Reference no: EM133594516

You should write a two page on each topic , and submit as a Word Document upload below. Please answer all question prompts completely with your own original thoughts and analysis and concepts from the chapter

1. Social Networking in Support of Small
Businesses

The Internet puts small businesses on the same footing as large organizations by providing an inexpensive platform for interacting with customers and selling products and services. With their global reach, social networking sites are a good example of how the Internet can level the playing field. Here are five ways that small businesses can take advantage of these sites:

• Creating local social networks_ Small businesses can use sites such as Yelp (www.yelp.com), which help people find local restaurants, dentists, hairstylists, mechanics, and so on. People also use these sites to find out about upcoming events, take advantage of special offers, and talk to other customers.
• Creating a blog or social hub This allows small businesses to keep customers engaged by creating useful content such as how-to lists or industry insights.
• Using Twitter Small businesses can connect with their consumers in real time.
• Creating a Facebook fan page- Small businesses can visualize and build a community that can be customized by adding maps, coupons, and so forth.
• Using a custom wiki A wiki can be used as a public forum that alerts customers to problems and concerns related to the company's products and services and resolves issues or answers questions to keep customers engaged.

Answer the Following Questions:

a) How does the Internet put small businesses on the same footing as large organizations?
b) What are two ways that social networking sites such as Twitter can help a small business?
c) How can a site such as Yelp help small businesses?

2. Bridging the Gap between E-Commerce and Traditional Commerce

Tools and technologies such as mobile devices and social media are helping to bridge the gap between e-commerce and traditional commerce. Potential buyers often see what their social networking friends have to say about products before making a purchase. Transparerky is the key, given that buyers can now compare prices from nearly anywhere including from a physical store.

New sets of technologies are being introduced that track customers when they are inside a store. Apple's iBeacon, which competes with near field communication (NFC), is one such technology. It is a small wireless device that uses Bluetooth to detect and communicate with iPhones and iPads that run iOS7 and beyond. A GPS guides a customer to a store; Beacon then tracks the customer inside the store. (Qualcomm has developed its own version of Beacon, Gimbal proximity beacons, which work with either iOS or Android.)

There are many potential applications of this technology. For example, a retailer can send a coupon as soon as it detects that a customer has walked to a particular aisle and is looking at a particular product. In Apple stores, as soon as a customer walks by the iPhone table, the customer gets a notification about upgrades. Major League Baseball has announced that it will use iBeacon to customize fans' experiences at ballparks through its "At the Ballpark" app. Some businesses are using iPads as cash registers; these customers can potentially be tracked by Apple. Given Apple's huge user base, this technology has potential for tremendous growth.

Privacy issues may be a concern as these tools roll out, given that customers will be tracked in stores that are equipped with this technology. However, customers may not mind this tracking as long as there is something in it for them.

Neiman Marcus is one of the latest retailers to test Bluetooth beacons to guide customers to in-store sales.
Additionally, it wants to merge the online and in-store shopping experience "clicks to bricks" or "bricks to clicks," as it is called in the industry. The app knows if a customer who has browsed the retailer Web site will be guided to the right item in the store.

Amazon Go, a cashier-less grocery store, has completely automated the grocery shopping experience. By doing so, it has taken customer tracking to a new level, among other things!

Answer the Following Questions:
a) What is the function of Apple's iBeacon?
b) What are the differences between Beacon and GPS?
c) How might a retail business benefit from iBeacon?
d) What are some concerns that customers may have about this technology?