website. There can be advantages and disadvantages to both options, but I would choose to hire technology professionals. Customers will use the website if the content is up-to-date and value added features are placed on the site. Having in-house professionals can assure these functions are done in a timely manner as opposed to scheduling the project with an outsourced company. In addition many times the outsourced company fees will be based on how many features are being programmed. ÐŽ§There are a lot of variables involved. How many pages? How many photos need to be scanned? What kind of graphics? Do you need to be able to update your pages yourself easily via a password protected administration area? Will your site have E-Commerce and/or utilize databases etc.? Are your materials already organized or do they need to be put together for you? Do you already have logos & artwork or do they need to be created?ЎЁ (Website Costs, 2005). This could escalate the costs for the company and would be hard to budget. If personnel are hired, that cost will be known and could be taken into account during the annual budgeting process. The company may be slower at getting new website features added thus potentially loosing new or current customers.

Having in-house personnel also gives the company the advantage of having professionals onsite in the event the site goes down as well as cross training others. The company would have to wait for contractor to arrive and would most likely either pay per service call or have an annual service contract.

Web Feature Option

The ÐŽ§custom advice through e-mail featureЎЁ gives customers the opportunity to ask specific investment questions based on a variety of issues such as financial goals, risk tolerance and family structure. I choose this as a ÐŽ§pay per questionЎЁ option. Custom advice would give participants a realistic view about their accounts. They would be secure in knowing that at least they were on the right track towards reaching their goals or they need to change strategy to meet their goals.

The following are short and long-term implications for stock transactions and profitability based on offering custom advice through fee-based program or offering it free to customers.

„X Fee based program - short-term implications: The stock volume and profitability will go up with this value added feature. Customers will feel like they are getting guided advice from experts, which would make them feel more secure with the investment transactions they are making.

„X Fee based program ÐŽV long-term implications: Customers may be concerned about the company having a conflict of interest when making recommendations. This may lower stock volume and profitability unless customers feel secure that their interest and theirs alone are considered when advice is given. Stock volume and profitability may also go down if the customer makes a decision based on advice given and it is not profitable for them.

„X Non-fee based program ÐŽV short-term implications: Stock transactions and profitability may not necessarily increase because advice is too general and not specific enough to address each customerÐŽ¦s short or long term goals.

„X Non-fee based program ÐŽV long-term implication: Overtime customers who need more specialized services will go to websites that offer more specific customer based advice. This will have