Abstract
Shell Canada Limited took an innovative initiative in 2003: to launch an eStore for our business customers. But even though many customers have signed up, the utilization rate remains low. In that sense, the initiative doesn't match our business objectives which consists of cutting costs of sales representatives by providing a self-service
technology to agricultural customers to place their orders directly. In return, we could obtain account information through eStore. The two main causes of "discontinuance" seem to be a problem of website conception and an ineffective interpersonal communication. This failure raises the risk of taking an innovative initiative for a company such as Shell Canada Ltd, in terms of missed sales and even lost customers.
After the analysis of our company, its environment and its customers, building a skilled team for improving the eStore and a business unit responsible for the customer relationship management appears to be the best strategy.
