Blog 6

“Customer Experience Audit & Prototype” was our main project of “Customer Insights”. First of all, I have to say that the project was really useful to apply class concepts and also to learn more about customer behaviour. Now, I am going to talk about the two main things that I learned doing this project. I could talk about more things, but I will highlight only the most interesting ones.

Firstly, I believe that the project was really useful to realize that it is crucial to understand your target audience. Generally, companies produce a product/service in order to catch the eye of a particular kind of consumer. Companies rarely use an undifferentiated strategy. In our case, we had to choose a particular “persona” at the beginning of the project. After choosing our “persona” (a girl between 13-15 years old) we tried to understand how she though, what needs she had, what interests she had, and everything related with her. Her personality and lifestyle were also important to take into consideration so as to better understand her needs and behaviours. Obviously, we had some preconceived ideas about our “persona” because all team members had been teenagers before. However, after carrying out some research, it was interesting to notice that things have changed considerably during these last few years. Consequently, we had to change some of our initial thoughts. Certainly, we made big efforts trying to understand perfectly our “persona”. From my point of view, it is vital to gain deep insights of your “persona” because if you do not understand your audience, it is not possible to offer the best option/solution for them.

Another important thing that I learned when doing the project is that qualitative research and quantitative research are different and companies need both methodologies. They are two powerful tools with different functions. As we have mentioned previously, our research was really useful to better understand our “persona”. We chose to complete the generative methodology (qualitative research) first with the hope of knowing better our “persona” and gaining some insights. Our qualitative research consisted of a photo journal. After completing the generative research, we sent out a survey to our research participants via email. Here, our aim was to validate some conclusions that we found with the photo journal. It is important to notice that companies need both of them. Carry out only a qualitative research is not coherent. Similarly, it is not coherent to carry out only a quantitative research. If companies do both, they can draw better conclusions.

After talking about my key leanings, I want to explain the experiences that I had during the process. First of all, I have to say that I usually work in teams in my university. In Spain, we usually have group projects in every class, so it was not a new thing for me. Despite of this, I have to say that it was a little bit different for me because I’m an exchange student. At the beginning it was quite difficult because of the language, but then, I become more confident and I tried to participate more. All my team-mates helped me to make up with the group. We work weekly in the project and as time went by, we became more effective. I believe that all team members contributed a lot with the project and I also think that we did a good job overall. Regarding the instructor, I have to say that it was really clear what he wanted in every stage of the project. Moreover, I think that the feedback he provided in every presentation was really useful to improve for next presentations. Finally, I think that working in groups is vital for us. Companies usually work with groups. For this reason, we have to learn to work in a group. Companies do not hire people who do not know how to work with others. They hire people with communication skills who know how to interact and work with others.

Blog 5- Social Media

As we know, the term social media refers to media created by users. It is also important to notice that social media differs considerably from mass media. For example, mass media is relatively cheaper than mass media. Usually it is more expensive to communicate something buy using newspapers, television or radio than using some sort of social media. Furthermore, the user interaction is really important in the social media while users can not participate actively in mass media. Despite these differences, I think that the most interesting common characteristic between these two types of media is that they can persuade a huge audience.

After establishing some differences between social media and mass media, we have to say that social media has increased its popularity over the past few years. Nowadays lots of companies are using social media as a way of gaining insights and create customer experiences. We could talk about different kinds of social media applications such as blogs, social networking applications, photo sharing applications, but I will focus on video sharing applications.

Companies usually use their own websites in order to promote their products or services. However, they know that if they use the Web 2.0 concept, they can persuade more people. Probably, the best example and the most successful video sharing application is Youtube. Everyone knows that this social media application is an incredible marketing tool. Firstly, we could say that its main advantage is that it totally free; it has no cost for the user. Another point worth mentioning is that the message can flow really quickly and crate buzz.

Talking about social media in general, it is important to notice that they are not only useful for companies. A particular person, an association and other kind of entities could use these applications. For example, I know and interesting case about the Lleida city council. Lleida is a small city from Spain which has just built an airport. The city council has published a video in Youtube in order to promote the airport. They believe that the airport will attract more visitors and professional talent to the city.

Finally, regarding http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist I have to say that it is a really interesting tool. I believe that the “Trend for Websites” is a very useful tool because you can see visitors by region and related sites visited. With this information you can learn customer’s preferences by region. “Google Trends” is also an incredible tool. If you are doing marketing research on a topic, you could know how relevant that topic is today.

In conclusion, Web 2.0 is playing a main role today. If companies know how to use these applications in a proper way, they could persuade more customers. Furthermore, not only companies can use these tools. Also people and other entities can use social media applications as promotional tools.

BLOG 4

Nowadays there are a lot of companies which use technology in order to capture data about their consumers. Then, they use this information to better fulfill their needs. Some companies have improved considerably due to the captured data. However, some people are worried about privacy issues.

First of all, I have to say that I am not a client of Wal-Mart because in Spain there are not Wal-Mart stores. For this reason, I do not really know if they have been successful at converting the data into an experience. Obviously, the best way to evaluate Wal-Mart’s improvements is to talk with their clients. They will tell you if the company has improved as a result of the data captured about their shopping habits.

Another point worth mentioning is privacy. Sometimes it is difficult to imagine the information that companies store about their consumers. For example, as we noticed when reading the article, Wal-Mart has access to information about driver’s license and Social Security numbers, geographic proclivities, etc. That fact means that Wal-Mart considers data as a priority. But, the problem is that some consumers are concerned with privacy.

In my opinion, it is reasonable that companies use some information about their consumers in order to better satisfy their needs. If companies use this data to improve their products and services, consumers will be willing to pay more because the products and services will have more value. As a result, companies could increase its profitability.

Despite of these advantages for clients and also for companies, I think that some limits are needed when capturing data from consumers. In my opinion, it is not justifiable that companies such as Wal-Mart have information about court dates, creditworthiness, etc. I also think that transparency is crucial. That means that consumers should know what kind of information the company store about them. For example, I think that “data enhancement” could be risky for consumers. As we learned from the article, data enhancement consists of capturing additional information from consumers buy using consumers’ name and address or telephone number.
Talking about the particular case of Wal-Mart, I do not really know if the company is using the data in a proper and coherent way because I have never bought in Wal-Mart and I have never give information about me to the company. Before giving personal information, I think that is very important to trust the company.

Finally, another interesting point to consider is the supply chain. As we know, Wal-Mart is using the strategy “every-day low prices” and it is always looking for efficiency. Consequently, Wal-Mart has reduced profitability of its suppliers. In my opinion Wal-Mart could use the technology to help suppliers. Given the huge amount of data that Wal-Mart has, it could provide information to their suppliers in order to establish better relationships.

In conclusion, technology is playing a main role in business. Lots of companies use the technology to capture data and better satisfy their consumers’ needs. Probably, this trend will be beneficial for consumers and companies. However, companies should be aware that they have to use this information in a proper and coherent way. If not, they could lose consumers.

Blog 3 - Innovation

Nowadays innovation has acquired high relevance. It is obvious that innovation is not a new concept. Society has evolved due to innovation. At the same time, the economy has also evolved due to innovation. However, it seems that today innovation has increased its importance. As we could read in the article “The New, Faster Face of Innovation”, “technology is transforming innovation at its core”. In other words, technology is advancing rapidly. Consequently, innovation is also advancing really quickly.

In my opinion, a good example of innovation is a social networking website. Maybe, for our generation it is really normal to talk about different kind of social networking websites such us Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. However, when our parents were our age, this idea was unimaginable. Some people think that these social networking websites have negative impacts on society because people use less personal-direct communication. I do not agree. I think that this innovation provide us another kind of communication, the non-direct communication.

I believe that it is an innovative and creative tool because it offers the opportunity to communicate with others when you do not have time to talk personally with them or for example when you are not in the same place. For example, Facebook is really useful for me because I am studying the Fall Semester in Austin but I have the majority of my family and friends in Spain. Then, using Facebook, I can explain them all about my experience in Austin without paying anything. This fact is not the only positive thing. I also think that is really creative because I have the possibility to see photos of my family and friends. For me, it is a way of knowing about their life.

In spite of these positive points, I believe that there is a main problem when talking about social networking websites. If you spend too much time using Facebook, it could be a way of isolation. The lesson that we should learn here is that despite the progresses and innovations, we should take into consideration that we need the personal-direct communication.

After talking about one example of an innovative and creative service, I think that we could talk about how innovation is affecting the world of business. As we notice in the article “The New, Faster Face of Innovation” companies know that the research and development department has increased its importance and consequently, firms should think about innovation continuously. Today, if you do not invest money in innovation, you reduce your opportunities to grow and expand you business. Contrarily, companies that think about innovation in an ongoing basis are more likely to maintain a competitive advantage.

Another interesting idea of the article is that companies are paying lower prices to conduct tests of new ideas. Consequently, companies could be more daring because the lower cost of failure. This new environment of constant innovation will have two main implications. First of all, as we notice in the article, the role of employees will change considerably because they will take part in experiments and new ideas. Secondly, I think that this environment will be very beneficial for customers. If companies innovate constantly, then, the quality of products and services will increase.

As we notice, technology and innovation are playing a main role in our society. Every day, companies invent new product, new services, new ideas…; we do not really know where the end is!

Blog 2 - The effects of expectations

By reading the chapter “The Effect of Expectations” we could say that the main lesson is that our expectations determine and influence part of our thoughts and decisions. By saying this, I mean that sometimes is difficult to change the preconceived ideas that someone have about something. For example, if I talk with one of my best friends about a new song of our favourite music band and he says that the new song is not really good, then, I will expect a bad song. Probably, his objections about the song will influence my final opinion.
When trying to gain valuable insights, marketers should have in mind this general human behaviour. Taking into consideration that people react in a particular way because of their expectations, marketers should think as their customers think and try to view things as their customers do. If marketers understand better customer’s thoughts, then, they will be able to design better products or services for them. Another point worth mentioning is the study that some neuroscientists did with Pepsi and Coke. The main lesson of this study is that marketers should make a big effort in order to create the reputation of a brand. Then, if marketing department knows how to build strong reputation, customer associations with the brand or product will position the brand in a good place. (Having in mind that positioning is the perception of customers about your brand compared with your competitors)
It is really interesting the way that the chapter explains the phenomenon of the expectations. The example of the beer it is really meaningful. It is really curious to notice that the majority of the students without foreknowledge about the vinegar preferred the vinegary MIT Brew. But if they knew in advance that the beer contained balsamic vinegar, then, they chose the typical Budweiser. It is also interesting to see that the students’ behaviours changed a lot depending if they knew that MIT Brew contained balsamic vinegar before they tasted the beer or after.
Finally, I just want to explain another example where we can see the importance of our expectations. Last year, in one of my marketing classes in my University - ESADE Business School, Spain - we did a really interesting exercise. The first day of the “experiment” our professor brought 3 different kinds of wines. First of all, I have to say that in Spain the wine is one of the most valued beverages and we usually drink wine in the best occasions.
The 3 bottles of wine were from different brands and they had different quality. One bottle was from a really well-known and high-quality brand. Another one was a really cheap and low-quality brand, and the third one was a medium-quality brand. The experiment consisted of tasting all kind of wines, and then, we had to answer some questions about the different wines. After tasting the well-know brand, the majority of the class said that it tasted really good; it smelled really good and so on. Contrarily, after tasting the low-quality brand, the majority said that it didn’t taste really good and also said that it was a bad wine. After two weeks, the professor came to class with a different purpose. This time, he didn’t let us know what kind of wine it was. We tasted the 3 wines again. The interesting thing it was that the majority of the class didn’t put the wines in the correct order. Only few people knew which one was the best one, the medium-quality one or the worst one.
In that class we learned one thing: the expectations that all the class had on the first experiment, changed our real opinions. It was a really good exercise in order to think about the importance of expectations.

Everyone has different behaviours when buying products. I will describe 10 behaviours and characteristics of my personality:

1. When buying a product, I really appreciate the design of the product. For me, it is very important the attractiveness and the aesthetic of the product. If I do not like the design, the value of the product goes down considerably. In my opinion, an example of a company which looks after the design of its products is Apple.

2. Another point worth mentioning is the quality of the product. Obviously, the term “quality” has different meanings. For example, if I want to buy a digital camera, I look at the mega pixels, the zoom, etc. However, if I want to buy a battery, I appreciate its durability.

3. I have talked about design and quality, but I also appreciate functional products. If the product is well-designed and the quality is acceptable but the product is not functional, it is really difficult to persuade me to buy that product. In this aspect, I also appreciate instructions if the product is not easy to use.

4. I feel I can trust in some companies and consequently, I have brand loyalty in some cases. For having confidence in a brand, it has to give me more than good products. For example, I am especially interested in companies with social responsibility. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between companies which are doing good actions and enterprises which are not doing good actions. The majority of the companies talk about social responsibility, unfortunately only some of them really look after this issue.

5. Amplified product. I think the services such as warranty, after-sales service and information about how the product works are essential.

6. Since now, I have talked about my behaviours and characteristics when I buy. However, I think some of my characteristics as a young student could also be interesting and useful for a marketer. I am a very active person. I like playing sports, going out with my friends, watching movies, etc… Talking about sports, I prefer collective sports such us soccer or basketball. These kinds of sports give you the opportunity to make a lot of friends.

7. Price sensitive. If we talk about price, I have to say that I have some limitations. As a student, I do not have a lot of money. Consequently, I always pay attention to price. What is also important to consider in this point, is that every month I receive an amount of money from my parents. Then, I have to allocate my money (food, clothes, university expenses…). For these reason, I do not have a lot of money for extra-expenses or whims.

8. I do not pay so much attention to advertisements on TV. I always change the channel during the advertisements. In my opinion, there are a lot of people who does the same as me. Maybe for these reason, some companies started to think in other ways of persuading customers. Internet or “guerrilla marketing” could be examples.

9. Another characteristic about me is that I always try to think about things carefully before acting. If we translate this aspect of my personality to a customer point of view, it means that I am not a compulsive buyer.

10. Finally, I am not really patient. I do not like waiting for someone or something.

C.Insights

Bones!!! Guissona!!!