E-commerce business model
Business to consumer (B2C) is a business model based on the transactions between a company and customers. The company sells products and services and the customers are the end users. It is the best practice to promote products and services among consumers. When it is applied to any type of direct consumer selling than it has to be associated with the online selling which is known as e-commerce. There is also business to business model (B2B) which is used by the companies. There is involvement of the two parties in this process before it reaches finally to the consumers. It is a situation where one business makes commercial transaction with other business. The B2C has become significantly important in the online sales. The online purchasing is more convenient for the customers. The companies are the direct sellers in the B2C model. The consumers are divided into the target segments in this model. The business to consumer model have been chosen in this report in which companies deal directly with the customers, there is no mediator in the selling process. The B2C model is more effective when the customers have positive experience with the company. The satisfied customers are more likely to buy more products and services (Ye and Ma, 2017). The repeat business shows the growth of the business and is a key behind the success of the company. The B2C marketing begins with the extensive market research. The company should know who are the customers and the specification required by them. The B2C campaign uses company’s website and social media in order to be effective.
This report is to represent two travel companies, Intro travel and Stride travel. Both of these companies are engaged in providing professionally planned trips and amazing experience to the customers. Both the companies Intro travel and Stride travel have a significant role in fulfilling the needs of the clients by arranging travel services from airlines to the hotel. The travel company mainly acts as an agent and sells travel products and services. These companies provide specialized service for both commercial and business travelers.
Intro travel makes use of the B2C model. In reference to the B2B model, the company sells their inventories to other travel agencies. The B2C tools are used by the Intro in getting a direct booking from all over the web. The company does not hire experts for this service. The support is provided regarding language and currencies (Gummesson, 2014). In order to be successful, the company attracts and retains both the business and clients segment. The software enables Intro to target effectively and manage customer segments with the help of a cloud based program (Yang, Zhang, and Gallagher, 2016).
URL for Intro travel
https://www.introtravel.com/
Stride travel uses both B2B and B2C model to provide service to the businesses and clients. In the context of B2B model, Stride travels have a connection with thousands of the holidaymakers. There are various hotels which deal with travel agencies. However, hotels need to pay a commission fee to the agency as it helps to get more bookings. In the context of the B2C model, the company leverages all the possible streams of booking opportunities (Fielt, 2014). Later it combines the prospects and manages through a sales funnel. It enhances the chance of the clients signing up with the company (Abdullah and Siraj, 2018). The CRM software is also used to effectively manage the clients through a single platform. It also results in an increased number of bookings (Wang, Wang, and Liu, 2016).
Link of website with business model
URL for the Stride travel
https://www.stridetravel.com/
Intro travel provides an amazing experience to the travelers in the awesome destinations. The company is engaged in providing an amazing experience to the customers since 2005. The clients can make a booking before at least 28 days. The full payment should be made at the time of booking (Halter, 2017). If a person cannot travel due to some reason than that person can swap the tour to some other tour. The company believes in bringing people together through travelling and change the world for something better. Intro travel offers the right B2C tools to make the booking function easier for the clients (Walsh, Beatty and Holloway, 2015). It ensures to give success in the online travel industry. The company provides travel insurance which is highly recommended for the Australian trips. The insurance covers medical expenses, missed flights, loss of luggage and valuables. The group tour facility is also provided by the company those travel alone. It provides opportunity to travel and make new friends with it (Chiu, Wang, Fang and Huang, 2014).
The technology has expanded channels in the B2C markets. The website has become effective channel of the B2C. It has been observed that 33% of the adults aged 18-39 uses internet first to look for the information on travel whereas 25% of the adults rely on the web for researching travel agencies. The website of the company is relevant enough to provide all the information. The website is friendly and simpler to use. Before making bookings online, the customers use to go the travel agency offices (Raj, Griffin and Blackwell, 2015). They were required to visit different office and select the final one to make bookings. But the evolution of e-commerce has made possible to make bookings over internet. The consumers can avail any type of product or services regarding travel on the internet. Intro travel uses B2C method in order to deliver relevant content and information to guide prospects. Intro travels offer the packages as per their preferences (Huotari, Ulkuniemi, Saraniemi and Mäläskä, 2015). The number of days, destinations and options of the hotels is provided as per the budget of the customers. Apart from this the company offers the membership in which customers can attain bonus points. These points can be reduced in the next booking.
Stride travel is the world’s leading search a review site for the tours and the adventures trips. The company offers more than 25,000 tours and adventure experience across every continent. It enables everyone to explore the world, find adventures and create lasting connections. The company has an impressive selection of pre-planned trips on every continent. The clients can directly book the packages with the operators and can get access to the amazing deals. The simple research options provided by the company help to find the best trip effortlessly (Leistra-Jones, 2017). The site of the company compares trips of over 700 companies and plans the expert trip. The cash bonus can be earned as a member of the company. The clients can also save up to 40% on the bookings. It provides the option of comparing trips and to choose the best deal. The reviews on the specific journeys are available on the website of the company which helps to choose the one. The company has been awarded many times by the New York Times, National Geographic, Travel leisure, ABC news and more (Wiengarten, Bhakoo and Gimenez, 2015).
Marketing Strategies
The website of the Stride travel is efficient enough to gain information concerning the operations of the company. The clients can gain information regarding travel packages and the appropriate time to visit the places. The travel insurance is the additional service which is provided by the company. The Stride travel is another e-commerce company rendering travel services in Australia to both businesses and clients. The company provides assurance to the clients by providing qualitative services (Grant, Edgar, Sukumar and Meyer, 2014). The company makes use of various promotional and marketing strategies to the target audience (McKnight, Lankton, Nicolaou and Price, 2017). The B2C tools used by the Stride travels have made the booking process faster and simpler for the clients. It is a user-friendly interface which sells travel products to the prospective consumers directly on the website of the company. The integration of the B2C has been beneficial in the various ways. It also reflects the option of managing and promoting self-travel products (Sharma, Chadee and Roxas, 2016).
The principal goals of the Intro travel are given below:
Use the B2C method to identify the target market of the consumer market.
Identify the trends and the preference of the consumers in the target market.
Track the consumers responding to the company’s website (Swani, Brown and Milne, 2014).
Promote the use of social media for the interaction with the clients.
Obtain reviews and feedback to implement changes as per the customer’s response.
Forecast trends and opportunities for the particular holidaying destination (Pike, 2016).
To make a website of the company more user-friendly along with the simple booking process.
The principal goals of the Stride travel are given below:
Use a variety of methods to discover the preference of the customers.
Provide a high standard of service and memorable experience to the clients.
Provide the quality personnel in the tourist market.
To create awareness about the commercial and emergency conditions of the travel industry to ensure safety (Chatzoglou and Chatzoudes, 2016).
Develop customer relationships.
Provide relevant services as per the requirement of the customers.
Improve revenue and profitability.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
Very poor |
Poor |
Inapplicable |
Good |
Very good |
The table is used to present the reviews and feedbacks of the customers from Amazon and Target’s products and services on the basis of the above five semantic scales:
|
Sr. No. |
Attributes |
Intro travel |
Stride travel |
Comments |
|
1 |
Link of website URL to the name of the business |
5 |
5 |
The website of the URL and the name of the business both are same. |
|
2 |
How easily the website can be found by using general internet search engines( Google, AltaVista, Bing, Yahoo)? |
5 |
5 |
Both of the companies can be easily explored through any research engine (Pedersen, Gwozdz, and Hvass, 2018). |
|
3 |
The reasonable organization information required by the users is available on the site or not |
3 |
4 |
Every customer has different requirements. In this scenario, it is complicated to fulfill the demand of each and every customer. However, both the companies update their website on the regular basis in order to meet customer’s requirements. The companies also provide various options to target customers. |
|
4 |
Are requirements appropriate for the user’s information? |
3 |
4 |
Proper processes have been implemented by Intro and Stride travels in order to provide relevant information. |
|
5 |
How well the website assures users about security and use of the information? |
3 |
5 |
The security concern in the case of Intro travel is not up to a mark. Stride travel offers proper security through insurance to its users. |
|
6 |
How well does the website raise users trust in the organization? |
3 |
5 |
Intro travel deals with the customer segment only and has developed a good image in the market. Stride travels serve both business and clients in relation to the travel products and services. It has gained trust along with the popularity of the targeted audience. |
|
7 |
How well does the website address legal issues linked with the use of website or engagement in the transactions? |
5 |
5 |
Both of the travel companies have clearly addressed the legal policies on their websites. It mentions that if any activity is conducted for the purpose rather than consumption of the services than the authorities have to take strict action against the users. The agencies have the right to cancel the membership and packages. |
|
8 |
How well does the website provide for the convenience of the users? |
5 |
5 |
Personal information and the number of days are asked by the clients. |
|
9 |
How well does the website address the language or cultural needs of the clients? |
2 |
2 |
There is no availability of the language option on both the sites. |
|
10 |
Does the website contain all the product information which is required by the users? |
4 |
5 |
Both the websites contain appropriate information about their service offerings. But Stride travel provides more information by making a comparison of 700 companies. |
|
11 |
Does the website allow customization (user-managed features) that a user could expect? |
4 |
4 |
The customers share their requirements through feedback and reviews. Accordingly, companies customize the features. |
|
12 |
How well does the website personalize the experience for the users? |
5 |
5 |
Proper measures are adopted by the companies from time to time on their websites so that consumers experience can be improved with the companies. |
|
13 |
How well does the website identify adequate channels for the products and services? |
5 |
5 |
Yes, both the travel companies offer sufficient channels for the customer’s support. |
|
14 |
How easy it is to found information on the website about the organization, their products or services? |
5 |
5 |
Both of the companies provide sufficient information on their websites about the products and services. |
|
15 |
How easy is to read information on the websites (the information is provided in the appropriate language with the sufficient detail for the users)? |
4 |
5 |
Stride travels provide more options. |
|
16 |
Is it easy to navigate the websites? |
5 |
5 |
Both of the websites offers sufficient information to the users to navigate other window and links while assessing the website of the company. |
|
17 |
How appropriate are the websites aesthetics for the targeted audience? |
5 |
5 |
The timelines of Intro and Stride travel are lively which appeals to the target segment. |
|
18 |
How well does the website foster community among users? |
5 |
5 |
Both of the companies have the option of sharing reviews and feedbacks concerning service offered by them. These feedbacks convert the prospective consumers into clients. |
|
19 |
How rapidly does the website load into the browser and do all website features, links and embedded objects work as intended? |
5 |
5 |
The website loads in maximum 2 seconds depending on the internet speed. |
|
20 |
How well does the website support different web browsers or platforms? |
4 |
5 |
Intro travel’s website takes more time than Stride travel to load in other browsers. |
|
21 |
Does the website provide a sufficient range of payment options as could be reasonably expected? |
4 |
5 |
Both of the companies confirm and ask clients regarding their requirements before finalizing payment. The companies accept payments in both modes online (digital) and offline. |
|
22 |
Does the website provide a sufficient range of delivery options as could be reasonably expected |
5 |
5 |
Yes, both of the companies extract services as per the preferences of the consumers. |
Stride travel provides more effective services to the targeted audience in the Australian market. It makes use of innovative promotional and advertisements strategies in order to gain a competitive advantage in the e-commerce sector. The website is also capable of fulfilling the demand of the clients and businesses in the terms of the travel information and services. It can be considered that the Stride travel is more popular than Intro travel. The target group of Stride travel is more extensive and is operative in various countries. It is also successful in the terms of the service offerings. Stride has gained widespread image than Intro travel.
References
Abdullah and Siraj, S., 2018. Antecedents and consequences of the process of customer engagement through social media: an integrated conceptual framework. International Journal of Electronic Business, 14(1), pp.1-27.
Chatzoglou, P. and Chatzoudes, D., 2016. Factors affecting e-business adoption in SMEs: an empirical research. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 29(3), pp.327-358.
Chiu, C.M., Wang, E.T., Fang, Y.H. and 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), pp.85-114.
Fielt, E., 2014. Conceptualising business models: Definitions, frameworks and classifications. Journal of Business Models, 1(1), pp.85-105.
Grant, K., Edgar, D., Sukumar, A. and Meyer, M., 2014. ‘Risky business’: Perceptions of e-business risk by UK small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). International Journal of Information Management, 34(2), pp.99-122.
Gummesson, E., 2014. The theory/practice gap in B2B marketing: reflections and search for solutions. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 29(7/8), pp.619-625.
Halter, N., 2017. “Cannibals and Convicts”: Australian Travel Writing About New Caledonia. In The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Tourism (pp. 867-884). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Huotari, L., Ulkuniemi, P., Saraniemi, S. and Mäläskä, M., 2015. Analysis of content creation in social media by B2B companies. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 30(6), pp.761-770.
Leistra-Jones, K., 2017. “When once you have fallen into an equable stride”: The Peripatetic in Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel. Journal of Musicological Research, 36(4), pp.259-291.
McKnight, D.H., Lankton, N.K., Nicolaou, A. and Price, J., 2017. Distinguishing the effects of B2B information quality, system quality, and service outcome quality on trust and distrust. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 26(2), pp.118-141.
Pedersen, E.R.G., Gwozdz, W. and Hvass, K.K., 2018. Exploring the relationship between business model innovation, corporate sustainability, and organisational values within the fashion industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 149(2), pp.267-284.
Pike, S., 2016. Destination image: Identifying baseline perceptions of Brazil, Argentina and Chile in the nascent Australian long haul travel market. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 5(2), pp.164-170.
Raj, R., Griffin, K. and Blackwell, R., 2015. Motivations for religious tourism, pilgrimage, festivals and events. Religious tourism and pilgrimage management: An international perspective, pp.103-117.
Sharma, R.R., Chadee, D. and Roxas, B., 2016. Effects of knowledge management on client-vendor relationship quality: the mediating role of global mindset. Journal of Knowledge Management, 20(6), pp.1268-1281.
Swani, K., Brown, B.P. and Milne, G.R., 2014. Should tweets differ for B2B and B2C? An analysis of Fortune 500 companies’ Twitter communications. Industrial marketing management, 43(5), pp.873-881.
Walsh, G., Beatty, S.E. and Holloway, B.B., 2015. Measuring client-based corporate reputation in B2B professional services: scale development and validation. Journal of Services Marketing, 29(3), pp.173-187.
Wang, W.T., Wang, Y.S. and 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), pp.625-642.
Wiengarten, F., Bhakoo, V. and Gimenez, C., 2015. The impact of host country regulatory quality on the value creation process in e-business supply chains. International Journal of Production Research, 53(16), pp.4963-4978.
Yang, X., Zhang, X. and Gallagher, K.P., 2016. The moderating effect of online community affiliation and information value on satisfaction with online travel communities in China. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, 19(3), pp.190-208.
Ye, Q. and Ma, B., 2017. Semantic Search of Online Reviews on E-Business Platforms. In Internet+ and Electronic Business in China: Innovation and Applications (pp. 461-482). Emerald Publishing Limited.
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