Build customer scenarios, using data including call center reports, e-mail logs, chat transcripts, and Web site software that can report unusual volumes of activity and uncover patterns in day-to-day service queries. Use the scenarios to determine where intervention can prevent problems, such as common customer mistakes in placing orders.

Make customer service pervasive by fulfilling common requests before the customer even asks and ensuring that service is readily available throughout the value chain.

Design the service process for “seamless escalation.” Translated, this means firms must guide customers to the service they need without having to move through frustrating layers of information that does not fit the needs of the customer

The company should be able to anticipate problems in the customer service process and have these issues solves or ready to be solved before the consumer finds this problem and is ready to address it. If they anticipate a problem, the consumer will have less of a problem trying to solve that problem.To do this, companies must anticipate potential problem areas before they become troublesome, develop solutions, and provide service that exceeds customer expectations.
1. Can you identify any ethical issues that are inherent in sophisticated customer service programs?

Anticipatory customer service builds customer scenarios by using data including call center reports, e-mai logs, chat transcripts, and Website software.  This means that there will be alot of access to the consumers information that the client might want deleted or kept secret. You are using their logging information to help others in a similiar situation which may be unethical.

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

The consumer adoption process is when a customer comes in contact with a new product and gets some interest after awareness. The customer can sometimes contrast the product with another product. As the customer begins to buy their product, they will begin to purchase other products from the same firm; thus making them(company) a part of the customers life.  The consumer adoption process will explain the customer’s behavior. THis will show us how a consumer adapts to the product and using the product in which it will explain the life of a product over a period of time. The diffusion of innovations is the communication models that consists of four parts: the time, communication channels, innovation, and social system in which the innovation is spreading.

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

Pervasive computing - is the concept that explains how a single person has access to multiple computing devices that can be both online and offline. (ex. Blackberry, laptops, cellphone) Marketers will have to keep up with  the changes. New services and products will be a consequence of this evolving access to technology. (ex. RFID)

• Strategic drivers of wireless adoption and explanation for each.

And here it is… in all its glory.

P.S. Santa = Jeff

Design elements of the consumer interface A.K.A 7 c’s

• context- site’s layout and design
• content- text, pictures, sound and video that web pages contain
• community- the ways sites enable user to user communication
• customization- site’s ability to self-tailor to different users or to allow users to personalize the site
• communication- the ways sites enable site to user comm. or two way communication
• connection- degree site is linked to other sites
• commerce- site’s capabilities to enable commercial transactions

Today’s topics include Tests, data-mining and customer behavior. I know sounds fun.

Let’s start with testing. The reasons to conduct a test is because it is standard pratice, to ask a strategic question (reactivate old customers) and ask tactical questions (what to do).  Then we need to know what are the variables, what type of test it will be and who we are asking (out sample population). Establish test metrics such as the significance and the cut off date. You execute the study, get the results and obviously analyze the market study.

Next we move on to data-mining, which is a set of statistical routines that permit pattern detection in large data sets. The hierarchy of consumer focused marketing strategies is as follows:

• customization (being most important and at the top of our little pyramid)
• personalization
• transaction
• interaction
• information (bottom of pyramid)

Internet users are placed into segments. Teenagers use the internet abusers, old people and people in small towns are internet underusers, and people should get broadband its 2008.

Zara seems to be the new example of a good business model (doesn’t mean I would shop there )

Zara offers consumers trendy fashions when they want it. Zara keeps up with what consumer wants by having an extensive consumer feedback system in place. When you shop at Zara, your choices are tracked and Zara rather than purchasing in bulk of certain fashion styles, purchases what the consumer wants at a specific location. If one store seems to be selling a specific style then that store is stocked in that style while others may have more of a style. The supply chain for Zara works together well because they are able to place product in a store and if it doesn’t sell, remove it and place it at another in hopes of moving the product off the shelves there. This may lead to high brand loyalty because consumers get what they want at the time they want it. I also think this may turn away consumers because although they may have a specific shopping style, shopping may not always be predictable and when a consumer wants something at a specific time, Zara may not have it because they moved it to another store because it wasn’t as popular as other choices.

We also discussed Dells supply chain. Dell sells customization. A consumer may choose dell not because they stock products that are popular at the time but because they build computers as the consumers request comes along. You can customize a dell and then the computer/laptop is built for you that way Dell does not need to keep everything stocked and potentially lose money. Although sometimes because of it there may not have a piece of hardware and may have to offer you a better piece at no charge to not lose a customer. Dell may be slower than Zara because Zara has internalized its supply chain and manufactures all of its products rather than Dell that has to order parts each time there is an order.

The Future also known as RFID, radio-frequency IDs, are the tiny chips that send and receive info. Its a little creepy that they can tell when a product is picked up and moved from one location to another in a store but its their store so i guess don’t shop there if you don’t like it. Its a technology that tells the computer system that inventory is gone. Smart right! I think so too. It makes it easier to track product as it exits the warehouse, ships to the store, stays or moves from the store and when it must be replaced.

to be continued…