Week 7 – Blog 2: Does Target understand the benefits of Inbound Marketing?

Using Hubspot’s article (2010) “Inbound Internet Marketing Blog” as a guide for this post, the blog will analyze whether Target (www.target.com) is allotting adequate time for its inbound marketing mix. This includes Hubpot’s recommended: 40% on blogging/content creation, 30% on calls to action for landing pages, and 10% on social media. Did target hit or miss the mark?

Blogging/Content Creation:

At this time, there was no Target Corporation blog available online. Hubspot suggests (2010) that all companies spend about 40% of their time on blogging/content creation. This helps with increasing the index volume and the ability to rank keywords.

Call to Action on Landing Pages:

Target had two calls for actions on its homepage. Those calls to actions were “Spend $ 100, Save 10% on Most Home Items” and “Reduce Stress. Save Early.” The first call to action is for a home sales event. The second call to action was geared towards early Christmas shoppers. Hubspot suggest (2010) that companies have at least two calls to actions on every major page. Also, according to Hubspot, the calls to action should be bold. This was true for the first call to action but not the second.

Social Media:

After reviewing Targets Facebook page, the company is spending a lot of time posting information. This includes postings on various topics for their products. One such posting that seems to reoccur regularly is comments/contents by a fashion expert. However, it appears that Target does not allow fans to post comments directly. Otherwise, the fan can comment but it’s only posted if the company finds it appropriate to share the information. Hubspot suggests (2010) that companies spend about 10% of their time on social media. This helps the business build relationships, create brand awareness, and receive feedback.

Recommendation: Target needs to visit the site and read the article “Why every business should blog” suggested by Hubspot. If Target has a blog it wasn’t located during this evaluation. If this is true, Target needs to create a blog. The company also needs to lighten up and allow fans to post directly to their site in order to gain useful feedback and create valuable relationships with their customers.

Week 7 – Blog 1 Is Tide using best Facebook practices?

The third week of October HubSpot posted an article title “The 9 Worst Ways to Use Facebook for Business.” The purpose of this blog is to determine if Tide (www.Tide.com) is breaking any of the please don’t do rules for businesses on Facebook.  Specifically, this posting will look at the following: Don’t allow fans to share content, don’t comment on your fans content, use a profile image that has a poor thumbnail, and don’t share your Facebook page on your website.

Don’t Allow Fans to Share Content:

Tide allows fans to share content and pictures. HubSpot (2010) suggests that businesses allow fans to post content. A business needs to allow fans to share thoughts, videos, and pictures on their Facebook page.

Don’t Comment on Your Fans Content:

Tide does not comment on any of the fans postings. HubSpot (2010) suggests that businesses respond to their fans posts. This can be done by simply clicking on the “Like” button or posting “Thanks for Sharing.” By responding to posts a business encourages fans to post more and says to them (the fans) that the company cares.

Use a Profile Image That has a Poor Thumbnail:

Tide does have an adequate thumbnail picture. The brand recognition is clear and nothing is missing or cut off. HubSpot (2010) suggest that businesses use thumbnails that provide clear brand identification.

Don’t Share Your Facebook Page on Your Website:

Tide does share its Facebook page on the homepage of their website. However, the Facebook icon is located in the lower right hand corner and is not that easy to discover. Hubspot (2010) suggests that all businesses share their Facebook link on their website. It is more likely that if a customer is visiting your site that they will become a fan.

Recommendations:  Tide needs to place its website Facebook icon in a more obvious area on the homepage. Tide should also think about responding to the fans comments posted on its Facebook. It doesn’t need to be a long post just a “Like” or a “Thanks” will do. Overall, the Facebook Page is fairly pleasing and Tide has over 551,923 followers.

Week 6 – Blog 2: WordTracker Test and Tide

The purpose of this blog is to utilize the free version of Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com/) to see if Tide is using the most effective Keywords on their website. Some of the tools that Wordtracker offers are related to Keywords, Link Building, and Strategizing.  As discussed in the previous blog (Week 6 – Blog 1), the following were the keywords Tide is employing:

Keywords -  Official Tide site; get info; detergent; stains; stain solutions; variants; scents; value; coupons; products; articles; loads of hope; questions; search; how-to’s; contact Tide; message board

To start the evaluation, the Keywords were imported/added to the search tool. From the first results, it was a surprise that the Keyword “Coupons” is used frequently by all Internet users.  Next, I removed the Keyword coupon so the next most popular word could be ascertained, which was “Value and Questions.” Lastly, I removed all generic terms, such as value and questions, to focus on Keywords related to Tide products, such as fabric care (detergent). The top Keywords were “Detergent and Stains.” Fleischer suggests (2009) that marketers remember that Google is a voting machine and its important to research keyword phrases to measure your competition. With this suggestion, the following Keywords of Gain, Cheer, and Tide were submitted to determine which words were the most popular. Not surprising, Gain was had the most searches. However, the word Gain can be associated with more than laundry detergent, such as weight gain or profit gain.  Cheer came in second. Again, the word “Cheer” can be associated cheerleading, cheerfulness, and so on.

Recommendations: Tide should, if they aren’t utilizing the tool already, consider using an instrument like Wordtracker to help with on and off page optimization. The device useful in helping to determine Keyword phrases that will create the most Internet traffic to their site. However, it wasn’t surprising that some Keywords, such as “Coupon/s,” can create a search results that are so wide that an Internet user would need to wade through a sea of options to obtain what they are looking for.

Week 6 – Blog 1: Tide and Off-page Optimization

According to Michael Fleischer (2009), off-page optimization is an important SEO strategy that marketers should utilize if they want top rankings on Google. The purpose of this posting is to determine if Tide (www.Tide.com) is using Meta tags and quality links for the best off-page optimization. The following is an evaluation of Tides Off-Page Optimization:

Meta Tags:

Title - Tide.com Home Page

Keywords -  Official Tide site; get info; detergent; stains; stain solutions; variants; scents; value; coupons; products; articles; loads of hope; questions; search; how-to’s; contact Tide; message board

Description - fabric care, plus additional savings here at the official site for Tide laundry detergent

Robots – NOYDIR and NOODP

Tide is using good Meta tags. The keywords seem relevant for guiding Internet users to their website.      Those include keywords related to fabric care, such as stain solutions and scents. The description adequately defines the websites purpose, which is fabric care. Fleischer suggests (2009) that one variable that can help with off-page optimization is using related Meta tags.

Quality Links:

The number of links associated with Tide is 175. Some of the sits links are regarding stain removal, P&G Network, Braun, Confessions of an environmentalist, and many more. Tide does have good links. However, many of the relevant links show up on the second and third page of the Google search. Fleischer suggests (2009) that off-page optimization success is directly related to website links.

Recommendation: Tide is doing a good job with off-page optimization. However, there is room for improvement. For example, the official Tide website is not found on the first Google page when using some of the keywords.

Week 5 – Blog 2: Website Grader – Recommendations

Grade:

www.tide.com

Rank:  82,702 out of 2,903,205

Algorithm calculation of 97%

Competitor comparison:

www.cheer.com

Rank: 287,380 out of 2,903,205

Algorithm calculation of 90%

Recommendation:

According to the HubSpot’s Website Grader tool, Tide is doing a better job with their website than Cheer. Some of the recommendations for Tide are:

1.      Cut down on the number of pictures

a.       Search found 37 pictures, which means Tide customers have to wait longer to view a page

b.      An option - includes smaller images

c.       Search engines cannot see/recognize images

2.      Add a Blog

a.       HubSpot could not find a blog

b.      According to Roberts (2010), Blogs record personal experiences that are publicly accessible

                                                              i.      A blog might be a way that consumer might connect to the Tide brand via a search regarding stain removal

3.      Renew domain

a.       Domain set to expire in 1 year and 9 months

b.      Shows a commitment to established website and not a spam site

Overall, Tide is doing a good job but there is room for improvement.

Week 5 – Blog 1: Target market and the Minnesota Twins

Has the MN Twins marketing team developed a website that demonstrates an understanding of their target audience?  Who is the target audience? The MN Twins target market is baseball fans, which means its entertainment oriented. In this blog research a couple of other official baseball sites (Yankees - http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy and Chicago Cubs - http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=chc  =) were visited to see if the MN Twins are on track. It appears the Twins, Yankees, and Cubs all have the same website designer because with the exception of the name identifying the sites they were almost identical in appearance. The following are some way that the MN Twins have appropriately identified and design for their target market:

1.       The MN Twins (also Yankees and Cubs) understands its customer needs. The site presents game highlights, headlines, ticket sales, clothing sales, and links to stats or rosters.  Roberts suggests (2010) that a marketer should have a firm understanding of the target market needs.

2.       The MN Twins website provides products that appeal to the fan shopping behavior. This includes the Homer Hanky and MLB Sports Shop. Roberts recommends (2010) that a marketer should recognize shopping behaviors of its target market.

3.       The MN Twins appreciates and caters to the attitudes of its target market. The baseball fans visiting the site get the entertainment and information they seek. This can be experienced by watching videos, checking stats, or by reading the latest headline. Roberts advises (2010) that marketers understand and provide website content that aligns with the customers attitudes.

Recommendation: Although the MN Twins website is busy and clutters it is no different than other official baseball team sites. The marketers for the twins are doing a winning job of providing website content that is entertainment oriented and understands the customers’ attitudes, shopping behaviors, and needs.

Week 4 - Blog 2: Evaluation of MN Twins website page presentation.

The Minnesota Twins struck out when it comes to website content presentation. It seems that Forrester’s Web Site Methodology was not part of the game plan (Roberts, 263). The Twins website has so much going on that it even the most loyal fans would find it difficult to sort through the site information. The following are a few of the presentation strikes against them:

1.       The website page space is cluttered. There is some white space that displaces many of the ads or content information.  Forrester suggests that poorly designed layout grids create unused or unusable expanses of white pixels (Roberts, 263).

2.       The Twins website data fields are not presented in a logical order. The purchase ticket information is located at the top, towards the middle, and used a small hard to see button. There are links to merchandise that is spread out all over the site (top, middle, bottom, everywhere).  Forrester suggests that poorly designed layout grids result in displaced content, ads, and navigation (Roberts, 263).

3.       The site uses many types of icons and symbols that a number of users might not identify. For example, the Twins site has what might look like tickets and MLB icons. Most users might know that MLB stands for Major League Baseball. However, if a user doesn’t follow baseball the site doesn’t provide an explanation. Forrester recommends that Internet website have icons that users will understand (Roberts, 263)

Recommendation: The Minnesota Twins website should consider developing a layout that is easy to navigate. It should have less clutter, icons that all visitors can identify, and locate the purchase tickets in an area that easy to find.


For Fun:

YouTube - MN Twins Commercials

Week 4 - Blog 1: Is Target using best Twitter practices?

According to a posting by Diana Freedman on HubSpot Blog (2010), there are nine worst practices for businesses utilizing Twitter. Those include: Too much self-promotion, only including links to the business  blog, follow anyone/everyone, no established personality, non-interaction with other tweeters, not sharing Twitter profile on website, no monitoring, and tweeting only once a week.  The purpose of this post is to determine if Target’s (http://twitter.com/Target?from_source=onebox) is avoiding a few of the unfavorable business Twitter habits.

1.       Target does some self-promotion but surprisingly not as much as a follower would have anticipated.  For example, Target included a link for an Iron Man YouTube video. Diana Freedman suggests that an organization not only share information about themselves but also includes other interesting and useful links/websites (HubSpot, 2010).

2.       Target is following some bloggers that might fall into the description of everyone or anyone category. Currently, Target is following 447 bloggers, many of which don’t contribute much information or make sense to follow. Diana Freedman suggests that an organization be selective about who they follow because the Twitter stream might be filled with irrelevant information (HubSpot, 2010).

3.       Target does not respond to any tweets.  Diana Freedman suggests that a business respond to a few tweets (HubSpot, 2010).  Social networking it about sharing and not about being one sided.

4.       Target tweets more than once a week. On average, the company is tweeting a few times a week.  Diana Freedman suggests that a company tweet at least more than once a week (HubSpot, 2010).

Recommendation: Target can improve its Twittering procedures. Although Target is out there tweeting relevant information about the company and other areas of interest there are many areas where the organization can improve. For example, the company needs to respond to posts, re-evaluate who the company follows, and possibly establish some type of personality, which Target Twitter is completely lacking.

Week 3 - Blog 2: Is Jeep (Chrysler) Blogging/Tweeting for Its Consumers?

Brian Solis (BrianSolis.com) suggests (2010) that the most influential consumers online follow Twitter. He also states that research done by ExactTarget indicate that companies who publish blogs, comment on blogs, and write a monthly review provide motivators for consumers to follow their brand. Does Jeep write monthly reviews, post blogs, and send tweets to for their followers.  

1.      From September 1 through September 24^th, Chrysler Corporation has over 112 Tweets. Many of the Tweets (http://twitter.com/Chrysler) were regarding Jeep.

2.      Chrysler blogs daily. The blog is located at: http://blog.chryslergroupllc.com/blog.do;jsessionid=DE50E277AF68398B7A86D8F72DA92754?p=home .  In some cases, the blogs can be more than one.

Recommendation:  Chrysler is doing a great job blogging and tweeting. However, the Chrysler Corporation doesn’t have a monthly newsletter, which might be something to consider in the future. However, the blog and Twitter both post news articles links written about (probably only the positives) their products.

Week 3 - Blog 1: Is Target Preparing Online Customers for the Holidays?

Is Target online website prepared for the coming Holidays? According to the HubSpot Blog (2010), the time for companies to think about marketing and holiday shopping is now. A comScore report (2009), indicated that ecommerce sales reached $ 27 billion in 2009. To increase 2010 holiday sales revenue HubSpot provides four tips that companies should consider for online holiday sales preparation: Create blog posts that optimize holiday centric keywords, develop promotional landing pages gears towards holiday traffic, send holiday emails, and monitor/promote your brand and products in social media using keywords. The following is an analysis of Target website:

1.      Does Target have promotional landing page designed for Christmas holiday traffic? At this time, Target does have a “Daily Deals” page that is time sensitive and offers a discount and free shipping if purchased in the timeframe set by Target. In regards to holiday landing page, the Target Corporation does not have a holiday landing page. HubSpot (2010) suggests that organizations entice consumers by giving them time-sensitive pricing incentives.

2.      In regards to Target’s holiday emails, as part of the research an email sign up was completed for sales exclusives. This means the blog cannot determine if Target has started an email marketing campaign that is lead nurturing (HubSpot).

3.      Target Facebook page does not have any holiday postings or keywords. HubSpot (2010) suggest in tip four that companies use keywords in their social media.  

Recommendation: Target is missing the boat in regards to preparing online customers for the holidays. Target should be posting holiday incentives by offering a landing page geared towards holiday shopping and posting information on Facebook regarding holiday specials.  

Week Two - Blog Two: Does Spam Web Site Incite Customers to Action?

Does Spam’s web site (www.spam.com) incite a customer to action?  According to Roberts (2008), a marketing program has three action objectives to incite a customer to action: Keep the customer on the site longer, create a desire by the customer to request addition information about services or products, and achieve a sale.   Spam does a relatively good job on meeting a couple of Roberts objectives. The following is a list of what Spam has done well:

• ·         Spam homepage has the following in the middle: Upload recipes, print Spam coupons, and get great recipes tips. Roberts suggests that a firm should encourage customers to remain on the site longer and explore more of what the company has to offer (Roberts, 86). The homepage meets the criteria by enticing customers to look at coupons and recipes.
• ·         Spam offers coupons for its products. Although customers can purchases items through the site, such as caps and toys, the main incentive is the offer of coupons. Roberts suggests that tangible incentives should be related to the product (Roberts, 87). The coupon feature, even though the site led to a Spam and pasta contest, is an example of a tangible incentive, which could ultimately result in the sale of the product.

Recommendations: Spam site doesn’t encourage customers to request additional information. The site does provide recipe options, which might be seen as a way to encourage customers to look at additional information about the product.  There is a link for “Join the Spam Fan Club” but it’s hidden in the Fun and Games sections. Spam may want to consider adding this link or something similar to the main homepage.

Week Two - Blog One: Target and Value Proposition

Does Target’s web site (www.target.com) include a value proposition? Is there one sentence that indicates to the visitor what makes them different from their competitor? The site does include a lot of possible sub propositions but it does lack a value proposition. Those include sub value propositions are “Save on the brand you crave” and “The brands you want, at the prices you crave.” The following are three ways that Target misses the bulls eye when it comes to value proposition: 

  

·         Target has not identified or clearly expressed its value proposition (Marketing Experiments, slide 2). There is no single sentence that provides a value proposition statement.

·         Target is missing the mark when it comes to identifying the primary reason a product should be purchased by a consumer (Marketing Experiments, slide 6).

·          Target does not differentiate their offer and distinguish a value the company excels at  (Marketing Experiments, slide 12).

Recommendation:  Target has many opportunities to distinguish itself with a value proposition. I think they are missing the fact that they sell to the trendy discount shopping crowd.  Many of the products that are sold through Target.com are not available through their competitors, which might be the value that they perform best at. 

Reference:

Marketing Experiment (2008)

owerful value propositions: How to optimize this critical marketing element – and lift your results. Retrieved online September 19, 2010, from http://www.marketingexperiments.com/improving-website-conversion/powerful-value-propositions.html

Week One - Blog Two: Jeep and Enhancing Customer Value

 Is Jeep’s web site enhancing customer value by utilizing the virtual value chain concept? Jeep’s web site clearly demonstrates the company is employing one aspect of the virtual value chain, which is enhancing customer value by allowing buyers to either build or locate their dream vehicle.  For example, a Jeep customer can customize almost any aspect of their vehicle. This includes choice of model, color, and special packages (tow, off road tires, ect.). The following is a list of how Jeep is enhancing customer value:

1.      Jeep offers customers the option to tailor a vehicle to desire specifications. Roberts (2008) suggests that one benefit of an integrated value chain is to provide individual product customization.

2.      Jeep provides customers with increased service and support. Jeep has a link geared specifically for owners. This site provides recall information, owner’s manuals, and vehicle information. Customer value is added by offering information and customer service/support (Roberts, 41).

3.      Jeeps supplies customers with real time information on current new and used vehicles. This demonstrates Roberts (2008) value chain benefit of bringing in customers through real-time information.

Thoughts: Jeep’s web site does reveal that the organization is enhancing customer value by employing key concepts of the value chain. Although the site is not appealing (pretty low key and dull) it does have customer value enhancing tools.

Week One - Blog One: Tide and Consumer Control

Does Tide’s website give consumer’s control? Can a consumer visit the site 24/7 and navigate to areas of interest? Yes, the Tide website grants consumer power by allowing visitors the ability to navigate to areas of interest when entering their site (www.Tide.com). Although the consumer is asked to complete a survey when entering the site it is not mandatory and a simple click on “No Thanks” and the user enters the site.  The following are the empowerment tools provided to the consumers by Tide:

1.      Tide provides a search link right in the middle of the site. Consumers want a neat package that allows them to complete their task quickly (Roberts, 24). This tool is located in the middle of the site, therefore allowing consumers the ability to search for a specific topic.

2.      Tide offers three different “Talk to Tide” communication channels or services to consumers. This includes the following: Call Tide (available M-F from 9 to 6 PM EST), Ask the Community (real time community 24/7), Email Tide (checked daily M-F with a response turn around time of 72 hours), and a link for Frequently Ask Questions (24/7). As Roberts suggested (2008), customers want support and service at all times (365 days with 24/7).

3.      Tide gives product tips using a variety of online technology. This includes videos, newsletters, and stain brain. Tide provides to customers, through a variety of learning styles (audio, visual, and text) methods, information about their products. Consumers who want to look for tips on removing an oil stain can click on the “Stain Brain” link and select “Oil” to locate tips for removing oil stains. Another option, consumer can select “Videos” and watch “Easy steps to remove grease stains.”  By offering product information in a variety of formats, Tide is empowering all consumers. Even consumers who may be visually or hearing impaired.

For more information on web accessibility visit: http://aboutwebaccessibility.com/home/law/businesses/future.

Recommendation: Tide keep up the good work providing product information in an easy to navigate site format. Consumers expect to be in control of the information they access (Roberts, 24). The website gives power to consumers by providing information in a variety of formats,  an easy to navigate site, and contact/service information available 24/7.