Designing Websites to Capture Global Customers

Designing and developing websites that reach out and spark the interest of multiple cultures is difficult. Because a website is the online “face” of an organization and regularly conducts e-commerce activities it is important to build sites that are both functional and effective. Research by Dr. Kirk St. Amant examines culture, website design and the international spread of online access for businesses that want to polish their global business designs. 

Cultures have an impact on how users frequent and interact with website elements. It is often beneficial to use local administers with key cultural knowledge to evaluate websites (Esselink, 2000). Providing materials, information, e-commerce, and page navigation through the eyes of the target culture can raise overall conversion rates and sales. 

According to World Internet Stats in 2012 there were approximately 2.4 billion Internet users with a market penetration of 34.3% (Internet Users in the World, 2012). Growth between 2000 and 2012 is 566% showing the market is growing at a significant rate. The large market highlights how businesses can have profound impact if they develop their systems appropriately.

The author discusses how symbols and pictures impact how viewers understand web sites. For example, electrical plugs may look different in some countries leading to a rejection of the product.  Different cultures also have diversified understandings of visual information that impact product impressions (Del Galdo, 1996). 

Cultures use different prototypes to understand information. In prototype theory customers scan information to find similarities to the ideal (prototype) image in their heads to determine how to understand and categorize information (Aitchison, 1994). When pictures and information are mentally categorized on a site it is better understood and acted on by customers. 

The author concludes that by using simple analysis mechanisms it is possible to improve the global appeal of websites. The report acknowledges that this is just a first step and additional research into visual perception and understanding issues will have a significant impact on sites in the future. Businesses can consider the following website features in their evaluations:

Menu Bar: Where, How many, Linked vs. Image

Buttons: Where, Shape, Text vs. Image

Color: Background and Foreground Color

Hyperlinks: How Many, Where, Visual Space, Design

Text: How Much, Size, Capitalization, Consistency, Formatting

Search Engine: Where, Color

Pictures: How Many, Where, Size, Resolution, Color Scheme, Pictures vs. Artistic Impressions, Human Pictures, Logos

Aitchison, J.  (1994). Bad birds and better birds: prototype theory. Language: introductory readings. Ed. Virginia P. Clark, Paul A. Eschholz and Alfred F. Rosa (4^th ed). NY: St. Martins.

Del Galdo, E. (1996). Culture and design. International User Interfaces. NY: Wiley

Esselink, B. (2000) A practical guid to localization. PA: John Benjamins.

Internet Users in the World (2012). World Internet States. Retrieved June 30^th, 2013 from http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Creating Customer Loyalty through Technology Implementation

We are now in the service economy and should learn better on how to integrate technology within the e-commerce world. Considering the explosion in online marketing and service management it is possible to understand the growth in online service research. Understanding how customers view the value of such services is important for overall improvement.

Service quality is important for customers who desire to perceive the value of their purchases worth more than the effort and cost of buying the product. When this perception of service quality is high such customers will often reward organizations with higher levels of loyalty. Research has supported the concept that customer loyalties are based in this service quality (Gefen, 2002).

New technologies have created the age of e-commerce. This technology has developed fundamental differences in the way people interact and conduct business with customers. More importantly, it also changes the way in which individuals perceive customer value, how they obtain information, and the very nature of economic exchange.

Customers are not only making investments in the product but also the company. When a customer spends their time and resources trying to obtain a product or service they are causing customer sacrifice (Brandy et. al., 2005). It is this sacrifice that makes its way into the subjective evaluation of comparative worth.

Through social exchange theory people can better understand the process of comparative exchanges that both companies and customers make. Understanding the online goal directed behavior and exchange of time and effort toward products helps to understand how to provide such services (Zeithaml, et al. 2002). Doing so will better help organizations align their services to the customer’s needs thereby adjusting the perception of this exchange into a more positive one.  

A study conducted by Xu, Benbasat, and Cenfetelli (2011) analyzed service quality, sacrifice, service outcome, and customer loyalty related to products. Participants helped a friend shop for a laptop based upon a number of defined criteria.  A total of 128 subjects with various backgrounds were used within the study to provide diversity of perspective. The researchers desired to define the relationship between online service and purchases of products.

Results:  

-Service quality and customer sacrifice influenced perceived service outcome.

-The effectiveness of service dimensions is influenced by the customers’ product knowledge.

-Support for Social Exchange Theory indicates that if customers feel that their service quality and service outcomes were beneficial they will reciprocate with future purchases and loyalty.

-Customer sacrifice (time and effort) is relative to the quality of the product.

-Customers with high product knowledge are influenced by lower customer sacrifice versus service quality.

-Websites with live help reduces the perceive customer sacrifice factor and raises perceptions of positive quality experience.

Analysis: 

As e-commerce grows as a preferred method of conducting business it is important for organizations to improve their overall understandings associated with customer relationships. Creating higher levels of virtual platforms that foster, versus hinder, customer search preferences can lead to increased sales. In addition, limiting the amount of customer sacrifice required by offering quick methods of communicating with representatives can also raise overall satisfaction levels.  It is through weighing and balancing the use of modern technologies that can we create higher levels of positive customer perception and loyalty.

Author: Dr. Murad Abel

Brady, M., Knight, G., Cronin, J. , Tomas, G., Hult, M., & Keillor, B. (2005). Removing the contextual lens: a multinational, multi-setting comparison of service evaluation models,

Journal of Retailing, 81(3), 215–230.

Gefen, D. (2002). Customer loyalty in e-commerce. Journal of the Association for Information

Systems, 3(1), 27–51.

Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Malhotra, A. (2002). Service quality delivery through web sites: acritical review of extant knowledge. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30(4),

362–375.

Xu, J., Benbasat, I., & Cenfentelli, R. (2011). The effects of service and customer product knowledge on online customer loyalty. Journal of the Association of the Information Systems, 12 (11).