Web Site Analysis
Tom O'Malley
Sherwood Conservatory of Music - www.colum.edu/Sherwood_Conservatory
1. What are the value proposition and business model (Merchant model, Advertising model, etc.) for this sites?
The value proposition for the Sherwood Conservatory of Music is to provide a comprehensive music education in a community focused environment. This is done by allowing a wide range of prospective students the opportunity to register for classes including individual lessons, early childhood classes, children's group classes, teen classes, classes for teens and adults, and adult classes.
The business model for the Sherwood Conservatory of Music is B2C; a merchant model focused on driving customers to their services by providing information and contacts for their institution. No services are available online.
The business model for the Sherwood Conservatory of Music is B2C; a merchant model focused on driving customers to their services by providing information and contacts for their institution. No services are available online.
2.How does the website integrate to other channels for this company? ( NOTE: A channel can be a retail store, a catalog, direct mailing campaign, etc. )
The website for the Sherwood Conservatory is used as a channel to attract perspective students to apply to the physical location. As the website for the Conservatory is hosted within the larger Columbia College website, students are capable of using the host features to handle online payment, registration, and other related functions.
3.How do they cater different types of Consumers (Impulsive, Patient, Analytical) and shopping experiences (Utilitarian and Hedonic)? (Attract)
The site caters to multiple types of perspective clients though the range of classes and information featured. Impulsive clients will be attracted to the relatively short and low cost individual lessons offered, while patient clients have the opportunity to compare numerous options for a wide range of classes, each showing the cost and options for attendance. Analytical clients will find a great wealth of information on the site that can be used for comparing against other schools.
Hedonic clients are not well-served by this website, as registration and the ultimate transaction requires a number of manual steps and review by the institution; the focus is most clearly toward a utilitarian shopping experience.
Hedonic clients are not well-served by this website, as registration and the ultimate transaction requires a number of manual steps and review by the institution; the focus is most clearly toward a utilitarian shopping experience.
4. How does this site interact with the customer? What type of tools do they use to improve the customer's shopping experience? (Interact)
The site interacts with the customer by offering registration for classes through a downloadable form, and by providing contact information for the school. The content offerings are static and only once registration is complete are clients able to pay for classes on the larger Columbia website.
5. How does the site process order placement and payment? (Act)
The individual Sherwood site does not allow for payment and does not allow clients to add items to a cart for checkout.
6. How does the site handle delivery, shipping and return? (Act)
The services are provided to the client at the physical educational institution.
7. How does the site handle Customer Service and technical support? (React)
The site offers contact information for handling customer service and technical support. Included are a physical address, a local phone number, and an email address.
8. How useful is site's navigation design? (Usability)
The site's navigational design is quite useful for the perspective client, providing both bread crumb navigation as well as an expanding list of links. The URL is a good indication of the current page, using the same name as accessed via the links. All of the pages have a similar look and feel, and consistent style sheets are used throughout.
9. Is the content well-organized, easy to navigate, visually appealing? (Usability)
While the site is presented in a sligntly modified grid layout, navigation is straightforward and meaningful. The site makes use of clean, crisp colors and clear graphics, providing a rich visual experience. Links are displayed clearly with a nice hover color, and all backgrounds are light and easy on the eyes.
10. What are some possible improvements or enhancements you would recommend for the site?
The strongest recommendation that I could make for this site would be to provide clients with the ability to register and pay for single, or individual, classes on the website. As the registration process for these classes should be fairly simple (on a space-available basis), providing this service would be a great feature for the community and help increase sales for the more hedonic shopper.
