·         Product

o    Packaging

·         Price

o    Click-through promotions

o    Web referral promotions

o    Bricks-and-clicks promotion

o    Web price discounts

o    Bundle

o    Frenzy pricing

o    Prestige

o    Price as a  sign of quality

o    Hi-lo

o    Dynamic pricing (as a novel approach — group buying, C2C)

o    EDLP

·         Communication

o    Television

o    Magazines

o    Radio

o    Yellow pages

o    Telemarketing

o    Billboards / outdoor advertising

o    Online billboards (banners / buttons)

o    Search engines

o    E-mail

o    Viral marketing

·         Community

o    Outline community benefits clearly and early on in the process

o    Anticipate and readily answer questions and concerns, quickly establishing a sense of trust

o    Establish a call for action and further exploration

·         Distribution

o    Number of intermediaries

o    Number of channels

Exploration / Expansion

·         Product

o    Attributes and features

o    Fulfillment

o    Individualization

o    Breadth of inventory

o    Upgrades

o    Functionality

o    Availability of complements

·         Price

o    Targeted promotions

o    Future price promotions

o    Justify prices

o    Loyalty programs

·         Communication

o    Television

o    Radio

o    Newspapers

o    Packaging

o    Loyalty programs

o    Customer service

o    Loyalty programs

o    Customer service

o    Interactive online billboards leading to website

o    Links from search lead to website

o    E-mail with information and link to website

o    Viral marketing leading to website and / or download

o    Website

o    Serial Marketing

·         Community

o    Makes community exploration easy through efficient site structure

o    Show everyone individual attention (e.g., welcoming e-mails, guides for Novices, chat conversations for new members, use of CRM marketing to tailor site functionality)

o    Begin the process of equity creation (e.g., member points and loyalty programs)

·         Distribution

o    Degree of integration

o    Number of channels

Commitment

·         Product

o    Customer-specific attributes and features

o    Post-sales support

o    Incremental allocated benefits

o    Experience

o    Customer enabling community

o    Customer relationship management

o    Customer care

·         Price

o    Tiered loyalty programs

o    Wide variety of pricing plans

o    Become evangelists (affiliate)

o    Profit-enhancing programs

o    Volume discount promotions

o    Targeted promotions

o    Future price promotions

o    Fairness

o    Subscription

o    EDLP

o    Dynamic pricing (group buying, C2C)

·         Communication

o    Permission marketing with targeted offers

o    Loyalty programs

o    Customer service

o    Loyalty programs

o    Customer service

o    Permission e-mail

o    Personalized pages

·         Community

o    Increase equity building (e.g., through tiered loyalty programs, increased rewards)

o    Recognize individuals’ contribution and participation

o    Develop members (e.g., through leadership opportunities, community roles — guides or watch-persons)

·         Distribution

o    Degree of interest

o    Intermediary type

o    Number of channels

o    Internal function

Dissolution

·         Product

o    Customer care

·         Price

o    Discontinue pricing promotions

o    Reconfigure loyalty programs

o    Decrease profit programs

·         Communication

o    Terminate direct marketing

·         Community

o    Spot Departing Friends early and find solutions to prevent dissolution

o    Make the “leaving process” fair and efficient

o    Seeks and listen closely to feedback

o    Allow the option of returning

·         Distribution

o    Elimination of types

o    Reduction of intermediaries

o    Reduce integration

Although online searching capabilities has grown by leaps and bounds we still manage to get frustrated when our search engines don’t understand exactly what we are searching for.  “Sometimes using a search engine can be maddening. Especially when the keywords you expect to lead straight to the pages detailing what you seek turn out to be only tangentially related to that subject.”  Researchers are working on developing a not so new technology, semantic technology.  This will allow search engines to extract the meaning of certain queries and should be able to produce, much more readily, the intent behind search terms.  “Applying this technology could mean machines achieve significant insights into the way people understand the world. It could feed a breakthrough in an area of science that has long frustrated mankind.”

This article from the New York Times discusses a new Army campaign and interactive content for their website.  According to the article their website now features an option to talk to real live soldiers and ask them any questions one may have.  This word of mouth strategy to help boost enlistment is a smart way to reach more people.  Studies have shown that consumers are more likely to purchase a product after hearing about it from a friend, family member and an expert in the field.  The only problem I have with this idea is how do we know that the responses are in the potential applicant’s best interest.  I would be a little hesitant to take advice from a soldier who is almost guaranteed to be getting paid for sugar coating his experiences in the Army.

The class changed gears and discussed the importance of e-mail marketing.  The main advantages of e-mail marketing are:

• It can be developed quickly
• The content is flexible
• The distribution is controlled
• Can be tested and revised for efectiveness
• Measurable
• Inexpensive

The discussion moved on to the big box companies (best buy, etc) and their concern about regulation for online sales.  Their concern is that ebay, craigslist and other sites contribute to the purchase and sale of stolen goods.  Their hope is to lobby for government permission to keep records on certain customers in order to curb illegal activity.

The remainder was spent watching a video about search engines.  Some of the topics covered were:

• pricing
• how search engines work
• what is a spider
• the difference between organic search and paid search

• Testing/MR
• Databases/data mining
• Internet Customers
• Customer Behavior on the net

1. Amazon: Traffic Aggregator, They want your eyeballs so
2. WSJ: Information, Content provider

We moved on to the different functions of Business Models starting with the value propostion

The value proposition is the value which the firm passes on to the consumer.  The target customer has needs, the value proposition is matched with the firms capabilities, which enables value to be transferred to the consumer.

For the last 20 minutes of class we broke into groups and were asked to choose a company and identify the following for that company: Articulate value proposition, identify target market, define structure of value chain, and cost & profit structure.

Today was the first day of class and as hard as I tried to arrive on time I just couldn’t manage to make it.  I got in late, snuck my way to the back of the class room and proceeded to settle in.  

The class focused on the class overview and what the professor expects from us students.  One of these expectations interestingly enough is…..you guessed it…..a bi-weekly blog hopefully written after each classroom.  Since I just recently got the blog set up, I’m going to have to play catch up within a single post, please bare with me.

Class 2: 09/03/08

The class started how it usually does with an open discussion.  The teacher will ask something to the effect of, “whats new today?”  The topic went strait to the fact that google has recently released a new open source browser.  We discussed the possible reasons for google to develop its own browser.  One main reason is, if granted permission, google could track user’s browsing patterns (sites visited, how long spent on each site, etc.) and use that information for developing advertising strategies.  

Getting leads on the Internet:  Names, research, and some form of segmentation

Internet Marketing: Customer Acquisition, Customer Conversion, Customer Retention, Customer Value Growth

Class 3: 09/08/08

On this day we were greeted by Mr. Waltzer and he showed us how to set up this very blog in which I am typing.  I arrived late again, didn’t receive a handout and once again, felt like an ass.  However, my intutitive nature was keen enough to trouble shoot the process and BAM! here I am.

Class discussion focused around certain parts of Dell’s business model and more specifically, its value chain in internet space.  According to Roberts, “The flexible manufacturing approach allows Dell to customize a computer for an individual customer.  It allows to ship directly to its customers, increase inventory turns, decreasing inverory obsolescence, and decreasing the number of hands that touch each machine.”  

This kind of efficiency has helped dell rise to the very top of customized PC’s

Class 4: 09/10/08

Which business model’s are successful? We first turned to iPod’s and discussed the value propositions for this extremely popular mp3 player: (1) The First: other companies had released mp3 players but they were the first to do it well (2) It’s easy to use interface and sleek design (3) for existing apple customers it had an instant relationship with itunes (4) the image of being hip and cutting edge.

We concluded with RFID and discussed how its precision tracking system is a great benefit in a business’ value chain.