E-Business Fundamentals and Systems: B2C Website Evaluation Report

This report provides an evaluation of two Business-to-Consumer (B2C) websites in the financial services sector, specifically Etax Accountants and H&R Block Tax Accountants, both operating in Australia. The report begins by identifying the websites and their URLs, followed by a justification for their B2C business models, highlighting features like personalization, account management, and ease of use. The principal goals of each website are then discussed, focusing on sales, marketing, customer service, and data analytics. The core of the report involves a detailed evaluation of both websites based on various attributes related to design, functionality, and performance, including URL relevance, search engine visibility, organizational information, user security, trust, legal compliance, accessibility, product information, customization, personalization, user support, navigation, aesthetics, and technical aspects such as loading speed and browser compatibility. A comparative analysis is presented, concluding that Etax website excels due to its clear and hierarchical presentation of information, user-friendly navigation, and effective use of color, while H&R Block, though informative, lacks the same level of visual impact. The report underscores key aspects of effective B2C website design and functionality in the financial services industry.

E-BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS AND SYSTEMS
NAME
DATE

Introduction
With the rapid growth of technology and the world wide web, along with more people
having access to the internet, many businesses have also shifted to, or at least have a robust online
presence1 . The web provides businesses and organizations a convenient platform to perform several
functions that would otherwise be undertaken at a physical facility; firms can use the online portal
for advertising, marketing and promotion, for the purposes of selling, to provide customer services
and create customer intimacy, and to create an online presence that widens the operating base to a
global audience2,3. In achieving such objectives, businesses and organizations have resorted to
developing various forms of e-commerce websites ether to provide products and services to fellow
businesses or organizations, a business model known as B2B (Business to Business): or to provide
products and services to consumers, in a direct marketing model known as B2C (Business to
Consumer)4. The locus of this article is an evaluation of two B2C websites in the financial services
sector. In this article, two financial services companies with a website, and based in Australia, are
chosen and evaluated. The evaluation starts by reporting the business name of the chosen website,
its URL , and a screen-shot of the home page. This is followed by providing a justification why they
are considered as B2C websites, and then the principal goals of each of the websites is discussed.
The websites are then evaluated based on various attributes regarding the principles of a good B2C
website design and functionality, and a comparison made between the two websites, which is likely
to perform better, as a concluding remark for the article.
Task A
The chosen financial services provides are Etax Accountants found at
https://www.etax.com.au/ and H& R Block Tax Accountants found at
https://onlinetax.hrblock.com.au/. Both are online based financial services operating out of
Australia.
1 Bhaskar Chakravorti, "Trust In Digital Technology Will Be The Internet's Next Frontier, For
2018 And Beyond", The Conversation, last modified 2018, accessed May 10, 2018,
https://theconversation.com/trust-in-digital-technology-will-be-the-internets-next-frontier-for-2018-
and-beyond-87566.
2 Jeff Pruitt, "Why Online Is More Critical Than Ever To Brick-And-Mortar Businesses",
INC, last modified 2018, accessed May 10, 2018, https://www.inc.com/jeff-pruitt/why-online-is-
more-critical-than-ever-to-brick-mortar.html.
3 Brandon Eley and Shayne Tilley, Online Marketing Inside Out (Collingwood, Victoria,
Australia: SitePoint, 2009).
4 Dee Blick, The 15 Essential Marketing Masterclasses For Your Small Business (Hoboken:
Wiley, 2013).

Task B
Why https://www.etax.com.au/ is a B2C business model
Etax offers personalized services to clients where a customer visits the website, evaluates the
available features and services, and then signs up for any one of their choice and then go ahead and
follow the provided short steps, with intelligence assistance and feedback. One of the features of e-
commerce websites operating on the B2C model is personalization where a range of sophisticated
features are provided to enable users personalize their individual experiences through
recommendations and advice in real time5. When a user is at the Etax website, they can search for
whatever information they are looking for so as to obtain customized information; this is also an
important defining feature of B2C websites. The website provides new users an opportunity and
portal to register; this implies that they are able to get account management services on the website;
analytics and account management is another of the defining feature of B2C model websites6. The
website provides configuration services for their products so the customer can select what best suits
them; this is also an important feature of B2C websites. The decision making process is also short,
as happens with B2C websites were a customer views products and is then able to decide whether to
buy or not in a relatively short period of time.
Why https://onlinetax.hrblock.com.au/ is a B2C business model
H&R has on its home page a description of services it offers, their prices, and encourages
visitors with a single focused message that they can lodge their tax returns online, at a small cost
and complete the entire process in three simple steps. A client enters their information, and then the
staff at H&R check their information and voila! They get their returns and their refund. The website
also provides customizable packages that users can select from, depending on their personal
preferences, with reasons given as to why the website offers the best service. Further, the website
has social media links that users can click on and post comments of continue to interact with the
brand. When a user visits the site, they can register if they are new or just log in and make a
payment or undertake a variety of tasks while logged in. All these features confirm that H&R are a
B2C company because the website establishes shorter relations with then customer; the entire
process takes a very short tie ad there is no further interaction until the results are out7. Because of
5 Vladimir Petrović, "What Do B2B Buyers Expect From Their Suppliers", Cerait Inc. |
Custom Software Development, Mobile Ecommerce, Business Intelligence, last modified 2016,
accessed May 10, 2018, https://www.cerait.com/what-do-b2b-buyers-expect-their-suppliers.html.
6 John Zenner, "E-Commerce B2C Model", Www.Tutorialspoint.Com, last modified 2018,
accessed May 10, 2018, https://www.tutorialspoint.com/e_commerce/e_commerce_b2c_mode.htm.
7 Dave Turbide and Dave Turbide, "B2C E-Commerce Features For B2B Business", I.B.I.S.
Inc., last modified 2018, accessed May 10, 2018, http://ibisinc.com/blog/b2c-e-commerce-features-
for-b2b-business/.

this, the buying and decision making process is also significantly shorter, eve compared to making a
purchase from a traditional store or from a B2B website. Personalization is a major feature of B2C
websites and H&R provides for personalization where customers can make a decision on exactly
what it is that they want8. The website also provides search features for users to seek what they want
and then make a decision; B2C websites are characterized by having search features so users can
look for what they want without needing further help and assistance. B2C websites are also
characterized by having account management and analytics features that sellers use for getting
insights and making decisions. The website also has a social media link, a characteristics of B2C
websites. B2C websites also allow for product configuration as well as payment and payment
processing features9
Task C
Etax https://www.etax.com.au/
The principal business goals of the Etax website are to;
 Sell their services to consumers by enabling consumers choose a product and pay for them;
through the website, payment processing services are also provided
 Advertise and market, as well as undertake promotions from their website
 Provide customer services to the clients where customers can make inquiries at the website
and get a reply sent to their e-mail addresses
 Get feedback information based on collected data such as number of unique visitors, visitors
that became customers, regions they are getting more customers, and what services are a
large majority of customers purchasing. The generated information can then be used for
analytics and decision making
H&R https://onlinetax.hrblock.com.au/
 The website serves as a customer engagement and customer service portal for the company
as clients can log in or register for services and make purchases as well as get clarifications
 The website serves the purpose of marketing and advertising to show they have an online
presence as they can appear among web browser search engines when a client is seeking
such services. With the linked social media sites, the company can market and promote its
services as well
 The website is a sales point for the company; by providing its services online, customers pay
for them and this generates revenue for the company
8 A. B. Rami Shani and Debra A Noumair, Research In Organizational Change And
Development (Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2014).
9 Alireza Faed, An Intelligent Customer Complaint Management System With Application To
The Transport And Logistics Industry (Heidelberg: Springer, 2013).

 The website also fulfills the role of widening the company’s footprint because it can be
accessed globally by any interested clients
Task D
The two websites are evaluated and given scores based on the authors’ observations, and
grounded in concepts of website design, functionality, and performance
Attribute Assessment Rating of the websites based on
attributes
Etax
Accountants
H& R Block Tax
Accountants
1 How does the website URL relate to the business
name?
4 4.2
2 How easily is the website found using general
internet search engines (e.g. Google, Ask, AltaVista,
Bing, Yahoo!)?
4 3.9
3 Does the website give me all the organizational
information a user could reasonably require?
4.5 4.5
4 Are requirements to provide a user’s information
appropriate?
4.3 4.4
5 How well does the website reassure users about the
security and use of their information?
4 4
6 How well does the website foster user trust in the
organisation?
4 4
7 How well does the website address legal issues
associated with use of the website or engagement in
transactions?
4.4 4.5
8 How well does the website provide for the
accessibility needs of users?
4.6 4.5
9 How well does the website address the language or
cultural needs of users?
3.8 3.5
10 Does the website contain all the product information 4.4 4.6

that a user could reasonably require?
11 Does the website allow all the customization (user-
managed features) that a user could reasonably
expect?
4.3 4.2
12 How well does the website personalize the experience
for users?
4.4 4.6
13 Does the website identify sufficient channels for user
service/support?
3.6 3.9
14 How easy is it to find any information on the website
about the organisation, their products or services?
4.4 4.5
15 How easy is the information on the website to read
(i.e. is provided information in appropriate language
and with sufficient detail for most users)?
4.5 4.4
16 Is the website easy to navigate (i.e. move through the
website to find information, products, or services, and
engage in transactions with the organisation)?
4 4
17 How appropriate are the website aesthetics (e.g. use
of layout, colours, imagery, fonts, etc) for the target
audience?
3.9 4.1
18 How well does the website foster community among
users?
3.7 3.8
19 How quickly does the website load into your browser
and do all website features, links and embedded
objects (eg: media files or applets) work as intended?
4 4
20 How well does the website support different web-
browsers or platforms (e.g. mobile devices)?
4.6 4.7
21 Does the website provide a sufficient range of
payment options as could be reasonably expected?
4 3.9
22 Does the website provide a sufficient range of
delivery options as could be reasonably expected?
3.2 3.1

Task F
Evaluating the two websites, their features, aesthetics, and how they would perform; the tax
website just about beats H&R; this is because the Etax website has aid out most of the information
that a customer can be concerned with, in regard to tax services better than H&R. Etax gets straight
to the point when a user first lands on the web page that they can get their tax returns done in the
fastest and easiest way, and the next thing is either for one to register or for existing users to log in.
the next information are the products and services. In so doing, the Etax website provides
information in a hierarchical way that is easy to use and navigate through; the content is well
thought out and gives the user an idea of what is to be done. The use of colour is liberal and unique,
using contrast and bright colors to highlight information and draw the visitors attention to
information that is likely to inspire action, such as registering, logging in, or at least taking time to
evaluate and know about the services offered by the company. By contrast, H&R also offers useful
information, but it just does not have the impact to keep a visitor fascinated, especially the use of
colour which is a little dull and lacks creativity

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blick, Dee. 2013. The 15 Essential Marketing Masterclasses For Your Small Business. Hoboken:
Wiley.
Chakravorti, Bhaskar. 2018. "Trust In Digital Technology Will Be The Internet's Next Frontier, For
2018 And Beyond". The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/trust-in-digital-
technology-will-be-the-internets-next-frontier-for-2018-and-beyond-87566.
Eley, Brandon, and Shayne Tilley. 2009. Online Marketing Inside Out. Collingwood, Victoria,
Australia: SitePoint.
Faed, Alireza. 2013. An Intelligent Customer Complaint Management System With Application To
The Transport And Logistics Industry. Heidelberg: Springer.
Petrović, Vladimir. 2016. "What Do B2B Buyers Expect From Their Suppliers". Cerait Inc. |
Custom Software Development, Mobile Ecommerce, Business Intelligence.
https://www.cerait.com/what-do-b2b-buyers-expect-their-suppliers.html.
Pruitt, Jeff. 2018. "Why Online Is More Critical Than Ever To Brick-And-Mortar Businesses". INC.
https://www.inc.com/jeff-pruitt/why-online-is-more-critical-than-ever-to-brick-mortar.html.
Shani, A. B. Rami, and Debra A Noumair. 2014. Research In Organizational Change And
Development. Bradford: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Turbide, Dave, and Dave Turbide. 2018. "B2C E-Commerce Features For B2B Business". I.B.I.S.
Inc.. http://ibisinc.com/blog/b2c-e-commerce-features-for-b2b-business/.
Zenner, John. 2018. "E-Commerce B2C Model". Www.Tutorialspoint.Com.
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/e_commerce/e_commerce_b2c_mode.htm.