Peadar's Blog

WEEK 10

PERSONALISATION

Personalisation is happening all over the internet on sites such as www.amazon.co.uk click this link to view it.   I have circled the line at the top of the web page as this is an example of personalisation. 

 

 

 

My opinion is that it is a good thing but not in excess as it could potentially drive customers away.  For example companies must use different techniques to persuade their customers to buy from them and even return to buy from them again such as the example from Amazon, where by purchasing one product and returning after this purchase amazon will remember you and what you purchased.  You can tell this by looking at the site when you log in as it will say “Hello Mr ……. This is what your last purchase was”  it will then show you your last purchase and after that it will say here are some other items we feel you may be interested in, you may have bought a camera so it will advertise memory cards for cameras.  This is an example of why I am for personalisation, as most of the time this method of recommendation is very effective and in some cases never fails.

WEEK 9

Customer Relationship Management
After using the Google search based keyword tool for my site (www.vodafone.co.uk ) I found these results:

From the screen shot you can see that the most searched for key phrase was sd memory.

 

After browsing the Google tools I came across Google ad planner which allows the user to plan for an ad campaign showing you where the best place would be to place ads. I have inserted a screen shot of my findings from this tool below:

 

From this screen shot I can tell that most people online here are male but females are gradually catching up.

Google Keywords
Here I can search for the top keywords for my site.

 

 

These are the top keywords and phrases for my site I knew that mobile phones would definitely be in it as this is one of the strong phrases for my the site.
pay as you go (7), mobile phone deals (5), mobile phone (25), mobile phones (22), sony ericsson (10), mobile broadband (9), cell phones (5), mobile (33), phones (16), phone (15), mobiles (17), vodafone (10), samsung (8), Miscellaneous keywords

WEEK 8

The ease (or not) with which you can find the site using a search engine

After searching for “mobile phones on google.co.uk my site was second on the list of results found on the web. So I tried typing in mobile networks and Vodafone.co.uk was at the top of the list again.  I decided to search for the iphone as I knew this was only available to O2 one of Vodafone’s competitors.  This is not associated with Vodafone but should bring up at least one result to the site.  After searching for this Vodafone did not appear, I browsed to the Vodafone website and it seems they are in the process of acquiring this brand (Apple) for their network also you can show your interest on the Vodafone website for this particular product.

Some of the company’s branded products or key themes in a search engine, What is returned?

Branded products for Vodafone include the Nokia 5800 which is one of Vodafone’s latest phones on sale and is largely advertised on the Vodafone website.  As this product is also owned by Nokia it returns results that include links to the Nokia website also I have found that this product is not exclusive to Vodafone as I had previously thought. 

I have now decided to search for a theme of Vodafone’s which is freedom packs this is a pack where you top your phone up by £10 and receive £50 worth of credit.  After searching for this on Google I have found that 50% of the top ten results found are links for the Vodafone website advertising this offer.

 ‘Paid for’ results

After researching the paid for results in Google most of them don’t relate to what you are searching for, also the price to advertise on the sponsored links is charged only by how many clicks you receive.  When I searched for mobile networks I received 7 “paid for” results most of these were trying to sell mobile phones only 1 or 2 where actually a mobile network.   

Where competitors appear

Competitors appeared in the list of searching for “mobile phones” but my website (Vodafone.co.uk) was the first of its kind of website to appear, it is a mobile network and competitors such as O2, Orange and the T-mobile appeared further down the list also in the sponsored links column my website did not appear neither did any of Vodafone’s main rivals which I found odd.   

Interpret the results.

From the results I have found, I can say that Vodafone’s website is very popular as anytime I searched for something relating to mobile phones the website was always in at least the top 5 results found.  However when I searched for the iphone Vodafone did not appear even though they are now selling this product under their brand.

Recommendations

I would recommend Vodafone continue with updating their website but also they could think about getting involved with sponsored links as there does not appear to be any.

WEEK 7

What is meant by the term ‘Cloud Computing’

Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that’s often used to represent the Internet in flow charts and diagrams.

A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that distinguish it from established hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic, a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Describe in your own words what is meant by Cloud Computing.

Cloud Computing is the term for delivering services over the Internet and has virtualised resources as a service.  Users only need a computer and Internet access, it is sold on demand and is managed by the provider.  Users can have as much or as little of a service as they want when they want it.  The cost of using this service is measured by how much data you receive from the service which will be quite cheap.  Also finding what you require from these services is very fast and efficient

 

 

The impact that cloud computing might have in e-commerce.

The impact that cloud computing might have on e-commerce is that data might be found easier and less expensive in these “database banks”.  Therefore the e-commerce market would suffer for example if a site is trying to sell software for a retail price over the internet and the same piece of software is available at a software data bank it more than likely will be found easier and definitely be cheaper.

Potential benefits and problems.

There are a number of benefits for cloud computing they are-

• Agility- this improves the users ability to find resources, which is less expensive than going another way of finding the information they require.
• Cost- as there are no administrators to control the huge databases the provider can afford to charge for how much information the user needs, therefore charging by the quantity.

There are also a number of problems for cloud computing they are –

• Privacy and Security- as anyone can upload information onto the databases how can they detect which is relevant and which is not.
• Legality- the question of who owns the data the providers? Or clients who have uploaded their own data? Or even a third party site? The property rights for such data will always cause legal problems.
• Pricing- if the service providers begin to charge more for quantity of data this could be a problem also would they be willing to give discounts based on the length of usage or frequency of usage? These would all be problems for pricing.

WEEK 6

Push vs. pull supply models

Vodafone use the push vs pull supply models in their business.  This is to supply their customers with a product and also to deliver value to the customer.

The push model shows how Vodafone advertise their product aimed at grabbing the customer’s attention to buy the product also to show the value in doing so.

The pull model shows how Vodafone emphasise on delivering a product to a customer who are actively involved in the product and service specification by doing this Vodafone are experimenting with the idea of using their own brand name on products which wouldn’t have had the name on the product before.  Vodafone recognise there are risks involved with this and are working with strategic Tier 1 suppliers to improve capability and provide assurance that labour and environmental standards of sub-tier suppliers meet the requirements of our CEP.

 

Vertical integration vs disintegration vs virtual integration

Vodafone use vertical integration to distant themselves from suppliers.  They do this by using other manufacturers such as Nokia or Sony to supply them with the products they need and share a percentage of the profits with these other manufacturers.

Vodafone use disintegration by outsourcing their rivals such as O2 and T-Mobile.  They have a network of suppliers but only one is their main supplier as it would be impossible for a large company such as Vodafone to have only one supplier they need to have their options open in case another company gets a better deal than they do.

Vodafone use virtual integration by having the web site they own updated on a daily basis.

Evidence of value networks

Vodafone have a valuable network of companies, which both sides share to co-operate through each other’s business plans.  This will ensure that both companies such as Vodafone and nokia getting the best deals for their customers and also for themselves.

Evidence of efficiencies in supply chain

Vodafone do use large manufacturers for their products but also use local suppliers as well this source of information was obtained from the Vodafone website under the heading “Supply Chain”

“Most of Vodafone’s purchasing at Group and local level is being transferred to the Vodafone Procurement Company, providing consistent contract terms for suppliers across the Group”.

This information shows the efficiencies in Vodafone’s supply chain.

WEEK 5

The threat of substitute products and services

Vodafone have had difficulty in the past couple of months as other competitors have dropped prices on all their services.  To tackle this problem they have rewarded loyal customers and even tried convincing them that they could provide a faster and cheaper service than any other network if the customer decided to change network.

In rewarding loyal customers Vodafone have gained more customers, particularly due to deals such as freedom packs which give the customer £50 worth of calls and texts for £10.  In this pack you get 100 minutes and 300 texts. 

The threat of the entry of new competitors (barriers to entry)

As my website is run by a large company they will always have other large companies running websites to compete with them such as O2, T-Mobile and Orange. These companies have similar websites and are always trying to out do each other.  They will always try to price each other out of deals and are very competitive, they sometimes copy each other by advertising a deal but never state that it is better than another’s deal by this I mean they will avoid using the other companies name on their website.

The intensity of competitive rivalry

In the case of Vodafone they have to keep up their productivity to compete, an example of this is the iPhone previously you could only purchase this type of phone on the O2 network now in order to compete Vodafone have secured the right to sell the iPhone under their own network as they knew they were missing out.  As Vodafone have their own website they can easily grab the attention of potential customers online and even advertise products which they wouldn’t in their shops on the high street.

The bargaining power of customers/buyers

The bargaining power of customers is very strong as with my site Vodafone if a customer does not like the price of something they can contact Vodafone and bargain them down by saying that one of their competitors are cheaper than they are.

People who buy from Vodafone may deepen a relationship with them and it would cost switching costs.  When these people are “locked in” Vodafone can then increase costs thus ensuing the buyer is locked into a contract and cant get out of it.

 

The bargaining power of suppliers

The bargaining power of the suppliers is reduced as Vodafone would have a wider choice to purchase supplies from e.-markets.

However buyers also have bargaining power as they also have a wide choice of e-marketplaces to purchase from or just to compare prices from.

WEEK 4

After looking at the terms and conditions for purchasing on my site I have found that some of them are reasonable and some not so reasonable, it states on Vodafone’s terms and conditions page “We reserve the right to change prices without prior notice to you”.  I find this unfair and could also be seen as false advertising, as they could advertise something for one price and as soon as you try to purchase the item it could cost considerably more than advertised.

Returning goods is very easily done Vodafone have got three ways of contact either by writing to the address provided or email and last you can give their office a ring.  When returning an item you must take care of it so it can be collected as soon as possible and any monies transferred will be returned within 30 days of the cancellation.

I have read the terms and conditions of the O2 website and they are very similar.  I would say that Vodafone’s terms are worse than o2’s because of the layout of them on each website.  O2’s terms were easily read and understood but Vodafone’s were in small font size and very hard to read.

Data is encrypted but it states in the privacy policy that they can’t be held responsible for loss of data that is beyond their control, however they assure the customers that they are doing all they can by contracting a third party for security purposes to ensure they are meeting the security promises that they made with Vodafone Limited.

Encryption on Vodafone’s website is active this means that when data is sent by the customer to Vodafone the data is very hard to read and as Vodafone receive it they have a program to decrypt the data.

Vodafone use cookies to collect non-personal information about how you interact with the website, and web-related products and services, to:

• understand what you like and use about the website
• understand what you do not like and do not use on the website
• provide a more enjoyable, customised service and experience, and
• Help develop and deliver better products and services tailored to customers’ interests and needs.

Week 3

My sites competitors are mainly O2.co.uk and T-Mobile.co.uk, in the graph below we can see how many visitors the three web-sites had in September 2008 – September 2009. 

 

 

 

 

From the graph we can see that Vodafone.co.uk started off the lowest but after 1 month they ended up having about 1000 more customers than O2.co.uk.  For the next year Vodafone.co.uk and o2.co.uk had pretty much the same amount of visitors except in August 2009 when Vodafone.co.uk had almost 10,000 more visitors in 1 month.  In September 09 Vodafone had gained 18,000 visitors from 1 year previous.  T-mobile.co.uk continued to slump but at the end of the year it is my opinion that O2.co.uk and Vodafone.co.uk gained visitors from t-mobile.

Vodafone.co.uk had a yearly increase of 75.97%.

In order to purchase an item from my website you have to select a mobile phone then select a price plan using a form you must also complete 3 forms the first one is “your details” this includes your name and address and telephone number.  The next step is to complete your payment method which can be direct debit or a credit card sections to fill in here include card type, card number and card expiry date also in this section is terms and conditions.  The last step to complete is the “Review and Confirm” section, this is where you can see what you are buying what is included in the package and how long it will take for your item or items to be delivered.  My site has stated that if your order is accepted before 3pm in the day your item will be delivered between 9am and 5pm the following day.

The potential future impact of digital television on vodafone.co.uk is that with digital television getting more and more accessible the website will be generating more business from it and as it is easily accessed more people will be shopping from their armchair on TV.

Some strategic choices to be made:

• The audience (who they target for purchases)
• The price of access to the site from the TV

WEEK 2

This is my chosen website vodafone .co.uk

 

It has many options including mobile phones and plans, internet, applications and extras, deals and offers, there is also an option for “My Account” and a help option.  It advertises mobile phones and price plans it has got a section called business centre which gives you a look at business price plans or if you are travelling abroad.

 

Vodafone Group Plc is the world’s leading mobile telecommunications company, with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States through the Company’s subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures, associated undertakings and investments.

The Group’s mobile subsidiaries operate under the brand name ‘Vodafone’. In the United States the Group’s associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless. During the last few years, Vodafone Group has entered into arrangements with network operators in countries where the Group does not hold an equity stake. Under the terms of these Partner Market Agreements, the Group and its partner operators co-operate in the development and marketing of global products and services, with varying levels of brand association.

At 30 June 2009, based on the registered customers of mobile telecommunications ventures in which it had ownership interests at that date, the Group had 315 million customers, excluding paging customers, calculated on a proportionate basis in accordance with the Company’s percentage interest in these ventures.

The Company’s ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Company’s American Depositary Shares (‘ADSs’) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company had a total market capitalisation of approximately £63.6 billion at 30 July 2009.

January 2007 Vodafone reaches 200 million customers

WEEK 1

Internet usage

This is my blog; I am carrying out research on internet usage between 2006 and 2007.  The research will mainly be concentrated on the UK.

 

After researching the internet usage in the UK through the internet I have these findings.

 

• 13.9 million Households had internet access in January 06 – April 06. This is an estimated 57% of the UK.
• This is an increase of 26%  from 2002
• At the end of 2006 the same survey was carried out and an estimated 14.3 million households had used the internet.

 

 

I have found this table showing how many people have used the internet over the past number of years.

 

YEAR	Users	Population	% Pop.	Usage Source
2000	15,400,000	58,789,194	26.2 %	ITU
2005	35,807,929	59,889,407	59.8 %	Nielsen Net//Ratings
2007	38,512,837	60,363,602	63.8 %	Nielsen//NR
2009	48,755,000	61,113,205	79.8 %	Nielsen Online

 

 

 

 

From the table you can see that between 2005 and 2007 there has been an increase but not as significant as the increase between 2007 and 2009.  I would say that at least 10 million people have gained internet access in this period and indeed used some sort of web technology.

 

Throughout my research I have come across different methods of internet usage I have stated 4 of them.

 

• Broadband
• Laptops
• Mobile phones
• Through Digital Television

 

 

 

 

2008

 

In 2008 16.46 million people had internet access compared to the 13.9 million in 2006 this is a big increase and it will only keep increasing over the next few years until everybody will a access to the internet.

 

 

UK Internet Usage Statistics Report