Page 302 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

288 9 Marketing and Advertising in E-Commerce

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 5. Some people claim that they trust traditional media adver-
tising (e.g., newspaper) over online ads (e.g., Richter
1. How can you describe the buying decision process when 2014). Others disagree. Debate the issue.
the customer is online and looking for an iPhone? What
can a webstore do to attract this customer to purchase
from their store? INTERNET EXERCISES
2. Why is personalization becoming an important element
in EC? What techniques can be used to learn about con- 1. Surf homedepot.com and check whether (and how) the
sumer behavior? How can personalization be used to company provides service to customers. Look for their
facilitate customer service? Give an example. virtual designs. Particularly, check the “kitchen and bath
3. Watch the videos “Wherever You Want to Go” (from design center” and other self-configuration assistance.
BMW; youtube.com/playlist?list=PL53450A123A3A Relate this to market research.
DCE2), and Burger King’s “Sign and Race” (youtube. 2. Examine a market research website (e.g., nielsen.com).
com/watch?v=qab5PH43sok) and also find articles Discuss what might motivate a consumer to provide feed-
about them. Write a report on what made these videos so back to market research questions used by this company.
successful. 3. Enter mysimon.com and share your experiences about
4. Discuss why banners are popular in Internet advertising. how the information you provide might be used by the
What kinds of products may or may not be suitable for company for marketing in a specific industry (e.g.,
banners? clothing).
5. Discuss the advantages and limitations of registering a 4. Enter marketingterms.com and conduct a search by
company’s URL with various search engines. keywords and by category. Look at their marketing glos-
6. Explain why online ad management is critical. What are sary. Check the definitions of any 10 key terms in this
the major concerns for a company managing its own chapter.
online ad program? 5. Enter 2020research.com, infosurv.com, and marketing-
7. Explain the advantages of using chatterbots. Are there sherpa.com and identify areas about market research on
any disadvantages? Find information about their influ- consumer behavior. Write a summary of your findings.
ence on online consumer shopping behavior. 6. Enter yume.com and find their video ad activities and
8. Discuss the benefits of using software agents in marketing reports. Write a summary.
and advertising. Discuss whether a bargaining agent 7. Enter selfpromotion.com and nielsen-online.com.
online (an agent that can interact with potential customers What Internet traffic management, Web results, and
to settle a discount price) can help the webstore’s sales. auditing services are provided? What are the benefits of
9. Discuss the advantages and limitations of three methods each service? Compare the services provided and their
of data collection about individual online consumer costs.
behavior. 8. Enter adweek.com, wdfm.com, ad-tech.com, adage.
10. Discuss the benefits of video ads in the social network- com, and other online advertising websites to find new
ing environment. developments in Internet advertising. Write a report
based on your findings.
9. Enter clickz.com and find its market research topics.
TOPICS FOR CLASS DISCUSSION Summarize your findings.
AND DEBATES 10. Enter adobe.com/marketing-cloud.html. How does
this product help with site optimization? What other ser-
1. Some say that people come to social networks to socialize vices does it provide?
and they will disregard, disable, or not accept ads. Others 11. What resources do you find to be most useful at target-
say that people do not mind the ads, but they ignore them. marketingmag.com, clickz.com, admedia.org, mar-
Discuss. ketresearch.com, and wdfm.com? Describe useful
2. What strategic implications do you see for companies that information for online marketing that you have found
use videos, mobile devices, and social networks as plat- from these websites.
forms for advertising? Discuss. 12. Enter zoomerang.com and learn how it facilitates online
3. Debate: Will traditional advertising (TV, newspapers, surveys. Examine the various products, including those
billboards) disappear in the future? that supplement the surveys. Write a report.
4. Debate: Netflix.com, Amazon.com, and others view his- 13. Enter pewinternet.org and pewresearch.org. What
torical purchases as input in their recommendation sys- research do they conduct that is relevant to B2C? To
tems. Some believe that this is an invasion of privacy. B2B? Write a report.