Question 1.

Dave's Concept Proposal: Mobility Products Database.

Summary

Revenue Model.

The product and the market.

Richness and Reach.
 

Summary.

My proposal comes within the organization 2 organization grid, and is what is known as an information site, this comes into the e-business concept as reintermediation. (For a detailed explanation of reintermediation see the T171 web page)
The concept came about because of the need for a searchable mobility products database that will let the people in the UK compare products and prices from a range of manufactures and retailers.
This will be presented as a web page and will consist of a list of available types of mobility products such as wheel chairs, walking aids, electric scooters etc. You will be able to search the database by specifying criteria such as manufacture, model and retailer.
By selecting a type of product, wheel chair for example a list of wheel chair manufactures, models, retailers, prices and a star rating will be displayed. If manufacture is then selected you will be transferred to the their home page, were their full selection of products will be available for your appraisal. Whereas if the model were to be selected then you would be transferred to the appropriate web page of the manufacture giving details such as specification, photographs, colour and any optional equipment that is available. Retailer selection will give you the price including delivery along with the availability and delivery times, from here a further link will be available to the retailers web site from were you can if you desire purchase the item.
Star rating will show feedback from previous purchasers; stars could be awarded one for poor, two for average, three for good and an average displayed.

Here is an early design of the selection page.


 

Revenue Model.

    Costs.
The initial cost will not be high and is for the computer equipment and the setting up of a products database. An additional cost will be incurred canvassing for a group of retailers / Manufactures to start the site of.
Ongoing costs will be maintaining a server with the suitable bandwidth to carry the traffic I hope to generate. Plus the administration costs.

    Income.
Income will be generated either from click through (the retailer pays a small fee when someone enters their site from mine) or they pay a commission on any sales via my site. This can be negotiated individually with retailers / manufactures.
Some advertising on the site is not ruled out.

 Product and the Market.

The product is a database of mobility products, these will include electric scooters through wheel chairs to walking frames, but this can be extended to cover such things as stair and bath lifts or the modification of cars for disabled drivers.
You may think that this limits the hit rate (the amount of viewers to the site) to an older generation, but according to the BBC the net measurement firm NetValue as shown that silver surfers (people over 55 years young who have taken to the Internet) is one of the fastest growing online groups in the UK.
The younger generation who have a mobility problem (like the rest of the younger generation) are likely to be computer and Internet literate.

The market for the database is manufactures and retailers who wish to increase their reach. My site will offer those with a web site a much larger potential client base and those without a site (through telephone number or address) access to a much wider area.
 

Richness and Reach.

Richness.
For the client that does not have their own web site richness will be improved most because of the links to specifications, colour photographs etc. For those with their own site the inclusion of feedback on the page from previous purchases (good one hopes) will add richness in the form of trust. Retailers with there own web site may well have a feed back page but this will not add trust in the same way as an independent site with both positive and negative comments.

Reach.
For the clients without a web site, reach will be improved beyond the area reachable via newspapers and magazines, giving them a much greater potential client base.
For those that already have a web presence the increase in reach will not be as dramatic as those without. But as I intend to establish my site as the defacto starting off point on the web for mobility products their reach will also be improved.

For my site to be successful I need to see if people will buy my clients products via the web, for this we use the ES Test.     (ES stands for electronic shopping and each section is marked out of 10)

The ES Test.

The three aspects that determine how susceptible a product is to being sold online are:-
  1. Product characteristics - this relates to how the product interacts with the human senses. For instance, does it need to be touched or tasted before buying?
  2. Familiarity and confidence - this refers to the familiarity the consumer has with that product and their confidence in it (or the supplier).
  3. Consumer attributes - this refers to the type of consumer who is likely to buy that product and their motivations for shopping.
1. Product characteristics.

    Photographs and video clips on the manufactures and or retailers web pages will meet the visual side of this, but for most of these items a physical appraisal may also be necessary.  (Score = 6)

2. Familiarity and confidence.

    This is met because most of the brands will be from major manufactures, and some of the sales will be for upgrades or replacement of a preferred product. The feed back from previous customers will give confidence and as most of these items are expensive this site allows the buyer time to acquire adequate information.  (Score = 7)
 

3. Consumer attributes.

    Here we will meet the needs of the value shopper. Those who want their choice at the best price available and those that require the best specification at the best price. (Score = 7)

Total score = 20/30 (a good result)

References.


 

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