E-Commerce Project Plan Analysis

This assignment tasks you with analyzing a comprehensive e-commerce project plan. The plan outlines various phases, including assembling the project team, defining objectives, developing risk and communication plans, procuring inventory, hiring web development staff, and launching promotions. The analysis should delve into the activities, responsible personnel, required resources (both time and monetary), and the overall budget for each stage of the project.

BUSINES RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: THE BBQ FUN CASE
Name
Date

Assessment task 1
a) The three target markets for BBQ Fun include the new build home owners, the
renovations home owners and the replacements home owners
The New Builds
This market consists of people that are very proud of the laid back lifestyle of Brisbane, their
education levels is moderate to highly educated and are a mixture of professionals and trades
people. They have aspirations of living in richer suburbs and are also health conscious. They love
to buy Australian made goods and are loyal to the Brizzy print and online magazines. To this
segment, quality and service are as important as the price of the BBQ products
Renovations
This market segment has many other homes in various parts of the country, are moderately to
highly educated, and see themselves as being cosmopolitan. This target market segment are
health conscious and are mainly professionals that want see more exotic and fine cuisine that is
associated with the humble BBQ (barbeque). This market segment remains loyal to the online
and print version of the Outdoor Aspire magazine and to them quality and service is much more
important than price.
Replacements
This market segment are characterized by their love for, and pride in the laid back lifestyle of
Brisbane, they love supporting Australian jobs and are becoming more health conscious. They
dislike Melbourne and Sydney images; they do not like ‘snooty’ urban courtyard gardens;
instead, they prefer a Balinese like warm look to the minimalist Japanese style. This segment
also looks to make a saving on each dollar they spend while also aspiring to more expensive and
glamorous equipment if the price is right. They aspire to live in suburbs considered richer and are
loyal to the print version of the Brizzy magazine. To them, quality has as much importance as
price and good service is also a nice thing for them; however, price remains more important.
Positioning and Market Mix

BBQ Fun will use a marketing mix comprising pricing, distribution, customer service, and
advertising and promotion. The market positioning is on service and product as summarized in
the table below
Mix Pricing Distribut
ion
Advertising and
promotion
Customer
Service
Positioning
Target
New
Builds
Comparable
price to the
quality
assured (three
year
guarantee)
Retail
stores
strategica
lly
located
Online
sales
channel
In store promotional
activities with
chance for winning
tickets to exotic
destinations
Brizzy print
magazine
Great and
unparalleled
customer
service
Wide product
variety of
high quality
and unique,
different
from cheap
mass
produced
products
Highest
quality
service with
three year
warranty
Renovatio
ns
High price,
accompanied
with even
higher quality
and service
Retail
stores
strategica
lly
located
Online
sales
channel
In store promotional
activities with
chance for winning
tickets to exotic
destinations
Great and
unparallele
d customer
service
Wide product
variety of high
quality and
unique, different
from cheap mass
produced
products
Replacem
ents
Price
comparable to
the quality
Retail
stores
strategica
In store promotional
activities with
chance for winning
Great and
unparallele
d customer
Highest quality
service with
three year

guaranteed for
the products
lly
located
Online
sales
channel
tickets to exotic
destinations
service warranty
b) Previous marketing activities undertaken by BBQ Fun have included radio
advertisements, and they used social media give its wide reach and cost effectiveness.
However, these did not succeed; the firms’ target market is not people that use social
media regularly, or even listen to the radio. Instead, they are people that remain loyal to
the print (and in some instances), the online version of the Brizzy magazine. So the
marketing strategy used has not been effective in reaching the target audience. Further,
their previous strategy was general, rather than targeted to specific target market
segments based on their unique characteristics and needs, as well as their lifestyles and
outlook on life. This generalized, rather than tailor made marketing strategy is what is
responsible for the marginal success
c) The required marketing activities should start with the selection of products; because the
target markets have different preferences for products, BBQ Fun should select products
that are mainly made in Australia for the New Builds and the Replacements; the
Renovations target market segment will prefer or require exotic goods (imported) to suit
their tastes. The next activity is pricing; the prices for the different product segments
should be commensurate with the quality and / or service provided by the company as
service and quality has an overall high appeal than price alone. Placement (distribution is
another required marketing activity where the retail stores will be used, which there
should also be an equally high use of online sales and internet sales because the survey
shows it has 100% support and the clients would pay for the delivery and logistics
charges for the products. Promotional activities also form part of the marketing activities;
the company will undertake in store promotion activities where there will be raffles and
competitions to win overseas trips to exotic locations. An even more effective
promotional activity is the use of the Brizzy magazine using PR and paid for product
reviews and product catalog inserts given that the New Builds and Replacements target

markets are loyal to the print and online versions of the Brizzy magazine. The company
will also need to advertise in the online Aspire magazine to target the Renovations target
markets.
d) I would recommend the use of a direct sales technique where marketing and sales are
done direct to the consumer. The direct to consumer (D2C) model will incorporate e-
commerce sales where the target market clients visit the company website and make a
direct purchase; this is plausible and highly suitable because the market survey shows a
100% support for this model, including that the clients would happily pay for the delivery
charges. Having an online presence will give the company a wider (even global) reach,
aside from its two physical stores. The D2C marketing activity has many benefits for
BBQ Fun, including increased sales given the high affinity for consumers to visit
manufacturer websites (52%) with an intention to purchase. It will give better margins;
enable less dependence on retail sales or the need to set up expensive physical retail
stores, improved customer loyalty and engagement, and access to clients’ in new
geographies apart from Southern Queensland and Brisbane. The model would fulfill a
customer need to access a store with minimal fuss or inconvenience (direct delivery to
customer without the need to visit the store), and also offer flexible pricing through credit
card and other platforms use (Gibson, 2016). Promotion should include drawing as much
traffic to its website as possible through web based advertising using platforms such as
Google and including the website (and inviting clients to visit it) in its magazine adverts
and product reviews.
e) BBQ Fun will be affected by, and must adhere to the following acts;
The Privacy Act of 1988 which prohibits unauthorized use of personal information to
solicit for commercial activities
The Competition and Consumer Act that prohibits attempts to restrict competition,
inducing individuals to place their interests above those of BBQ Fun staff, and giving
misleading or false information; a three year warranty must explicitly be three year, not a
variation.
Australian e commerce best practice model and the Australian e marketing code of
practice; these will be applicable because of the proposed e-marketing and e-commerce
D2C model.

There must be adherence to the ADMA (Australia Direct Marketing Association) direct
marketing code of practice where BBQ Fun can send her customers that purchase online
promotional items through e-mail
BBQ Fun will also be impacted by the Spam Act 2003 when it undertakes e-mail
marketing; they must adhere to this act in conducting e-mail marketing and promotion
campaigns.
f) The expected outcomes from marketing activities include;
Increasing the loyal customers list to 16000 from 10000
Establishing brand recognition for their brand in South East Queensland so that out of
three people, at least two recognize their brand if a random survey was undertaken,
within one and a half years
Double digit growth in sales revenue in every subsequent year
Continuous growth in gross profit margins in subsequent years
Reduce per store overheads through disciplined expenses management

Assessment Task 2
Action Plan for a Promotional Activity
The plan will involve undertaking the promotional activity as a project; this is to make BBQ Fun
a project driven organization and will start with the formation of a project team consisting of the
following with their roles;
Name Role
Pat Misfud Executive Sponsor and Executive Board
member
Riz Mehra Executive Board member
Kim Chen Executive Board member
Les Goodale Executive Board member
Sam Lee Business Sponsor
Pat Sweeney Advisor and tester
Alex Mitchell Advisor and tester
Project manager
System developers
The project oriented organization has a higher chance of success than in traditional hierarchical
organizations, according to Camilleri (2016). The first step is to develop a responsive and user
friendly online presence by building an e-commerce website that is integrated to its information
system backbone and run as a database. This will ensure that all operations can be captured and
recorded in the CRM system already in place for both physical store sales and online sales. The
project manager will be a consultant to oversee the project and ensure the following deliverables
and intents of the company are achieved;
 Increasing the loyal customers list to 16000 from 10000
 Establishing brand recognition for their brand in South East Queensland so that out of
three people, at least two recognize their brand if a random survey was undertaken, within
one and a half years

 Double digit growth in sales revenue in every subsequent year
 Continuous growth in gross profit margins in subsequent years
 Reduce per store overheads through disciplined expenses management
The website will be developed iteratively with the respective managers and users being available
to comment on the usability and functionality of the system. After it’s developed, data can be
migrated and the system tested to ‘go-live’. While the system is being developed, BBQ Fun
should engage in promotional activities that include advertising aggressively in the Aspire and
Brizz magazines, both the hard cover and the on-line versions of the magazines. Radio can be
used as well as Television (electronic media). Further, the product catalog inserts should be paced
in the magazines and aggressive advertising and promotion of the e-commerce website be done to
sensitize users to it. That is the reason for the iterative development so that the e-commerce
website can function, albeit in an isolated manner as it is built and perfected. The hype around the
web e commerce site should create a huge impact, and involve even social media use where
possible, but with aggressive promotion of the website. When the e-commerce prototype that can
run large transactions is ready, it should be used as a promotion font where the in store
promotional activities are also undertaken online, for example, with introductory offers at bargain
prices and with a promotion to win an overseas trip to an exotic location. The e-commerce
prototype should be able to handle online sales and metrics taken on its effectiveness, while it
should also serve as a customer service point that also incorporates social media and on-line chat;
a chat bot is proposed to respond intelligently even when there is no customer service agent; the
aim is to offer excellent customer service on the e-commerce website. Based on the performance
of the e-commerce website, the developers can make last minute adjustments and go live. In the
meantime, aggressive promotion of the e-commerce website, with offers such as limited time free
deliveries be undertaken to attract customers to use the online sales portal, while inviting clients
that stay nearby the store locations to visit the stores and also enjoy offers. As the system is being
developed, the customer service agents and store representatives will be trained on the new
system to provide the best possible customer experience. Further, the company will have to build
up a significant stock of high quality locally made products, as well as import quality products
targeted at the Renovations customer segment. The metrics on the effectiveness of the promotion
should be measured and a dashboard created for real time monitoring; the e-commerce system
will integrate into the CRM backbone and online database to enable managerial accounting and

provide real time data and information for monitoring purposes. The aggressive promotion can
run for six months after which, it can be toned down; the expectation is that sales revenues will
increase, the company will be operationally efficient, helping reduce costs, and gross profit
margins will increase, while the loyal customer numbers will increase, as will customer service
and customer satisfaction. Activities are shown in Appendix I, table 1
Risks will be identified and managed as they come as part of a risk management strategy

Assessment Task 3
Survey Tool
The survey will be undertaken using a pre-tested questionnaire that will be developed and
administered randomly in the major areas of operation and to also cover other regions. The survey
questionnaire will be randomly administered electronically where the questionnaire is sent to
randomly chosen people from social media sites. The aim is to make it very easy and cost
effective to perform the survey. The randomly selected people will be told the survey purpose and
requested to participate, with the link sent through e-mail (where possible) or using social media
and be given seven days to fully respond to the questionnaire.
Survey Action Plan
Activities Develop and pretest questionnaire
Randomly select participants
Administer questionnaire over seven days,
online
Gather survey results, clean data, and
undertake analysis
Goals To gauge the rand recognition after the
promotion
Resources and personnel Sales and marketing staff to undertake
questionnaire development, pretesting, obtain
participants, run survey, and analyze data
Where and how survey to be implemented Online; cost effective and fast
Can reach a wider geographic area of the target
survey region
Easy and real time data analysis
Budget $ 2500

There were challenges to the promotional campaign, especicially getting the e-commerce website
ready and running in a stable way; integrating all company systems was also a challenge
Activity Report
The promotion was undertaken based on a market analysis survey, with targeted marketing used
for the three different target market segments. It was determined that all the customer segments
had a 100% likelihood to make online purchases for BBQ Fun products and were even willing to
pay for the extra shipping costs. This was because all the target customer segments wanted
convenience and when making their purchases. With this in mind, the company focused the
campaign around online sales by developing a new integrated e-commerce website linked to the
physical stores system to draw more customer traffic to the e-commerce sales portal. The
promotional activities included aggressive advertising through the Brizz and Aspire magazines
which were the preferred media by the target market segments. Advertising entailed sponsored
product reviews, adverts, and flier inserts for the company’s products. Electronic media was also
used, with advertising done in radio and local television channels. Further, online promotion was
also done aggressively to promote the e-commerce website, in addition to the other promotional
activities that gave lucrative offers for e-commerce sales and a chance to win a holiday trip to an
exotic overseas location. In store promotions were also undertaken with lucrative opening deals
and also the chance to win a holiday trip. A project team was set up to manage the promotion and
get a website up and running; this was informed by the principle that project oriented teams have
a higher chance of attaining success than traditional hierarchical organizations.
The e-commerce system was integrated with the stores CRM system to enable performance to be
tracked in real time for all the company's operations and aid in decision making. The effects of the
promotion were effective, with projections showing that the goals would be achieved ( and even
exceeded). A survey was undertaken to establish the impacts of the promotion exercise as well as
metrics on brand recognition. This was done by the sales team where questions were developed
and pretested using a multiple choice approach. This was done to increase the chances of
respondents responding as they were only required to select a response. The questionnaire was
administered online and results collected in real time for analysis; this was the most cost effective
and convenient method to undertake the survey. Based on the survey results and metrics from the
promotion campaign, the company attained significant growth in sales revenues while operating

and overhead costs dropped. Further, there were a record number of customers, with the client
base rising significantly, and based on projects and extrapolation; the total number of loyal
customers will be 17400 in the next 18 months, exceeding the initial target. Sales revenues rose in
period as did gross profits and are projected to rise by 19% and 16%, respectively. The trend is
projected to be sustained.

References
Camilleri, E. (2016). Project Success: Critical Factors and Behaviours. Farnham, Taylor and
Francis.
Gibson, J. (2016). Six Reasons Why Brands Should Consider Direct-to-Consumer E-Commerce -
Digital Clarity Group. [online] Digitalclaritygroup.com. Available at:
http://www.digitalclaritygroup.com/direct-to-consumer-e-commerce/ [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].

Appendix I: table 1
Activity Person Responsible Resources
Duration Resources (Costs) $
Assembling project
team
Project manager One week 300
Defining objectives,
deliverables, and
expected outcomes
Executive sponsor,
project manager,
Project board
Three Days 100
Develop risk
management plan
Project manager One week 500
Develop
communication plan
Project manager One week 500
Having adequate
inventory (local and
imports)
Kim Chen Four weeks 2000000
Hiring web
development staff
Les Goodale,
Project manager
One week 200000
Initial e commerce site
development
Project manager,
project team
Eight weeks 1500
Starting promotion
through electronic
media
Project manager,
project team
Continuous; starts
after project objectives
are defined
100000
Magazine promotion
with inserts and
sponsored reviews
Project manager,
project team
Starts same time as
electronic media
promotion
200000
Web promotions Project manager,
Project team
Starts when first
iteration of web is
ready
20000
Having clients use the
e-commerce website
Project manager,
project team
Starts after initial
iteration
2000

Running promotion Project team, project
manager
Four months (accounted)
Getting user feedback
and upgrading e-
commerce site
Web developers,
project manager
Four weeks 1000
Migrating to new
system and integration
with existing systems
Web developers,
project manager
Two weeks 10000
Taking metrics and
reviewing
performance of
promotion
Two weeks Starts after end of
initial aggressive
promotion
5000
Total 2 540 900
Table