Question

1. Explain the concept of “consumer experience.” What is its relevance to Internet marketing? Contrast that with the role of the consumer experience in the offline retailing environment. How would one create a complimentary experiences online and in a physical space?

2. How does a marketer know when a site should simply be improved upon and when it should be completely redesigned and relaunched?

3. The Internet has the capacity to increase customer expectations about service levels and to be the vehicle that delivers service that meets or exceeds those expectations. Take a position on this statement and discuss it.

Answer 1

1. Consumer experience is the impact of your brand, product or service on the consumer when he interacts with you at your sales point or online with your website. The website or online portal is what will create the perception of you and your brand.

The consumer experience has taken a unique and new dimension by the introduction of technology and internet marketing. Earlier the touch point was the customer to sales staff or customer to the tele-caller. The service standard was defined by many parameters like which employee took the call, his training and the employee’s mood etc.

With the introduction of the internet, marketing also known as e-commerce the first point of contact is the company’s website. The more friendly and easy to navigate the better the customer experience. The competition makes it tough for e-commerce as the customers compare between different websites to check out prices, offers, ease of use and lastly how fast they deliver the product. Another key deciding point is the after sales support in case of product quality complaint or a product return required.

The purpose of enhancing and maximizing the customer experience is to get a customer to navigate your site and then to retain the customer. It is easy to understand the taste and habits of a customer as all the data of browsing and buying is stored in the web portal. You can easily check the frequency of purchase, type of purchase and forecast his future demands.

Online it is difficult to see the impact of your product or service and you are dependent on the customer’s buying and browsing pattern. In the case of retail shopping, you can try to impress the customer with your knowledge of the product and handle their queries and concerns immediately. In case of personnel in shop experience, the customer is available and enjoying the in-store experience he or she can feel and touch the product. The consumer can also get a product demo. In the case of online marketing, the consumer can go through a range of websites and make a comparative study. You have the ease of buying from the comfort of your home and saved from the hassle of driving and parking etc.

The internet marketing is becoming a huge success with today’s generation who are short on time and are net savvy. They like to compare many options, check the offers and then get the product door delivered.

In physical space, you can create a complimentary experience by offering beverages, making the interaction pleasant and warm, have a special customers lounge for them to feel welcome. In online shopping, you can offer discounts on bulk purchases or reward regular customers with special offers and thank you messages.

The internet marketing and physical stores both have their advantages and disadvantages but we can use both successfully to create a unique user experience, as there are many customers who use both the methods of marketing.

1. The marketer will know that the site needs to revamped or re-launched when the number of hits and visitors slow down. There are many other factors which will impact the need for change which is as follows:

• Change in organizations product line and visions and mission
• The introduction of new competition which has a swank new website
• The website looks old and has been in use for several years and the customers are not visiting it as often as before
• You have a new product or service to launch then you need to rework your design and online strategy.
• Your website is not fitting in with the modern technology and website works really slow
• The new images don’t fit in and the whole website needs to be relaunched.
• The current generation and your website doesn’t match.
• The feedback from your consumers indicate difficulty in navigating through your website
• The user experience is not great.
• The words are obsolete and are not getting enough hits

“*as per guidelines can answer up to 4 questions or 4 parts.” Pls resubmit question 3.