Overview:

On page 489 in your textbook, you will find material about segmenting the consumer market.  The activity in this module gives you an opportunity to see market segmentation at work on the web in the Canadian Honda/Acura web site. On page 546 of your textbook, you will find information about interactive marketing on the Internet. You are told that the key to marketing success is interactivity. You will have an opportunity to interactively experience one automobile company's situation in the new marketplace to observe their current strategies for reaching
customers using the World Wide Web.

Resources for Marketing for E-Commerce:

Seven New Marketing Challenges for an Electronic Age
1. more information for sellers about their customers
2. more information for buyers
3. new intermediaries
4. new technology "interconnectivity"
5. more automation
6. world-wide sourcing and access
7. greater value consciousness

How to Acquire Customers on the Web - from Harvard Business review May-June 2000 - Consider CDnow, which has developed a multifaceted customer-acquisition strategy that reflects a clear understanding of the economics of an on-line business.

Marketing Secrets for the New Economy - from ZDNet's Smart Business site - what tricks and cost-effective methods can help you get customers coming to your commercial web site?

Assignment:

The activity in this  module is to look at the marketing of cars on the web. To have a better understanding of the latest thoughts on the marketing of cars on the web, students will
A. Read three articles found on the Web at the links given below.
B. Follow instructions for visiting the web site for Acura and Honda cars in Canada
C. Answer the four questions given for each path followed on the Acura Honda site.

A. Read the following three articles:

Article One "Ralph's Agenda" from eCompany Now July 2000.

                          "Here's how car buying should work sometime in the
                          future: The customer goes to a web site, configures
                          the car of her dreams from hundreds of options,
                          compares it online with similar models, and, with the
                          click of a mouse, orders the car, the financing, and the
                          insurance. That click sets off a series of
                          lightning-quick automated responses. The order goes
                          to another site, where it is inserted in the appropriate
                          production-line schedule at a factory. Procurement
                          orders are aggregated and placed over a trading
                          exchange to provide the needed parts. Space is
                          reserved on the next train or truck out of the plant.
                          And the accounting and forecasting systems at GM's
                          headquarters are updated. The entire flow of
                          information occurs almost instantly, without human
                          intervention. Ten days later, the car arrives at the
                          dealer closest to the customer. " CIO of GM, Ralph
                          Szygenda.

Article Two "Manheim Steamroller" from from eCompany Now July 2000.

                          "You might not think of it this way, but the used-car
                          industry is an information business and therefore ripe
                          for the Web. True, people do like to see used cars
                          before they buy them. But much of the used-car
                          business relies simply on data like vehicle identification
                          number, model, year, options, damage--all easily
                          delivered over the Internet."

Article Three "Collision Course" from Fast Company, January-February 2000,

                         "...within the next few years, the Web is expected to make
                         its greatest impact yet. That's because one of the most
                         powerful and most important industries on the planet -- the
                         design, assembly, and sale of automobiles -- is finally ready
                         to get with the digital program."

B. Follow instructions for visiting the web site for Acura and Honda cars in Canada

1. Start with the link Acura Honda Canada where you are a potential customer. You are interested in buying a used (previously owned) car, 1997 or 1998 model.
2. Follow the links to Acura in English. Select the region Ontario the select the greater Toronto area. Investigate six (6) of the nine dealerships listed there and notice the differences in approaches to reach customers who are interested in finding a used car.
 

C - (Part One) Answer the four questions below about the Acura Dealer's sites.

Answer the following questions for these six dealers in the Toronto area.
What is the basic information available for a potential car buyer at this site?
How are you affected by the design and layout of the site, the visual appeal?
How easy is it to find out the information you are looking for regarding used vehicles?
What suggestions would you make to this dealership to increase the effectiveness of their web marketing?

3. Go back to the main page and follow the links for Honda in Ontario, greater Toronto area. Locate these six (6) dealerships in the Toronto area. (Dalts, Lakeshore, Newmarket, Formula, Richmond Hill, Roadsport )

C - (Part Two) Answer the four questions below about the Honda Dealer's sites.

Answer the following questions for each of these six dealers in the Toronto area.
What is the basic information available for a potential car buyer at this site?
How are you affected by the design and layout of the site, the visual appeal?
How easy is it to find out the information you are looking for regarding used vehicles?
What suggestions would you make to this dealership to increase the effectiveness of their web marketing?

Please submit your completed assignment to your instructor.

Learning Outcomes:

learners will be able to:
1) review ideas and issues about marketing as discussed in the Understanding Canadian Business text.
2) compare types of marketing strategies on the web to become aware of the variety of approaches and amount of information available to customers for a particular product.
3) develop critical and analytical skills regarding effective marketing on a commercial web site.

Suggestions: To enrich or extend this learning activity, you may want to give the following as
additional assignments.

You may want to assign this work to learning partners where one of the pair reviews the Acura sites and the other looks at and answers questions for the Honda sites. They may then discuss their findings together and create a report with their recommendations.

Another idea would be to compare the Acura/Honda site with other Canadian sites that feature the sale of automobiles. The learners would have to research to discover what other makes of car have Canadian sites that link to local dealers.

It should be understood that this investigation of marketing on the web could extend to a variety of products and services. You may want to offer students the option of choosing their own product or service to look into. The following is a chart of categories:
 

antiques	clothing	food	jewelry	professional services
appliances	computers	furniture	marketing	real estate
automobiles	cosmetics	gardening	motorcycles	sporting goods
beverages	electronics	gifts	music	toys
boats	entertainment	health products	office supplies	travel
books	fashion accessories	hobbies and crafts	outdoor and camping gear	videos
cameras	flowers	insurance	pets	web design

NOTE to the editor: No special bells and whistles with this module.