Blog Assignimet 2:Web Analytics with ClickTracks

 

Web analytics are processes of collecting data and analyzing the data collected in order to optimize websites so that users of these techniques can achieve their business objectives (Chaffey et al, 2006). Web analytics is important for marketers managing their own websites because web analytics help them to measure and improve the effectiveness of their websites and online businesses. To show what the web analytics are capable of, one of the commercial tools for web analytics is introduced here.

Many organizations currently offer various commercial tools for web analytics such as Google Analytics, WebTrends, Coremetrics, SAS Web Analytics, and Nedstat (Rappa, 2008). ClickTracks is also one of those tools, and it is a helpful tool for marketers to practice web analytics. ClickTracks has various helpful features that help users to practice web analytics. Its Navigation Report allows users to see how many of their sites’ visitors come from Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other web sites, and how those visitors move to other pages of their sites (Heck, 2006). That also allows users to see thier visitors page preferences (Click Tracks, 2008). Also, users can see how search engines perceive their sites with its Robot View simulation that also shows what keywords are used by visitors to find their web sites (Heck, 2006). Those features help users to improve the accessibility and ease of use of their websites (2006). In addition, Visitor Labelling helps users to practice visitor segmentation (2006). The users can segment the visitors by various criteria such as how long they stay, where they come from, and which pages they visit (2006). Customer segmentation allows users to understand the visitors’ behaviour and preference so that they satisfy more specified wants and needs of their visitors. Moreover, users can see other various data such as the locations of visitors, revenue and conversion rate, and IP addresses of visitors (2008). Those data are also very useful for users to practice segmentation and understand visitors’ behaviour.

Therefore, ClickTacks is a useful tool for marketers to implement web analytics that helps them to optimize the effectiveness of their websites and to perform effective customer relationship management.

Blog 10: Email Marketing

         Email marketing is to use email in marketing communications (Mark Brownlow, 2008). Email marketing is a very popular marketing communication technique today because it costs less than the other forms of communication do, and it will be very effective if it is conducted appropriately (2008). According to EmailLabs, email’s average cost per order is less than US$7, while affiliate programs, paid search, and banner advertisements are US$17.47, US$26.75, and US$71.89 respectively (2007). Also, EmailLabs states that email marketing is effective in return on investment (ROI); its ROI is $51.45 per US$ 1 spent, while print catalogs’ and non-email online marketing’s ROI are US$7.20, US$21.08 (2007). Thus, email marketing is cheap and effective.

        Although email marketing can be very effective, if it is not conducted appropriately, it will not be successful. Simply sending out emails is not appropriate way to conduct email marketing. There are many tips that marketers should know in order to conduct their email marketing effectively, and some of those tips will be introduced here.

        One of the tips is to identify target market, and to send customized emails to the people in the target market. According to EmailLabs, email-marketing campaigns that target their receivers based on click stream analysis have the open rate of 33%, the average click thorough rate of 14%, and the average conversion rate of 3.9% (2007). On the other hand, the untargeted broadcast emails have the open rate of 20%, the average click thorough rate of 9.5%, and the average conversion rate of 1.1% (EmailLabs, 2007). The data indicates that email campaigns with targeting works more effectively than those without targeting.

        Another tip is the emails use in email marketing campaigns should have concise subject lines (2007). EmailLabs states that the emails whose subject lines consist of less than 50 characters have a higher open rate than those emails whose subject lines consist of 50 or more characteristics by 12.5 % (2007). Also, the click through rate of less than 50 characters subject lines emails is also higher than that of 50 plus characters subject lines emails by 75% (2007). Thus, the emails with concise subject lines are more effective.

       In addition, “marketing emails must have a familiar preview” (DS Development, 2008). DS Development remarks that most people decide whether the emails are interesting or not by previewing those before they actually open (2008). DS Development also states that knowing and trusting senders are important to make people open emails (2008). Thus, in order to motivate those people to open and read the emails, those emails’ sender names should be visible, easily noticed, and trustworthy (2008). Also, the emails should have addresses that people can see who the senders are (2008).   

        Therefore, email marketing will be very effective if it is conducted appropriately. In order to conduct a successful marketing campaign, marketers need to know the tips.

Blog Assignment 9: Integrating TV and the Internet

 

Many marketers are interested in integrating online and offline marketing channels today: integrating TV and the Internet. One form of the integration is to place TV advertisements online and also to place online advertisements on TV. A study of the Internet Advertising Bureau and Thinkbox.tv states that 66% of people are more likely to recognize an online advertisement if they have been exposed to it on TV (Lawn, 2008). The study also remarks that 55% of people are more likely to recognize a TV advertisement if they have been exposed to it online (2008). Those data clearly indicates that the form of integration is effective. 

Another form of the integration is to place TV programs online and place advertisements on those online TV programs. There are various online video websites that allow viewers to watch TV programs such as YouTube, Joost, Veoh, and the websites owned by Yahoo, MSN, and Fox (Stelter, 2008). This form of integration has a great potential because the online TV and video market has been growing and is expected to keep growing in the future. One of the examples of the growing online TV provider is Hulu. Hulu has a library of over 1,000 TV series and 400 feature-length films, and it has over 100 sponsors including General Motors and Old Spice (Stelter, 2008). Hulu has grown steadily, and it has become the sixth most popular online video brand in the United States (2008). The website provides 142 million streams to 6.3 million unique viewers in September 2008 (2008). In addition, according to New Media Knowledge, in the United States, online TV and video market was worth more than $1 billion in 2007, and that is expected to be nearly five times in this year (2008). Also, United States’ spending on downloaded content will be increased from $1.38 billion in 2007 to $5.31 billion in 2012 (2008). Thus, online TV and video market has been growing.

Therefore, Integrating TV and online marketing channels has been getting more popular, and it is effective and has a great potential.

 

 

Geotargeting

Geotargeting is to display a website content to a specifically identified geographical area (Pierre Far, 2008). One of the methods of geotargeting is to utilize an IP address database; when a user requests a page of a server, the server refers to a database of worldwide IP address for a user’s IP address (2008). The database identifies the geographical location such as the country or city of the user’s IP address, and it informs the server about that (2008). Another method is to utilize zip/postal code (Family Business Institutes, Inc., 2008). When a user signs up an online service or offer, it usually requires the user to provide his or her contact information, so the user’s geographical location will be identified with that information (2008).

An online advertising campaign requires geotargeting when the campaign is targeted at the market of specific geographic region (2008). Since people around the world can access the online advertising, the campaign cannot be reach to its target market effectively and efficiently without geotargeting (2008). Adam Posman, who is a strategic planner with BAM Strategy, remarks that advertisements that attract the audience in one area will not usually work effectively in another area (2000). Thus, geotargeting should be implemented in order to develop a geotargeted advertisement. Posman also states that geotargeted advertising placements allow a marketer to market his or her standardized product to specific geographical and cultural markets (2000).

Servers provide the tools that help their customers to implement geotargeting. For example, Google’s AdWords supports its users to implement geotargeting. Those users can define their specific geographic target market and the locations where their advertisements will be placed in the set up menu of AdWords (Google, 2008). Also, according to Nathania Johnson, Yahoo has obtained the Urban Mapping’s Urbanware (2008). Johnson states that Urbanware holds the data of “40,000 neighborhood boundaries covering more than 2,000 U.S. cities and towns” (2008). Yahoo can provide geotargeted results to its users based on search behaviour with Urbanware (2008). Since those results are geotargeted, those results are more relevant, appropriate, complete, and valuable to those users (2008).

Therefore, geotargeting is important when a marketer creates a campaign targeting at the market of specific geographical area. Some major servers such as Google and Yahoo! provide the services that help their users to implement geotargeting, so a marketer can use their services to implement geotargeting effectively.

Blog Assignment 7: Spam

Spam indicates many copies of the same message flooding the Internet (Mueller). Spam is used to force people to receive the message that will not likely to be received if the message is sent without the spam (Muller). Spammers are mostly marketers or advertisers and use the spam for their commercial purposes (Muller).

According to a website, Promote Responsible Net Commerce: Fight Spam!, spam is bad for several reasons (Levine). One of the reasons is that the spam messages are mostly garbage (Levine). The information provided with those spam messages is mostly worthless to the receivers, so those receivers do not want to receive those messages (Levine). Another reason is that spam allows the senders to be free rider (Levine). Those senders can send the their commercial messages with very low costs, while the receivers have to spend much time to deal with those unwanted massages (Levine). In addition, it is bad because some kinds of spam may contain illegal content such as child pornography in some countries (Levine).

Thus, spam is bad for some reasons; however, it can be worse when it is used for the purpose of fraud. One of the major types of spam is email spam (Muller). Email spam is aimed at individual users of direct mail massages, and the spam is sent to those users with the emails (Muller). This type of spam may cause some forms of fraud such as one click fraud. Federal Trade Commission introduces two forms of e-mail spam used for fraud, which are charity spam and news spam (2007). In charity spam, spammers send emails requesting for donations to false charities (2007). Those emails contain the names of well-known charities or the similar names of those charities and claim that the donations are for those charities (2007). However, those spammers keep most or all of the funds collected with the spam actually (2007). In news spam, a spammer sends a part of news about the emergency situation with an email (2007). The email contains a link to the details of the news, and if a receiver clicks the link, the receiver’s computer will secretly install software (2007). The software allows the spammer to take control over the computer, so spammer can use the computer to distribute spam and can access the data on the computer (2007). Therefore, spam may cause serious problems to the receivers.

An article in Edmonton Journal shows the security tips introduced by Dean Turner, who is a drirector of Symantec Global Intelligence Network (Makris, 2007). The security tips are fundamental security tips that should be practiced by computer users to protect themsleves from computer crimes including spam (2007). Followings are some of the security tips:

 

l “Don’t click on URL links or call unknown phone numbers in suspicious e-mails.”

l “Don’t respond to unsolicited e-mails that request personal information.”

l “Do not open office document attachments from uninvited e- mails.”

l “When visiting banking, credit card or service-provider websites to enter

         personal information, type the site’s URL directly into the Internet browser,

         rather thanclicking on a link in an e-mail.”

(Makris, 2007, p. E.1)

 

Those tips are basic, but are effective measures against spam. Spam is not just annoying but can be a source of very dangerous fraud, so those tips are worth to be practiced.

Blog Assignment 6: Youtube Marketing

YouTube is the most popular video broadcasting website in which users can upload, download, share, and watch video clips (YouTube Marketing 101, 2006). The users watch approximately 2.6 billion videos on YouTube monthly in 2006 (2006). The popularity of YouTube helps itself to be noticed as one of the most effective viral marketing generators, and many business organizations use it for their advertising (2006).

Many firms have been utilizing YouTube as their commercial tool. Warner Bros., Dimension Films, Nike, and MTV2 are the examples of companies uploading their commercial video clips on YouTube (Petrecca, 2006). Also, Deep Focus, which is a marketing firm representing studios such MTV2 and The Weinstein Co., has used YouTube for the marketing purpose as well (2006). The firm has uploaded the movie trailer of Scary Movie 4, and the firm has attained approximately 250,000 views within 24 hours and 1 million views in a week after the firm had launched the trailer (2006). The firm also has uploaded the movie trailer of Clerks II and has attained 150,000 views within two days after the trailer had been launched (2006). Thus, YouTube provides significant advertising effect to marketers.

A website of Small Business Search Marketing provides some tips for implementing effective YouTube marketing (McGee, 2007). The website states that marketers should make their videos fun so that the viewers will be willing to share (2007). Also, those marketers have to demonstrate their products that they are marketing clearly (2007). In addition, they should make their videos real; thus, those videos should not contain any tricks, and also need to motivate viewers to participate in and support their YouTube marketing campaigns (2007). Furthermore, the website recommends those marketers to utilize YouTube tags (2007). They need to identify and use the adjectives for tags and titles that will meet the key words used by their target viewers for searching (2007). The final tip says that the marketers should perform experiments (2007).

If a marketer appropriately implements the YouTube marketing, that will bring massive marketing reach to the marketer (YouTube Marketing 101, 2006)

Blog assignment 5: Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is an online marketing strategy that motivates individuals to communicate a marketing message to others (Wilson, 2005). The strategy allows the message to be spread rapidly like viruses (2005). Many companies has been used this strategy. Dan Zarrella, a social & viral marketing scientist introduces the companies and products, which have been utilized viral marketing, such as Hotmail, Burger King, BlendTec, Mentos, Coke, and Dove (2007).

If marketers know how to create an effective viral marketing program, it will provide significant advantages to them. On the other hand, if the marketer does not know how to make an effective viral marketing program, it will not provide any advantages. Thus, marketers need to know how to implement viral marketing program effectively. Thomas Baekdal, who is a writer, interaction designer, change advocate, and project manager, introduces seven tricks to viral marketing (2006).

The first trick is “make people feel something” (2006). A viral marketing program should evoke people’s strong emotion (2006). The viral marketing program should make those people “be filled with love or hate”, “be very happy or insanely angry”, an “idiot or genius”, and “be deeply compassionate or an egoistic bitch” (2006).

The second trick is “do something unexpected” (2006). The viral marketing program has to show something that audiences do not expect (2006). The program has to do so in order to be outstanding and be noticed (2006).

The third trick is “do not try to make advertisements” (2006). Traditional marketing is to promote products or services, so it is to show how good those products and services are (2006). Since the traditional marketing focuses on that, its messages tend to be selfish; as a result, it is not interesting for the audiences (2006). Viral marketing is about creating and showing interesting story (2006). Thus, the viral marketing program should not advertise products or services but should focus on providing interest story (2006).

The forth trick is “make sequels”(2006). Once the audiences of the viral marketing program are interested and highly involved in the program. A provider of the program should make sequels such as another program or extra materials and goods (2006).  

        The fifth trick is “allow sharing, downloading and embedding” (2006). Since the audiences will spread the message, it is essential part of viral marketing to allow them to share, download and embed (2006).

        The sixth trick is “connect with comments” (2006). The provider of the viral marketing program should create comment function and connect with the audiences (2006). Since those audiences are excited and want to talk after they got the program, it is important to provide the place to talk (2006).

        The final trick is “ never restrict access” (2008). The viral marketing should be spread rapidly in a short time like virus, so the provider should not make things that restrict access (2008). The provider should not require people to register, to get membership, and to download special software (2006). 

        Viral marketing allows its users to save their marketing costs (Corkindale, 2008). Also, effective viral marketing usually has about 500-1,000 times greater impact than regular advertisement has (Baekdal, 2006). Therefore, viral marketing is an effective strategy and worth to implement.

Blog Assignment 4: Mass Customization

The Internet allows marketers to practice mass customization. Mass customization is a business strategy that is to involve customers in the product or service development process in order to address those customers’ individual needs (Kamali & Locker, 2002). The goal of the strategy is to provide tailored products to individual customers by using information and manufacturing technology (2002). Mass customization is an excellent strategy for many companies operating online businesses.

        Many companies have implemented mass customization, especially those in apparel industry. Nike and Levi’s are pioneer users of this strategy (Siklos, 2004). Those firms have been utilizing this strategy by using electronic technology; the firms allow their customers to design their own wares at shops or on the Internet (2004). Also, SpreadShirt.com allows its customers to design their own apparel products such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, sneakers, caps, bags, and baby clothes on its web site and even allow those customers to sell those self-designed products to others (Puente, 2007). Moreover, LandsEnd.com sells customized jeans, chinos, swimsuits, and blouses for male customers and shirts and pants for male customers on its web site (2007). The customers of LandsEnd.com can customize those apparel products by identifying details of those products such the colour, size, and shape (2007). Not only companies in apparel industry but also companies in other industries practice mass customization as well. CafePress provides various customized products such as coffee mugs, pillows, mouse pads, clocks, teddy bears and so on (Walker, 2005). Sears Roebuk and Co. allows its customers to design their own kitchens and tool sheds (Siklos, 2004).

        Thus, many companies have been implementing mass customization, and the strategy has been providing some advantages to those companies. A research shows that mass customization increases customer satisfaction and motivates those consumers, involved in the product design, to purchase the products that they designed (Kamali & Locker, 2002). Marshal Cohen, who is a retail analyst at the NPD Group marketing research firm, states that if a customer is involved in the design or fitting process of an apparel product, the customer will purchase at the probability of 72 %, while it will be at 23 %, if the customer is not involved (Puente, 2007).

        Therefore, mass customization is an excellent strategy to implement for many companies operating ecommerce since it enhances customer satisfaction and motivates their customers to purchase their products.

       

Blog Assignment 3: Wire Framing

Information architecture is an important process of creating an effective web presence. The Information Architecture Institute remarks that information architecture is the art and science used to organize and label websites, intranets, and software so that the usability of those web presences are enhanced (2007). Information architecture is required when an organization design its user interface or website (2007).

One of the typical outputs of information architecture is wire framing. A wire frame is a skeletal diagram of a web site used to define its content and functionality (Eisenberg, 2002). It’s a text-only model of web site that helps a web creator to experience all pages created on his or her website (2002). The creator can check all the links set between the pages by clicking those links because all the entry and exit positions on the website are identified in this wire framing process (2002).

(Beach, 2008)

Matt Beach states that a web creator is recommended to sketch a simple signal flow diagram like the one shown above before he or she starts creating a wire frame model (2008). It is structured with boxes and lines, and those boxes indicate the pages, and the lines indicate links on the web site (2008). After he web creator sketched the diagram, he or she starts making the wire frame model by following three steps: creating wire frame, adding the content, creating the layout of site (2008). In the first step, the creator creates simple HTML web pages for the boxes sketched in the flow diagram, and also creates links between those pages (2008). After all the pages and links are set, the creator can add the content for each page in the next step (2008). Beach insists that when the creator adds the content for each page, he or she needs to make sure if the content fits with the purpose of the page (2008). Finally, the creator creates simple layout for his or her site in the third step (2008). The creator should create a simple table-based layout with image placeholders like one shown below, but should not create complicated one (2008).

(Beach, 2008)

        Beach remarks that wire framing is not a fun part of creating a web site; however, it is worthwhile to perform in the design process (2008). Since creators can check the usability of his or her web site before the person adds graphics and programs that are costly time-consuming, the creator can save much time and money by implementing the wire framing (Eisenberg, 2008).

Blog assignment 1

Building Trust in Online Marketing

        The Internet and information technology have been providing massive advantages to marketers operating their transactions in online network. In today’s business world, marketers can reach their target markets around the world at real-time. Also, marketers obtain personal information of their target markets more easily through those technological inventions. However, those inventions also cause a significant challenge to marketers.

In online business transactions, various types of fraud bother consumers such as auction fraud, identity theft, non-delivery of goods or services, and credit or debit card fraud (Rappa, 2008). According to The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), 219,553 complaints have been received by IC3’s web site in 2007, and 35.7 percent of the complaints was auction fraud, 24.9 percent was non-delivery, 6.3 percent was credit or debit card fraud, and 2.9 percent was identity theft (2008). Also, IC3 states that the total loss incurred by the cases of fraud was 239.09 million US dollar in that year. Thus, online transactions are unsafe and many people have actually been victims of those Internet crimes. Many consumers have already recognized about the Internet crimes, so they are concerned about the safety issue. Statistics Canada states that about 50 percent of Canadians were very concerned with online use of credit card, 44 with online banking transaction, and 37 percent with online policy in 2007 (2008).

Since many people are concerned about safety issue in online business transactions, it is a significant challenge for online marketers to keep their online businesses safe and appeal the safety to their customers in order to build trust. One of the organizations that have faced and have been making effort to that challenge is eBay. Since eBay facilitates consumer-to-consumer transactions, it has to be very cautious on the safety issue (Hiebert, 2006). eBay has created some systems and services to keep its business safe. For example, eBay has the feedback rating system (2006). In the system, users can rate the buyers and sellers when they had deals, and the feedback system shows the results of rating and the results help users to predict the other buyers’ and sellers’ future behaviour (2006). Also, eBay offers Standard Purchase Protection Program (2006). This program helps the situation when sellers do not deliver their products to buyers, although deals have been made (2006). In that kind of situation, if those buyers sue the sellers, it will cost their time, effort, and money, and those buyers may need to spend more resources than what they need to spend for their purchases (2006). eBay provides up to 200 US dollar to the buyers under the program in such situation (2006). In addition, eBay provides PayPal payment service that also pays up to 1,250 Canadian dollar in the same kind of situation (2006). As a result of its effort, eBay attracts many users and have been the largest online auction service organization.

Therefore, it is important for online marketers to maintain the safe environment in their businesses and to build their trust of consumers to be successful.