Individual Critical Analysis Report

Paul Steiner , Erasmus Exchange Student

Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 2

2.0 Analysis and critique of the website and E-marketing of JC Sports........................ 2

2.1 Web Experience ................................................................................................. 2

2.2 Social Media Networking .................................................................................. 3

3.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 5

4.0 References ................................................................................................................ 6

5.0 Appendices ............................................................................................................... 7

5.1 Web Experience Framework Summary for JC Sports ....................................... 7

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1.0 Introduction
E-marketing has gained a huge significance in recent times for businesses to
attract and gain customers. The e-marketing also allows the businesses to promote
their brand and create a favourable perception in the customers towards the brand
(El-Gohary, 2012). In this context, the primary purpose of the report is to analyse and
critique the online presence of JC Sports with a particular focus on its customer web
experience and social media networking. The report will help in gaining an
understanding of the e-marketing practices of JC Sports and the way it is leveraging
the e-marketing tools such as website and social media networks.

2.0 Analysis and critique of the website and E-marketing of JC Sports

2.1 Web Experience

Web experience refers to the perception and behaviour of customers towards the
website of an organisation offering products and services to the customers. There are
several aspects of web experience which decides the way customers reaction to the
website of an organisation. As the organisations try to address the changing market
scenario and customer demands, the web experiences of the customers also change
accordingly. Comprehensively, the web experiences is generally the way a customer
interacts and experience the website of organisations (Constantinides,
Lorenzo-Romero and Gómez, 2010). In this context, it has been analysed from the
website of JC Sports that the company has made significant efforts in providing an
improved web experience to the customers. The website contains detailed information
regarding the products and services offered by the company, providing the customers
with an experience they seek to make an informed decision regarding the purchase of
a product.
In addition to that, it has also been analysed that JC Sports has made great use of
its partnership with the Leicester City Football Club on the website. The website
displays various pictures of the Leicester City Football Club's shirts and football kit,
aiming to provide the customers with a unique experience of the products they wish to
purchase. However, it has been found that the web experience of the customers'
towards the website of JC Sports could be made more interactive by providing an

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experience of the real pictures of the players of the football club in their kit. The web
experience of JC Sports' customers could also have been improved by providing them
with a section addressing their queries and issues regarding the products offered by
the company (JC Sports, 2010). There are several areas on the website which could
have contributed to the web experience of the customers in a more effective way.
Furthermore, with the theory of behavioural psychology, it has been analysed that
the behaviours of the customers can be conditioned by providing them with them an
interactive environment and experience. The interactions of the customers with the
environment of a website plays a huge role in influencing their web experience. With
the help of the theory, it has been analysed that the website of JC Sports does not have
any interactive graphics or visuals which would have provided the customers with
interactive customer experience. The presence of the graphics and attractive visuals
would have helped the organisation in gaining customers' engagement and
experiences. The presence of interactive tools such as a well-planned design,
attractive layout, well-thought organisation, and a special section dedicated to solving
the queries and issues of the customers have a huge role in enhancing the customers'
web experience of a website (Pan and Crotts, 2012). There is a huge need for JC
Sports to design, organise and develop an attractive layout of its website so that it
could succeed in gaining the customers' experience and thus their attention. Overall,
in the context of web experience of JC Sports it has been analysed that with the detail
information on the website, the customers get an experience of making an informed
decision regarding the purchase of their products. However, there is a great need and
opportunity for JC Sports to improve its web experience by making its website more
visually appealing.

2.2 Social Media Networking

Social Media Networking is one of the most important practices in the

e-marketing strategies of organisations across the industries. Social media marketing
has an important role in gaining the attention of the customers, driving the sales of the
products and services offered by the organisation. Social media networking has been
one of the most useful and important tools for the marketing and promotional
campaigns of the organisation as it allows the organisations to reach a wider base of

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customers in the market. The social media networking allows the organisations in
gaining the perspectives of the customers by engaging with them in an interaction
addressing their queries (Baruah, 2012). Social media networking also plays an
important role in offering customised products and services to customers by
understanding their behaviour and requirements.
It has been analysed that JC Sports has a presence on the different social media
networking platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. JC Sports is found to be using
Facebook to provide information regarding the store timings and new product
launches to the customers. Though it has a very limited number of followers on
Facebook, with regular updates and activity on its social media networking accounts,
JC Sports is making an effort to increase its presence. It has been analysed that the
organisation need to work great on its social media presence as it is very limited
currently. The customer engagement to the JC Sports' accounts on social media
networking platforms is incredibly low. Organisations need to consider establishing
interactive communication with the existing and new potential customers to improve
their engagement and social media presence (Tsimonis and Dimitriadis, 2014).
Furthermore, it has also been found that except Facebook and LinkedIn, the
presence of JC Sports on different social networking platforms is also very limited.
The website of the organisation also lacks any mention of the organisation's presence
on social media networking platforms. It is highly necessary to provide the customers
with links to the organisation's different social media accounts. However, the focus of
JC Sports in mentioning about its social media presence on its website is found to be
negligible. In today's connected world, engagement with the customers on different
social media networking platform is highly crucial as customers tend to use different
social media networking platforms for a range of purposes (Baird and Parasnis, 2011).

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3.0 Conclusion

Based on the findings of the report, it has been identified that JC Sports is making
sound efforts in providing its customers with an improved web experience through its
website. However, it has been found that there is a huge scope of improvements in the
way the organisation is delivery the web experiences to its customers. Furthermore, it
has been found that the organisation needs to focus on devising effective social media
presence so that it can fulfil as its marketing strategies and needs. Thus, it can be
concluded that the report has served its purpose of analysing and critiquing the online
presence of JC Sports.

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4.0 References
Baird, C.H. and Parasnis, G. 2011. From social media to social customer relationship
management. Strategy & leadership 39(5), pp. 30-37.
Baruah, T.D. 2012. Effectiveness of Social Media as a tool of communication and its
potential for technology enabled connections: A micro-level study. International
Journal of Scientific and Research Publications 2(5), pp. 1-10.
Constantinides, E., Lorenzo-Romero, C. and Gómez, M.A. 2010. Effects of web
experience on consumer choice: a multicultural approach. Internet Research
20(2), pp. 188-209.
El-Gohary, H. 2012. Factors affecting E-Marketing adoption and implementation in
tourism firms: An empirical investigation of Egyptian small tourism
organisations. Tourism management 33(5), pp. 1256-1269.
JC Sports. 2010. Leicester City Official Merchandise at JC Sports. [Online].
Available at: http://www.jcsportsdirect.com/ [Accessed on: 25 November 2019].
Pan, B. and Crotts, J.C. 2012. Theoretical models of social media, marketing
implications, and future research directions. Social media in travel, Tourism and
hospitality: Theory, practice and cases pp.73-85.
Tsimonis, G. and Dimitriadis, S. 2014. Brand strategies in social media. Marketing
Intelligence & Planning 32(3), pp. 328-344.

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5.0 Appendices
5.1 Web Experience Framework Summary for JC Sports
Functionality Factor

A) Usability

Convenience  The website is not convenient, as it

does not provide adequate
information about its services

 The word used in the content is

small; thus, it is difficult to read the
provided information

Site Navigation  The site is best suited for desktop

navigation, opening the site via
mobile is pretty difficult, and as the
keywords are small, hence it is
difficult to navigate the site on
mobile.

Information Architecture  The design architecture is normal; it

does not have a premium touch

 The information provided on the

website is not adequate and does not
properly clarify the services

B) Interactivity

Customer Services/After-Sales  There is a portal for after-sales

services; the website does not specify
how to ask for refund or exchange
product

Interaction with Company Personnel  There are two ways to communicate

with the company; it's via telephone
calls or comments, that could be

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 given at the comment drop-box

Psychological Factor

A) Trust

Transaction Security  The only way for payment

processing is through cash or card
payment in the store

Customer data Misuse  The website does not have any page,
discussing their policies about
customer data

Content Factor

A) Aesthetics

Design  The design of the page is very

common and does not look attractive

 The website hasn't used photographs,

which is essential for enriching the
website

Design element  The mixture of white and blue is

pretty distracting

 The front page of the website is small

and looks messy

B) Marketing Mix

Communication  The information provided on the

website is very specific and small
and also there is not many
photographs used

Product  There is no clear view of the

products from the photographs, the

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 angle used for taking photographs is
not good

Fulfilment  Due to the availability of only one

payment option, the fulfilment is not
adequately done

Price  Price of the products is mentioned in

the different product categories on
the website. The prices of the product
generally vary from each other.

Promotion  The website mentions that it is the

official merchandise partners of
Leicester City Football Club.