ICT Service Improvement: SWOT Analysis of RealEstate.com.au - Report

This report presents an ICT service evaluation of RealEstate.com.au, focusing on its current website functionality and customer support mechanisms. The analysis employs a SWOT framework to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with the website. Strengths include clear navigation and multi-device support, while weaknesses encompass a lack of instant customer support and hidden company contact information. Opportunities are identified in developing live chat and toll-free support, and threats include competition and potential customer loss. The report provides short, mid, and long-term recommendations, including the immediate establishment of instant customer support and a toll-free number, gradual removal of data-intensive visuals, and preparation for future communication technologies. The analysis emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and adaptation to maintain customer satisfaction and competitive advantage within the evolving ICT landscape.

9/8/2017
Student Name
Evolutions, Assessment and Suggestions for ICT service Improvement- Task A

ICT service Evaluation
Evolutions, Assessment and Suggestions for ICT service Improvement
Task A - SWOT Analysis of RealEstate.com.au ICT service
SWOT Template
Organisation: RealEstate.com.au Date: 07/09/2017
Description of current/new ICT service: Instant Customer Support (Chat Support;
Toll Free number)
RealEstate.com.au is a well-developed website supporting computer, Tablets and other
mobile and smartphone device. The website offers a vast amount of information but
lacks instant customer support which can be viewed as a negative aspect of the
website. Instant customer support medium allows customers to contact the business
immediately allowing for an instant constant which can increase the number of sales
made by the business (Minutes, 2015).
Many potential customers looking to invest in the property would like instant
communication making it a basic requirement the business has failed to deliver and
which may be incurring the business huge losses (Pahl & Richter, 2009).
STRENGTHS
 Clear Navigation Dialog
 Multi Device Support
 Easily accessible Smartphone
App
 Simplified Property Search
Bar
 Fast loading time
 Easy Registration Process
WEAKNESSES
 Lacks instant customer support Chat
 No clear Toll Free number displayed
 International markets hidden
 Limited Company constant information
 Tedious contact us process
OPPORTUNITIES
 Develop live chat support
 Offer Toll Free number
 Display international reach
 Access contact information
easier
 Reduce Data consuming
Visual dialogue
THREATS
 Loss of Customers needing assistant to
navigate
 Inability to collect potential customer
data
 Loss of business to competitors
offering easy to access communication
 Loss of customer due to data
consuming visuals
 No Customer Reviews
Summary and Recommendations:
On analysis of the RealEstate.com.au website, it is clear the business has invested a
considerable among of capital on the encores interface. This is a very important
requirement due to most people utilizing the internet to search for information and
communicate with clients.
Strengths: The business has offers a well-developed website with easy navigations
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and multi- device support. The company also offers smart phone app support helping
speed up loading time and connecting the customer. Another befit observed on the
website is the easy registration process where the customer only needs to provide their
email and enter an alpha numeric password and an account is instantly created. This
delivers instant access to the website allowing for business to connect with potential
customers quickly and allowing
Weaknesses: The business also has several weaknesses related to lack of instant and
toll-free communication which limits customer access. The businesses physical
address is also hidden which creates scepticism among customers who may want to
note down and verify the businesses existence and also review previous customer
comments before dealing with the business.
Opportunities: the business has the infrastructure in place to develop live and toll-
free support so as to access more customers. It should also display international reach
and must reduce the visual content on the mobile interface to reduce data
consumptions and increase the websites loading speed. Customers are growing
impatient each day and want work to be done quickly
Treats: Competitors are the biggest threat facing the business making it important for
the business to focus on delivering high quality information and facilities to its
customers. It is critical to evaluate and monitor facilities being offered by competitors
to determine areas the business can improve so as retain customer confidence thus
ensuring sustainability.
Short Term (Now)
It is critical to establish an instant customer support console on RealEstate.com.au.
This console should be able to allow the customer to connect to support instantly so as
to offer assistance on queries the customer may have. It is also important to provide a
1-800 toll-free number to establish communication immediately with the customer.
The number should be clearly displayed on all pages and be interactive on the website
thus ensuring it is visible to the customer at all time. The toll-free and support chat
buttons should also be easy to access and be connected with the support team.
Mid Term (next 12 months)
RealEstate.com.au already has a well-established website portal which most of its
customers access to avail the property investment, purchase and rental services. This
makes it important to avoid disturbing the appearance of the website to suddenly
which may affect customer’s perception and confidence. With visual images on the
websites identified to consume a lot of band width and contributing towards slowing
the websites, it is critical to remove the High definition images or develop a separate
mobile friendly website. The remove or replacement of current images requires being
gradual with back page images first being removed or replaced with low definition
images. These processes should gradually be undertaken over a 12 month period to
avoid shocking clients which may create panic and scare away existing clients.
Change is important but must be gradual since many consumers view change as
negative and may stop dealing with a brand or business if major changes to their portal
or customer interface are made abruptly. This has been observed by several major
global brands which registered a slowdown in sales due to changing logos abruptly
which confused consumers and saw many withdraw till it was confirmed why the
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company had made the changes.
Long Term (next 3 to 5 years)
It is also important that RealEstate.com.au prepare to embrace future Information and
Communication Technologies. The information’s and communications sector have
registered major changes in the past decade and are expected to continue seeing some
major developments in the future as well. Network-Based Telepathy, Hologram
communication, Artificial intelligence Assisted Communication, and Instantaneous
Translation are just some of the new forms of communication expected in the future.
This makes it important for RealEstate.com.au to monitor the developing forms of
communications and incorporate them into the websites current communication
medium which would further increase the businesses reach to its customers.
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References:
Minutes, 5. (2015). The SWOT Analysis: A key tool for developing your business strategy.
50MINUTES.COM.
Pahl, N., & Richter, A. (2009). Swot Analysis - Idea, Methodology and a Practical Approach. GRIN Verlag.
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