I am sure most will agree that an online business that does not have to deal with consumer perceived risk is few-and-far-between. Every day, people put their trust into a company and expect to receive what they paid for. Whether it is getting your product on time, in good shape, as advertised, or simply to know that your personal information is protected, a business must take into consideration the ethical routine in the information they hold. This blog will express why I feel combating perceived risk is crucial for the longevity of your firm.
To start off, let’s look at a company who seems to be using a solid foundation for this universal problem. A few weeks ago, I was watching TV and a commercial popped up for Pizza Hut. They mentioned how people can order pizza online. I decided to test out this system. I went to Pizzahut.com, followed the directions for ordering online – and forty-five minutes later heard a knock on my door. This knock was not arbitrary – this knock was from a pizza delivery guy conducting business because I felt confident enough in Pizza Hut’s system to place an online order.
Though there are several framework models for perceived risk, I will address only two. Financial risk and source risk. Financial risk usually comes into play when the consumer wonders to themselves if this product is worth the price they must pay. This can sometimes be offset with coupons, special discounts, and incentives-to-buy. Pizza Hut’s https://quikorder.pizzahut.com/phorders2/deals.php does a fine job of offering special deals for your local area for ordering online. If people can save a few dollars on a pizza by ordering online, why wouldn’t they? A few dollars on a $20 pizza is quite a margin.
Next, Pizza Hut tackles the problem of source risk. This will sometimes occur when the customer does not feel confident about the firm itself and wonders of the reliability of the company. Pizza Hut confronts this indirectly by having brick-and-mortar establishments. Research shows that people are more likely to trust “click-and-mortars” than pure players because they feel like if a problem arises, they can go into the local branch and solve it. Furthermore, Pizza Hut’s site has a “contact us” and a clear privacy policy aiding to the settling of potential customers worries.
So, in my opinion, Pizza Hut uses a great system to deal with perceived risk when it comes to pizza lovers. Though they gain a strong advantage because of their physical locations, they still minimize financial and source risk with the techniques listed above. And though I had to test the system out for myself, I will not hesitate next time to place an order online.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Blog 3 - Matty P's 7 C's
Few of us, unless in the industry, truly understand the schematics and design strategy of a successful and profitable web page. We go about surfing our web, checking our email, and purchasing our items without knowing, and possibly caring what actions the marketer took to get you there. Centsports.com is an online gambling site based on advertising and community. The user pays nothing out of their pocket because they watch ads from various businesses in exchange for a small amount to bet with. For this blog, I will discuss why Centsports.com does a second-to-none job at accomplishing what most call “the 7 C’s of web design.”
1) Context – or the layout/design of the page. Centsports.com uses colors and layout that most monitors have little trouble displaying. Research shows that a dark background [somewhat like this blog, ironically] will not display as sharp as it could with a high definition monitor. This means older screens may have trouble. Centsports.com alleviates this by using the color scheme they do.
2) Content – or the text, pictures, and audio/video aspect. Their logo is easy on the eyes and the text is informative. They have directions easy to follow for new users and just enough advertising to keep veteran users from becoming annoyed.
3) Community – or the user-to-user part. Centsports.com keeps the people talking by allowing your friends to comment on your bonehead bets. Even better, if you sign up a “crony,” you will earn 5% of their winnings – paid by the advertisers for life.
4) Customization – or personalization. Centsports.com allows people to display their bets on facebook.com to show how well they know sports. This feature proves useful because people are personalizing their facebook account with this business – creating, if nothing else, buzz.
5) Communication – or site-to-user. A good web site should allow the users to contact the webmaster at any given point. Centsports clearly displays the “contact us” link possibly easing people’s minds.
6) Connection – also known as linkages to other sites and vice versa. As mentioned before, Censports.com uses the advertising e-business model based on community. Skyscraper ads frequent the site along with very modern animated and filmed scroll-over’s. Further, facebook.com, as written above is at the top of the screen making it easily taking the helms to other sites.
7) Commerce – or the commercial transactions. I already mentioned how the site makes money; but what about the user? Once you reach $10 you can cash out – filling your own pockets and leaving you with a sense of accomplishment by taking nothing, and making it something.
All in all, Centsports.com accomplishes the 7 C’s just fine – making me consistently come back.
update: 15 Jan 2010
current Centsports.com balance = $120
1) Context – or the layout/design of the page. Centsports.com uses colors and layout that most monitors have little trouble displaying. Research shows that a dark background [somewhat like this blog, ironically] will not display as sharp as it could with a high definition monitor. This means older screens may have trouble. Centsports.com alleviates this by using the color scheme they do.
2) Content – or the text, pictures, and audio/video aspect. Their logo is easy on the eyes and the text is informative. They have directions easy to follow for new users and just enough advertising to keep veteran users from becoming annoyed.
3) Community – or the user-to-user part. Centsports.com keeps the people talking by allowing your friends to comment on your bonehead bets. Even better, if you sign up a “crony,” you will earn 5% of their winnings – paid by the advertisers for life.
4) Customization – or personalization. Centsports.com allows people to display their bets on facebook.com to show how well they know sports. This feature proves useful because people are personalizing their facebook account with this business – creating, if nothing else, buzz.
5) Communication – or site-to-user. A good web site should allow the users to contact the webmaster at any given point. Centsports clearly displays the “contact us” link possibly easing people’s minds.
6) Connection – also known as linkages to other sites and vice versa. As mentioned before, Censports.com uses the advertising e-business model based on community. Skyscraper ads frequent the site along with very modern animated and filmed scroll-over’s. Further, facebook.com, as written above is at the top of the screen making it easily taking the helms to other sites.
7) Commerce – or the commercial transactions. I already mentioned how the site makes money; but what about the user? Once you reach $10 you can cash out – filling your own pockets and leaving you with a sense of accomplishment by taking nothing, and making it something.
All in all, Centsports.com accomplishes the 7 C’s just fine – making me consistently come back.
update: 15 Jan 2010
current Centsports.com balance = $120
Friday, October 3, 2008
Blog 2 - Matty P's Driving Like Breeze
A few years ago, I used to drive around a rare car called a VW Corrado. It was a specialty “ride” only produced for a few seasons and only available in the States from 1990-1994. To say the least, I was proud of my jet black VR6, 200 HP cruisin’ machine. But something was missing; I needed one last push to make this car too cool for school. “What push is this guy talking about?” you may be asking yourself. Simple, my Corrado needed some ‘pimped out’ rims. So I drove around to a few tire shops and started looking for the wheel that caught my eye. I wanted something not too flashy, something low profile, and something without too much chrome. Unfortunately, all the places I visited only had a finite selection with nothing I would ever strap on my baby’s feet. So I had a problem – I needed customization – I needed Customwheel.com.
Customwheel.com, a Tennessee based niche that specializes in one thing – rims. Whether it is wheels for you car, motorcycle, or even golf cart – this is the place to visit. The selection, and customer service is bar none unbeatable. I saved $200 by ordering with these guys – and would do it again if I am ever in this market yet over. This Blog will explain why I personally believe Customwheel.com is a phenomenal niche.
To start things off, Customwheel.com serves a narrow market whose consumers are trying to meet a specific need – wheels. If I was a betting man, [guilty] I would gamble that the majority of people reading this are not in the market for new “rims for their rides.” Only a small percentage of you are looking-to-buy. This fits in well with the definition of a niche market because these sets of needs can be separated from the broader market.
Second, this firm gains competitive advantage by specialization. The tire shops I visited in person were just that – tire shops. They seemed equally concerned about the tires and wheels – consequently lowering their selection of rims. Customwheel.com does not have this problem. They sell one thing and one thing only. This makes for a broader product line, simpler distribution channels, and less volatility in the supply chain making prices a little cheaper than its brick and mortar competitors.
And finally, this site is smaller in size making the likelihood of other bigger competitors pushing them out slim. Custom rims for your golf cart is not something most people are thinking about. Customwheel.com figured this out and turned a profit because they realized the possible growth potential and the unlikelihood of being forced out of business due to big-box competition.
To sum it up, this site gains niche-like attributes a few ways. By serving a narrow market – Customwheel.com fits customer needs that cannot be met elsewhere. Specializing in wheels gives the consumer cheaper prices and higher customer service. And the size of the firm leads me to believe the chance of getting muscled out of business by bigger companies is relatively low.
Customwheel.com, a Tennessee based niche that specializes in one thing – rims. Whether it is wheels for you car, motorcycle, or even golf cart – this is the place to visit. The selection, and customer service is bar none unbeatable. I saved $200 by ordering with these guys – and would do it again if I am ever in this market yet over. This Blog will explain why I personally believe Customwheel.com is a phenomenal niche.
To start things off, Customwheel.com serves a narrow market whose consumers are trying to meet a specific need – wheels. If I was a betting man, [guilty] I would gamble that the majority of people reading this are not in the market for new “rims for their rides.” Only a small percentage of you are looking-to-buy. This fits in well with the definition of a niche market because these sets of needs can be separated from the broader market.
Second, this firm gains competitive advantage by specialization. The tire shops I visited in person were just that – tire shops. They seemed equally concerned about the tires and wheels – consequently lowering their selection of rims. Customwheel.com does not have this problem. They sell one thing and one thing only. This makes for a broader product line, simpler distribution channels, and less volatility in the supply chain making prices a little cheaper than its brick and mortar competitors.
And finally, this site is smaller in size making the likelihood of other bigger competitors pushing them out slim. Custom rims for your golf cart is not something most people are thinking about. Customwheel.com figured this out and turned a profit because they realized the possible growth potential and the unlikelihood of being forced out of business due to big-box competition.
To sum it up, this site gains niche-like attributes a few ways. By serving a narrow market – Customwheel.com fits customer needs that cannot be met elsewhere. Specializing in wheels gives the consumer cheaper prices and higher customer service. And the size of the firm leads me to believe the chance of getting muscled out of business by bigger companies is relatively low.
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