The Future of Marketing?

After eight weeks of learning about how to market a company’s brand or product online, I took a break to watch a (somewhat) class related movie.  Keep in mind, I did not rent this movie thinking it would provide insight into this class, however the thought processes that this particular movie invoked kept drawing me back to the material we covered in this class.

The movie was called “The Joneses.”  I had never heard of it but the DVD packaging caught my eye: starring David Duchovney and Demi Moore.  Why had I never heard of this?   (I find it interesting what marketing tidbits actually work.  Something about the packaging made me take a closer look.)

The premise of the film is this:  A group of marketers are interviewed and hired to play roles in the Jones family.  The movie takes the mantra “keeping up with the Joneses” one step further by moving this “family” into a well-to-do neighborhood.  Their job is to increase consumptions in every category from cosmetics to sporting goods, electronics and automobiles.  They come equipped with all of the latest gadgetry and it is their mission to be envied by the people in the community to the point that the town spends more money.  The Joneses neighbors are completely unaware of this ulterior motive so the idea intrigued me.

This movie represents marketing at its finest.  And also at its cruelest.  If you haven’t seen it, I recommend taking an hour out of your day to do so. 

While this movie does not directly incorporate internet marketing, the concepts are apparent.  In addition, the internet is utilized, but in a manner much different than we covered in this class.  One can only wonder if this is the future of marketing?

Incorporating Social Media

As a habitual user of the internet, I have noticed a change over the past years when it comes to including social media in websites.  A few years back, it was uncommon to see a company’s facebook or twitter page linked to its website but nowadays it has become extremely common. 

I have visited all of the sites listed for this class and none of them incorporate social media in any more than what has become the standard fashion.  They all have a link to Facebook to “like” their product and a link to their Twitter account to follow their “tweets.”  Nothing out of the ordinary, and certainly no attention grabbing antics like Skittles. 

I did notice on the Tide website that they had a feed of user comments on their front page, however I am uncertain where this feed is pulling from.  If it were coming from Tide followers Twitter accounts, this would be an interesting incorporation of social media.

Improving Website Usability

As a consumer who frequently shops online, I would be interested in being a panel data participant.  The idea intrigues me because it takes the guesswork out of streamlining websites to meet customer needs.  The other methods discussed in chapter 10 seem a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack, tons of legwork with minimal results. 

In retrospect, there have been numerous times when I have been frustrated by a websites layout or complete inaccessibility to products or information that I am searching for.  Analyzing panel data seems like the perfect solution to this problem because it would allow me, the user, to have some say in how sites are set up.

Now if only I could figure out how to participate!

Does TRUSTe = Trust?

Basically what TRUSTe provides is a well known name in the industry.  When potential customers see the logo, they equate it with the knowledge that their information is not being sold to other companies.  TRUSTe’s website promises that their logo along with a well written privacy policy will give your potential customers the peace of mind necessary to convert them into customers. 

TRUSTe has developed a strong reputation for securing customers private information.

Many consumers in today’s market do not want to enter any of their personal information unless they feel that their privacy is being protected.  With that in mind, businesses should definitely invest in TRUSTe or a similar product because that logo along with a well written privacy policy will deter potential customers from going to another sight that does have a similar service to make purchases

In addition to providing protection of personal information such as email addresses and passwords, TRUSTe also offers recourse for consumers who feel that their personal information has been compromised.  They also offer a list of sites that they certify for those who are especially worried about online privacy issues.

I think that TRUSTe does make its case.  It gave real life examples that showed the increase in conversion rate over a period of time before and after TRUSTe was used on specific websites.  I agree that TRUSTe and companies like it don’t actually do much to ensure customers privacy.  However the symbol alone gives the customer the perception that a particular site is handling customers personal information carefully.  Like Renaldo said, perception is everything in the online world.

TRUSTe offers two different pricing structures: one for small businesses with lower traffic rates (standard: $499/yr) and one for businesses that generate larger traffic (professional: $995/yr).  The standard subscription allows up to 500 daily views of the TRUSTe seal while the professional subscription allows unlimited views.  The standard version actually writes up a privacy policy which is excellent for smaller businesses who may not know what a privacy policy entails, while the professional version certifies an existing privacy policy

Whether or not a website had a TRUSTe logo would have no bearing on whether or not I would make a purchase on a website.  This may be due to the fact that I understand that this logo is merely a perception of privacy and in reality does not mean anything.  I do make purchases online but I choose not to be paranoid about personal data being shared.  I use an alternate email address when I do make purchases so that my personal email does not get bombarded with SPAM.  In addition, any disputed charges on my credit card are not my responsibility. 

In my opinion, TRUSTe is merely a logo.  It doesn’t necessarily mean anything but if it provides potential customers with peace of mind it is probably money well spent.

Website Recommendations

For this assignment, I used www.express.com, which is a site I frequently visit.  For the competitor site, I used www.gap.com.  I have shopped at both locations, online and brick and mortar.  My experience with Express has far outranked my experience with GAP.

While the quality and reputation of its products is probably pushing the traffic rank considerably, Express should close the “gap” on its competition by adjusting its meta tags to increase google indexing pages.

One of the items that Hubspot indicated as a weak area for the Express website was the number of photos on the site.  Since this is a shopping website, I tend to disagree with this analysis.  Personal experience would indicate that the more pictures the better when attempting to make online purchases, especially when it comes to clothing.

Express should definitely do the leg work necessary to increase the number of inbound links to its website.  There is a very big difference between the number of inbound links on the GAP and Express webpages.  This would also help them improve their search engine ranking.

While neither site used blogging, this is an area that could increase traffic to the Express website.  Shoppers like to read about other user’s experiences and blogging would be an excellent way to incorporate this.

Below are the results of the Hubspot rating for Express vs. GAP:

1.       What is the website’s rating?  (If you listed a competitor, how do they compare?)

The Express website, www.express.com rated 98 out of 100 while its competitor, www.gap.com rated 99 out of 100.

2.       List all the major categories for which Hubspot bases its grading.  (Note: usability is not covered because the direct user experience is not possible.)

The Express site was rated on inbound links and rated much lower than GAP at 25,262 (GAP had 284,912 inbound links).

GAP also outranked Express in Google Indexed pages (6,660 for Express vs. 13,000 for GAP).

Express beat out GAP substantially in traffic rank with 5,647 vs 799 on the GAP website.

GAP also wins in del.icio.us bookmarks with 949 vs Express’s 56 bookmarks.

Eye Tracking

Jeep’s website makes good use of eye tracking technology by placing the most important information on their page in the upper left hand corner.  There is an option to see their vehicle lineup and also an option to find a dealer in your area positioned in this prime webpage real estate.  They also keep headlines short and to the point.  If the reader is interested in more info on the topic, they can click for the rest of the article or product description.  Their site is clean and easy to navigate.  I was impressed with how easy it was to find a local dealer, even including maps and directions which I recognize as being anticipatory customer service.  While the site is most likely set up to be informative, it is a very useful tool for someone who is looking to find out about or purchase a Jeep vehicle.

On a side note, I was disappointed to see that Jeep did not incorporate breadcrumbs in their site navigation.  They did however use the alt tag on their logo which always takes the user back to the home page.

Brand Recognition

If there’s one company that EVERYONE recognizes by its logo, I would say the Golden Arches are the most notorious.  McDonald’s has done a very good job of building brand recognition since its inception.  So much so that people of all ages, from all over the world, recognize its logo.  In recent years, brand loyalty and image have become a different story altogether but a visit to McDonald’s website shows they are trying to repair that image. 

McDonald’s website now features healthier options, at least in contrast to it’s world famous Big Mac.  I noticed the website makes an effort to explain nutritional information and gives hints on staying healthy.  From a strongly anti-fastfood point of view, their efforts seem a bit laughable but at least they are making an effort.

Since brand recognition is McDonald’s strong point, I took notice of their logo use while I was browsing their website.  The golden arches are predominant on every page, however their use of the logo did not seem unusually different than other companies use of the logo.  Their branding secret appears to lie in longevity.  The fact that they continue to advertise based on nostalgia and good family time plays on that nostalgia and adds tremendously to brand recognition.

Ad Sense

As the sole user of my home computer, I was curious to see what ad server’s had gleaned about my likes and dislikes based on my internet browsing history.  To find out, I visited www.jeep.com.  I clicked through the pages as if I were actually interested in making a buying decision or at least gleaning information.  During the time I was on the Jeep website, I did not see one ad on the page.  I found this to be curious because most websites have sponsors and some type of ads running off to the side. 

Disappointed in my research so far, I clicked off of Jeeps website to Google and searched typed “jeep” in the search engine. Having already entered my zip code in the Jeep website, I would expect any “smart” ad server would have run ads for local jeep dealers.  There were several ads for discount jeep dealers but nothing local, which I found a little disappointing. 

Tide

My visit to the Tide webpage began with a survey.  Tide wants to know more about me as a customer!  Oh, wait… they are data mining.  The survey took a few minutes to load but I wanted to take it because I was curious about the question content.  What information are they looking for?

The general feel of the site is cute and offers happy promises of stain removal.  What they don’t tell you is that their products are not suitable for people with even mildly sensitive skin. 

Still waiting for the survey to load so I begin to surf the site.  Genius!  The survey doesn’t load until they have seen what I am showing interest in on the website! 

As always, the most useful information for me on this site is customer product reviews.  This is probably the most attractive feature for me personally even though I know there is a possibility these reviews have been edited to show a product more favorably than was originally intended.  The idea of truth in advertising is what appeals to me about this type of “information.”

Twins Revenue Model

My impression of the Minnesota Twins website was less than favorable.  I have a relatively fast internet connection (10mbps) but the site was extremely latent and content heavy.  I have been on the website for a few minutes now and content is still loading… very frustrating from an internet browsing point of view.  I do want to know how the Twins did during their last game, so I am still on the page, hopefully that I will see the score soon. 

I notice that the site is funded by sponsorships, advertising and ecommerce.  A Twins jersey is catching my eye at the moment.  There are also ads for joining the US Army and from AT&T, enticing potential consumers with the Blackberry Torch.  I would say marketers on this site are using a very general predictive model to determine what ads will appeal to the majority of visitors to this website.

Target Marketing

Taking a look at the marketing ideas being used on the Target website, my first impression was that Target tries very hard to present value to the consumer.  The banner across the top of the page links directly to the Clearance section of the website, announcing to potential consumers that they can save 70% off the normal price by clicking that link.  I have never walked in to a physical location and observed the sale items front and center.  They are usually hidden away at the back of the store with the hopes that consumers will buy things at full retail price.  This tactic could keep bargain hunting consumers returning to the website to make purchases rather than visiting the brick and mortar locations.

Target has also streamlined the shopping cart process so that it only involves two clicks to go from viewing an item to having it in your cart ready for checkout.  This marketing concept makes it simple for the consumer to make a purchase and should increase the conversion rate for those hesitant to make an online purchase.