Sorry, Harley!

I have not reviewed the Harley-Davidson website yet since I have limited interest in motorcycles, but I thought it might be interesting to take a look at some of the customer service options.

After landing on the home page, I found a Quick Start Guide divided into sections for experienced riders, new riders and those who have never ridden before. Each section has topics that would be beneficial for the particular category of customers. I selected one topic from each section and discovered that there was not a single opportunity to contact customer service on any of the three pages. My choices for review included Harley Parts and Accessories, Estimate Your Payment, and Guide to Customizing. I returned to the home page and found a “contact us” tab at the very bottom of the page which revealed the following:

To contact the Harley-Davidson Motor Company directly, please write:
Harley-Davidson Customer Care
3700 W. Juneau Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53208

To speak with a Harley-Davidson customer care representative please call (414) 343-4056. Our normal hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST). Sorry, we're unable to receive e-mail at this time.

What? No email? This is unfortunate for Harley Davidson because e-mail is an important channel for customer service (Roberts, p. 227).

I moved down to the section called “Ideas for Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company” and found a significant contradiction:

We are always interested in the imagination and creativity of Harley-Davidson Motor Company motorcycle enthusiasts, and we welcome your suggestions and ideas about our products and services. If you have a general suggestion for new or improved products or services that is not patented or subject to a patent application then please email H-DIdeaSubmissionsSuggestion @harley-davidson.com. Please include your full name, address, email address, phone number and a complete description of your suggestion. General suggestions are accepted exclusively by email. Because of the volume of suggestions and ideas we receive, we cannot promise we will use your idea or respond to your submission (although we do try to respond).

Dianna Huff’s blog post on May 24, 2010, The New Rules of Marketing Online: There Aren’t Any, makes a great point about marketing rules. She says that if you wouldn’t do it or say it offline, or if your mother wouldn’t approve, then don’t do it online. It appears that if a customer has a question or concern, they are required to call on the telephone or write and mail a letter. At least there are two options, because not only do consumers expect good service, they expect to be able to access service through multiple channels (Roberts, p. 227). It also appears that if a customer has an idea for something that would benefit the company, they are extended the privilege of using email. This does not appear very customer oriented. I’m not sure Harley’s mother would approve of sending the message that the company is considered more important than the customer!

Is Tide on My Side?

Today I decided to revisit Tide.com. On my first visit to the Tide website, I provided personal information in order to receive newsletters, free samples and coupons. I guess it has only been about two weeks, but I haven’t heard anything from them since the initial confirmation of registration. I know they have my correct email address. I did agree to be on their distribution list, so I am a little surprised that I have not received any form of email advertising from them.

Returning to the Tide home page, I clicked on the privacy statement tab and found where Procter & Gamble revealed details related to customer communication. They provide different options for consumers such as electronic mail vs. US Postal Service. When it comes to digital and electronic communications such as email and cell phones, they will only send promotional messages if you ask to receive them or opt in (Roberts, 187). I opted in, but they have opted not to share with me so far.

Find privacy details here: http://www.pg.com/privacy/english/privacy_statement.html#tab3

The Tide home page continues to promote Loads of Hope to raise money for Haiti relief. Today is Tuesday, May 25, and the website message reports that Tide is donating all profits from February sales of Tide Vintage Tees, and matching those donations up to $250,000. “Buy a T-shirt now and Tide will not only donate the profits, we'll match them.” If I bought a t-shirt today, would any of the profits go to these relief efforts, or was it only for February purchases? Either way, Loads of Hope is a great example of event driven marketing (Roberts, 183), and a worthwhile humanitarian effort.

I really thought about ordering a Tide Vintage Tee, partly because I like t-shirts, and partly because I wanted to see if they would pay more attention to me once they had my credit card number on file!

Moving Day

On Friday, May 14, I moved. The lease was up on the 2-bedroom apartment I shared with a college friend who decided to move home for the summer. I work full-time in Duluth, so moving home was not an option for me.

This resulted in the search for a new place to live. True to internet consumer behavior, I was clearly immersed in pre-purchase deliberation search behavior as I spent hours on property management websites comparing rent prices, locations, parking options, and the physical aspects of Duluth apartment buildings (Roberts, p. 116).

There were a number of apartment websites that showed impressive pictures and offered desirable amenities. When I visited one particular complex, it became quickly apparent that the website pictures were from their past history. Seth Godin’s blog post on May 19, 2010, Who is easily manipulated?, suggests that marketers have the ability to manipulate people into an action that is not in the person’s best interest. It certainly wouldn’t have been in my best interest to rent the apartment that looked wonderful on the website, but actually had holes in the walls, broken locks, and moldy looking water damage along the baseboards. The website views of the gorgeous indoor swimming pool turned out to be a pool without water, roped off with yellow hazard tape, and coated with a black powdery substance. Needless to say, I politely expressed my lack of interest in the facility and left. The property marketers failed in establishing any form of customer loyalty - the experience was misleading and unsatisfactory (Roberts, p. 125).

Eventually, I found a nice, clean, one bedroom apartment about a mile from my old place. I spent all weekend moving. The worst part of the experience was spending almost a week without internet access at home.

Moving from a two bedroom to a one bedroom apartment resulted in the need for organizational and storage products, so I decided to check out Target.com to see how they could make my life a little easier. Even if Target was not a chosen website, I likely would have done my searching there anyway due to their brand image, which has always made a favorable impression (Roberts, p.153). I went directly to the Storage and Organization section after clicking the “Home” tab on the Target main page. I felt a sense of calm as I read the ad assuring me they can offer “A place for everything.” I browsed shelving, drawers, carts, totes, baskets, bins, over the door hooks, and under the bed storage. I spent more time looking at the under the bed choices, since that is currently the only space not being used. There were many options to choose from, all of which could be beneficial. These are low involvement products, because a great deal of thought is not needed when deciding to purchase a bedside caddy or an under the bed box to store magazines (Roberts, p. 153).

Rather than ordering from the website, I will just take a trip to the store. The website is a great way to get ideas, but I really need the storage containers ASAP so I can reduce the tripping hazards involved with stepping over cardboard boxes in the hall - and the kitchen, and the bedroom, and the living room, and the bathroom…

Creeping on Jeep

I was surfing the web today and I decided to make another stop at the Jeep website, where I made some further observations. In a previous blog, I voiced a slight bit of annoyance at the transitioning home page, but after further review, I have found it more acceptable because there is actually a lot more to it. When a person first arrives at the website, a small message resembling a rectangular sign appears next to a wooden post that pops up on the screen. The message states “Shortcuts are good. Here is a path to owning a jeep vehicle. Go forth.” The post has three icons resembling a wrench, a dollar sign, and a magnifying glass. The post remains constant through the transitioning pages, but when you click on one of the icons, another moving sign pops out inviting guests to take the next step. The wrench takes you directly to the section where you can design your own vehicle. The dollar sign brings you to the area where you can get a quote for the price of a vehicle. The magnifying glass takes you to the section where you can view all of the 2010 Jeep vehicles. The signs appear to swing around from the back of the post and then bounce a little bit, resembling a swinging door. They were fun to view and would be helpful to people who are navigating through the website. When it comes to rich media, it is important for ads to play smoothly in order to engage people rather than leaving them feeling annoyed (Roberts, p. 162).

Another interesting message on the home page revealed an ad inviting customers to see an “All Things Jeep” Broadcast on YouTube. When I clicked on this section, I was taken from Jeep.com to the Jeep Channel website. Due to my personal interest in Facebook, my attention was immediately drawn to the invitation to follow the official YouTube channel of Jeep on Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, I could not continue at this point because I received a message on the computer that I was using saying the browser is no longer supported, and I should upgrade to a modern browser. This is not something that I would do on a shared computer without conducting some personal research on browser upgrades. We all have trust concerns related to internet threats, and it is our own responsibility to be cautious. When you leave a reputable website, it’s important to understand where you are going and be wary of potential issues with spyware. According to a Pew Foundation study, 18% of people have changed their browsers based on software intrusion concerns (Roberts, p.169).

I am finding the Jeep website enjoyable, and I am quite sure that I will stop by again to see what other bits of information or vehicular entertainment I can discover.

Beep, Beep.. It's a Jeep

Today, I thought I would check out the Jeep.com website. None of my family members own a Jeep, so I am not very familiar with their products. When I think of a Jeep, I picture 4-wheeling over rugged terrain. I am still driving the 1998 GMC Envoy that my parents bought me when I turned sixteen in 2003. I love owning an SUV, especially when it snows in Duluth. The 4-wheel drive option helps me get out of my parking lot without having to shovel first.

The Jeep.com home page showed a picture of a classy looking silver vehicle. Dianna Huff’s blog post on May 5, 2010, Your Website is Worth More Than a Cup of Coffee, points out that the quality of a company’s website is critical for attracting customers. A website is like a storefront and it either entices you to enter or makes you want to leave.

At first glance, the Jeep website made me want to stay. After looking closely at the silver Jeep, I was drawn to the larger text on the page, which was an incentive offer for $5000 cash allowance or 0% APR for 60 months. Financing plans are considered an incentive to provide extra motivation to initiate a transaction (Roberts, p. 87, 89).

The website screen automatically transitioned from the home page to display a Jeep Wrangler, followed by a Jeep Liberty, and then a Jeep Patriot, and a Jeep Compass, and then back to the silver vehicle. The screen changed every 5 seconds, with the main screen being viewable for 10 seconds. That was a little annoying because I prefer to control my own timing, but all of the vehicles looked nice.

This website provided for value-added service revenue to complement their primary sales offer (Roberts, p. 59). Customers are invited to shop at the Jeep Gear Merchandise Store where you can order gift cards, clothing, toys, and accessories with the Jeep logo. This is probably a great place for a loyal Jeep customer to shop since people love clothing that advertises their favorite brands.

Overall, the Jeep website was effective. It provided the opportunity to review the details of various models, as well as the chance to design a vehicle to personal specifications. It also offered a simple way to find Jeep dealers in any given area. The pictures of the vehicles were impressive, and I would definitely consider a Jeep for my next vehicle - that is, if I could ever afford a new one.

The Tide is High

I recently looked at the Tide website for the first time. If Tide had not been one of the selected websites for this marketing assignment, it’s possible that I would have gone through life without ever opening Tide.com. There is a simple explanation for my lack of interest in Tide. It’s too expensive for my budget. As a college student, I have always taken advantage of the off-brands when it comes to laundry detergent because they are cheap. I have no idea if they clean as well as Tide, but when it comes down to it, I’d rather pay $2.99 for no-name detergent than shell out $8.99 for the same size container of Tide.

With the high price of Tide in mind, I was not surprised at the discount coupons available after clicking the “Special Offers” tab on the home page. If the coupons would get the price down to something reasonable, I would be tempted to try the product, but $1.00 off still doesn’t work for me.

Sorry, Tide - it’s nothing personal!

The “Special Offers” page did provide a call to action, which is the first rule of direct marketing (Roberts, p. 86). It prompted me to sign up for a free newsletter. In order to do that, I had to provide some personal information, including my date of birth. Now I have officially become part of a profile for the Procter and Gamble customer database. My birth date will help them to determine whether they should send me information on removing stains from baby formula, beer, red wine or prune juice. Eventually, their Customer Lifetime Analysis will probably show that I am not a profitable customer. When that happens, they could decide to reduce their marketing efforts directed at me or drop me from their system altogether (Roberts, 94). I’d be OK with either outcome.

The best part of my trip to Tide.com was the offer for a free sample of Pantene Solutions shampoo. Who doesn’t like free things? According to the shipping information, it should arrive in four to six weeks. I’ll keep you posted.

Information Overload? Nah.

Information is powerful. The more we have, the more we want. In Chapter 1, section 7j, Roberts tells us that consumers want to have a lot of choices when it comes to information. Luckily for us, we have the internet. With a few key strokes, we can gain access to almost anything.

A section of Seth Godin’s blog post on April 30, 2010, The coming melt-down in higher education (as seen by a marketer), points out that the internet has had a significant impact on access to information. Gone are the days of going to the library for information, unless it’s to use a computer. :)

The website of the Minnesota Twins is full of information - and not just about the baseball games. I am a huge Twins fan, so I really enjoy this website and I visit it often. You can click on the Roster tab, which lists the names of all the players, their height and weight, and their date of birth. You can click on the Stats tab, which brings up an overwhelming amount of numbers in a table format showing hits, runs scored, on base percentage, and much more. I like to check out the Twins News headlines to keep track of recent happenings. I must know if Joe’s heel is healing! Clicking on the Target Field Tour tab provides everything you need to know about getting an in-depth tour of the Twins’ new facility.

When it comes to accessing information, I don’t think there could ever be too much. 88% of people in America who have online access have indicated that using the Internet is part of their daily routine (Roberts, p.7). A person just has to learn to realize that they got what they needed and then move on to the next category. I have been known to spend a lot time browsing in the Twins Shop, which is conveniently located at the website. I contemplated the purchase of a Louisville Slugger Personalized 2010 Pink Mother’s Day Full Size Bat at the special price of $69.99, but decided against it. I really need to get to Target before Sunday – the store, not the field.

Targeting Target

Hi! My name is Angela, and as the title of this blog suggests, my purpose is to meddle a little bit in the marketing techniques and styles of the “chosen” websites. Dictionary.com refers to “meddle” as a verb meaning to involve oneself in a matter without right or invitation. Even though meddling sounds like a negative behavior, I am looking forward to discovering good things! We’ll be looking at Target, Tide, Jeep, Harley-Davidson and the Minnesota Twins.

In Chapter 1, Section 5a, Roberts indicates that the internet marketing environment is unique with specific generic goals. The idea is to attract, convert and retain the customer base.

Target is truly one of my favorite stores, so they have been selected as my first target. Sunday, May 9th, is Mother’s Day, and Target’s website suggests some gifts for Mom. I am invited to save 20% on Photo Gifts + Prints for Mom. This is great for me, because I am a procrastinator and still in search of that perfect gift. All I have to do is click the icon that says “get coupon”. A new page comes up with the directions to “select to print” and then “print selected coupon.” Two quick clicks take me to the next page. The page tells me that I am just a minute away from printing my coupons. Wait. Apparently, first I have to install the Coupon Activator by downloading and installing the program. Then my coupon will print. I clicked install and it appeared as if a file was downloading. Then I got a security warning message…so I quit. I am fan of coupons and discounts, but not at the risk of a security threat. My experience could have a negative impact on customer conversion (Roberts, 13). The goal of changing visitors into actual customers would likely be hampered by the inability to easily print the coupon.

I really liked the idea of promoting Mother’s Day, but the process I encountered was a little disappointing. A main driver of the internet economy indicates that consumers want things quickly. Speed is of the essence (Roberts, 19). Not only did I not get the coupon quickly, I didn’t get it at all.

I still like Target. I am almost positive that my Mother’s Day purchase will come from Target. Maybe someone at the photo counter can print the coupon for me.