Chapter 4 Customer Interface Chapter

The 7Cs of the Customer Interface Context Site’s layout and design Content Text, pictures, sound and video that web pages contain Commerce Site’s capabilities to enable commercial transactions Community The ways sites enable user-to-user communication Connection Degree site is linked to other sites Customization Site’s ability to self-tailor to different users or to allow users to personalize the site Communication The ways sites enable site-to-user communication or two-way communication

Fit and Reinforcement of Cs Business Model Individually Supporting Fit Context Content Community Customization Communication Connection Commerce Consistent Reinforcement

Form vs. Function: The Design Context Frontier Integrated High Aesthetically Dominant AESTHETIC/ FORM Frontier is gradually moving outward as technology advances Low Functionally- Dominant Low High FUNCTION

Form vs. Function

A Framework to Understand Offering-Dominating Archetypes Multiple Superstore NUMBER OF PRODUCT CATEGORIES Specialty Store Category Killer Single Narrow Broad DEPTH OF PRODUCT LINE

Content Archetypes vs Offering Types

Is Content King?

Communities: Elements, Types, and Benefits Elements of Community Types of Communities Member Outcomes: Participation and Benefits Just Friends Degree of Participation Cohesion Effectiveness Help Relationships Language Self-regulation Enthusiasts Need Fulfillment Inclusion Mutual Influence Shared Emotional Experiences Friends in Need Players Traders

Focus vs. Interactivity Non-equilibrium state: Successfully-managed communities will move toward higher levels of interaction Games.yahoo.com Contact Consortium.com Bazaar VoxCap.com Bolt.com FOCUS Theme Park iFilm.com leonardodicaprio.com Trace.com Mall Women’s Cancer Connection Shrine Theater Cafe INTERACTIVITY

Commerce Origination vs Facilitation Commerce Facilitation Commerce originating at a site. It is achieved through acquisition of new customers and loyalty building among existing customers New Customer Acquisition Tools include: Online advertising Banner ads at other sites URL listing in industry catalogs Sponsorships of online events or of other site activities Viral marketing Marketing with the assistance of existing customers, who pass marketing messages along to friends or colleagues Examples include marketing footers at the end of user email messages, prompts inviting users to send the site URL or the output of their activity on the site to others Offline advertising Advertisements on radio, television, movie theaters Sponsorships of offline events, such as conferences on the New Economy Commerce facilitated through the intervention of a third party, directing traffic to a site. It can be achieved through affiliations and partnerships Affiliations / Partnerships How they work Home site signs up other sites in a partnership/affiliation program Affiliate sites place a link on their site that directs users to the home site In some cases, a user gets directed to a site through an affiliate while remaining in the affiliate’s URL space Participating affiliate sites receive a percentage cut (typically 5-10%) on all sales generated at the home site as a result of clickthroughs from the affiliate sites Incentives to affiliates Financial: Affiliate sites receive a percentage of the sales they generate Brand building: Being an affiliate to a well-known brand increases visibility Improved capabilities: By linking users to additional sites, affiliates can increase their breadth of offerings