Deck 9: E-Active Marketing

Question 1

The three main companies businesses use to ship small packages either overnight or 2-day delivery are FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service. Access the Web sites of each shipping solution provider: www.fedex.com, www.ups.com, and www.usps.gov. What delivery guarantees does each offer Which site is the most userfriendly Which site appears to offer the best customer service

Answer 1

As per the exercise, the three given websites will be observed to identify their delivery guarantee, most customer-friendly website, and best customer service offered by the brand. Each of the website will be discussed separately.
Website 1: FD Corporation
This is a courier delivery services company operating across the globe. FD Corporation offers packing and shipping services in more than 220 countries.
Delivery Guarantee - On a common parlance, FD delivers packages within 2 to 3 days. FD assures the shipment delivery within 2 to 3 working days or money back guarantee, irrespective of location; though bound by company terms and conditions.
They have a wide variety of speed delivery options such as:
• Same day delivery - FD delivers packages within same working day. The package can be collected from FD location as well, at the assured time.
• Next working day - This service assures shipment delivery the next working day latest by noon.
• Delivered with 2 - 3 working days - As per this service, FD delivers the shipment by within 2 to 3 working days.
Customer Service -
Website - The website is quite customer-friendly as it is fast and easy to get the desired information. It prompts the desired location of the user or shipment to be delivered and then opens the appropriate page. This helps them to cater international audience with same website.
Website 2: UP
This is a package delivery company operating in more than 220 countries. They deal in delivering domestic packages, international packages, and manage their own supply chain and freight.
Delivery Guarantee - UP offers on schedule delivery with the following service options:
• Next day - Shipments is delivered the next day by air.
• 2 days - Shipment is delivered within two days by air.
• 3 days - Shipment is delivered within three days by air.
UP assures that in case they fail to deliver the shipment within the committed time, they will either provide credit or refund of the shipping charges borne by the customer. However, this guarantee is bound by the terms and conditions of the brand.
Customer Service - The website offers various customer assistance tools and options that help in calculation time and cost of shipment, billing and payment, track the shipment, and much more. The website is also linked with Facebook and twitter for the customers.
Website - The website prompts to choose desired location and language at first. Post-selection, it provides various information and details. However, the website remains locked for first time users. It prompts the user to log-in and create an account. After creating the account, all the locked information links are available to the user.
Website 3: UC
This is the government owned postal service operating from around 31,000 offices.
Delivery Guarantee - UC provides service guarantee on Express Mail packages. As per the guarantee, if the mail is not delivered on the date assured, the customer can claim refund of the postage cost.
Customer Service - The website is simple and offers useful information for the user. Such information include different section for domestic and international mail, tips to create domestic and international safe mails, assistance while sending a mail, shop for postages, and various business solutions.
Website - The website is simple and less cluttered. Also, information is not bombarded for the visitor. Useful information and quick tools are offered for the visitor for assistance while mailing. However, there is much lesser information about shipments than mails.
SUMMARY
FD Corporation and UP are private companies dealing in shipment of packages across countries. However, UC is a government owned postal service that deals in mails and packages both.
FD and UP offer delivery guarantee for their shipments but UC offers delivery guarantee for the mails.
Most user-friendly website is offered by UP. The website is customized for the visitors and members. Rate and time for the shipment can be calculated online. It uses social networking media such as Facebook and Twitter as well. FD too has a great website with creative illustrations to promote their early deliveries and customer centric approach.
UC, however, has a less elaborate website. It does carry necessary information about the products and services but lack of creative illustrations or catchy tagline, makes it a little mundane and lesser attractive.
Finally, all the three brands offer utmost customer service on the website. But, at the face of it, FD seems to be offering maximum customer service. This is perceived by the use of creative pictures, taglines, and illustrations on the website. The website has a news section that warns the users against frauds and informs about the holiday schedule as well.

Question 2

What is brand spiraling

Answer 2

In order to build a strong brand recall, firms aim to combine their online marketing initiatives with offline marketing activities. This helps them to increase their customer database, retain existing customer and reinforce brand loyalty. Such combination of various activities results in brand spiraling.
Brand spiraling implies use of different traditional media to attract new and retain old customers to the website. Traditional media comprises of television, radio, newspaper or magazines designed in a way to attract customers to the firm's website.
Traditional media helps the firm to interact with the customer and build recall for the website. At the same time, online tools help the firm to store customer information, analyze it, and offer shopping incentives.
A combination of traditional media and online activities lead to a stronger brand loyalty and higher brand awareness in customers. While online activities encourage young and internet savvy audience to visit the website, traditional media acts as a driving force that builds strong brand value.

Question 3

What is e-commerce What are its main components

Answer 3

E-commerce means selling of product or services through internet. It includes the entire selling process on the internet itself.
E-commerce offers choice of product from the catalog, comparison among them, trial and payment option to complete the purchase process.
It actually offers all the benefits of physical store shopping at the convenience of being at home and shopping at any time during the day.
Major components of e-commerce are as follows:
CATALOG
This feature provides an interesting and interactive display of product or services offered by the firm. It includes picture or videos of the offering for the customer to choose from.
SHOPPING CART
This is a tool provided to customers enabling them to select the items of their choice from the website or catalog. They may go ahead and buy the product or retain the selected products as their wish-list to purchase later.
PAYMENT SYSTEM
Method of payment should be simple and quick. It should be convenient to the buyer and not tedious. It should offer as much possible payment options as possible to suit the buyer's convenience.
STORE LOCATOR
Websites provide information about the location of their stores. This will enable customers to choose whether to buy online and get the product delivered at home or they may visit the store and pick up their products.
CUSTOMIZATION
Customers want tailor-made services offered to them by sellers. They give preference to website or stores that offer personalized services. Such services include:
• Tool providing them with nearest store location as per customer's location
• Remember customer details and last purchase or select items
• Birthday or anniversary emails or messages
CUSTOMER REVIEW AND FEEDBACK
Firms are adding review section from their existing customers on their website. This feature has a potential threat of negative feedback or review being uploaded on the website. This may influence potential customer in terms of firm's perception.

Question 4

What is a blog How can blogs be used in marketing communication programs

Question 5

Are you on Facebook Why or why not If you are on Facebook, how much time do you spend online at Facebook Do you use Twitter Why or why not Based on your experience with Facebook and Twitter, how can companies use them to reach you Are you a fan of any company on Facebook If so, why did you become a fan If not, why did you choose not to become a fan

Question 6

How can online social networks be used to supplement advertising and communication tactics

Question 7

Figure 9.1 identifies the components of an e-commerce site. Access each of the following Web sites and evaluate each along the six components of a good e-commerce site.
a. Travelocity ( www.travelocity.com )
b. Wells Fargo Bank ( www.wellsfargo.com )
c. WeddingChannel.com ( www.weddingchannel.com )
d. Bluefly (www.bluefly.com)

Question 8

Describe consumer-generated advertising.

Question 9

What is cyberbait What are the three main forms of cyberbait

Question 10

How can a marketing team take advantage of customer-generated reviews

Question 11

Interview five individuals of different ages about blogs. What percent have read, launched, or participated in blogging on the Internet What was each person's motivation

Question 12

Identify and describe the elements of an effective e-mail campaign in marketing.

Question 13

Every once in awhile, a product or a company's name becomes so famous it gets added to the national vocabulary. A generation ago, employees started making "xerox" copies. Before that, people started taking "aspirins" instead of "pain medicine" and covering wounds with "band aids" rather than "adhesive strips." Today, it is common to hear someone say she "googled" something.
The basic Google business model is to organize a vast amount of information into a system that can be easily accessed using the Web. Google provides information to users for free. The company sells advertising that is linked to the free information. One primary advantage held by Google is that the firm has been able to expand indexing and retrieval searches into nearly 100 languages. Using tools from Basis Technology, Google is able to offer searches in Asian languages as well as other challenging languages. The net result is a global company with a worldwide reach.
The year 2004 was especially significant at Google. The company sold stock for the first time, raising $1.67 billion in capital. The stock price then soared. Many major firms have learned that advertising on a search engine like Google provides a targeted audience with profitable results. Naturally, advertising dollars are quick to follow, and in this case they moved to Google, the market leader in search engine use. One industry leader commented that Google has created almost a "new world order" in advertising.
Google's management team remains acutely aware of competitors. Microsoft and Yahoo! are two main search engine providers that could affect Google's share. New competitors emerge every day. In June 2009, Microsoft introduced the search engine Bing in an effort to challenge Google.
Bing replaced Microsoft's Live Search engine. It was started after more than a year of research showing that although users said they were generally satisfied with Web search services there were times when searches became too difficult. In the beginning, Bing received praise from many influential reviewers, increasing the possibility that it could shake up the dynamics of the search business, which is worth $12 billion in the United States alone.

In July 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo! announced a partnership in Internet search and advertising intended to build on the introduction of Bing and close the gap with Google; however, Google still held 65 percent of the search market, compared with 10 percent for Microsoft. Then, the competition with Google became more direct.
Bing began running television commercials designed to indirectly hint that Google searches were too complicated, turning users into data-spewing zombies. Bing was offered as the easy-to-use alternative.
Then, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer allegedly offered to pay Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to remove all its content from Google. This would include content from The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and The Times of London. The idea was that if Web surfers could not find News Corp. content when they did a Google search, they would be more inclined to use Bing. There were reports that Microsoft offered the same deal to other publishers.
News providers have long been frustrated that stories and materials they create are posted without the news company receiving any compensation, whereas Google and Bing are able to sell advertising right beside the stories. Google responded by saying any organization was free to pull content at any time, apparently unfazed by Bing and Microsoft's effort.
Other search engines have also emerged. Still, Google's power in the marketplace makes company leaders optimistic about the future. Time will tell if Bing can make inroads on what is practically a cultural icon: Google.
1. What tactics should Microsoft and Bing use to gain market share
2. As an advertiser, does Bing hold an advantage due to lower clutter on the site, or does Google's wider reach offset that advantage
3. Which site would facilitate a faster search engine optimization effort Why
4. Which site, Google or Bing, would be most useful to an international company Why
5. Design an advertisement for Bing that would appear in a magazine. Which magazine would you use for the ad Why
Sources: Heidi Gautschi, "Search in Any Language," EContent 28, no. 5 (May 2005), p. 29; "Google Is Standing on the Brink of Global Dominance," Marketing Week (April 28, 2005), p. 31; Thomas Claburn and Tony Kontzer, "Google Wants a Piece of the Business Market," InformationWeek, no. 1040 (May 23, 2005), p. 29; Mathew Creamer and Kris Oser, "Google Breaks Down and Decides to Advertise," Advertising Age 76, no. 18 (May 2, 2005), p. 3; Daniel Lyons, "Google This: The Tech Giants Duke It Out-Again" ( www.newsweek.com/id/224597/page/1 , accessed March 29, 2010), November 28, 2009; "Microsoft Corporation" ( http:// topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/microsoft_corporation/index.html scp=1 sq=bing%20versus%20google st=cse , accessed March 29, 2010).

Question 14

Customer interactive software is an important part of many Web sites. Access the following two companies that sell
interactive software. What capabilities does each software package offer What other services are available
a. Escalate Retail ( www.escalate.com )
b. Convergys ( www.convergys.com )

Question 15

What is viral marketing What is the goal of a viral marketing program

Question 16

What types of goods or services have you purchased online during the past year Have your parents or grandparents purchased anything online If so, compare your purchases and attitudes toward buying via the Internet with theirs. If neither you, your parents, nor your grandparents have used the Internet to make purchases, why not

Question 17

What concerns do some consumers still have about e-commerce

Question 18

What challenges must be overcome to establish an international e-commerce operation

Question 19

Best Buy was a late e-commerce entrant, but has developed a strong e-commerce component. The key to Best Buy's success, according to Barry Judge, vice president of marketing, is, "We do a lot of one-to-one marketing. We're not overly focused on where the consumers buy." The Web site carries every product that Best Buy stocks. It offers personalized services, along with convenient pickup and fair return policies to entice consumers to shop. Consumers can purchase items on the Internet and either have them shipped directly to them or pick them up at the closest store. Shoppers can use the Internet to see if Best Buy stocks a particular item, to determine what the item costs, and to gather product information. What is the advantage of this strategy Access the Web site at www.bestbuy.com. Evaluate it in terms of ease of use and product information, and then locate the Best Buy closest to you. Next, access Circuit City's Web site at www.circuitcity.com. Compare it to Best Buy's site. Select a product, such as a camcorder, to compare the two Web sites

Question 20

Do you use consumer-generated reviews in making purchase decisions How valuable do you think they are to consumers What are your thoughts about consumer-generated ads Is that a trend for the future where companies will use more consumer-generated ads and fewer agency-produced ads What are the pros and cons, from your perspective, of consumer-generated materials

Question 21

Define e-active marketing.

Question 22

Access each of the following search engines. For each one, discuss how it handles paid search advertising when you type in a search, such as "running shoes." What ads do you see as display ads and what ads are part of the search results Discuss the differences among the five search engines. Which one do you like the best Why
a. Google (www.google.com)
b. Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com)
c. AltaVista (www.altavista.com)
d. AOL Search (http://search.aol.com)
e. Bing (www.bing.com)

Question 23

Creative Corner
Bluefly's marketing team wants to enhance the company's brand name and Internet presence. They have asked you to be an Internet advertising consultant. Access the Bluefly Web site at www.bluefly.com. Once you feel comfortable with the company, prepare the following creative material and information for Bluefly.
1. Bluefly wants to use brand spiraling to increase brand awareness and enhance the brand name. Outline a media plan that you believe will accomplish this objective.
2. The company is interested in placing an advertisement on a social network, such as YouTube or Facebook. Other than Facebook, what other social networks would you advise Which site or sites would you recommend Design the display ad that should be placed on Facebook or another social network site.
3. The company believes a viral marketing campaign would be effective in drawing new visitors to the site. Design a viral marketing campaign.
4. Search engine optimization seems to be an effective tool for driving individuals to the company's site. Which search engine should be used Identify five key words that you believe Bluefly should advertise. Design the display or listing ad that should be used

Question 24

What benefits do e-commerce programs offer to business- to-business operations

Question 25

SOMETHING SALTY FOR THE HOT TUB MARKET
Bernie Johnson was about to begin a new business venture. After working for years in the pool and spa industry as a salesperson in a local store, he decided to launch his own line of products, a series of hot tubs with the brand name Salt Spa.
Bernie was convinced that the future of the hot tub marketplace was in selling saltwater systems, actually saline-based ones, rather than traditional tubs using chemicals and chlorine. Saltwater systems work by creating their own chlorine. An electric current passes through saltwater in a chlorinator cell, which splits the salt into sodium and chloride. It then releases a chlorine gas that dissolves in the water. This process not only sterilizes the water, it prevents the growth of algae.
Saline-based systems offer a number of benefits. First, the water is not as harsh, so it does not hurt a person's eyes. It is also less irritating to the skin. It feels softer and does not create drying effects on the skin after the person leaves the tub. People who have reactions to chlorinated tubs are generally reacting not to the chlorine, but to other chemicals and by-products. They generally do not encounter the same problem lounging in a saline hot tub. Also, swimming suits worn in salt-based hot tubs last much longer than do those exposed to chlorine.
A saline-based system means the consumer does not have to buy expensive and dangerous chemicals. Instead, the maintenance process is adding common salt to the system, and it is not added often, because the system recycles the salt. Sometimes it requires adding acid to balance the pH levels. In essence, saline hot tubs are more environmentally friendly. In general, a saltwater tub is safer, less expensive to maintain over time, healthier, and better for the environment.
The major disadvantage of a saline-based tub is the cost. The price of installing a saline system to an existing chlorine hot tub is high. Doing so also voids any factory warranty. When running salt through a hot tub filter, the consumer must be very conscientious about cleaning the filter. Also, the consumer must also watch out for any corrosion, which is the primary problem when trying to maintain a saltwater hot tub. It is similar to what happens to a car after several winters. The salt from the road is like acid on the hull of a new car.
Bernie intended to sell both salt-based hot tubs and conversion kits. His primary markets were going to be: (1) online buyers through his Web site, (2) any retail outlets that would carry his line, and (3) spas and other places offering hot tubs to clients.
The challenges to his new business would be to build a recognizable brand, make inroads with retailers, and find ways to reach business-to-business clients. Hot tubs are sold as primarily luxury items, which means that the people who buy them have higher incomes and live in nicer homes. Finding ways to reach them was one key.
Bernie had to make sure that retail salespeople did not say that a saltwater hot tub system is chemical free-a myth perpetuated on many Web sites. Salt is a chemical compound. It is not on the periodic table. When the electrodes separate the salt, it becomes two chemicals, which means the tub is not chemical free.
Attracting spas and other businesses to buy saline-based systems would require both an Internet presence and a small sales force to make calls, possibly one or two salespeople at first. Still, he was excited, because Bernie believed he was getting in on the ground floor of a major change in the marketplace.
1. Can Salt Spa products be sold through a traditional e-commerce program
2. What should be the major features of the Salt Spa Web site
3. Describe how a blog, social network, or e-mail program could be used to drive traffic to the Salt Spa Web site.
4. Should the company expand into converting chlorinebased swimming pools to salt water Why or why not
5. What types of relationships must Bernie build to make sure his products are sold in any new home being built with a spa room How can his Internet program help him in this area

Question 26

Have you ever participated in a viral marketing campaign If so, discuss why you participated and your evaluation of the viral campaign from the company or brand's perspective. If you have not participated in a viral campaign, what type of incentive would it take for you to participate How effective do you think viral campaigns are with consumers in your market segment

Question 27

For what type of products do you conduct Internet searches for information What factors determine whether you conduct online searches for information When searching for information, what sites do you use How effective are each of the following search results in your decision on what sites to access
a. Paid search insertions
b. Organic search results
c. Paid search ads

Question 28

Access each of the following search engines. For each one, discuss how it handles paid search advertising when you type in a search, such as "running shoes." What ads do you see as display ads and what ads are part of the search results Discuss the differences among the five search engines. Which one do you like the best Why
a. Google (www.google.com)
b. Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com)
c. AltaVista (www.altavista.com)
d. AOL Search (http://search.aol.com)
e. Bing (www.bing.com)

Question 29

Pick one of the following product categories and access the Web sites of two companies that sell the product. What types of financial incentives are offered on each company's Web site to encourage you to purchase What about the other two types of incentives, greater convenience and added value What evidence do you see for them Compare and contrast the two companies in terms of incentives offered.
a. Contacts or eyeglasses
b. Water skis
c. Clothes
d. Cameras
e. Camping supplies

Question 30

What is interactive marketing

Question 31

How has Web 2.0 influenced the field of marketing

Question 32

What primary forms of online advertising are used by marketing teams

Question 33

Examine the four issues people have with purchasing over the Internet in Figure 9.4. Interview five people of various ages and genders. Which issues were a concern Which issues were not a concern Does gender or age make a difference in how individuals feel about the issues of seller opportunism, security, privacy, or purchasing habits

Question 34

What is meant by the term search engine optimization (SEO) How can it be accomplished