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146 Minocha, Dawson,Blandford and Millard Seybold, P. B. (2001). The customer revolution. Random House. Spool, J. M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Synder, C., & De Angelo (1999). Web site usability: A designer’s guide. Morgan Kaufmann. Vividence White Paper. (2002). Stop losing customers on the Web. Retrieved March 14, 2004, from www.vividence.com Weinstein, A., & Johnson, W. C. (1999). Designing and delivering superior customer value. CRC Press. Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Malhotra, A. (2000). A conceptual framework for understanding e-service quality: Implications for fu-ture research and managerial practice. (Working paper, report no. 00-115). Marketing Science Institute. Zeithaml, V. A., Parasuraman, A., & Malhotra, A. (2002). Service quality delivery through Web sites: A critical review of extant knowledge. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 30, 362–375. Zhang, P., & von Dran, G. M. (2002). User expectations and rankings of quality factors in different Web site domains. International Journal of Elec-tronic Commerce, 6, 9–33. Copyright © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Key Success Requirements for Online Brand Management 147 Chapter VII Key Success Requirements for Online Brand Management Subir Bandyopadhyay, Indiana University Northwest, USA Rosemary Serjak, Graduate Student, University of Ottawa, Canada Abstract In recent years, many online brands (or e-brands) have emerged. For a brick-and-mortar brand to excel in the online environment, the brand manager must appreciate some of the key features of the Internet and make adjustments to the traditional brand management strategy. For example, the control of communication in case of online brand management lies with both the brand manager and the consumer, whereas from the traditional branding perspective, the control by and large rests with the brand manager only. We highlight the differences between traditional brand management and online brand management. We then focus on several key success factors in building a successful online brand, which we believe will help guide the brand manager through a series of steps leading to successful online branding. Copyright © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 148 Bandyopadhyay and Serjak Introduction Consumer enthusiasm for online shopping is on the rise. This underlines the dichotomy of supply side and demand side of the online business. Today’s online consumers demand more—they do not like limited selection, slow downloads, and inadequate navigation. The e-tailers who are unable to meet rising customer expectations are destined to fail. To operate successfully, e-tailers need a clear competitive advantage based on an attractive offering, a viable business model, and a dedicated brand management team. Success also depends on loyal customers who keep on buying products and, more importantly, bring in more loyal customers through positive word-of-mouth communication. Because the Internet is in a continuous dynamic state, firms need to follow a flexible e-brand management policy. Recent trends indicate that one viable business model could encompass both a physical brick-and-mortar presence and an Internet presence. Marketing over the Internet implies a whole new dimension in which to engage, retain, and transact with the consumer. The future looks bright for the brand manager because the number of potential customers seems boundless. It was projected that (1) the number of computers connected to the Internet grew from 2.2 million to over 43 million worldwide between January 1994 and January 1999 and (2) the number of Internet users was over 160 million as of March 1999, with over 90% of these users having joined in the last 5 years (Hanson, 2000). A recent report showed that all of these projections have been greatly exceeded; as of December 2002, there are 580 million Internet users worldwide (Nielsen-NetRatings, 2003). Today’s most successful companies, along with companies that desire to meet with financial success, are quite aware of the power of the Internet (such as economy of scale, direct communication with the consumer across the globe, etc.). However, it is still considered a relatively new mechanism with respect to the opportunity for online brand development. Due to the relative newness of the Internet and its unknown potentials, many companies do not have a results-driven path toward developing a brand on the Internet. A preliminary step includes dissecting what brand management entails for the online marketer. Although a number of recent books (see, for example, Braunstein & Levin, 2000; Carpenter, 2000; Kania, 2000; Ries & Ries, 2000) and articles (see, for example, Aaker, 2002; McWilliam, 2000; Murphy, Raffa, & Mizerski, 2003; Sealy, 1999) have addressed the issue of e-branding, no one has articulated the critical differences between traditional and online brand management. For a brand manager, it is imperative to appreciate these differences. It is natural for a brand manager to apply his/her off-line brand experience to online branding. While this approach will work to some extent, it will fail to appreciate some of the unique features of the Internet. For example, the control of communication in case of online brand Copyright © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Key Success Requirements for Online Brand Management 149 management lies with both the brand manager and the consumer, whereas from the traditional branding perspective, the control mainly rests with the brand manager only. In the following paragraphs, we will highlight two brands—one traditional off-line brand foraying into online branding, and the other a purely online brand—to show how online branding differs from traditional branding. The first brand is Procter & Gamble’s Pampers diaper. Similar to many name brands, Procter & Gamble struggles to differentiate its Pampers from its competitors’. Fortunately, its Web site (www.pampers.com) has enabled Pampers to augment its core product in a variety of ways. The notable online strategies are as follows: (1) the popular “Vantastic Sweepstakes” offered a Chrysler van full of diapers; (2) a “gift pack” provided a convenient way to send a supply of Pampers along with a Fisher-Price toy to a friend; (3) a playing center, a sharing center, and a learning center offer visitors an opportunity to explore a plethora of practical issues; and (4) the Parenting Institute offers advice from experts on a myriad of issues such as health, development, and child care (see Aaker, 2002, for more details). These unique features have made the Pampers Web site the second most popular baby-care products. It is important to note that all the strategies mentioned above are unique to the Web and are difficult to duplicate in the traditional brick-and-mortar business. The second brand we are going to highlight is Amazon.com—a brand built primarily on the Web. Amazon.com has utilized many techniques that are unique to the Web to catch the imagination of so many people. Some of the important features of Amazon’s brand management strategy are as follows (see Dayal, Landesburg, & Zeisser, 2000; and Roberts, 2003 for more details): • Personalization: Amazon has developed a comprehensive database cus-tomer purchase history and buying interests. As a result, it can reach a single customer with a customized offer. Customers have the control to customize their own page and also to make recommendations directly to the company. • Collaboration: Amazon collaborated with Gary Trudeau, the creator of the “Doonesbury” cartoon strip to organize a contest on the Web. First, Trudeau posted the first set of a Doonesbury strip and invited visitors to the site to complete the cartoon. Each day Trudeau would evaluate each posting and selected a winner. Trudeau finally created the last section and the 11-section cartoon was completed. • Self-service option: Amazon offers a variety of self-service options in its “My Account” page. These services range from reviewing personal account transaction to changing personal information. Copyright © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 150 Bandyopadhyay and Serjak • Streamlined purchase process: Amazon offers the unique “1-Click” sys-tem that stores payment information for customers so that they do not have to fill in an order form every time they make a purchase. • Dynamic pricing: Amazon offers an auction page where site visitors can observe the price variations of a product and bid for it. In the off-line world, a customer can learn about the price variations only if he/she takes the trouble to check out the prices in retail stores in the neighborhood. It is evident that the strategies outlined above are unique to the Web. An online brand manager must appreciate the strength of these innovative tools in brand building. To that extent, a brand like Pampers, which has both an off-line and an online presence, must blend the best of off-line and online techniques to build strong brands on the Web. Online brand managers must learn to select the best technique for the branding task at hand. Unfortunately, very few studies have articulated these critical differences in off-line (or traditional) and online branding techniques. Our paper intends to fill this important void in the online branding literature. First, we outline the importance of, and challenges to, online brand management. Next we summarize the critical differences between online and traditional brand management. Finally, we present a set of critical success factors in building a successful online brand. The Importance of Online Brand Management We cannot overemphasize the importance of online brand management to an online company. According to Carpenter (2000), there are a variety of differ-ences between online and off-line branding. Carpenter states: “In the online world, distribution has emerged as being even more important than more traditional brand-building tools. If you don’t have Web allies that can get your brand in front of large numbers of people at a reasonable cost, it’s unlikely that your business will thrive.” One must also keep account of the market momentum, or the “Mo Factor” (Carpenter, 2000). He emphasizes the need to communicate a constant sense of momentum. Smart online marketers are aware that by having momentum behind them, the barriers to business success get dissolved. Along with the sharply focused marketer will come the strategic partner eager to develop an alliance. As a result, potential competitors will think twice about entering the category. Customers will see this particular company as a winner, Copyright © 2006, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. ... - tailieumienphi.vn