Troy D. George

 An Internet Business for Hoof Hearted Farms Troy D. George 10/26/13 MGMT-A-02 Professor Matt Keogh American Intercontinental University Abstract The purpose of this paper is to discuss strategy for a business using the internet. Also, there will a discussion on how social media can play a part in achieving objectives of the business. A business model will be applied in creating of a web site, as will reasons a company may benefit. Functional specifications will be provided along with hardware and technical details need to support the suggestion. Discussion will also be had on how social media can be leveraged for a business’s best interest. Introduction Hoof Hearted Farms in Wellington, Ohio is a small; family run farm. They raise cows, chickens, and fruits & vegetables. There are no artificial chemicals, steroids, fertilizers, or unethical treatment of animals. Their specialty includes custom raised and small fields of custom-planted vegetables by request and available the following growing season. Their customers can request different feed for the cows, select their chickens and their feed, and request specific fruits and vegetables. Their location (1 hour south of Cleveland; 1 hour west of Akron, and 1 hour north of Columbus) is within traveling distance of major cities. Their customers are local residents, health-conscious people, and chefs. Until now, they have done business strictly by word of mouth and local print advertising. As they look to expand and grow, the internet will be the engine that will carry them to the next level. Internet Business Model & Why If the owners of Hoof Hearted Farms are looking to grow their business via the world of e-commerce, they will need a successful model to follow. After all, restaurant managers and chefs have been asking for a way to be able to participate without having to travel to the farm. Because of this, the owners of the farm will need an effective way to handle the buying and selling of their products online to both businesses and individuals (Career Education Corporation (C.E.C.), 2013). The carefully selected e-commerce strategy will be directly related to the competitive strategy of the Farm’s and highlight the brand and identity that sets Hoof Hearted Farms apart in the organic; customizable, and competitive farming industry (Keogh, 2013). Do to the needs of the business and the customer base no and in the future, a combination of the Social Media Model and the Merchant Model would be ideal for Hoof Hearted Farms to follow in creating a web site and establishing their online presence. Social media sites like Facebook; LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and more can be employed to create a media buzz by offering networking and accelerating the virtual word-of-mouth for the farm’s website (Muehlhausen, 2012). These sites can also offer affordable advertising. The ads usually are a pay-for-click method that would bill the owners of the farm each time an internet user clicks on their banner ad (Muehlhausen, 2012). So far, the Social Media Model has created advertising and is ideally driving customers to the Farm’s virtual doorstep. This is where the employment of the Merchant Model becomes a key. The Merchant Model allows customers to view and purchase selections and check status of previous orders directly without going through a middle man (Muehlhausen, 2012). The Merchant Internet Business Model has been successfully employed by companies such as Amazon, and will allow the owners of Hoof Hearted to cover the 3 layers of E-Business: the Transaction Layer; the Web Layer, and the Middleware Layer (Keogh, 2013). Main Benefits of a Web Site The main benefit of owning and operating a web site for the owners of the farm is to drive revenue for the business. The can do this by providing a customer value proposition (selling of a good that provides benefits for the customer), establishing a foothold with customers and in the market, differentiating themselves from other farms/competitors, and establishing an effective pricing strategy (Taulli, 2009). Having a website will allow a business to carry fewer inventories, speed the delivery of payment to themselves and goods to the customers, and engage with suppliers efficiently (C.E.C., 2013). The operating website enables Hoof Hearted Farms to participate in business-to-business transactions (B2B) and business-to-customer transactions (B2C) (C.E.C., 2013). Operating philosophy can be carried on the website, as well as contact numbers, referrals, internal communication links for the owners/managers, links to businesses and agencies that network with the farm (suppliers, meat processing, USDA reports, restaurants, etc.), customer support & feedback forms, specials, weather reports, commodity reports, and more. Similar to the way Fed-Ex, Domino’s, and others allow you to track the status of your order, Hoof Hearted Farms could employ the use of web cams and status reports. This will allow customers to communicate instantly and view their results (crops and/or animals in the case of Hoof Hearted Farms) via web cam or weekly reports that keep them in touch with the farm from many miles away (Laudon & Laudon, 2013). Other Benefits While generating revenue for the business and putting customers in touch with the farm is the main benefits of the business, there are other considerations that having a website would allow. Shipping options would need to be researched, as well as current USDA and Department of Agriculture regulations. Commodity trading centers; such as Chicago and Huston would need to have live data streamed to the business to be accurate in their pricing. Inventory costs, equipment needs & costs, labor, seasonal deals from different suppliers, alternate suppliers, and more can all be additionally handled via the website. Trends and new avenues of business (target markets, marketing ideas, promotional ideas, etc.) could be researched. Recordkeeping for tax purposes, employee timekeeping, and historical records could all be usefully researched and exercised via the owners on the website. Functionality Specifications Functionality is a key component when designing a web site and operating system. Coming up with the proper specifications for the correct functions will provide those in charge of developing the web site an idea of the behaviors desired (Uwujaren, 2013). This is not how the functions will be accomplished, just defining what the functions on the web site be. When considering functionality, the practical usability and user experience will be among the top considerations weighed (Uwujaren, 2013). In the case of Hoof Hearted Farms, the owners of designers would sit down with potential customers to design features and functions from their point of view. I would suggest a simplified site; with sections for information, contacts/customer service, links, order forms, and status updates for Hoof Hearted Farm. What good would a fancy; complicated, and highly technical web site application be if most users would be casual users couldn’t use it? Tailoring the farm’s website to the needs and desires of the customer would ensure the site would help grow the business (Spencer, 2004). The following is a list of functionality considerations: Security. All purchase and records must be held secure locations. Also, administrators, editors, and general users must all have specific permission levels. Content. Who can edit, publish, and change functions? I suggest Hoof Hearted Farms begin with just the owners being the editors. Text, pictures, video, and data processing. The level of data in each communication has the potential to be large. Can the site handle it? Communication with other operating systems. Weather using Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome, the site needs to do its due diligence to make sure the majority of customers can use their technology. (Lurie, 2001) Technical Specifications The technical aspect of the specifications has more to do with the technologies and equipment that will be used to operate the design of the website (Spencer, 2004). For all the functionality considerations and more (fully realizing that the average farm budget is small), I recommend the farm start small and leave room for growth. This means operating with mostly over the counter purchased hardware and software. There is no need to call in a design team or to contract the construction of custom-built software at this point. Linux is an extremely powerful operating system that comes highly recommended by most engineers, but Windows 7 & 8 may be more familiar to most. Quick books is a book keeping software that is popular; easy to use, and able to grow with the business. I would encourage the purchase of Microsoft Office suite: not only for now, but to allow for future growth and usage. Popular security software suites include McAfee, Norton, and Kaspersky, with McAfee being the authors’ personal favorite. For the main operating system, an affordable option would be Asus 6830 desktop unit with a 3.40 GHz Intel Core processor with 16.0 GB of RAM memory. This can be paired for Dell 21” flat screen monitor and an HP 7520 All-in-one Printer/Scanner/fax/copier for a total price of under $1300.00 at any local Best Buy, Circuit City, Radio Shack, or more. At this point, there is not much need for anything larger and this will allow for both operating a web site and managing a business. Links Asus Computer Corp. - http://www.asus.com/us/ Security - http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=- Hardware - http://www.thehostingnews.com/web-hosting-hardware.html Operating Systems - http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-common-operating-systems-28217.html Conclusion This paper has discussed the proper business model for a small business such as Hoof Hearted Farms in Wellington, Ohio. Benefits of the website were presented, as were a list of functional considerations and a list of technical specifications needed for implementation of the website. The internet and e-commerce can be powerful tools to grow any business, including that of the Hoof Hearted Farm. References Career Education Corporation (C.E.C.). (2013). My Unique Student Experience. Retrieved from https://class.aiuniv.edu/_layouts/MUSEViewer/MUSE.aspx?mid=MU14116 Keogh, M. (2013). MGMT305 – Unit 3 Chat Session. Retrieved from http://breeze.careeredonline.com/r-/?launcher=false Laudon, K., & Laudon, J. (2012). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Thirteenth Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. Retrieved from http://wow.coursesmart.com/-/firstsection#X2ludGVybmFsX0J2ZGVwRmxhc2hSZWFkZXI/eG1saWQ9OTc4MTI2OTE5NzQwMy9paQ== Lurie, I. (2001). Functionality Specifications: Bigorg. Retrieved from http://getsp.sbisite.com/SBI/IT/Shared%20Documents/IT%20FuncSpec.pdf Muehlhausen, J. (2012). Internet Business Models, Retrieved from http://businessmodelinstitute.com/internet-business-models/ Spencer, S. (2004). Essential Ingredients to Web Site Redesign Success. Retrieved from http://www.netconcepts.com/website-briefs/ Taulli, T. (2009). Three Steps to a Sound Business Model. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/feb2009/sb-_798877.htm Uwujaren, J. (2013). The Functional Specifications for Web Design. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/functional-specifications-design-32364.html