Information Technology : Developing a Search Engine
Information Technology : Developing a Search Engine
Through brainstorming, we came up with numerous ideas for websites. We put them into categories of entertainment, sport, work and education. We finally decided on a school search engine website, in which we feel covers all categories.
We could argue that we are using various strategies: new product development, new market or even market penetration. The website we have decided to create could come under any of these. It could be new product development because there is not another school website at the moment so this would make it a new product and it would be in an existing market as other websites posses attributes that we hold such as Yahoo and Freeserve. Therefore, there will be heavy competition to gain market share and win consumers. The website could also be a new market, this is when the product is in a new market but is an existing product. We are aiming at a specific segment of the market making this a new market but this makes this an old product because as I have mentioned Yahoo posses most of our attributes. It could also be argued that our outline strategy is market penetration, this is where the product is already existing and so is the market. Again this market maybe be classes as existing as Yahoo also entertain this audience and they to have some of the attributes that our website would hold such as chat feature. The website could not be diversification as we are not in a market to change from.
I have chosen this because I feel we will fulfil our sample group and increase competition in an ever-growing industry.
Task 2
I will be collecting data from our sample group (13-17 year olds) to find their likes and dislikes. I will do this by putting together a questionnaire, which consists of various questions about the consumer. This will therefore help us to find out about our customer and understand their wants and needs. This will also help us to identify the competition; from my knowledge, our main competition will be ISP's (Internet Service Providers). These will consist of such websites as Yahoo and Freeserve.
These are both huge companies worldwide although ours is set up for a specific sample group. As mentioned in Task 1 there are arguments over which outline strategy this school search engine should be. However I feel our website fits into the new market strategy. From this decision, I have designed my questionnaire around this. I have done this by finding out about the competition. Although this maybe a new market it still holds features of old markets, and we are creating an old product.
Our sample group is group is fixed (13-17 year olds). This is a segment of the whole market, which has been segmented demographically. When conducting the questionnaire, we will be randomly asking students within our sample group. Our first questionnaire will be a closed one; this is described as quantitative research. This type of questionnaire will provide us with statistical data, which can be analysed to discover the consumer's profile, and to find out how high the demand for the product is. Our method of research will be a stratified random sample. We could also conduct a second questionnaire using qualitative research. This type of research includes in-depth analysis into the consumer's minds. Psychologists often do these among small groups of people; this is called group discussions or focus groups. Consumers tend to lie when they are asked set question because they base their answers on logic, but most consumers' act on emotion (instinct) when buying a product.
Data
We found out that 78% (39 out of 50) of the people questioned do actually use the Internet. This helps us in the way that 78% of our target audience do actually have the power to view our website.
We also found out that 49% of out the 50 questioned said they use the Internet daily. This will mean that we would have to update our site on a daily basis.
From our research, we were able to find out our competition. Although the websites that were on our questionnaire are not in our market they target the whole market therefore they also occupy our market. We found out that our main competition would be from Yahoo as 54% of the people out questioned said that was the website they visited most.
We found out that 49% of the people we questioned would prefer the website to be more entertainment orientated rather than educational. Although the website will still feature educational characteristics.
I feel more extensive research could have been done to get a better understanding or our target market as a whole. We only questioned 50 people; this does not really give us an in-depth analysis into our market. We used a random sample with our sample group, maybe next time we conduct the questionnaire we can use a stratified method. I think we were in a key ...
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We found out that 49% of the people we questioned would prefer the website to be more entertainment orientated rather than educational. Although the website will still feature educational characteristics.
I feel more extensive research could have been done to get a better understanding or our target market as a whole. We only questioned 50 people; this does not really give us an in-depth analysis into our market. We used a random sample with our sample group, maybe next time we conduct the questionnaire we can use a stratified method. I think we were in a key area when conducting the research as we conducted our research inside the school. To get a more comprehensive analysis I feel we should have asked more questions. I think for next time we can use a different method as this time we used quantitative, we could use qualitative where we can sit down with our customers and discuss what they like and do not like. Overall, I feel the response to the questionnaire was quite positive. I do not believe our consumers would lie as this website is for them.
Task 3
We found out that 40% of the UK population of net users are 13-17 year olds. Since there are about 8 million people online, 40% is roughly 3.2 million. Our target market operates a high percentage of the market.
I found out that the main reason people use the Internet is for email. This may be of a disadvantage to us, as we do not offer this service. However, the second most popular feature on the net is search engines, which we have.
Another important factor is competition that is why I tried to find out who has the
largest market share. Through extensive research, I was able to find out that Yahoo and Hotmail have the largest market share at 15% each.
What this shows us is that our main competitors are Yahoo and Hotmail because although we only target a segment of the market and they target the whole market they are still the most visited websites through the whole market. This may affect our strategy as I feel we have to customer demands, and what the customer uses the Internet most for is for email. As our outline strategy is new product development, I feel this research shows us the constraints of entering this type of market and the competition.
I checked the information for validity by not only taking the word of the paper or website, I checked their information against other websites and articles to make sure that these statistics were true. For further validity, I could have analysed a wider range of sources to gain more information for a clearer result. I found most of my research through newspaper articles and Internet websites that hold information on particular topics.
Task 4
SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis tells you your internal and external strengths and weaknesses. SWOT standing for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. As for our strengths, I feel this is where we prosper. We are specialists in consumer needs, this is because our target market is 13-17 year olds and we occupy that range. Therefore, we theoretically are the customers, so we know what we want therefore we know what the customers want. We also feel that our product has a high differentiation as it is like no other. The main weakness we have is that we have no experience in building a website. We have many opportunities as there are not many competitors in our market, we are able to get grants from the school and government and we have the chance of becoming a prestigious company. We also found out that a large number of the people we questioned said they would visit the website. However with the opportunities come the threats. As our target market is only 13-17 year olds our content is limited meaning we cannot show anything that 13-17 year olds are legally allowed to view. In the whole Internet market, we have many competitors but we only operate with in a segment of the market. From our research will also found out that 90% of the people we questioned would not pay to view the website. I feel our strengths and opportunities outweigh our weaknesses and threats therefore I think the website will be a success.
PEST Analysis
There are not many political factors effecting our website, the main factor would be that of the content restriction. As there is content on the Internet that is not suitable for our target market. We would have to make sure that the content is restricted to what this age can view. The other factor of politics is that the government agreed to subsidize us in building our website. The United Kingdom's economy is stable now. Inflation is low at the current time; therefore, people are spending less, meaning they are saving more, so they have the money to buy computers. The Internet is growing faster and faster each year, more and more users are logging onto the World Wide Web. The Internet has become as common as the television or telephone, you expect everyone to have one. We may lack some skill in the technological field as we have not produced a website before. Although saying this technology is vastly growing and as it grows, it also gets easier to use.
Effecting Strategy
The fact that we are only allowed limited content (for e.g. violence and nudity) on our website may put us at a disadvantage. As other websites may show content that we cannot, therefore they will gain the customers. However our website showing restricted content will show a sign of honesty and decency. Therefore, we will get backing from parents. Our website is also low on money and liquidity problems may arise. However, we are able to gain government subsidies as the labour party has agreed to help us in the running of our website, as this will help them gain votes. As I have mentioned we may have problems on physical side of the actual construction of the website. However, our link with the government will allow us to gain access to free computer training and if necessary, we will hire a professional in that field. Although this may cost money it will ensure we get a quality website.
The main two factors that affect our strategy would be political and technological. I feel this way because we will need government funding if our website is to work. We will also need help in the technological area as we need someone to train us or for them to build the website.
Constraints
I do not feel that there will be many constraints facing our website as it is user friendly. We will of course have to abide the law and follow such standards as the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). They state that all adverts must be legal, decent, honest and truthful. Although it has been said that many have broken this code. However, I feel our advertisements will meet their standards. This in no way affects our strategy as this is of no constraint to us. As for stakeholders and pressure groups, I cannot see anything from them except praise. I feel the website is for the community and stakeholders will only help to improve it. For long term interests I feel that the website should fulfil the needs of the stakeholders mainly the customers. There will always be acts that have to be followed in whatever business. The acts that mainly apply to our business (website) are trade descriptions act and monopolies and mergers act. The trade description act 1968 prohibits false or misleading descriptions of a product's contents, effects or price. This affects packaging, advertising and promotional material. The monopolies and mergers act makes sure that there are no companies monopolising the market and that any mergers are in the customer's interest. Once again I do not feel this have a bearing on us as we are not selling anything on our website there for it is free to view it for the time being. We do not intend to merge with another business, and if we were to it would be in the customer's best interests.
Strategy
Through analysis of materials and research my outline strategy has not changed, I still feel we are entering a new market and our product is that of an existing one. This is illustrated in the diagram below.
Igor Ansoff created this matrix; this shows the degree of risk associated with certain strategies. I felt our product fell into market development, which is in a new market but an existing product.
Product Life Cycle
This product life cycle illustrated what I think will happen to our product over time. As most products start out, they are in the growth section of their product. After the first year I feel that the product will meets, its saturation and the product will then remain on a steady basis. If there is, no improvement or innovation the product may fall into decline. That is why I have introduced an extension on the second year. The extension idea is to become an ISP (Internet Service Provider). I feel this will boost visitors to the website as more features will be added like the use of an email facility which is very popular among our future competitors. I have also found out that it takes 2 years to become a registered plc and with the backing of the government behind us, I think that is the next step forward. I do not regard this to be my final strategy but an outline strategy. As I found out in my research, customers want a different product but they are not willing to pay for it. Therefore, I decided to use Michael Porters theory on generic marketing strategy (gms). There are five gms, the customers would have opted for gms 1 which is to produce a differentiated product although this will cost money so the product will have to be expensive. However, our resources would tell us we could only opt for gms 5 which is focused cost leadership. When we combined the two we found out that, we could use gms 3, which is in fact a mix of the two. Where our product has a high differentiation and has a reasonable budget. This strategy only arose through research and in-depth analysis.
I feel the product life cycle is a key element to success as this can show you where your product or business might be in a few years. This will also tell you how many sales you have made at a particular time in the year, so you can analyse why customers bought more of your product at this time rather than at another time. I do not feel that the Ansoff matrix is a sold strategy that you can base your whole product around; it is more of an outline strategy. I feel that the Boston matrix is a good representation of where the company are in share wise and market wise. I feel that our product would be at the problem child stage when it first takes off, but it has the potential to become a rising star. However I do not feel that any company can market their whole product around each one of these strategies (outline), they are more of a guide than anything else.
Task 5
The marketing mix consists of the four P's:
* Product
* Price
* Promotion
* Place
However a further two have been added to look at, these are customer service and use of technology.
Product
I feel the most important out of the 4P's is the product. This needs to be designed to meet the needs of the target group. If this is completed the other 3P's fall into place. Our product is a school search engine which is based around the school, as a normal school website would be. However our website includes a search engine for users to search content which is allowed by the law. There is a restriction on the amount of content that can be viewed on the website as the target market is 13-17 year olds. Therefore, the content can only be suitable for that range. From our primary research we were able to find out that consumers would prefer the website to be more entertainment focused. However they also want some educational content on the website. The main features of our website are:
Revision Techniques
Teacher Advice
Chat Software
Search Engine
Users will have their own user name and password where they can login to the site and interact
Price
As our website is free to view and use we are not getting any money from there. We get money from selling advertising space on our website. I think that many computer consoles will want to advertise their products on our website. As they mainly aim their products at our target market, therefore giving us a competitive advantage. Although our outline strategy is product development, I feel we should use penetration pricing until we gain a larger share of the market. Our starting price is zero this will later increase. Another method of gaining finance is through the government, as they will provide us with subsidies as well as some school funding.
Promotion
The main way we can communicate with our customers is through advertising. We can advertise through television, newspaper or radio as well as our main source the Internet. Most advertising can be categorised into either informative or persuasive. I feel our advertising would be a bit of both because not only are we informing the public of our website we are also trying to bring them to it. Advertising on prestigious websites will cost money but may result in more consumers visiting our site. I feel we may be able to form a synergy with a big computer console company. We will allow them to advertise on our website and in turn we are allowed to advertise on their website. We have the benefit of getting free advertising in and around the school through posters and announcements of the speakers.
Place
In this case, this is the most obvious one as the product is based on the Internet.
Customer Relations
I feel this is very important for the success of our website. I often find that many websites have faults in their pages or the information they give you is not what you wanted. I feel with our help feature on the website any query that the consumer has will be answered for them there. As I have mentioned that in the future we hope to turn our website from an average website into an Internet Service Provider, more customer service will come in. As there will be more questions, which need to be answered, I believe then that a free phone help number is in order.
Use of Technology
Another essential factor is the way in which we use the technology that is arising. To ensure customer satisfaction we have to make sure there are no page faults and loading is now slow, therefore not to many pictures, moving objects and so on. The fact that our team all have up to date computers helps us in the process of creating the website.
Proposals and Research
From our primary research we found out that 90% of the people questioned said that they would not pay to view or use the website. That is why our price has been set to free, so it is free to view the website. I found out that 49% of the people questioned visited the website daily, this means our product (website) would have to be updated on a daily basis. Our product has to be more entertainment focused as 49% of people questioned said they use the Internet for entertainment reasons. Although 46% said, they used the Internet for education. We feature a search engine on our website and that is the second most popular feature on the Internet.
Judgement of Strategy
I believe our strategy covers the marketing principles as; I feel we are specialists in consumer needs, as we ourselves are consumers of this product. I think with our generic marketing strategy and our research methods we know what the consumer wants and we give it to them. Through extensive research, we have identified the competition. I feel we are able to compete with them after we gain a share of the market. I feel customers may have low expectation of our website as they may feel we are just kids but they must understand that we know what they want; we have school and government backing. Heavy advertising will let us communicate with them more effectively and aware consumers of our product. To achieve our objectives we will have to look at our functions such as managing changes in technology and consumer taste, establishing an identify for our product. Our objectives are to boost into the market and take it over, as well as providing what the customer wants. Marketing activities are anything we do to try to achieve our objectives. A main constraint for us maybe capital. As we do not have enough money ourselves to put money into the website and consumers are not willing to pay although we are told we can expect grants from school and government.
Evaluation
I feel overall we will not only meet customer needs but also go beyond this. We will not only produce and entertaining website but also an educational one at the same time. I believe with the backing of the government this website will go very far and gain a large share of the market.
Samir Mobasher 1 01/05/07
