The Adoption of Social Media an E-Commerce Platform in Square Pie

This document discusses the adoption of social media as an e-commerce platform in Square Pie, a fast food company in the UK. It explores the current usage of e-commerce at Square Pie, proposes an e-business strategy using social media, and provides an implementation plan for the proposed changes.

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The Adoption of Social Media an E-Commerce Platform in Square Pie
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The Adoption of Social Media an E-Commerce Platform in Square Pie
Research Question and Methodology
Square Pie is a Cheshire-based company that specializes in the production and supply of
handmade pies. Since its establishment in 2001, the company has grown to be a leading player in
the fast food industry in the UK. Currently, it has over 500 stores distributed across the country.
As a fast food company, Square Pie should be at the fore front of using e-commerce to help in
the sale of its products. E-commerce is a useful tool that can enable the company to conduct a
wide range of marketing activities through the internet. In this paper, a proposal is given to the
company to intensify the usage of social media as a strategy in its e-commerce efforts. The main
question for the study, therefore, is: How effective can Square Pie use the social media to
intensify its e-business activities? To respond to this question, the research will be conducted
using a document analysis. This is a research methodology in which data is gathered from
published literature. There are other instruments that will be used in this study such as the use of
interviews and questionnaires. What will be done, instead, is to seek for publications both in the
library and online. A thorough and rigorous selection process will have to be done to ensure that
only appropriate publications are chosen and used in the study. Once the publications that meet
the inclusion criteria are selected, they will be studied and analyzed to synthesize and simplify
the findings.

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Management Report on Square Pie
Introduction
The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive report on the study that was
conducted to study he applications of social media in Square Pie. Since it began its operations,
the company has progressively grown to be one of the reputable fast food outlets in the country.
The success of this company is attributed to the managerial strategies so far applied (Felix,
Rauschnabel & Hinsch 2017). Over the years, the company has been producing high-quality
food products aimed at attracting and retaining a large pool of clients. However, for the company
to accomplish its overall goals, increase its profitability, and growth, it must implement good and
creative strategies (Cawsey & Rowley 2016). E-commerce is one of the strategies that can help
the company to grow and achieve the successes that it aspires for.
The Current E-Commerce Usage at Square Pie
E-commerce, as its name suggest, simply refers to the carrying out of business activities
through the internet. The advancements in the field of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) have made it easy for the businesses to extend their operations to the virtual
space (Carlson & Lee 2015). Cyberspace has become accessible because it does not involve a
lot-it only requires access to internet and the internet-enabled devices like smartphones, tablets,
and Personal Computers (PCs).
As a major fast food company in the country, Square Pie has been slowly embracing the
use of e-commerce. The company has been managing a website called www.squarepie.com. This
is the e-commerce platform that the company has been using to execute its online activities. It
has detailed information on the history of the company, its retail outlets, list of products,

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partners, and all the other necessary information that the clients need to know about the
company, its services, superiority, and benefits over the other competitors. The creation of this
website is a commendable initiative because it has put the company to be present online (Wang
& Kim 2017). However, it is not the only thing to do. Apart from the website, the company
acknowledges that it should have presence in the social media network. That is why, in its
website, the company has links to its functional Instagram and Twiter account profiles.
In Instagram, Square Pie has an account profile under the name square Pie whose link is
www.instagram.com/squarepie. Just like any other company, Square Pie has created this page to
use as a platform where it links up with the clients who use this media platform for their day-to-
day interactions. However, a thorough review of the page reveals that it is rather inactive. The
company has not done much to ensure that the page is active enough to be frequented by the
clients (Alalwan, Rana, Dwivedi & Algharabat 2017). From the observations made during this
research, it was realized that the page has not had posts or updates in the recent past. According
to the Instagram website statistics, the company has only made 144 posts since it created the
accounts. It is discouraging because it does not show any seriousness, consistency, and reliability
(Yadav & Rahman 2018). It is a total disappointment to the 60,000 followers that the company
has attracted in this media.
The other only social media platform that Square Pie uses is Twitter. It is a commendable
decision because, as it stands today, Twitter is one of the most popular social media networks in
the world today. Here, the company manages an account under the name SquarePie under the
link https://twitter.com/SquarePie. Just like in Instagram, it appears that the company has chosen
to be an inactive user of the network. Since it created its account profile, the company has only
made 3,074 tweets. Although this might appear many, it is far less for an established company

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like this one. A thorough review of the profile revealed that the company made its last two tweets
on February 19, 2019 and December 19, 2018 respectively. Meaning, it uses the network in an
intermittent manner. Maybe, whenever it feels it necessary to do so notwithstanding the needs
and expectations of its 4,021 followers. All these, plus the fact that the company does not use
other social media networks is a clear proof that Square Pie is not committed to exploiting the
opportunities availed to it by e-commerce.
The Proposed E-Business Strategy for Square Pie
From the analysis so far conducted, it has been established that Square Pie is lagging
behind when it comes to the use of social media. The research has revealed that e-commerce is a
technology that all the fast food outlets need to embrace, if at all; they are committed to
exploiting the opportunities in the market today (Tuten & Solomon 2017). The management of
Square Pie should borrow a leaf from other companies like McDonald’s and Amazon whose
successes are attributed to the intensive manner in which they have been using e-commerce.
In this regard, the report proposes that the management of Square Pie should consider
intensifying the use of e-commerce and appropriately utilize it as a modern technology that can
benefit it a great deal (Armstrong, Delia & Giardina 2016). However, this report emphasizes that
the company should focus on the social media because it is the best place where it can get access
to as many clients as possible (Alves, Fernandes & Raposo 2016). The report suggests that the
company should be actively-involved in the usage of the social media just like many other
companies across the world do. Social media is recommended because it is the place where the
company can get a chance to increase the number of its clients (Newman, Peck & Wilhide 2017).

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Today, technology has made it quite easy for people to interact online. Social media is the
number one platform in which people interacts, share ideas, and engages in business activity.
The report, therefore, suggests that the company should begin using Facebook. From the
research done, it has been discovered that Square Pie does not use Facebook. The only
relationship that the company has with Facebook is that, in its website, there is a Facebook link
that is unfortunately non-existent. Hence, the research recommends that it is a high time that the
company should consider using Facebook because, by all standards, it is the most popular social
media platform in the world today. According to the latest statistics, Facebook has over 2.7
billion users. Meaning, if the company operates a Facebook page, it can get to connect with all
these users. Facebook is an easy-to-use media that only requires the opening of a company
account (Kiráľová & Pavlíčeka 2015). It is a good platform that has been giving many
organizations an opportunity to link with clients, disseminate information, advertise the products,
and get to sell to the potential clients spread across different neighborhoods, towns, cities, and
even countries. The other benefit of Facebook is that it can give the company an opportunity to
advertise the products and engage in market research (Godey, Manthiou, Pederzoli, Rokka,
Aiello, Donvito & Singh 2016). The platform is interactive and enables the company to get
immediate feedback from the users.
The report also recommends that the company should begin using WhatsApp. WhatsApp
is an application that can be used in the mobile devices and PCs to help in facilitating real-time
interaction between different people. WhatsApp is recommended because it has many users.
Statistics show that it currently has over 1 billion active users. WhatsApp can be of great
contribution if used by the company. It can enable it to interact with the clients and the members
of the public who, in one way or the other, are interested in its products (Hudson, Huang, Roth &

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Madden, 2016). The other way through which WhatsApp can benefit the company is that it can
give it an opportunity to engage in market research. The interactive nature of the network can
make it easier for the company to conduct a survey and seek for the immediate feedback from its
clients. Information from such surveys can be of great help when it comes to the making of
decisions regarding matters like marketing, pricing, production, and distribution so as to enable
the company to satisfy the needs of its customers and enjoy a competitive advantage over its
rivals in the market.
The report also proposes that the management of Square Pie should explore the
opportunities availed to it by the YouTube. YouTube is one of the most popular social networks
in the world today. Just like Facebook and the likes, YouTube has emerged as an attractive
network that currently has over 1.3 billion users. What makes YouTube appealing is that it has a
high-tech feature that enables it to host and accommodate billions of videos. It is easy to use
because one can even access it without having to formally sigh up. The management of Square
Pie should join the long list of the companies which have been using YouTube as a media
platform. It can benefit it in many ways. First, in YouTube, the company can get to advertise its
products to the millions of users who visit the platform every day. YouTube can create more
openings for the company because it enables it to get to reach out to many people who can end
up becoming its clients and even referring additional customers.
Last, but by no means the least, the report recommends that the management of Square
Pie should intensify the use of Instagram and Twitter. Although these are the media platforms
that the company has been using over the years, it has not been serious about it. As already
hinted, the two accounts appear to be inactive because the company has not been using them
appropriately. Companies which succeed in the social media always ensure that they use it

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actively by making new posts daily, constantly responding the issues raised by the clients and
engaging them at all times. The only change recommended is that the company should be active
in these platforms (Schaupp & Bélanger 2019). It does not unnecessarily need to create new
profile accounts, but to continue using the existing ones. So, to reap the benefits of the two
networks, the company should ensure that it actively uses the accounts by using them at least
every day. That will create a consistency that will make the company to be an active user of the
social media a key component of its e-business strategies. .
Implementation Plan for the Proposed Changes
The report acknowledges that the management of Square Pie as shown its commitments
to embracing e-business. However, from the study conducted, it has been established that the
company is lagging far much behind when it comes to the usage of social media. However, as
the research discovered, social networking is a strategy that can enable the company to succeed
in the sales of its fast food products (Chong, Lacka, Boying & Chan 2018). Social media will
benefit the company because it will link it to a large pool of clientele, get to disseminate
information on its products, directly interact with its potential and existing customers and market
its products. Hence, to achieve all these, the company should ensure that it properly implements
all these changes (Killian & McManus 2015). In its implementation plan, the company should,
hence, do the following:
The management should create a fully-functional e-commerce unit within its structure.
The unit that should be within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
department should be staffed by a team of well-knowledgeable ICT specialists (Jin, Chi & Gao
2018). These specialists should be empowered and, motivated, and supported through adequate

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funding and the provision of all the resources (materials, equipment, and machineries) that they
need. The company can also seek for the services of the influenccers to help in social media
marketing. The success of this initiative should be measured by evaluating the performance of
individual staff and the entire unit as a whole. The organization should frequently conduct a
survey to evaluate and ascertain the extent to which the e-commerce and social media goals are
achieved.
The company should create credible social media accounts and utilize them well. In order
to take advantage of the Facbook’s 2.7 billion, YouTube’s 1.3 billion, Instagram’s 1 billion, and
WhatsApp’s 1 billion users, the company should create credible corporate accounts and actively
use it on day-to-day basis (Yousef 2018). Each of the accounts should be managed by a
dedicated administrator who has got the requisite competencies in social media communication,
strategic communication, public relations, and customer care (Karimi & Naghibi 2015). The
success of the networks will be measured by evaluating the activity of the accounts, number of
following, kind of interactions, and feedback and response from the users.
The company should enhance the culture of integrity, transparency, accountability, and
ethical compliance whenever using the social media. The creation of the accounts is not all.
What, again, should be done is to ensure that the social media is appropriately utilized without
unnecessary hindrances (Hassan, Nadzim & Shiratuddin 2015). For the social network to be
successfully-utilized, the organization should take the necessary steps to ensure that the network
is used well without encountering the challenges such as fraud, poor communication, and the
infringement of the users’ privacy rights (Ashley & Tuten 2015). The success of these goals can
be determined by measuring the levels of satisfaction of the users at all times.

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Conclusion
Fast food is a progressive sector that requires all the players to be adaptive to modern
changes in ICT. Square Pie started by opening only one outlet. Today, it has over 500 outlets.
However, the company still has plans of expanding its operations and opening more stores. After
all, it is the dream of every business to grow. Thus, to grow and match its rivals like the
McDonald’s, Square Pie has to strategize. Apart from reconsidering its production and pricing
strategies, the company should position itself in the market by fully-embracing e-commerce. it
should operate its website as long as he social media network accounts through which it can get
to link up to, interact with, and tap a large pool of clients from the Facbook’s 2.7 billion,
YouTube’s 1.3 billion, Instagram’s 1 billion, and WhatsApp’s 1 billion users. These platforms
can be of great value to the company because they can enable it expand its customer base, market
its products, and increase the volume of sales. To accomplish all these, the company should
intensify its social media usage and take it seriously as it has never done before.

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