Starbucks and Social Network

Social network is very important for business marketing profits. Social network helps business build a real relationship and connection with their current and potential customers. Companies use social network share and exchange worthwhile ideas and common business information. Social network helps business promote brand and its website. Through the social network, customers can directly engage with the business. From visiting the social network, it helps generate more traffic to business’s website. It creates opportunity to create buzz around the product, services and brand. Social network also help business create loyalty and trust. There are many popular social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. According to Siegler, Facebook have crossed 300 million users worldwide now and it is the biggest social network (Siegler, 2009).

Top social networking websites

Starbucks is a good example for using social network for marketing purposes. Starbucks have a unique human approach. They always put people before product. Starbucks use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Channel. There are 4,534,076 fans joined Starbucks on Facebook. Through the Facebook, Starbucks built a community which creates a loyal following. From this social network and communication channel, Starbucks are fully engaged and connected with their customers and partners. It is a place that people can meet friends. Starbucks added a tab called “Around the World” on Facebook, which connects people to Starbucks pages in other countries. It is activated in US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Singapore currently. The Facebook of Starbucks provides an opportunity for people finding more friends worldwide and shares the same or different interests. People also share their experience about Starbucks. It is a good way to interact each other. For example, people post their favorite beverages. People can post message on the wall and the discussion section. The messages will help Starbucks improve their quality of products and services. For instance, people suggested opening Starbucks in Italy and Brunei. Moreover, people posted pictures on the Facebook. As an innovative and important marketing strategy, Starbucks posted company events and notes on the Facebook. It created buzz around its product and services. For example, “Starbucks Free Pastry Day” was wildly successful.

 Last but not least, the videos that Starbucks posted on Facebook give people more opportunities to view the world and gain better understanding of Starbucks’s philosophy. For example, the CEO Howard Schultz talked about his trip to Rwanda and the impact of fair trade coffee. The story showed that Starbucks not only care about people, but also the community.

By using social networking website, Starbucks truly provided a valuable and meaningful brand experience and built great customer relationships.

 Bibliography

Siegler, MG. (2009) Facebook Crosses 300 Million Users. Oh Yeah, and They Just Went Cash Flow Positive [Internet], TechCrunch. Available from: <http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/15/facebook-crosses-300-million-users-oh-yeah-and-their-cash-flow-just-went-positive.htm > [Accessed 12 October 2009].

Starbucks Corporation (2009) [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.starbucks.com> [Accessed 8 October 2009].

Develop an Effective Web Presence – Set SMART Goals

A business or an organization use online marketing to promote their product and services in order to generate more profit. They want to add more value to the customers through their website. Therefore, an effective website planning and development are very important for online marketing. Marketers should identify their target consumers; find out consumers’ common interests, needs and expectations; and develop SMART goals when they develop an effective web presence.

Creating SMART goals are very powerful. It provides short term motivation and long term vision. It also helps business or organization to measure their achievement. A SMART goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. For example, a local food store can develop SMART organizational goals such as creating an ecommerce portion of the website to facilitate secure online transactions for certain goods offered through the retailer i.e. shelf-groceries, body care and vitamins within one year; and creating a community online for customers and visitors to communicate with other like-minded individuals who are interested in a healthy lifestyle. For example, online forums, online article base and user generated content. Marketers also need to develop SMART goals that focus on website user’s common concerns. For instance, the website is very convenient, secure, reliable and easy to use. The website should be attractive, informative, interactive and credible. For example, it includes return policy, delivery options, recipes and articles related to product and services. It also can include product comparison and recommendations.

Creating SMART goals is crucial. However, there are more important parts of developing an effective website such as identification of the core audiences and understanding the main competitors. Moreover, the website should deliver rational and emotional value to the customers, create excellent customer experience and make them feel good and are attached with the company. Finally customers like to come back again. For example, EB Games develop very attractive and effective website. It includes games, game consoles information and newsletters. Customers can easily shop by different age groups. There are products recommendations such as best sellers and coming soon games. Moreover, EB Games has a verified and secured online payment system. Last but not least, when customers visit or shop online, they can play games. It is very fun!

Mass Customization of Online Marketing

As internet has become an indispensable part to our daily life, online marketing is very prevalent nowadays. It is crucial for business success. Marketers can get large amounts of information about users from the web. Through the web analytical programs, marketers track everything that happens on a website. They keep record of user’s online activities such as how potential customers find the website, what consumer’s behaviour is, and why or why not they purchase product. The web analytical programs collect data automatically without biases. Online marketing provides company the great opportunities to develop and promote business, analyze problems and measure marketing success.

Mass customization is one of important strategies for online marketing. Customer becomes prosumer. It is value added strategy between customers and suppliers. Mass customization allows customers add more personal tastes and preferences to an individual product. The process to create the product is very attractive and interesting. It also helps customer make better purchase decision. The product becomes very unique. For example, Chocri chocolate bars, a German mass customization company will move to the US in 2010. Chocri is a customized chocolate company from Berlin. Customers can choose their own chocolate base (white, dark or milk); select personal toppings such as dry fruits, nuts, gummy bears and even spice (chives) and jalapenos. Customer can also add personalize name for their chocolate bars and wrapping paper upon checkout. From each order, Chocri can easily track not only customer’s preferences but also different nutrition requirements. Now when we give someone a piece of chocolate bar, it is more memorable and even sweeter. Chocri also creates a community on Facebook. It allows customers sharing their experience. It is a good way to build strong customer relationship.

Mass customization helps marketers finding customer’s needs, get customer involve more with product design and research. H&M creates fashion studio on its website. When customer browsing the website, they can choose their favourite model and background, by dragging the graphics (cloth and accessories) onto the model, they can create their own look. The website allow customer to save the look and share them with other people. It also provides price information and has different views of the outfit. It is very convenient and time saving for customer. They don’t need to go to the real store to try it on. They do not need to go to different store to find matching shoes or pants. It is easy to find perfect outfit just in one store. It helps customer to make best purchase decision. Meanwhile by using fashion studio, it helps marketers to analyze customer’s shopping behaviour and fashion trends. Therefore, marketers can make quick response in promotions, new product development and pricing etc.   

Ikea designs its website with room ideas and style sectors. When customer shops online, they can get free advice on how to decorate their own rooms and purchase stylish furniture with affordable price. Also by browsing the room ideas and style sectors, it stimulates more purchase.

Mass customization helps business attract more people to visit the company’s website, increase the business level, build product royalty and also help business to enhance branding of company and its products.

Internet Privacy-Building Trustworthy Relationship with Customers

Along with the rapid development of information science and technology, internet has become an indispensable part to our daily life. Nowadays we rely highly on internet not only at work but also during the leisure time. People use internet to search information, book a vacation, shop online and manage personal bank account. Moreover, people share their photos, videos and articles online such as Facebook, Windows Live Spaces and YouTube. As more people use the internet, some people try to manipulate. Internet hackers, crimes and frauds are also on the rise. Internet privacy and network security become more important.

When we use internet, many websites require us to register an account in order to get information and services. At the same time, we must enter personal information such as home address, birthday, age, gender, password or credit card information. However, we are not sure how business or organizations use that information and how they protect our privacy and keep them secure. In some situation, our personal data has been shared with third party without our permission. For example, California HealthCare Foundation reported personal information shared on health Web sites is highly vulnerable. In order to build trust and protect personal data, companies must provide privacy policies. Many companies such as Amazon and Victoria’s Secret have very detailed privacy policies explain what information is collected, how it is used and how they deal with third parties. Many companies such as Air Canada, Facebook, eBay Inc. and Apple also use TRUSTe Privacy Seal Program. TRUSTe is an organization helps business and organizations build more trust and customer confidence in the internet by promoting the use of information practices.

With the improvement of network information service, many software products have been developed to protect internet security. For example, Norton™ Internet Security 2010 has identity protection.

As a consumer, we should also gain more knowledge to protect our own privacy. For Example, learn how to use cookies and read privacy policies carefully on Web sites. As a marketer, we need to understand and follow privacy laws, continuously improve the technology and services in order to build trustworthy long term relationship with customers.

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