What companies do with your PII

Once again welcome back to my 7^th and final blog where today we will be looking at the Nike Corporation’s private policy and how it is applied to their consumers. Like any other international corporation Nike has a private policy page in which they explain what they do with customer data. The data retrieved from the consumer in their collection is called the personally identifiable information or PII. Basically this is the information that marketing companies along with many others companies use in order to identify specific consumers based on their online data. They use a variety tools that help them collect PII data. Once collected Nike uses this information for a couple different reasons. First, they want to help enable customer use by enhancing customer satisfaction through customized Nike experiences. They also offer many perks to active athletes by informing them of upcoming sporting events. Another important use of this PII data is to help them analyze their efficiency and learn what is needed in order to achieve steady growth. In addition to collecting this massive amount of data from their consumers. Nike also shares the information amongst its NIKEfam as well as third parties or agencies. The reasons vary from simple info sharing amongst businesses or to government agencies for legal reasons.

Having the ability to collect all this information from consumers, whom visit their webpage or do business with them, is a huge responsibility. That is why Nike goes through great security measures which enable them to successfully secure this online customer data. On their website they say that one of the first steps taken in securing this data includes them using software that help encrypt the data. By encrypting it there are able to keep it out of view from the public, making the online data virtually invisible. Another security measure taken by Nike is their authentication process. This means that is Nike only allows a select few amount of people view the data, including the customer. People are only allowed to view this PII data through being able to identify they are credible party that has permission to do so. Lastly, for customer credit card information they relay and secure that data through SSL technology. This technology first encrypts the cards information Nike then secures in their own databases for future uses. Still with all these measure put in place to secure customer data they are not full proof ideas that work 100% of the time. Overall it seems that the Nike corporation is doing all their can to ensure that personal customer data online is secure as can be. They take preemptive measure that help counteract any theft or misuse of data. Even though they do no guarantee 100% security, Nike still does a great job of protecting data as seen through their history of never losing customer data to online thieves.

Checking my blogger result of both blogger and google I found some final changes in my analytics.  I found that on both blogger and google analytics that a majority of my traffic came from a couple different countries around the world. Most of it came from the Americas, some parts in Europe, and the Middle East. November seemed to be the month where I saw the most activity upon my blogs, with blog 6 being the highest in popularity. They only reason I could think of why my blog found the audience it did in America is due to topics we talk about in class. These topics do pertain to certain people in their professional lives. When searched online for info on these topics they will also come across my blogs in the mix.  One change I can make is to keep making my blogs relevant and in depth in order to increase my audience’s range. Simultaneously changing the overall layout of my blog would be a great way in retaining audience members. 

Mobile Marketing

Hello and welcome back to my second to last blog for the semester. The agenda for my blog this week is to get a better understanding of what companies are using on their mobile websites. Specifically I am going to be looking at nikes mobile website in order to determine how they structure it and if it needs any improvements. In addition to my blogging agenda, I will also be discussing to analytics behind my blog. The purpose is to see just exactly where the majority of my audience is coming from and if I can do anything to make my blog better. 

The company whose mobile website I am choosing this week to follow is the Nike corporation’s. There are few principles to follow when it comes to designing a website with a good platform. The first one Nike has to follow is keeping up with the drivers behind mobile marketing. This includes their content, social networks, being time sensitive, high-value, voice activation, One click payments, Security, Privacy, and of course expanded permission marketing. All in all nike seems to keep their structure pretty firm by hitting all of their key strategy drivers. The next step is to create a mobile campaign that is capable of aquiring and retaining customers. The various applications that they run over the iOS system in my opinion are extremely easy to find and even easier to use. The overall customer experience of the site is a very positive one. The site is extremely user friendly with tools put in place to make sure everyone is using the site optimally. In terms of improvement I think that the nike corporation is doing a very great job at designing a functional website. The only improvements I can offer would honestly only be nitpicking to a certain degree. 

When it comes to my blog and its effectiveness I can say that I may not be running at the same optimum efficiency that nike does. My traffic mostly comes from the united states along with some foreign viewers as well. In order to increase the numbers of my metrics testing can definitely be done. Perhaps a simple A/B testing would be sufficient in finding out what does and does not work for my blogs as a whole. 

Online advertising

The purpose of this week’s blog is to discuss the uses of online advertising in company websites. Specifically I am going to take a look at three different sites, and determine exactly what ad formats are put in place. Next I will be examining just how effective these ads are with regards to their ability in acquiring and retaining internet users. In closing I will give my option as to whether or not they need any changes with their online ad strategies.

            Before I continue with my online ads of my companies, I would like to start by quickly describing what is online advertising. Online advertising is a form of marketing which uses the internet as a media to flow promotional material too consumers. In this system people running the site constantly negotiate price rates with advertisers for the ad space on their site. Recent advances in technology have allowed online adverting to become one of the most important tools a marketer can possess. As a tool it is great for both helping a company develop its branding and efficiently act as a customer acquisition mechanism.

            Since my companies did seem to offer much in their online advertising. I decided that picking 3 new companies would seem fine for this blog. I choose to look up Amazon, YouTube, and times magazine for online advertising on their sites. All three companies use a variety of different display ads on their websites and in some ways they are the same. YouTube’s advertising format consists mostly of full screen video ads. This is where YouTube, as well as the other three, gains most of its revenue through their advertising business model along with revenue from posted videos. Amazon uses a mix of billboard, pushdown, and slider displays to advertise on their site. Time on the other hand actually has no online advertising posted in their site. When compared to their mobile sites the layouts of the page vary drastically in style. Although looking at the way they advertise remains the same in which ad displays they pick.

            Personally I feel the companies who put up ads saw them work effectively as capable tools for the acquisition of customers. The display ads themselves contained many of the stimuli that would initially attract the attention of online users. Having these bright colors or animations are great ways of attracting attention, but they do not guarantee an in depth response. This is where the useful information behind the stimuli comes into play such as cheap offers on products. The video ads I feel are effective to those who are interested in what the ad is promoting. Other than that the videos are a hit or miss with their ability to keep people focus on their ads. Another trick they used behind their ads is behavioral targeting. This is where the companies use personal data info to determine what one specific consumer likes. It is extremely effective since the info received is perceived to be the interest of this consumer.  Now every time they visit the site, all of their perceived liked items will be displayed potentially lead to higher for companies advertising on the websites.

 As stated before the effectiveness of their ads are pretty strong in initially attracting people to become engaged as well as an in depth analysis of the ad. Still, I believe that there is always room for improvement. I think that both the display and video ads on each of these sites have great overall formatting. When it comes to their interactivity I believe that the ads can become more engaging of the consumer.  Instead of just clicking on a banner that takes them to another website page. Consumers can complete a task required of them by the ad before taken to a new page. This may seem like a very simple change, but most companies do not implement it because they do not recognize the immense benefits it offers. Other than the ads engaging abilities they seem to be maintain a high level of effective ness on both computer and mobile sites.

Organic Search Rankings and Social Media

Today in my blog we will once again be taking another look at the Microsoft Corporation. Specifically, I will be talking about how high their organic search rankings are through a real search engine on the web. Seeing how a company ranks in a search engine is a good way to determine their effectiveness at SEM or Search engine marketing.  Having impeccable SEM is an extremely crucial step for a business in this day in age to run at an optimal level.  Since we live in a digital era having this high ranking is great search engine marketing because a higher ranking gives more potential consumers a chance to see that company first. So in theory having people view that company first when searching for products related to that company can lead to higher sales and overall market share.  In addition to their SEM, finding and analyzing their social media presence on the web will be covered. Social media is just as important to companies such as Microsoft because of the exposure and interactivity it creates with consumers.    

               The search engine I am currently using to analyze Microsoft in this blog is google. In order for a Microsoft to get their name on the web they first develop a strategy designed to show the consumers what they are about. They then start a campaign where they create a website full of information and key words that are meant to be pulled up once searched in an engine. In order to have these words highlighted in a search engine Microsoft writes HTML code that links the searched word or words to their website. After using google to search Microsoft it is apparent that Microsoft’s organic ranking works pretty well for one big reason. Like every other huge corporation they created a SEO campaign and followed the process used by many marketers that is comprised of 5 to 6 steps. They begin this process by knowing for sure who their target market is, which means they know exactly what their customers are searching online. Knowing who their market is makes it a lot easier on a marketer when it comes to placing keywords. This intimate knowledge of who wants to buy Microsoft products helps the company narrow down the keywords needed to register with a search engine company. Altogether this ensures that Microsoft is one of the first companies to appear once chosen keywords are searched relating to them or their products. When it comes to keys words they uses a variety of them for their products. Being a tech company words such as tablet, computer, and windows are what they focus a bulk of their key wording around. These are some very important words since if any of these are typed into a search engine than Microsoft is the first if not one of the first companies to appear from the search. As said before being one the first companies to appear is great for business since people more than likely will click on some of the first links provided to them.

                Another key aspect of Microsoft maintaining a strong presence on the web is through their use of Social media. As stated earlier in my blog Social media is a great tool that Microsoft uses in order to increase popularity amongst existing and future consumers. Still just like their search engine ranking, Microsoft also has to develop a strategy when using social media to best address the consumer. The strategy that many companies follow like Microsoft uses social media in four different ways. These manipulations of social media include using it to listen, communicate, engage, and collaborate with consumers. So to check their presence within social media I started by checking to see if they were on Twitter and Facebook, which I consider to be the big 2 in SM. As far as I can tell they use these two different Medias to mainly listen, and communicate. Through both Twitter and Facebook Microsoft can listen very well to their consumers providing them the information or feedback they are seeking. These sites allow them to become much more active with consumers since SM helps Microsoft extend its ability to reach their target market. In addition the immediacy provided by the internet lets the company listen and communicate back to their market in a real time response that otherwise would not be as quick or open for other to see.

             Personally I think that Microsoft’s organic search ranking has covered all the basic steps of having a good SEO campaign. They know who they are selling to, what they want, and they know keywords associated with their products that will be put in a search engine. I can only really see them improving in the field of Social Media. I say this because they only utilize 2 of the 4 steps seen in any SMM strategy. If they could somehow incorporate more engagement and collaboration amongst their customers than it would not be impossible to think that total value as a company will increase.

The use of Google Alerts

Earlier in the semester I set up a google alerts account to help keep in close touch with the three companies I am following. This helpful little tool send me updates when anything comes across the web that deal directly with my companies, and what they are currently doing to increase value to their individual companies. So far every email I have gotten from google alerts has given me great information about my companies.

They also follow great email design principles. The formatting is very simple with a good bit of concise information which isn’t too long but gives the reader the gist of what is being said.  In addition the articles provide pictures that give the articles a much more personal touch, and help give a better understanding of what is happening. These updates also do a great job of separating articles in categories. Such as distinguishing between what htmls are news relates and which ones are product related. The design over all works because of how easy and instant it is to get the information off the internet. As far as I can tell they all are in compliance with the CAN-SPAM act. There might be a couple of changes needed in the design but nothing major. If I could change anything it would be the amount information given to the reader. As of now it is short and sweet, but I feel that to engage the reader better, than a little bit more information explaining the article is needed. Conducting an A/B testing would be a great way in determining what does and does not work with these notifications. So for the A/B testing I would incorporate my idea of using longer text rather than shorter text in the alerts. I also think testing whether or not the use of pictures is effective in captivating the reader.

                  After taking a look at fenders company website it is evident they make great use of internet marketing. Fender stays interactive by allowing people to have the chance to winning special promotions for fender products. They also have great customer service and contact departments meant to help inform customers about their products. Their response time is almost instant whether it be through helpful information put on their site, or even a simple phone call with a fender company representative. The company also keeps huge banners of their finest products embedded in their website with the option to learn more about the products. These banners are meant to show the quality of the company’s inventory, and are also meant to entice the customer into making a purchase. The Fender Company also uses good direct marketing tactics on those who actually sign up for a Fender account. Once signed up someone is able to receive updates of fender promotions and events. This keeps the customer engaged and more personally in touch with the company. It also allows for their current customers to give feedback, which could prove very beneficial in determining how operations will be conducted in the future.

Official Fender company website

http://www.fender.com/

Nike's Business model

For this next blog post I will be taking a further look into one of the three companies I chose to follow throughout the course of my semester. The company I chose this week to look upon is Nike and the current business model they follow. I started by visiting the company website to get a better understanding of exactly what model or models they operate under. Being a huge International corporation, it is only natural for a company to follow not just one but several models. Nike is an aware of this and uses several aspects from different business models. I learned from viewing their site they use both a merchandising and manufacturing business model.  Overall under the use of these models, along with the convenience of retail shopping the internet provides, profits over the year have progressively increased.

Unlike the internet firm eToys, Nike over time has found a good balance between the two models. This balance helps prevent them from crashing and burning. To change their current business model really would not make sense for two reasons. First off, the two models Nike currently follows has proven very beneficial both now and over the past 10 years. Also any other business models would not fit any of the goals or internal operations set by the company. If the Nike Corporation wishes to keep making money, then they should keep following the principal models set earlier by the company itself.

So far with my blog it seem that a majority of traffic is coming from the Netherlands and the United states. I honestly cannot account for why this is, but for the most part my blog views are coming from these two areas. Of course I can always increase the probability of people viewing my blog through various ways. One thought would be to add in some of the metrics used by marketers to evaluate the effectiveness of their ideas to capture the audience. Specifically using something as simple as A/B testing can in some ways become very beneficial to increasing view towards my blog. In addition adding more visual aids towards my blog can help increase traffic flow since visual stimuli is a great way to have people stay interested longer.

The two blogs I am choosing to follow for the week are Taylor and Nida’s. I chose their blogs to follow because I feel like they really stood out in design and content. Taylor’s blog she goes into great down on just exactly how and why millennials love the restaurant Chipotle. In it see explains in detail what it is that chipotle does to capture the hearts and minds of their customers. It seems very extensive in the efforts they go to in order to get both repeated and new business, but overall it has been everything they have now achieved. So I choose her blog because it shows she put a lot of effort into it, and she knows what she is talking about, which we can see in the detail of her report. The other blog I chose to follow was done by Nida. I very much enjoyed her blog because it was informative, concise, like Taylor’s full of stimulating visual aids. Through her blog she was able to convey how the Coco cola uses both offline and online technologies to their consumers.

I commented on both their blogs.  

Microsoft and Their Customer Value

Hello Class and welcome to my blog. This semester I am choosing to follow Microsoft, Nike, and Fender. Each one of these companies individually operate at a highly capable production level spanning the globe.  Now that each company has expanded exponentially from first starting off, they realize that new ways need to be adopted in order to compete with the present market.  Currently the companies are begging to use the advances in technology to help reach their vast amount of customers. Their goal is to increase the value they have for their customers, with each company having some similarities and differences in strategies.

For this blog I took a look at Microsoft and saw how they were able to help their customers.  One example of Microsoft helping has to do with an announcement they made earlier this year during the spring. In March of 2015, Microsoft, at Microsoft convergence announced that they would began partnerships with other top companies to help provide a better service for all of their customers.  This included the tech company paring up with automotive companies such as Ford and Lincoln. The idea is to create a sophisticated car system that increase the car connectivity to the outside word along with a system which keeps the driver in better control of their vehicle. In addition Microsoft is teaming up with other companies in the fields of sales, digital transaction management and analytics market, and field service. Together they are working on cloud based technology that is designed to include more services providing people with real time information and analyst. The analytics can be applied to information such as sales data, which helps the user make better business decisions. This is all only possible through the collaboration of these leading companies and their dedication to constantly improving cloud technology.

Taking a look back it genuinely seems like Microsoft is taking time to create technology they can both capitalize on and help their customers with. Their strategy is a very good because they make this helpful technology readily available to customers. Microsoft is trying to show the people that they are there to provide a service that proves beneficial to the user in their everyday life. Also working with other various companies in many different fields is a great way to spread their technology around the world. In the long run I believe these partnerships will prove very beneficial to both the corporations and the consumers.