Website to SME with sustainable business : A case study for a LED lightning company
Tervaskanto, Liisa (2018)
Tervaskanto, Liisa
Oulun ammattikorkeakoulu
2018
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018052910876
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018052910876
Tiivistelmä
Governments and citizens are demanding more sustainable business practices from companies. Aligning a business with green practices is a great selling point for small businesses. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a website and an E-commerce for a SME called CompanyX. A new website, which allows customers to purchase and review products and a website, which allows the case company to achieve new customer groups, advertise its products and differentiate from competitors. CompanyX is a small-sized company located in Kempele, Finland. The company’s primary business area is within LED lightning products and services. Customers range from large and medium-sized industrial businesses and organizations to public sector and private customers. Along with the main objective the purpose of this thesis is to increase understanding of how the company can create a competitive advantage through its green marketing and marketing mix (place, price, promotion and product), as well as to understand what environmental information should be communicated and how it should be presented.
This bachelor thesis consists of theoretical and practical sections. The theoretical section briefly covers what green marketing, marketing mix and E-commerce marketing are. The practical section covers the main findings of a business plan (product, place, promotion and price) and a questionnaire, which were used to survey the company’s green marketing focus and competitive advantages. They were also used to support the renewing project of the web pages, which were developed and implemented on the basis of the instructions and guidelines provided by the case company over several online discussions.
The outcome of this thesis was a website for the case company. The results from the interviews and SWOT analysis show that CompanyX is able to increase revenues and competitive advantage by improving its marketing strategy and greenness in business activities. The marketing strategy can be improved, for instance, through personalized promotional newsletters, which are tailored for distinct customer groups and include customized solutions to meet customers’ specifications. Furthermore, it seems that by greening the marketing mix (product, promotion, price, place) CompanyX is able to improve the customers’ perception of the company. The findings of this thesis can be used as advice to the case company in choosing a suitable green and e-commerce marketing strategy.
This bachelor thesis consists of theoretical and practical sections. The theoretical section briefly covers what green marketing, marketing mix and E-commerce marketing are. The practical section covers the main findings of a business plan (product, place, promotion and price) and a questionnaire, which were used to survey the company’s green marketing focus and competitive advantages. They were also used to support the renewing project of the web pages, which were developed and implemented on the basis of the instructions and guidelines provided by the case company over several online discussions.
The outcome of this thesis was a website for the case company. The results from the interviews and SWOT analysis show that CompanyX is able to increase revenues and competitive advantage by improving its marketing strategy and greenness in business activities. The marketing strategy can be improved, for instance, through personalized promotional newsletters, which are tailored for distinct customer groups and include customized solutions to meet customers’ specifications. Furthermore, it seems that by greening the marketing mix (product, promotion, price, place) CompanyX is able to improve the customers’ perception of the company. The findings of this thesis can be used as advice to the case company in choosing a suitable green and e-commerce marketing strategy.