How have the characteristics of digital media supported eBay’s growth?
Digital media has been behind the success of e-bay and this is based on various characteristics. Crucial innovations have made it easy for buyers and sellers to interact without any problem. The model that was developed by the company gave people a low cost opportunity to do whatever they liked on the internet.
An online person to person interaction in relation to trading has been a major characteristic of digital media that has made the growth of eBay easy. Through digital media and the internet, users can browse through a number of goods and commodities thereby enhancing eBay’s growth (Cohen, 2002, p. 12).
Through the company’s web interface, buyers can easily move around the site without any problem. This is mostly done after a few minutes of registering as far as sales are concerned. eBay continues to grow because the internet has brought together different buyers and sellers which is a major characteristic of digital media. An online auction has not existed before and this is a major development that revolves around digital media.
Through digital media, various activities have been easy to transact and this has been behind the growth of eBay. Computing power is a good characteristic of digital media that has made it possible for the company to grow without any problem.
It should be known that through digital media, the company has developed a transaction processing system that has been behind its growth. As a matter of fact, the system can handle any type of process and this is as far as transactions and interactions between buyers and sellers are concerned (Nissanoff, 2006, p.46).
Information infrastructure that can be enhanced through digital media has also helped the company to progress in a broad way. The internet economy and the company’s business design have fused well to give it the leverage that it needs in the marketplace thereby guaranteeing success.
How have strategic decisions supported growth?
eBay embarked on building a free market and this can be said to be a major strategic decision that has helped the company in a broad way. Users have been encouraged to interact in relation to what they want to sell and this has therefore enhanced growth.
Users are in charge of the site and this is a strategic decision that has helped the company to grow. By being educated, users have found it easy to use the site thereby encouraging others. In the process, eBay has grown tremendously because people do not have any problem as far as using the site is concerned (Nissanoff, 2006, p. 24).
The decision to allow the company to own a banking system has been a major strategy that has worked in its favor. All along, the company has focused its strategy on five key elements that have been behind its success and growth. Building brand recognition that was embarked on by the new CEO has also helped it to develop in a broad way.
Clarification on what the company stands for has been a good strategy because it has moved it closer to people. Market segmentation is another strategic decision that can be credited for helping the company move forward. As a matter of fact, this has set it apart from other competitors thereby giving it advantage in the market.
Product development that revolves around value addition has also been a key strategy that the company has used to gain the market and grow as time goes by (Cohen, 2002, p. 12). Whitman has been credited for most of the strategies that have propelled the company to great heights and this includes the ultimate goal of building infrastructure (Nissanoff, 2006, p. 76). This is because the company needed a large system infrastructure that could support excess capacity and this has paid off as time goes by.
Reference List
Cohen, A. (2002). The Perfect Store: Inside eBay. New York: Little, Brown & Company
Nissanoff, D. (2006). FutureShop: How the New Auction Culture Will Revolutionize the Way We Buy, Sell and Get the Things We Really Want. New York: The Penguin Press.