Analysis of Internet Marketing and E-commerce Strategies

The provided document is an academic assignment that explores the topic of internet marketing and e-commerce. It includes a list of references to relevant studies and articles on the subject, as well as online resources and sources. The assignment appears to be related to business or management studies, possibly in the context of information technology or marketing.

Business Skill for E-
Commerce

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Assessment of the core business functions of organisation..............................................1
1.2 Evaluation of organisation's aims and how it relates to stakeholders..............................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
2.1 Analysis of the impact of E commerce to the Hilton hotel..............................................5
2.2 Discussion about the global impact of E-commerce on society in relation to Hilton hotel..8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
3.1 Investigation of market potential for e-commerce opportunity........................................8
3.2 Evaluation of current e-commerce systems is use by similar organisation......................9
3.3 Discussion about the financial implication of the e-commerce solution..........................9
3.4 Design an e-commerce solution to enhance the business functions...............................10
3.5 Evaluation of suitability of the e-commerce solution.....................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
In the present era, there are huge competition in the business environment among the
organisations. Every business enterprise requires effective success, growth and stability in the
market. For this purpose, they make various efforts, strategies and practices and develop their
own brand image in the market (Beaudry and Pinsonneault, 2010). Technology is one of the
most essential tool which can boost up the performance of business and assist in attaining the
objective. In this manner, e-commerce plays a very crucial role under which company use the
internet and other electronic medium to sell and buy the product and services in the market. The
following report provides an effective understanding about the business skill to design an e
commerce solution for the corporation. In addition to this, the aim, structure, functions of Hilton
hotel and its relation of its stakeholders has also systematically addressed in this report. Cited
venture is a famous hotel in the UK, which deals with the accommodation services. Moreover,
how this company design its e commerce in order to get an effective success in the market.
TASK 1
1.1 Assessment of the core business functions of organisation
Hilton hotel is a global brand of full service hotels and resorts. Cited venture have 570
Hilton hotels and resort properties in 85 countries and territories. It is one of the largest
hospitality company in the world which have 5000 properties with more than 812000 rooms in
85 countries. Hilton hotel’s main aim is to become number one accommodation hotel in the
world and earn maximum profitability and market share (Dahlstrom, Walker and Dziuban,
2013). For this objective, cited venture makes an excellent effort along with its all core functions.
It also focuses on improving the quality and productivity of hotel services. In order to understand
the business performance of Hilton hotel, core function has systematically addressed in the
following- Sales- In the field of marketing and sales of Hilton hotel, it has worldwide employs more
than 700 sales professionals around the world. Hilton hotel sales team also engaged with
the leisure travellers, travel agencies and conventions. Operation- Hilton hotel operations are settled in an effective manner as it has divided its
operation of business via three segments that is ownership, management and franchise
and timeshare. In the ownership segment, it consists of 146 hotels with 59463 rooms. Its
management consist of 4419 hotels with 691887 rooms. Timeshare segment consist of 45
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properties comprising 7152 units. This includes marketing and selling timeshare
intervals, operating timeshare resort and timeshare membership clubs and providing
consumer financing. Management- Hilton hotel has high skilled and quality employees who make continuous
efforts to attain the objective of organisation. Company organises effective training and
development program for its workforce so as they can improve their business
performance attain the target within time period.
 Services- Hilton hotel delivers high quality and luxurious services in the market which is
one of the most important competitive advantage of cited venture. It also offers the
customer services on the various social networking sites like twitter, Facebook, Instagram
etc.
PESTLE Analysis of the Hilton Hotel
In order to survive in the competitive business environment, company requires analysing
its business environment. It consists with various components thus, it is very important to
analyse each component. Hilton hotel is largely affected by these elements of business
environment which are as follows-
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Illustration 1: Core business function
Source: Kellermann and Jones, 2013

 Political- It includes governmental rules, regulation, code of conduct, taxation practices
etc which have to be followed by Hilton hotel for survive its business operation in the
business environment. This component influences the number visitors, both tourist and
business travellers visit to a country in direct and indirect way. Economical- It is a major factor which affects the services of the Hilton hotel like
slowdown of economic growth directly affects the progress and profitability of business
unit. This component includes inflation, interest rate, recession etc. Once, company sets
its process of the accommodation services theses element can largely affect the business
operation and activities. (Venkatesh, Thong and Xu, 2012). Social and cultural- This factor can largely affect to Hilton hotel as number of people
planned to travel internationally increased by 13% between 2013 and 2014.Cultural
changes like beliefs, value, living standard, income level of customer can affect sales of
the services of Hilton hotel. Technological-Technology is one of the major competent which affect the business
operation in large manner as in every functional department like finance, operation,
administration, marketing etc requires effective technology (Berman and Katona, 2013).
In form of online rental services, online booking of traveller, accommodation etc required
the technology. In the present time with assistant of technology, Hilton hotel have
connected with social media and develop its own website on the internet. Environment- Environment is another major element which directly affect the business
activities and function. It includes natural factor like air, water, sunlight, fuel etc (Hall,
2014). As per the current data it has been founded that the major environmental factor
that could disrupt Hilton business that is fuel prices. Falling oil prices can reduce travel
costs and more demand for hotel room. Legal- UK government has developed some legislation and law related to hospitality
business, its employees and customer which Hilton hotel have to follow. It includes some
acts and law related to customer and employees like employability act, customer right
act, discrimination act etc.
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1.2 Evaluation of organisation's aims and how it relates to stakeholders
Aims and objective of Hilton hotel
The major objective of Hilton hotel is to deliver the high quality and luxury services to
customer to attract them and earn maximum market share. It makes an effective effort to
improve its accommodation services and gain stability in the competitive business environment.
Stakeholders are those individuals who are directly and indirectly affected by the
organisation activities and functions. Once company takes decision regarding business then they
have influence in large manner. Hence, it is very important for firm that it take effective
consideration about all stakeholder while take any decision related to business (Wenming, 2013).
Following are some different stakeholders of Hilton hotel - Employees- Employees are major effective stakeholder for Hilton hotel as they engage
with all functional department and business activities of business. While company take
any decision related to policies, practices, strategies, method, process then it has to take
consideration of this stakeholder. Employees have major objective to perform their roles
and responsibility in effective manner so as company's objective can attain within a time
period. Company can keep satisfy this stakeholder by provide them effective salary
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Illustration 2: PESTLE analysis
source: Wenming, 2013

package, incentive, working condition, business policies, practices etc. As Hilton hotel
have main aim is to deliver the high quality of hospitality services and earn maximum
profitability and market share (Carrigan, 2005). Thus, this objective can only fulfil while
company keep employees satisfy. If personnel are effectively satisfied then they will give
their best contribution to attain the objective of organisation. Customers- Customers are major stakeholder within the Hilton hotel who are highly
interested in getting high quality and luxury products and services. While when the
company makes any changes in the quality, prices, features of product and services then
customer can get largely affected. (Zarrabi, Nazari and Akbari, 2014). Company can
satisfy this element by delivering the high-quality product in reasonable prices. It is very
important for organisation to provide the regular update about the product and services to
the customers. Hilton hotel’s objective can only be attained when customer is effectively
satisfied. In order to earn maximum profitability and market share, cited firm needed to
keep its customer satisfied by delivering high quality and excellent services. Government- Government is one of the major stakeholder for the Hilton hotel as it
develops various code of conduct, regulation, rules etc which have to follow every
business organisation. While company operate its business then it has to follow each
regulation which developed by government. In addition to this company have to pay the
fair tax according to the set tax policy.
 Suppliers- Suppliers are those people who delivers raw material and semi-finished goods
to the company for its production and manufacturing purpose. They have major objective
to get effective order of raw material and semi-finished goods. Company should maintain
healthy relationship with supplier by make regular and fair payment and give high order
of raw material. In order to attain the objective, Hilton hotel have to keep satisfy its
suppliers as they deliver raw materials.
TASK 2
2.1 Analysis of the impact of E commerce to the Hilton hotel
As it has analysed that Hilton hotel have main objective is to earn the maximum
profitability and market share by delivering high quality and luxury accommodation services.
For this purpose, it requires using the effective technological platform where it can improve its
customer services and performance in the market. In order to improve business performance and
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productivity, cited venture thinks to switch toward the E commerce. It is a process by which
businesses and customer sale and purchase its product and services by electronic medium. With
assistance of this platform, Hilton hotel can promote, advertise and sale its product and services
by online basis. In this manner, company can develop its own website on the internet and
develop its own web page on the various social media platforms like Facebook, twitter,
Instagram etc (Shih, Chen and Chen, 2013). By use of technology like mobile, computer laptop
company can connect directly to its customer and get their review and comment about the
product and services. With assistance of E commerce, Hilton hotel can provide the information
about the accommodation services, prices, offer, discount, features, etc on the internet and get
touch with customer on regular basis. Hilton hotel can largely beneficial by this e-commerce as it
can offer online booking about the service and save the time of customer. One major advantage
of the E-commerce to Hilton hotel is that it can get the feedback of customer regarding services.
However, E-commerce have various kind of risk for both customer and organisation.
Following are some impact of the E-commerce on the customers- Direct communication- Hilton hotel's customer can largely affect by E-commerce as they
can directly communicate with company. In this E commerce, Hilton hotel can be
connected with internet and other social networking sites so if customer requires
purchasing and know about the services of Hilton hotel then they can directly post their
comment on the internet or they can use the other electronic device like mobile, computer
for connect with cited venture. Lower prices- The major advantage of the E commerce on the customer is that they do
not require spending the cost of transportation. They do not need to go to the store for
purchase the services and product of company (Zarrabi, Nazari and Akbari, 2014). In this
E-commerce facility, they can directly connect with organisation by use of electronic
medium. Thus, it can be said that on the e-commerce platform customer can get the
product and services in the lower prices as they do not need to spend money on
transportation. Greater choice- This is one of the positive impact of E-commerce for the customer.
Hilton hotel customer have great choice to select the product and services by their own
choice. E-commerce application provides user more option to compare and select the
cheaper and better option.
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 Information available- Hilton hotel customer has another positive impact is that they can
collect accurate information about the product and services on the internet. They can get
detail information like services prices, features, quality, offers etc with assistance of E-
commerce.
As per the above discussion it has been ascertained that there is various advantage of E-
commerce for the customer. However, it has some risk and challenge for the organisation
Following are some impact of the E-commerce on organisation- Challenges of New technology- In order to use the e-commerce platform, this is major
challenge and risk for Hilton hotel. In the present era, there are being regular
development in the technology so it is very important for company to maintain the
regular update in the technology and set its business operation according to new and
latest technology (Nykiel, 2007). Security issue- This is one of the major challenge and risk for the Hilton hotel as if it uses
E-commerce business for attainment its objective. While it deals with the electronic
business then major issue is related to the security. On the internet., computer, various
social media platform, websites require complete protection from the thefts, viruses etc.
In order to use this platform, company requires ensuring security and privacy on online
transactions. High labour cost- If Hilton hotel deals with E-commerce then it requires hiring the well-
educated and professional personnel’s who have knowledge and talent to manage the
websites of organisation on the internet (Wenming, 2013). This is major challenge for the
cited venture with respect of E-commerce. Creating new distribution channels- While Hilton hotel operate its business with help of
E-commerce then it has to set its new distribution channel. In the online process of
business, corporation delivers the product and services buy online basis so it is very
important to set the new distribution channel.
 Legislations- While Hilton hotel deal with e-commerce business then it has to follow the
rules and regulation which developed by the government. Furthermore, the cyber laws
that govern the e-commerce transaction are not very clear and vary from country to
country. These legal issues prevent people from entering into electronic contracts.
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2.2 Discussion about the global impact of E-commerce on society in relation to Hilton hotel
As per the above discussion it has been ascertained that there are various advantage and
risk of E-commerce on the customer and organisation. Now, following are some global impact of
E-commerce on the society- Job- For the society, e-commerce is beneficial as it provides the numbers of opportunities
about employment. Individual can get the information about the job by internet and there
are various portals available on the internet to hire or recruit the candidate according to
their qualification and choice like part time job full time job etc. Advertising online- This is another effective impact of e-commerce on the society. With
assistance of E-commerce, Hilton hotel can sale their product and services by online and
create competition in the market. Time saving- This is major advantage of e-commerce on the Hilton hotel as they can save
their time which could spend on the transportation and visit for purchasing and selling the
product and services (Fritz, 2013). With assistance of this internet and other electronic
medium, company can save their time and they do not need to spend the time for physical
stores. Global market place- The internet spreads across the world and anyone with access to it
can see what is up there. This provides the global market place but it also brings a much
greater competition.
 Pricing option- While Hilton hotel deal with E-commerce then it has to consider
regarding pricing of product and services. On the online business, there are included
taxation which affect the final price of the product and service. The prices of
accommodation may largely affect by the E-commerce.
TASK 3
3.1 Investigation of market potential for e-commerce opportunity
Hilton hotel is thinking to design the e-commerce system for attain its business objective
and earn growth. Cited venture have major objective is to earn maximum profitability and
market share by deliver high quality of services to its customer. For this objective company is
looking for E-commerce platform. Following are some objective of this platform-
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 Unique selling proposition- With assistance of the E-commerce platform, Hilton hotel
can get advantage of unique selling opportunity. As in this manner, cited firm can offer
accommodation services by online and use of other electronic medium so it can be said
that it can enhance sale and marketing of accommodation service. Business to business opportunities- Hilton hotel can also gain the opportunity by this
designed e-commerce system. Cited venture can expand its business by engage with other
businesses like Facebook, twitter, pinterset, you tube, instagram etc. This will increase
their investment in product advertising format.
 Business to consumer opportunity- The major objective of E-commerce business of
Hilton hotel is that it desires to get the extreme success by selling the product and
providing services to customers. Its main aim is to satisfy the customer by delivering the
high quality of product and services so business to customer opportunity will assist cited
venture for attainment its objective (Wang, 2010). Hilton hotel can provide the online
booking for accommodation and also offer attractive discount. Its accommodation prices
are comparatively low than other hotels in the UK. It also offers the free food facility like
breakfast and dinner along with booking of accommodation.
3.2 Evaluation of current e-commerce systems is use by similar organisation
As per the above discussion it has been ascertained that Hilton hotel can use E-
Commerce platform like business to business and business to consumers. In this manner., it can
use hybrid model of e-commerce. In this model of E-commerce, Hilton hotel always use their
own product and services and own brand for online shopping (Davenport, 2013). It has great
opportunity by this platform as it can attract large number of customer and develop its own brand
image in the market. Hilton hotel offers both online and offline facility for getting the services
and its booking for customer. If any customer can not able to use online services then they can
access the offline mode. It also delivers the services and its booking at its physical stores. It also
provides extra discount and facilities along with accommodation like food, transportation,
ironing etc. According to the market research it has been ascertained that Marriott hotel is one of
the major competitor of the Hilton hotel as it has used the similar e-commerce system.
3.3 Discussion about the financial implication of the e-commerce solution
As per the discussion it has been analysed that Hilton hotel can use the hybrid model of
e-commerce for attain its objective. In this it offers various additional services and facilities to its
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customer for both online and offline. In order to operate e-commerce in the business of Hilton
hotel, it requires some financial resources. Financial implication will be transparent for doing
good e-commerce business. Following are element of e-commerce operation in the Hilton hotel- Technology requirement- In order to operate the e-commerce, Hilton hotel requires the
high quality and advance technology so as it have to spend capital on purchasing new and
latest technology. In the absence of effective technology cited venture cannot start its
offline business. Hardware- In order to start E-commerce business, proper technological infrastructure is
very important which includes hardware. In order to purchase the hardware company is
required to spend money (Kellermann and Jones, 2013). Software- In the operation of E-commerce business software is very essential. There are
various kinds of software like virus protection, operating system, internet explorer and so
on. Hence, in order to install all of these applications, Hilton hotel requires spending
money. Maintenance and security- In order to start e-commerce business and carry out in an
effective manner, company requires maintaining and keep secure. On the various social
network sites, computer, websites information related to business should properly
maintain and update so as customer can get the right information. On the other hand,
security is also required to make smooth business. In this manner, company have to spend
the finance.
 Start-up capital- In order to start the business of E-Commerce, Hilton hotel requires
spending the capital at initial level.
3.4 Design an e-commerce solution to enhance the business functions
In order to design e-commerce solution for Hilton hotel, it requires adopting an effective
strategy that make its superior to its competitors. Its information about accommodation services
and facilities on the online mode should unique so as every customer can easily access and
understand. In addition to this online shopping service will be available for 26/7, 365 days in a
year. Following are systematic design of the e-commerce solution-
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 Flexibility of standard- On the E-commerce system, Hilton hotel will provide all detail
and information about the services and also make proper update on regular basis as
customer will not confuse. Adverting- In order to attract the large number of customer, company will engage with
more advertising on the public page like Facebook, you tube, yahoo, Twitter etc.
 Full account system integration- On the internet website, Hilton hotel will involve
proper transaction system for customer so as they can easily make their payment of
product and services (Tallon and Pinsonneault, 2011). All kind of detail related to
transaction will include on the web page so customer can not confuse.
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 Seamless payment solution- In the E-commerce business of Hilton hotel, it will focus on
the seamless payment solution under which customer can easily make their payment for
products and services. All information related to payment and account will give in a
proper manner on the web page of cited venture. It will include all kind of payment
system like electronic cheque, pay pal, credit or debit card etc. Credit system- Hilton will offer some credit card shopping option on its website and
internet page which will attract and facilitate the customers who have that. Effective security and privacy- It is also very important in design e-commerce business
for Hilton hotel. Cited firm will consider on the effective security and privacy on the
account, web page of business (Halal, 2003). It will also get digital certificate and
develop strong password to protect the information about business from theft and
hacking. In addition to this, effective software will also provide on the computer system
so as files, document and important data cannot miss from the system.
 Legislation- In order to protect the information and carry out online business in an
effective manner, Hilton hotel should consider the various legislation. UK government
has developed various legislation to protect the data on the internet about the organisation
like data protection act 1998, computer misuse act 1990, consumer credit act 1974,
trading act 1974, freedom of information act 200 and copyright act. These all act will
give the proper security and protection to business operation on the internet.
3.5 Evaluation of suitability of the e-commerce solution
As per above discussion it has been ascertained that Hilton hotel can develop an effective
and suitable e-commerce solution for attainment of objective. In the design of e-commerce
solution, there are numbers of facilities and services offers to customer by Hilton hotel so as it
can expand its business in the world of e-commerce (Tran, Le Ngoc Thanh and Phuong, 2013).
This design is quite suitable because this solution is user friendly as employees can easily
operate this business solution. Various website of Hilton hotel on the internet and social media
network will focus on the customer requirement and provide depth detail about the services. In
addition to this, there are also include an effective and easily payment system so as customer can
easily pay their amount and will not confuse. However, there are various kind of risk involved
but overall this design e-commerce solution will suitable for Hilton hotel.
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CONCLUSION
From this report, it has been analysed that e-commerce is one of the best system to
introduce the product and boot its sales in the market. With assistance of this system, Hilton
hotel can easily attain its objective and attract the large number of customer by electronic
mediums like computer, internet, social media etc. It has been also concluded that organisation
have great advantage of the e-commerce as it can speed up its business process, expand the sales,
get customer review etc.
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