Blog 5: Social Media - "I need to blog about this new product!"

Recently, I have started running a lot more to get in better shape for Texas 4000, which is the bike ride I’m doing from Austin to Alaska to raise money for cancer research and awareness about cancer prevention. Running won’t necessarily help me be a better biker, but I’ll definitely stay more fit and ready to take on whatever comes my way. So, because I’m running so much, I decided that it’s a good idea to invest in some high-quality running shoes. I’ve been a fan of Asics for a while now because I think they are pretty comfortable and help me spring forward. I remember doing some research on running shoes a few years ago, which is when I first got introduced to the world of Asics.

So, for this blog post, I decided to research running shoes, and in particular – Asics. First, I looked at the zeitgeist, Google press – Insights for Search website. I could filter the search to 1) web, image, product, or news search, 2) worldwide, or by country, 3) year, and 4) category. It was great that I could see the top 10 searches, and the regional interest of the search. Asics was in 4 of the top 10 searches, followed by a close second from Nike, holding 3 of the top 10 searches. The regional interest would show marketing researchers where the popularity of a particular product is and where to focus their products. When I searched for Asics running shoes, I was able to find the kind of Asics shoe that is “the best” - Asics gel. From there, I was able to click on Asics gel to find out more information available on the web about this shoe. Consumer Reports rated Asics gel the top performing shoe in August, “for excellence in cushioning and fit and rated "Very Good" for stability.”

That was a pretty good website, but for social media and gaining more customer insight, I think the Google blogs tool was better because marketers can really understand what customers like and complain about. What is really great about the Google blogs website is that I can search blogs related to the product I’m interested in based on when the blog post was published! However, I realized that I must be cautious about where I’m reading the entries. For example, I’m probably not going to get complete honest truth about Asics shoes on an Asics website -> http://bestasicsrunningshoes.blogspot.com/. I did find an amazing sneaker group in which members can post information for their fellow members about great deals on shoes or which kinds of running shoes are good for what -> http://sneaker-groups.com/showthread.php?t=43244.



I did have a little trouble finding citizens’s blog posts about Asics gel; however, what I thought was useful was the comments left under blog entries. For example, http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/2009/10/22/highsnobiety-x-asics-gel-lyte-iii-preview/ talks about this new Asics Gel Lyte shoe. It gives an overview of it and picture. Although many people might not blog about this new shoe, many people could easily leave comments about it.

After reading a few blogs talking about Asics, it seems like many people have great things to say about their gel and cumulus kind of shoe. Someone wrote on in reply to a blog post about running shoes, “I came in this thread to say Asics, and I see there's a general consensus! I am partial to Asics Gel styles. “ I know I’m still happy with my purchase!

Facebook is also a great way for companies to connect with people online. Fan pages can be created. However, the danger of this is if not many people decide to become a fan of the particular product or company. It looks as if the company/product is not popular. Fortunately, Asics has more than 43,000 fans on facebook.

I think the best way for a company to use user-generated content would be to use a few different way of connecting to the customers. I definitely think they should connect over facebook and companies should most definitely blog about their own products. Even thought customers should be wary, having positive content out there about one’s products definitely creates a positive mindset about the company. Spreading themselves too thin, however, would weaken their control over what customers are saying, not that you can really control much of what people say these days. I thought it was so interesting what Karen said about Verizon in the last class. She had complained about her phone on facebook, and later got a message from Verizon apologizing and offering help! That’s what I call good use of social media!

Blog 4: So...what doesN'T Walmart know about customers' habits??

I think Walmart has indeed been successful at converting into an experience that serves as a competitive advantage for them...for now. As we all know, Walmart is an incredibly successful business, which obviously hurts any of its other competitors. Who doesn’t want the lowest priced product? (Answer: those who know and truly care about what kind of conditions/pay workers in foreign countries get for making products for Walmart. These sweatshop conditions are ridiculous – but that’s for a different discussion). As the article, “What Walmart Knows About Customers’ Habits” states, Walmart has access to tons of personal information about its customers, such as driver’s license number, social security number, court record, credit worthiness, and even their mortgage amounts. Walmart can – if it so wishes to do so – understands hundreds of different types of customers in various geographic areas. It knows where it will do well, and that’s how it figures out where to build its next Walmart store. I mean – how many other competitors were able to do what Walmart did for its customers when Hurricane Frances made its way to Florida? Walmart was able to prepare and stock up products for its customers ahead of time. Based on data they collected from stores when Hurricane Charley struck, Walmart could predict what products were needed when future natural disasters would strike.

That all being said, I don’t know how much longer people will go without either knowing or caring that Walmart basically holds their customers’ lives in their hands. Privacy is a HUGE issue, and I think the reason so many shoppers continue to shop at Walmart is either because they 1) don’t realize what kind of information Walmart is storing about their customers, or 2) don’t particularly care that Walmart has all this information because they trust Walmart. Customers don’t seems to really mind whether Walmart has a competitive advantage over other stores because most people inherently want what’s immediately best for them, which are cheaper products.

Right now, I don’t believe that Walmart having all this information is particularly dangerous, so I wouldn’t say I’m either comfortable or uncomfortable with Walmart having much personally identifiable data. The moment that Walmart messes with people’s lives because of the data they carry – I’d rethink my stance on this issue. Walmart is doing what most businesses in their position would do – figure out what’s in the customer’s shopping cart and cater to it in the most profitable way FOR THEM. However, I’m a big humanitarian, and I don’t necessarily agree or like that Walmart almost monopolizes the business. It’s dangerous when suppliers really don’t have a say in “negotiation”. What the article says about Walmart operating on “supply and COMMAND” rather than “supply and DEMAND” worries me a bit.

In this Customer Insight’s class, we’ve learned about the value of catering to individual needs and bettering the lives of people with products. We’ve also learned about the importance of traditional marketing research. Walmart doesn’t seem to truly VALUE its customers. I read an interesting blogpost at http://www.erinword.com/2007/03/which-wal-mart-demographic-are-you.html. I'm not sure I'd like to be categorized as a Walmart shopper! I think Walmart should use their technology to build brand loyalty. I believe in business for bettering the world and those who live in it. It seems like although Walmart is offering LOW prices, it is also hurting many employees who are underpaid and other competitors more than it should. I think Walmart does use its technology effectively for its purpose of gaining profit. It is interesting to me that Walmart uses its technology to figure out how to couple products together so that on average a customer saves 10-20 percent on their shopping basket – it seems they are catering to the low income family. However, I would like to see how Walmart directly helps these low income families in the US or abroad. I would like to see Walmart use their technology to VALUE their customer’s lives and those to whom these customers relate to. Part of valuing their customers would be to NOT withhold so much information and publicly release this.



However, I do like Walmart’s website. I like that they have a section called, “What are people talking about – now?” Walmart understands that people want what’s IN – but not necessarily best for them.

I actually used to love making Walmart trips. All I could think of is how cheap everything was-or so I thought. Only later did I realize how much importance the quality of a product carries. Walmart has most likely used its technology to see the kind of customers that were switching over to buying clothes at Target, because Target held better quality clothing. Walmart probably saw the difference in the products in entire shopping carts, which is why I have recently heard that Walmart has upped the quality of clothing.

As you can see, there are certain ways that I like the way Walmart uses its technology, however, I personally don’t like it using its technology to monopolize its industry or controlling suppliers.