Assessing Experience Economy Strategies of the e-Commerce Web site

Small, rural businesses expand their market and develop new ways to communicate with customers using Web sites. Development of key business strategies on the Internet must start with clear identification of business presence on the Internet. Typically, there are two distinct purposes for business Web sites: (1) to provide Information and (2) to generate online transactions (Jeong, Oh, & Gregoire, 2005). To accomplish such goals, business operators need to consider Web site design including features (such as information about business offerings, pictures, color combination, online service, and security).

Well-combined Web site features and functions determine business success on the Internet. Web site features and functions strongly influence customers’ perceptions of information and service quality, ease of use, pleasure, and Web site design quality (Liu and Arnett, 2000). A successful Web site refers to the site that attracts more customers, makes them feel the site is trustworthy, dependable, and reliable, and generates customer satisfaction. Having customers engaged in a unique Web site experience results in their strong bond to the business. Your Web site is a reflection of the business, sending a message about the business to the customer and setting initial expectations about the customer’s experience with the business.

The Web site should create “telepresence,” giving the customer a sense of being someplace else, such as the setting of the physical business (Biocca, 1997). Achieving telepresence depends on how closely the Web site simulates the sensory elements and interactions that one would experience at the business’ physical location (Shih, 1998). Thus, to simulate experiences, the Web site must provide rich Information necessary for the customer to form a clear impression of the business and allow the customer to interact with business offerings or people online as they would be in the physical location.

In Module 4, the business operator assessed and began implementing 4E strategies using the 4Ps (Property, Product Presentation, Promotional Application, and People). In this Module, the business operator will examine ways to better communicate these 4E offerings and make the most of the unique aspects of the business’ goods, services, and supporting 4Ps.  This Module will present three key components of Web site design, namely, Information, Interface, and Interactivity (3Is) (Kim & Fiore, 2002) and provide assessment tools to help the operator improve the business’ Web site by capturing its 4Es through the 3Is.

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