Company Web Site Analysis SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer) (French National Railway Company)

Résumé du document

The French National Railway Company (SNCF) is a public enterprise which operates not only in the sector of rail services for passengers and freight but also in the maintenance of the rail infrastructure owned by Réseau Ferré de France (RFF). In the age of globalization, people need to move faster and more frequently than in the past, both for personal and business trips. The world has changed and distances have been considerably shortened by modern means of transportation like planes or TGV (high speed train). Travelling is no longer reserved for the elite, and everybody is likely to move across the country at some time or the other. Similarly the new economy has created interdependence between regions and countries, necessitating the transportation of goods from their place of production. Time is an important factor, which is why a website is a substantial asset for SNCF. It can be considered a tool for the passengers who do not have enough time to look for information at the station.

Extraits

[...] Finally web administrators should increase the degree of personalization as Air France did with its passengers. Indeed they nearly need to start from scratch in this key area which is more and more essential for net users. Regular passengers should create a personal profile once and for all instead of filling out their personal data each time they book a ticket. Undeniably it would be faster, easier and, above all, more welcoming for them: in this way, it could incite passengers to book their tickets on Internet and surf more regularly on this website. [...]

[...] To cater to their requirements, SNCF has put in place a low rate version which is quicker to load because it does not use flashes or other heavy formats. This version is quite similar to the original one with the differences that the flash elements are replaced by JPG images and that the layout is not totally identical. Users have just to click on the link to load it. http://www.sncf.com (These pictures are zoomed in on the most relevant part of the webpage) Content Issues Firstly users can find different kinds of information in the website. [...]

[...] The main explanation is that SNCF has different kinds of activities so the website must illustrate the diverse dimensions of this company. It is important to underline that this website targets everybody with no exceptions (no differentiation in demographic, socio-economic or geographic characteristics). “sncf.com” has a real added value for the company because it simplifies the different constraints linked to trips for French people and foreigners: they can find all the information they need, or book their tickets on-line. They no longer need to go to the station and queue during opening hours; they have access to those services 24/7 from anywhere Competitors SNCF has no direct competitors strictly speaking because it has the monopoly on the railway transportation of passengers in France. [...]

[...] If they look for information about the group, they have just to select a channel and they stay on sncf.com (the red ellipsis). If they want to buy a ticket, they click on one of the several “tgv-europe” links and go to the specific website of SNCF dedicated to on-line purchasing (the blue ellipses). It is the same scheme for having information about discount cards or beneficiating from their advantages (the green ellipsis). If some professionals look for information about freight, they click on “freight” in the highest navigation bar and select a company: it can be SNCF and in that case they are redirected towards another specific website of the group, or it can be a partner which has its own website (the purple ellipsis). [...]

[...] Indeed train is sometimes as competitive as plane in some travel so SNCF should make the access to information and booking easier for these potential passengers. Moreover they should pay heed to translate from French all the terms into the language of the foreign version because Internet users can get quite confused about French expressions. Then they need to use more effective metatags and key words in the foreign versions of sncf.com in order that this website should be listed in foreign search engines. [...]