Transcript Chapter 6: Customer Interface

Chapter 6: Customer Interface
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Questions Answered in this Chapter:
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What are the seven design elements of the customer interface?
What are the alternative look-and-feel approaches to design?
What are the five content archetypes?
Why be concerned with community?
What are the levers used to customize a site?
What types of communication can a firm maintain with its
customer base?
– How does a firm connect with other businesses?
– What are alternative pricing models of commerce archetypes?
Introduction
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The customer interface is the virtual representation of a
firm's chosen value proposition
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Seven design elements of the customer interface (7 Cs)
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Context
Content
Community
Customization
Communication
Connection
Commerce
Exhibit 6-1: The 7Cs of the Customer Interface
Context
Content
Site’s layout and design
Text, pictures, sound and video
that web pages contain
Commerce
Community
Site’s capabilities to enable
commercial transactions
The ways sites enable user-touser communication
Connection
Customization
Degree site is linked to other
sites
Site’s ability to self-tailor to
different users or to allow users
to personalize the site
Communication
The ways sites enable site-touser communication or two-way
communication
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Exhibit 6-2: Fit and Reinforcement of the 7Cs
Business
Business Model
Model
Individually Supporting Fit
Context
Context
Content
Content
Community
Community
Customization
Customization
Communication
Communication
Consistent Reinforcement
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Connection
Connection
Commerce
Commerce
Exhibit 6-3: Performance of Lands’ End Site
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What Determines the Look-and Feel of the Design?
Context
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The context of a website captures its aesthetics and
functional look-and-feel
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Dimensions of Context
– Function Refers to the organization and accessibility of information
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Section Breakdown is the way the site is organized into subcomponents
Linking Structure enables users to move easily between sections
Navigation Tools facilitate how the user moves through the site
Site Performance is measured in terms of speed, reliability, platform
independence, media accessibility and usability
Context (Cont’d)
– Aesthetics Refers to the visual characteristics of a site
• Color Scheme refers to the colors used throughout the site
• Visual Themes help to tell the story portrayed across the site
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Context Archetypes
– Aesthetically Dominant: Emphasis is on the look-and-feel of the site.
This type of site makes heavy use of visual elements
– Functionally Dominant: Emphasis is on the display of textual
information. This type of site limits the visual design to a minimum
– Integrated: Balance of form and function. These sites have a clear and
appealing theme that support the underlying graphics
Exhibit 6-4: Form vs. Function — The Design Context Frontier
High
Integrated
Aesthetically
Dominant
AESTHETIC/
FORM
Frontier is
gradually moving
outward as
technology
advances
Low
FunctionallyDominant
Low
High
FUNCTION
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Exhibit 6-5: Aesthetic Example — KMGI.COM
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Exhibit 6-6: Functional Dominant — BRINT.COM
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Exhibit 6-7: Integrated Approach Example — Patagonia.com
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Content
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The Content of a website refers to all the digital
information on the site
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Dimensions of Content
– Offering Mix: The content of a site can include products, information,
services, or a mix of these three
– Appeal Mix: The Company's value proposition is projected in the
promotional and communications messages of a site
– Multimedia Mix: Refers to the choices of media including text, audio,
image, video and graphics
– Content Type: The information presented on a site is time-sensitive
• Current Content - Highly time-sensitive information with very short shelf
life
• Reference Content - less time-sensitive information with longer shelf life
Content (Cont’d)
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Content Archetypes
– Offering Dominant: Encompasses store sites that sell physical goods
• Superstore - One-stop shop offering a wide range of goods in multiple
product categories
• Category Killer - Sites offering a comprehensive selection of products and
services but only within a specific category
• Specialty Store - Stores offering exceptional quality and exclusivity in single
or multiple categories of products
– Information Dominant: Encompasses store sites that focus heavily on
information
– Market Dominant: Encompasses store sites that create a market where
buyers and sellers congregate to conduct transactions. These sites serve as
brokers and act as catalyst for business deals
Exhibit 6-8: A Framework to Understand Offering-Dominat Archetypes
Multiple
NUMBER OF
PRODUCT
CATEGORIES
Superstore
Specialty
Store
Category
Killer
Single
Narrow
Broad
DEPTH OF PRODUCT LINE
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Exhibit 6-9: SUPERSTORE EXAMPLE – Amazon.com
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Exhibit 6-10: Category Killer Example — PETSMART.COM
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Exhibit 6-11: Specialty Store Example — FRONTGATE
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Table 6-1: Content Archetypes vs Offering Types
Physical
Product
Information
Service
Superstore
Walmart.com
CEOExpress.com
IBMSolutions.com
Category Killer
Petsmart.com
DowJones.com
Schwab.com
Frontgate
tnbt.com
Tradex.com
Census.gov
IFilm.net
Digitalthink.com
PlasticsNet.com
VerticalNet.com
Monster.com
Specialty
Information and
Entertainment
Market Maker
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What Makes A Community?
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Community includes a feeling of membership in a group
along with a strong sense of involvement and shared
common interests
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Community refers to the interaction between site users
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Dimensions of Community
– Interactive Communication: Users can directly exchange responses
with one another in real time via Chat, Instant Messaging, Message
Boards or Member-to-Member e-mails
– Non-interactive Communication: Site presents static information and
only allows unidirectional communication with users
Exhibit 6-14: Communities — Elements, Types, and Benefits
Elements of
Community
• Cohesion
• Effectiveness
Types of
Communities
Member Outcomes:
Participation and Benefits
Just Friends
Degree of
Participation
Enthusiasts
• Help
• Relationships
• Language
Friends in
Need
Need Fulfillment
• Inclusion
Players
• Mutual Influence
Traders
• Shared Emotional
Experiences
• Self-regulation
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Community (Cont’d)
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Community Archetypes
– Bazaar: Allows users to wander through a vast number of interest areas
but does not provide means for users to interact with one another
– Theme Park: Focuses on a finite number of interest areas organized by
categories. These sites host a number of communities where members
interact with one another
– Club: Focuses on only one area of interest, and promotes considerable
amount of interaction among members
– Shrine: Exhibits extreme enthusiasm towards a common object of interest
with minimal interaction between members
– Theater: Focuses on a particular area but allows for moderate interaction
among members
– Café: Focuses on a common area of interest but also provides
considerable interaction among members
Exhibit 6-15: Bazaar Example — GAMES.YAHOO.COM
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Exhibit 6-16: THEME PARK EXAMPLE – SpeakOut.com
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Exhibit 6-17: Club Example — Gillette Women’s Cancer Connection
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Exhibit 6-18: Theatre Example — IFILM.COM
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Exhibit 6-19: CAFÉ EXAMPLE-- Bolt.com
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FOCUS
Bazaar
Theme
Park
Non-equilibrium state:
Successfully-managed
communities will move toward
higher levels of interaction
Exhibit 6-20: Drill Down - Focus vs. Interactivity
Games.yahoo.com
Games.yahoo.com
VoxCap.com
VoxCap.com
Contact
Contact
Consortium.com
Consortium.com
Bolt.com
Bolt.com
iFilm.com
iFilm.com
Mall
Trace.com
Trace.com
leonardodicaprio.com
leonardodicaprio.com
Women’s
Women’s Cancer
Cancer
Connection
Connection
Shrine
Theatre
INTERACTIVITY
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Cafe
Customization
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Customization refers to a site's ability to tailor itself to
each user or to be tailored by the user
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Dimensions of Customization
– Personalization: The user initiates and manages the customization
process
– Tailoring by site: Software dynamically publishes unique versions of the
site to address specific user's interests, habits and needs more
appropriately
• Tailoring based on past user behavior
• Tailoring based on behavior of other users with similar preferences
Customization (Cont’d)
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Customization Archetypes
– Personalization by User: Enables the user to modify site content and
context based on consciously articulated and acted-upon preferences
– Tailoring by Site: Enables the site to reconfigure itself based on past
behavior by the user or by other users with similar profiles
Exhibit 6-21: Personalization by User Example — MYLOOK.COM
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Exhibit 6-22: Tailoring by Site Example – AMAZON.COM
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Communication
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Communication refers to the dialogue between a site and
its users
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Dimensions of Communication
– Broadcast: One-way information exchange from organization to user.
Broadcast communication can be in the form of mass mailing, FAQ, email newsletters, content-update reminders and broadcast events
– Interactive: Two-way communication between the organization and a
user. Interactive communication can be in the form of e-commerce
dialogue, customer service and user input
– Hybrid: Combination of broadcast and interactive communication
Communication (Cont’d)
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Communication Archetypes
– One-to-Many, Non-Responding User: Site messages are
announcements that users receive without needing to respond
– One-to-Many, Responding User: Site messages are invitations to users
to submit their comments and responses
– One-to-Many, Live Interaction: Information is exchanged back and
forth in real time
– One-to-One, Non-Responding User: User receives personalized
messages to address specific interests or needs without a need to respond
– One-to-One, Responding User: User responds to personalized
messages sent by the site
– One-to-One, Live Interaction: Site sends and receives personalized
user messages in real time
Exhibit 6-23: One-to-Many, Non-Responding Example —
THESTANDARD.COM
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Exhibit 6-25: One-to-Many, Live Interaction Example —
Accrue 2000 Web Seminar
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Exhibit 6-26: One-to-One, Responding User Example — AMAZON.COM
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Exhibit 6-27: One-to-One, Live Interaction Example — LIVEPERSON.COM
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Connection with Other Businesses
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Connection is the degree to which a given site is able to
link to other sites
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Dimensions of Connection
– Links to Sites: Links that take the user completely outside the home site
and into a third-party site
– Home Site Background: Links that take the user to a third-party site, but
the home site is noticeable in the background
– Outsourced Content: The site content is derived from third parties
– Pathway of Connection: Refers to the links to access additional
information
• Pathway-out - links cause the user to completely exit website
• Pathway-in - links cause the retrieval of material from the same or other sites
without exiting the current website
Connection (Cont’d)
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Connection Archetypes
– Destination Site: Provides almost exclusively site-generated content
with very few links to other sites
– Hub Site: Provides a combination of site-generated content and selective
links to sites of related interests
– Portal Site: Consists almost exclusively of links to a large number of
other sites
– Affiliate Programs: Directs users to affiliated websites through
embedded links
– Outsourced Content: Contains content generated by third parties
– Meta-Software: Utilities and Plug-in software applications created to
assist user in narrowly defined tasks
Exhibit 6-28: Destination Example — NYTIMES.COM
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Exhibit 6-30: Portal Example — YAHOO.COM
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Exhibit 6-32: Outsourced Content Example — REAL.COM
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Exhibit 6-33: Meta-software Example — R U SURE.COM
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Commerce
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Commerce refers to the sale of goods, products or services
on the site.
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Dimensions of Commerce
– Functional tools that are the commerce-enabling features of a
website
•Registration
•Orders Through Affiliates
•Shopping Cart
•Configuration Technology
•Security
•Order Tracking
•Credit-Card Approval
•Delivery Options
•One-Click Shopping
Commerce (Cont’d)
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Commerce Archetypes
– Catalog Pricing: The price of goods and services are preset by the seller
– Auction Pricing: Buyers bid against each other, and the highest bid wins
the supplier's products or services
– Reverse-Auction Pricing: Sellers bid against each other, and the lowest
bid wins the buyer's business
– Demand-Aggregation Pricing: Buyer demand for specific products is
aggregated in order to achieve economies of scale
– Haggle Pricing: Buyer and seller can negotiate over price
Exhibit 6-34: MarketWatch.com Site
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