Discussed Cell Phones. Japan is technologically advanced compared to the rest of the world. According to NTT Docomo, there technology can allow cell phones to be used for many purposes such as Automatic CC payment, or train fares…

Product factor that affect diffusion of Innovation:

• Relative advantage
• Compatibility
• Complexity
• Divisibility
• Commincability

Consumer Adoption Process: Awareness > Interest > Evaluation > Trial > Adaption > Internalization

Ch.14

1. Explain the nature of the consumer adoption process. How is it different from the concept of diffusion of innovations?

The consumer adoption process is generally accepted conceptualization of the stages a consumer goes through when confronted with a new product or service. Consumer Adoption Process: Awareness > Interest >(prepurchase) Evaluation > Trial > Adoption >(lifestyle) Internalization.  The Diffusion Process is communication model and consist of four elements: the innovation, communication channels, time, and the social system within which the innovation is spreading. The concept shows a process that is normally distributed around population mean.

1. Define “pervasive computing” in your own words. What changes is it likely to bring about in the way marketers approach the Internet?

Pervasive computing aims to enable people to accomplish an increasing number of personal and professional transactions using a new class of intelligent and portable devices. It gives people convenient access to relevant information stored on powerful networks, allowing them to easily take action anywhere, anytime. This powerful concept implies that a single person has access to myriad computing devices to assist in performing all sorts of daily tasks. 

Marketers must seize the opportunities presented by the changing technological environment and develop new products and services that successfully take advantage of it. There are already a number of examples of successful applications of one or more aspects of the technology such as RFID transponders, or accessing flight schedule on mobile devices. With increase of smart phones in the market, these applications will be very useful for people and giving them convenience at many levels, such as remotely checking-in for flights.

1. Be prepared to describe the strategic drivers of wireless adoption and to give an example of each.

The Strategic drivers of Wireless Technology are:

• • Context.This means providing necessary information when and where the customer needs or wants it. The content trigger is in the hands of the customer, not of the marketer. Context in the wireless environment has two dimensions:
  • Localization.Through various geographic systems, the location of the user can be identified and information specific to that location can be provided. A consumer driving down the highway can be beamed information about attractions in the area.
  • Personalization. The customer can select not only the type of information desired but also the frequency of information provision. For example, the consumer may select specific stocks and specific price levels at which he or she wishes to be notified.
  • Time sensitive.Screens are small and storage is limited, so information must be provided at the time appropriate to the customer, not convenient for the marketer. As a customer passes a store in a shopping mall, he or she may be willing to receive a coupon for a purchase in that store, which can be saved or retained on the screen until the customer shows it when checking out the purchase.
  • High value. The coupon will have to have a reasonable value in order to make it welcome in the wireless context.
  • Voice activation. There are many situations, driving in particular, in which it is not safe—and in many locales, not legal—to use the keyboard of a mobile device. Voice activation is the solution in these situations.
  • One-click payment mechanisms. Consumers are not going to be willing to enter credit card information on mobile keyboards and may be uncomfortable with the idea of their credit card data being transmitted wirelessly. They are not likely to be willing, either, to have numerous vendor-specific accounts, especially for micropayments. A system in which payment is easily and securely authorized and billed to a single account will be necessary to enable frequent use of m-commerce services.
  • Security. Users must be assured that data transmissions are secure, and authentication services must be provided in a way that is suitable for the devices. Embedded devices that identify the owner are one possibility. Smart cards that can be inserted and removed to protect encoded information are another.
  • Privacy. In addition to protecting personal data, providers of content and services will have to be sensitive to download times, lack of storage, and the fact that users are paying for airtime. They must not abuse technological capabilities like geographic locational services.
  • Expanded permission marketing. Marketers will have to extend the concept of Permission Marketing beyond simple opt-in scenarios. They must find out what kind of information consumers are willing to receive, how often they are willing to receive transmissions, and where they are willing to receive it. This means an accurate customer database that is updated in real time.

We finished Customer service and began Marketing Automation.  Companies wants to provide the best possible customer service but as cheaply as possible.

Customer Service Themes

1. Customer service orientation must provide all departments of an enterprise.
2. Technology can help improve customer service
3. Customer want multiple service channels
4. Customer want the option of human contact
5. Improve the overall customer experience

• Customer care is a key marketing discipline. Customer satisfaction/loyalty, and enterprise profit.
• Develop service strategies based on CLV.
• Customer want choice in how to access service.

Chapter 13: Marketing Automation

“the future belongs to markets who best” 1) capture 2) analyze and mine 3) USE

Types of Knowledge:

1. Explicit Knowledge: Is readily available, it is the knowledge of skilled workers, that can be articulated, communicated to others, and if necessary incorporated into marketing decisions support or automated marketing systems.
2. Tacit Knowledge: knowledge that has not been articulated; often subconscious and relatively difficult to communicate to other people.

Role of Knowledge In Marketing

• To enable human agents to work: Better, Faster, and With more customer satisfying results.
• To create automated system, as good as the best human agent.

Questions:

1. What do you think the future holds in terms of knowledge management and use in marketing applications?

The future of knowledge management is to create an automated system that can be as good as the best human agent, and enable human agents to do their work better, faster, and in a way that provides the best customer satisfaction.  Also develop a system that encourages customers to uise the most effective and cost efficient methods of obtaining the products, services, and support they need.

1. Think about your own Internet experience, can you think of a specific encounter in which information or knowledge clearly improved your interaction with a human agent? Can you think of an encounter in which the human agent lacked the information or knowledge to make your experience satisfactory? Be prepared to discuss both positive and negative experiences and what could have transformed a negative encounter into a positive one.

3 Weeks to go!!

Customer service

Customer service is needed, it gives customers the chance to complain, and allows companies to receive feedback.

Customers wants to resolve problems and be satisfied.

Companies have different ways of taking care of complaints/feedback. Some ignore them…some actually read them and try to be better.

Dell outsources their customer service via 800 number.

Some provide live chats, FAQs (cheaper)

1. The Internet has the capacity to increase customer expectations about service levels and also to be the vehicle that delivers service that meets or exceeds those expectations. Take a position on this statement and be prepared to discuss it.

I agree, the internet has the capacity to increase customer expectations: the internet has Agent Technology(AI) helps automate certain computing functions and then applies preestablished decision rules to give the appearance of exercising judgment on behalf of the users, email response management systems helps organize large numbrs of email message coming into generic addresses re-routes them according to keywords, embedded service modules are hardware that are embedded in certain devices to fix itself, wireless applications the ability to reach customers/service from anywhere, push and polite push is a technique that allows sending of content to another without asking for it, streaming media is great for customer service in situations where customers need to now how-to do things, and voice activation is speech recognition software that translates speech into codes or words.

1. What is the concept of anticipatory customer service? What role can it play in successful customer service delivery?

The concept of anticipatory customer service is to build customer scenarios. Make customer service pervasive, fulfill common requests before asked, make service available to entire value chain. Design process for seamless escalation. Escalation Plan: Level 1-FAQs, Level 2-Web-based self help such as email, diagnostic routines, knowledge based, Level 3-Live Agent.

1. Can you identify any ethical issues that are inherent in sophisticated customer service programs?