Web Site Pet Peeves

Hi there,

This time, I’m coming to you with some hard research on one of the things that we preach to our clients and prospects all the time—your Web site, whether retail or B2B, needs to deliver a positive user experience that truly represents your brand… or else!

Think about it – we all know that before doing business with a given company, customers generally check them out online first (this is especially true with B2B companies). It’s THERE that we generally form our initial opinions about a brand, including whether or not we’ll buy. And, if that first impression isn’t up to snuff, consumers are quick to cast your brand aside in favor of one of your competitors.

Here’s some market research highlights that provide some hard numbers:

Consumers Unhappy With Web Site Simply Go Away

A new survey reports that more than 70% of consumers said that they're unlikely to purchase from, or even return to, a web site after encountering a pet peeve. And, because only 25% of consumers say they'll complain to the companies about their pet peeves, the use of features that annoy consumers may be having a negative impact that's difficult to trace or measure.

The Internet has matured to the point where consumers demand an easy online experience. Consumers are beginning to warn companies, “I’ll go elsewhere if your Web site experience is annoying.” The survey lists some more specific reactions below.

Pet peeves, according to the survey:

• 93% of consumers say pop-up ads are annoying or extremely annoying
• 89% are annoyed at the need to install extra software
• 86% said dead links are annoying or extremely annoying
• 84% said confusing navigation is annoying or extremely annoying
• 83% express annoyance with registration log-on pages that block access to online content
• 83% said slow-loading pages are annoying or extremely annoying
• 80% said ineffective site-search tools are annoying or extremely annoying

Comparatively fewer consumers ranked aesthetic characteristics of web sites annoying:

• 59% of consumers think moving text is annoying or extremely annoying
• 55% feel strongly that poor appearance in regard to color, fonts and format are annoying or extremely annoying.

Finally, the survey measured the likelihood of consumer responses when encountering their top pet peeves:

• 74% are extremely or somewhat likely to unsubscribe from the company's promotions or messages
• 71% are extremely or somewhat likely to view the company in a negative way
• 55% are extremely or somewhat likely to complain about the web site to friends/associates

These results clearly show that consumers will make a behavioral change if they encounter a web site that annoys them. And those numbers are staggering if you ask me—which is why I can’t for the life of me understand why many marketing directors still won’t give the Web the slice of the marketing budget it deserves. I’ve dealt with companies that have no problem spending $10,000 for a brochure that sits on a shelf or gets thrown by many prospects in the garbage, but they’re not willing to put a portion of that money into permanently improving the online experience. ARGH!!!

It just frustrates me beyond belief sometimes. Give it some thought and as always, let me know if you have any comments or insights. I always love to hear what you’re thinking.

Garret K. Ohm

Speak to Young Consumers in Their Medium!

Hi all –

The article below is taken from the Center for Media Research. It’s interesting to me because enforces the basic tenet of marketing—that all advertising should be done based on the wants and needs of the target audience. For example, like this article says, if you’re trying to reach a young audience by putting an ad in the local paper, you’re probably not going to achieve the desired results. If you’re serious about marketing, you should appreciate this:

Speak to Young Consumers in Their Medium

In a recent release from Forrester, compiling information from several reports and a survey of young US and Canadian consumers age 12 to 21, the summary concludes that to reach the youth market, one needs to reach young consumers on their terms and, more importantly, speak a dialect that they understand. The report addresses reaching these 73 million people under the age of 18 in the US, as well as those in the Canadian markets.

· More than two-thirds of young consumers own PCs, DVD players, home stereos, game consoles, mobile phones, and handheld videogames. MP3 players rank first on young consumers' wish lists; camera-phones rank third.

· Teens spend 11 hours a week surfing the Web, and 79% of them can be found visiting game sites like gamezone.com. More than one-third visit music sites for artists like Kanye West or The White Stripes, and almost half favor sites dedicated to films like "Napoleon Dynamite."

· More than half of young consumers rely on their friends and families for purchase advice, and 65% tell others about products they like. Electronic communication tools favored by youth are IM, mobile phones, and email.

· 94% of young consumers own some device that they use for game-playing. More than half of young consumers prefer gaming to watching TV.

· As rates of file-sharing decline, young consumers buy more music online. Legal alternatives to Gnutella and eDonkey, give young consumers an easy, inexpensive, and conscience-friendly way to fill up the MP3 players they plan to buy.

The report concludes that it's important to master the tools that young people use to communicate. Young consumers prefer to be engaged in-person. In-store kiosks and other interactive face-to-face exchanges will get and keep young consumers' attention. Young consumers are open to email about upcoming online promotions and new advergames.

Items the Respondents Said They Could Not Live Without (% of North American Online youth ages 12-17)
PC	27%
TV	17
Mobile phone	14
Game console	13
Car	10
Other	8
Home stereo	7
Music/MP3 player	4
Source: Forrester Consumer Techographics, Q1 2005

More information about these studies is available from Forrester. (www.forrester.com)

Garret Ohm

“Creative without strategy is called art. Creative with strategy is called advertising.”

Inside Out Branding

I wanted to post this because I thought this was a GREAT article. If us as agencies and marketing directors are going to be successful from here on out, we are going to need to ALWAYS look at things from the consumer perspective. I think this is something that we are striving for with all the work we do. That's what the fly represents - we liken ourselves to a fly on the wall. A fly that listens to everything consumers has to say. By doing so, the marketing we create truly resonates with the consumer. Enjoy the read, and let me know if you have any thought.

Developing A Brand From The Inside Out
By Cory Treffilletti

Let's talk about brands for a minute.

As the Internet experiences the renaissance of version 2.0, we're seeing a number of new brands emerge to proclaim dominance with new technologies or radical innovations. They're eerily similar to versions 1.0, but without all the fluff and silliness. These versions are a little more measured; articles are being written about how these new brands address a challenge that faces consumers rather than just a "new way of doing business."

As these brands emerge, I wanted to take a moment to identify something many may overlook. For all the excitement over launching a new idea and trying to market it to the masses, let's not lose sight of one simple fact; that a brand is nothing more than the tangible expression of an experience. A brand is not a business unto itself.

What I mean by this statement is simple. In this brave new world where information moves as fast as the speed of light and the consumer is in control, a brand name is only worth as much as the experience of the brand. A successful brand will not emerge as a result of amazing marketing or a clever tagline. A brand will emerge because the consumer enjoys the experience. It's really that simple.

Those of us who've spent the majority of our careers in the agency world are typically focused on the business of building a brand from the outside in, but if agencies are going to succeed, let's face it-- the next three years are crucial for the ad agency business, and agencies will need to focus from the inside out. The agencies and the marketing departments are experiencing some strange times right now as the media buying business becomes commoditized and the consumer gains more control. Conveying a message is harder than ever before due to clutter and a number of other issues. Agencies can't hire fast enough to service clients who are consistently unimpressed, and businesses are shifting money from higher margin media to lower margin, more one-to-one focused efforts. A lot of great minds are being tasked to think of ways to reach out and garner the attention of the consumer, but these minds should consider allocating at least some of their time towards the experiences themselves.

The type of thought that's given to a marketing message can be applied to an experience as well. Rather than thinking about consumers' behavior and how you can tap into their mindset to convey a message, why not tap into their mindset and understand the types of experiences they'd like to have? Why not work with the R&D teams within the clients to help create an experience that mirrors the message of the brand--or better yet, be sure you are messaging correctly about the experience of the brand rather than its promise.

By focusing on the experience of the consumer, you can create a positive interaction and one that the consumer will be likely to replicate and evangelize to the market. For all the brands that are acquiring funding right now and looking to make a big splash, I ask that if you secure an agency, you ask it to get involved in the experience of the brand first, and then think about the messaging.

Now, I have heard some examples of this in the past and it just serves to support my theory. I heard that AKQA did some work on the actual interface of the Xbox system before its staffers started work on the games. This is the right model to follow. More brands should ask their agencies or outside people to get involved in this manner. If they did, they could be utilizing some of the best minds in the business, in a manner that would immediately benefit their brands. These benefits would provide a steady launch--to be supported by the marketing, but not in place of the marketing!

-Garret

I Hate Canned Crap!

Yeah, I hate it. I hate it badly. As a matter of fact, the whole word just makes me want to barf. Today we had a meeting with Home & Company to present our proposal to move forward. Aside from the terrible 2.25 hour drive, the meeting went very well. I think Bill, the co-owner was really feeling us, and I think the chemistry is there.

But one thing that he said stopped me dead in my tracks. He had a little while back been approached by a "company" that "specialized" in "marketing" home theater companies. Why do I put those words in quotes - well mainly because I don't think you can call what they do marketing, per se. It's more like graphic design template making - basically doing one pretty looking design and dropping a number of different companys' logos in.

I hate this. What usually ends up happening, is that the creative looks like crap. It's boring, bland, safe, uninspiring. Exactly what marketing should NOT be. But the low pricing (since there's not a lot of work involved) makes it a reasonable alternative for a busy business owner that just doesn't have time for solid marketing.

Lucky enough for us, Bill the co-owner was hip to their silly games. He understands that good marketing by definition sets one company apart from all others. How, dare I ask, does canned crap do this, when X number of companies share the same look? Blasphemy!

I'm almost positive that we're going to cost more money than this "company." But I'm pretty sure we're going to get the job. Why? Because Bill sees value in what we do. He knows that we WILL cost more, but we WILL produce a solid return on investment.

I really wish I knew the name of this company, though. I consider myself one of solid integrity, but in this case, I am so frustrated that I feel like I might post the name of this company in hopes that everyone would boycott them. Ha! But no, I'm not going to do that.


Talk to you later!

Garret Ohm

Good CNN Article About Advertising

Hi everyone -

This article just caught my eye on www.cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/04/04/rich_car_shopping/index.html.

It's about marketing to the super-rich. I thought everyone might find it interesting. Ok, ok, not everyone. But people interested in marketing, and/or cars. For me, that's both.

It brings up a couple interesting things that most "normal" people don't think about. I mean, when's the last time you thought about giving a $300,000 car away as a GIFT. Whoa.

But the article is right - these car dealers can focus a lot harder on 1:1 marketing, rather than mass advertising, because their universe of customers is so small. There just aren't that many people that can afford a Maybach. And with so much public data available, it's possible to just buy a list of all the people that earn enough money to afford it. Crazy what big brother will tell us.

Enjoy the read, and feel free to leave comments as always. Later!

Garret Ohm

VW Advertising

I was watching MTV the other day when one of the new VW GTI commercials came on. It's the one where the guy gets pulled over, seemingly for speeding, in his new VW GTI Mk V. The camera pans to reveal in interesting alien looking creature we come to find out is the driver's "fast." They don't explain it much further than that, but the viewer is left thinking that "fast" is a little creature that urges the driver to push the car to its limits, ignoring all posted speed limit signs. The cop ends up giving him a stern warning and urging him to keep his "fast" under control. Come to find out, he's got a fast of his own - His other car must be a VW, and he must have understood what it was like.

Pretty good commercial. But anyway, the commercial, done by one of the hottest agencies in the country right now, Crispin Porter Bogusky, did its job. Almost immediately, I was online looking up the specs for the new hatchback. Upon landing on the VW homepage and being redirected to the GTI section, I was invited to build my own joyride. I figured, hey, what the hell!?

So on this microsite, it allows you to build your own GTI, just like on many other sites. After you're finished is where this site deviates from the norm, just like you'd expect any CPB advertising to do! At this point, you can actually step into the drivers seat of a new GTI (with a beautiful German model, I might add) and take a drive on the test track outside of their factory. You see video of the car driving out (it happens to be the precise on that YOU'VE built) of the factory and onto the test track and you see it again at the end of the drive, when it drives back into the factory. It's AWESOME. You should try it for yourself. It's pretty damn cool. Just go to www.vw.com/gti and click on "build your joyride."

And don't even get me started on their "Pimp My Auto" campaign, which not-so-coincidentally features a hopelessly white (German) version of Xzibit and the same hot German model in the GTI microsite. If you can somehow find these commercials online somewhere, I highly recommend it!

I love ground-breaking advertising. It's so much fun! Kudos CPB.

-Garret
www.thecyphersagency.com