Mktg 437

2006-11-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

Usability Assignment- UseIt.com "100 Million Websites" By Jakob Nielson

This article discusses how the internet has surpsassed the 100 million mark of existing websites with 101,435,253 websites found in Netcraft's latest web survey in November 2006. And although the web is entering the mature stage of its lifecycle, growing at a rate of ~25% per year, analysts predict that websites may pass the 200 million mark by as early as 2010. The implications that this information has to us is that website design and usability is becoming more standard as the internet becomes more of a household commodity. The earlier days of innovative website design are over. Instead, web designers are creating interfaces that cater to its' users. People have expectations of how websites should work, therefore, websites that are difficult to navigate through will no doubt have little traffic on the site. Research has shown that most users view web and search pages in the same way, therefore companies should keep this in mind when establishing their own sites by employing designers to create sites that are easy for people to use.

2006-11-08T15:12:00.000-08:00

Clickz.com Article "Google Extends Print Run" By Matthew G. Nelson, Nov. 7, 2006

This article discusses Google's plans to create and test a new online forum for advertisers to buy advertising space to be printed in newspapers and magazines. It is different from the traditional way of selling ad space in that the advertisers are the ones dictating the prices they are willing to pay the newspapers and magazines, and then those papers will decide on whose offer they will take and where the ad will be placed in the papers. So far, there are 50 different newspapers and magazines who are trying out Googles' new "alpha product". But Google predicts that eventually there will be thousands of papers selling ad space in this way, or rather, advertisers will be buying ad space this way. Google dismisses any claims that this will threaten the traditional mediums of selling ad space in the 'real world' by saying that this will only help those advertisers who would otherise be unable to reach these other papers by providing a workable link that will help bring them together.
This just adds to the ever changing and evolving internet revolution in terms of the way in which the internet is continually changing the way we do business and in the way people live their lives. The fact that one can do almost anything they need to do in their everday lives online, is scary (ie. pay bills, shop, date, etc). And this type of innovation in business is just another example of that. The internet has given millions of businesses instant access to customers all around the world that they otherwise would not have access to. In the same way, Google is making it possible for advertisers to have access to ad space in papers that are relevant to their target demographic, easily and effortlessly.

2006-09-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

1. I chose the Converse slip-on Chuck Taylors

2. I found that most people love the shoes. That they felt true to width with not much arch support and they ran about a half size too big.

3. Reading the reviews made me feel more likely to buy the shoes in the future because of the satisfaction rate of the buyers. No one had anything bad to say about the shoes or Zappos service.

4. The advantages of being able to read product reviews on Zappos.com are that the reviews may help potential buyers make certain important decisions about their purchases or whether they should make a purchase at all! This will help people in the long run to be more satisfied with the purchases they make as well as with the service of the website.

5. The advantage to Zappos.com for offering product reviews is to ensure customer satisfaction. If negative reviews result in poor customer satisfaction, then Zappos has the option to not carry the product. (And they shouldn't if customers are unhappy with it) However, most reviews will probably be positive, resulting in an increase in sales and revenue for the website. It may also give the products they sell more credibility therfore, giving the website more credibility in their products.

6. No. Because if a company allows reviews to be written about the shoes they carry, negative reviews may have more of a negative impact on the whole company and not just that particular shoe.

7. I always read customer reviews for everything i buy online if they are available. (mostly books, dvds, and electronic equipment) I do this because when buying online, customers are not able to pysically handle the product, which makes it harder to make puchasing decisions. Customer reviews provide feedback that is important to other potential buyers. It gives reassurance of a good purchase and it warns against bad purchases/services.

8. For companies that sell products made from other manufacturers, customer reviews are halpful to potential buyers and may bring the website more business. But if a company were only selling its own products, they may not want customer reviews of their product to be unmoderated and displayed for all to see to prevent any negative attention to the company if some customers are unsatisfied. In those cases, matters should be taken care of discretely so as not to hurt the company's reputation.

2006-09-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Q. Should blogs look and feel like traditional marketing and advertising? Why or why not?

A. No, because blogs are supposed to provide a comfortable forum where users can express there thoughts and opinions without feeling like they're being bombarded by ads or influenced by marketers.

Q. Are blogs a fad? Or will they continue to have some impact for marketing? Why or why not?

A. Blogs have been around for much longer than most fads, so they will probably continue to exist, change, and evolve which in turn, will have an impact on how businesses go about marketing their products or services to consumers.

Q. Would you like to see the marketing department (or whatever your major department is) start a blog? If so, what would you like to see there? If not, why not?

A. Any forum that fascilitates an exchange of information or ideas is most likely a good thing. It would be a good idea to have a forum where students can go to discuss issues concerning their major as well as get feedback from administrators and teachers. If the marketing department were to start a blog, they should discuss current issues going on in the business world that would effect marketing directly.

Potential Business Uses for Blogs:

1. Getting feedback from users of the business' products or services
2. Understanding or getting a sense of consumers beliefs and attitudes towards a product/service/industry/business
3. Advertising
4. Promotional uses
5. Businesses are able to reach target audiences more effectively with industry specific blogs