A hometown deli is a small business that operates by offering its client fast moving foods. These foods include sandwiches and various gourmet foods. Most successful hometown deli offers delivery services to their customers to enhance their sales and this act as a competitive advantage over their business rivals. Most hometown deli are nowadays opting to adapt e business to enable them compete well in this very competitive business arena (Chapman, 2001).
E business entails the use of internet and electronic payment to conduct business. There are various e business models that are adapted by various businesses, while going online. Generally, a business model is considered as the strategy that a business adapts to realize its goals. It relates to the association of services, products, information flow, source of money and benefits realized by both the customers and the suppliers. Some of these models include B2B, B2Cand C2C.
The e shop is the best e business model that is best suited for a hometown deli. Online shopping entails buying services and products directly from the seller in real time, over the internet. This can take various forms such as B2C or B2B. The former involves a consumer buying for consumption, while the latter is where a business buys from another one for sale. A hometown deli should take both the form of B2C and B2B processes. B2C When a consumer buys a sandwich or a meat pie directly from the retailer over the internet and B2B when the deli buys some foods from other outlets. The hometown deli will not make use of the C2C model which is the model that involves situations where people are gathered to sell or buy a good example is in an EBay.
When a customer buys services or products over the internet, there are various methods that the seller may adapt for the delivery of the products or services purchased. These methods includes downloading, shipment or drop shipping. Downloading is best suited for software. The best method that should be adapted by a home own deli is drop shipping. This method involves the use of a third party to deliver the product to the physical destination of the customer. This helps greatly to save time, money and space. Therefore, a hometown deli can consider putting in place its own delivery service or contract one to enhance its services to have a bigger market share.
An e business can enhance the performance of a hometown deli greatly. This is because, online selling will enable a hometown deli to install a website which it will enable it market its products better. The enterprise should ensure that the website provides a list of all the products and services they offer to their clients. In addition, the website should contain pictorial representations of their foods with detailed descriptions of their ingredients. They should also verify on how they deliver their foods to their clients. A hometown deli can use a number of strategies as their payment mode. It can use either electronic payment such as PayPal or cash on deliver depending on the mode of payment that is best suited for their customers and their business. The use of a motor bike can act as a very convenient mode of transport, while delivering their foods to their clients in the town. The hometown deli should also keep their customers updated for new menus through their emails or text messages. The website should be enabled with a live chat that will allow the customers to make their inquiries, order and verify their deliveries to enhance communication. Thus, an e business is a very good business in terms of convenience, money and time economic (Baltzan & Phillips, 2008).
Similarly, e business is very important in B2B business. This is because it makes business easier for those businesses that buy from others for sale. For instance, a hometown deli may not be in a position to cook all its foods. In such a case, they can opt to supplement their produce from other outlets to maximize on their sales. E business will therefore facilitate such buying, as the deli can make its inquiry and order from its various suppliers more easily online (Ecommerce Business Models for E Business, 2008).
The use of electronic payment such as PayPal will ease the buying transactions. This is because the parties involved will not have to visit their banks to collect their money in case of cash sales or cheque, while paying their bills, but instead they will make direct transactions from their accounts. This saves time greatly and also eliminates the risky involved with handling a lot of money in cash. The safety of electronic payment is ensured where the organization has secured its website accordingly to safe guard it from hackers. Thus, a hometown deli should make sure that their website is well secure to avoid being exposed from hackers who can easily master their electronic codes and make illegal purchases (Electronic money, 2011).
The existence of a website that is common in e banking will assist the management to advertise for new vacancies. This will save the human resource management a lot of struggle in their recruitments exercises. The management can still use the same facility to train new recruits and update the staff on new happenings.
A good market research is very important for any organization that is not doomed to fail. It is through this method that a company can be able to assess the perception of its customers regarding their services or products. Some companies do their own market research, while others contract another experienced firm to conduct it. Therefore, a hometown deli should have a profile where its customers can leave their comments after buying their products. Thus, it can use these data to respond to the demands and preferences of their customers to ensure that their tastes are always addressed. This can be very important as it can save the company a lot of resources (money and time) that are associated with conducting a market research. The existence of such a profile can be very instrumental in informing the hometown deli of a new substitute product from another company so that they can respond appropriately (Lyer, 2010).
A portal is an employee self service profile that enables an employee access certain human resource files like personal records. Thus, an employee can be able to easily update his/her personal records such as personal address contact and CV. Some portals also enable employees to apply for their leaves directly to their human resource management. Other portals are designed so that to allow employees to view their past payroll records and also update their bank details. This feature is very important as it enhances communication between the management and the other workforce. The feature also enables employees to access various educational materials that make it possible for them to upgrade their skills accordingly. The feature also helps the employees to do away with the long request processes and adapt a self service portal that allow them to submit their request at their own convenient time. This leads to a highly motivated and more productive work force and especially in a hometown deli (Valadez ,2008).
The hometown deli should comprise of a number of kiosks located at very strategic locations within the town. This will help the business to capture a bigger market share. It will also be convenient for the customers when visiting them so that they do not have to walk long distances. Apart from the kiosk, the hometown deli will make use of its website to market its products beyond its boundaries to increase its sales. This will be realized by the management providing delivery services to its customers who makes online orders, but cannot be able to access their kiosk due to various hindrances. Through this method the business is more likely to perform very well.
- You login to the Deli website and find the following anonymous posting:
“I do not recommend visiting the deli on Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. because the Children’s Story Hour is taking place. I hate children, especially in a deli. I’m not sure why the deli encourages people to bring their children. In fact, I recommend that children should be banned from the deli altogether.”
The management should respond to such a complaint with a lot of diplomacy and wisdom. They should apologize for such an occurrence and promise the complaint that they will devise a strategy that will encourage various groups to visit their website at specific days and times so that to avoid such conflicts.
In deli websites, it is not unusual to come across such a complaint. To avoid disappointing such clients, the management of deli should identify all the categories of various groups of people that do visit their website and when. After determining it, they should custom their website to enable a certain group of people with common interest visit their website on certain days and times depending on their preferences. For instances, they should custom their website with menus that are favorable to children on weekends because it is only on such days that most children are more likely to visit their deli since they are not in schools. In a day like Thursday and especially at 2.00.p.m they should not encourage children to visit their websites since they are not likely to make considerable purchases, since most of kids are in schools. This will help to avoid conflicts of interest as it will enable a specific group of people with common interest visit their websites at specifics days and time. This is the best strategy that can facilitate an open line of communication in a hometown deli.
Reference List
Baltzan, P., & Phillips, A. (2008).Essentials of Business Driven Information Systems. New York: Prentice Hall.
Chapman S. (2001) How to Start a Deli Business.Web.
Ecommerce Business Models for E Business. (2008). Web.
Electronic money. (2011). Web.
Lyer, A. (2010).Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Business. Web.
Valadez , B. (2008).Self Service Portal for Your Employees – Using Web Based Applications. Web.
Ecommerce Business Models for your E-Business. Web.