|
Return to Class Session #2 | |
| "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." | |
| Western Union internal memo, 1876 | |
|
Planning Your Web Site
Around Customers & Markets
|
A Communication and Marketing Tool - Since an E-commerce Website is essentially a marketing and communications tool, we design to an audience. If you have a business idea then you probably have the notion that there is a market for your product. However, our question is two-fold:
This leads us to a third and a fourth question:
Let's answer the last question first.
How do customers hear about you, how do they find you? AND are you doing everything you can to generate contact with potential customers?
Visitors typically either:
You need a marketing plan and a promotional strategy to communicate and reach customers. Here a basic startegy for distribution (place in a marketing plan) and Promotion. We will cover this in detail with an expanded list like the one below later in the course in Session 4 - Putting out the Welcome Mat
The first three questions can be answered after we learn more about markets and consumer behavior. Analyzing your market is a key element of a situation analysis in a business plan. It tells us something about our scale of business, the costs of our business and the potential revenue from our efforts.
Designing to Audience Characteristics and Behavior - Okay, maybe you did a nice, traditional analysis of your potential market, if not, you should. We'll start with a basic marketing analysis of potential customer demand and target markets and you'll apply it to your situation.
A Marketing Analysis of your markets and customers
1. Estimate Demand: Demand is a forecast of future buyer behavior characterized by:
2. Factors affecting buyer behavior:
#
of available substitutes?
Quality
of available substitutes?
Can
the buyer do without the product?
Can
the buyer postpone the purchase?
Is
it a hi or lo-involvement decision?
How
motivated is the buyer?
How
strong are the competitors efforts?
Seasonality?
Other
factors?
3.
Convenience,
Shopping and Specialty Goods.
In a standard marketing course, you would learn about Shopping, Convenience, and Specialty goods. Many eCommerce and Web writers are taking this tried-but-true marketing class convention and are trying to make it sound like a fresh idea by interjecting new terminology for the same basic guiding ideas when analyzing and writing about what sells on the Web. So, I can do that too! Later in this course, we'll expand upon this general guide to help us when designing our sight components and site content. We'll make it a more formal chart of categories, customer behavior and business responses (content, design and marketing options).
Impulse Purchases - This would include gifts and unplanned whims. Web surfers, auction customers, browsers at sites may buy something they hadn't planned to purchase while visiting your site. Or, they may come across your site looking for information and find something to buy secondarily. If you have this sort of product or service your site design must be entertaining, easy to navigate and explore, well publicized by search engines and more.
Necessities - These are low risk, low involvement purchases of items with which the customer is already familiar and comfortable. What will matter is price, speed of delivery, having the item in stock, a range of selection, friendliness and service. Entertainment value of the site is important and customers need a reason to visit often because necessities are offered by many competitors and the products themselves are generally indistinguishable based upon features and functions. Brand familiarity and preference are helpful. Price is a common selling point. Bulk sales may be possible and customers seek quantity discounts.
Shopping Goods - These are considered purchases wherein the buyer really makes a lot of little decisions that add up to a purchase. The customer lacks some info or isn't completely sure about options and choices. In this case detailed or specific information is important, comparisons to competitors or multiple brand choices are essential. Trust, security, reputation and familiar brands are key factors. These sites usually need media support.
Configurable or Customizable Products - These are goods where the value lies in the functional benefits of the product product you offer; customers will seek personalization of features, appearing professional and knowledgeable will outweigh style and aesthetics in your site and will likely outweigh brand name and price factors as well; after sale service will be important to purchase satisfaction, options must be clearly laid out, customers will seek out your site by reputation or may search for it by performance or descriptive key word searches; and the name of the game is options, options, options.
Catalog Shopping - These are indexed sites with subcategories and really need and rely upon good shopping cart solutions. Navigation of the site is very important and you must have a site search engine...your site probably has thousands of products and options. Automation, strong database backend systems and order fulfillment are essential components. You will likely have to consider a large bricks & mortar support warehouse and perhaps many employees. This won't be a home-based business.
The Six Basic Types of E-ShoppersThe following is an analysis of online shopping behavior in the February issue of the electronic magazine E-Commerce Times.
In anticipation
of the predicted boom in online sales, Internet companies are updating their
Web sites and double-checking their fulfillment processes. Everyone is talking
about enhancing Web-based customer support and creating online experiences
that increase site loyalty and drive sales. The goal is to attract and satisfy
the greatest number of online shoppers, so they will keep coming back.
However,
before calling in the Web designers and shipping experts, e-tailers should
take a moment to recognize that not all online shoppers are created alike.
Different types of Web shoppers have different goals and shopping strategies.
A few savvy e-commerce companies
will be able to break out of the pack because they understand -- and cater
to -- the different needs of different types of shoppers.
So here
is a study guide to the six basic types of online shoppers -- and the tools
needed to get their business. Get out your pencils and take some notes, or
just save the link.
The 'New to the Net' Shopper
Shoppers who are new to the Net are still trying to grasp the concept of e-commerce. They typically use the Web to research purchases, and are likely to start buying online with small purchases in safe categories.
What they need: New-to-the-Net shoppers require a very simple interface, an easy checkout process and lots of validation to buy online. Product pictures will do a lot to convince these shoppers to complete sales transactions. Shopper-to-shopper interaction will also provide a non-threatening way for Web newbies to learn their way around and gain confidence in making online purchases.
The Reluctant Shopper
Reluctant
shoppers are nervous about security and privacy issues. Because of their
fears, they start off wanting to use the Web only to research purchases,
rather than buy online.
What they need: Clearly stated security and privacy policies will help reluctant shoppers feel comfortable with the Web. These shoppers also need immediate online customer support to quell their concerns. Online discussions with other shoppers who report positive experiences of buying online will also help reassure these shoppers.
The Bargain Shopper
Bargain-hunting shoppers use comparison shopping tools extensively. Sporting no brand loyalty, these shoppers are just looking for the lowest price.
What they need: Retailers must convince these shoppers that they are getting the best price and do not need to continue searching online or offline for a better deal. Sale-priced items listed on the site, or made available through an operator, are very attractive to these shoppers.
The
Surgical Shopper
"Surgical" shoppers know exactly what they want before logging online and only purchase that item. Typically they know the criteria on which they will base their decision, seek information to match against that criteria, and purchase when they are confident they have found exactly the right product.
What they need: Product configurators and archived opinions are essential to persuade surgical shoppers that what they found is what they need. These shoppers also benefit from quick access to insights from other shoppers' experiences and real time customer service from knowledgeable operators.
The Enthusiast Shopper
Enthusiast shoppers use shopping as a form of recreation. They purchase frequently and are the most adventurous shoppers.
What they need: It is important to cater to the fun-loving character of the enthusiast shoppers. To fuel their enjoyment, Web sites should offer them engaging tools to view the merchandise, personalized product recommendations, and community applications such as bulletin boards and customer feedback pages.
The
Power Shopper
Power shoppers shop out of necessity, rather than as a form of recreation. They develop sophisticated shopping strategies to find what they want, and do not want to waste time looking around.
What they need: Sites that have excellent navigation tools and offer lots of information on the available products -- customer experiences, expert opinions and customer service -- are attractive to power shoppers. These shoppers want instant access to information and support, and expect highly relevant product recommendations that match their criteria.
Is
it Possible to Please Everyone?
Despite the variety of shopping strategies exhibited by the different types of Web shoppers, online merchants can adopt a few key approaches to satisfy their varied needs.
The two primary elements of an e-commerce site appealing to all six types of shoppers are easy site navigation and shopper-to-shopper interaction. Also, to avoid having shoppers click away, it is important to review the site navigation selections to ensure that there are no hidden pages, and that everyone can get anywhere from anywhere on the site.
Sophisticated and accurate search engines also provide every kind of online shopper with support destined to increase their level of purchasing online -- no matter who they are or how they shop.
E-Commerce
Times
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/news/special_reports/profiles.shtml
4. Predicting Your Income and Sales
| Types of Income |
| Total Income = Total earned income from all sources |
| Gross Income = Salary or Wages (part of the total) |
| Disposable Income = income after deductions and taxes |
| Discretionary Income = income after necessities |
In an excerpt from an article
in The CyberAtlas Newsletter, Unity Marketing's research has found that consumer
discretionary spending is divided into three basic categories that represent
a continuum from the more practical to the most extravagant:
| Discretionary purchases are characterized by products people buy that they don't necessarily need but will make their life meaningfully better. Usually the purchases in the discretionary category have a practical or a functional component, such as a steam vacuum cleaner, water and air filters, small kitchen appliances, 100 percent cotton sheets, down comforters. |
| Indulgences are life's little luxuries that bring consumers emotional satisfaction and which they can buy without guilt. Products like candles, bath lotion and oils, cosmetics, gourmet chocolates, fresh flowers, costume jewelry, toys, game, books and videos all fall into the indulgence category. |
| Luxury purchases are perceived as something more than is needed and almost always about the brand, such as Calvin Klein, Tiffany, BMW, Bulgari. When consumers buy luxuries, they are making a statement about themselves, who they are and what they stand for. For consumer marketers to move the consumer to action, that is to buy something they don't need, marketers must provide the consumers with sufficient justifiers that overcome barriers to purchase and give them a reason to buy, Danzinger said. Now, in the face of national crisis, the importance of these justifiers suddenly becomes more critical. |
For discretionary and luxury
purchases, the consumer marketers and retailers need to stack the value equation
in favor of the consumer to break down barriers and encourage consumers to
buy. Enhancing the quality of the consumers' life is the number one justifier
for all discretionary, luxury and indulgence purchases. Marketers facing
a consumer market in crisis need to study the psyche of their consumers to
really understand how their products contribute to the quality of the consumers'
life, then communicate the new emboldened value equation to the
consumers.
| daily | weekly |
monthly |
|
| # of customers | |||
| # of units | |||
| $ value/revenue | |||
| Set
Benchmarks, Targets or Standards |
|||
| High and
Low Ranges |
|||
5. Let's look at some "soft" audience factors for Web design.
Answering these questions will help you to determine site content, page content, navigation and interactivity as well as how to advertise and market your website.
Getting Customer Information and Information Sites
Here's an example of the type of research about online users and changing profiles:
| 1. Internet
Users by Income Levels Lower income Web surfers at home grew at a faster clip than any other income group, spiking 46 percent from February 2000 to February 2001, according to Nielsen//NetRatings (www.nielsen-netratings.com). Surfers earning less than $25,000 a year accounted for 6.3 million of the total Internet population who accessed the Web in February 2001, compared to only 4.3 million during the same month last year. The upper middle-class income group (earning between $50,000-74,999) jumped 42 percent in the past year. More than 30 million Internet users belong to the upper middle-class income group, making it the largest segment of the online population. Users who earned between $25,000-49,999 grew 40 percent in the past year, representing more than 26 million people. The highest income level tracked by Nielsen//NetRatings ($150,000 to $999,999) also saw the least growth in the past year -- only 28 percent. Overall, the Internet grew 29 percent from February 200o to February 2001. "Like other forms of media, Internet access was first adopted by higher income groups who were willing to pay the cost of personal computers and monthly ISP service charges," said T. S. Kelly, director of Internet media strategies at NetRatings. "As the cost of personal computers and Internet access continues to drop, the doors have opened for lower income groups to tap into the Web. New Internet-based technologies in cell phones, handheld devices and video game consoles have introduced the Web to a broader demographic, helping to narrow the digital divide." Source:
The CyberAtlas Newsletter |
Many companies offer research information online regarding customer buying habits, demographic profiles and behavioral responses to web advertising. One such firm is NetRatings AdRelevance. http://www.adrelevance.com/
Internet Information for demographic profiling and analysis: Nua.com is an example of one of many online sources for information on Internet demographics and trends (with an online newsletter). It is a database containing information, facts, trend projections and analysis. http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/index.html
A news and analysis sight is the E-Commerce Times Weekly Newsletter http://www.ecommercetimes.com/
The
CyberAtlas newsletter is a guide to what's new at the The CyberAtlas site,
a reference-desk style guide for Web Marketers. http://cyberatlas.internet.com
It is part of internet.com, The Internet & IT Network, http://internet.com.
Santa Cruz Public Libraries http://www.santacruzpl.org/
See results of a sample search for population of Asian households in Santa
Cruz County for an online business wanting to retail Asian cooking spices and
ingredients not found easily in local retail groceries.
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_ts=34779140850
