the 505 ski connection- bis project 1

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INSC 20263 Information Systems in eEnterprise The 505 Ski Connection

Project Proposal submitted to

Dr. Beata Jones

By

Zach Huie

Victoria Lee

Marcus Roper

Peter Severson



INSC 20263 -- Project Proposal – Page 1

1. Industry overview, based on library research (include sources):

Despite the retail industry’s growth slowing down over the last 4 years (Apparel Retail Industry Profile:

United States, 2009), the ski retail and equipment industry within New Mexico is fine. In fact, the NewMexico Tourism Department said “the number of skiers and boarders to the region rose by 4% in the

2007/08 winter season” (Travel Week, 2008). Many travelers are substituting the popular Rocky

Mountains of Colorado and Northwestern Ski resorts with lesser known New Mexico slopes. Regardingthe ski retail industry specifically, the market has seen significant growth in a few segments. Females are

a particularly strong section in the market. Despite being about one-third of all skiers, they account fornearly 50 percent of sales (Bouchard, 2008). A major focus for our company will be adults 25 and older,

as they compose nearly 60% of our market (Bouchard, 2008). This is a great segment to target, as adults

in this group tend to have high discretionary incomes and are very responsive to marketing. Another trend

in the industry is the huge growth ski helmets have experienced recently. As they become more standard

within the industry, wholesale shipments have risen about 5% (Bouchard, 2008). New female modeledand music playing helmets are signs of continued growth for the ski helmet market as well. Overall, the

current recession has slowed spending in nearly all retail; however, there are positive indicators within the

Ski retail and equipment industry for the New Mexico region.

Sources:

Apparel Retail Industry Profile: United States, 2009. Apparel Retail Industry Profile: United States

[Serial Online]. Graph. EbscoHost. August, 2009; 1(31):15. Available at

http://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/imageqv/archive/14hi/20090801/7910532.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMMv

l7ESepq84xNvgOLCmr0iepq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS.

Bouchard, Nancy. Vista Point. SGB [Serial Online]. Business Source Complete. 2008; vol 41:1 Available

at http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=12&hid=3&sid=7e6680d8-1231-499e-bcea-

943826b0c814%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=2851320.

Accessed February 18, 2010.

New Mexico to make its mark on the piste map. Travel Weekly (UK). Business Source Complete [Serial

Online]. 2008; vol 1/7:p15-15. Available at

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=15&hid=3&sid=7e6680d8-1231-499e-bcea-943826b0c814%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=35007535. Accessed February 18, 2010.

2. Perform a detailed Porter's Five Forces analysis for your industry. Be sure to discuss entry

barriers and switching costs.

Power HIGH LOW Justify

Buyer Power

X Considering many factors in the ski apparel and equipment retail

industry, the buyer holds a lot of power. First off, clothing and

equipment is a very competitive market due to all of the brand

selections. With the vast number of brands and substitute

products, retailers are at the will of the consumers. The industry

is also tied very closely to prices, which makes the buyer power

high as well.

Supplier Power

X With prominent brands such as Northface, Columbia, and Burton,

prices are highly dictated by the supplier. Many ski and

snowboard apparel suppliers are able to set high prices because of

their large market segmentation. They have become the default




names in the industry, which empowers them for pricing of their

products.

Threat of Substitute

Products or Services

X Especially in the apparel industry, the competition betweenbrands and products is exceptionally high. Both ski apparel and

equipment has a huge range of quality, style, price, and function,

which makes the industry more challenging. Although most

customers value price, avid skiers will not compromise forquality of equipment and gear.

Threat of New

Entrants

X The threat of new entrants is high because of the broad industry

we are in. The ski retail/equipment industry doesn’t require

drastic investments, so a likelihood of new competitors is

prevalent. Also the fact that you can find many niches within theindustry makes it more apt for competitive growth. Deciphering

where we stand in the market is important for our success as we

can rely on an established identity.

Rivalry Among

Existing

Competitors

X Considering many other areas of our industry, the rivalry between

our competitors is high. As previously mentioned, price is the key

factor, but also quality and name of brands is critical to success.

Some of our competitors in Albuquerque include SportsAuthority, the Beach Zone, Northeast Cyclery, and Sports

Systems. Finding a niche that attracts a steady target market is

important, as you will have an identity for your customers to

distinguish you from the competition. The tourism of this area

will help provide customers, but the industry isn’t growing too

much given the current recession.

3. Description of the competitive environment that is relevant to the use of the Web by the industry.

Competitive Force … and their Web Usage within the Industry

Customers

Customers use the web to research the products available and to compare

pricing, but the main reason that the customers use the web, is to order

products.

Suppliers

Suppliers use the web mainly for advertising and to raise brand

recognition. They also utilize it to display inventory and to inform

customers/clients/businesses about their products.

New Entrants

New entrants rely strongly on the web to advertise their new stores andto raise awareness of their entrance into the industry. They can also

research and learn about current methods and competitors within an

industry.

Competitors

Competitors use the web in order to advertise and to try to persuade the

customers to buy at their store instead of their competitors. Knowing

what their biggest competitors’ strategies and inventory allows




competitors to try to exploit competitive advantages.

Substitute Products

Substitute products use the web to raise awareness of the other option

available. By raising awareness of the other product, a customer is more

likely to choose the substitute instead of the first option.

4. Using what you have learned about good/bad web design in class and using class notes, please

identify: four web sites in your industry that you believe are ‘good’ and four that you consider

‘poorly designed.’ (Each individual researches two companies.)

Company Name REI All Seasons Sports Inc.

Web Site’s URL http://www.rei.com/ http://www.allseasonsrrnm.com/

Site’s

Target

Audience

Outdoor sports enthusiasts and

people with active and outdoors

lifestyles

Skiers and snowboarders of all ages in the

New Mexico region. They also cater to

tourists looking to equip themselves on their

outdoor trip.

Site’s Purpose

To offer and sell a large assortment

of outdoor, active products to

consumers all over the country.

To inform guests about the Red River, NM

area, and to sell/rent ski and snowboard

equipment and apparel.

Good? (Yes/No) Yes No




Design elements from

the lecture notes/lecture

that contributed to a

Positive/Negative

impression

- provide at least 3 for

each site & explain;

Attach website

screenshots with

discussed features

highlighted withdiigo.com or

awesomehighlighter.com

Clearly displayed- have

multiple panels that have a

range of button links, but

they are organized in a neat

and logical sense where it

isn’t overwhelming

Effective first screen- theopening screen has

complimentary colors and

displays a main picture with

options around the page.

Optimal use of space- site

takes up most of the screen

page

Organized buttons- the

buttons are grouped by

categories and they all

accurately carry you to the

appropriate pages

Logo- displayed at the topleft of the page to clearly

remind you of their identity

Too Wordy- The site uses long

paragraphs and textboxes to

convey information that could be

easily represented by bullet points

Layout- The front page of the site

has two generic pictures of skiers

and two textboxes with paragraphsof information.

Ineffective Title- the title of the

page is in the same color scheme

as the rest of the text which makes

it hard to distinguish amongst

everything else

The homepage buttons- they

aren’t relevant for a retail store to

have. They solely provide

information about the region,

which is fine if your primary goal

isn’t to make sales. There isn’t one

to take you to an apparel link.

Blank Space- about 1/3 of the

page is just blank

Cover page is too long- you need

to scroll down the page to find

relevant information

Fake buttons- the site has images

that look like links to other sites

titled “January rates” but you can’t

click on them

Company Name

Alpine Sports Santa Fe, New Mexico Your Store to Explore

Web Site’s URL

http://www.alpinesports-santafe.com/ http://www.yourstoretoexplore.com/

Site’s

Target

Audience

Outdoor sports enthusiasts as well as

people looking for activewear

Families looking for skiwear

Site’s Purpose

To offer outdoor products and

information about the different

brands to consumers specializing in

the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas

To offer ski and snowboard apparel to a

varying size of customers, from toddlers,

children, and their parents, to “big and tall”

men and plus sized women


Home page is one page

First glimpse- visually

captivating with a

consistent look and feel

First glimpse- too many

hyperlinks on homepage, a lot of

small pictures that are visually

distracting







Positive/Negativeimpression

- provide at least 3

for each site &

explain

Attach website

screenshots with

discussed features

highlighted with

diigo.com or


Limit colors- page is in

shades of blue

Almost no passive white

space

Areas of screen

importance- exciting and

compelling picture in themiddle, area #1, logo in area

#2 across the top, their

“featured product” and

“what’s new” sections in

area #3 on the right side,

and easy navigation on the

left hand side, area #5

No distracting animations or

music

Easy navigation, very

simple to use

Easy to find the products to

purchase

Passive white space- entire right

side, area of importance #3, is

blank and unused

Distracting animation- instead of

highlighting a product, the logo is

animated, which draws attention

away from the products available On the navigation menu on the left,

some of the items have menus that

pop out; they are distracting, hard

to use, and hard to see because the

text is light blue on a light grey

background

Two pages- homepage is three

screens of information, and it is

poorly organized

No one thing to catch attention

Company NameSun and Ski Sports Buckman’s Ski and Snowboard Shop

Web Site’s URL http://www.sunandski.com/ http://www.buckmans.com/

Site’s

Target

Audience

People with outdoor lifestyles. People

who like warm and cold weather

outdoor activities.

People who wear winter apparel and are

looking to purchase skis or snowboards.

Site’s Purpose

To sell apparel and equipment over the

internet and notify customers of nearby

retail locations in their area.

To sell skis, snowboards, and winter

apparel to online customers.


Animation: There is only one

animation on the whole

website and it is artificial snow

Background: The background

causes the description of the site

to be extremely difficult to see.







Positive/Negative

impression


each site & explain

Attach website

screenshots with

discussed features

highlighted with

diigo.com or


falling from the corner. It is

only on the homepage and is

not distracting from the overall

presentation. It adds a nice

touch.

Grabbing Add: There is a

large add that grabs yourattention upon visiting the

homepage.

Navigation Bar: Easy

navigation from the homepage

and minimal distractions and

confusion.

Minimal Distractions: All of

the buttons are large and easy

to read. There are no

unnecessary buttons and all

serve a purpose.

Colors: Many colors that add

to the presentation of the

website.

Background: Very simple and

appropriate winter

background.

It’s a good thought, but not the

best follow through.

Excess White Space: there is a

lot of excess space on the left

hand side of the screen which is

distracting.

Sub Categories: There are tomany sub categories and not

enough organization with

“folders”. There are over 20 sub

categories to choose from.

Long Paragraph: The long

paragraph is unappealing for the

first thing you see when you log

on to the site.

No flashy attention-grabber:

There is not a big picture or

advertisement on the home

screen.

Repeated Icons: There aremultiple icons that have the

same function throughout the

page.

Text: Some text moves out of

the boxes and looks

unprofessional.

Company Name Gander Mountain Skitruck Snowsports

Web Site’s URL http://www.gandermountain.com/ http://www.marksoutdoors.com/

Site’s

Target

Audience

The site targets those who enjoy outdoor

activities during any time of year. The

equipment is average to expensively

priced, so the middle to upper social

class members would be a segment.

The site targets people who are

interested in skiing and snowboarding.

Site’s Purpose

The purpose of the site is to sell outdoor

apparel and equipment over the internet,

provide helpful information about

certain outdoor activities, and help users

locate Gander Mountain stores.

The purpose of the site is to provide

customers with cheap winter equipment

and apparel by selling inventory

received from old, out of business ski

shops.


Optimal Use of Space- the

website takes up almost the

entire page. Very limited blank

and white space.

Use of Space- the site’s

homepage is full of blank,

empty space.







Positive/Negative

impression


each site & explain

Attach website

screenshots with

discussed features

highlighted with

diigo.com or


Logo- the Gander Mountain

name and brief catch phrase is

located in the top left corner to

remind users of the providing

company.

Grabbing Add- the add in the

middle of the homepage is aneffective attention grabber…

but does not distract the user.

Navigation Bar- the category

buttons are across the top of the

page, allowing for easy

navigation of the website.

There is no distracting music or

unnecessary visual aids.

Colors are appropriate for

website given what they are

selling.

Too Wordy- the site lacks any

type of attention grabber, and is

full of boring text.

The homepage is not limited to

one page, or even close to it.

You have to scroll down

numerous pages to seeeverything.

Grammatical errors throughout

site, including in the title (snow

sports is two words)

5. Industry ‘key competitors’ (Select four of the well designed websites from the previous section and

have each individual research their company in more depth. Include your perceptions/opinions in

this section.)

Competitor’s name and URL

of the web site

How (what

features?) are theyusing on the web?

What are their most

effective or uniqueways of using the

web?

What are their

most ineffectiveways of using the

web?

REI

http://www.rei.com/

They utilize a

category style

website to offer and

display products they

sell. Scroll-over,

drop down menus

and grouped links

help navigate to the

site’s products. Theyalso use promotional

text box links to

show off special

offers and sales.

Their navigational

links are very effective

because they are

grouped by category

(ie: “Climbing”,

“Cycling”), which

serves as a great

vehicle to find the

products you areinterested. They also

have a very organized

homepage, which is

refreshing considering

their large online

inventory.

They have two

navigational link

bars (one on the left

hand side, another

across the top page)

that target the same

categories. This

redundancy is

unnecessary andalmost a bit

overwhelming when

you first enter the

site.

Alpine Sports Santa Fe The company uses The simplicity of their Although the site is




http://www.alpinesports-

santafe.com/

the internet to

inform, sell, and

display their ski retail

and equipment. They

use navigational

links to narrow

searches andbrowsing options

down to fit viewer

preferences. They

also have a “search”

option, which can

immediately narrow

browsing.

browsing options is

very effective. Along

with specifying

viewing options, you

can use either brand

logos or pictures to

help narrow results.Their simple approach

is refreshing and

proves easy to utilize.

very simple and

effective to use, they

could improve their

product descriptions,

which are smaller

than preferred. Also,

when you click on aspecific product,

you are directed to

an entirely new

page. It may be

more effective to

just open a tab

window in order to

keep the original

search results on

hand.

Sun and Ski Sports

http://www.sunandski.com/

The site utilizes aneffective background

for the industry. It is

not too complicatedand is a perfect

accent to the

homepage. They

have a clear

navigation bar on the

top of the screen and

pictures of popular

products throughout

the page. On thenavigation bar at the

top of the screen,

there are drop down

menus when scrolled

upon..

The site uses socialmedia to share itself

with potential

customers. It uses thesatisfaction of current

customers to spread

the quality of the site.

While buying online,

it gives the option of

shipping to a local

outlet for no cost. It

also offers the option

of “eco gear” which isa environmentally

friendly choice for

winter equipment.

The snow fallinganimation is slightly

distracting but is the

least of the problemsfrom the site. There

is excess white

space at the bottom

but does not distract

from the overall

presence. On the

first screen of the

homepage, there are

no flaws, but whenyou scroll down the

page the blank space

and unnecessary

writing occur

Gander Mountain

http://www.gandermountain.com

The site’s homepage

not only makes for easy

navigation, but greatly

helps in selling Gander

Mountain’s inventory.

The sales and pictures

catch the eye’s of customers, and the

navigation bar located

along the top include

drop down menus,

making it even easier

for users to find

specific products.

Similar to REI, the site’s

navigational links are

grouped by category,

making it easy for

customers to find

products. The homepage

also includes links tosocial media sites such

as facebook, twitter, and

a chat board where

potential customers can

get opinions on products

from others.

Although the color

scheme goes well for a

company selling

outdoor products, it is

rather simple and

boring. The main

advertisement on thehomepage brings

sometimes distracting

colors and pictures,

depending on the

product being

advertised at that

particular time.




6. Industry Key Competitors - Web Site Ratings

(Be sure to come up with three more criteria on your own.)

Company

Name

Website

Content

Ease of

Navigation

Site

Appearance

Use of

Social Media

Ease of

CustomerService

First

Impression

Overall

REI 4.8 4.6 4.3 4.9 4.8 4.2 4.6

Alpine

Sports

Santa Fe

4.9 5 4.9 0 5 5 4.13

Sun and

Ski Sports

4.8 4.6 4.5 5 4.2 4.6 4.62

Gander

Mountain

2.5 3.8 4.7 3.8 4.8 4.5 4.02

Legend: Scale of 1-5 with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best

Company#1: REI

Rating Explanation of Rating

Website Content REI has a huge inventory posted online for purchase and browsing. The site

carries all products offered throughout the nation, as opposed to the physical

store, which hosts limited stock. They also post online-only sales and clearance

items, which are another benefit to the online experience. When viewing aproduct’s page, you can read product specs, ratings, reviews, and related items.

Ease of Navigation The site hosts an abundant number of products that can be easily accessed

through the sites navigational links and sorting preferences. You can quickly

narrow your search to “Outdoor gear,” to “Climbing Packs,” to “Lowest Price” to

find the exact matching products you may be seeking. Browsing is also easy, as

the site provides correlating pictures with the inventory links it offers. The only

negative is the homepage’s double reference bar, which is redundant.

Site Appearance Overall the site’s colors are effective. They use subtle earth tones (jade greens,

browns and burnt orange), which correlates nicely to the outdoor market they are

involved with. The site’s background is primarily white, which is a bit stale, butit keeps the attention on the products, not the website.

Use of Social Media REI has four social media resources: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. Ithas links at the bottom of the screen that lead to an REI page on each. It has its

own YouTube channel that has videos of products and outdoor tips for

customers. The Facebook link has events, sales, information, and a wall where

people can post comments. REI’s score is high for its web 2.0 sophistication.




Ease of Customer

Service

The site has multiple links leading to the following: customer service, contact us,

live help, order tracking, returns and exchanges, shipping info, phone number

listings, and product safety procedures. Each link leads to a different page,

unlike other pages which has links that lead to the same page with all of the

information. It received a higher score in this category for the ease of use.

First Impression The first impression of REI was not perfect but does have a flare that other sites

do not have. It has a white background with only orange and green auxiliarycolors. Although the site is using earth tones, the orange and green do not blend

well together and give the site a strange appearance. The layout of the site is

easy on the eyes and not confusing in any way. The only other issue is the fact

that a user must scroll down to read all of the quick links on the left sidebar. The

site received a medium-high score.

Company #2: Alpine Sports Santa Fe


Website Content The site offers everything from the weather of the surrounding area to the details

of the different vendors of the brands on the site. The site only has one page and

is the simplest of all the sites. The simplicity adds to the overall appearance.

There are five rotating pictures on the homepage and they are high quality. The

biggest problem with the site content is that there is no homepage link. It is

impossible to get back to the homepage without typing the site into the browser a

second time. With fifteen links, it offers everything one needs to navigate.

Ease of Navigation The site is extremely easy to use. There are only fifteen navigation buttons, so

the clickstream is very simple to arrive at the final destination. There is a single

page and the site requires not scrolling to find addition information.

Site Appearance The site looks professional and has a stunning background. The background is

not garish and does not interfere with any text nor does it distract from the

overall presentation of the site. There are only two colors: white and blue. The

background adds additional colors and character to the site. The simplicity of the

site is its biggest advantage.

Use of Social Media In modern times, social media is a necessary aspect to include into a website.

We included this category for that specific reason. This site has absolutely no

social media links or references on any part of the homepage or categories. It

received a zero in the category.

Ease of CustomerService

The customer service is stellar on this site and it has features, such as GoogleMaps, to show its exact location from the air using terrain view, map view, and

from-the-street view. This feature is not a common feature to use on sites these

days. It is not a hyperlink, but an embedded interactive map within the site. In

addition to this breakthrough feature, the site has numbers to call, addresses to

email, and fax numbers. This site is top-notch in customer service.

First Impression The first impression is nearly perfect. The pictures are enticing, crisp and make a

user want to get onto the mountain and ski. The simplicity of the site enable the




user to focus on the pictures and after all the pictures have cycled, the user can

easily navigate the site and accomplish their task quickly. The site look very

well put together and professional.

Company #3: Sun and Ski Sports


Website Content The content of the site is very good and has almost everything that a retail site

needs to function. It has various links and sub-menus that give the site extreme

customization which allows for easy use.

Ease of Navigation The navigation is very clear cut and has many options for narrowing one’s search

down to specific items. If a customer was looking for female, infant’s clothing,

they would only have to click one time in order to reach that specification.

Site Appearance The appearance is overall satisfactory but is lacking in color. It is not exciting to

look at but does grab attention with its ads and large initial picture. The websitehas a large advertisement for “50% off of snow gear”. In the box, there is a link

to go straight to the promotion and lists the brands and items that are on sale.

There are light blues, dark blues, dark reds, bright reds, and a strange green color.

The strange green color attracts the users attention to an interactive packing list.

It is a new feature on the website and does a great job of bringing attention to

itself.

Use of Social Media There is a drop-down menu on the left side of the screen that has links to

hundreds of social media sites that a user can share with his or her friends. In

addition to the sharing feature, at the bottom of the screen there is a list of the

following: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, blog, and YouTube. Each link leads to a

page that has Sun and Ski Sports content. Of all the sites, it has the mostextensive social media content.

Ease of Customer

Service

The customer service is the least effective feature of the website. The customer

service page possesses all of the requirements for a good customer service page,

but all of it is on the same page. The store locator, “contact us”, about us, Online

customer service, available jobs, and a list of all stores are all on the same pagewith the title, “Store Locator”. The page is confusing, but does the job it has set

out to do.

First Impression Upon arrival of the homepage, a user notices that there is no white space on the

first screen of the page. There are various promotions, pictures of products,

navigation bars, help for international customers, and customer service at the top

of the page. No other site has the customer service at the top of site. It

emphasizes the importance of service to the company. The light snow effect on

the homepage adds a great touch to the overall impression of the site. It looks as

if the site offers just about anything an outdoorsman could need, including a car

rack for one’s gear.

Company #4: Gander Mountain





Website Content The site has good content for non snow activities, but does not offer skis,

snowboards, ski equipment or snow sports gear. It does offer winter equipment

for hiking on the mountain ranges, camping, fishing, hunting, and boating. The

website lacks in the competitive aspect of snow sports sales.

Ease of Navigation The site has three ads that are clickable and lead to a separate page for each

promotion. Each category is very clear and specific for what product is being

sold for that category. There is no quick link side bar to help in navigation. This

detracts for the overall normalcy of the website, considering that most other

professional websites have this sidebar.

Site Appearance The site has red, green, and white in its layout. The colors blend well together

and give the site a professional accent. The site has a clear message, “We Live

Outdoors,” and has a logo in the left corner. There are several different

navigation bars that comprise the top of the website. The top of the website

defines the whole layout of rest of the site and it does a good job of doing so.

There are tabs at the top of the site which lead to other affiliated sites. This is agood way to give the user more of a choice in products.

Use of Social Media Gander Mountain has a Facebook and Twitter page. It only utilizes two of the

hundreds of social media websites that are available. Their pages on the social

media sites are professional and well done but are minimal when considering the

amount available on the internet. There is also a feature called “The Bragging

Board,” which is a place where users can brag about their fishing catches and

hunting kills.

Ease of Customer

Service

They offer live help on the internet and phone. Other sites do not offer this. The

site also has a separate customer service page that has the following categories:

ordering topics, stores, policies, email, and phone with sub-categories under eachprimary category. The customer service is utilized very successfully.

First Impression The first impression of the site is, “professional”. There is no unused white

space on the homepage and no distractions from the content of the page. The

links on the homepage can take the user to any part of the site. A user does not

have to navigate to ten different links to get to a certain part of the site. The links

are so clear cut that a child could navigate the page and be impressed with the

visuals.

7. The industry’s strengths and weaknesses in regard to the effective use of the web?

Strengths Weaknesses

1. Ease of Navigation

2. First Impression

1. Social Media Implementation

2. Ease of Customer Service




3. Website Content 3. Site Appearance (Interest Level)

8. Proposed website enhancements for the industry(at least 3 each):

i. What type of information would you recommend they add to their websites?

We would recommend that most of the sites should add more information about the

products and more information about a substitute at a lower price, especially for the very

highly priced products. Implementing social media functions to target younger audiences

would also be helpful for their sites.

ii. What modifications would you recommend to their web design?

We thought that most of the websites had really good content and first impressions, but

that they could possibly add more interest to the site appearances. Most of the color

schemes were greens and browns or blues and whites, which could get boring for some

customers. It may be more effective to include pictures on the homepage, which would

make the site more attractive as well.

9. Name of the company that you propose to create and its geographic location:

Our team would like to create The 505 Ski Connection, located in Albuquerque, NM, which is in the ski

apparel and equipment segment of the ski industry.

10. Detailed description of the proposed new business, including mission/goals, services and products it will offer, size, etc.

Our team plans to start The 505 Ski Connection, located in Albuquerque, NM, which is in the ski

apparel and equipment segment of the ski industry. Our basic mission is to provide quality products atreasonable prices to our customers, obtain new customers when we first enter the market, and

eventually obtain customer relationships to bring our buyers back.

The 505 Ski Connection is mainly focused on the Albuquerque ski market, although we will ship to

anyone in the nation. We will offer a wide variety of ski and winter apparel and equipment. We plan

to specialize in “hybrid” equipment, meaning that some of our products will include both new and

used parts. For example, a snowboard’s most crucial parts are the bindings, while the actual board

itself is relatively unimportant and varies little with used ones. We plan to drop prices and bring in

customers by producing “hybrid” equipment when possible.




11. Determine which of Porter's Three Generic Strategies you will use as you build your company for

the 21st century. Explain your answer.

We will be focusing on having a mix between the Cost Leadership and Differentiation Strategies bytargeting mid-upper level of the market segment. We will offer a range of medium to expert level

equipment for all ages. We will offer a hybrid package of equipment, which will allow customers to

piece together brand name components with generic pieces to lower prices on total ski equipmentpackages. We will do this in order to cut the cost for the customer, which is the Cost Leadership

Strategy; however, by doing this, we hope to differentiate ourselves as a store that supplies high

quality products along with flexible price packages.

12. Discuss the many eBusiness strategies that your company could use to increase revenue and

decrease cost.

A. Company web site’s target audience – who will use the website (internally and externally), for

what purpose and where are they located geographically?

Internally, the site will allow business to expand across the country. This will allow an easier

method for additional locations to open within the next few years. Communication will

increase through kiosks and with the delivery services that our company has partnered with.

Customer service specialists will use the site to interact with customers and can live chat with

them to solve any issues they may have.

Externally, the site will outreach to a new geographical market. It can ship equipmentanywhere in the United States and will provide extensive service in New Mexico. Anyone in

need of equipment can use the website. With eBusiness, there are no boundaries to what can

be accomplished. Many of our potential customers will be tourists, so it is imperative that our

site reaches out to people living outside New Mexico.

B.

Company’s website purpose:

The company’s websites purpose is to interact with potential customers and offer them

quality equipment for outdoor activities and snow sports gear. The site’s main goal is to

increase profit through sales (online) and to raise awareness of products offered at our store.

C. Company’s primary usage of the web

a. Is the primary use going to be informational or transactional or both? Justify.

The primary use of the website is going to be transactional. The site will provide

information about the mountain and activities, but, primarily, will be to provide

equipment for outdoorsmen and women. There will be shopping cart capabilities and an

account for purchasing multiple items at once. Items can be shipped or picked up at the

physical location of the store in New Mexico.

b. What pages will be found on the website? Please list major sections of the site.




The major sections of the site are sale items, men’s apparel, women’s apparel, children’sapparel, hiking gear, skis, snowboards, Sub Zero© gear, camping, and brands. They each

will have a separate page and will have thumbnail pictures for each product. From these

“hub” pages, browsers can narrow down search options even further through price,

relevance, and style options.

c. Is the website primarily for B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) or

both? Justify.

The website is a retail website created from a physical store in New Mexico. The

primary form of business is B2C. The site will provide an easy, online resource to allow

consumers to purchase equipment. Equipment can be purchased from anywhere in the

United States and can be shipped or picked up from the store in New Mexico. This gives

the consumer power to choose what he or she wants to do regarding shipping.

D. How can an eBusiness strategy help your company attract customers and increase sales?

An eBusiness strategy can help the company attract customers by using a website that

reaches out to all possible customers and utilizes social media to spread news, events, and

promotions concerning our company. It can also provide more ways to purchase

products, thus increasing sales. Implementing social media functions may attract a

younger demographic of potential clients.

E. How could eBusiness strategy help customer service?

An eBusiness strategy will help customer service by providing live chat features, a phone

number to call twenty four hours per day, and provide written policies and procedures toclarify any confusing protocol to the customers.

F. How could you use an eBusiness strategy to partner with suppliers?

An eBusiness strategy could help to collaborate with suppliers from around the country

by eliminating intermediaries. Instead of using catalogs for wholesale orders, you can use

live, updated online mediums to make relevant orders. You can also use the resource to

compare prices and offers from different suppliers.

G. How could a portal help your employees?

Portals may be an effective way to increase customer awareness and interaction, thus

improving sales. If we allowed for active and open interaction between customers,

awareness of products would be elevated along with overall site satisfaction. Specified

customers could also interact on chat rooms or blogs to help answer customer specific

questions pertaining to industry equipment and specifics.




H. How could a kiosk help your business?

We have created a strategy to provide a kiosk in several places: in the physical location,

in the local mountain ranges’ lodges. We could provide a delivery service to customers

who need a certain piece of equipment or apparel and they would not even have to leave

the mountain range to receive them. The customer could log onto the kiosk and order the

product from that kiosk instantly. Given a delivery cost, the order could be processedand delivered that day. This could increase profits and gain customer base from providing

such a premier service.

I. What types of metrics would you want to track on your eBusiness Web site? Be sure to justify

your answers.

There are a number of measurements to record from the website. Firstly, tracking the

number of site views and length of time on the page is important to see if we have an

effective initial online appearance. Next, and possibly most importantly, measuring the

online sales will be imperative. This can provide us concrete evidence to the site’s

success. If we implement social media functions, simple member following lists and

counts will be an easy measurement to check advertising effectiveness.



INSC 20263 Project Proposal Page 17

Appendix: Storyboard for your new company’s website homepage

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