Website, Sender, and Perceived Receiver
The ‘about us’ page that is going to be reviewed is located on starbucks.com. The webpage is used by Starbucks Corporation to make its online visitors aware of various activities it does in the industry. The sender of the message is the marketing department of Starbucks, which uses the page to make the firm’s customers understand its mission and vision in the industry. The perceived receiver of the message is any customer interested in finding out more about the company through the webpage. Therefore, the ‘about us’ section enables the firm to interact with its customers and other stakeholders to make them understand its role in the industry. The page contains information about product categories, the company’s operations, its relations with investors, and news items highlighting various events it has participated in.
Integrated Business Communication
The integrated business communication approach adopted by the firm allows it to send different messages to its consumers regarding all aspects of its operations. Online visitors to the page are made aware of the company’s heritage and how it influences its values in the industry. In addition, the page also has a news section that informs customers about events that have taken place and how they relate to its overall mission and corporate objectives. Customers are also made aware of various coffee products the firm sells and how they are beneficial to their wellbeing. As a result, this strategy allows the firm to give out a consistent message about its brand values, corporate identity, and the nature of the products it sells in the market. Consequently, the firm is able to show its customers how various aspects of its operations complement each other, and this satisfies customers’ needs and expectations.
Media Richness of the Section
The web page contains different types of media, and this makes it more appealing to visitors who explore different sections. It has Starbucks’ trademark, which is used to identify it, and this enables users to know the information they are viewing has been authorized by the firm’s management. Some sections of the page have pictures, and they add color to the information being displayed. In addition, pictures are used to describe different written messages to ensure the webpage leaves a positive impression on visitors. The page also has additional visual elements that captivate visitors to read more, and this makes them have positive perceptions regarding the firm’s role in the industry. Moreover, different types of fonts that are displayed in both dull and bold colors attract online users to explore various items on the page.
How The Message is Framed
The manner in which the message is framed helps to capture the attention of a visitor to the webpage. The page contains sentences which have action words which make it easy for customers from different social and cultural background to interpret proper meanings which the firm wants them to get. In addition, the firm has used effective titles and subtitles to make it easy for visitors to the page to locate different items and sections they are looking for. In addition, through the webpage, the company encourages feedback from its customers and other online users that visit the website. Therefore, the way the message is framed encourages customers to interact with the firm’s sales employees to find out how their needs can be satisfied.
Opinion Leaders
The main opinion leaders who are given attention on the page are political leaders, the firm’s senior managers, and other notable personalities who are instrumental to Starbucks’ achievements in the industry. The page also highlights various activities undertaken by the firm’s partners to help it achieve its objectives in the industry. Therefore, many of these opinion leaders are featured in the news section. This allows different visitors to the page to find out how these opinion leaders impact the firm’s operations in different locations. In addition, the page also documents different events and activities in which these opinion leaders have participated and how they have contributed positively to its reputation in the industry.
Recommendations for Improving Word Choice
The webpage needs to use more descriptive language to motivate visitors to explore additional information contained in other sections.
Some written sentences need to use figures of speech to encourage visitors to read different published items.
All sentences that are written on different sections of the webpage need to be clear, accurate, and brief to make targeted users understand the message being conveyed easily.
The words used in different sections of the webpage should highlight specific actions to make it easy for readers to internalize meanings that are conveyed from different messages.
The communicators should also use simple language to make it easy for visitors to the website who live in different global regions to understand messages that are conveyed.
Lastly, messages that talk about important functions should be summarized to make it easy for the webpage’s visitors to understand the benefits they are likely to get from building closer relationships with the firm.