Free Essay on the Needs of Users Using Online Locator Services

ABSTRACT

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Advances in technology have provided society with much easier solutions to the challenges we faces on our day to day life. One of these solutions is online locator services. This research paper looks into online locator service. Considering the online locator services are used by different individuals and for different purposes, the focus of the research is the different needs of the users of online locator services. These needs are as a result of the shortcomings that online locator services have experienced. The research identifies security, easy and accuracy of search, fast rates of searches, addition of different languages and promotion of good relations between user and the car locator business as some of the major needs of user of online locator services. Furthermore the paper gives recommendation of how these needs can be met making car locator services more efficient.

Introduction

Online users and their needs have been found to be different and the purpose of this research and methodology is to identify the objectives of the research, the justification of the research, the sources of data and the methods that will be used for collecting them and the methods that would be used to analyze them. Furthermore, this paper will also involve the questionnaire that is used during the collection of data from the field. This paper is important different needs. It is also important because after the collection and analysis of the data, a deeper understanding of the ways in which the since it will be used to determine the various users of online car locator services based on their business niche is helpful will be identified. The online car locator is a service which provides the user with the opportunity of accessing particular product online. The locator is usually a website whose primary purpose is to link individuals who might be in different positions. The user of the service can be either a seller or a buyer. Furthermore, the car locator service can be used by the middleman to obtain information which ensure that the car buyer and seller obtain information regarding each others details. This in turn will facilitate the agreement between the two parties. The users of online car locator should therefore be connected to the internet since the service depends majorly on the internet to connect two individuals. The online service locator has also been used in payment services which include the Escrow and the Paypal and these services have provided the individuals with an easy way of exchanging money through online means. Online locator service is important since it provides an effective way of doing business between two individuals who might be in different regions.

Objectives

The main objectives of the research are:

To identify and analyze the importance of online car locator service.

To identify and analyze the number of users of online car locator service.

To identify and analyze the challenges faced by the users of online car locator services.

Research questions

With the above objectives in mind, the research aims at addressing the following questions:

What are the needs of online car locator service users?

What are the shortcomings of online car locator service users?

What are the recommendable solutions for the shortcomings of online car service?

What can be done to meet the needs of online car locator service users?

Problem Justification

The research will be suitable since it will result in solutions to the problems that have been witnessed as far as online car locator services are concerned. It is also important to conduct the research to ensure that the services provided through online are adequate and address the needs of the both the buyers and sellers. Through the study, the significance of online car locator services will be established.

Literature review

The needs of users of online locator services have been found to different. The purpose of this literature review is to identify the needs of online car locator services and determine the views and opinions of different authors. This will help in determining the differences and similarities between the views of the different authors. A literature review would also help in delving deeper into those needs and provide an understanding of the ways in which this business niche has evolved over time.

Online Locator Services

The online locator service is a service that provides the user with an opportunity to obtain access to a particular product. These locator services usually present itself as a website whose sole purpose is to link up two individuals (Mcelroy, 2015). Krisp, 2013 also agrees that the user of the website could either be a buyer or a seller. There are also instances where the user is a middleman who uses the service to gain access to the car and then ensure the buyer and seller can obtain information regarding each others details. However, Schneider et al., 2010 points out that locator services purely depended on networking and phone lines to connect the different individuals that would need the services of locators. The advent of the internet has ushered in the development of websites and applications that have improved the connection between the different players in this industry.

Online locator services have also been associated with online payment services such as Paypal and Escrow (Brown, 2012). The importance of these services has been to provide the contracting individuals with an easy way of exchanging money without putting any of the individuals at extreme financial risk. Krisp, 2013 agrees with these sentiments by intimating that the Paypal payment website provides its users with a means of collecting payments from users and providing a charge back guarantee Krisp, 2013. This has limited any instance the individual performing a particular transaction may take money without providing the required services in good faith. The online locator service has benefited from such initiatives and has therefore allowed legit businesses to thrive while weeding out any individuals who are looking to take advantage of those participating in the business (Brown, 2012). Other online payment systems have also been incorporated that have allowed for the transaction of huge amounts of money.

Online locator services have been used to locate collector items. Park et al., 2014 continues to suggest that the most collected and bought item on these platforms is arguably the automobile. This has allowed the individual performing the search of a particular car to obtain different results within parameters that provide all those involved with the security they need. Schneider et al., 2010 contributes to this idea by conversely agreeing that the automobile industry has benefited from the locator services because of the networking that is developed as a result of building up the systems in question. It has also been determined that the networking process has enhanced communication between the different individuals who would be involved in the operations associated with the transactions in question (Automobile Dealership Inventory Management - Crossroads Auto Locators. 2016). For instance, the business has enhanced the purchase and sale of antique car spare parts.

Users of Online Locator Services

There are three main categories of users of online locator services. These are the buyers, sellers, and brokers. Each of these individuals has been found to use locator services with an aim of either purchasing or selling the car with the exception of the brokers. Brokers have the main aim of collecting the information of the real car owners and linking the two individuals. The ideology behind this business model is that it provides those involved in the transactions with the ability to link up with individuals who have the cars of choice (Park et al., 2014). The brokers have been found to use these systems for the vast networks they provide them. The benefit of these vast networks is that they allow the brokers to obtain information regarding a specific vehicle in the shortest time possible. The brokers are also able to verify the information with ease. However, for one to obtain such information, they are regularly required to pay a particular fee.

The individuals purchasing these vehicles have also been found to use the online services. This is like the internet search engines. However, the purpose of these websites and applications is to provide the buyer with a means of obtaining the car they want in the shortest time period (Maserati Launches Online Car Locator Service | stupidDOPE.com. 2013). The system provides the buyer with parameters for searching and locating the car of their choice, thus making it easy to identify the car of choice (Albertsson & Edstrom, 2013). The provision of pictures to match the vehicle in question has also helped the individuals intending to purchase the car to have the necessary information they may require for the process. Albertsson & Edstrom, 2013 agrees with the overall idea that car locator services have improved the quality of transaction between the parties involved. They have also ensured that the individuals involved in the transaction process are both legit and reliable.

Sellers have also been found to use the systems to locate buyers. This is a reverse look up that most seller use to identify buyers who are both serious and legit (Albertsson & Edstrom, 2013). The sellers also use the locator services in order to link up with other individuals owning similar car as their own. This would be done with the intention of collecting information that they may need in finding spare parts for their own vehicles before selling them (Barr, 2015). Albertsson & Edstrom, 2013 agrees with this notion by intimating that this is a continued effort with the aim of identifying the different avenues of both information and contacts. The buyer is likely to use the system when contacted by a buyer via a particular system such as via phone calls. The verification process may also involve the incorporation of the companies in question. For instance, the burden of determine the truthfulness behind the personal details of a potential buyer and seller would be on the hands of the locator website or app (Barr, 2015).

Needs of Users of Online Locator Services

The needs of the said users have been found to vary from one user to the next. Caballero-Gil et al. 2013 argue that the needs have been found to revolve around efficiency, financial needs, and truthfulness. The different needs of the different users have been found to be a variation of these basic needs. For instance, the need of all uses to obtain real personal details of ow...