trackers hunters and explorers 1

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1.

A good Web presence will satisfy all three types of behaviors. Using the Amazon Web site, identify which areas on their sites satisfy the hunter—the person who does not have a specific product in mind but knows the type of product he or she is looking for. Examples might be a smartphone, a pair of pants for travel, or a musical instrument.

  • Which areas would satisfy the tracker—the person who knows exactly what he or she wants?
  • Which areas would satisfy the explorer—the person who doesn’t have a particular item in mind, but rather a need? For example, a holiday shopper or someone who wants to redecorate a room.
  • What recommendation can you make to improve one or more of these areas to make them more “delightful” to customers?
  • While these behavior patterns are attributed to online shoppers, do you think that they can also be applied to traditional shoppers or are they differentiating patterns?

P2.

. Persona creation can be used to visualize customers and help marketers realize that customers are not always mirrors of a company’s CEO or marketing director. The supplementary reading titled “Your Secret Online Profile” paints a different picture from a customer’s point of view.

  • As a future or current marketer, what is your opinion of data mining for customer profiling? What privacy concerns should inform marketing decisions?
  • As a consumer, do you have a different opinion? If you do, how can you reconcile the two viewpoints in a marketing career?

P3.

Consider this scenario:

Aybeesee Corporation is a bricks-n-clicks company that sells electronic toys and gadgets. It has recently seen its online direct sales and affiliate sales soar, resulting in rapid company growth. It has built seven new stores in three new states, bringing the organization to one flagship store in New York City as well as fourteen stores in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and now North Carolina, South Carolina, and London, England. Aybeesee Corporation was originally founded in the 1970s by a single entrepreneur, Jane Smith, who has a background in marketing and still holds tight control overall. A new VP of marketing, John Jones, wants to revamp the company’s marketing plan, specifically in the area of social marketing, which is practically nonexistent for Aybeesee. The lone Facebook page only has brochure information with directions to the New York store.

An upcoming meeting is scheduled to “sell” Ms. Smith on the benefits of expanding social media marketing. John Jones has asked his staff to each research a different social network and bring ideas for a new media launch to the meeting. He is especially interested in networks besides Facebook. Select one of the other popular social networks useful for business marketing (Twitter, Googleplus, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Flickr, Instagram, Foursquare, Tumblr, StumbleUpon, Ning, CafeMom, Ryze or any other you may find in your search) and prepare a report showing how it can be used to foster social relationships with customers or company partners such as suppliers or distributors. (To view information about them, go to the [About] or [Learn More] link at each site.) Be persuasive and convince Ms. Smith that social media is absolutely necessary in Aybeesee’s marketing future.

P4.

Once a company is active in social media marketing and is successful creating “buzz” about itself or its products, it needs to develop a social listening strategy. It needs to know what the “buzz” is saying and it needs to be able to take action: whether that means responding to customer comments or complaints, or taking note of customer feelings and desires.

  • What are some strategies that could be used to “listen” to what is being said about your company or its brands?
  • What are some tools that can be used to monitor the frequency, location, and content of comments made on social networks?
  • How can you identify “influencers” and once you do, how can you leverage their opinions to your advantage?
  • What can you do about negative comment or reviews? How can you repair damage this type of public venting can do to your company’s or product’s reputation