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Ecommerce Exam Preparation

Written by: Jonathan Briggs

November 26, 2009 [1734 views]

Here are a set of mock questions for the forthcoming ecommerce exam. The final paper will have exactly the same questions but the cases used will be different. Please note that next week's lecture on budgeting will be important for question 3.

1. You have been asked to provide some ecommerce consulting advice for a company who currently have an ecommerce website illustrated in the following screengrab:

Mock Ecommerce Exam (448 KB)

a. List 2 features of their current site (visible in the pages illustrated) that are highly effective for ecommerce and for BOTH explain your reasoning (4 marks)
b. Make 3 specific detailed suggestions for improvements (based on what you can see in the pages illustrated) that will help the business achieve improved conversion rates. c. Explain your reasoning in each case with direct reference to what you can see in the current site (6 marks).
d. Make 2 specific suggestions for potential improvements to the site to encourage longer term customer relationships. Explain why these would be worthwhile (4 marks)
e. List 3 questions around products and availability that you would pose to the company to help you understand the complexity of their specific business. For each, explain clearly why this information would be necessary and what sorts of effect it would have on your proposals. Frame your questions around specific ideas you can see from their existing site. (6 marks)

2. You have been asked to design an PPC/SEO campaign for a client with the following profile:

The client is a small specialist audio equipment shop selling and renting out amps, turntables, mixers and disco lighting based in Muswell Hill. They are looking for local DJs and small clubs as clients as well as weddings and parties.

a. Create 2 Google Adwords ads (compliant with Google’s criteria) and a list of 8 keywords or phrases that you would propose to the client based specifically on the information you have been given above. Explain your thinking carefully. (8 marks)
b. Create a list of 8 negative words that you would apply to the campaign and explain in detail why these are necessary for this specific client (4 marks)
c. Discuss using details from the profile above specific features of the client’s ecommerce site that you would check are in place in order to make sure that the site ranks highly in organic search. (8 marks)

3. You are being asked by a client to make a proposal for the optimisation of their current ecommerce business. Here are their details:

Your client is gourmet pizza delivery company in London with a chain of 6 take-away restaurants in the north and west of the city. They currently have a non-transactional site and want to upgrade it so that orders can be taken and paid for online before being transmitted to the closest take-away for preparation and delivery. The current site was built 4 years ago in PHP/MySQL and cost the company £4000.

Prepare an outline plan for the technical work likely to be involved to help them make the improvements they have indicated. You plan should make direct reference to their needs and suggest at least 2 different options. Include an indication of the likely budgets for this project and explain your reasoning. (20 marks).

 

Recent comments:

On November 28, 2009 at 5:10 PM, Muazzam Zaman wrote:

www.muazzamzaman.com

www.muazzamzaman.com

On December 2, 2009 at 11:18 PM, Modun Wofeertoo wrote:

WHEN IS EXAM?!

Jonathan replies: 15th of January in the morning!

On December 4, 2009 at 7:45 PM, Usman Aurangzaib wrote:

Dear Jonathan,

Can you post some more case studies for Exam.

Jonathan replies: Here are some more examples for Q2 and Q3...

2A. Your client based in Kensal Rise prepares frozen meals for reheating and sale in gastro pubs and small restaurants without their own chefs. Their best selling lines include halal chicken and mushroom lasagne, cauliflower cheese and mediterranean fish stew. They want to run this campaign to reach more landlords and proprietors throughout South East England.

2B. Your client is a small family law firm (3 lawyers) based in Tooting specialising in immigration services and advice for those facing deportation as well as those looking for Visas and work permits. Most of their clients currently come from the Indian subcontinent although they are looking to expand their business to include those from the former Soviet Union.

3A. Your client sells flower and vegetable seeds online to gardeners throughout the UK. They hold a range of over 5000 different types of seeds. Their current site is divided into 8 categories including vegetables, fruit, perennials, annuals and special offers and uses drop down menus and a text search to help visitors find what they need. They realise that they need a better customer experience such as guided navigation to increase orders as well as revenue.

3B. Your client sells tickets online for top West End shows and major sporting events. These tickets are bought from the venues and are often in very limited supply. The current site offers visitors a request form that is emailed to a customer agent who then contacts the customer and takes payment if tickets are available. The client wants to remove the need for this manual process by showing real-time availability on the site.

On December 25, 2009 at 5:33 PM, Rikky wrote:

I do not understand Question 1e) of the exam question. It asks us to give 3 questions we would ask the company about products and availability, but the second half of the question is about its effect on our proposals!????? we are not asked to propose anything to the company just to enquire about their complexity. It does not mention anything proposing any changes or idea. Please clear this up for me. Thanks

Jonathan replies: Think about it. You are being asked to make some suggestions to the company and it should be possible for you to come up with lots of ideas whatever the problem is. But which of your proposals is most suitable for the company? If you had an opportunity to quiz the company you would be able to narrow down your plans to the most suitable. That is what a consultant does and that is what this question is asking you to do.

On January 3, 2010 at 6:20 PM, haroon wrote:

Hi i found the exam in around 2pm on the friday but you said its in the morining. Im very confused???

Jonathan replies: Exams are run by the centre not by module leaders which is why I urged you to check with the office. If they say it is the afternoon then that is when it is.

On January 9, 2010 at 3:35 PM, Olajide wrote:

Hi Jonathan,
the link for question 1 does not seem to be working for me. Have you got any suggestions?

Thanks

Jonathan replies: It's working for me right now.

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