1) When talking about Yahoo auctions, what did Seth Godin mean by 'billion dollar decisions do not have anything to do with technology'?
Seth Godin meant that word of mouth is the key element to success, that is why eBay works, people all over the world use eBay, and word of mouth has been the fastest way it has grown. Seth Godin states that 'Nietzsche is hard to understand and risky to spread, so it moves slowly among people willing to invest the time. Numa Numa, on the other hand, spreads like a toxic waste spill because it was so transparent, reasonably funny and easy to share. Notice that ideas never spread because they are important to the originator.'
2) What has story telling got to do with cat food?
Marketors are telling a story with their product. A cat will not care if the food they eat is prepared a certain way, such as marinated or grilled, there owners on the other hand may see it as spoiling them or "getting them the best". It is all in the wording, and this is how marketers are able to sell a product to consumers, the more appealing the name the more likely consumers will buy it... its like at the car wash... you can have the standard (boring) wash or the super ultimate deluxe wash... both washes basically do the same job, wash your car, one just sounds more appealing, it may offer 2 or 3 more rinses or products but at a high price. people should just wait for it to rain and save money, the environment and most imporantly water.
3) Explain the concept of funnel marketing, and how would 'flipping the funnel' help the marketing of a product?
Funnel marketing like mass marketing... its like telling a bunch of people about a product who then go on to tell another bunch of people and the cycle continues. Flipping the funnel is when turning the funnel 90 degrees into a megaphone which allows more people to here about the product.
4) What does the term 'remarkable' mean in the context of purple cows?
Its something that stands out, something that you dont see everyday. In a marketing sense with so many similar products on the market it is important for a companies product to stand out from the competition... the purple cow in a sea of brown. Seth says that marketors need to create products that are "on the edge" this is because if it is people will wait in lines sometimes for days at a time. The apple i-phone is a good example, many consumers spent the night waiting to get a hold of one.
As eMarketers we all want 'happy surfers'. Godin talks about the fashion/permission complex. He lists four parts to the fashion/complex.
1) Make it (the message) worth listening to
2) Tell it to the people who want to hear
3) Tell their friends
4) Get permission to tell about your next fashion.
Can you think of an example from your experience that demonstrates the fashion/permission complex?
Social networking web sites, it seems lately that every other week there is something new, myspace was superceded by facebook and now twitter seems to be the new craze
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Promotion - Topic 5
The role of place online has led to new ideas of distribution online. Read about these and include a summary on your blog page
"Place and promotion overlap when organisations extend their pressence online with links from other sites or with microsites in relevent places as the brand gets wider promotion, and simultaneously increases its distribution as the brand is, effectively, available for purchase more widely online. Place means the place of purchase, distribution and in some cases consumption. Some products exploit all three aspects of place online, for example, ditigizable products such as software, media and entertainment" (eMarketing eXcellence: planning and optimizing your digital marketing By Dave Chaffey, P. R. Smith)
When assessing webpages from a marketing point of view, it is more complicated than running through a checklist from a Marketing textbook. At first glance, what do you think of Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Hotmail, or eBay? They do not look great. Why do they work?
I always thought facebook was complicated to work, so for a long time I just used myspace because it was easy to navigate and I was used to it. I recently set up a facebook account, I still find it kind of difficult so I hardly ever use it, I also have an issue with putting personal details on the internet, even though my profile is set to private I'm sure hackers could work a way around that. I think it works because its an easy way for people (friends, family, co-workers) to stay in touch. Twitter is lame and I think the only reason it works is because celebrities are using it and people are obsessed with them, MSN was fun two years ago, it works because it doesnt cost anything and its easy to use, I dont like the new set up of hotmail... my computer doesnt work well with the way its set out, and I find the advertising on hotmail always covers my emails which is very annoying, it works because it is popular and easy to use. eBay is easy to navigate and is a great place for buyers and sellers to participate in commerce, thats why it works.
Craigs List: Who is Craig? Who cares about his list? Is this a serious business? As a marketer what would your advice to Craig have been ten years ago?
Craig is the founder of craigs list, his full name is Craig Newmark
People who use it. "To a user craigslist appears to be a local listings site. But behind each page of blue links is a publishing system that serves more than 45 million people each month, and produces 100 million dollars in revenue annually"
It promotes prostitution, how can that be a serius business... but i guess as it is still operating today it must be doing something right and must be successful.
My advice would be dont market sex, its bad publicity or something along those lines. I am not a fan of craigs list, and until recently I had never heard of it
"Place and promotion overlap when organisations extend their pressence online with links from other sites or with microsites in relevent places as the brand gets wider promotion, and simultaneously increases its distribution as the brand is, effectively, available for purchase more widely online. Place means the place of purchase, distribution and in some cases consumption. Some products exploit all three aspects of place online, for example, ditigizable products such as software, media and entertainment" (eMarketing eXcellence: planning and optimizing your digital marketing By Dave Chaffey, P. R. Smith)
Finally spend some time looking at the National Marketing Awards (UK). Select two of the winners and discuss them on your blog page in terms of the promotional mix. What communications tools were used in each award i.e. Advertising, selling, public relations etc
I could not get the website to work, I will come back to this question when I have access to another computer as I think it is a problem with my computer
When assessing webpages from a marketing point of view, it is more complicated than running through a checklist from a Marketing textbook. At first glance, what do you think of Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Hotmail, or eBay? They do not look great. Why do they work?
I always thought facebook was complicated to work, so for a long time I just used myspace because it was easy to navigate and I was used to it. I recently set up a facebook account, I still find it kind of difficult so I hardly ever use it, I also have an issue with putting personal details on the internet, even though my profile is set to private I'm sure hackers could work a way around that. I think it works because its an easy way for people (friends, family, co-workers) to stay in touch. Twitter is lame and I think the only reason it works is because celebrities are using it and people are obsessed with them, MSN was fun two years ago, it works because it doesnt cost anything and its easy to use, I dont like the new set up of hotmail... my computer doesnt work well with the way its set out, and I find the advertising on hotmail always covers my emails which is very annoying, it works because it is popular and easy to use. eBay is easy to navigate and is a great place for buyers and sellers to participate in commerce, thats why it works.
Craigs List: Who is Craig? Who cares about his list? Is this a serious business? As a marketer what would your advice to Craig have been ten years ago?
Craig is the founder of craigs list, his full name is Craig Newmark
People who use it. "To a user craigslist appears to be a local listings site. But behind each page of blue links is a publishing system that serves more than 45 million people each month, and produces 100 million dollars in revenue annually"
It promotes prostitution, how can that be a serius business... but i guess as it is still operating today it must be doing something right and must be successful.
My advice would be dont market sex, its bad publicity or something along those lines. I am not a fan of craigs list, and until recently I had never heard of it
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Marketing Mix Online Variations - Topic 4
1) A decrease in prices is inevitable in an online marketing environment. Do you agree or disagree?
I agree with this statement. Consumers now have the power to look at a number of similar products and prices in a short time frame, and therefor can choose the better deal. This I beleive will ultimately lead to a decrease in prices as businesses compete for the competitive advantage.
2) Disintermediation will ultimately lead to channel conflict. Discuss.
Disintermediation is "cutting out the middle man". In economics, disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain. Instead of going through traditional distribution channels, which had some type of intermediate (such as a distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent), companies may now deal with every customer directly, for example via the Internet. One important factor is a drop in the cost of servicing customers directly. Disintermediation initiated by consumers is often the result of high market transparency, in that buyers are aware of supply prices direct from the manufacturer. Buyers bypass the middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) in order to buy directly from the manufacturer and thereby pay less.
3) What are the five elements of promotion and what are some examples of combining online/offline promotion?
The five elements of promotion are:
Advertising - Any paid presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Some examples of advertising are radio, television, emails, web pages and catalogs.
Personal Selling - A process of helping and persuading one or more customers to purchase a good or service. Examples of personal selling are telematketing and sales presentations.
Promotions - Are incentives designed to stimulate the purchase or sale of a product. Some examples of promotions include, coupons, samples, and exhibitions.
Public relations - Paid intimate stimulation of supply for a product, service, or business unit by planting significant news about it or a favorable presentation of it in the media. Examples of public relations include newspaper and magazine articles/reports and TVs and radio presentations.
Direct Marketing - The aim of direct marketing is to create one to one relationships with the organisations target market. Direct marketing can come in the form of post, email, telephone calls and mail order.
I agree with this statement. Consumers now have the power to look at a number of similar products and prices in a short time frame, and therefor can choose the better deal. This I beleive will ultimately lead to a decrease in prices as businesses compete for the competitive advantage.
2) Disintermediation will ultimately lead to channel conflict. Discuss.
Disintermediation is "cutting out the middle man". In economics, disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in a supply chain. Instead of going through traditional distribution channels, which had some type of intermediate (such as a distributor, wholesaler, broker, or agent), companies may now deal with every customer directly, for example via the Internet. One important factor is a drop in the cost of servicing customers directly. Disintermediation initiated by consumers is often the result of high market transparency, in that buyers are aware of supply prices direct from the manufacturer. Buyers bypass the middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) in order to buy directly from the manufacturer and thereby pay less.
Channel conflict occurs when manufacturers (brands) disintermediate their channel partners, such as distributors, retailers, dealers, and sales representatives, by selling their products direct to consumers through general marketing methods and/or over the internet through eCommerce.
Some manufacturers want their brands to capture the power of the internet but do not want to create conflict with their other distribution channels, as these partners are necessary and viable for any manufacturer to maintain and gain success.
According to Forrester Research and Gartner, despite the rapid growth of online commerce, an estimated 90 percent of manufacturers do not sell online and 66 percent identified channel conflict as their single biggest issue hindering online sales efforts. Nowadays, E-commerce wins in popularity as second distribution channel, because of the low overhead expenses and communication costs. Their advantage is at the same time their disadvantage, since consumers can communicate less expensive and more easily with each other too. Therefore, price and product differentiation is getting tougher than ever.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disintermediation & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/channelconflict)
3) What are the five elements of promotion and what are some examples of combining online/offline promotion?
The five elements of promotion are:
Advertising - Any paid presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Some examples of advertising are radio, television, emails, web pages and catalogs.
Personal Selling - A process of helping and persuading one or more customers to purchase a good or service. Examples of personal selling are telematketing and sales presentations.
Promotions - Are incentives designed to stimulate the purchase or sale of a product. Some examples of promotions include, coupons, samples, and exhibitions.
Public relations - Paid intimate stimulation of supply for a product, service, or business unit by planting significant news about it or a favorable presentation of it in the media. Examples of public relations include newspaper and magazine articles/reports and TVs and radio presentations.
Direct Marketing - The aim of direct marketing is to create one to one relationships with the organisations target market. Direct marketing can come in the form of post, email, telephone calls and mail order.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
The Marketing Re-Mix - Topic 3
Exercises
(1) Consider a restaurant in Sturt Street Ballarat. On the discussion page write down all the offline marketing activities you can think of and then start a separate list and write down all the online activities you can think of.
Offline Marketing Activities
Brochures - mass distribution of menu and information about resturant, Advertisements - newspaper, magazine, tv and radio, Signs / posters in shops, Word of mouth, Promotions /discounts such as two for the price of one, or specials days where the meals are cheeper, Special offers on the back of shopping dockets, like at coles and safeways, Yellow/white page advertisments, Raffles that promote the resurant by having a meal voucher as the winning prize
Online Marketing Activities
E-mail that contain specail offers and vouchers, Web-sites that are easy to navigate, Discount coupons on web-site, Addvertisements on other websites, Online clubs on website where you can get discounts if you join, Use of social networking sites such as facebook and myspace
What if any were the differences in the lists?
There was not really much difference, both ways of marketing are similar, they both just provide another means of getting the word out there about the shop.
Now on your personal blog page answer the following -
(2) Consider two other products/services of your choice. Write down all the offline/online marketing possibilities you can think of.
Pro-Active Solutions
Offline
TV, word of mouth, advertisements in newspapers/magazines, free samples, money back quarantee, competitive prices, celebrity endorsements,
Online
Web-site, advertisements on other websites, emails to current customers with special promotions, photos of before using the product and after using it, customer and celebrity opinions of the product, social networking websites such as myspace and facebook
Day Spa - Offline = Vouchers in brochures, word of mouth, advertisements on tv, radio, magazines, newspapers, back of shopping dockets, mail drops of brochures, flyers at information centres in the location of the day spa, deals and specials for return visits, mentioning adds to get a discount
Online = Well laid out website, metioning the website when booking to get a discount, emails - referals from friends who have been there and put you on the email list, advertisements on different websites, youtube, myspace, facebook, other social networking websites
(3) What makes a great online product from a marketers point of view? How would you measure success?
A great online product from a marketers point of view is one that sells itself, popularity and word of mouth play a huge roll in the success of an item and its marketing. I would measure success by how popular the item is, if the marketing of the product is good, then the product would be expected to have made good sales. Having celebrities endorse a product is a huge marketing advantage. Celebrities are endorsing eveything from underware to perfume, and this method of advertisement has led to huge sales in the products they advertise.
Having the rite level of marketing mix is crucial, particulary for the audience you wish to have your product aimed at.
(4) Preview the pricing of two products and consider some dynamic pricing models. "There is a trend in pricing that promises to significantly change the way goods are marketed and sold. Sellers now offer special deals, tailored for individual customers, and are beginning to compute the right price to the right customer at the right time... Buyers are nowable to quickly and easily compare products and prices, putting them in a better bargaining position. At the same time, the technology is allowing sellers to collect detailed data about customers’ buying habits, preferences, even spending limits, so they can customize their products and prices." (http://www.ias.ac.in/sadhana/Pdf2005AprJun/Pe1337.pdf)
Two examples of dynamic pricing are: Airline Tickets "The method here is to dynamically modulate prices over time by adjusting the number of seats available in each pre-defined fare class. Advantage is taken of a natural segmentation in the consumers: business travellers for whom the flight dates and timings are primary and fares are secondary; casual travellers for whom prices are important and the dates/timings are flexible; and hybrids for whom both factors are at an equal level of importance." Many consumers will use the internet to look up flights from a number of airlines to get the best deal possible for their money. Dell Computers. The Dell website allows customers to customise their computer to suit their own needs, this is a good example of dynamic pricing as comsumers have the power to add what they require or to take away what they do not need. "Dell sells custom PC configurations at prices which are different for different configurations. The Dell model is the ultimate in price differentiation in the sense of being implemented in terms of product differentiation. Dell quotes different prices to different market segments for the same product, enabling the company to increase the profitability" Some dynamic pricing models used by both Dell and the Airline industry would be: Inventory-based models which are models where pricing decisions are primarily based on inventory levels and customer service levels and Data-driven models which use statistical or similar techniques for utilizing data available about customer preferences and buying patterns to compute optimal dynamic prices (http://www.ias.ac.in/sadhana/Pdf2005AprJun/Pe1337.pdf)
(5) What are some of the issues these (pricing) models raise?
Experimenting with prices of a product can lead to reduced loyalty from customers if fairness is not perceived, as was the case in September 200 with Amazon.com, who experimented with prices of dvds "depending on the supply and demand, the prices on a particular DVD varied over a wide range. Customers found out about this and reacted in anger at what they saw as random prices on a commodity which is plenty in supply" (http://www.ias.ac.in/sadhana/Pdf2005AprJun/Pe1337.pdf)
Discussion this week Rupert Murdoch (former Australian Media Magnate, now American Citizen and Global Media Baron) has now declared the free ride over. His titles – the Australian Herald Sun, Times, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal and others – will be obtainable in some shape or form online only by subscription. Is this the end of free news on the internet? What do you think?
(1) Consider a restaurant in Sturt Street Ballarat. On the discussion page write down all the offline marketing activities you can think of and then start a separate list and write down all the online activities you can think of.
Offline Marketing Activities
Brochures - mass distribution of menu and information about resturant, Advertisements - newspaper, magazine, tv and radio, Signs / posters in shops, Word of mouth, Promotions /discounts such as two for the price of one, or specials days where the meals are cheeper, Special offers on the back of shopping dockets, like at coles and safeways, Yellow/white page advertisments, Raffles that promote the resurant by having a meal voucher as the winning prize
Online Marketing Activities
E-mail that contain specail offers and vouchers, Web-sites that are easy to navigate, Discount coupons on web-site, Addvertisements on other websites, Online clubs on website where you can get discounts if you join, Use of social networking sites such as facebook and myspace
What if any were the differences in the lists?
There was not really much difference, both ways of marketing are similar, they both just provide another means of getting the word out there about the shop.
Now on your personal blog page answer the following -
(2) Consider two other products/services of your choice. Write down all the offline/online marketing possibilities you can think of.
Pro-Active Solutions
Offline
TV, word of mouth, advertisements in newspapers/magazines, free samples, money back quarantee, competitive prices, celebrity endorsements,
Online
Web-site, advertisements on other websites, emails to current customers with special promotions, photos of before using the product and after using it, customer and celebrity opinions of the product, social networking websites such as myspace and facebook
Day Spa - Offline = Vouchers in brochures, word of mouth, advertisements on tv, radio, magazines, newspapers, back of shopping dockets, mail drops of brochures, flyers at information centres in the location of the day spa, deals and specials for return visits, mentioning adds to get a discount
Online = Well laid out website, metioning the website when booking to get a discount, emails - referals from friends who have been there and put you on the email list, advertisements on different websites, youtube, myspace, facebook, other social networking websites
(3) What makes a great online product from a marketers point of view? How would you measure success?
A great online product from a marketers point of view is one that sells itself, popularity and word of mouth play a huge roll in the success of an item and its marketing. I would measure success by how popular the item is, if the marketing of the product is good, then the product would be expected to have made good sales. Having celebrities endorse a product is a huge marketing advantage. Celebrities are endorsing eveything from underware to perfume, and this method of advertisement has led to huge sales in the products they advertise.
Having the rite level of marketing mix is crucial, particulary for the audience you wish to have your product aimed at.
(4) Preview the pricing of two products and consider some dynamic pricing models. "There is a trend in pricing that promises to significantly change the way goods are marketed and sold. Sellers now offer special deals, tailored for individual customers, and are beginning to compute the right price to the right customer at the right time... Buyers are nowable to quickly and easily compare products and prices, putting them in a better bargaining position. At the same time, the technology is allowing sellers to collect detailed data about customers’ buying habits, preferences, even spending limits, so they can customize their products and prices." (http://www.ias.ac.in/sadhana/Pdf2005AprJun/Pe1337.pdf)
Two examples of dynamic pricing are: Airline Tickets "The method here is to dynamically modulate prices over time by adjusting the number of seats available in each pre-defined fare class. Advantage is taken of a natural segmentation in the consumers: business travellers for whom the flight dates and timings are primary and fares are secondary; casual travellers for whom prices are important and the dates/timings are flexible; and hybrids for whom both factors are at an equal level of importance." Many consumers will use the internet to look up flights from a number of airlines to get the best deal possible for their money. Dell Computers. The Dell website allows customers to customise their computer to suit their own needs, this is a good example of dynamic pricing as comsumers have the power to add what they require or to take away what they do not need. "Dell sells custom PC configurations at prices which are different for different configurations. The Dell model is the ultimate in price differentiation in the sense of being implemented in terms of product differentiation. Dell quotes different prices to different market segments for the same product, enabling the company to increase the profitability" Some dynamic pricing models used by both Dell and the Airline industry would be: Inventory-based models which are models where pricing decisions are primarily based on inventory levels and customer service levels and Data-driven models which use statistical or similar techniques for utilizing data available about customer preferences and buying patterns to compute optimal dynamic prices (http://www.ias.ac.in/sadhana/Pdf2005AprJun/Pe1337.pdf)
(5) What are some of the issues these (pricing) models raise?
Experimenting with prices of a product can lead to reduced loyalty from customers if fairness is not perceived, as was the case in September 200 with Amazon.com, who experimented with prices of dvds "depending on the supply and demand, the prices on a particular DVD varied over a wide range. Customers found out about this and reacted in anger at what they saw as random prices on a commodity which is plenty in supply" (http://www.ias.ac.in/sadhana/Pdf2005AprJun/Pe1337.pdf)
Discussion this week Rupert Murdoch (former Australian Media Magnate, now American Citizen and Global Media Baron) has now declared the free ride over. His titles – the Australian Herald Sun, Times, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal and others – will be obtainable in some shape or form online only by subscription. Is this the end of free news on the internet? What do you think?
Most likely it will be, as technology advances there will be little need for physical newspapers, it may also be argued that by not printing newspapers everyday that trees and the environment are being saved.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Strategic Marketing - Topic 2
2. List 5 examples of poor eMarketing on your personal blog page
0 - No pressence
1 - Basic web-pressence
http://www.ballaratrestaurants.com.au/ - This site provides basic information on resturants in Ballarat and Provides links to the resturants homepages.
2- Simple statistic information website such as a brochure
www.jobsballarat.com.au/ - i have found this site just supplies general information about jobs and is not very helpfull
3 - Simple interactive site. Users are able to search the site and make quesries to retrieve information about such things as product availability and pricing. Queries by email may also be supported.
www.regentmultiplex.com.au/ballarat I use this website to get movie seesion times
4 - Interactive site supporting transactions with users. The functions will vary. Uusually limited to online buying, helpdesk etc.
http://www.vline.com.au/ - I use this site to get train times and buy my tickets online
5 - Fully interactive site supporting the whole buying process. Provides relationship marketing with individual customs.
http://www.ebay.com.au - I dont use this site often, but ebay does support the whole buying rpocess, from buying or selling, the whole transaction usually takes place via emails between parties on ebay and feedback is a great way to see what other people think about the person you are dealing with.
1 - Discription does not match product
2 - Emails are a bad form of eMarketing as many people just delete them as spam
3 - Poor branding execution
4- Good products with good prices, but high shipping costs
5- Targeted to the wrong audience
3. Provide one example (from Ballarat or your experience) of each of the six levels of eMarketing. List these on your blog page with a brief description of each.
The six levels of eMarketing are:0 - No pressence
1 - Basic web-pressence
http://www.ballaratrestaurants.com.au/ - This site provides basic information on resturants in Ballarat and Provides links to the resturants homepages.
2- Simple statistic information website such as a brochure
www.jobsballarat.com.au/ - i have found this site just supplies general information about jobs and is not very helpfull
3 - Simple interactive site. Users are able to search the site and make quesries to retrieve information about such things as product availability and pricing. Queries by email may also be supported.
www.regentmultiplex.com.au/ballarat I use this website to get movie seesion times
4 - Interactive site supporting transactions with users. The functions will vary. Uusually limited to online buying, helpdesk etc.
http://www.vline.com.au/ - I use this site to get train times and buy my tickets online
5 - Fully interactive site supporting the whole buying process. Provides relationship marketing with individual customs.
http://www.ebay.com.au - I dont use this site often, but ebay does support the whole buying rpocess, from buying or selling, the whole transaction usually takes place via emails between parties on ebay and feedback is a great way to see what other people think about the person you are dealing with.
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