Introduction to E-Commerce Tutorials
First Steps With Our Client / A Close Look at the Customers
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Subtitles of the Movie (Introduction to E-Commerce / First Steps With Our Client / A Close Look at the Customers)
No business can exist without customers. Not really a radical concept but it’s astonishing how many companies don’t know who buys their products and why they buy them, much less how much they usually spend. As the calalillycollection mission statement declares, the business is targeted directly to baby boomer women, women who are ages 41 to 59. Hanchy fits this demographic and so believes that she can accurately determine what products and marketing approaches will result in sales. It can be a very useful exercise to invent virtual customers for your site with as many specific details as possible. Joel Spolsky, who writes joelonsoftware, recommends giving these customers names and descriptions and adding as many characteristics as you can think of and then using these imaginary creations to build your site’s user interface. For the calalillycollection, we will create three virtual customers based on Hanchy’s initial market research and analysis. I am going to add a male customer to the mix just to see what happens. Again, these are not real people, just composites of traits. First is Hanna, a 36-year-old married, white woman. Hanna is a teacher working with gifted students at a local arts maintenance school. Raised in the mid-west, Hanna came to Tusan about 25 years ago when her husband was transferred here for a job. Hanna has decorated her historic Tusan home with furniture and items purchased at local art fares and shows. She spends approximately $45 per month on art related items including gifts for family and friends and items for her home. Items for her home and for herself are the bulk of her purchases but she is conscientious about remembering special occasions for her family and friends. Hanna is drawn to bright colors, interesting patterns and unusual designs. She likes having one of a kind items, things that no one else has. She enjoys browsing at art shows and gift shops and says that she finds the best bargains on the most unusual items that way. Hanna occasionally shops online but not very often because she has difficulty finding truly unique items online. She is a little intimidated by the Internet although she is quite comfortable with e-mail. Our second virtual customer is Ross. Ross is a 59-year-old single Hispanic. He is a therapist in a small practice and is well known in the psychiatric community. While he is generally considered conservative by his friends and colleagues, Ross prides himself on his open mindedness and often emphasizes this with his gift purchases. He tends to purchase exclusive high-end items and believes that he gets what he pays for. Ross spends about $150 per month on gift items for family and friends. Ross cares about the impression his gifts make. If what he buys for someone else is something they have never seen before, he is quite happy. He has a strong spiritual side and will buy gifts that emphasize alternative spirituality. He doesn’t like flashy or obvious designs and prefers understated comments and descriptions. He has the dry sense of humor and appreciates lively wit. Third, there’s Suzy. Suzy owns a very successful business providing staff training and support services to large companies. She is 48, white and married to a successful businessman. Together they are recognized as one of several power couples in town. Suzy spends about $250 per month on gifts for business associates, family and friends. She is very concerned with purchasing exactly the right gift for the right person. She will carefully buy an Amish hand-made quilt for one sister-in-law and just as carefully buy the latest killer video game for a different sister-in-law. Suzy spends more time shopping and viewing items than the other two virtual customers combined. When she finds a good store, she is loyal and will often develop a relationship with the owner. Because she makes substantial purchases, storeowners are generally happy to help her. Suzy also carries a lot of weight with her friends and her recommendation of a particular store can increase a store’s revenue by 5% or more. What does this creation of virtual customers tell us? Quite a bit, actually. First, Hanchy’s site design must be interesting. It should have visual elements that draw attention but don’t overstate. Color will matter more than with some sites. The look and feel should combine fun with credibility. Second, the product pricing for this site is going to be particularly important. Hanchy’s initial focus on baby boomer women is good but the site will need to attract a particular kind of baby boomer woman in order to be financially successful. A woman with money to spend on gifts. Because of the effect of pricing on the perception of quality, Hanchy may need to price her items a little higher than she would otherwise be comfortable to re-enforce to her customers the worth of her merchandise. Third, Hanchy might want to consider focusing a part of her site toward men looking for gifts for family and friends. There’s a good market of men who do not have women to buy gifts for them and they could be a resource for additional purchases especially if the process of buying is quick and easy. Fourth, keeping Hanchy with her personal product comments and recommendations, front and center in this site will create an atmosphere of friendship with the owner that could pay off in a substantial way.
Tutorial Information
| Course: | Introduction to E-Commerce |
| Author: | Darcey Spears |
| SKU: | 33628 |
| ISBN: | 1-932808-79-5 |
| Release Date: | 2005-08-25 |
| Duration: | 7.5 hrs / 102 lessons |
| Work Files: |
Yes |
| Captions: | No |
| Compatibility: |
Vista/XP/2000, OS X, Linux QuickTime 7, Flash 8 |
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