How to answer the exam questions in eCommerce

Written by: Jonathan Briggs

December 9, 2009 [1979 views]

In the second part of the session I want to provide some pointers to how to answer the questions in the exam. I am not going to give you the answers but some extra information about how I would tackle this sort of problem.

Question 1 You have been asked to provide some ecommerce consulting advice for a company who currently have an ecommerce website illustrated.

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)

To prepare for this question you should make a list of the sorts of features you would look for in a site and for each remind yourself of why these are important. Here are the sorts of things you might look for: helping the customer decide, clear customer reassurance, well categorised navigation etc. Try and find 2-3 more so that you are well prepared for whatever case study you get.
Do not focus on the design unless the site is really well designed.
Use bullet points to list the features with a short explanation of your thinking

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. Explain your reasoning in each case with direct reference to what you can see in the current site (6 marks).

Once again you should prepare a list in advance. Here are some things you might look for: improved categorisation/navigation, top sellers, clear links to special offers, additional reassurance around security, delivery charges etc. Find another 2-3 improvements of your own.
You need to show that you have really looked at the case and suggested things that would really help this particular client and explained why
Remember that you being asked to improve conversion rates - this means that more people end up buying. Research and think about what has a effect on conversion.
Once again use bullets and explain your answers linking directly to the case study

Make 2 specific suggestions for potential improvements to the site to encourage longer term customer relationships. Explain why these would be worthwhile (4 marks)

You should be getting the pattern by now. Research features of ecommerce sites that encourage relationships; social components, wishlists, newsletters.
Don't just regurgitate this list but link your choices of improvements to the case you have been given. Think about the specific needs of this site's customers.

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)

This seems hard and it is the hardest bit but again with a little research you should be able to create a list of questions that you can use again and again.
Think about why organising products is hard inside a site (categorisation, helping customers choose, large shops etc) and what you would need to know in order to be able to decide whether this was a simple shop or a more complex one
Think about the issues around live availability and what questions you would ask around other ways to buy from this merchant. Remind yourself why these things matter.
Be careful not to write too much - clear and brief is better than long and woolly. Link your questions to the specific products or services being offered.

Question 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.

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)

Remind yourself of the format of Google Ads (25 + 35 + 35, no shouting!)
Read and reread the case study to make sure you understand exactly what the client does and who their customers are. Imagine some of the customers (personas). Think about their needs.
Write the ads drawing upon the information in the case study given. Headlines might include: DJ Supplies, Wedding Disco Lights, Turntable Hire. Each headline should express a specific need that someone is looking for
The keywords might be same as the headlines plus some extra variations. Remember to choose phases that express what someone would type into Google

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)

This may be the hardest part of the question and requires you to look for words that people might use in their query but should not trigger the ads.
Think about adjacent customer needs. Someone looking for mixers, for example, could be looking for food mixers, cement mixers, cocktail mixers etc. -food, -cement, - cocktail could be useful negative words as could -cheap, - discount, -spares but this depends on the client and what they actually sell.
Make sensible suggestions - bullets and explanations of your thinking and you will get the marks

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)

This is another harder part but not if you have prepared before hand. Remember to research (or reread) about how Google and the other search engines rank search result. This is going to be around reputation (in-bound links) and onsite checks such as landing pages, simple content etc.
You will not get full marks simply by remembering the checks. Make sure that you have given examples from the case study to help the client understand what you mean.

Question 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).

This is a much more open ended question aimed at separating those who really understand the topic and those who have just learned to remember things.
Read the question and make notes of what you think the client wants you to do. Show that you understand the problem. In this case the interesting problems are 'ordering', 'payment' and 'nearest'.
Next think of ways of solving the problem for the client using your ecommerce and general knowledge too (just like a consultant).
You cannot possibly solve the problem without full analysis and so that should be one of the things you offer - think about the problems you are being presented with and how long it would take to investigate them.
Can you see different options for things. Use a third party system, adapt open source, build from scratch etc. Mashups? Integration? Technology options. Is there a simple option versus a more complex option?
You will get the marks for exploring the ideas and for setting out the likely time it would take to do each task you suggest.
Notice that there are 20 marks for this question. Find ways of writing about 20+ bullet points so that we can give you marks for each point. Do not be tempted to write an essay but do explain yourself and link to the case study whenever possible.

What do you think?

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