Conducting Your Own Market Research: 880122

Answer1

In this modern 21st century all the organizations are trying to win the competition against one another. In order to do this, they have to use all the possible means to attract their customers. One of the main aspects that the organizations have to focus upon is customer satisfaction (Einav et al., 2014). In order to do this, they have to get feedback from their customers. There are however many ways of getting the customer feedback but one among the most commonly used method is the online surveys.

There are many advantages and disadvantages of online surveys.

Pros

It is often easier for the customers to answer the questions as they do not have to face any interviewer. There are customers who find it much comfortable as they can answer the questions within their own time and they do not face any kind of fear.

It is also one of the best ways of dealing with any kinds of sensitive questions. Often the interviewers and also the customers might find it tough in discussing any sensitive questions face to face. Therefore, the online survey is very useful and best for discussing these kinds of personal and sensitive issues.

Cons

People might often find that a series of emails floating down to them is very irritating. In such cases, they will not feel it comfortable in answering all these questions that are given in the online survey. Many customers might often treat them as spam without pain much importance to it.

The other problem is that the internet is not always a very certain thing. There can often be some of the other kinds of problems that people might face through the usage of the internet. The speed at which the exchange of information might take place will get hampered.

Answer2

The online surveys are one of the most important tools that will help the organizations to know whether the customers are going to stay with them or not (Heinemann & Wenzel, 2018). This will be evident from the answers that are being given by the customers. Customer feedbacks and thoughts are some of the most important aspects for the online retailers (Zeng & Richardson, 2017). They have to know if the customers are happy with the speed at which the goods are being delivered, the quality of the products, packaging and billing patterns, customer services and many other such aspects. The customers who are dissatisfied will certainly not pay attention in sharing their feedbacks with the companies. Therefore they will not spare any time from their schedules in responding to the online surveys.

NPS or the net promoter score is a very useful tool that will help the online retailers in knowing if they can actually measure the customers who can be the loyal customers. NPS always helps online retailers like Amazon and eBay to check the satisfaction level of the customers (Davies, 2018). They are very handy in giving the companies time to time update of the customer satisfaction level that the companies have been able to achieve. So, based on these results the companies can take the necessary steps that will help them in improving their services.

As I have been helping eBay in conducting an online survey, I have been using this tool in order to see if the customers are being satisfied or if they have some kinds of issues.  I have seen that there are some issues that the customers face like customer service facilities. This is one of the most important parts that the company must pay attention. It is their prime duty to make sure that they are unable to provide a 24*7 hour customer service facility for their customers (Brownell, Gerar & McCuller,  2018).

Answer 3

Survey monkey is used for taking the feedback from the customers who have purchased things online from eBay and also other online retail sites. This survey tool has been used as it is one of the free survey tools and can be used for the purpose of taking the thoughts and the opinions of people. However there are some crucial steps that must be followed while using this survey tool.

Applying the introduction content is one of the most important aspects of using this tool. This is because the customers need to know if this online survey has been floated down from an original or any authentic source. Hence, it is really very essential to make sure that there is a proper name, address contact details and all the other necessary details added right at the beginning of the survey questionnaire.

There must be a logo and a brand name of the company given at the beginning o the survey questionnaire. This will help in enhancing the look and the feel of the online survey questions that have been sent.

Survey content is also one of the most essential parts of making the online survey questions. This is the main part reading which the customers will feel the need of answering the questions. Therefore, it is the duty of the company to make sure that they are including all the apt questions that will help them to get the proper answers that they are looking for. For an instance, the client in question was a member of the well known US retailer eBay, who wanted to know about the customer experience and the level of satisfaction that they have after shopping on their online site.

The design of the page must be flawless. In other words, the layout of the online survey question must be simple, clear, precise yet attractive to the customers. As it is not a direct face to face interview the online survey questions must be such that the customers are able to understand what is expected of them. The language of the questions must be straightforward, clear and to the point.

Thank you page is one of the important acknowledging pages that must stay in the online survey questions list without fail. This will help the customers in knowing that their response is important for the companies.

The method through which the online survey questions will be distributed must also be decided properly. The companies have to decide if they will distribute the questions through facebook, twitter or through email or SMS surveys and other such platforms. For an instance, if the survey is mainly for people belonging to the teenagers then the medium of distribution might be Facebook or any other such online social sites. This will ensure that the customers are being able to get the questions and answer them correctly.

Answer 4

Q1.Which of these websites have you already used or visited?

(Several answers possible)

Amazon eBay buyer I have never used or visited any of these websites

Q2.How much do you spend on average for Retail shopping per month in GBP (High Street / Malls etc)?

£0 – £40 £30 – £80 £80 – £160 £180 +

Q3.What is your main purpose for using the Internet?

Shopping Work Education Hobby

Q4.How would you rate your Internet connection?

Bad Good Very good Excellent

Q5.How does the website, www.amazon.co.uk load on your screen?

Fast Slow

Part 2

Answer 1

As a part of this project, I have visited the website of one of the competitors of my client. Amazon is one of the most string competitors. I have seen that Amazon has used a very intelligent and smart choice in setting up the interphase of the entire page layout. This has really helped in making the shopping experience much easier for the customers.

Answer 2

I visited the Amazon site and checked the minute details that they have added there. I was considering myself as a commoner who has logged into Amazon website for the sake of making some online purchases. I saw that Amazon is able to create some personal connection with the purchasers. They know how to keep their customers happy. They have a nice drop down menu and the side pop-ups that help in providing the best suggestions and recommendations for their customers (Liu & Tang, 2018). The background color of the site both in the mobile app and in the form of the laptop or personal computers is very clear and understandable.

Answer 3

The first time users or purchasers will find it very easy to make their purchases. Even if the users are confused n making the choices, they get sufficient help from the recommendations that are given by the company itself. On the other hand, eBay is kind of the best place for the sellers but not that easy for the customers.  They need to realize that a customer will like to see a large number of products that can suit his or her purpose. The drop-down menu of Amazon is also very attractive (Shang et al., 2017).

They help the customers in getting a wide range of products at a different price. They also have several specification lists that helped the customers in searching their desired product properly. As a purchaser, I feel this is one of the very important aspects of any online retailing site that enables the customers to give a very easy and smooth place for making their purchases. I have also seen that the customer service is super easy for the users. This is in sharp contrast with what is provided by eBay

There are some customer service complaints against eBay that there is no customer service available for the people. Without any proper customer service, it is really very difficult for the purchasers to maintain a proper track of the purchases that they are making. There are also complaints that even after reaching out to the customer care representatives, the customers are not capable of getting any proper solution. Amazon is also one of the good places for selling of the products. Customers who have the experience of selling products on eBay have complained that they have often fallen prey to many scammers. It was not at all a good experience for them. Therefore, bay must try working on their authenticity so that they can get all the real and verified buyers.

Therefore, it is necessary for easy to understand that they must be working on their website in order to increase the number of customers visiting their site. They must consider opening three new tabs for the users in general and the first time users in particular. The first tab is the product category, the second is the brand name and the third is the price range. This will help them to make things much easier for their clients. They must also make sure that they are using words like authentic, new, used or other such words. This will help the buyers and the sellers to make their purchases on the website properly. eBay has to work hard for improving their services that will attract the attention of their customers.

References

Brownell, D. M., Gerard, J. H. I., & McCuller, P. G. (2018). U.S. Patent No. 9,940,119. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Chiu, C. M., Wang, E. T., Fang, Y. H., & Huang, H. Y. (2014). Understanding customers’ repeat purchase intentions in B2C e‐commerce: the roles of utilitarian value, hedonic value, and perceived risk. Information Systems Journal, 24(1), 85-114.

Davies, J. (2018). Online commerce company Amazon could be setting its sights on the US pharmacy market. Lung cancer, 15, 05.

Einav, L., Knoepfle, D., Levin, J., & Sundaresan, N. (2014). Consumer behavior in online shopping is affected by sales tax. LSE American Politics and Policy.

Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles, Coupons and More | eBay. (2018). eBay. https://www.ebay.com/

Heinemann, G., & Wenzel, S. (2018). The Digital City: Using the Example of “Mönchengladbach on eBay”. In European Cities in Dynamic Competition (pp. 187-211). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Kozlenkova, I. V., Palmatier, R. W., Fang, E., Xiao, B., & Huang, M. (2017). Online relationship formation. Journal of Marketing81(3), 21-40.

Liu, Y., & Tang, X. (2018). The effects of online trust-building mechanisms on trust and repurchase intentions: An empirical study on eBay. Information Technology & People, 31(3), 666-687.

Shang, G., Pekgün, P., Ferguson, M., & Galbreth, M. (2017). How much do online consumers really value free product returns? Evidence from eBay. Journal of Operations Management, 53, 45-62.

Shang, G., Pekgün, P., Ferguson, M., & Galbreth, M. (2017). How much do online consumers really value free product returns? Evidence from eBay. Journal of Operations Management53, 45-62.g

Thakur, R., & Srivastava, M. (2015). A study on the impact of consumer risk perception and innovativeness on online shopping in India. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 43(2), 148-166.

Wang, W. T., Wang, Y. S., & Liu, E. R. (2016). The stickiness intention of group-buying websites: The integration of the commitment-trust theory and e-commerce success model. Information & Management, 53(5), 625-642.

Zeng, W., & Richardson, A. (2017). Using Immersive Virtual Reality to Create a Presence in Online Shopping. In Australasian Conference on Information Systems.