The internet of things is the next frontier in digital marketing. Organizations have been using the internet to increase productivity as well as cut costs. Moreover, companies are leveraging on the ability of the web to lure customers to their businesses. Indeed, virtually all business has a website that acts as a marketing strategy. Firms also use a website to create networks. This implies that organizations are realizing the power of the website as a marketing tool. In this paper, I chose to use United Airlines website as one of the companies leveraging on the internet to conduct its business operations. The analysis of the website is based on the 7 C’s of website design.
How the companies make use of the 7 C’s of website designs
The 7 C’s of designing a website include connection, context, community, communication, content, customization, and commerce. This paper, however, will address the 5 c’s discussed in class.
Context: United Airlines’ website has enough contexts because it has considerable aesthetic and functionalities. The aspect of aesthetic has been enhanced through colors, graphics, and fonts that relate to the services proffered by the company. For example, the consistent color palette has been used in every webpage. This draws the mood of the audience towards the website. Additionally, the website has appropriate color scheme matching the services offered by the company. Most importantly, the website’s functionality is good because its performance is quality (“United Airlines – Airline Tickets, Travel Deals and Flights”). For example, the user can move from one webpage to another without experiencing challenges because the linking structure is good enough.
Content: United Airlines’ website has appropriate content in regards to its mix. For instance, the firm proffers both its services and products such as the hotels, cars, vacations, and flights. Its appeal mix is therefore, appropriate because it indicates all the services offered by the company and the various classes allied to the services. George (112) defines appeal mix as the cognitive and emotional appeal of a website. Accordingly, the author defines the cognitive appeal based on various aspects such as breadth of offering, reliability, personalization, and customization of information as well as the customer support provided. United Airlines’ website offers the aforementioned cognitive appeals. The website emotional appeal is associated with the brand and is made through testimonies, stories, and novelty (George 117).United Airlines’ website has used testimonies to showcase the quality of the fight and hotel services offered. Most significantly, the company classifies its services and products well depending on service and product dominance like category killer, superstore, and specialty store. This makes it easier to identify the services offered by the company (“United Airlines – Airline Tickets, Travel Deals and Flights”).
Community: the website advertises products to the company’s niche. As a result, a sense of belonging is created. The website also provides information regarding the services offered and the prices for different classes. In furtherance to this, the website has contact information. Customers utilize this when they want to verify information or seek clarification. The language utilized is also easy to comprehend (“United Airlines – Airline Tickets, Travel Deals and Flights”).
Communication and connection: in terms of communication, the website acts as a communication platform. It provides contact information. It is also linked to the Facebook and Twitter accounts. Regarding connection, the handling of Facebook, Twitter, and other external sites is effective (“United Airlines – Airline Tickets, Travel Deals, and Flights”). It is also easy to navigate through all the web pages. Downloading of information and files is also easy.
Work Cited
Airlines – Airline Tickets, Travel Deals and Flights.” United Airlines – Airline Tickets, Travel Deals and Flights, www.united.com/ual/en/us/.
George, Carole A. “Designing the website – participatory design.” User-Centred Library Websites, 2008, pp. 97-126.