ECT 250: Survey of e-commerce technology Marketing, sales, and promotion

2 An organizations presence is the public image it conveys to its stakeholders. The stakeholders include customers, suppliers, employees, stockholders, neighbors, and the general public. Physical world: Create a store, factory, warehouse or office building and/or engage in advertising. On the Web: Create a site, which may be the only point of contact for stakeholders, and/or engage in advertising. Building a presence

3 Attracting visitors to the site Making the site sticky so that visitors stay Convincing visitors to follow the sites links to obtain information Creating an image consistent with the desired image of the organization Reinforcing positive images that the visitor may already have about the organization Web presence goals

4 Commercial organizations – ToyotaToyota – MetraMetra Museums – Art InstituteArt Institute – Field MuseumField Museum – Museum of Science and IndustryMuseum of Science and Industry Examples

5 History, statement of objectives, mission statement Information about products or services Financial information A way to communicate with the organization + Usability matters + Communication should be two-way + Failure will result in a loss of competitiveness How can the design of the site be done effectively? Elements of a Web site

6 Learning about products and services Buying products and services Obtaining information about warranties or service for previously purchased products Gaining general information about the organization Obtaining information for the purposes of investing or granting credit Identifying the people who manage the organization Obtaining contact information for an individual Purposes for visiting a site

7 Varying visitor needs Differing experience levels Technological issues – Data transmission speeds – Web browsers – Plug-in software Difficulties in delivering content

8 Convey an integrated image Provide easily accessible facts both about the firm and any products or services it may offer Allow visitors to experience the site in a variety of ways and at different levels Provide meaningful, responsive, reliable, two- way communication Sustain visitor attention without detracting from the purpose and image of the site Find ways to encourage return visits Strategies

9 Design the site around how visitors will navigate the site, not around the organizations structure Allow quick access to the sites information Avoid using inflated marketing statements Avoid using business jargon Allow visitors with older browsers and slower connections to access the site -- this may mean building several versions of the site Be consistent in the use of design features and colors Usability

10 Make sure that navigation controls are clearly labeled or otherwise recognizable Test text visibility on smaller monitors Check that color combinations do not impair viewing clarity for the colorblind Positive examples: Webby AwardsWebby Awards (See the Monterey Bay Aquarium)Monterey Bay Aquarium Negative examples: Mud Brick AwardsMud Brick Awards Usability

11 Personal contact/prospecting Employees individually search for, qualify, and contact potential customers. Mass media approach Advertising and promotional material is created and then distributed via: – Television or radio – Newspapers or magazines – Highway billboards – Mailings Finding and reaching customers

12 One-to-many – Mass media – Seller sends out carefully produced messages to a large audience. – Seller is active; buyer is passive. One-to-one – Personal contact – Salesperson interacts with customer directly. – Trust building is important. – Both seller and buyer participate actively. Types of interactions

13 Many-to-one Many active potential customers seek out information from resources produced by the seller. Example: Book review sites, fan sites One-to-one contact with a seller Many-to-many Newsgroups and interactive Web sites Primary characteristic: The buyer is active and controls the length, depth, and scope of the search. The Web

14 Mass media efforts are measured by estimates of audience size, circulation, or number of addresses. Money spent on mass media is in dollars per each thousand people in the estimated audience. This pricing metric is called cost per thousand and is often abbreviated CPM. Effectiveness of mass media

15 As mass media lost its effectiveness (new and improved!), one approach was to divide a pool of potential customers into segments. This is called market segmentation. Targeting very small market segments is called micromarketing. Micromarketing is expensive using traditional means, but more cost effective on the Web. Micromarketing

16 A visit occurs when a visitor requests a page. Immediate downloads of new pages are often counted as part of the same visit. A trial visit is the first one; subsequent ones are called repeat visits. Each page loaded is a page view. If the page contains an ad it is an ad view. An impression refers to each banner ad load. If a visitor clicks a banner, it is a click-through. One CPM for banner ads is 1000 impressions. Charges range from $1 to $100 CPM. Web-specific measures

17 The Web has: Better effectiveness than mass media More trust than mass media Lower cost than personal contact Less trust than personal contact It is believed that a move toward the side of personal contact is more effective. Increase the trust level Increase the personalization Comparisons

18 Technology-enabled relationship management is when a firm obtains detailed information about customer preferences, needs, behavior and buying patterns and uses that information to: set prices negotiate terms tailor promotions add product features customize its relationship with the customer. Technology and marketing

19 A known and respected brand presents a powerful statement about quality, value, and other desired qualities to potential customers. Branded elements are easier to promote. The key elements of branding are: – Differentiation – Relevance – Perceived value This makes branding for commodity products like salt or plywood more difficult. Branding

20 A characteristic that sets the product apart from similar products. Examples: Ivory soap: It floats Dove soap: 1/4 moisturizing creme Palmolive dish soap: Mild on your hands Dawn dish soap: Takes grease out of your way Antibacterial soaps Differentiation

21 The degree to which the product offer utility to a potential customer. The customer must be able to see themselves purchasing and using the product. Examples: Cadillac Hyundai Minivans Relevance

22 The product must have some identified value. Products can be different than others and people can see themselves using it, but it may not have values that they desire. Example: Subway sandwich ads comparing fat values of their product to those found in BigMacs. Perceived value

23 Ted Leonhardt: Brand is an emotional shortcut between a company and its customer Emotional appeals work well on television, radio, billboards, and print media since the viewer is a passive recipient of information. On the Web it is easy to click away from emotional appeals. Emotional branding

24 Rational branding offers to help Web users in some way in exchange for their viewing an ad. Functional assistance replaces emotional appeals. Examples: Free services such as HotMail Free Web hosting such as HyperMart ShopSmart! program from MastercardShopSmart! Rational branding

25 Leverage success in one area into another area. Example: Yahoo!Yahoo! Affiliate marketing: Descriptions, reviews or other information about a product on one site are linked to pages on another site allowing you to purchase that item. Example: Amazon.comAmazon.com Serving as a market intermediary between buyers and sellers. Example: Wedding ChannelWedding Channel Other branding strategies

26 Transferring existing brands to the Web or using the Web to maintain an existing brand is easier and less expensive than creating a new brand. Example: Catalog sales companies Attempting to create a brand on the Web may involve spending on traditional mass media such as television, print, and radio. Example: In 1998 Amazon.com spent $133 million and BarnesandNoble.com spent $70 million, much of it on traditional advertising. Costs of branding

27 Selling goods and services Based on the mail order catalog business Selling information or other digital content Can be used to expand markets and cut costs Advertising supported Used by American network television Advertising-subscription mixed Supported via both fees and advertising Fee-for-transaction The use of information filtering for profit Business models for the Web

28 Used for apparel, computers, electronics, and gifts. The printed catalog is replaced or supplemented by information on the Web site. Customers may purchase via phone. (Why?) Fabric swatches are usually available. (Why?) Examples: – Dell computers: FlexibilityDell computers – Lands End: OverstocksLands End – FTD Florists: Traditional advertisingFTD Florists – Buy.com: DiscountingBuy.com Selling goods and services

29 The Web is an efficient means for selling information. Legal research: Lexis PublishingLexis Publishing Digital copies of documents: ProQuestProQuest Electronic versions of journals: ACM Digital LibraryACM Digital Library Adult entertainment Reference materials: Encyclopedia BritannicaEncyclopedia Britannica Selling digital content

30 The success of Web advertising has been hampered by two major problems: There is no consensus on how to measure and charge for site visitor views. Examples: Number of visitors, number of unique visitors, number of click-throughs. Very few Web sites have sufficient number of hits to interest large advertisers. Targeted advertising requires that demographics be collected, a sensitive privacy issue. One success: Employment advertising Advertising supported

31 Subscribers are subject to less advertising and have greater access to the resources of the site. Popular with online newspapers. Examples – The New York TimesThe New York Times – The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal – ReutersReuters – ESPNESPN Advertising-subscription mixed

32 Value-added services are sold in exchange for a commission. Travel agencies – TravelocityTravelocity – ExpediaExpedia Automobile sales – Autobytel: An example of disintermediationAutobytel Stockbrokers Insurance companies Fee-for-transaction