Wymbs Marketing Blog » sparker512

chapter 11

sparker512 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:29:18 +0000

· Describe the similarities and differences between server log, coded page and panel data. Which do you think is most useful?
A server log stores a group of files created by the server. each time a browser requests a file an entry is generated in the server log. One of its problems is that each individual graphic on a page is stored as a separate entry, meaning a page with 3 graphics get stored 1 time per graphic plus one for the page which is 4 hits for visiting 1 page 1 time. This data is always stored as part of running a site, but it is not as accurate as some other kinds of data collection, such as a coded page. A coded page is a technique where a 1 by 1 pixel image (GIF) is placed on a web page. along with cookies on the user’s computer, the image returns data about user activity on the web page. panel data is used to generate site effectiveness. it polls willing internet users who get software installed on their computer that record their clickstream data. the software is polled at regular intervals to upload the data. I think the coded page is most useful. i can’t image that many people would allow a company to monitor their clickstream data. on theother hand, the coded pages do not need permission from the user and gives accurate results. server logs do not give accurate results because they may poll too many hits from one visit.

What are some of the specific metrics that measure Internet traffic, audiences and campaigns. Which ones do you think are most important?
Some of the metrics that measure internet traffic are report dashboard,marketing campaign reports, browser based reports, path analysis, and segmentation by behavior and channel. I think the dashboard is one of hte more important ones. It is a customizable display of summary data on a computer screen. Because the summary data are always on one screen it prevents the uesr from having to navigate to different web sites or needing to activate another function or program.

chapter 14

sparker512 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:03:11 +0000

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

The consumer adoption process is an accepted conceptualization of the stages a consumer goes through when confronted with a new product or service. It works when a consumer first becomes aware of the product, then develops an interest in it, then performs prepurchase evaluation, and then tries the product. the diffusion process is closely associated. it consists of four elements, the innovation, communications channels, time, 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 being able to use computers to do a lot of tasks in our evrry day life but instead of it being complicated and needing to be programmed individually it would be simple and they would run things without us having to program them specifically for each task. By making the technology simple, markets would be able to sell devices and programs that could make life simpler. some of these mentioned in the book are british airways and using your cell phone to pay your parking meter instead of having to run outside and putin quarters.

chapter 13

sparker512 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:38:38 +0000

What do you think the future holds in terms of knowledge management and use in marketing applications?
I think these programs can only become more and more advanced. the information firms will be able to get will be more indepth, more easily and quickly available, and be much cheaper to acquire. marketers will get information off of websites, phone apps, and new and inventive ways that have not been thought of yet.
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.
When calling AT&T they are easily able to pull up all my information very quickly, and when i go on the website, the site automatically knows what kind of phone i have based on the information my sim card sends it. on the other hand,when dealing with linksys for wireless router troubles (which sitll have not been fixed) they did not have the information on my past phone call even though they had a confirmation number there did not seem to be a lot of information to go along with it.

pricing

sparker512 — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:22:32 +0000

1. What is the relationship between price and demand? Why is it important for a firm to price at the point at which marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost?

For many items, when price goes up demand goes down and when price goes down demand goes up. for some items, inelastic ones, the price and demand are not inversely related. for example, gasoline or medication are needs so no matter how the price goes, the demand will remain the same. also, for luxury items the higher the price could lead to a higher demand. it’s important for a firm to price at the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost because that way they won’t lost money and they won’t over price.

2. Why should a firm consider fairness when pricing its goods?

Because with all the competition that the internet offers customers need to feel as though they are being treated fairly.

3. How has the Internet enhanced opportunities for dynamic pricing strategies?

a. the set price mechanism: for example amazon does not always have to offer the lowest prices, but they offer a brand that people trust, convenience, and increased customer information.

b. the buyer/seller negotiated pricing mechanism: one-to-one vertical negotiations that take place around the world. it does take longer than fixed pricing to complete though.

c. auctions and exchanges: such as ebay, allow people to bid on items to try and get a good price.

4. Why would a firm want to implement a price-discrimination strategy?

Becuase it allows them to make the most money possible. without it, poeple who cannot afford something would never be able to buy it. this way, to an extent, more people are able to buy from the firm at differnt prices that work for the specific consumer.

chapter 9

sparker512 — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:37:44 +0000

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Why is it that many young users trust unknown peers more than recognized experts?
Because young people like to hear information and advice in their own voice. when they hear an expert telling them something, sometimes they don’t completely understand the vernacular the expert is using or sometimes they choose not to listen to something that comes from an “expert” point of view. on the other hand, even an unknown peer shares the voice of the young person. especially wehn it comes to the intrnet, the information that comes from an unknown peer feels like it could be as good as that from an expert because it is a still a relatively new medium so a lot of times the young unknown people are as knowledgeable as the experts.
Discuss the Internet concept of engaging the right people with the right message rather than attempting to get in front of the most people with the same message.
The internet has the rare ability of all the mediums out there to speak directly to each individual user. When it comes to TV or radio, there is a commercial playing and everyone listening to or watching that station is exposed to it. there is still a way to make sure your message is seen by the best poeple, for example putting beer commercials on during sports games, but it is still being shown to a lot of people, some of whom are not interested. on the internet however, by using cookies and tracking user information on a particular website and information based on past purchases, businesses can target each consumer specifically based on their wants and needs and thereby increase purchases while reducing the amount they have to spend on large amounts of advertising.

chapter 2

sparker512 — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:15:07 +0000

- Differentiate between three key concepts – supply chain, value chain, and intergrated value chain.

supply chain: the downstream portion of a value chain, the channel from suppliers to producers

value chain: the integrated channel that stretches from suppliers through the producer and on to the end users.

integrated value chain: integrates the two together

- What are the business practices used by Zara that have made it responsive to customer needs and successful financially?

They are always on top of all the trends and knowing just what their customers want. their sales reps walk around the store asking shoppers questions about the styles they like and don’t, input those answers into a handheld device which transmits hte information back to the design team so they have up to date info on what their customers like. zara is also able to turn around new designs in about 2 weeks so the styles are still in fashion while theyre being sold. they do this making 40% of their own fabric and makes 60% of the garments they sell. the website is also localized in different languages. the site is designed to draw customers into store; it is not an ecommerce site.

Chapter 1

sparker512 — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 06:59:40 +0000

-The origin of the internet and the world wide web are unusual in the history of commercial media. what makes them unusual, and what qualities does that impart to the medium?

One of the qualities that makes the internet unusual in thehistory of commercial media is the speed in which it arrived and conquered. when the internet was first used as a commericial medium, the business executives thought they had a lot of time to understand it, learn about it, and become experts, but those who did not act quickly were left behind. some of the internet’s unique characteristics are:
- a single common platform for communications and transactions throughout the world.
- a method of information supply that approaches the “perfect information” of economic theory.
- an interactive nature of communications in this medium that affords an unparalleled opportunity for meaningful dialog witrh customers and suppliers alike.
- a global scope.
- the opportunity for organizations to compete on a level playing field regardless of size or distance.
- an “always on” communications network that allows customers and businesses alike to access information, entertainment, and business services 24/7/365.
- a “many-to-many” communications network as opposed to the one-to-one networks of TV, radio, etc.

another article

sparker512 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:23:31 +0000

this is an article from the economist i was given in media planning about increased advertising on mobile phones and its effectiveness.

“Madison, we have lift-off”

http://www.economist.com/business/displa…

NYTimes Article – “An Online Sales Boom that may not last”

sparker512 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:20:23 +0000

nbsp;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/techno…

an interesting article I found on nytimes.com about how even though sales this year on “cyber monday” increased 15% from last year it still will not be able to bail out the retail economy because e-commerce sales only account for 7% of the retail industry.

Class on October 6th

sparker512 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:55:13 +0000

Class started by discussing Ebay. They recently bought the bill-me-later service. This allows them to charge interest on items when buyers cannot pay the full balance at once. It is extr emely profitable because they make more money on an item of lower value. In this way, as it always is with credit and interest rates, the poorest people pay more for the same item than riceer people do.

Then we watched a video describing the difference between paid and organic search. An example of an organic search is google, where websites do not have to pay to be shown on it, but it can be harder to find websites on it than on a paid search. For a paid search, the website has to pay to be found but it makes it much easier for the website.
Search engines use spider programs to find key phrases in the titles and names of websites so that they will be found on search engines. An interesting example of a problem with this that was discussed in the video was one that IBM had had a while ago. They had key words in the title of their website that should have been found by spiders and put them at the top of search engines on that subject. However, the title was not written inHTML text but instead was an image and so google could not find it. Instead, it could only work off of the title on top of the webpage which was an abbreviation and they ended up coming up a few pages later in the search, where people do not usually look because they find something better first.