QR Code Did it

At first, I do not understand what a QR code is. But if you tell me it is a type of two-dimensional code, I'm clear.

I feel like that I was surrounded by the QR codes after one night when I got up in the morning. I can give this credit to the WeChat, a mobile phone text and voice communication service developed by Tencent, China, and Weibo, Chinese twitter. WeChat developed an advanced service named " My QR Name Card" recently, which means each WeChat user is given an exclusive QR code. Other user can add you as a friend by scanning your QR code instead of typing in tens of characters and search you. The following figure is my WeChat QR name card, which is shared in Weibo.

The most influential tool, which gives "WeChat QR name card" a push, must be Weibo. One day I found that I was flooded by the WeChat QR codes in the Weibo. I followed a lot of "information collectors" and newspaper/magazines in my Weibo and they all started to share their codes. Once you scanned their code, you are agreed to receive their push notifications, which can be deals, coupons, sales reminder, restaurants, hotels, travel information, product introduction, news, comments and they can even do anti-humors!!!

The advantages of QR code adoption in WeChat and Weibo are great for business. Firstly, WeChat takes the advantage of Weibo to reach more customers. Secondly, business users in Weibo utilize WeChat to penetrate the market and build customer loyalty. Thirdly, customers will not feel resistant to the push notifications since they have the authority to opt which they wanna receive from. Fourthly, once the products/deal was purchased by one customer, it is highly probably to be shared with potential customers, leading in purchase generation. It is because the users in WeChat are mostly close friends or relatives. The community-oriented marketing is convincing among friends, peers, relatives and family as we discussed in last post.

Besides the case in WeChat and Weibo, I trust the easy-creation of QR codes is another important factor leading to the QR code success. Subsequently, QR code requires fewer technology support.

I have to stop figuring out the advantages of adopting QR code in WeChat since it'is the work for Nan in her Net Tool project. lol. But the case I explained above is the most emerging change I observed in Chinese social media recently.

Then come back to QR code marketing. Have you considered which industry/customer favor QR codes? I read a great linked article titled "Marketing with QR Codes" (http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/proximity-marketing/marketing-qr-codes/) which mentioned the top 7 applications for QR codes. They are "maps and signage" "coupons and special deals" "In-store drive to web" "how to advice" "after sales care" "direct response mechanic on any advertising" and "e-ticketing". Combining the chart of "Total Audience: Scanned QR code with mobile phone" in the article of "QR code statistics" (shown as below), advertising QR codes printed in magazines/newspapers is the winner. It develops my thought to the "traditional marketing is dead" last week. Is QR code a hope to make the traditional marketing in prints prosperous again? In addition, I am not surprised to see "product packaging" takes the second position since  the two-dimensional code starts up with delivery industry to make the process effectively and conveniently. Last, I want to point out the QR code using in e-ticketing is really really great. I used to buy an event ticket on Eventbrite last week just one hour before that event start. I was in a hurry that I had no time to print the ticket out since it was time-consuming for me to find a printer. Therefore, I downloaded the app of Eventbrite. My e-ticket came up after I logged in my account and all I need to do is just present my e-ticket at the entrance of the event! That's kind of cool and convenient thing. Let's suppose that the airport adopt e-flightticket, which I trust the according app has already been created. It will great shorten the waiting time for customers to print the flight tickets in the kiosks and convenient for passengers, who have no baggage to check in, to quit the long line. Moreover, it is more environment friendly since it goes paperless! 

However, I have three concerns for the QR code marketing in current situation.

Firstly, there is still relative low customer awareness right now. Even though the QR codes can bring considerable benefits, most customers and companies haven't realized! There is still much work to do with customer education. I think the high exposure as I mentioned in Weibo case is a useful way to create public awareness.

Secondly, almost every QR code needs a reader. Therefore, customers have to download the QR code readers before using a QR code. Some customers may think it is troublesome and quit it. On one hand, customer education is important by educating the customers that the benefits they gonna received are much greater than the tiny inconvenience of downloading the QR code reader. On another hand, it is necessary to develop a standard QR code reader to make one reader can read every QR code.

Thirdly, as prof. Shari mentioned in class, the landing page of a QR code must be accurate. Otherwise, it is meaningless.

As we discussed before that customer behavior is changing that more and more people value their time and value the convenience, I trust it is a critical factor to make the QR code popular. I view the future of QR code is great brilliant and I want to extract an example from the article "why the best online marketing may be headed offline" to prove its feasibility. ( also a great article for you guys to read! http://mashable.com/2010/11/11/online-offline-marketing/) It is the greatest and most interesting result that every product has its QR code on it. And I am sure the marketing world will be shuffled again at that time!!!

"As a final example, imagine discovering that the water dispenser on your home fridge isn’t working. You open the fridge and see the indicator light informing you that your water filter cartridge needs replacing. What do you do? Will you fire up your laptop and type into a Google search box the exact model of your water filter cartridge replacement, then hunt for the best deal online? That’s what I did last year. But with any luck, next time around, a QR code will be printed on the water filter with the prompt: “Scan me to reorder.” Grabbing my phone, I scan the code, pulling up a 15% manufacturer’s discount if I order the cartridge directly. I click to buy, knowing I saved time and money, which I can now spend on more worthwhile activities."

Article: "QR code statistics" by Dave Chaffey

Link:http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/qr-code-marketing/qr-codes-location-demographic-statistics/

Importance of Peer Influence-based and Community-oriented Marketing

The title of this article, "Marketing is dead", is really arresting but after the completed reading, I feel that the title is only a stunt. Bill Lee, the author, doesn't really mean that the marketing doesn't work any more but promotes another two marketing strategies, peer influence-based and community oriented marketing.

Does these two kinds of marketing strategies matter much today? I vote "yes" on peer influence-based marketing but "no" on community oriented marketing. Here goes my own interpretations.

On one hand, the effect of peer influence-based marketing is incredible especially when combined with internet and social media. 
Bill Lee gives two great examples, Mr. Excel of Microsoft "MVP" and National Instruments, to prove the importance of customer influence. I couldn't agree more at this point. It reminds me of the "Nettwerk" case we discussed two weeks ago in MKT566 course. The Nettwerk developed the leaders of genre tribes and offered them the new hit songs or newest information of Nettwerk's artists. The followers of the tribe leaders can access to the information of beloved artists and the tribe leaders can generate prestige among its followers. In this way, Nettwerk creates buzz for its artists in the tribes and helps the tribe leaders built social capital at the same time.
This is a good marketing model but can this model be influential without internet? Definitely it can but I am sure that the influence of peer influence-based marketing will be much weaker. How to reach broad peers? How can more and more peers reach each other quickly and effectively? Which medium is the best to generate discussion and share real time peer experience? What about the convenience for peers to check peer advise? I trust internet and social media are the best answers to these questions.

On another hand, I think these question can be forward to the community-oriented marketing. It is absolutely that buying history and experience from family, friends, relatives, colleagues and classmates matter much in new purchase deciding. But I view the community-oriented marketing can only work well in local physical sales. It is more likely a city-to-city marketing strategy. In another word, community-oriented marketing is a basic component of marketing world which serves small amount of customers.
Moreover, I view marketing on the web information sharing platforms is the trend rather than marketing in the physical community.

To sum up, I view community-oriented marketing is useful to create new purchase from customers who are not viewed as target customers before and peer influence-based marketing is more effective to reach broad potential customers.


Article: "Marketing is Dead" by Bill Lee
Link: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/marketing_is_dead.html

customer behavior changed by online reviews

When you visited a vendor's page of a social website for the first time and saw several pieces customer reviews of a product you have never used before, which said "This product suck" and " I am so regret to buy it", what comes to your mind? I vote "no way" for this product in my life and would broadcast a mouth-to-mouth rumor in my friends circle if they mentioned it. "What? You mean you wanna buy xxx? Quit it! I heard it is terrible from others..."

Come on! Why do you deny the product before you give a try? The answer is online reviews! Considerable factors act on customer's purchase decision and evaluation from existing customers is the most powerful one.
Then where do most customers gather evaluations nowadays? Absolutely Internet!

According to the result of Local Consumer Review Survey, which conducted during January to March in 2012 and gathered 2,862 responses, "approximately 72% of consumers surveyed said that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations."

Why online reviews speak so loud?

Firstly, online reviews are convincing. Most reviews are written and dispersed by existing or past customers, who have the best persuasion to the new customers.
Secondly, online reviews are neutral. Most customers will give an objective evaluation on specific product according to his/her using experience. In addition, online reviews are written by reviewers voluntarily and do not involve profit between reviewers and readers so that they are neutral and objective.
Thirdly, online reviews do not cost and can be written easily and disperse easily. It doesn't cost money for readers to read nor much time for reviewers to edit. Due to the online reviews depend on the Internet, it can be browsed freely and widely.

To these aspects, vendors should take advantage of utilizing the online reviews. I trust that's why so many vendors' official websites have the category of "Best Sellers".
However, how about the vendors who suffer the disadvantages of online reviews?That is the case Pampers Dry Max faced in the "Attack of the Customers: The Pampers Dry Max Crisis" article.

We can see this case as a successful crisis public relation management. Receiving test from authorized third party (CPSC), inviting leading professions to educate customers (pediatricians), gathering dispassionate opinion leaders and concentrating on the problematic product feedback, Pampers Dry Max did a reasonable crisis PR management after the crisis happened.

But from a marketer's point, can Pampers Dry Max do better and lose less? Probably. I trust the answer can be sought in the social media.
The outrage was stoked by Facebook. P&G's representatives might receive thousands of complain calls everyday but they should pay more attention once the complain occurs in the Internet, especially on the social medias. The unsatisfied and confused Pampers Dry Max customers gathered in the Facebook, which flood the page full of complains and reasonless conclusions . That is a big mess. What if P&G team assigned one representative or leading pediatrician on its Facebook page to solve those just started confusions and complains? Will it upgrade to the conflicts happened later? Will the assumption I described at the very beginning of this post happen to the potential customers who are not clear of the truth?

As online reviews contribute more to people's purchase decisions, vendors must pay more attention to their customer reviews to either take advantages of them or avoid unfavorable influence.

Article: "Attack of the Customers: The Pampers Dry Max Crisis" by Paul.
Link: http://gillin.com/blog/2012/08/attack-of-the-customers-the-pampers-dry-max-crisis/

 

Is Google making us stupid?

I'm sorry to find myself exhausting by reading such a lengthy article.
It seems that I fit all descriptions of people using web reading mentioned in this article, fidgety, hard to concentrate, no deep reading and lose patience. I asked several classmates. One told me that she lost the desire of reading after noticing the article's length is over 3 screens. Therefore, I am not the only person freaked out by this article ;)

I do not agree with Google is making us stupid but I'm sure the internet-based reading is shifting our demands.
As technology and internet emerges, people adopt more convenient reading format other than traditional books.
Traditional books have advantages compared to e-books. To my perspective, traditional books indeed help people to do deep reading, providing space for mental connection and in-depth thinking. Sometimes a fascinating book makes me eager to finish reading at one time, forgetting eating and sleeping. However, it is hard to find this kind of feeling when I do e-reading. My thought can be dispersed by any other net tool other than Google, such as Facebook or Twitter. I used to refresh them every hour when I sit in front of my computer, which makes my reading not consistently, leading to shallow understanding. Most times when I do e-reading, I jumped from link to link and gave up after 2-4 paragraph scratching if I find I lost the interest to this article. In addition, reading too much reviews and commends by others shapes my mind.
However, I have to admit that an unbeatable advantage of e-reading is that it posed me to sufficient bunches of information, which brings me super convenience and wider updated knowledge. I can access to abundant updated news daily on political, economics, entertainment and whatever. I can do research on whatever I didn't seen before. Moreover, selective reading saves my time and makes my reading more efficiency. Google widen my knowledge coverage. I view myself smarter and more trendy with internet-based reading.

All in all, internet-based reading is the result catering to public's demand. As the speed of the society increases and competition intensifies, people are willing to gather as much information as possible in fastest pace, most convenient format and cheapest cost.
Google is not making us stupid but making us more fidgety and ambitous.

Article: "Is Google making us stupid" by Nicholas Carr

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/