E-Commerce 03
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This document discusses consumer behavior in electronic commerce. It begins by outlining learning objectives related to describing consumer behavior online, characteristics of internet users, and the consumer decision making process. It then provides details on Ritchey Bikes improving their website to better understand customer wants and needs through surveys. The document also discusses models of consumer behavior online, characteristics and demographics of internet users, the consumer purchasing process, matching products to customers through personalization, delivering customer service, and conducting market research online. Intelligent agents are also described for assisting customers with tasks like identifying needs, product comparisons, and negotiating transactions.
E-Commerce 03
- 1. Chapter 3 Internet Consumers, and Market Research
- 2. Learning Objectives Describe the essentials of consumer behavior Describe the characteristics of Internet surfers and EC purchasers Understand the decision-making process of consumer purchasing Describe the way companies are building relationships with customers 2
- 3. Learning Objectives (cont.) Explain the implementation of customer service and its relationship with CRM Describe consumer market research in EC Understand the role of intelligent agents in consumer applications Describe the organizational buyer behavior model 3
- 4. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online The Problem Ritchey Design, Inc. is a relatively small designer and manufacturer of mountain bike components Sells its products to distributors and/or retailers, who then sell them to individual consumers Its 1995 Web site was more a status symbol than a business tool 4
- 5. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online Visitors could get information on Team Ritchey or find out where Ritchey products were sold It did not give customers all the information they wanted It did not enable the company to gain insight into its customers’ wants and needs 5
- 6. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online The Solution In late 1995, Ritchey reworked the Web site so that the company could hear from its customers directly set up customer surveys on the site offered visitors who answer the surveys a chance to win free Ritchey products visitors enter their names and addresses and then answer questions about the company’s products 6
- 7. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online Web Trader software automatically organizes and saves the answers in a database and is used to help make marketing and advertising decisions Questions are changed to learn customers’ opinions about any new products Ritchey develops Saves $100,000 on product development per year 7
- 8. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online An online catalog educates retailers and consumers about the technological advantages of Ritchey’s high-end components over competitors’ parts Visitors browse the product catalog that includes detailed descriptions and graphics of Ritchey’s products 8
- 9. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online The Results ritcheylogic.com sells only team items such as t-shirts, bags, water bottles, and other gear directly to individuals online The company does not sell bike parts to individuals directly online because it wants to maintain its existing distribution system Dealers can place orders on the site 9
- 10. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online The site is basically used in B2C EC only for the basic activities in Internet marketing: communicating with customers conducting market research delivering advertising 10
- 11. Building Customer Relationships: Ritchey’s bikes online What we can learn … Illustrates the benefits a company can derive from changing its Web site from a passive one to one with interactivity Interactive Web site allows the company to: learn more about its customers educate customers use the site for customer service 11
- 12. Consumer Behavior Online Model of consumer behavior online independent (or uncontrollable) variables intervening or moderating variables decision-making process dependent variables 12
- 13. Figure 3.1 EC Consumer Behavior Model Source: Zinezone, c/o GMCI Co. 13
- 14. Consumer Behavior Online (cont.) Consumer types Individual consumers Commands most of the media’s attention Organizational buyers Governments and public organizations Private corporations Resellers Consumer behavior viewed in terms of: Why is the consumer shopping? How does the consumer benefit from shopping online? 14
- 15. Consumer Behavior Online (cont.) Purchasing types and experiences 2 dimensions of shopping experiences Utilitarian—to achieve a goal Hedonic—because it’s fun 3 categories of consumers Impulsive buyers—purchase quickly Patient buyers—make some comparisons first Analytical buyers—do substantial research before buying 15
- 16. Consumer Behavior Online (cont.) Direct sales, intermediation, and customer relations Companies that sell only through intermediaries still need good relations with the end-users Example: Ford Motor Company Do not sell directly to consumers Recognize that drivers of Ford vehicles think of themselves as having a relationship with the company 16
- 17. Personal Characteristics and Demographics of Internet Surfers Environmental variables Social variables Cultural variables Psychological variables Other environmental variables 17
- 18. Personal Characteristics of Internet Surfers Personal characteristics and differences Consumer resources and lifestyle Age and gender Knowledge and educational level Attitudes and values Motivation Personality 18
- 19. Demographics of Internet Surfers Major demographics presented include Gender Age Marital status Educational level Ethnicity Occupation Household income 19
- 20. Demographics of Internet Surfers (cont.) The more experience people have on the Web, the more likely they are to buy online Two major reasons people do not buy online Security Difficulty judging the quality of the product 20
- 21. Figure 3.2 Amount of Money Spent on the Web 21
- 22. Consumer Purchasing Decision Making Roles people play in decision-making Initiator—suggests/thinks of buying a particular product or service Influencer—advice/views carry weight in making a final buying decision Decider--makes a buying decision or any part of it Buyer—makes the actual purchase User—consumes or uses a product or service 22
- 23. Consumer Purchasing Decision Making (cont.) Purchasing decision-making model 5 major phases of a general model Need identification—actual and desired states of need Information search Alternatives evaluation—research reduces number of alternatives, may lead to negotiation Purchase and delivery—arrange payment, delivery, warranties, etc. After-purchase evaluation—customer service 23
- 24. Consumer Decision Making Process (cont.) Product brokering: Deciding what product to buy Merchant brokering: Deciding from whom (from what merchant) to buy a product 24
- 25. Table 3.1 Purchase Decision Making Process & Support System Source: O’Keefe and McEachern, 1998. 25
- 26. Figure 3.3 Model of Internet Consumer Satisfaction Source: Lee (2001) 26
- 27. Matching Products with Customers: Personalization One-to-one marketing Relationship marketing “ Overt attempt of exchange partners to build a long term association, characterized by purposeful cooperation and mutual dependence on the development of social, as well as structural, bonds” “Treat different customers differently” No two customers are alike 27
- 28. Figure 3.4 The New Marketing Model Source: GartnerGroup 28
- 29. Matching Products with Customers: Personalization (cont.) Issues in EC-based one-to-one marketing Customer loyalty—degree to which customer stays with vendor or brand Important element in consumer purchasing behavior One of the most significant contributors to profitability Increase profits Strengthen market position Become less sensitive to price competition Increase cross-selling success Save costs, etc. 29
- 30. Matching Products with Customers: Personalization (cont.) Issues in EC-based one-to-one marketing Meeting customers cognitive needs—organize customer service to meet needs of each skill set Novice Intermediate Expert E-loyalty—customer’s loyalty to an e-tailer Learn about customers’ needs Interact with customers Provide customer service 30
- 31. Matching Products with Customers: Personalization (cont.) Issues in EC-based one-to-one marketing Trust in EC Deterrence-based trust—threat of punishment Knowledge-based trust—grounded in knowledge about trading partners Identification-based trust—empathy and common values between partners Value of EC referrals Word-of-mouth Delivery of good or service sparks other users 31
- 32. Figure 3.5 The EC Trust Model Source: Lee and Turban (2001) 32
- 33. Matching Products with Customers: Personalization (cont.) Personalization Process of matching content, services, or products to individuals’ preferences Alternative methods Solicit information from users Use cookies to observe online behavior Use data or Web mining Personalization applied through Rule-based filtering Content-based filtering Constraint-based filtering Learning-agent technology 33
- 34. Matching Products with Customers: Personalization (cont.) Personalization (cont.) Collaborative filtering examples Backfilp.com—recommends restaurants C5solutions.com—personalized messages via cell phones Mysimon.com—assists in purchase decisionmaking process based on user information Legal and ethical issues Privacy issues Permission-based personalization tools 34
- 35. Delivering Customer Service in Cyberspace Customer service Traditional: do the work for the customer EC delivered: gives tools to the customer to do the work for him/herself (log: tracking, troubleshooting, FAQ) with Improved communication Automated process Speedier resolution of problems 35
- 36. Delivering Customer Service in Cyberspace (cont.) Product life cycle and customer service Phases of product life cycle Requirements : assisting the customer to determine needs Acquisition : helping the customer to acquire a product or service Ownership : supporting the customer on an ongoing basis Retirement : helping the client to dispose of a service or product Service must be provided in all of them 36
- 37. Delivering Customer Service in Cyberspace (cont.) E-service—online help for online transactions Foundation of service—responsible and effective order fulfillment Customer-centered services—order tracing, configuration, customization, security/trust Value-added services--dynamic brokering, online auctions, online training and education 37
- 38. Delivering Customer Service in Cyberspace (cont.) Customer relationship management (CRM) CRM in action—customer-focused EC Make it easy for customers to do business online Business processes redesigned from customer’s point of view Design a comprehensive, evolving EC architecture Foster customer loyalty by: Personalized service Streamline business processes Own customer’s total experience 38
- 39. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Customer service functions Provide search and comparison capabilities Provide free products and services Provide specialized information and services Allow customers to order customized products and services Enable customers to track accounts or order status 39
- 40. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (cont.) Customer service tools Personalized Web pages Used to record purchases and preference Direct customized information to customers efficiently FAQs Customers find answers quickly Not customized, no personalized feeling and no contribution to relationship marketing 40
- 41. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (cont.) Tracking tools Customers track their orders saving time and money for all Example: FedEx’s package tracking Customer service tools (cont.) Chat rooms—discuss issues with company experts and with other customers E-mail and automated response Disseminate general information Send specific product information Conduct correspondence regarding any topic (mostly inquiries from customers) 41
- 42. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (cont.) Customer service tools (cont.) Help desks and call centers A comprehensive customer service entity EC vendors take care of customer service issues communicated through various contact channels Telewebs combine Web channels (automated e-mail reply) Web knowledge bases (portal-like self service) Call center agents or field service personnel Troubleshooting tools—assist customers in solving their own problems 42
- 43. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (cont.) Justifying customer service and CRM programs—2 problems Most of the benefits are intangible Substantial benefits reaped only from loyal customers, after several years Metrics—standards to determine appropriate level of customer support Response and download times Up-to-date site and availability of relevant content Others 43
- 44. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Examples of superb customer service 1-800-FLOWERS Buy by telephone, retail shops, and online Online and offline promotions E-mail order confirmation Blackstar (music retailer) Thanks customers by email Provides toll-free telephone number Provides tracking system Amazon.com Convenience, selection, value, special services E-mail order confirmation Personalized services Federal Express (FedEx) Package tracking service Ability to calculate delivery costs, online shipping forms, arrange pickup, find local drop box 44
- 45. Market Research for EC Aim– find relationship between Consumers Products Marketing methods Marketers through information In order to improve customer service Discover marketing opportunities and issues Establish marketing plans Better understand the purchasing process Evaluate marketing performance 45
- 46. Figure 3.6 Market Research Process Market segmentation—divide consumer market into groups to conduct marketing research, advertising, sales 46
- 47. Market Research for EC (cont.) Conducting online market research— powerful tool for research regarding: Consumer behavior Discover of new markets Consumer interest in new products Internet-based market research Interactive—allowing personal contact Gives better understanding of customer, market, and competition 47
- 48. Table 3.2 Online Market Research Process & Results Online market research methods—fast, cheap, data collection Source: Based on Vassos (1996), pp. 66-68. 48
- 49. Market Research for EC (cont.) Online market research methods (cont.) Conducting Web-based surveys Limitations of online research Not suitable for every customer or product Skewed toward highly educated males with high disposable income May be unreliable, biased More knowledge is needed 49
- 50. Market Research for EC (cont.) Online market research methods (cont.) Data mining—searching for valuable business information in extremely large databases New business opportunities generated by conducting: Automated prediction of trends and behaviors Automated discovery of previously unknown patterns and relationships Web mining—mining meaningful patterns from Web resources 50
- 51. Market Research for EC (cont.) Datamining (cont.) Major characteristics and objectives of data mining: Relevant data difficult to find in huge databases Tools help find information buried in corporate files or public records “ Miner” uses “data drills” for easy access to answers, may find valuable, unexpected results Tools combined with spreadsheets for easy analysis of results Yields: associations, sequences, classifications, clusters, forecasting 51
- 52. Market Research for EC (cont.) Limitations of online market research too much data may be available—need business intelligence to organize, edit, condense, and summarize it accuracy of responses loss of respondents because of equipment problems ethics and legality of Web tracking 52
- 53. Market Research for EC (cont.) Online shoppers tend to be wealthy, employed, and well educated The lack of clear understanding of the online communication process and how online respondents think and interact in cyberspace 53
- 54. Figure 3.7 A Framework for Classifying EC Agents The purchasing decisionmaking process: agent classification 54
- 55. Intelligent Agents in Customer-related Applications (cont.) Need identification—helps determine what to buy to satisfy a specific need by looking for specific products information and critically evaluating them Examples: Salesmountain.com—specifically requested items for individual customers Discogs.com—sample and buy music Netcactus.com—help choose gifts Querybot.com/shopping—looks for deals and finds related information on requested items 55
- 56. Intelligent Agents in Customer-related Applications (cont.) Product brokering Example: Firefly Used a collaborative filtering process that could be described as “word-of-mouth” to build the profile Asked a consumer to rate a number of products Matched his ratings with the ratings of other consumers Relied on the ratings of other consumers with similar tastes, recommended products that he has not yet rated 56
- 57. Intelligent Agents in Customer-related Applications (cont.) Merchant brokering—intelligent agents for finding vendors Bargainfinder from Andersen Consulting (first product brokering agent—no longer exists) Queried the price of a specific CD from a number of online vendors and returned a list of prices (unsuccessful) Jango (embedded in excite program) Originates the requests from the user’s site instead of from Jango’s ⇒ vendors have no way to determine whether the request is from a real customer or from the agent Provides product reviews 57
- 58. Intelligent Agents in Customer-related Applications (cont.) Merchant brokering (cont.) Kasbah from MIT Lab (product & services comparison agent)—no longer operating Users wanting to sell or to buy a product, assign the task to an agent who is then sent out to proactively seek buyers or sellers Purchase and delivery—arrange payment and delivery of goods After sale service and evaluation— automatic answering agents respond to customer queries and remind them of maintenance needs 58
- 59. Intelligent Agents in Customer-related Applications (cont.) Negotiation—price and other terms of transactions are determined Kasbah Multiple agents—users create agents for the purpose of selling or buying goods 3 strategies: anxious, cool-headed and frugal Tete-@-tete (no longer in operation) Parameters: price, warranty, delivery time, service contracts, return policy, loan option and other value added services Use information acquired during the first two stages of the purchasing decision model to evaluate each single offer 59
- 60. Intelligent Agents in Customer-related Applications (cont.) Other EC agents Auction support agents Fraud and detection protection agents Character-based interactive (animated) agents Learning agent 60
- 61. Intelligent Agents in Customer-related Applications (cont.) Organizational buyer behavior Purchase same products as individuals Transaction volumes much larger Terms of negotiations and purchasing more complex Purchasing process more important than to an individual buyer Behavioral model of organizational buyers Influencing variables different from those of individual buyers Organization purchasing guidelines and constraints Interpersonal influences are factors (authority) Group decision making 61
- 62. Organizational Buyer Behavior Internet Marketing in B2B (cont.) Organizational buyer behavior number of organizational buyers is much smaller than the number of individual buyers transaction volumes are far larger terms of negotiations and purchasing are more complex 62
- 63. Figure 3.8 A Model of Business Buyer Behavior 63
- 64. Organizational Buyer Behavior Internet Marketing in B2B (cont.) Methods for B2B online marketing Targeting customers contact all of its targeted customers individually when they are part of a welldefined group affiliation service advertising Electronic wholesalers intermediary sells directly to businesses, but does so exclusively online 64
- 65. Organizational Buyer Behavior Internet Marketing in B2B (cont.) Other B2B marketing services Digital Cement provides corporate marketing portals that help companies market their products to business customers National Systems tracks what is going on in an industry Business Town provides information and services to small businesses, including start-ups Vantagenet offers free tools that help increase traffic to a company’s Web site 65
- 66. Organizational Buyer Behavior Internet Marketing in B2B (cont.) Affiliate programs Placing banners on another vendor’s Web site Content alliance program in which content is exchanged so that all can obtain some free content Infomediaries Online data mining services 66
- 67. Management Issues Understanding consumers Consumers and technology Response time Intelligent agents Market research CRM and EC integration Measuring customers’ satisfaction from a Web site 67
- 68. CRM Applications and Tools (cont.) 68
- 69. CRM Applications and Tools (cont.) 69