TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KINH TẾ - LUẬT

QUẢN TRỊ KINH DOANH - KINH DOANH QUỐC TẾ

Class code: 232IS2110

GROUP 1: The Wall Street Journal: A Remodel for 21st Century

Publishing Profitability

Lương Phương Nhật Bình K214081850

Tạ Tố Tuấn Anh K214081849

Bùi Gia Khanh K214080596

Hồ Trần Thu Hà K214100764

Nguyễn Phú Quý K214080604

Question 1: What were the Wall Street Journal’ objectives in redesigning
its e-commerce presence?

With users moving more and more toward mobile devices, WSJ started to lose its
position behind other newspapers and websites as devices became smaller. WSJ had to
redesign its presence on the web to improve its status as an industry leader, their
objective was to:
● Improving User Experience: The redesign aimed to enhance the overall user
experience by making it easier for customers to navigate the website, find
products, and make purchases. This involved streamlining the checkout
process, improving search functionality, and optimizing the site for mobile
devices.
● Increasing Conversion Rates: The Wall Street Journal wanted to boost its
conversion rates, which refers to the percentage of website visitors who
complete a desired action, such as making a purchase. The redesign focused on
creating a more visually appealing and user-friendly interface to encourage
visitors to convert into customers.
● Enhancing Brand Image: The new e-commerce presence aimed to align with
the Wall Street Journal's brand image and reputation as a trusted source of news
and information. The design elements, typography, and overall aesthetics were
carefully chosen to reflect the professionalism and credibility associated with
the brand.
● Expanding Product Offerings: The redesign provided an opportunity for the
Wall Street Journal to expand its product offerings beyond traditional news
subscriptions. This included introducing new products, such as merchandise,
books, and premium content, to diversify revenue streams and cater to a wider
range of customer interests.
● Optimizing Performance: The Wall Street Journal aimed to improve the
performance and speed of its e-commerce platform. This involved
implementing technical enhancements, such as optimizing code, leveraging
caching mechanisms, and utilizing content delivery networks (CDNs) to ensure
fast and reliable access to the website for customers worldwide.
→ The Wall Street Journal embarked on a comprehensive initiative to enhance its
online shopping experience, align with its brand values, and drive business growth.

Question 2: What considerations, if any, unique to the newspaper business

were involved?
● Content Delivery Consistency: Ensuring that the user experience is consistent
across various devices that readers use today and in the future is crucial for
newspapers like WSJ. Readers should be able to seamlessly access content on
 different platforms without encountering discrepancies or confusion. This
consistency helps maintain reader trust and loyalty.
● Adaptation to Digital Shift: With the increasing shift towards digital platforms,
newspapers must adapt their strategies to cater to mobile audiences. This
includes optimizing content for various screen sizes, improving app
performance, and providing relevant features such as live video coverage and
push alerts to enhance user engagement.
● Subscription Models: The transition from print to digital subscriptions presents
challenges and opportunities for newspapers. WSJ, like many others, is
navigating this shift by offering digital-only subscriptions and encouraging
subscribers to access content across multiple devices. Understanding subscriber
behavior and preferences is essential for retaining and attracting customers in
this evolving landscape.
● Advertising Opportunities: As traffic shifts to mobile platforms, newspapers
like WSJ must capitalize on advertising opportunities to sustain revenue
streams. Providing effective advertising options within digital platforms while
maintaining a positive user experience.
→ The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has undertaken a comprehensive overhaul to adapt
to the shifting landscape of the news industry, focusing on several considerations.
Ensuring a consistent user experience across different devices is paramount for WSJ,
aiming to maintain reader trust and loyalty by providing seamless access to content.
With the increasing prevalence of digital platforms, WSJ is adapting its strategies to
cater to mobile audiences, optimizing content and incorporating relevant features to
enhance user engagement. The transition from print to digital subscriptions presents
both challenges and opportunities, prompting WSJ to offer flexible subscription
models and understand subscriber behavior to sustain its subscriber base. Additionally,
WSJ recognizes the importance of capitalizing on advertising opportunities in the
mobile space while ensuring a positive user experience. By addressing these
considerations, WSJ aims to maintain its position as a leader in delivering quality
journalism across various platforms while navigating the evolving media landscape.

Question 3: What did the Wall Street Journal do to meet the needs of
mobile device users?
The Wall Street Journal has taken several steps to meet the needs of mobile device
users. Here are some of the key initiatives they have implemented:

● Mobile App: The Wall Street Journal developed a dedicated mobile app for iOS
and Android devices. This app provides a user-friendly interface optimized for
mobile screens, allowing users to easily access news articles, videos, and other
 content. Besides, The WSJ allows users to download articles for offline
reading. This feature is particularly useful for mobile users who may not
always have a stable internet connection or want to save articles for later.
Moreover, WSJ's app and website offer personalized content recommendations
based on user interests, keeping them informed on relevant topics.
● Redesign Website: despite the proliferation of the mobile platform, 2/3 of
WSJ’s subscribers visit the Web site home page each month. Realizing this,
WSJ included the Website as a key component of its redesign.
● User Experience: The WSJ aimed to enhance the user experience by making
their app versions more responsive and visually appealing. They improved
graphical elements and made them interactive, while also ensuring faster
loading times. WSJ optimized their apps to fit the screen sizes of the latest
Apple and Android phones, aiming for a natural reading experience across all
devices. As technology evolves, WSJ will continue to adapt its app experience
accordingly.
● Reader-requested features: Most of the feedback on the design changes has
been positive in the early going. The new website and iOS app incorporate
‘reader-requested features’ like a prominent "market data center" and a Journal
widget displaying top news (status of the stock markets that day), alongside
daily notifications (such as appointments and weather alerts, e.g.). Users
appreciate the variety of content choices, while WSJ benefits from advertising
opportunities.
● Upgrading analytics capabilities: The wider range of options for WSJ
subscribers results in diverse trends and reading habits across different
platforms. To capitalize on this, WSJ is enhancing its analytics capabilities to
gather and utilize this new data for both editorial decisions and broader
business strategies. For instance, analyzing device usage reveals significant
growth in smartphone app usage compared to tablets, indicating a need to
prioritize the app experience. Moreover, WSJ finds that app users are more
engaged and loyal compared to web browser users, highlighting the importance
of focusing on app users for subscription retention.
● Innovative features: WSJ engineers are developing features specifically tailored
for the app experience. These include live video coverage on mobile devices
and improved push alerts for relevancy. Utilizing reader data analysis, WSJ
aims to provide custom push alerts to encourage users to engage with the app.
Additionally, a "read-it-later" button is being developed for users to save stories
across platforms. WSJ also plans to optimize its Apple Watch app to seamlessly
sync with the iPhone app.
→ Overall, the Wall Street Journal has made significant efforts to optimize its features
for mobile device and website users, ensuring they can access news and stay informed
conveniently on the go. The Wall Street Journal focused on the demands of users on
smartphones and tablets. Recently, mobile became the predominant method of access
to most national news items, passing the hump into the majority mode of access. As a
result, mobile has taken over strategy and development. The readers could also save &
share articles with other users. Wall Street Journal created 2 versions of the
newspaper: The live and the Morning version. They made it also possible for the
readers to switch from one device to another and continue reading the article, even
when they were offline. To have a good customer experience Wall Street Journal used
different platforms and adapted the layout to tablets and smartphones. WSJ integrated
the team that works on new technology products and design elements into the
newsroom so that the editors themselves can have direct input into shaping the
technological future of WSJ. This move has helped WSJ keep pace with other top
newspapers.