Submitted to

Ashik Imran Khan (AIK)

Department of Management
North South University

Course: MIS 207.7

Final Assignment

Submitted by:

Aseer Istiaq Azad 1813654630

Instructions:
Make sure you write your Name, ID, Section Number & Course Code right before
submission.
Do not discuss the final assignment with any person
Write within the contexts of the book. Use your own words.

Essay Question: Answer any three (3): 3X10=30 

1. How an organization (e.g. Daraz) can create a strong customer relationship? Consider
CRM software.
2. How an organization (e.g. Daraz) might use the funnel model in an online setting.
Explain with example.
3. Explain with a diagram the typical purchasing process of an organization (e.g. Daraz).
4. Explain how an organization (e.g. Daraz) will segment its customers?

Short Questions: Answer any five (5): 5X5=25

1. Explain the various advanced functions of e-commerce software from a customer

perspective.
2. Compare various payment methods within the context of an organization (e.g. Daraz).
3. Compare among an open loop and a closed loop transaction processing system within the
context of an organization (e.g. Daraz).
4. Explain the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for implementing an E-business system (e.g.
NSU Attendance software).
5. Explain various methods for reducing Credit Cards fraud within the context of an
organization (e.g. Daraz).
6. Explain why the Auction sites are not popular in Bangladesh?
7. Explain the future of virtual communities? 

ESSAY QUESTION
Answer to the Question No 1

Question: How an organization (e.g. Daraz) can create a strong customer relationship?
Consider CRM software.

Answer: For any business customers play the most vital role. Basically business growth
depends on the customers. More the customers more will be the sell and the business growth
will go high. But creating new customers, keeping their track, make them loyal to a particular
organization and retain them for a long is not that easy. It needs strong bondage between the
organization and the customers. Organization needs to build up a relationship with customers.
An organization can create a strong customer relationship using CRM software. CRM
means ‘Customer Relationship Management’. CRM is a software that helps any organization to
centralize, optimize and streamline the required communication between the organization and
the customers. This software helps creating customers data base and helps those customer to get
proper service, keeping track of all customers, build customers loyalty, stay control of sales and
marketing efforts, maintain strong relationship with existing customers, sell more products and
services, improve communication between sales and marketing teams and find new customers.
To make the brand renown, it is necessary to do marketing through campaign. Using
CRM software Daraz‘s campaigns had earned popularity over any other e commerce brands in
Bangladesh.
Daraz attracted customers using various social medias i.e. email marketing, SEO, SEM,
GDN, Newsletter, blog etc.
Daraz has a CRM data base, during any special occasion or any special flash sale Daraz
targets those customers and thereby increase sales.
Daraz became trusted one, by delivering the products in time to the hand of customers,
produces invoice and addressing the customers complain.
But in the recent past there were many complains about the services of Daraz.
However, an organization can create a strong customer relationship by using CRM
software that can also be customized as per the need of the organization.

Answer to the Question No 2

Question 2: How an organization (e.g. Daraz) might use the funnel model in an online
setting? Explain with an example.

Answer: Here, the Funnel Model means the marketing funnel or purchasing funnel. The
purpose of a marketing funnel is to demonstrate the hypothetical trip a customer takes in going
from someone who knows nothing about an organization to a regular customer of that
organization. Basically, a marketing funnel is designed to fit someone into customers.

The idea is that the dealers display their products on line through various awareness programs to
their potential customers, and then advances those indications slowly over time through the
funnel to grow customer interest, naturally reduces the number of potential customers at each
stage of the funnel, and at one point of time potentials become customers at the bottom of the
funnel. A funnel is given below to show the series of interactions people go through with the
company as they make their way from complete stranger to a loyal customer.

Awareness

Interest
Evaluation

Trial
Adopti
on

a. Awareness: Some stranger notices your trade or offer in a social media as

advirtizement and has come to know the details of your products.
 b. Interest: The organization has conducted awareness programs through
various media and now the potential customer will decide to know more about you may
be by downloading free guide of the organization.

c. Evaluation. In this stage of the funnel, customers will show their interest and
they will work out whether the organization is credible or not.

d. Trial. The customers have evaluated the organization and it looks trustworthy,
so they decide to do business with you in some small way.

e. Adoption: This is where the potential stranger finally decides to become a

customer.

Using market research and past history as a guide, the marketing manager develops the
numbers that show effectiveness of planned strategy. The wider the bottom end of the funnel the
better the strategy,’ that means more prospects are converted into loyal customers. The funnel
model can also be used to show results that can then be compared with the costs of running the
marketing campaign. Either way, the model gives marketing managers a tool for conceptualizing
and evaluating alternative strategies.

Answer to the Question No 4

Question 4: Explain how an organization (e.g Daraz) will segment its customers.

Answer: An online based organization such as Daraz segments their customer in 5

different steps. Such as:

a. Demographic Segmentation. Customer can be divided basing on their

demographic location. Consumers buy good mainly based on needs and desires that are
linked to where they live in, how old they are, their gender, their educational level and
economic solvency. For e-commerce demographic locations are important for provider
accessibility, security and, communication facilities available and overall behavior of the
inhabitants of that location also. This is done so that the organization can target this
group for a particular sale or occasion.
 b. Purchase History based Segmentation.  Organizations may segment their
customers using the purchase history of the customers. They divide the customers
according to the frequency of their orders, sales, and purchase capability. They use this
so that in future they can also give some incentives to the customers such as monthly
offers (e.g. 50% off on sales, 40% off, buy one and get one free, etc)

c. Value Based Segmentation. Customers can be segmented according to their

economic or financial ability. It can be done by close monitoring the customer and the
type of products they buy.

d. Email behavior based Segmentation. Email activity is an often ignored way of

knowing the consumer and the user preferences. As an e-commerce store, multiple
product categories are common but many of the customers will only be interested in one
or two categories. For example, I occasionally go shopping at Ali-express stores. 

e. Web Behaviour based Segmentation. Web behavior means web surfing. The
customer who always visit the organization site for the product or review for further
purchases, the organization might segment those customers into a group. 

f. Mobile behavior based Segmentation. Recently mobile usage has gone up.
People are using this mode to contact the management. Customers let them know of their
feedbacks and the organization segment those feedbacks into groups by mobile
behaviour.

SHORT QUESTION

Answer to The Question No 1

Question: Explain the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for implementing an E-business
system (e.g. NSU Attendance software).
Answer: Total cost of ownership is a financial estimate which helps buyers and owners
determine the direct and indirect costs of products and systems. It is the purchase price of an
asset and its cost of operation. We have learned that TCO includes all costs associated with an
activity. So if we were to explain the total cost of ownership for an e-business such as NSU
attendance software, we would have to include all the costs that are associated with this
operation. Any standard e-business TCO includes these core activities such as employee salaries
and benefits, site design, site maintenance, hardware and software costs and design work. The
most important activity is the employee’s salaries, which must be included. These employees
will need specific tools to create the attendance system, and NSU will have to include the costs
of these tools in the TCO. There will also be cost behind the outsourcing design. There will be
an employee in charge to ensure the e-business stays stable and well maintained. There will also
have to be employees working on consumer’s troubles and concerns, such as a student’s
attendance not updating or a teacher not being able to manually take attendance. NSU has to
keep these extra costs included in the TCO. And also they will either have to hire more
employees for these extra operations, or has to increase the pay checks for the existing
employees. The e-business will also need to be periodically tested for maintenance and
improvement, so there will be an additional cost there which will have to be added in TCO. To
implement an e-business like NSU’s attendance system, every cost from the beginning till the
ending in the creation of it has to be included in the total cost of ownership.

Answer to the Question No 2

Question: Compare various payment methods within the context of an organization. (e.g
Daraz)

Answer: Daraz is an online platform for two-ways marketing. It is one of the easiest online
markets, which was created primarily for our country but latter they extended their business
beyond the border. Any E-commerce business uses many payment methods. However Daraz
uses the following methods which I shall analyze and compare their merits and demerits now as
below:
Cash on delivery.

Merits

1. Since there is lot of customers who doesn’t have mobile banking they prefer cash on
delivery.
2. Customers can check the product before paying and Customers are more benefited than
companies.
3. Flexible payment option for the customer.
4. No risk of online payment frauds.

Demerits

1. Companies do not get the profit from the mobile banking companies if they had used
mobile banking instead of cash on delivery.
2. Additional charges from the company which the customer faces.
3. Company agent has to go and collect the money upon delivery.
4. Sellers have to pay a hefty delivery charge in contrast to customers.
5. Customers too have to give up their personal information such as adress

Credit/Debit (Visa/MasterCard/ AMEX)

Merits

1. It is easier for the customers and hassle free.

2. It does not require extra charge
3. It is easier to carry than paper money.
4. No risk of online payment frauds.

Demerits

1. Not everyone can afford it

2. You cannot use it everywhere 
3. You can carry more than 5 digit sum in just one card

Bkash
Merits

1. It is easier to send money anytime

2. It is not time consuming
3. Money can be carried anywhere
4. Can be used in various ways such as payment, as well as recharging your phone credit

Demerits

1. Cannot be paid when there is no mobile network

2. Not everyone uses Bkash.
3. You cannot pay for small changes
4. It becomes invalid if there is no charge in your phone.

Answer to the Question No. 3

Question: Compare among an open loop and a closed loop transaction processing system
within the context of an organization (e.g. Daraz).

Answer: Open loop payments link the customers’ payment device directly to a credit card
or debit card. Consumers can use the device in the same way that they would use the linked
card, subject to whatever terms and conditions the card issuer provides to the consumer. The
device can even be used outside of the event, if the term allows, at any retailer that supports
contactless payments.
Closed loop payments allow consumers to preload funds into a spending account that is
linked to the payment device (such as a wristband or card). Customers can reload amounts
during the event through a variety of mechanisms, including automatic top-up. Unspent funds at
the ends of the events are not usable outside of the events and so must be refunded to the
customer or retained by the event.
Answer to the Question No 6

Question: Explain why the Auction sites are not popular in Bangladesh?

Answer: Auction sites are not popular in Bangladesh because of the following reasons:

a. It is hard to conduct a fair auction in our country.

b. People in our country are more into (B2C) Business to Customers oriented
transaction in case of buying. Auction is more like C2C (Customer to customer) oriented
transaction.
c. There is a possibility of selling the old and faulty products to the customer with a
furnished look. 
d. The problem with C2C is that most of the time people do not take the
responsibility of any product once it is sold. And people tend to betray with the
customers.

Answer to the Question No 7

Question: Explain the Future of virtual communities.

Answer: The future of community is definitely an exciting topic and one that has been a
long time in the making.  As online communities have only recently become popular, many
people don’t realize that they have been around and thriving for more than 35 years!  Primarily
used to support virtual knowledge sharing in professional settings (academics, IT executives,
research), they have a proven strength in supporting information exchange and collaboration. 
So, I believe the history of the community will continue to influence their future.  The biggest
trend for online communities is the birth of specialized private online communities
  The last 2-3 years have been awash with social network launches and the race for
dominance.  For most, even the phrase ‘online community’ currently evokes mass professional
networking tools, as those tend to be most professionals’ first exposure to online communities. 
And while Twitter, LinkedIn and Quora, for example, are not going away anytime soon, there is
an increase in the demand for specialized private online communities which has emerged in part
from the success of the broader social networks.
 While these large professional networks have been fun and productive to experience,
they have grown to unmanageable sizes if they are to be used as a learning environment.  This
can be noted as LinkedIn has recently launched groups for more targeted connection, and
Google’s claim to fame is the ability to create context circles so you can organize your network
into different categories and offer them different levels of access and information to your
profile.  Clearly open communities and large networks are not meeting all the needs of
professionals.  And this is understandable, as professionals need to engage with peers around
specific topics, seek pointed information about those topics and are selective in their
collaboration efforts with those peers.

Instead, it is within the gates of private, smaller communities where meaningful peer
connections, idea exchange and collaboration can truly take place.  Not surprisingly, this mirrors
the utility of a strong, intimate in-person meeting versus a large industry conference. 
Specialized online communities are now coming into their own because more professionals have
evolved their requirements through experience with large networks.  And there is certainly a
growing trend of organizations to create private gated online communities to service the
specialized needs of their customers.