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Kunnskapskilden – Internet Marketing Intelligence
Internet Situational Analysis of 1to1 Marketing/CRM
Research Project: Internet Situational Analysis of 1to1 Marketing/CRM from Jan Vig at Griffith University , Australia 1999/2000
Content
Chapter 5 |
Market Analysis |
Chapter 5 Market analysis5.1 Trends5.1.1 Mega trends 5.1.2 Emerging Web Trends 5.1.3 1999 Web Trends 5.1.4 Where in the world is the Net taking us? 5.1.5 Future.sri.com 5.1.6 Predictions for the Web in 1999 5.1.7 Other trend forecasts 5.1.8 E-Commerce 5.1.9 Trends Technology 5.1.10 Drivers for Change – Consumers 5.1.11 Demographics 5.2 Internet statistics5.2.1 Internetstatistic.com 5.2.2 E-Marketer STATISTIKK 5.2.3 NUA 5.2.5 Activmedia 5.2.6 Dataquest 5.2.7 Surveyn.Net – Internet User Survey #2 5.2.8 Other Statistik 5.2.9 Web shopping Statistics 5.3 One to One marketing / Relationship marketing5.3.1 Relationship Marketing 5.3.2 1:1 marketing 5.3.3 Permission marketing 5.3.4 Power tools for 1:1 5.3.6 Critical Questions 5.3.8 The state of one to one online, part II 5.4 Customer care/ customer service5.4.1 Customer Care Pricewaterhous & Coopers 5.4.2 Customer Relationship Management CRM 5.4.3 Customer service 5.4.4 Collect customer information 5.4.5 Customer service 5.4.6 Internet Customer Service 5.5 Personalization5.5.1 Personalization: Marketing to one: 5.5.2 There are 4 ways to ad personalization to the web site 5.5.3 Different articles about personalization 5.6 Privacy5.6.1 Information sources on Internet concerning privacy 5.6.2 Articles about privacy 5.7 Security5.7.1 Different articles concerning security 5.7.2 NUA Security Issues 5.8 The Market place 1to1 after Peppers & Rogers5.8.1 Communications and Media 5.8.2 Customer Knowledgebase 5.8.3 Mass Customization 5.8.4 Distribution and Channel 5.8.5 Organizational Structure 5.9 The future of One to One Web Technology5.9.1 The Future of One-to-One Web Interactivity 5.9.2 The Future of One-to-One E-Mail 5.9.3 The Future of One-to-One Web Site Personalization 5.9.4 The Future of One-to-One Push 5.2.5 The Future of One-to-One Community 5.9.6 The Future of One-to-One Web Presentation and Conferencing 5.9.7 The Future of One-to-One Advertising and Promotion 5.9.8 The Future of One-to-One Web Site Tracking and Analysis 5.9.9 The future of tracking in a word: databases. 5.10 Products and customers5.10.1 Who is buying what over the Internet? 5.10.2 Customer-business interaction 5.10.3 Business relationships and communications 5.11 Changes in the market place5.11.1 Drivers of Change 5.11.2 Consumer Behaviour 5.11.3 Industry Response 5.12 Changes in the market response5.12.1 Product & Service Offering 5.12.2 Relationship Marketing 5.12.3 One to One Marketing 5.12.4 Mass Customisation 5.12.5 Future Delivery Mediums 5.13 Changes in delivery mediums5.13.1 Post 5.13.2 Fax 5.13.3 CDs and Disks 5.13.4 Kiosks 5.13.5 Pagers and PDAs 5.13.6 Telephones and Smartphones 5.13.7 Interactive TV 5.13.8 Web TV 5.13.9 Internet E-mail 5.13.10 Internet World Wide Web 5.13.11 Proprietory ISPs 5.13.12 Summary |
5.13 |
Changes in delivery mediums |
Research Project: Internet Situational Analysis of 1to1 Marketing/CRM from Jan Vig at Griffith University , Australia 1999/2000
http://www.managingchange.com/simrep/content.htm
| Postal MailUsing both hard and soft data, customer communication is becoming extremely targeted and the volume of printed matter sent to customers is increasing. In the future, knowledge based systems will record and co-ordinate all customer correspondence. FaxWithin some customer segments, the fax machine is as common as the answer machine and those customers feel happier using the fax to send their credit card information. Most PCs now come with fax software and new services are exploiting this situation. It is currently the best electronic method of sending brochures and other illustrated documents.
CD-ROM Most PCs now come with CD-ROM drives. They are ideal for delivering volume data, including video. Where necessary they can be supplemented by up-to-date information delivered via the Internet. They are best for use in volume markets due to the high cost of authorship.
Kiosks
Multimedia kiosks are being placed in many bank branches and in public places where they can reach new customers. They provide interactive services in a novel, easy to use way that has wide appeal. They look to be the next wave of consumer operated devices. The large financial service providers are the most committed to kiosks but some interviewees thought kiosks have limited applicability
Pagers and PDA These devices come in a wide variety of forms and prices from under £100 upwards with the newer PDAs running a mini form of Windows software. New services are using pagers and PDAs, especially for time critical applications. They will prove popular when the cashless society takes off. These devices will become ubiquitous.
Telephones and Smart phones Telecommunications networks and services are growing at a tremendous rate and companies are exploiting telecommunications in order to operate new business models. Global operators are in an ideal position to handle demand peaks and troughs, 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.
Interviewees are very positive about telephone based selling and services as many consumers had enthusiastically embraced this medium. But a move to telephone based processes is making significant demands on internal capabilities.
In the future many personal and household appliances will be linked to the Internet. Consumers will use them to help manage their fragmented and complex lifestyles. Home PCs will manage all communications into a home with consumers erecting electronic barriers to block unwanted communications. To get through will require strong relationships.
Interactive-TV Many interviewees are enthusiastic about Interactive-TV as cable and satellite expansion brings hundreds of new channels with 2-way interaction. Home shopping is likely to be a popular service. A number of these companies have, or are participating in, the various trials but some initial disappointment is expressed.
As television shifts from broadcasting to narrow casting there is a need to target adverts at specific individual households but some viewers will pay a fee to view without adverts. Adverts and in-programme promotions will allow consumers to request more information and speak to an agent.
Web-TV Web-TV is a consumer device that receives TV programmes and provides access to the Internet. There is no complicated set-up and browser technology makes for ease of use. Like I-TV, it will be possible for programme makers and advertisers to link their content with information on the Internet. There was an enthusiastic reception in the US following the recent launch of Web-TV.
Internet E-Mail E-mail is a universal and ubiquitous facility in daily use by hundreds of millions of people. It is asimple, very low cost and fast service, although it does have its problems. Developments with e-mail software will allow users automatically to review, sort, re-route and even delete e-mail from unwanted sources. E-mail is likely to be widely available through public kiosks, Smartphones, PDAs, etc.. Telesales units will need increasingly to handle large numbers of e-mail requests but interviewees are already most concerned with the poor handling of customers’ e-mails.
Internet – World Wide Web (WWW) The World Wide Web (WWW) has caught the imagination of many people. The current profile of a typical user is a well-educated professional with above average income. Booze Allen and Hamilton have shown the extremely low cost of Internet-based banking. The Internet does have some short term problems but all these will be overcome.
As the Internet is interactive, it is able to support many new and innovative value added services. It allows companies to reach new markets and to introduce new product and service paradigms. Interviewees thought home banking will be the lead financial application. Some thought that private closed user groups based on Internet technology could usefully serve affinity groups at their work place. Never-the-less, many were sceptical as to consumer take-up in the mass market. |
Many found their companies’ offering disappointing. They were out-of-date, boring, untargeted, too technology driven, lacked marketing information, and were too stand-alone.
Proprietary Service Providers like AOL offer comprehensive services to both consumers and suppliers and are an alternative to an in-house provision. Some banks are using their own private networks because they feel they are more secure.
The consensus on the order of preference is:
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Most see the new mediums as complementary, not as a fundamental new way of doing business. Larger companies will offer customers a choice of mediums from which customers will choose according to their personal preferences, equipment and the stage in the buying cycle.
Major content providers may well dominate any of these mediums. It is this that will determine which medium to use.
5.13.1 Post
The prophecies of 10 years ago that paper communications are doomed has proved premature, if not ill-founded. Consumers are increasingly being deluged with direct response mail as database marketing provides the means to target smaller and smaller segments. Increasingly letters and inserts are customised by reference to personal profiles. A role of many in-bound telesales units is to distribute literature to potential customers who are responding to media advertising.
…. The UK direct marketing business was worth £6bn in 1996 …. £600m of this
is spent on compiling database information …
Electronic systems are being used to improve service delivery:
it is possible to transmit any letter electronically for printing near the recipient’s home. CompuServe offers this little- publicised service, along with a similar fax service, both being generated from an e-mail message.
The UK Post Office is now able to print letters on company note paper at sorting centres near to the recipient.
in response to e-mail requests, Internet Infobot systems automatically send information back by e-mail but there is no reason why companies couldn’t respond by post. For coloured brochures, post is currently the only suitable method of response.
In the future customer profiles will encompass:
both hard and soft data (e.g. products owned and personal likes and dislikes), and
current and historic data, even predictions about future actions.
Knowledge based systems
will then combine this customer data with rules in a marketing database inorder to drive all customer communications, including new business, servicing, and claims.
Knowledge systems will manage all communications including direct response
Personalised Direct Mail at Britannia Building Society
When Britannia’s 1.9m customers registered for the loyalty bonus scheme they were asked to provide additional information, such as their tax band, occupation, financial relationships with other organisations, etc.. Six out of 10 did so.
Using this information Britannia has segmented its customers into 9 groups. It then sent letters to each customer suggesting they could switch to a Britannia mortgage and offering a cash sum. Each letter was personalised to make a different suggestion as to how the customer could spend the money, for example, a deposit on a new car, or a holiday abroad.
The response was so good that Britannia is to increase its direct marketing spend from £1.5m in 1996 to £5m this year.
The same technique will be used in the branches to handle customers in a more personalised way.
5.13.2 Fax
The fax machine has yet to become a consumer item, and may never do so, but it has increased in significant numbers in recent years. The self-employed and the more affluent are typical domestic owners. Those businesses whose market encompasses these people should consider the role of the fax machine.
Whilst many consider it impolite and possibly illegal to send unsolicited fax communications, it could support a range of agreed value-added services, especially where speed is of the essence:
- communicating changes in the price of stock or the value of personal portfolios.
- fax-back of account details, product information, etc.
In the reverse mode, many customers are wary of sending their credit card number over the Internet and prefer to send by fax. Using Java an Internet Web page could print an order form complete with bar codes for the credit card and order reference numbers. The customer then faxes this form and then software at the supplier’s end matches fax to order.
With so many faxes now being generated and received by PCs, some fax software is being enhanced to recognise when it is communicating with similar software. It then transmits the information not as a slow series of dots but as high speed text. If such software becomes a standard it will greatly increase the practicalities of sending complex documents such as brochures by fax..
Generally speaking, commentators see the fax as an interim technology, but its demise requires not only a greater use of networked PCs, but also common standards for sending documents containing diagrams and different styles of text. The HTML document standard used by the World Wide Web is now being incorporated into e-mail software and may well become the standard.
GEOFAX PICTURE
GeoFax allows users to access their voice-mail, faxes, pager and e-mail messages via their e-mail in-box or any touch-tone phone.
5.13.3 CDs and Disks
One of the current barriers to many of the new mediums is they require a telecommunications infrastructure that is still for the European mass audience underdeveloped and expensive. In time these limits will be overcome. Meanwhile CD-ROMs and floppy disks (CD-ROMs from here-on) provide a useful means of transmitting information in the interim period.
The advantages of CD-ROMs include:
The main barrier
CD-ROMs were not the focus of the interviews but many possible applications come to mind:
Some financial examples of distribution on CD-ROM or disk are:
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Quicken home accounts software comes with extensive tutorials and manuals for teaching the basics
of accounting as well as information on how to use the product.
5.13.4 Kiosks
Kiosks are consumer operated machines providing a number of information and transaction services.
They are typically situated in public spaces or in open areas within retail outlets. As multi-functional devices, used by consumers without any prior training, the user-interface is critical. Kiosks usually therefore make use of both text and graphical menus, touch-screen selection, and perhaps audio prompting. To maintain user interest, in what is typically an impromptu and casual encounter, they often use all the various forms of multi-media.
Kiosks are today built around a high specification multi-media PC and may operate either off-line or on-line. Besides the PC components they may include a telephone or video camera to allow dialogue with an advisor; a printer to produce hard copy; and a card reader to restrict access to some or all functions. When situating kiosks in public places they need to be robust and able to raise an alarm if under attack.
In the near future it is likely that kiosks will use Internet web browser technology. The same application then runs both on the Internet and on the kiosk, but with the added advantage that the more static information is immediately available from the kiosk’s CD-ROM.
The business benefits of kiosks are:
Amongst the interviewees there was a strong difference of opinion about the usefulness and acceptability of kiosks. Those who advocate them state:
Advocates tended to come from the larger bancassurers who already have a substantial investment in retail outlets. In such an environment, security is less of an issue; staff can be on hand to help users; and FAs can use the kiosk as a sales aid (in this case the kiosk is probably a standard multi-media PC). Larger organisations gain economies of scale by spreading the high cost of authoring the presentations over many units.
Interviewees who are less than enthusiastic stated:
The Nationwide Building Society (NWBS) probably has the most advanced and extensive kiosk system in the UK. Called Interact, and first installed in early 1995, it aims to forge new and possibly closer relationships with customers. Interact provides a learning opportunity about FS products and their associated processes (e.g. obtaining a mortgage). Using the kiosk, customers determine what products they need as well as how to obtain them. Personal information is not currently part of the scope.
The BT-led TouchPoint pilot involves many of the interviewees. The participation fee is £20K but one interviewee said the overall project cost was about £100K.
Other kiosk systems include:
Regarding suppliers, Anderson Consulting is a lead player in the $10m DaVinci consortium that is developing kiosks and other technology for electronic commerce. NCR has also made substantial investments in kiosk technology. |
5.13.5 Pagers and PDAs
Pagers range from simple bleepers to those with the short and long message. Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs) range from electronic address books through to palm size portable computers able to run word processing and spreadsheet applications as well as send and receive faxes and access the Internet (via a telephone). New versions are able to run a mini version of the Windows software called Windows CE. PDAs cost from £100 to £800. Pagers and PDAs can interface with Smart-cards, which look like plastic credit and debit cards, but contain memory and processing power. By securely holding personal information and digital money Smart-cards provide:
Users will be able to use them in other devices such as ATMs, kiosks, home PCs, cash registers, telephones, and mobiles.
Powerful pagers and PDA devices enable companies to offer sophisticated value-added services to attract and retain customers, or as a means of generating additional revenue streams:
Facts & Figures About Pagers
…… Modems have doubled in speed in the last year and rumour has it that BT is considering free local calls….. |
5.13.6 Telephones and Smartphones
The recent fiasco with the telephone renumbering schemes has highlighted the explosive growth in both personal and business telecommunications. Telephones provide access to a wide range of services, many of which are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Examples are:
Mobile communications will continue to grow until nearly every Western citizen has their own personal communications device. Additionally, cars and home equipment will also have communications capability, with many connected to the Internet.
Fragmented and complex lifestyles encourages consumers to acquire more devices to handle their communications
The liberalisation of telephone markets is fuelling an explosion in global operations, at least within the English speaking world:
New telecoms operators are installing the latest digital systems based on high bandwidth cable and radio technology. When linked to computer systems it greatly enhances the simple telephone system. Many of the following services are already in existence:
Interviewees are very positive about consumers expanding their use of the telephone. Whilst many remarked that it was the de-facto communications method of the young and middle-classes and above, others also said that they felt its use was permeating all segments of society. No doubt the success of the friendly-looking red phone has influenced both consumers and providers.
One interviewee foresaw 50% of GI products being sold direct by the year 2000 but for the more complex products such as L&P, interviewees are more sceptical. Whilst initial enquiries could well come via the telephone they believed that conversion to a sale required the presence of a FA.
Many companies use the telephone for a post-sales customer feedback. One bancassurer said that they had zero complaints after recently making 2,000 follow-up calls. These calls often identified further unmet needs.
Interviewees recognise that there needs to be a balance between quality of service and throughput, and that this relies significantly on the quality and personality of the people handling the call. Compliance was important, with some interviewees expressing concern about the possibly unfair competition and potential for poor sales from the execution only services.
Long term, some felt that unsolicited out-bound telesales will become unproductive as consumers became increasingly annoyed with the volume and intrusive nature of such calls. |
5.13.7 Interactive TV
Simbanet.com
http://www.simbanet.com/ http://www.simbanet.com/products/pr_net.html
| Internet Television: Opportunities & Strategies For Reaching The Mass MarketWhy did Microsoft invest $425 million in Web TV? Why did it invest another $1 billion in the owners of @Home? Because nearly 99% of American homes have televisions, compared to less than 40% that have PCs. Internet Television: Opportunities & Strategies for Reaching the Mass Market is the authoritative research study on this explosive new medium….. I-TVs are advanced televisions that incorporate two-way communications. They receive information by terrestrial broadcast links, satellite, cable and telephone. They respond with consumer requests and other information via cable and telephone (and eventually by satellite up-links). By adding an additional TV-top «black box» existing TVs become interactive. What is driving I-TV is the spread of cable and the imminent launch of digital terrestrial and satellite broadcasting that will provide hundreds of channels. I-TV offers:
home shopping channel QVC is attracting 30,000 new customers every month …. Busy professionals are a prime target …
With these new technologies, television is making a significant shift from broadcasting to narrowcasting. This has serious implications for media advertising. With so much choice, viewers are likely to move from watching one or few channels, to selecting specific programmes. They find these by searching electronic program guides using keywords of topics. The question becomes: Which programmes to advertise in or sponsor? or even: Which individual profile to target this advert to? The latter question is especially valid if the expansion in programme quantity leads to a sharp deterioration in programme quality, and thus to viewer ad-hoc selection of programmes (is this microcasting?).
Why are companies enthusiastic about I-TV?
Some interviewees are naturally more cautious, even sceptical:
Pilot systems in the UK include:
The BT Interactive TV service provides movies, entertainment, information, education, games and adverts in Adland.
By participating in these trials the companies are learning about consumer attitudes as well as technology and the human-interface considerations.
Some of the interviewees are participants of the BT scheme, with one expressing disappointment at the low use of the financial services section. They felt the results of the trial were insufficient to draw any conclusions.
Cable companies are merging, no doubt in response to Murdoch. By linking their networks together, both physically and in marketing terms, they could prove a considerable commercial force.
Cable networks fight back the satellite operators …. 3 major UK cable companies choose supplier for set-top boxes …. These to be rented by consumers …. Home shopping and banking expected in 1998 ….
While there are some major players behind all these initiatives: Telewest Communications, News International, Microsoft, Oracle, BT, to name a few; the jury still seems to be out. |
5.13.8 Web TV
Web-TV is a TV that is capable of browsing on the Internet. To achieve this, a TV also needs a processing unit, a modem and a telephone connection. Like Interactive-TV (I-TV), a keyboard is an optional attachment for more sophisticated uses – interaction is otherwise via the TV remote control. Web-TVs have recently been available in the USA. Philips and Sony manufacture a black-box add-on for standard TVs at $330. Whilst this specification may seem like a standard PC there are some key differences. First, by building these additional components into the sets at the manufacturing stage, their existence is transparent to the consumer (other than plugging in the telephone cable). Second, users have no need to be aware of such things as operating systems and application software. Browser software is built in and other software is sent to the Web-TV as required, without the user’s intervention or awareness. A third difference is that the screen resolution is low. This means a screen shows less information than a PC and any text appears chunky. The additional benefits to consumers of Web-TV over I-TV are:
… .Microsoft buys Web TV company for $425m ….. MS Explorer browser and Windows CE to be built-in …. ms believes tv-top boxes can cost as little as $50 …. Like I-TV, Web-TV devices are likely to be offered by cable TV companies as well as being sold via high street retailers. Some Internet content providers may offer the sets that will then be restricted to their own information or to approved Internet web sites. This will reassure people who had concerns about accidentally being exposed to pornography or other dubious content.
For interviewee comments, refer to the earlier discussion on I-TV and the later discussion on Internet World Wide Web.
Network Computers Oracle, Sun and IBM are promoting yet another device, the Network Computer (NC). NCs are similar to I-TV, in that they are using browser technology, but they also come with PC screens and keyboards. Within the browser technology users can run mini-applications, like a simple word processor. These applications are delivered over the network on an as required basis. NCs claim to have both lower acquisition costs ($750) and substantially lower running costs compared to a PC, which is why they are being targeted at corporations rather than consumers. Some see NCs as a step-down from PCs but more powerful and flexible than Web-TVs. … Merrill Lynch expects in the next 4 years satellite communications to emerge as the main means of delivering digital telephony, high speed Internet access, and multi-channel TV …… |
5.13.9 Internet E-mail
Electronic mail (E-mail) was the original Internet service and despite the hype over the World Wide Web (see later) probably to-day remains the Internet’s most used facility. E-mail is available not only from the millions of PCs but also the many more millions of simple terminals attached to mini and mainframe computers. In its basic text version, E-mail is universal and ubiquitous E-mail has many benefits:
Like all technologies there are downsides:
Despite these problems, the daily volume of e-mail runs into millions of messages and the mail invariably does get through.
To address these issues, e-mail software is becoming more sophisticated:
Other developments in e-mail are emerging:
…. Scottish Widows provides free e-mail facility to all UK PC owners ….
Telesales units will increasingly handle e-mail enquires: Matrixx’s CyberResponse telesales unit handles e-mail inquiries responding by e-mail or post. Later this could be extended to responding by telephone or fax. Calls will be routed either through the private and public switched network (PSTN) or via the Internet, using the new Internet telephones.
Interviewees’ concerns are with the adjustments to organisational process necessary to handle a small but increasing level of e-mails:
E-mail from customers are a logistical nightmare for most companies. Note the informality.
Many interviewees remarked:
there is a need to handle and co-ordinate all communications from customers whether post, telephone, fax, e-mail, or WWW. As one interviewee stated Customers can be unreasonable; they expect a clerk to know all previous interactions [- as though they are the only customer].
Two other Internet communications are Forums and Chat. Forums are discussion groups that work off-line using e-mail or the similar UseNet software. Chat is also text based but works in real-time. Users usually congregate in electronic «rooms» devoted to a particular topic. CompuServe has a graphics version where cartoon like characters called avatars, inhabit a virtual world of streets, shops, etc.. Users sitting at a PC control their own personal avatars.
Internet communities exist in virtual worlds. Companies could provide such worlds for their customers.
Forums and Chat areas usually have rules banning any form of commercial activity. Nether-the-lessthey may have some commercial value
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5.13.10 Internet World Wide Web
Whilst e-mail and other Internet information tools have been around for many years, it is the World Wide Web (WWW) that is catching the attention and imagination of the population and the media. Companies have rushed to embrace the net. Reasons include its:
Benefits
Transaction Costs Booz-Allen & Hamilton Study
Cost / Income Ratio
The report estimates that, by the turn of the century, some 16% of households in the US will use Internet banking. Being mainly in the upper-income brackets, they account for some 30 per cent of retail banking profitability.
Check-in at the desk. If travel agents disappear then insurers will need to sell travel insurance via the Internet (Home page for SouthWest Airlines).
1,000’s a week subscribe to electronic Wall Street Journal at $49 a month …. 40% still buy Paper version ….
Customers can collaborate in the R&D process, dramatically reducing the time to market and ensuring the service meets real needs in a practical way
Disadvantages and barriers to the development of the Internet:
None of the above (except the last item) are insurmountable and the industry is rapidly developing solutions and capabilities. Even the last item will probably become less significant as the various delivery technologies merge.
Interviewees general comments on the Internet include:
Many though were sceptical:
Despite these concerns, nearly all the companies interviewed had an Internet site, but many interviewees find their company’s offering disappointing. Some common problems are:
MoonDream survey …. only 20% of UK financial service providers have web sites that are useful, interesting and Quality ..
Those distributing via brokers are sensitive to how they use the Internet. They feel it is important to gain experience of dealing direct with customers but not to make their brokers feel insecure. Developing an integrated Internet site is the way forward, especially in partnership with the large brokers, as they have more resources and more experience with technology.
Churchill is typical of the larger brokers on the Net. Opening times of their telesales unit are prominently displayed.
Of those interviewees who had made a strategic decision and are undertaking serious pilots, they mentioned costs in the range £0.25-£0.5m for the creation and first year’s running cost. This includes external spend on telecommunications, hardware, software, design and development. Any internal spend on user’s time was additional. Second year budgets varied from £150K to £1m reflecting a range of approaches from just ticking-over to the development of home banking and shopping malls. As a comparison, Capital Radio apparently have little change from the £1m costs of setting up their site.
These strategic developers all mentioned the learning benefits from their pilots. For most, this was the prime reason for their Internet site: It will be big one day, and then we will be ready is a typical comment.
A number said, that whilst internally classing their Internet projects are as pilots, their customers perceive them as full service offerings. Being a pilot, no amendments have been made to internal procedure with the result that customer service is often slow – a direct contradiction to the expectations of the customers. Interviewees recognised a need to handle and co-ordinate all communications from customers whether post, telephone, fax, e-mail, or WWW. |
5.13.11 Proprietory ISPs
These have been in existence alongside the Internet for many years. They include such companies as CompuServe and American On-line (AOL). Initially aimed at the business community they are now expanding to serve individuals. Recent new entrants are Bill Gate’s Microsoft Network, Murdoch’s LineOne, and Branson’s Virgin Net. These systems aim to provide comprehensive information and entertainment services rather than just a simple Internet connection. Value added services offered include:
The advantages of these proprietary systems are:
Proprietary systems like Compuserve provide a more cohesive, robust and easier to use environment.
The recent expansion to private individuals has been at great cost as these proprietary networks seek to gain market share through special offers and unlimited usage subscriptions. As a result, service is suffering and profits are disappearing.
Within UK financial services, TSB uses CompuServe for its home banking service. World-wide, Microsoft is teaming up with 57 banks to use its Money accounting system as the access method into home banking. Similarly Quicken has links with 37 banks in the US.
Other UK financial institutions have preferred to provide direct access into their own computer systems. NatWest, Nationwide and the Bank of Scotland with their home and business banking systems use this approach. |
5.13.12 Summary
All interviewees saw a continued explosion in the use of the telephone, especially for the more commodity products like general insurance. Using the telephone for commerce was extending to all parts of society and was fuelling the move to global business round the clock. Consumers are gaining in confidence but equally businesses saw opportunities for forging relationships by using the telephone. Organisational, HR and technological implications are significant and need addressing in the short term.
Many financial service providers believe that kiosks provide an ideal means to reach the mass market, either within their own outlets or by placing kiosks in a wide variety of public or work places. Being a step-up from ATMs, they expect them to be widely accepted by consumers for information and transactional purposes. Kiosk can deliver services without dependence on other information providers.
Those insurers who are addressing the mass market see Interactive-TV (I-TV) as a promising delivery medium in the medium term. They see I-TV as being popular for delivering home entertainment to the masses, especially via cable. They think the same consumers will have a propensity for home shopping. From this base, interviewees saw home banking being the initial financial service.
Web-TV will be attractive to a significant body of people who do not want the cost or complexity ofInternet access from a PC but who want more information than provided by I-TV.
The postal system will continue to be an important marketing and administrative delivery mechanism, especially for outbound communications. Integration with other delivery mediums, such as the kiosks, I-TV, the Internet and e-mail will make for efficient and personalised communications.
Fax machines, pagers & Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have a role in disseminating information of a timely nature, such as changes in the value of an investment portfolio. Those with a more
professional client base may find these useful in delivering value added services. In time most people will have a mobile phone or pager.
… Bill Gates to invest his own money in the $9bn Teledesic project to
circle the globe with 300 satellites launched by Russian missiles. networked
together they will form an alternative to the Internet. ….Astrolink and Iridium are two competitors ..
E-mail could well take-off if it was to become widely available from kiosks, I-TV, Web-TV, Smartphones and PDAs. Most organisations have concerns about the lack of business processes in-place
for handling e-mail. Telesales centres will almost certainly expand to handle e-mail and then later for Internet communications.
Most interviewees are cautious about the Internet, especially the World Wide Web (WWW). They see Internet users either as techno junkies («anoraks») or as hard-to-please professional explorers. In the long run, if the cost of purchase and ownership was significantly less than today, then they saw it being a main stream utility used by the majority of the population.
… Murdoch’s LineOne is rumoured to be buying Pointcast, the market leading push technology company ..…
Major content providers such as Microsoft or International News may determine which of these mediums become significant. Within those mediums that survive or take-off, cultural and social issues along with the task people are trying to do, will be a greater determinant than the technology itself. Most interviewees broadly agreed with the behavioural model that was presented (see section 4), excepting perhaps the use of the telephone which they see being widely used by all market segments.
…. Microsoft launches msn news for UK audiences. it’s aimed at those who want a daily 20 minute digest …..
The various mediums will convergence and integrate. In many instances, companies will have to provide a choice of medium to their customers. Never-the-less, there is a tendency for some mediums to better suit the different stages within the buying and ownership cycles. This includes face-to-face. Whatever mediums a customer uses, there will be an expectation that the clerk will know about any earlier communications.
Whilst there are some concerns about the legal and security issues, these will be overcome.
On the whole, interviewees see these new delivery mediums as complementary to today’s way of doing business. They see the impact and constraints to be on the internal mechanisms (organisation, personnel and existing technology) and for some, it is also in the distribution chain, especially intermediaries. Telesales organisations could well establish a role in handling all the new media.
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