This article speaks about how customization pays off. Economical perception of customization. It also argues how potential money saving can come with great online customization.

http://www.mass-customization.de/download/ppc04.pdf

http://mass-customization.blogs.com/

This article basically states how online companies use cookies to find out more information about there viewers. a cookie is a unique identifier that a web server places on your computer. A serial number for you personally that can be used to retrieve your records from their databases.The main benefit of cookies  for viewers is that they help you to navigate websites, particularly those where you purchase goods or services and have to fill out forms with your name, address, and payment information.

http://www.artbusiness.com/cookies.html

The consumer adoption process is a generally accepted conceptualization of the stages a consumer goes through when confronted with a new product or service.  The consumer must become aware of the product, develop interest, perform a pre-purchase evaluation, and then try the product, either as a consequence of a purchase or of a marketer-sponsored promotion or incentive.

The diffusion process is a communications model and consists of four elements: the innovation, communication channels, time and the social system within which the innovation is spreading, concept shows a process that is normally distributed around a population mean. 

The degree to which an innovative product or service possesses these characteristics determines the ease with which it is adopted and diffused throughout the population.  Older products such as the automobile and telephone were slower to diffuse through the population than newer ones like the Internet and cellular phones.  In this fast-paced environment, marketers must develop and successfully commercialize new products. However the consumer adoption process explains consumer behavior and how consumers adapt to a product, while the diffusion of innovations describes the life of a product over time.

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

The concept means that a single person can have access to all their computing devices to assist in performing all sorts of daily tasks.  It may accomplish an increasing number of personal and professional transactions using a new class of intelligent and portable devices.  It gives people access to the information needed.  Usually new technology are not usually simple to learn, that is why complexity can slow down the diffusion of an innovation. metrocard’s  CCspeedpass example for getting in the mta stations.

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

Context- when and where the customer needs and wants. 

Localization- a consumer driving down the highway can be beamed info about attraction in the area.

Personalization- specific stocks and price levels, notified on cellphone.

Time sensitive- coupons, can be saved or retained on the screen until the customer shows it at check out

High value-  coupons with high value

Voice activation-  make it safe

Once-click payment mechanisms-  a system in which payment is easily and securely authorized and billed to a single account.

Security- user must be assured transmissions are secure.

Privacy- no abuse on tech capabilities like geo locational services, protecting consumer data.

Expanded permission marketing-  must find out what kind of information consumers are willing to receive. 

Knowledge management: the systematic process of identifying, capturing, and transferring information and knowledge people can use to create, compete, and improve

 As it stands currently, companies have the ability to partially implement knowledge management solutions with the goal of providing a seamless customer experience. In terms of future applications, fully integrated solutions should be the way to go to so that human agents can do their work better, faster, and in a way that provides maximum customer satisfaction, and create automated systems that perform at least as well as the most skilled human agent.

  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.

Clickstream-  the complete data record, made up of mouse-clicks, of consumer activity on the Internet during a specified period, usually the dureation of a visit to a single Website.

Server Log- record kept at the server level that records each file requested from a Website.  Created by the server that houses the Web site.  Each time a browser requests a file in order to build a Web Page, it generates an entry in the server request log.(marketing task is to determine how these data can be sued to fin-tune existing marketing strategies, from the example of sally looking for fishing rod for father, they collected information regarding how she was unsuccessful on the listings for one and two, but she found for 3). 

Coded web page- a technique in which a small image, usually a 1-pixel transparent image ( called a pixel tag or transparent GIF), is placed on a Web Page.  Used in conjunction with a cookie on the user’s computer, the image returns data about user activity on the Web page. 

The use of coded pages is a new method of collecting data, on the “browser (user’s ) side” of the information transaction instead of on the server side.  (detailed info about the visitors’ activity on the page.  Data is more accurate. Data collected by web bugs has smaller storage requirements because it stores only relevant data. Data are collected in this manner, it permits real-time processing and viewing of site metrics.

To collect detailed information about visitor activity, tags must be sued in conjunction with cookies.   Cookies themselves have become controversial, although the general Internet public seems less aware of coded pages in general.

Panel data- the process for using panel data to generate site effectiveness data is the same as using panels in the general marketing research process. The first step is to recruit a statistically representative panel of internet users who agree to participate in the data collection. Specialized software is downloaded onto the participant’s computer to record the click stream data. The software is polled at regular intervals to upload the data. First, the source of the data is unambiguous, which it often it not with server logs. Second, a person who uses the internet from both home and work is two separate people according to server logs, but carefully planned and maintained panel data can overcome this issue. Third, the measurement firm can collect demographic and behavioral data from panel households that can be useful in reporting and analytics.

They are all the same because they all record activity on internet one way or another.  They are different because server logs record information on the server side while Coded Data collects information from the browser side.  Coded Pages are more useful than server logs because the user’s IP address may change during the session, instead of server log recording the same visitor, it gets confused by recording different visitors.  With Coded pages, when data are collected in this manner, it permits real-time processing and viewing of site metrics. Server log data, on the other hand, must be transferred to a separate analytics system for batch processing. It can be made available quickly, but not in real time.  

What are some of the specific metrics that measure Internet traffic, audiences and campaigns.  Which ones do you think are most important?

Traffic measures simply document site activity:
•    Hits: number of files requested
•    Impressions: the number of times an ad banner is requested by a browser
•    Page views or deliveries: the number of times a Web page is requested
•    Session: the amount of activity on a site during a specified period
•    Click-throughs: the number of times visitors come to the site by clicking on an ad

Audience measure provide data about the people who visit the site:
•    Visitors: the number of people who visit a site
o    Total (included multiple visits) or unique (different people) during a specified time frame
o    Unidentified (anonymous) or identified (registered or customer)
•    Unduplicated audience: the visitors that are unique to a Web site
•    Behavior on the site
o    Number of page views
o    Session Time
o    Path through the site
o    Shopping cart abandonment
o    Entry page (many visitors do not enter through the home page)

Campaign measures provide data about the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
•    By communications channel: e-mail, mail, online banners, and so forth
•    By offer: free shipping versus 25% off, for example
•    Search effectiveness by keyword.

 A relationship is defined as a bond or connection between the firm and its customers.  This bond may be strong, weak, or nonexistent, and it can be based on either logic or emotion.  An example of logical bond is a realization that the customer simply cannot get a better product elsewhere.  However, strong relationships typically have an emotional dimension as well- think of your relationships with family and friends.  Buyer-seller relationships can be strong, but generally they are not as powerful as the connection we have with people who are close to us.  Buyer-seller relationships are based on exchange, where each party expects, or perhaps even demands, value for what is given.

2)     Why is intregrated lever selection important in a marketing plan?

IMC ensures that levers complement one another and thus drive customers through the relationship stages more effectively.

3)     How did eBay’s application of the Marketspace Maxtrix change over time?

eBay first focused on advancing users into the awareness and exploration/expansion stages.  The next phase of its matrix involved building community and sustaining commitment.  Once the community was established along with a large user base, eBay again returned to bringing new users into the community through the awareness and exploration/expansion phases. 

4)     What are the four categories of principles for lever selection?

Which levers are customers most responsive to?

Which levers are least likely to generate a competitive response?

Which levers work best together?

Which levers are consistent with strategy?

What are the key principles for lever selection within the Marketspace Matrix?

1-    Base the levers on consumer behavior.

2-    Choose levers to effect change.

3-    Measure the impact of each lever.

4-    Overcome barriers to advancement.

5-    Anticipate your competitors’ likely responses.

6-    Build on your firm’s skills and resources.

7-    Look for interaction effects

8-    Integrate across levers.

9-    Levers create the position

10-Focus on superior customer value

The internet is a distribution channel since it is able to facilitate the exchange of goods and services between the  buyer and seller. The internet also makes products available for consumption, which is important in a distribution channel . 

2. What are the functions of channel intermediaries?

The functions are: Effectiveness -  it’s the ability of a channel to perform its functions which creates value for the customer. Efficiency – the cost of distribution can be reduce if retailers can perform its require functions more efficiently than other manufactures can that would be in the direct channel.

3.   What is disintermediation and what are its implications for channel intermediaries and customers?

Disintermediation – a strategy that eliminates channel intermediary -  Internet-driving force for disintermediation: the Internet enables firms to interact at a much lower cost and higher speed.

4.  What are the distribution levers and how do they affect relationships between intermediaries and buyers and sellers?

Some of the levers: Virtual shopping malls –  it has some small sense of the regular shopping malls of the physical world, it has become vary important for those unknown brands which can make customers aware of it easier online, it is also easier for customers to comparison shop. Direct – firms are able to do directly into the customer with the internet or by direct mail. Internet exchange – this element is like the virtual shopping malls.  Traditional retailer -  business whose revenue comes from their sales.  

1)     What is the definition of community?

A set of interwoven relationships built upon shared interests, which satisfies members’ needs otherwise unattainable individually.

2)     What are the criteria that define successful community?

•Membership is a conscious choice.

•Member base has achieved critical mass and sustainability.

•Members feel a great sense of trust.

•Members achieve benefits in scale.

•Roles are not hierarchical or imposed.

•Effective facilitation and site structure keeps community activities on track.

•A spirit of participation and feedback is clearly cultivated.

•A sense of affiliation is achieved through ownership of equity in the community.

•Efficiency in interaction is maximized.

•The community is easily navigable.

3)     What are the different types of interest that form the foundation of community?

There are three broad types of Communities, differing by their foundation of shared interests:  1) Information-driven communities, 2)  Activity-driven communities, 3) Commonality-driven communities

4)     What are the different ways in which communities’ function?

How do Communities Function?

•Real-time systems

–Internet Relay Chat (IRC)

–Web-based chat

–Virtual worlds and MUDs (Multiuser Dimensions)/ MOOs (MUDs Object Oriented)

•Asynchronous systems

–Mailing lists

–Newsgroups (Usenet groups)

–Web-based message boards (bulletin board systems [BBS])

5)     What are the three primary ways in which value is created within a community?

Three patterns emerge for creating and transferring value within communities: 1)  User to user 2) Administrator to User 3) User to administrator.

6)     What are the benefits that community can generate for a parent firm?

     Cost Benefits

Reduced Customer Service Costs

Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs

Reduced Costs from Decreased Product Flaws and Marketing Mistakes

Reduced Marketing Costs

      Revenue Benefits

Increased Customer Segmentation and Customization

Increased Branding

Deepened Customer Relationships

7)     What are the different levels of community?

Community Building on the Web in Amy Jo Kim’s book identifies 5 stages:  Visitors, Novices, Regulars, and Leaders.

In a separate book, Randall Farmer similarly delineates the different participation levels: Passives, Actives, Motivators, and Caretakers.

How to Create Successful Community

Guiding Principles: The Four-Stage Micro-Approach

–Awareness

–Exploration/ Expansion

–Commitment

–Dissolution

Guiding Principles: The Three-Level Macro-Approach

-Nascent

-Formative