In the Exercise section of Module 6 you will find a selection of proposals to measure yourself and prepare a series of documents that will help you develop an e-commerce consultancy activity for micro companies. Each exercise refers to elements that you find in the sections of the module, the indication of the skills and tools that you will use to do the exercises and a guide to the implementation.
Exercise 1
Building a database
In the first exercise we suggest you create a database, which will be useful for data collection of customers, suppliers, competitors …
For the creation of a step by step database, through the Access software interface – included in the Office 365 Personal package and Office 365 Home – you can follow the operating instructions of the Microsoft support .
There are also some programs for creating databases that you can download for free. We suggest Libreoffice.
Required skills: digital skills; learn how to learn; sense of initiative
Required tools: computer or tablet; Internet connection.
Exercise 2
Competitor analysis
Knowing the competitors on the market is a crucial element for success of an activity. In this exercise we suggest you create a data file to collect and catalog the most relevant information about competitor companies. Choose a product or service to refer to and help yourself with the following questions.
Identify the sources of reference and identify the elements of interest, proceed with organization of the data. The tool we suggest is Google sheets. Open the link and follow the instructions.
Required skills: digital skills; learn how to learn; sense of initiative
Required tools: computer or tablet; Internet connection; Google account
Exercise 3
In the previous exercise you learned how to build a data file; assume now you have a list of all customers of your potential company and make a survey using one of the Google Drive tools: the modules tool
For more information, see the Google Suite Learning Center Getting Started Guide
Required skills: digital skills; learn how to learn; sense of initiative
Required tools: computer or tablet; Internet connection; Google account
Exercise 4
In the “Success Stories” section we have provided a video of a boy who has been able to tell his story and his goals in a few minutes. Try to do the same following the directions of the University of Niccolò Cusano di Pisa listed below and, if you have not already done so, watch the film: “The Intern” by Nancy Meyers with Robert De Niro. In this short video cut from the film, Robert De Niro, seated in front of his camera, tells us why he is the right person for a position as a senior intern.
Required skills: communication; digital skills; learn how to learn; sense of initiative, creativity
Required tools: video camera, computer or tablet; Internet connection
What to say
What to do
Exercise 5
Starting from the list of companies that you built in the first year, identify a company, study online communication tools and try to create an infographic for this company. You can refer to Canva and Piktochart.
Required skills: communication; English language; digital skills; learn how to learn; creativity
Required tools: computer or tablet; Internet connection
Exercise 6
If you intend to enter the market as a consultant, you need to create a series of basic communication elements. If you decide to start a consulting firm, you need to give a graphical look to your business (site). In this section we help you to create a logo.
You can start using a logo creator, a service that allows you to create a logo, easily and quickly, directly online. We suggest Logaster: the service also allows you to have a preview of the communication products on which the logo created can be present.
In addition, to find ideas for your logos, you can refer to creative platforms such as
Required skills: communication; digital skills; learn how to learn; creativity
Required tools: computer or tablet; Internet connection
Exercise 7
In Module 5 we talked about e-mail marketing and we presented some tools for the implementation of e-mail marketing campaigns. Among the tools we talked about there is Mailchimp.
The basic service is free and allows you to practice this activity. Try creating your own personal account on Mailchimp and experience the services it offers.
Required skills: digital skills; learn how to learn; communication, creativity, sense of initiative.
Required tools: computer or tablet; Internet connection.
a selection of exercises and games in English.
