the Web Chef's e-Bytes

Mobile Marketing Magazine - Feb 2010

I came across the February issue of an online magazine from the UK called Mobile Marketing Magazine that could be shared by embedding into this blog.  I thought the technology was an interesting way to further optimize the sharing of digital assets like this magazine.

Presenting to ACEC WI PR Group

This is a test posting from the ACEC WI PR Group Meeting in Madison, WI on 5/21/09.

Consumer Behvior - Retail Showrooms, Online Purchases and the Rise of Disintermediation

The Internet Changes Everything! 

We heard this cry for a number of years since the launch of a commercial Internet over ten years ago. 

How true is this when it comes to purchases of big ticket items? 

Are consumers ditching the local, regional or big box retailer for purchases online through channel participants with lower costs and hence lower total prices for acquisition?  If this is the case, the brick and mortar retailers will increasingly become the "free showrooms" where consumers armed with online review information can go and check out the plasma or LCD HDTV they are coveting.  This process is what academics and others call disintermediation or cutting players out of the supply chain when making your purchase.

For example we're in the market for an HDTV this year.  Thanks to a generous retirement gift, my partner can select a television within a certain dollar range.

So what has the purchase process entailed so far?  Like many consumers the purchase follows a range of steps. 

Step 1 - Research HDTVs on Consumer Reports, CNET and through word-of-mouth discussions with current owners

Step 2 - With the selection narrowed down to plasma's in our case, the second step was to go to the regional and big box retail showrooms to see the models that seemed to meet our viewing and budget criteria.  In our market, this meant visits to the the big box stores, Best Buy and Circuit City, along with regional chain American TV. 

Step 3 - We wanted to hear what the sales people had to say about the televisions.  In and of itself this was interesting, given the range of performance, knowledge and selling styles that we encountered.  Our first stop was American TV, a company I've blogged about before.  The first sales rep we encountered there appeared to be knowledgeable telling us that the model we were looking for, a Panasonic Plasma 50, had been replaced by a newer one that they had available.  He knew that the Panasonic we came in to see was a Consumer Reports best buy, so appeared to know his stuff,  He wasn't pushy, condescending or difficult to talk to.  The second stop was Best Buy where we found a nice sales guy in home electronics, who said "let me turn you over to the expert sales person for plasma televisions".  He did so and the guy was very knowledgeable and was even willing to offer us a deal on the television we had decided on.  The television was the original one we had looked for at American TV.  Best Buy had both models and said they were both available, making us question the American TV sales rep's knowledge or "truthiness".  Next stop was a visit to Circuit City.  The store had a noticeable lack of customers compared to either of the other two stores we had visited.  (Maybe their firing of all their top earning sales people is having repercusions after all!)  We found ourselves wandering among the televisions trying to find the Panasonic model we now knew existed without any help.  For a potential puchase of almost $3,000, you'd think there'd be some attention.  We finally found a sales rep, who took us over to the television we were interested and said "here you go, I have to go do some other things" and left us there.  If we had wanted to make a purchase it would have been difficult.  The price was $100 more then the deal Best Buy was willing to give us.  The way the unit was displayed allowed us to compare it to a Hitachi, Toshiba and LG units that were next to it and below it.  This led us to feel confident that the model was a good one that had a more life like color rendition to that of the competitive offerings.  A good thing, since the unit has a price premium.  We decided to return to American TV to see if the model was there and if a different sales rep would take us to it.  We thought this could be a way to support a regional chain that had started in Madison, WI our hometown and had done pretty well for itself.  We ended up with a real jerk of a sales person, who proceeded to demean us by saying that Consumer Reports and CNET reviews are useless and that only audiophile publications are worth following.  He said that the Consumer Report reviews were biased because the reviewers got to keep the televisions at the end, a fact we know to be false given the number of years we've subscribed to Consumer Reports.  His style and approach were extremely off-putting and offensive.  If I had been a secret shopper, I'd have put him on notice with his management team. 

Step 4 - This step actually happened between store visits.  I went online to the Panasonic web site to find the specifications for the model we were considering.  The set was there and was available directly from Panasonic for their list price of $2999.  The specifications confirmed that the unit had the features we wanted and that it would fit in the new piece of furniture we were buying to house it (another shopping tale in itself).

Step 5 - Although the television is a gift and the final price was within the acceptable range, it was at the high end of the range and I wasn't convinced that Best Buy or Circuit City were offering anything more for the money then I could get by shopping online.  I proceeded to three of my favorite shopping comparison sites (PriceGrabber, Mysimon, Shopping) with the model name and number at hand to see what the online retailers had to offer.  Not too surprisingly I was able to find a range of prices for the television including significantly better prices from sites where we had previously made and been happy with big purchases - Buy.com and NewEgg.  The prices ranged from a low of $2209 to a high of $3200.  The Best Buy price would have been $2749, plus tax.  Some online prices included free shipping, some from the national online retailers with brick and mortar locations included the state sales tax.

Step 6 - The purchase decision.  This hasn't been made yet, but for the retail showrooms there is a big red flag, if their business model doesn'f offer some sort of advantage to the online retailers.  If all they are going to do is go to their warehouse load up the tv and drop it in our family room, why should we pay them more than for an online retailer that loads up the television in a remote warehouse, delivers it to our family room and leaves?  The brief conversation with the sales rep isn't enough of a value added differentiator to make the product purchase swing their way. 

My Recommendations
What the local, regional or big box brick and mortar retailers need to do to clench the sale is offer some sort of added incentive to swing the deal their way.  They could offer something like the following:

• Free in home service for a year
• Removal of your old television for free (you now pay for this in Madison)
• Installation for free
• Customer workshops - getting the most out of your HDTV, understanding the home theater
• Purchase from us, we'll donate $xxx to a local charity of your choice    

Needless to say, the process has been interesting and one that offers a lesson for both shopper and retailer as they think through the best ways to connect with their target market.

How to Lose Customers Without Really Trying - American TV and Kennedy Hahn

Dishwashers. We can't live without them (at least some of us who hate to wash dishes can't).

In fact, when we first purchased our home 24+ years ago we prioritized improvements and #1 on the list was a dishwasher.  At the time, the budget and the available kitchen space dictated that the dishwasher for us would be a portable one that you connected up to the sink when you wanted to use it.  Since then we've expanded our house twice, including our most recent expansion (now about 9 years ago) that included a larger kitchen with the must have appliances available at that time - SubZero Refrigerator/freezer, Gaggenau oven, Bosch dishwasher, etc.  Needless to say we spent over $10,000 for sharp, "cool" and trendy appliances.  We purchased all of our appliances from Kennedy Hahn, at that time an independent dealer in Waunakee.  Since then they expanded with additional outlets and as of this week announced that they've been acquired by American TV and Appliance.  American TV and Appliance will be closing the four stores and consolidating their operations into their existing outlets. 

In the midst of this acquisition, American TV and Kennedy Hahn seem to have lost track of their customer databases and the basics of customer service.  I bring this up following my experience with them earlier today when I called to request service on our Bosch dishwasher.  When I called up Kennedy Hahn, a member of their customer service staff asked for the address and let me know they didn't have any record of any of their appliances being installed here.  She then asked for the serial number and repeated the same mantra, she then asked for our names and told me the same.  I let her know that we had purchased $10,000+ in appliances, purchased supplies and replacement parts and had received service from them in the recent past, so there should be a record.  She asked me whether I had any service records.  As a matter of fact I did, for the Sub-Zero refrigerator to the tune of $308 performed on 2/17/2006. After all this she grudgingly agreed to try and scheudule service only to let me know that the soonest available date was October 5th.  I wasn't happy with the interaction or with the final outcome and let her know this both on the phone and now through this posting. 

I was quite frankly amazed that I was given this run around and let her know in no uncertain terms that it would be highly unlikely that any vestiges of Kennedy Hahn or American TV amd Appliances would be receiving our new purchase or service business in the future.

So how should this have been handled?  First of all their database and customer relationship managment system should have reflected us as their customer and should have had a record of the original purchase, albeit it several years ago along with repair histories for any appliances along the way.  Second of all, if a customer tells you they purchased from you and they aren't asking for warranty service, they just want post-purchase after warranty service, you should believe them and ask how can we help you.  Third, you should have a large enough service staff at your disposal to provide service within a reasonable period of time.

The moral of the story for American TV and Appliance, is that if you are going to make what is reportedly your first acquisition of a premium appliance retailer, you need to have the customer information, processes and staff in place to serve customers as they interact with you during the acquisition. 

It seems that in the acquisition, American TV and Appliance has dropped the ball.

WVMC joins WOMMA and other web associations

I came across a new association that I hadn't heard of that might be of interest to readers.  The Web Video Marketing Council (WVMC) joins other web related groups like the following general and specialized e-marketing related groups that you might want to explore:

• EMA - e-Marketing Association
• EIAA - European Interactive Advertising Association
• IAB - Interactive Advertising Bureau
• IMRO - Interactive Marketing Research Organization
• IIMA - International Internet Marketing Association
• MMA - Mobile Marketing Association
• OPA - Online Publishers Association
• Podcast Guild
• SEMPO - Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization
• VBMA - Viral and Buzz Marketing Association
• Web Marketing Association
• WOMMA - Word of Mouth Marketing Association

The WVMC has a white paper available for download "Web Video Marketing: The Birth of a New Direct Marketing Medium" (PDF) that was published in July.

I'm sure that I've missed a few.  If you'd like to add to the list be sure to provide your addition in the comments section.

Paul Gibler

Campaigns in the Web 2.0 Era

2007 brought forth some seminal moments in politics with Senator Allen's Macaca Moment captured online and distributed widely among the more memorable moments.  Not to be outdone, MySpace is jumping on the political bandwagon with the announcement of their online primaries to be held on January 1 and 2nd of 2008.  The idea was reviewed in a recent posting on TechCrunch, where they revealed that Barack Obama was leading the pack with 89,465 MySpace "friends".  With the number of registered MySpace accounts creating a virtual community that would be the 11th largest country in the world, it will be interesting to see how this online primary shapes the real ones a few weeks later. 

MySpace has also launched the ImpactChannel, an online video channel focusing on the 2008 Presidential primaries according to the New York Times (registration required).  As of this posting, 11 Presidential Candidates were "working the streets" of MySpace. Missing from the list of angels, flip floppers, scoundrels and all around communicators was Wisconsin's very own former governor and recently declared presidential candidate Thompson.  Hmm is he campaigning for President or some other position>

In other political video news, we're seeing the growth of PoliticsTV.com, an online video site dedicated to covering the political scene.  As of this posting, they had an Alexa ranking of 478,248, an increase of 185,252 over the past 3 months.  Here's a clip of an anti-Senator Susan Collins ad that was posted on PoliticsTV and YouTube.

Not to be left behind, YouTube launched their political channel called YouChoose.  Also missing from the list of candidates was Tommy Thompson...

A Treat - Beyond Wikipedia - Glossary Aggregation

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!  I hope the goblins, gremlins and witches treat you well today.

I've been collecting glossaries for a few years and posting them on my ConnectingDots web site.  Whenever I hear about or am sent a glossary in one of my areas of interest I like to be sure to include a link to that glossary for those of you looking for additional specialized definitions that might not have made it to Wikipedia.

Among the glossaries I've compiled are those covering the following sectors:

• e-Business
• Marketing
• Health Care 
• Life Science

If you have a glossary you'd like to share please let me know.

• 
  

Tired Tires Shopping Tale Updated

Tired of tires
Originally uploaded by aremac.

A tale of tired tires
Occasionally I'd like to tell a "tale" of my own experiences as a consumer, especially when it intersects with my professional and personal interests in e-business and Internet Marketing.  This tale is about my search for the "perfect" third generation replacement tire and is probably representative of consumer behavior while shopping for a higher price item.

My 2G tires have reached the 50,000+ tread wear date and with a Wisconsin winter on the horizon, I decided it was time to buy new ones.  Not knowing much about tires, I started on my quest for information on which ones I should buy.  My key purchasing criteria was at least a rating of "good" in the snow or on ice traction at a good price.

I had been happy with my Dunlop's, so considered simply replacing them with new ones.  My first thought was let's see what the tire reviewers have to say about these and other tires.  I went to Tire Rack and 1010Tires to find information on consumer reviews of the tires available in my size.

Offline & Back Online for Research
Frustrated and uncertain, I decided to stick with my Dunlop's and use the same local dealer, Holmes Auto & Tire, I had used for the original purchase of the tires.  They told me that the factory was on backorder for at least 8 weeks on this particular tire and that they weren't sure when they'd be available or what the final price would be.  The dealer suggested an alternative in my size, the Yokohama Avid 4HS and suggested that I do some research on the tire.  Back I went to the previously mentioned review and/or retail sites to see what they had to say.  It didn't sound bad and was better on some criteria then my current tire, so I was set to purchase and willing to pay a premium to support my local dealer rather than purchasing over the Internet and using a local installer.  The very day I had made up my mind, the November issue of Consumer Reports arrived in my mailbox with their review of performance all season tires.  "Ah Good" another unbiased review source on potential tires, I said.  Looking down the list, I found that Yokohama's were rated 8th overall, but were rated a "Poor" on ice braking and snow traction, two of the criteria I found most critical in my purchase decision.  "Dang" I said.  It was back to the drawing board.  The top 3 tires were a Dunlop SP Sport 5000, Michelin Pilot Exalto and Falken Ziex ZE 512.

Sears Experience
Meanwhile the Sunday newspaper arrived with an ad from Sears among many others.  Perusing the Sears ad, I see that they are having a tire sale.  Hmmm, I thought, would they have a high rated tire in my size?  The ad referenced the Falken Ziex ZE 512 (# 3 according to Consumer Reports), so I thought sounds good, let me see if my size is made and what the prices for my size are.  I went to the Falken web site and found that my size was one that was made.  I called one of our two local Sears stores and got through to the Auto Center.  The phone was picked up and I was told "I'll be right with you".  Minutes later no action, I hung up.  Mmm what next?  How about Sears.com, supposedly rated one of the best according to the Customer Respect Group's Customer Respect Index.  On my shopping search I went to Sears.com.  Did a search using their site search engine, found Falken tires and my size very easily.  Found that the price was $69.34 per tire, sounded good, but what was the installed price? 

The web site had a statement "this item is available for store pickup and installation at your local Sears Auto Center with no shipping charges.  Click the button below to speak with a customer care advisor to place your order" (see screen shot). I decided to test it out.  I clicked the button and a dialogue box appeared that included my phone number that they'd use to call me or asked me if I wanted to talk to a representative online.  My phone number?  Where did they get that I thought?  I had never purchased anything from Sears.com, I was on a high speed cable connection not a dial-up one or one using DSL.  This triggered some privacy concerns.  The talking to a representative using VOIP sounded worth trying, so I clicked that option.

A nice representative, we'll call her L came on the phone,

L - Can I help you? 
Paul - Yes I want to find out about pricing and availability on tires.
L - What is the Sears item #
P- (Gave her the Sears item #)
L - These are $69.34 each.
Paul  - What is the final installed price?
L - I can't tell you that because the installation prices vary from $30 - $70 across the country.
Paul - So why would I order through you, when I don't know the final price?
L - We have different prices then the stores do
Paul - Sorry it seems like I'd be better off going directly to the store for availability, pricing and to schedule installation.
L - We're working on getting our systems better.
Paul - Thanks for your help, I'm going to call the store.

I called the store and found that they were quoting $74.09 a tire, but they did tell me what the final installed price would be....

Moral of the Story
Given the length of this posting, I thought it would be worth sharing what I think this means for an e-business today.

• Think about how your consumers shop
• Evaluate what type of searching behavior they are undertaking
• Consider what product reviews they are looking at
• Integrate your offline and online channels to simplify the purchasing process
• Consider a web site audit that looks at the user interface
• Continue to experiment with new technologies like VOIP customer service or live chat
• Facilitate your consumer's shopping experience with product visualization techniques like product zoom or product rotate

Needless to say, I still haven't made my appointment for my new tires, but suspect that it will be through the bricks rather than clicks channel at Sears Auto Centers.

UPDATE - 10.25.06
Having made up my mind to go with the Falken's, I called Sears Auto Center at West Towne, here in Madison, WI USA.  The man I talked to told me that while Consumer Reports might rate them highly, that they had quite a few complaints from customers about their performance in the snow!  Given that this was one of my chief criteria, I decided to believe him.  I asked him what he would recommend.  He told me a Goodyear (don't remember the model though).  I hadn't seen any research leading me toward a Goodyear, although I'd like to support an American manufacturer, so I asked him how about the Bridgestone Potenza G0009, another tire I had researched and been considering.  He grudgingly said that was a pretty good tire.  I asked for the price and he told me $447.07 installed.  I told him I was going to do some research.  Needless to say I already had a price quote from Comstock Tire here in Madison of $99 per tire or $396, so thought I'd go there.  I went to their website to get the phone number again and was nosing around and found a coupon for $20 off 4 new tires, so was even happier with my decision. 

Today I took the plunge, had the Potenza's installed, an oil change and my brakes checked at Comstock. 

So the new tires are finally on!

New Column in Wisconsin Technology Network

I'm happy to announce that I'll be writing a monthly column for Wisconsin Technology Network.  The new column "Buzz Networks" will complement the insights and perspectives that I provide in my blogs, as a speaker and consultant on the latest in e-business and marketing.  The first column "Social Computing in the Web 2.0 Era" was published on July 2nd.  Watch for future columns on RSS, Word of Mouth Marketing, New Search Engines...etc.

If you have an idea for a column, please let me know.

Forrester Introduces New Marketing Blog

Business Week Blogspotting writer Heather Green announced that Forrester Research has added a new marketing blog accessible to the public.  The blog is joining the successful blog written by Forrester analyst Charlene Li on new developments in marketing technology and media.  Business Week reports that Charlene's blog has contributed $1 million in revenue to Forrester.

What I found interesting about the launch of this blog is that it wasn't covered in Charlene's blog and there does not currently appear to be any cross-merchandising between the two blogs.  The marketing blog does include Charlene Li's blog in their blogroll, but doesn't highlight it as another valuable Forrester resource.