Chap 7 – Digital marketing

Introduction
A digital marketing plan defines specific
objectives and strategies to leverage online
marketing opportunities while addressing
potential threats. It focuses on how a
company and its brands use their website and
other digital platforms (such as mobile sites,
apps, search engines, social media, and email
marketing) to engage with their audience,
enhance brand value, and achieve marketing
goals.

there are three main operational processes

involved in digital marketing. These are:

1. Customer Acquisition: Attracting visitors

to a website through search engines or online
advertising.
2. Customer Conversion: Engaging visitors
to achieve desired actions like making
purchases or viewing content.
Customer Retention and Growth:
Encouraging repeat visits and sales through
continued use of digital channels.
Figure 8.1 shows that there are three main
operational processes involved in digital
marketing. These are:
What is digital marketing?
Marketing defined
how the Internet can be used to achieve the
processes implied by this statement:
- Identifying – how can the Internet be used
for marketing research to find out
customers’ needs and wants?
- Anticipating : Predicting the demand for
online services is crucial for effectively
allocating resources to digital business.
- Satisfying : Ensuring customer
satisfaction through online channels
involves:

Digital marketing has been described simply Smart Insights (2010) identifies five types of
as ‘achieving marketing objectives through online feedback tools that digital businesses
applying digital technologies’ (Chaffey and
Ellis-Chadwick, 2012)

can use to understand customer needs and

perceptions:
 1. Website Feedback Tools: These
tools continuously collect feedback
from customers through prompts on
every page. Customers can rate page
content, products, and services.
2. Site User Intent-Satisfaction
Surveys: These surveys measure the
difference between what users
wanted to do on the site and what they
actually achieved.
3. Crowdsourcing Product Opinion
Software: These tools allow
customers to give opinions on
potential new services and products.
4. Simple Page or Concept Feedback
Tools: These crowdsourcing tools
gather feedback from an online panel
about page layout, messaging, or
services.
5. General Online Survey Tools: allow
companies to survey their audience at
a low cost.
Digital marketing defined
Digital marketing
Achieving marketing objectives through use
of electronic communications technology.
The term "Internet marketing" was originally
used to describe how the Internet can be
combined with traditional media to attract
and serve customers. Another term is "e-
marketing," which is now more commonly
called "digital marketing." Digital marketing
has a broader meaning because it includes
any use of technology to achieve marketing
goals and covers both external (customer-
facing) and internal (within the company)
perspectives. This aligns with the idea of
digital business, which involves managing
both internal and external digital
communications.
Inbound marketing
Inbound marketing is Consumers actively
look for information to meet their needs and
engage with brands through content, search,
and social media marketing.
Marketing professionals often call this new
method of marketing using digital media
"inbound marketing" . Inbound marketing is
effective because it reduces wasted
advertising. By using content and search
marketing, businesses can reach potential
customers who are actively looking for what
they offer, making them proactive and self-
selecting. However, a downside is that
marketers have less control compared to
traditional methods where they push
messages to a specific audience to create
awareness and demand.
Content marketing
Content marketing is Managing various types
of content—text, media, audio, and video—
is essential for engaging customers and
achieving business goals. This content is
shared through print and digital media,
including websites and mobile platforms, and
is repurposed for different online spaces like
blogs, social media, and comparison sites.
Success in inbound marketing relies on
creating compelling content to attract and
engage visitors. Various content types, like
videos and buyers' guides, help draw in
visitors through search engines and social
media shares. The goal of content marketing
is to secure permission for ongoing
communication via email and social media.

Key Elements of Content Strategy:

1. Content engagement value: Identify what

content will engage your audience—product
information, buying guides, or interactive
content like games.

2. Content Media: Use a mix of plain text,

rich media (like Flash or mobile apps), audio
(podcasts), and video. Even simple text can
vary from HTML to PDFs.

3. Content Syndication: Share content across Digital marketing planning

different sites using feeds, APIs, or direct
submissions. Widgets can also display
content on various platforms.
4. Content participation: Encourage
engagement through comments, ratings, and
reviews, and manage these interactions
across different platforms.
5. Content Access Platforms: Ensure content
is accessible on various devices like desktops,
laptops, and mobile devices, and consider
print media as well.
This approach highlights the importance of
diverse and engaging content to attract and
retain customers in the digital age.
Digital marketing is plan to achieve the
marketing objectives of the digital business
strategy.
A digital marketing plan is necessary
alongside a broader digital business strategy
to explain how specific sell-side goals will be
achieved through marketing activities like
research and communication
We use a strategy process model for digital
marketing planning . we use the
SOSTACTM framework developed by Paul
Smith (1999), which summarises the
different stages that should be involved in a
marketing strategy, from strategy
development to implementation (Figure 8.7):

● Situation – where are we now?

● Objectives – where do we want to be?

● Strategy – how do we get there?

● Tactics – how exactly do we get there?

● Action – what is our plan?
● Control – did we get there?
Is a separate digital marketing plan
required?
-> ‘A separate digital marketing plan is not
necessary as part of the marketing planning
process – digital marketing can and should
be integrated into existing marketing plans.’
If there is a specific resource for digital
marketing activities, such as a digital
marketing or e-commerce manager, they will
be responsible for the digital marketing plan.
However, in many small and medium-sized
organizations, where there is no designated
responsibility for digital marketing, a digital
marketing plan often does not exist. This
frequently occurs when marketing managers
have limited resources or other priorities and
do not recognize the value of a separate
digital marketing plan.
Common issues that arise when there is no
clear planning or control for digital
marketing include:
1. Customer demand for online services will
be underestimated if it hasn't been researched,
leading to under-resourcing and unrealistic
objectives for achieving online market share.
2. Existing and start-up competitors will gain
market share if insufficient resources are
devoted to digital marketing and no clear
strategies are defined.
3. Duplication of resources will occur, such
as different parts of the marketing
organization purchasing different tools or
using different agencies for similar online
marketing tasks.
4. Insufficient resources will be devoted to
planning and executing digital marketing,
and a lack of specific digital marketing skills
will make it difficult to respond effectively to
competitive threats.
5. Insufficient customer data will be collected
online as part of relationship-building, and
this data will not be well-integrated with
existing systems.
6. Efficiencies available through online
marketing will be missed, such as lower
communication costs and enhanced
conversion rates in customer acquisition and
retention campaigns.
7. Opportunities for applying online
marketing tools, like search marketing or
email marketing, will be missed, or execution
may be inefficient if the wrong resources are
used or marketers don't have the right tools.

8. Changes required to internal IT systems by

different groups will not be prioritized
properly.

9. The results of online marketing are not

tracked adequately at a detailed or high level.

10. Senior management support for digital

marketing is insufficient to drive what often
needs to be a major strategic initiative.

Managers investing in a website and digital

marketing need to ensure funds are used
effectively. To avoid common pitfalls,
leading e-commerce adopters have distinct or
integrated digital marketing plans. Smaller
organizations can use a brief, two-page
summary aligning objectives and strategies.
Clear objectives and strategies should show
how the digital presence contributes to sales
and marketing. Specific initiatives like search
and email marketing or website redesign
features can be detailed. Over time, as
Internet marketing becomes integrated into
overall communication plans, a separate
strategy may not be needed annually.
Situation analysis
where it was noted that there was the
immediate (micro-)environment of custom-
ers, competitors, suppliers and intermediaries
and a broader (macro-)environment of social,
legal, political, economic and technological
characteristics. Situation analysis will
involve consideration of all of these factors
and will form the basis for defining
objectives, strategies and tactics.
Figure 8.9 gives an example of a typical
Internet SWOT.

-> Environment analysis and review of

internal processes and resources to inform
strategy.

situation analysis is to understand the current

and future environment in which the
company operates in order that the strategic
objectives are realistic in light of what is
happening in the marketplace.

Customer demand analysis
Demand analysis for digital business ->
Assessment of the demand for e‐commerce
services amongst existing and potential
customer segments.
A crucial factor driving digital marketing and
business strategy objectives is understanding
the current level and future projections of
customer demand for e-commerce in
different market segments. This influences
online product demand and dictates the
resources allocated to various online
channels. Demand analysis involves
examining current and projected customer
use of each digital channel and services
within target markets. Key questions include:
●
What percentage of customer businesses
have access to the Internet?
●
What percentage of members of the buying
unit in these businesses have access to the
Internet?
●
What percentage of customers are prepared
to purchase your particular product
online?
●
What percentage of customers with access
to the Internet are not prepared to purchase
online, but are influenced by web-based
information to buy products offline?
●
What is the popularity of different online
customer engagement devices such as Web
2.0 features such as blogs, online
communities and video?
●
What are the barriers to adoption amongst
customers of different channels and how can
we encourage adoption?
Digital marketers use tools from search
engines like Google to evaluate product
demand based on search term volumes. This
can help calculate market opportunities and a
company's share of search terms, using web
analytics to track phrases visitors use to reach
the site.
Situation analysis in digital marketing
planning must assess Internet access levels
and the influence of the Internet on buying
behavior. For each target market, research
should determine:
1. Percentage of customers with Internet or
mobile access.
2. Percentage of customers accessing the
website and using different services and
channels.
3. Percentage of customers influenced
positively.
4. Percentage of customers buying online.
This analysis, exemplified by the car market,
must be adapted to each target market
segment, as the online behavior of luxury car
buyers differs from that of small car buyers.
Qualitative customer research
Customer analysis should go beyond
quantitative demand analysis. Variani and
Vaturi (2000) highlight that qualitative
research offers strategic insights. They
recommend graphic profiling to capture core
characteristics of target customers, including
demographics, needs, attitudes, and Internet
comfort levels. Chapter 11 will discuss how
customer personas and scenarios help
understand online buyer behavior.
Table 8.2 summarizes various sources of
customer insight and their applications. The
challenge for organizations is choosing the
right paid and free services and dedicating
enough time to review and utilize the data
effectively. Often, data is only used by the
digital team and not widely shared, and there
are privacy concerns. Organizations must be
transparent about data collection and usage,
providing customers with choices (as
discussed in Chapter 4).
Additionally, many online businesses gather
customer viewpoints and drive innovation
through their own programs, such as:
- Dell IdeaStorm
- MyStarbucks Idea
- Proctor and Gamble Innocentive
- Lego MindStorm
- Oracle Mix
Web-savvy companies use the Internet for
market research and feedback, leveraging
web and email channels to gather suggestions
and shape future services.

Competitor analysis
-> Review of digital business services offered
by existing and new competitors and
adoption by their customers.
Competitor analysis is crucial in the dynamic
digital marketplace due to the rapid changes
possible with online services and promotions.
Consequently, competitor benchmarking
must be continuous rather than a one-time
activity.
Key aspects of ongoing competitor
benchmarking, according to Chaffey et al.
(2009), include:
1. Review of internal capabilities:
Comparing internal resources, structure, and
processes against the customer-facing
aspects of competitor websites.
2. From core proposition through
branding to online value proposition
(OVP). Evaluating the product range, pricing,
promotions, and web services that add value
to a brand.
3. Different aspects of the customer life
cycle: Assessing competitor strategies for
customer acquisition, conversion, and
retention from the perspective of different
customer segments.
4. Qualitative to quantitative: Using
customer surveys, focus groups, and
independent audits to analyze customer
acquisition costs, site visitors, conversion
rates, and market share.
5. In-sector and out-of-sector: Comparing
similar sites within the same sector and
reviewing more advanced sectors, like online
publishers and social networks.
6. Financial and Non-Financial Measures:
Reviewing financial data from company
reports and considering forward-looking
capabilities like resourcing, innovation, and
learning.
7. from Experience to Expert Evaluation:
Incorporating both customer reviews of
usability and independent expert evaluations.
These perspectives ensure a comprehensive
approach to competitor analysis and help
organizations stay responsive to new
marketing approaches.
Internal marketing audit
An internal audit evaluates a company's
resources—people, processes, and
technology—for digital marketing capability
compared to competitors. Chapter 10 will
cover team restructuring and new resources
for competitive online marketing and
customer experience. The audit also reviews
current website or e-commerce service that combine efficiency and effectiveness
performance, focusing on: within the balanced scorecard framework.
Table 8.4 details these digital marketing
1. Business Effectiveness: Evaluating the
metrics.
site's contribution to revenue, profitability,
and corporate mission. It includes a cost–
benefit analysis of producing and updating
the site.

2. Marketing Effectiveness: Assessing leads,

sales, customer acquisition costs, retention,
market share, brand engagement and loyalty,
and customer service. These metrics are
reviewed for each product line and how the
marketing mix is utilized.

3. Internet Effectiveness: Measuring website

usage and audience characteristics through
web analytics (e.g., unique visitors, page
impressions) and traditional research (e.g.,
focus groups, questionnaires). The site's
value proposition effectiveness from a
marketing perspective is also evaluated.

Objective setting

Effective digital marketing plans rely on

clearly defined objectives, guiding strategies,
tactics, and communication of strategic goals
to the workforce and investors. Strategies are
most effective when aligned with specific
business objectives. A useful technique is to
present strategies and objectives together in a
table, incorporating insights from situation
analysis. Table 8.3 illustrates links between the importance of defining the online
strategies for customer acquisition, revenue con- tribution as a target to
conversion, retention, and tactics like email improve performance. Figure 8.12 gives an
and search engine marketing example combining the online revenue
contribution and the online promotion
We also emphasized the importance of
contribution as a forecast based on marketing
SMART objectives , highlighting metrics
research of demand analysis and competitor importance of the Internet, as the drivers for
analysis. online versus offline services are still similar.

Online revenue contribution

-> An assessment of the direct contribution of
the Internet or other digital media to sales,
usually expressed as a percentage of overall
sales revenue.

Strategy

The strategy element of a digital marketing

plan outlines how objectives will be achieved
and must be integrated into the planning
process, which involves iterative steps from
situation analysis to objective setting to
strategy definition (Figure 8.7). The E-
consultancy (2008) report further explains
that digital strategies often result in strategic
e-commerce initiatives for customer
acquisition, conversion, and retention, as
shown in Table 8.5. These initiatives are
prioritized in a long-term e-commerce
roadmap spanning 18 months to three years.

Investment in the Internet should correspond

to its anticipated contribution to the business.
The Electronic Shopping Test (Box 8.1),
developed by de Kare-Silver (2000), remains
relevant for assessing the strategic Market and product positioning
The Internet presents opportunities to sell
new products in new markets, evaluated
using Ansoff's (1957) options: market
penetration, market development, product
development, and diversification, each with
varying risks (Figure 5.20).
Digital products, including information
products delivered online, can add value to
existing offerings even if not directly charged
for. Ghosh (1998) suggested that companies
consider the following questions to enhance
their digital marketing strategy:
Target marketing strategy
Evaluation and selection of appropriate
segments and the development of appropriate
offers.
To leverage digital media for reaching new or
existing markets, a detailed analysis of the
target market is crucial to understand their
needs and potential, leading to a strategy
aimed at maximizing revenue. This target
marketing strategy involves four stages as
shown in Figure 8.14, beginning with
segmentation.

Segmentation involves grouping customers

1. Can I offer additional information or
transaction services to my existing
customers?
2. Can I reach new customer segments by
repackaging current information or creating
new propositions online?
to understand their needs and revenue
potential, forming the foundation for a robust
marketing strategy (Dibb et al., 2000). In a
digital context, market segments are analyzed
for:

3. Can I generate new revenue sources, like

advertising or complementary product sales,
by attracting more customers?

4. Will my business be significantly harmed

by other companies offering similar value?

Ghosh (1998) also advocated providing free

digital value to attract an audience, a concept
now known as creating a 'portal' or
'community'. This approach, relevant today
as content marketing, can be particularly 1. Current and projected market size and
effective in specialized B2B markets, such as share.
construction, agrochemicals, biotechnology,
2. Competitor market shares.
or financial advisory services.

Target market strategies

3. Unmet needs of each segment.

4. Offers and propositions from both the

organization and competitors throughout the
buying process.

Targeting approaches for online acquisition

and retention campaigns depend on
segmentation. Table 8.7 summarizes online
targeting options, highlighting the cost-
effectiveness of digital media in delivering
targeted messages. Key targeting variables
include:

1. Relationship with Company: Target new,

existing, or lapsed contacts with tailored
communications.

2. Demographic Segmentation: Based on age,

gender, or social group, used for display
advertising or email lists.

3. Psychographic Segmentation: Based on

attitudes to risk and value, suitable sites can
target specific psychographic audiences.

4. Value: Higher-value customers may

receive different offers and communications,
with lower-frequency emails. Seybold (1999) proposed five questions for
5. Life Cycle Stage: Automated emails for developing a customer-centric digital
different stages of the buying process. marketing strategy:

6. Behavioral: Based on past actions, with
tailored follow-up messages for higher
relevance.
Effective targeting improves campaign
response, as shown in Figure 8.15.
Travelocity, for example, focuses on
behavior suggesting purchase intent.
1. Who are our customers? Identify target
segments based on shared characteristics.
for the B2C market and organisational
characteristics and members of the buying
unit for the B2B market
2. How are their needs changing? Understand
evolving needs for better value delivery.
3. Which segments do we target? Make
strategic decisions based on potential and
alignment.
4. How can we add value? Adjust product
quality, service, fulfillment time, and price
per segment.
5. How do we become the first choice?
Positioning relative to competitors’ offerings,
emphasizing differential advantages.
Positioning is related to how a consumer
perceives a product in terms of the elements
of value described above. A posi- tioning
statement is often developed to encapsulate
this. Companies then need to decide how to
highlight the benefits as a differential
advantage over rivals’ products.
A clear online value proposition (OVP) helps
distinguish an e-commerce site from
competitors, focuses marketing efforts, and
facilitates PR and word-of-mouth
recommendations. Developing an OVP
involves:
- Differentiating the proposition based on
product features or service quality.
- Targeting specific market segments.
- Communicating the proposition clearly
across all marketing channels and the buying
process.
- Ensuring consistent delivery and support by
resources.
An e-commerce site should have a unique
value proposition (OVP) to differentiate its
products or services, clearly communicating
the brand's core proposition. A strong OVP
offers several benefits:
- Distinguishes the site from competitors.
- Focuses marketing efforts and clarifies the
site’s purpose for staff.
- Enhances PR and word-of-mouth
recommendations.
- Aligns with the company’s overall product
propositions.
Variani and Vaturi (2000) attribute many
B2C dot-com failures to neglecting
traditional marketing approaches,
emphasizing the need to identify customer
needs and deliver a consistent value
proposition. Agrawal et al. (2001) stress
matching value propositions to customer
segments. Notable taglines like Kelkoo’s
"Compare. Buy. Save." and Amazon’s
"Earth’s biggest selection" highlight the
importance of a clear OVP. Citibank's
website exemplifies this with messages like
"The one-stop solution for all your financial
needs." Strategic digital marketing planning
focuses on the OVP and enhancing the online
customer experience through Web 2.0
features like reviews, ratings, blogs, and
video reviews, driving conversions and
repeat sales.
Content strategy
-> Content strategy involves managing text,
rich media, audio, and video to engage
customers and achieve business goals. This
content is published across print, digital, web,
and mobile platforms, and is repurposed for
various web presences like publisher sites,
blogs, social media, and comparison sites.
A compelling OVP demands exceptional
content and a compelling customer
experience across websites, blogs, social
networking sites, and mobile platforms. This
includes both static web pages and dynamic
rich media like videos, podcasts, user-
generated content, and interactive product
selectors.
Managing diverse content types across
different platforms is challenging but
essential for engaging customers on social
media. Content strategy is part of a broader
customer engagement approach and integral
to CRM strategy.
To deliver a compelling OVP, companies
need to:
- Invest in quality, compelling content.
- Employ quality writers, either internal staff
or external freelancers.
- Use an editorial calendar to schedule and
deliver content.
- Invest in software tools to facilitate content
creation and distribution.
- Conduct customer research to understand
what content engages different audiences.
- Track which content engages customers and
which does not.
TACTICS
tactics to implement strategies and objectives
are traditionally based around the elements of
the marketing mix and models of how to
engage customers throughout their life cycle
as part of customer relationship management.
Traditional Marketing Mix (4Ps):
- Product: What is being offered to meet
customer needs.
- Price: How much the product costs.
- Place: Where the product is available.
- Promotion: How customers are informed
about the product.
Extended Marketing Mix (7Ps):
- People: Those involved in service
delivery.
- Processes: The methods and processes in
service delivery.
- Physical Evidence: Tangible aspects that
support the service.
Criticism and Alternatives:
- The marketing mix is often seen as a push
approach, focusing on the product rather
than the customer.
- Lautenborn's 4Cs framework offers a
customer-centric perspective:
o Customer Needs and Wants: How the
product meets these needs.
o Cost to the Customer: Pricing relative to
competition.
o Convenience: Quality of the customer
experience online.
o Communication: Marketing efforts,
including search engine and email
marketing.
E-commerce Considerations:
- E-commerce provides new opportunities
for varying the marketing mix.
- The long-tail concept can be applied to
the 4Ps, emphasizing a broader range of
products to cater to niche markets.
Market Research and Targeting:
- Selection of the marketing mix should be
based on detailed market research.
- The mix is often adjusted for different
market segments or individual customers,
despite the limitations of the traditional
7Ps framework in this context.
PRODUCT
Product variable of the marketing mix,
particularly in the context of online strategies.
It delves into how companies can leverage
the Internet to vary their product offerings,
emphasizing the distinction between core and
extended products, and introduces concepts
such as the long-tail, mass customization,
bundling, and different pricing models for
digital products.
- Core Product: Fundamental features that
meet user needs.
- Extended Product: Additional features
and benefits beyond the core product,
such as endorsements, customer
comments, warranties, and money-back
offers.
Long-Tail Concept:
Significant for online retailers like Amazon,
where a large portion of sales comes from
less popular products, which are not typically
stocked in conventional bookstores. These
less popular products can often command
higher prices due to their unavailability in
physical stores.
Product Variations and Online
Strategy:
- Digital Products: Transitioning core
products to digital formats (e.g., an online
advertising directory instead of a paper-
based one).
- Mass Customization: Using technology
to offer personalized products (e.g.,
Levi’s custom-fit jeans).
- Bundling: Offering complementary
products or services together at a reduced
price (e.g., easyJet’s travel-related
services).
Different Product Purchase Models:
- Subscription: Offering products for
different periods at varied price points.
- Pay-per-view: Charging for single
downloads or viewing sessions.
- Ad-supported Content: Generating
revenue through advertisements or
affiliate sales.
New Product Development:
Utilizing Internet tools like website logs,
online surveys, and focus groups to gather
data and test new product concepts. The
Internet accelerates the roll-out of new
products to international markets and
enhances word-of-mouth communication,
which can rapidly increase product adoption
(the concept of the tipping point).
PRICE
Pricing Models is Outright purchase, auction,
rental, volume purchase, and credit terms are
various forms of payment.
Internet Pricing Approaches:
- Start-ups often use low prices to gain a
customer base.
- Existing companies may transfer their
existing prices online.
- EasyJet case study: Online prices were
discounted due to lower transaction costs.
- Booksellers may offer large discounts on
bestsellers to attract customers while
maintaining higher margins on less
popular books.
Implications of the Internet on Pricing:
how the Internet has changed pricing
strategies, highlighting the need for
companies to consider price transparency,
differential pricing, and price elasticity.
- Increased Price Transparency:
o Customers can easily compare prices
online, leading to challenges in
maintaining price differentials.
o Despite the availability of price
comparison tools, research shows that
only a small percentage of consumers are
aggressive price shoppers, and consumers
often satisfice rather than optimize.
- Differential Pricing:
o Companies might offer lower prices or
special online offers for some products.
- Price Elasticity of Demand:
o Indicates how changes in price affect
demand.
o Products can be elastic (responsive to
price changes) or inelastic (less
responsive to price changes).
Downward Pressure on Prices:
- Commoditization: Increased
competition online often drives prices
down.
- Auctions: Reverse auctions in business-
to-business exchanges can decrease
prices by a significant margin, as seen in
industries like pharmaceuticals,
entertainment, and automotive.
PLACE
particularly the distribution of products in the
context of the Internet and its global reach.
Place of Purchase:
In B2B e-commerce, transactions can occur
on the manufacturer’s site, an intermediary's
site, or the customer’s site.
New Channel Structures:
Changes such as disintermediation
(removing intermediaries), reintermediation
(introducing new intermediaries), and
countermediation (forming new distribution
strategies) affect how products are distributed.
Channel Conflicts: Implications for Distribution:

- Threat of Disintermediation: - Global Reach and Local Constraints:

Selling directly online can increase While the Internet has a global reach,
profitability but may disrupt practical constraints like international
relationships with existing fulfilment costs, trust, and local support
distributors and partners. often mean products are sourced locally,
- Managing Conflicts: Careful except for digital products.
management is required to balance - Strategic Decisions: Companies must
online and traditional distribution carefully review opportunities and threats
channels to avoid conflicts, especially related to distribution channels,
for high-value or selectively considering existing market
distributed products. arrangements and potential conflicts.
- Forms of Internet Channels
o Communication channel only
PROMOTION
o Distribution channel to
intermediaries Communications Strategy Involves
o Direct sales channel to selecting target markets, positioning, and
customers integrating various communication tools. The
o Any combination of the above Internet provides a new channel for
marketing communications to inform
customers and aid their buying decisions.
Virtual Organizations
Promotional Mix Techniques for different
The Internet facilitates the formation of
stages of the buying process and how the
virtual organizations, which can be
Internet can supplement traditional
partnerships that benefit all involved parties.
promotional activities like advertising, sales
Development stages towards e-organization
promotions, PR, and direct marketing.
for SMEs:
Investment Decisions:
- Half-fusion organizations: Minimal
use of Internet and network - Promotion vs. Site Creation and
technologies. Maintenance: Budget allocation must be
- Fusion organizations: Committed balanced between site creation,
and intensive use of Internet and maintenance, and promotion.
network technologies. - Online vs. Offline Promotion:
- E-organizations: Technologies are Companies must balance investment in
core to managing business processes. online and offline promotion techniques.
Generally, offline promotion investment
often exceeds online promotion
investment.
- Factors affecting online media spend
include:
o Reach of traditional vs. digital media
among customers.
o Customer behavior in researching and
purchasing products online.
o Propensity of customers to use traditional
purchasing channels.
o Cost-effectiveness of online media
compared to traditional media like TV
and print.
- The balance between driving visitors to a
website (lower cost of sale but lower
conversion rates) and the point of
diminishing returns in marketing spend.
Online Promotion Techniques Decisions
on how much to invest in various online
promotion methods, such as banner
advertising, online PR, and search engine
registration.
People, Process, and Physical Evidence
People refers to the personnel involved in
delivering services to customers. In an online
context, automation and digital interactions
can replace or support human efforts. Key
tactics include:
- Autoresponders: Automatically respond
to customer inquiries or submissions.
- Email Notifications: Keep customers
updated on order status.
- Call-back Facility: Customers can
request a phone call at a convenient time.
- FAQs: Provide answers to common
questions.
- On-site Search Engines: Help customers
find information quickly.
- Virtual Assistants: Guide customers
through choices and processes.
Process encompasses the methods and
procedures used to achieve marketing
functions. It involves efficient, user-friendly
processes that ensure smooth customer
interactions and service delivery.
Physical Evidence includes tangible
expressions of a product, its purchase, and
usage. In an online context, this could refer
to:
- Site Design: How the website looks and
functions.
- Product Packaging: Presentation of
products upon delivery.
- Extended Product: Additional services
or features that enhance the product
experience.
Application in E-commerce
- Excelling in E-commerce Service
Quality: Focus on service delivery
quality, covered in Chapter 9.
- Managing Organizational Change:
Important for adapting to digital
strategies, discussed in Chapter 10.
- User-Centered Design: Crucial for
enhancing user experience, detailed in
Chapter 11.
- Online Branding: Service quality and
physical evidence play roles in building a
strong online brand.
The figure provides three options for the First-hand Brand Experience Direct
online vs. offline communications mix: interaction with the brand online is crucial. A
- (a) Online > Offline: Greater emphasis positive online experience can significantly
on online communications. strengthen brand perception and loyalty.
- (b) Similar Online and Offline:
Balanced approach between online and Brand Promises:
offline communications.
a. Convenience: Simplifying
- (c) Offline > Online: Greater emphasis
the purchase experience.
on offline communications.
b. Achievement: Helping
This balance depends on factors such as the consumers achieve their goals.
company’s existing market presence, c. Fun and Adventure:
customer behavior, and cost-effectiveness of Relevant for B2C services.
the media channels. d. Self-expression and
Recognition: Personalized
ONLINE BRANDING services.
e. Belonging: Building online
Branding in the digital age involves creating communities.
and evolving successful brands by shaping
how users perceive the characteristics of a Components of Online Branding
product or service. In the digital realm, online
branding encompasses not just high traffic or - Rational Values: Practical benefits
name recognition, but also customer and functionalities of the product or
perceptions of service quality, service.
trustworthiness, and value. - Emotional Values: Emotional
connection and affinity with the brand.
Customer Perception Brands need to be - Promised Experience: The overall
perceived as trustworthy and valuable, customer experience that combines
reducing perceived risks and information rational and emotional values.
search costs while creating a favorable
impression. Brand Equity refers to the set of assets (or
liabilities) linked to a brand's name and
Added Value Characteristics Successful symbol that add (or subtract) value to the
brands offer unique added values that align product or service. Online Measures:
closely with customer needs and sustain these Attributes such as interactivity,
values amidst competition. customization, and site design are crucial in
building online brand equity.
Active Consumer Role Online consumers
actively contribute to brand value through Brand Identity is The totality of brand
feedback and interactions, which companies associations, including name and symbols,
should facilitate rather than control strictly. that must be communicated to convey a
promise to customers. Important to
Developing a clear plan to communicate the
brand identity and increase brand awareness
is essential.
Naming Rules (Ries and Ries, 2000)
- Law of the Common Name:
Common names are less effective for
Internet brands.
- Law of the Proper Name: Proper
names are preferred for
distinctiveness.
- Eight Principles for Naming: Short,
simple, suggestive of the category,
unique, alliterative, speakable,
shocking, and personalized.
Building Brand Awareness Online
Challenges: The Internet can both strengthen
and weaken brand loyalty due to the ease of
trying new brands.
Strategies: Delivering a positive customer
experience through high-quality content,
reliable website performance, responsive
customer support, and robust privacy
practices.
ACTION
emphasizes the practical steps and
managerial activities necessary to execute the
digital marketing plan effectively.
- What level of investment in the
Internet channel is sufficient to
deliver these services? What will be
the payback?
o Investment Level:
Determining the appropriate
level of investment in the
Internet channel and assessing
the potential payback.
- What training of staff is required?
o Staff Training: Identifying
the training requirements for
staff to equip them with the
necessary skills for effective
Internet marketing.
- What new responsibilities are
required for effective Internet
marketing?
o New Responsibilities:
Establishing new
responsibilities within the
organization to support
Internet marketing efforts.
- Are changes in organizational
structure required to deliver Internet-
based services?
o Organizational Structure:
Considering if changes in the
organizational structure are
needed to facilitate the
delivery of Internet-based
services.
- What activities are involved in
creating and maintaining the website?
o Website Management:
Defining the activities
involved in creating and
maintaining the website.
At this stage a digital marketing plan
will be finalized to summaries actions
that need to occur.
CONTROL
The control element of the digital marketing
plan can be achieved through a combination
of traditional techniques such as marketing
research to obtain customer views and
opinions and novel techniques such as
analysis of web-server log files that use
technology to monitor whether objectives are
achieved.
By Identify a measurement process and
metrics
- Business contribution (channel
profitability – revenue, costs, return
on investment)
- Marketing effectiveness (channel
outcomes – leads, sales, conversion
rate, channel satisfaction)
- Online marketing effectiveness
(channel behaviour – page
impressions, visitors,repeat visits,
conversion rate).
SUMMARY
1. Digital marketing is the application of
technology to achieve marketing
objectives, defined by the Chartered
Institute of Marketing as: ‘the
management process respon- sible for
identifying, anticipating and
satisfying customer requirements
profitably.’
2. Digital marketing can be considered a
subset of digital business and is
equivalent to sell-side e-commerce.
3. A digital marketing plan is often
developed separately from a digital
business strat- egy. The SOSTACTM
framework is used to introduce the
elements of a digital marketing plan.
4. Situation analysis – involves a
consideration of the external
environment with the emphasis on
levels of customer access to the
Internet, benchmarking of competi-
tors and new entrants.
5. Objective setting – a key objective is
setting the online revenue
contribution or the percentage of sales
that will be achieved online. For
companies where direct sales are not
practical because of the nature of the
product companies may set objectives
for how the web will affect marketing
communications, customer service
and cost reductions.
6. Strategies – through evaluating the
suitability of product for direct sale a
company may define a replacement
(product suitable for direct sale, e.g.
airline tickets) or complementary
strategy (product unsuitable for direct
sale, e.g. FMCG or consultancy
services). Replacement strategies
may involve changing distribution
networks. Complementary strategies
will involve using the Internet as an
additional marketing
communications channel.
7. Tactics – digital marketing tactics can
be reviewed through varying the
elements of the marketing mix: Price,
Place, Product, Promotion, People,
Processes and Physical evidence.
8. Actions – the planning of digital
marketing strategy by identifying
resources and timescales.
9. Control – control can be achieved
through monitoring customer
satisfaction and channel performance
via the website and traditional
channels.
Chap 8 – CRM
Customer relationship management
(CRM) An approach to building and
sustaining long-term business with customers.
A Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) system helps you understand and
meet customer needs while boosting your
bottom line. CRM systems consolidate
customer information from various sources,
such as email, websites, physical stores, call
centers, mobile sales, marketing, and
advertising. Data flows between operational
systems (e.g., sales and inventory) and
analytical systems that identify patterns in
CRM data.
An effective CRM strategy can help an
organisation increase revenues by: •
providing products and services that are
exactly what customers want;
• offering better customer service
• cross-selling products more effectively
• helping sales staff close deals faster
• retaining existing customers and
discovering new ones.
The application of technology to support
customer relationship management (CRM) is
a key element of digital business. Building
long-term relationships with customers is
essential for any sustainable business. Failure
to build relationships largely caused the
failures of many online businesses following
huge expenditure on customer acquisition.
The four marketing activities that
comprise CRM involve the following:
1 Customer selection means defining the
types of customers that a company will
market to. It means identifying different
groups of customers for whom to develop
offerings and to target during acquisition,
retention and extension
2 Customer acquisition refers to marketing
activities intended to form relationships with
new customers while minimising acquisition
costs and targeting high-value customers.
Service quality and selecting the right
channels for different customers are
important.
3 Customer retention refers to the
marketing activities undertaken by an
organisation to keep its existing customers.
Identifying relevant offerings based on their
individual needs and detailed position in the
customer lifecycle (e.g. number or value of
purchases) is key
4 Customer extension refers to increasing
the depth or range of products that a customer
purchases from a company. This is often
referred to as ‘customer development’.
Customer lifecycleThere are a range of
customer extension techniques for CRM
that are particularly important to online
retailers:
(a) Re-sell. Selling similar products to
existing customers - particularly important in
some B2B contexts as re-buys or modified re-
buys.
(b) Cross-sell. Sell additional products that
may be closely related to the original
purchase.
(c) Up-sell. A subset of cross-selling, but in
this case selling more expensive products.
(d) Reactivation. Customers who have not
purchased for some time, or have lapsed, can
be encouraged to purchase again.
(e) Referrals. Generating sales from
recommendations from existing customers.
Marketing applications of CRM
A CRM system to support the four
activities is made up of different
marketing applications:
1 Salesforce automation (SFA). Sales
representatives are supported in their account
management and phone-based sales through
tools to arrange and record customer
enquiries and visits.
2 Customer service management.
Representatives in contact centres respond to
customer requests for information by using
an intranet to access databases containing
information on the customer, products and
previous queries.
3 Managing the sales process. This can be
achieved through e-commerce sites, or in a
B2B context by supporting sales
representatives by recording the sales process
(SFA).
4 Campaign management. Managing
advertising, direct mail, email and other
campaigns.
5 Analysis. Through technologies such as
data warehouses and approaches such as data
mining, which are explained later in the
chapter, customers’ characteristics, their
purchase behaviour and campaigns can be
analysed in order to optimise the marketing
mix.
What is eCRM?
eCRM, or electronic Customer Relationship
Management, uses the web and email to build
and strengthen customer relationships. It
involves storing customer information in
databases to offer personalized services. This
approach is mainly about keeping customers
and encouraging them to buy more.
Digital marketing activities that are within
the scope of eCRM, and which we will
cover in this chapter, include:
• Using the website and online social
presences for customer development, from
generating leads through to conversion to an
online or offline sale using email and web-
based content to encourage purchase.
• Managing customer profile information and
email list quality (coverage of email
addresses and integration of customer profile
information from other databases to enable
targeting).
• Managing customer contact options through
mobile, email and social networks to support
up-sell and cross-sell.
• Data mining to improve targeting.

• Providing online personalisation or mass

customisation facilities to

automatically recommend the ‘next-best

product’

Electronic customer relationship

management (eCRM)

Using digital communications technologies

to maximise sales to existing customers and
encourage continued usage of online services.

Personalisation

Delivering customised content for the

individual through web pages, email or push
technology.
• Managing online service quality to ensure
that first-time buyers have a great customer
experience that encourages them to buy again.
• Managing the multichannel customer
experience as they use different media as part
of the buying process and customer lifecycle.
marketing concept, especially in an online
context., this assesses how effective
marketing communications are in converting:
• web browsers or offline audiences to site
visitors;
• site visitors to engaged site visitors who stay
on the site and progress

To help understand the scope of eCRM, you beyond the home page;
may also find Figure 8.1 useful. This
• engaged site visitors to prospects (who are
summarises different marketing activities
profiled for their characteristics and needs);
that need to be completed by a digital retailer,
structured according to customer acquisition, • prospects into customers;
conversion and retention activities.
• customers into repeat customers.

Conversion marketing

Conversion marketing involves using

marketing communications to turn potential
customers into actual customers and existing
customers into repeat customers. Managers
can evaluate and enhance their CRM
effectiveness by applying the conversion
RACE
The Online Buying Process
Differences between B2C and B2B buyer
behaviour:
Major differences in buyer behaviour exist
between the B2B and B2C markets, and these
must be accommodated in digital marketing
communications. The main differences are:
1 Market structure
2 Nature of the buying unit
3 Type of purchase
4 Type of buying decision
5 Communication differences.
One of the main differences between
business-to-business and business-to-
consumer is the number of buyers. As Kotler
(1997) points out, in B2B there tend to be far
fewer but larger buyers. This means that the
existence of suppliers tends to be well known,
so efforts to promote the website using
methods such as banner advertising or listing
in search engines are less important than for
consumer brands.
Customer acquisition management
Customer acquisition management involves
techniques for gaining new prospects and
customers. In a digital context, it can mean
using websites to attract qualified leads that
convert into sales, or encouraging existing
customers to transition to online services.
Many organizations focus on acquiring new
customers through online conversion
campaigns. For instance, American Express
promoted a 'Go Paperless' campaign to shift
customers to online statements, while First
Direct used call center reps to advocate
online statement reviews and promote 'e-
advocacy' among employees.
Focus on Marketing Communications for
customer acquisition ….
Offline marketing communications
(Tradisional techniques such as print and TV
advertising used to generate website traffic.)
Digital marketing communications (Online
techniques used to generate website traffic.
Digital media channels (Digital
communications techniques used to achieve
goals of brand awareness, familiarity,
favourability and to influence purchase
intent.)
Push media (Communications are broadcast
from an advertiser to consumers of the
message who are passive recipients)
Pull media (The consumer is proactive in
selection of the message through actively
seeking out a website responding to inbound
marketing cues)
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is a type of digital
marketing that uses social media platforms to
connect with customers and build
relationships. It can be used to promote
products and services, generate leads, and
provide customer support.
What is Social CRM?
Social CRM is a business strategy that uses
social media to manage and nurture customer
relationships. It integrates social media data
with traditional CRM data to provide a
complete view of the customer. This data can
be used to improve customer service,
personalize marketing campaigns, and
identify new sales opportunities.
Benefits of Social Media and Social CRM
There are many benefits to using social media
and social CRM, including:
• Improved customer satisfaction:
Social media can be used to provide
customer support, resolve issues, and
address customer feedback. This can
lead to improved customer
satisfaction and loyalty.
• Increased brand awareness: Social
media can be used to promote your
brand and reach a wider audience.
This can lead to increased brand
awareness and sales.
• Enhanced customer insights: Social
media can be used to gather customer
data and insights. This data can be
used to improve your products and
services, and to target your marketing
campaigns more effectively.
• Stronger customer relationships:
Social media can be used to build
relationships with customers. This
can lead to increased customer loyalty
and advocacy.
Social Media Marketing Strategies
There are many different social media
marketing strategies that you can use. Some
of the most common strategies include:
• Creating and sharing high-quality
content: This could include blog
posts, infographics, videos, and
images.
• Engaging with your audience: This
could involve responding to
comments, participating in
discussions, and running contests and
giveaways.
• Using social media advertising:
This can be a great way to reach a
wider audience and target your ads to
specific demographics.
• Monitoring social media
conversations: This can help you to
identify trends, track brand sentiment,
and respond to customer feedback.
Social CRM Strategies
There are also many different social CRM
strategies that you can use. Some of the most
common strategies include:
• Integrating social media data with
your CRM system: This will give
you a complete view of the customer
and allow you to track their
interactions with your brand across all
channels.
• Using social media to provide
customer support: This could
involve responding to customer
inquiries on social media, providing
product information, and resolving
issues.
• Using social media to gather
customer feedback: This could
involve running surveys, asking for
 feedback on products and services,
and monitoring social media
conversations.
• Using social media to personalize
marketing campaigns: This could
involve using social media data to
target your ads to specific customers,
and to create personalized marketing
messages.
The scope of social CRM is well illustrated
by six business application areas. These six
areas are:
Marketing: Monitoring, analyzing, and
responding to customer conversations
through social listening tools. It's important
to integrate social marketing into other
campaign tactics such as email marketing.
Sales: Understanding where prospects are
discussing the selection of products and
services offered by you and competitors, and
determining the best way to engage in these
conversations to influence sales and generate
leads. LinkedIn is an obvious location for
B2B that should be monitored.
Service and Support: Providing customer
self-help through forums provided by you
and neutral sites.
Innovation: Using conversations to foster
new product development or enhance online
offerings is one of the most exciting forms of
social CRM.
Collaboration: This involves digital
business collaboration within an organization
through an intranet and other software tools
to encourage all forms of collaboration that
support business processes.
Customer Experience: This references the
use of social CRM to enhance the customer
experience and add value to a brand.
Examples include using VIP programs and
offering collaboration between customers
with shared characteristics to add value and
create advocacy.
How to Get Started with Social Media and
Social CRM
If you're new to social media and social
CRM, there are a few things you can do to get
started:
• Define your goals: What do you
want to achieve with social media and
social CRM?
• Create a social media strategy: This
should include your target audience,
your social media platforms, and your
social media goals.
• Start building relationships:
Connect with your audience on social
media and start building
relationships.
• Use social media listening tools:
These tools can help you to track
brand sentiment and identify trends.
• Measure your results: Track your
social media performance and make
adjustments to your strategy as
needed.
Customer Retention Management (CRM)
Customer retention management (CRM) is a
strategic approach to managing a company's
interactions with its existing customers to
encourage repeat business, increase customer
lifetime value, and ultimately drive long-term
profitability. It involves understanding
customer needs and preferences, providing
personalized experiences, and fostering
loyalty. CRM encompasses all aspects of the
customer relationship, from initial purchase
to post-purchase support.
Goals of Customer Retention
Management
The primary goals of customer retention
management are to:
1. Reduce customer churn: Customer
churn is the rate at which customers
stop doing business with a
company.Reducing churn is essential
for maintaining a healthy customer
base and minimizing revenue loss.
 2. Increase customer lifetime value
(CLTV): CLTV is the total revenue a
company can expect to generate from
a customer over their relationship
with the company. Increasing CLTV
means that customers are spending
more money and staying with the
company for longer.
3. Improve customer satisfaction:
Satisfied customers are more likely to
stay loyal to the company and become
brand advocates. They are also more
likely to make repeat purchases and
refer their friends and family.
Strategies for Customer Retention
Management
There are many different strategies that
businesses can use to retain customers. Some
of the most effective strategies include:
1. Providing excellent customer
service: Customer service is a critical
factor in customer retention.
Businesses should strive to provide
fast, friendly, and efficient customer
service. This includes responding to
customer inquiries promptly,
resolving issues effectively, and
going the extra mile to exceed
customer expectations.
2. Personalizing the customer
experience: Customers appreciate
personalized experiences. Businesses
can use data analytics to understand
individual customer needs and
preferences, and then tailor their
marketing messages,product
recommendations, and customer
service interactions accordingly.
3. Offering loyalty programs: Loyalty
programs can be a great way to
reward repeat customers and
encourage them to continue doing
business with the company. These
programs can offer a variety of
benefits, such as discounts,points, and
exclusive access to products or
services.
4. Building relationships with
customers: Customers want to feel
like they are valued and appreciated.
Businesses can build relationships
with customers by engaging with
them on social media, providing them
with valuable content, and seeking
their feedback.
5. Making it easy for customers to do
business with you: Businesses
should make it easy for customers to
purchase products, get help, and
resolve issues. This includes
providing a user-friendly website,
offering multiple payment options,
and having a clear and easy-to-follow
returns policy.
Benefits of Customer Retention
Management
There are many benefits to implementing a
customer retention management strategy.
These benefits include:
1. Increased revenue: By retaining
existing customers, businesses can
increase their revenue without having
to spend money on acquiring new
customers.
2. Reduced marketing costs: It is much
more expensive to acquire new
customers than to retain existing
ones. By focusing on retention,
businesses can save money on
marketing and advertising expenses.
3. Improved customer satisfaction: A
focus on retention can lead to
improved customer satisfaction,
which can further boost revenue and
profitability.
4. Increased brand loyalty: Loyal
customers are more likely to
recommend the company to their
friends and family,which can help to
expand the company's customer base.
Measuring Customer Retention
It is important to measure customer retention
to track progress and make adjustments to the
CRM strategy as needed.Some common
metrics used to measure customer retention
include:
1. Customer churn rate: The
percentage of customers who stop
doing business with the company in a
given period of time.
2. Repeat purchase rate: The
percentage of customers who make
more than one purchase.
3. Customer lifetime value (CLTV):
The total revenue a company can
expect to generate from a customer
over their relationship with the
company.
4. Net promoter score (NPS): A
measure of customer loyalty that asks
customers how likely they are to
recommend the company to others.
Customer Retention Management in the
Digital Age
In the digital age, customer retention
management is more important than ever.
This is because customers have more choices
than ever before, and they are quick to switch
to competitors if they are not satisfied with
the service they are receiving.
To retain customers in the digital age,
businesses need to:
1. Be customer-centric: Everything the
company does should be focused on
the customer.
2. Use data to understand customers:
Businesses should collect and analyze
data about their customers to
understand their needs and
preferences.
3. Personalize the customer
experience: Businesses should use
data to personalize the customer
experience across all touchpoints.
4. Be proactive: Businesses should
anticipate customer needs and
problems and address them before
they become issues.
5. Build relationships with customers:
Businesses should build relationships
with customers through social
media,email marketing, and other
channels.
Focus on Excelling in E-commerce Service
Quality
In the dynamic and competitive world of e-
commerce, customer experience has emerged
as a critical differentiator. While product
selection and competitive pricing remain
important factors, businesses that truly excel
in e-commerce service quality are the ones
that stand out and capture the hearts and
minds of their customers.
Creating a User-Friendly Online Shopping
Experience
A user-friendly online shopping experience is
the foundation of exceptional e-commerce
service quality. This encompasses both the
design and functionality of your website,
ensuring that customers can seamlessly
navigate, find what they're looking for, and
make informed purchasing decisions.
1. Website Design and Navigation:
• Visual Appeal: Your website
should be visually appealing, with a
clean and modern design that
reflects your brand identity. Avoid
cluttered layouts and excessive use
of graphics that may slow down
loading times.
• Mobile Optimization: With the
increasing prevalence of mobile
shopping, ensure your website is
fully optimized for mobile devices.
This includes responsive design,
easy-to-use navigation, and touch-
friendly elements.
• Intuitive Navigation: Create a
clear and intuitive navigation
structure that allows customers to
easily find product categories,
 browse items, and access important
information like shopping cart,
checkout, and customer support.
2. Product Information:
• Clear and Concise Descriptions:
Provide detailed and accurate
product descriptions that highlight
key features, benefits, and
specifications. Avoid jargon and
technical terms that may confuse
non-expert shoppers.
• High-Quality Images: Use high-
resolution product images from
multiple angles to showcase the
product's appearance and details.
Consider including lifestyle images
that demonstrate how the product
can be used in real-world scenarios.
• Specifications and Sizing Guides:
Provide detailed product
specifications, including
dimensions, materials,and other
relevant information. For apparel or
items with sizing variations, include
sizing guides to help customers
make informed choices.
3. Search Functionality:
• Effective Search: Implement a
robust search function that allows
customers to quickly and easily find
products using keywords, product
names, or specific attributes.
• Advanced Search Filters: Offer
advanced search filters that enable
customers to narrow down their
search results based on price,
category, brand, color, size, and
other relevant criteria.
• Search Relevance: Ensure search
results are relevant and accurate,
prioritizing products that closely
match the user's search query.
Offering Fast and Reliable Delivery
Options
Delivery options play a crucial role in
shaping the customer's overall shopping
experience. By providing a variety of
delivery choices and ensuring timely and
reliable fulfillment, businesses can build trust
and encourage repeat purchases.
1. Multiple Delivery Options:
• Standard Shipping: Offer
standard shipping as a cost-
effective option for customers who
are not in a rush.Provide clear
shipping rates and estimated
delivery times.
• Expedited Shipping: Cater to
customers who need their orders
quickly by offering expedited
shipping options. Clearly
communicate the additional costs
and guaranteed delivery dates.
• Same-Day Delivery (if feasible):
For businesses with local
operations or partnerships,
consider offering same-day
delivery as an attractive option for
customers who want their items
immediately.
2. Transparency in Delivery Costs
and Timeframes:
• Upfront Shipping Costs: Clearly
display shipping costs at checkout,
avoiding hidden fees or surprise
charges.
• Estimated Delivery Timeframes:
Provide accurate and realistic
estimated delivery timeframes
based on the chosen shipping
method and the customer's
location.
• Regular Delivery Updates: Keep
customers informed about the
status of their orders through email
or SMS notifications, including
tracking information and estimated
delivery dates.
3. Order Tracking:
• Real-Time Tracking: Provide
customers with real-time order
tracking capabilities, allowing
 them to monitor the progress of
their orders from shipment to
delivery.
• Trackable Links: Include
trackable links in order
confirmation emails and customer
accounts, enabling customers to
access detailed tracking
information directly.
• Delivery Alerts: Notify customers
via email or SMS when their
orders have been shipped, are out
for delivery, and have been
successfully delivered.
Ensuring a Smooth Returns Process
A customer-friendly returns policy and a
seamless returns process are essential for
building trust and handling customer
dissatisfaction effectively. By making it easy
for customers to return items, businesses
demonstrate their commitment to customer
satisfaction and encourage repeat business.
1. Clear and Easy-to-Find Return
Policy:
• Accessible Policy: Clearly
outline your return policy on your
website, making it easily
accessible from product pages,
the shopping cart, and the footer.
• Eligibility Criteria: Clearly
define the eligibility criteria for
returns, including acceptable
reasons for return,timeframes for
return requests, and any
applicable conditions.
1. Simple Return Process:
• Online Return Requests: If you
offer online return requests, make
the process simple and user-
friendly.Customers should be
able to easily identify the order
they want to return, select the
reason for return, and print a
prepaid return label if applicable.
• Clear Instructions: Provide
clear and concise instructions on
how to return items, including
packing requirements, labeling
procedures, and the return
address.
• Return Confirmation: Once a
return request is submitted, send
the customer a confirmation email
with details about the return
process and an estimated
timeframe for processing the
return.
2. Prompt Processing of Returns:
• Efficient Processing: Upon
receiving returned items, inspect
them promptly and process the
return efficiently. This may
involve issuing a full refund, store
credit, or a replacement product,
depending on the customer's
request and the return policy.
• Communication: Keep
customers informed throughout
the return process. Send them
email notifications when their
return is received, processed, and
a refund or replacement is issued.
• Transparency: If there are any
delays or issues with the return
processing, communicate them
transparently to the customer and
provide an estimated timeline for
resolution.
Additional Considerations for E-
commerce Service Quality
Beyond the core aspects mentioned above,
several additional factors contribute to an
exceptional e-commerce service experience:
1. Secure Payment Processing:
Implement secure payment
processing systems that encrypt
customer data and ensure safe
transactions. Offer a variety of trusted
payment methods like credit cards,
 debit cards, and secure online
payment gateways.
2. Customer Service Availability:
Provide multiple channels for
customer service, including email,
phone, and live chat. Ensure
knowledgeable and professional
representatives are available to
answer questions, address
concerns,and resolve issues promptly
and courteously.
3. Post-Purchase Communication:
Follow up with customers after their
purchase. Send them order
confirmation emails, shipping
updates, delivery notifications, and
even request feedback on their
shopping experience. This
demonstrates that you value their
business and encourages future
interactions.
By prioritizing these aspects of e-commerce
service quality, businesses can cultivate a
loyal customer base and foster a positive
brand image. In today's competitive online
marketplace, focusing on customer
experience is no longer a luxury; it's a
necessity for sustainable growth and success.
Chap 9 Customer experience and service
design
Analysis for digital technology projects
Analysis and Design for Digital Business
Systems, focuses on new analysis and
design approaches for digital business
systems, rather than established
techniques like data flow diagramming. It
aims to help managers understand
contemporary methods, particularly for
customer experience management and user
interface design on desktop and mobile
platforms. This understanding should
facilitate better collaboration with technical
staff during system requirements discussions.
Analysis Techniques: Focuses on process
analysis for re-engineering, data modeling,
and managing 'Big Data'. Emphasizes using
diagrams to demonstrate business processes.
Design Techniques: Aims to improve the
information quality for end-users, ensuring
information is timely, secure, accurate,
relevant, complete, and easy to interpret.
Discusses system integration to enhance
information flow and delivery. Covers user-
centered site design and customer experience
management, using use-case analysis and
interface design guidelines. Reviews security
design for digital businesses, including
generic and current e-commerce security
techniques.
Interview with Nick Dutch, Head of Digital
at Domino’s Pizza UK: Dutch's role
includes overseeing online customer
experience and digital marketing, developing
a strategic digital roadmap, and ensuring
alignment with business strategy. The digital
team is responsible for e-commerce
marketing, digital campaigns, and CRM,
supported by technical and analytical staff.
Emphasizes customer convenience across
platforms and continuous optimization using
tools like Google Analytics.
User Requirements Capture Techniques:
Essential for understanding the business and
user requirements for a new system.
Delivering quality information is key to
building efficient information systems that
improve customer service.
Process Modelling: Activity-based process
definition methods break down processes
into tasks necessary for business information
systems.
Process Mapping and Task Analysis:
Process mapping identifies locations and
responsibilities of processes within an
organization. Task analysis breaks down
processes into detailed tasks before
implementation, with no set rules for
decomposition levels.
DATA MODELING:
ER (entity relationship) modelling to review
typical structures for these databases. In
simple ER modelling there are three main
stages.
Entity A grouping of related data, such as
customer entity, implemented as a table.
Database table Each database comprises
several tables.
Attribute A property or characteristic of an
entity, implemented as a field. Field
Attributes of products, such as date of birth.
Record A collection of fields for one
instance of an entity, such as Customer Smith.
Social sign-in Users or members of sites can
sign-in with their social network accounts
such as Google+, Facebook or LinkedIn
through use of APIs exchanging data
between different web services
Relationship, Describes how different tables
are linked.
Primary key, The field that uniquely
identifies each record in a table.
Secondary key, A field that is used to link
tables, by linking to a primary key in another
table.
BIG DATA
Big Data has emerged as a critical business
concept, representing the challenge of
managing and leveraging vast amounts of
data collected by businesses. Managing Big
Data also involves addressing security and
customer privacy issues. IBM (2013), a
pioneer in defining and applying Big Data,
has outlined the 4Vs characterizing Big Data:
1.Volume: The massive amount of data
generated daily, with IBM estimating 2.5
quintillion bytes of data created every day in
2013. This rapid growth means 90% of the
world's data was created in the previous two
years alone.
2.Variety: The diverse formats of data,
including structured and unstructured types
such as text, sensor data, audio, video, click
streams, and log files. Analyzing these varied
data types together can yield new insights.
3. Velocity: The need to process data in real
time, crucial for time-sensitive processes like
detecting online fraud. Real-time data
streaming maximizes the value of Big Data.
4. Veracity: The trustworthiness of data,
ensuring it is accurate, relevant, and reliable.
With data coming from various sources and
often presented as models, ensuring its
credibility is essential for decision-making.
The increase in data volume has been
facilitated by enhanced instrumentation,
capturing events over time and integrating
them into systems. This can involve simple
data collection, tracking customer
interactions through desktop or mobile sites
or social media, exemplified by web and
social analytics.
Design for Digital Technology Project
Designing a digital business system involves
defining its structure, user functionality, and
integration with other projects. This process
(system design) determines how the
information system will operate. Two critical
aspects of this design are security and
interface design, which significantly impact
customer perception. Before delving into
these aspects, it is essential to consider the
overall architectural design of digital
business systems.
Architecture Design of Digital Business
Systems
The design of digital business systems begins
with establishing a common architecture
across the company for hardware, software,
applications, and business processes. This
architecture typically follows a client-server
model where clients, initially desktop PCs,
now increasingly include mobile devices,
connect to backend servers via various
networks.
Key design decisions involve the distribution
of tasks between client and server. The
typical situation for these tasks in a digital
business system is:
- Data Storage: Primarily on the server,
with minimal client storage. which are
then related to the data for the user that
are stored on database servers. SaaS
systems often use a cloud of multiple
servers in different locations to deliver
these services more efficiently.
- Query Processing: Mainly server-side,
with some client-side validation.
- Display: Handled by clients, with
responsive design for mobile devices.
- Application Logic: Largely server-based
to maximize efficiency.
Client-server model
A system architecture in which end-user
machines such as PCs, known as ‘clients’,
run applications while accessing data and
possibly programs from a server.
Three-tier client-server
The first tier is the client that handles display,
second is application logic and business rules,
third is database storage.
Thin client
An end-user access device (terminal) where
computing requirements such as processing
and storage (and therefore cost), are
minimised.
A typical digital business architecture
employs a three-tier client-server model,
where the client handles display, the server
manages application logic and business rules,
and a database server stores data. This "thin
client" model reduces client-side processing
and storage requirements. The application
server provider (ASP) model also follows
this architecture.
However, the reality is more complex,
requiring various specialized servers for
different functions. These servers can be
physically separate or combined, each
serving specific purposes:
- Web Server: Manages HTTP requests
and serves web pages. Returns or
- serves web pages.
- Merchant Server: Houses the main
application logic and integrates the
application by interacting with other
servers.
- Personalization Server: Delivers
tailored content, sometimes part of the
commerce server.
- Payment Commerce Server: Manages
secure transactions and payment systems.
- Catalogue Server: Manages and
displays detailed product information.
- CRM Server: Stores customer contact
information.
- ERP Server: Provides information on
stock availability, pricing, sales order
processing, and logistics.
Integration of these components is complex.
Simplifying the design by reducing the
number of component suppliers can facilitate
easier data and application integration.
Three-tier client-server in a digital
business environment
Digital business architecture for a B2C
company
Focus on User-Centred Site Design and
Customer Experience Management
User-centred design (UX)
Design based on optimising the user
experience according to all factors, including
the user interface, that affect this.
Customer experience management (CXM)
User experience improvements are
broadened to consider the context of use to
different physical locations or customer
touchpoints across different digital platforms
including desktop, mobile sites, apps, social
networks and email marketing. Context of
use includes device type, location and
interactions with customer service.
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
Improving transactional website performance
involves Conversion Rate Optimization
(CRO), focusing on increasing goals like
sales or leads. CRO uses customer research,
competitor analysis, web analytics, and
testing (AB and multivariate) to evaluate and
enhance user behavior. Designing digital
business systems emphasizes User-Centered
Design (UX), beyond just interfaces. Nigel
Bevan and others highlight UX's broad scope,
integrating digital platforms like websites,
mobile apps, and social media to enhance
user interaction and overall experience.
Improvements in UX have led to customer
experience management (CXM), which
considers the context of system access within
the user's location. CXM has evolved due to:
- The use of smartphones and mobile
devices.
- Dual or multiscreen usage. where a
smartphone or tablet may be used
alongside other devices, including TVS
- Multichannel shopping behavior. where
mobile devices may be used in-store as
part of the purchase
- decision, or the decision to purchase
offline is prompted by online experiences
and vice versa
- Integration of the website experience
with other online platforms. including
company social network pages and email
communications;
- The combination of offline and online
customer service through live chat and
call-back features.
Customer Experience Management
(CXM) is crucial for multichannel or
omnichannel transactional sites, such as
those in travel, retail, and financial services.
Forrester (2011) describes CXM using
various systems to deliver customer
experience, including:
- Web content management
- Personalization
- Marketing automation
- Commerce platforms
- Customer service interaction management
- On-site search
- Merchandising
- Combining analytics with testing and
optimization
Creating an effective customer experience
involves integrating these systems or services.
CXM is an ongoing process of improvement
through analytics and structured testing,
known as conversion rate optimization
(CRO), which enhances the commercial
value of online presence. Thus, digital
business design should be seen as a
continuous investment, not a one-time effort.
This approach is highlighted by the ongoing
need for improvement, as shown by declining
customer experience (CX) in Box 9.4.
User-centred design starts with
understanding the nature of and variation
within the user groups. According to Bevan
(1999a), issues to consider include:
• Who are the important users?
• What is their purpose in accessing the site?
• How frequently will they visit the site?
• What experience and expertise do they
have?
• What nationality are they? Can they read
English?
• What type of information are they looking
for?
• How will they want to use the information:
read it on the screen, print it or download it?
• What type of browsers will they use? How
fast will their communication links be?
• How large a screen/window will they use,
with how many colours?
Online customer experience
The combination of rational and emotional
factors of using a company’s online services
that influences customers’ perceptions of a
brand online.
Box 9.5 highlights common mistakes
companies make with their websites and
offers suggestions for investing in usability
initiatives. Usability and accessibility are
critical but only parts of the overall visitor
experience. The concept of an online brand
promise is closely tied to delivering a
satisfactory customer experience.
Alison Lancaster, former head of marketing
at John Lewis Direct and current marketing
director at Charles Tyrrwhitt, emphasizes the
importance of a user-centric approach in
creating a customer-centric online presence.
Key points include:
 -Understanding the customer and how they
use the shopping channel.
- Knowing the marketplace and competitors.
- Conducting continuous research, feedback
collection, and usability testing.
-Ensuring the website is convenient, easy to
order from, quick to download, well
structured, and easy to navigate.
Overall, the design and maintenance of
digital business systems should focus on
ongoing improvements to enhance the
customer experience.
3. No involvement of UX or design
Elements of customer experience professionals at project conception
management (CXM) 4. UX and design teams are trying to
work in an agile manner, when the
rest of the business is working
waterfall
5. Too much focus on delivery, which
means UX teams do not have the
proper time to do their jobs
6. A siloed digital team, which sits
separately and often downstream
from marketing
7. Design is seen as a service
8. Old design guidelines, made for print,
with little or no consistency
9. Broken user journeys that are well
known but not fixed
10. Agencies kowtow to
unknowledgeable clients
11. Stakeholders only trust stats or first-
hand experience
Box 9.5 Fourteen reasons businesses are
12. A lack of workforce diversity
failing at user-centred (UX) design
13. UX teams are not working together
1. No head of design
across the business
2. No understanding of UX across the
14. Managers want shiny new things
business or of what roles are needed
Creating effective online experiences
requires balancing rational and emotional
values, along with delivering the promised
brand experience, as de Chernatony (2001)
emphasizes. Success hinges on maintaining
high online service quality, a point
underscored by Trocchia and Janda (2003).
Christodoulides et al. (2006) researched five
dimensions of online brand equity in retail
and service sectors, evaluating them through
specific questions.
1. Emotional connection
Q1: I feel related to the type of people who
are [X]’s customers Q2: I feel like [X]
actually cares about me
Q3: I feel as though [X] really understands
me
2. Online experience
Q4: [X]’s website provides easy-to-follow
search paths
Q5: I never feel lost when navigating through
[X]’s website
Q6: I was able to obtain the information I
wanted without any delay
3. Responsive service nature
Q7: [X] is willing and ready to respond to
customer needs
Q8: [X]’s website gives visitors the Customer Experience Management
opportunity to ‘talk back’ to [X] Framework
4. Trust The first step in implementing a CX strategy
Q9: I trust [X] to keep my personal involves research and audit activities aimed
information safe at gaining a holistic view of the customer
Q10: I feel safe in my transactions with [X] experience. This includes:
5. Fulfilment
Q11: I got what I ordered from [X]’s website • Customer experience lifecycle
Q12: The product was delivered by the time audit: understanding the current
promised by [X] breadth of channels and touch points
and identifying new interaction
Different factors impacting the online channel opportunities.
customer experience • Customer research: understanding
what constitutes customer value, and
aligning the value provided per
channel. It also entails customer
segmentation.
• Organisational alignment:
Understanding current processes and
policies and aligning different
departments towards customer
insights.
Customers, as well as the company’s
products, services and policies, change over
time so these exercises should be conducted
periodically to re-evaluate the customer
experience and realign the framework.
 o Customer experience design
The findings from the framework
alignment phase are translated into
effective solutions to enhance customer
experiences, blending science and
creativity. This phase leverages existing
knowledge of the company and its
customers to seamlessly integrate
experience design into the overall
research and design process. By
understanding customer needs, value per
channel, and company processes,
solutions can be designed to:
1. Fix critical or negative experiences.
2. Create new customer value through
innovation.
This approach ensures that the customer
experience is continually improved and
aligned with evolving customer
expectations and company goals.
o Implementation
The Econsultancy guide to implementing a
Customer Experience (CX) strategy outlines
ten best practice tips:
1. Define what great CX looks like:
Understand what customers consider great
CX, focusing on seamless interactions,
especially on mobile platforms.
2. Break Down Channel Focus: Avoid
channel-centric approaches that hinder
understanding the customer journey. Focus
on CX goals and adapt channel activities
accordingly.
3. It’s all about the customer journey: Gather
data to build a comprehensive view of
customer behaviors, avoiding overreliance on
channel-specific data.
4. Take Charge: Appoint a clear leader or
department to drive CX strategy and ensure it
is not left rudderless.
5. Brand building is fundamental to
differentiation: Emphasize brand values and
experiences to differentiate in a competitive
market.
6. Create Your Own Framework: Develop a
custom framework for CX that identifies
strengths, weaknesses, and goals specific to
the organization.
7. Technology is a tool, not a solution: Use
technology wisely as a tool to support CX,
ensuring foundations like staff training and
data alignment are in place.
8. Make room for innovation but choose
wisely: Adopt innovative solutions like
chatbots and AI while maintaining
consistency with the brand and CX.
9. Leadership is Key: Secure investment and
organizational alignment for CX with strong
leadership and a clear proof of concept.
10. Start Now: Act promptly to improve CX,
recognizing its long-term positive impact on
the business.
These tips emphasize the need for a holistic,
customer-centric approach to CX, leveraging
both strategic leadership and practical
implementation.
Usability
An approach to website design intended to
enable the completion of user tasks.
Expert review
An analysis of an existing site or prototype,
by an experienced usability expert who will
identify deficiencies and improvements to a
site based on their knowledge of web design
principles and best practice.
Usability/user-testing
Representative users are observed
performing representative tasks using a
system.
Usability
Usability is a key concept within user-
centred design that is applied to the analysis
and design for a range of products to define
how easy they are to use. The British
Standards Institute ISO Standard, Human-
centred Design Processes for Interactive
Systems (1999), defined usability as the:
extent to which a product can be used by
specified users to achieve specified goals
with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction
in a specified context of use.
In website design, usability involves:
- Effectiveness: Ensuring tasks can be
completed successfully.
- Efficiency: Minimizing the time and
effort required to complete tasks.
- Satisfaction: Ensuring a pleasant user
experience.
Jakob Nielsen, in "Designing Web Usability"
(2000), describes usability as an engineering
approach to website design aimed at making
the user interface learnable, memorable,
error-free, efficient, and satisfying. He
emphasizes the importance of navigation and
link optimization to access information
quickly.
usability involves two key project activities.
Expert reviews are often performed at the
beginning of a redesign project as a way of
identifying problems with a previous design
and usability testing involves:
1. identifying representative users of
the site and typical tasks;
2. asking them to perform specific tasks
such as finding a product or
completing an order;
3. observing what they do and how they
succeed.
For a site to be successful, the user tasks or
actions need to be completed:
- effectively - web usability specialists
measure task completion; for
example, only three out of ten visitors
to a website may be able to find a
telephone number or other piece of
information;
- efficiently - web usability specialists
also measure how long it takes to
complete a task on-site, or the number
of clicks it takes.
Nielsen's "Usability 101" highlights that
usability is critical for website survival. If a
site is difficult to use, users will leave. Key
aspects include:
- Clear homepage communication of
offerings and user actions.
- Easy navigation and task completion.
- Readable and informative content.
Nielsen suggests spending about 10% of a
design project's budget on usability, although
actual spending is often lower.
Evaluating designs
Effective design for usability, as per Bevan
(1999b), hinges on three key areas:
1. Effectiveness: Can users complete
their tasks correctly and completely?
2. Productivity (Efficiency): Are tasks
completed in an acceptable length of
time?
3. Satisfaction: Are users satisfied with
the interaction?
User involvement is crucial for assessing
design effectiveness, often utilizing focus
groups as part of website prototyping and
conversion rate optimization (CRO). For
example, insurance company Hiscox used
three different user interaction models for
their site redesign:
- A distribution model where users pick
their customer type and then the
product.
- A retail model where users choose the
product first, then how to buy it.
- A needs-based model to assist users in
choosing products.
Eyetracking is an effective technique for
evaluating design, providing visual overlays
(heatmaps) of where users look on the screen
and gaze trails showing common paths.
Eyetracking can be conducted in focus
groups or through remote testing services like
www.whatusersdo.com.
Traditionally, usability tests were conducted
during the analysis and design phases, but
now businesses often gain continuous
feedback via various tools, as identified by
Smart Insights (2010):
1. Website feedback tools: Also known
as 'Voice of Customer,' these allow
permanent customer feedback
prompts on every page.
2. Crowdsourcing product opinion
software: Gathers feedback on new
features or service delivery.
3. Simple page or concept feedback
tools: Provides basic feedback from
site users.
4. Site exit survey tools: Rate intent
(reason for visiting the site) against
satisfaction, used for redesign or
permanent tracking of site
effectiveness.
5. General online survey tools: Low-
cost or free survey tools to research
audience opinions.
Eyetracking
A usability testing technique that provides a
visual overlay of where visitors most
commonly look at on the screen (heatmaps)
and individual or common paths (gaze trails).
Use-Case Analysis
Use-case modelling
A user-centred approach to modelling system
requirements.
Unified Modelling Language (UML)
A language used to specify, visualise and
document the artefacts of an object-
orientated system.
Web design personas
A summary of the characteristics, needs,
motivations and environment of typical
website users.
The use-case method of process analysis and
modelling was developed in the early 1990s
as part of the development of object-
orientated techniques. It is part of a
methodology known as Unified Modelling
Language (UML) that attempts to unify the
approaches that preceded it such as the Booch,
OMT and Objectory notations.
o Persona and Scenario Analysis
Marketers create web design personas for
typical site visitors; this is a powerful
technique for influencing the planning of
online campaigns and the usability and
customer-centricity of a website. Website
designers and marketers use personas to
improve website design and online
campaigns, creating 'thumbnail' descriptions
of typical site visitors. Companies like Ford,
Staples, and Microsoft use multiple personas
to better understand their customers.
Personas are useful for developing customer
scenarios, which outline the tasks a customer
needs to complete to achieve their goals.
Patricia Seybold describes customer
scenarios as a set of tasks a customer
undertakes to accomplish a desired outcome.
Scenarios can be developed for each persona
and split into a series of steps or questions
that help identify the information needs of
different customer types at various stages of
the buying process. This technique, though
powerful, is still relatively rare in website
design.
When developing a persona, consider the
following guidelines:
1. Build personal attributes into
personas:
o Demographic: age, sex, education,
occupation and, for B2B, company size
and position in buying unit
o Psychographic: goals, tasks, motivation
o Webographics: web experience (months),
usage location (home or work), usage
platform (dial-up, broadband), usage
frequency, favourite sites.
2. Remember that personas are only
models of characteristics and
environment:
o Design targets
o Stereotypes
o Three or four usually suffice to improve
general usability, but more are needed for
specific behaviours
o Choose one primary persona that, if
satisfied, means others are likely to be
satisfied.
3. Different scenarios can be
developed for each persona, as
explained further below. Write
three or four,for example:
o Information-seeking scenario (leads to
site registration)
o Purchase scenario - new customer (leads
to sale)
o Purchase scenario - existing customer
(leads to sale).
A primary persona is strategically
important for the site's effectiveness and
challenging to fulfill, often representing a
common user type critical to business success.
Secondary personas, such as super-users or
novices, and complementary personas, which
display unusual behavior, can also be
developed to encourage out-of-the-box
thinking and provide options appealing to all
users.
Primary persona
A representation of the typical site user, who
is strategically important to the effectiveness
of the site, but one whose needs are
challenging to fulfil.
o Stage in Use-Case analysis
Actors
People, software or other devices that
interface with a system.
Use-case
The sequence of transactions between
an actor and a system that supports
the activities of the actor.
The following stages are identified by
Schneider and Winters (1998) for
analysis using the use-case method.
1. Identify actors
Actors in system interactions are individuals
or entities outside the system itself, such as
customers and service representatives in a
customer service application. During process
analysis for defining use-cases, critical
questions revolve around identifying actors,
their roles, tasks, and influence on processes.
Actors exchange information through
reporting features. For employees with
multiple roles, each role is represented by a
separate actor. Schneider and Winters (1998)
emphasize that actors include software,
hardware controls, and external systems
interfacing with automated systems.Identify
use-cases
Use-cases are the different things users of a
system want it to perform. These can be
described as activities or tasks that are part of
a dialogue between an actor and the system.
They summarise the requirements of a
system from each actor since they describe
the functionality that will be provided by the
system. Common use-cases are:
• Starting up, shutting down or
amending a system.
• Adding or amending information on a
system. Examples include placing an
e-commerce order or recording a
complaint via email.
• Using a system for reporting or
decision support.
In B2C companies, typical use-cases are
crucial, as highlighted by Bevan (1999b),
who stresses defining key user scenarios
through techniques like user interviews.
Noyes and Baber (1999) advocate card-
sorting, where tasks identified from
interviews are written on cards to sequence
actions in menu systems. This method
ensures system design matches user
expectations and workflows. During talk-
throughs or walk-throughs of the cards,
interface and functionality are validated
against user needs and tasks.
Talk-through
A user verbally describes their required
actions.
Walk-through
A user executes their actions through using a
system or mock-up.
Scenario
A particular path or flow of events or
activities within a use-case.
2. Relate actors to use-cases
It can be used to identify responsibilities and
check for missing activities.
3. Develop use-case scenarios
A detailed scenario outlines the sequence of
events and activities for each use-case,
providing a comprehensive view of system
functionality. The primary scenario depicts
the typical flow where everything proceeds
as expected, detailing activities, decision
points, and error handling. Preconditions
(conditions required for the use-case to start)
and postconditions (outcomes after
completing the use-case) are also specified.
For example, Figure 9.13 presents a primary
scenario for the entire e-commerce purchase
cycle, illustrating its steps and outcomes. A
more detailed primary scenario for the
specific use-case "Register," from the
perspective of the customer actor (Figure
9.14), includes:
- Pre-condition: User active on the website.
- Scenario: Register.
- Basic path:
1. User clicks "register."
2. Enters name, postal address, and email.
3. System validates postcode and email
format.
4. User submits.
5. System checks fields, passes information
to CRM.
6. Redirects to thank user, offers return to
home page.
- Post-condition: Customer details saved.
- Alternative paths: User can cancel before
submitting (stages 2-4).
This structured approach clarifies various
issues. After completing the primary scenario,
additional scenarios like cancellation or error
handling can be developed and integrated.
Figure 9.15 exemplifies a site with clear,
consistent menu options aligned with use-
case analysis, ensuring usability and
functionality coherence.
Designing the Information Architecture
Information architecture
The combination of organisation, labelling
and navigation schemes composing an
information system.
Site map
A graphical or text depiction of the
relationship between different groups of
content on a website.
Rosenfeld and Morville (2002) emphasize
the critical role of information architecture in
effective website design. They offer several
definitions of information architecture:
 1. The combination of organization,
labeling, and navigation schemes
within an information system.
2. The structural design of an
information space to facilitate task
completion and intuitive access to
content.
3. The art and science of structuring and
classifying websites and intranets to
help people find and manage
information.
4. An emerging discipline and
community of practice focused on
applying design and architecture
principles to the digital landscape.
In practice, creating information architecture
involves logically grouping information and
developing a site structure, often represented
as a site map. While this summary simplifies
the concept, well-developed information
architecture is crucial for usability and search
engine optimization (SEO). It helps in
organizing large volumes of content and is
less critical but still beneficial for small-scale
websites.
Key benefits of creating information
architecture include:
- Supporting user and organizational goals,
enhancing usability.
- Improving site navigation and aligning
user expectations with the website's
content structure.
- Enhancing SEO through structured
content organization and labeling.
- Integrating offline communications with
online strategies, such as linking ads to
specific landing pages.
- Grouping related content for better design
analysis and effectiveness measurement.
Card sorting or web classification
The process of organising objects on the
website in a consistent manner.
o Card Sorting
Websites are often designed from the
designer's perspective, leading to non-
intuitive labels, subject groupings, and
categories for users. Card sorting or web
classification helps categorize web objects
(e.g., documents) to facilitate user
information task completion or goals.
Card Sorting Process Robertson (2003)
identifies key questions for card sorting to
model web classification systems:
- Do the users want to see the information
grouped by: subject, task, business or
customer groupings, or type of
information?
- What are the most important items for the
main menu?
- How many menu items should there be,
and how deep should it go?
- How similar or different are the needs of
users throughout the organization?
Card Sorting Implementation Selected
user groups or representatives are given
index cards with various types of information
written on them, such as:
- Types of document
- Organizational keywords and concepts
- Document titles
- Descriptions of documents
- Navigation labels
Users are then asked to:
- group together cards that they feel relate
to each other
- select cards that accurately reflect a given
topic or area
- organise cards in terms of hierarchy -
high-level terms (broad) to low-level
terms
At the end of the session, the analyst collects
the cards and maps the results into a
spreadsheet to identify the most popular
terms, descriptions, and relationships. If
multiple user groups are used, the results are
compared, and differences are analyzed.
Blueprints
Show the relationships between pages and
other content components.
o Blueprints
According to Rosenfeld and Morville (2002),
blueprints:
- Show the relationships between pages
and other content components.
- Portray organization, navigation, and
labeling systems.
- Are often thought of as site maps or site
structure diagrams.
- Serve as a design tool to clearly show the
grouping of information and linkages
between pages.
- Differ from site maps on a website, which
assist with navigation.
Wireframes
Also known as ‘schematics’, a way of
illustrating the layout of an individual web
page.
Storyboarding
The use of static drawings or screenshots of
the different parts of a website to review the
design concept with user groups.
o Wireframes
Wireframes, a technique related to
blueprints, are used by web designers
to indicate the eventual layout of a
web page. Wodtke (2002) describes a
wireframe, also known as a
‘schematic,’ as a basic outline of an
individual page that indicates the
elements, their relationships, and
their relative importance.
o Wireframes:
- Consist of an outline with ‘wires’ of
content separated by white space.
- Are created for similar page groups
identified at the blueprint stage.
- Focus on individual pages, specifically
where navigation will be placed.
o Reviewing Wireframes:
- The process is sometimes called
‘storyboarding.’
- Early designs are drawn on large paper or
created using drawing programs.
- Emphasis is not on color or graphics,
which are added later with input from
branding, marketing teams, and graphic
designers.
o Aims of Wireframes (Chaffey and
Wood, 2005):
- Integrate consistently available
components (e.g., navigation, search
boxes).
- Order and group key types of components.
- Focus the user on core messages and
content.
- Use white space effectively to structure
the page.
- Develop a reusable page structure for
other web designers.
o Common Features of Wireframes:
- Navigation columns on the left, right, top,
or bottom.
- Header and footer areas.
- ‘Slots’ or ‘portlets’ for content such as
articles or lists, often dynamically
populated from a content management
system.
o Home Page Slots May Include:
- Summary of the online value proposition.
- Promotions.
- Related product recommendations.
- News features.
- Ads.
Example: Figure 9.17 shows a wireframe as
an outline of a page with "wires" of content
separating different areas using white space.
 A style sheet consists of a series of rules that
dictate how selected elements should be
displayed. For example:

body {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica,

Sans Serif, Sans; font-size: 0.7em; text-align:
center;}

In this example, the HTML 'body' tag is the

selector, and the required style for text within
the curly brackets is the declaration.

Benefits of CSS:

- Bandwidth: Pages download faster after

the initial load since style definitions are
downloaded once as a separate file, not
for each page.
Page template
- Efficient Development: Agreeing on site
A standard page-layout format that is applied
style and implementing it in CSS as part
to each page of a website. Typically defined
of page templates makes site design more
for different page categories (e.g. category
efficient.
page, product page, search page).
- Reduced Updating and Maintenance
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
Time: Presentational markup is stored
A simple mechanism for adding style (e.g.
separately from the content, making it
fonts, colours, spacing) to web documents.
quicker to update the site globally.
CSS enables different style elements to be
- Increased Interoperability: Adhering to
controlled across an entire site or section of
W3C recommendations ensures support
site.
for multiple browsers.
Customer orientation
- Increased Accessibility: Users can
Developing site content and services to
configure how a site looks or sounds
appeal to different customer segments or
using browsers and accessibility tools.
other members of the audience.
The site is more likely to render well on
various access platforms such as PDAs,
Wireframes are transformed into physical site smartphones, and printers.
design page templates using standardized Customer Orientation
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which
A well-designed site aims for customer
provide a consistent look and feel across
orientation or customer-centricity,
different sections of the site. The W3C
providing content and services that appeal to
(www.w3.org) defines CSS as a simple
a wide range of audiences. For B2B
mechanism for adding style (e.g., fonts,
companies, the main audiences are customers,
colors, spacing) to web documents. CSS
other companies and organizations, and staff.
controls various style elements, including
For instance, Dell segments its customer base
typography, background colors and images,
on the home page into categories like small
borders, and margins.
office and home users, small businesses,
medium businesses, large businesses,
corporates, and government organizations.
Marketing-led or commercial-led site
design
Site design elements are developed to
achieve customer acquisition and retention
and communication of marketing messages.
Persuasion marketing
Using design elements such as layout, copy
and typography, together with promotional
messages, to encourage site users to follow
particular paths and specific actions rather
than giving them complete choice in their
navigation.
Marketing-led or commercial-led site
design is informed by marketing objectives
and customer needs rather than a restricted
view of information architecture or
structuring a site simply around products,
services or offers.
Key Business Requirements for
Marketing-led Design:
- Customer Acquisition: Clear online
value proposition with incentives for
customer acquisition and permission
marketing.
- Customer Conversion: Engaging first-
time visitors with prominent calls to
action and simple processes to avoid
attrition.
- Customer Retention: Providing
incentives, content, and customer service
information to encourage repeat visits
and business.
- Branding: Clearly explaining the brand
offer and enabling interaction with the
brand.
Bryan Eisenberg of Future Now emphasizes
asking three critical questions during the
wireframe and storyboard phase:
1. What action needs to be taken?
2. Who needs to take that action?
3. How do we persuade that person to
take the desired action?
BJ Fogg's (2009) FBM (Fogg Behavior
Model) suggests that for a person to perform
a target behavior, they must be sufficiently
motivated, have the ability to perform the
behavior, and be triggered to perform it. All
three factors must occur simultaneously for
the behavior to happen.
Different types of audience for a typical
B2B website
Elements of Site Design
Once user requirements are established,
attention shifts to the design of the human-
computer interface. Nielsen (2000a)
structures his book on web usability around
three main areas:
1. Site Design and Structure
2. Page Design
3. Content Design
Given the growing importance of mobile
devices, designing for mobile platforms has
become a crucial consideration.
o Site design and Structure
Designers create website structures tailored
to their audience and the site's purpose. Key
considerations include:
Site Style > Effective design uses color,
images, typography, and layout to support
product positioning or brand identity.
Site Personality > Style elements combine to
create a personality, described similarly to
people (e.g., ‘formal’ or ‘fun’).
- Personality should align with the target
audience's needs.
o Business sites (e.g., Cisco) are often
information-intensive.
o Consumer sites tend to be graphically
intensive.
- Constraints like screen resolution, color
depth, browser type, and download speed
impact user experience.
- Rosen and Purinton (2004) highlight
key design factors for e-commerce site
effectiveness:
1. Coherence: Simplicity, ease of
reading, use of categories, avoiding
information overload, adequate font
size, and uncrowded presentation.
2. Complexity: Variety in text
categories.
3. Legibility: Consistent mini home
pages, same menu on every page, and
site map.
Site Organization > Rosenfeld and
Morville (2002) identify different
information organization schemes:
Information organisation schemes
The structures chosen to group and categorise
information.
1. Exact Schemes:
o Naturally indexed information.
o Examples: Alphabetical (by author or
title), chronological (by date), or
geographical (by place).
o E-commerce sites may use alphabetical
organization, but it's not ideal for
browsing.
2. Ambiguous Schemes:
o Information requires classification.
o Examples: Dewey decimal system, which
classifies books into categories.
o Common in e-commerce, with
products/services classified by topic, task,
or audience.
o Use of metaphors (e.g., Microsoft
Windows Explorer’s Folders, Files,
Trash; shopping basket metaphor) can
help but may also confuse if not
immediately understood or
misinterpreted.
3. Hybrid Schemes:
o Combination of exact and ambiguous
schemes.
o While common, can lead to confusion
due to unclear mental models.
o Best to minimize the number of
organization schemes to avoid user
confusion.
o Page Design
o Content Design
Site Navigation > Site navigation scheme
> Tools provided to the user to move between
different information on a website.
Flow > Flow describes how easy it is for
users of a site to move between the different
pages of content of the site.
Effective site navigation is crucial for ease
of use and user satisfaction. Key concepts
and strategies include:
Flow Concept
Hoffman and Novak (1997) emphasize the
importance of "flow," which describes how
easily users can find information and
complete tasks on a site. Rettie (2001)
provides guidelines to enhance the flow
experience, originally described by
Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Characteristics of
flow include:
1. Complete involvement and focus on
the task.
Unawareness of surroundings due to
deep concentration.
6. Feeling integrated with the activity.
Factors that disrupt flow include long
download times, delays, lengthy registration
forms, lack of stimulation, non-intuitive
navigation, and irrelevant ads. Improving
flow involves quick downloads, alternative
content versions, auto-complete forms,
interactive opportunities, and predictable
navigation.
Navigation Systems
Most navigation systems are hierarchical.
Designers must balance between:
- Narrow and Deep: Fewer choices per
page, more clicks to reach information.
- Broad and Shallow: More choices per
page, fewer clicks, but potential screen
clutter.
A general rule is ensuring information is
accessible within three clicks, favoring a
broad and shallow approach for large sites.
This can also benefit SEO.
Recommendations by Lynch and Horton
(1999)
- Use a broad and shallow navigation
structure.
- Conceive multiple home pages for
different audience types.
- Recognize that users may arrive via deep
linking and ensure navigation and
context suit these arrivals.
Deep linking
Jakob Nielsen’s term for a user arriving at a
site deep within its structure.
Key Considerations in Navigation Design
(Nielsen, 2000b)
- Where am I? Indicate the current
location using page highlights and
consistent menu locations.
- Where have I been? Show progress in
task-oriented activities, like stages in a
purchase process.
- Where do I want to go? Provide clear
options for future operations.
Labeling and Alternative Navigation
- Use clear, succinct labels with widely
understood standards (Home, Search,
FAQ, Help, About Us).
- Include "scope notes" for additional
explanation.
- Avoid iconic labels without text to
prevent misinterpretation.
- Provide alternative navigation options
such as search, advanced search, browse,
and site maps.
Page Design
Page design involves creating an effective
layout for each webpage. Key elements and
considerations include:
Main Elements
1. Title: The page's heading or title
should be prominent.
2. Navigation: Placement and design of
navigation elements.
3. Content: The primary information or
functionality presented on the page.
4. Footer: Standard content, like
copyright information, is often
included at the bottom of each page.
Key Issues in Page Design
 Page Elements
o Proportion: Balance the space devoted
to content against headers, footers, and
navigation elements.
o Location: Common convention places
the main menu at the top or on the left
side. Top menus can maximize space for
content below.
 Use of Frames> Generally
discouraged due to issues with
usability and search engine
optimization.
 Resizing > Pages should be flexible,
allowing users to change text size or
adapt to different monitor resolutions.
 Consistency > Maintain a uniform
layout across the site for familiarity
and ease of use. Variations may be
needed for specific functions like
forums or demos.
 Printing > Design layouts to be
printer-friendly or provide an
alternative format optimized for
printing.
Content design
Copywriting for the web shares many rules
with traditional copywriting but also requires
special considerations due to the nature of
online reading. Common mistakes include
assuming too much prior knowledge from
visitors and using internal jargon or
acronyms that may not be understood.
Effective Web Copywriting Strategies
1. Conciseness: Write more concisely
than in print mediums.
2. Chunking: Break text into units of 5-
6 lines to facilitate scanning.
3. Lists: Use lists with prominent
headlines to aid readability.
4. Page Length: Avoid overly long
pages unless necessary, such as for
reports.
5. Hyperlinks: Use hyperlinks to
manage page length and help with the
flow of content, either within the
same page or to different pages.
Human Information Processing
Hofacker (2001) outlines five stages of
human information processing relevant to
website usability. Each stage represents a
hurdle that must be navigated successfully
for the user to continue. These stages can
inform both page and content design to
enhance user experience.
Five Stages of Human Information
Processing
1. Exposure: Ensuring the content is
seen.
2. Attention: Capturing the user's focus.
3. Comprehension and Perception:
Ensuring the user understands the
content.
4. Yielding and Acceptance:
Persuading the user to accept the
message.
5. Retention: Helping the user
remember the content.
By aligning content with these stages,
designers can create an integrated site that
meets various audience needs. Additionally,
security considerations may involve
providing different access levels for different
information.
Mobile Design
Media queries > A styling approach within
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS3) enabling the
layout to change based on type of device at
its scale.
Responsive design > Layout and formatting
of website content is modified at the point of
rendering to suit different screen resolutions
and capabilities to produce a better
experience to users of a range of desktop,
tablet and smartphone devices using web
development methods such as CSS and
image scaling.
Adaptive design > Different layouts are
applied to a site depending on the device
and/or resolution. This can be achieved
through rules implemented on the client
device or on the server.
Mobile site design option :
A) Responsive design
B) Adaptive design
C) HTMLS
D) Separate mobile domain (screen
scrape)
Web accessibility
Web accessibility ensures all users,
including those with disabilities or using
different platforms, can interact with
websites. It's crucial for visually impaired
users, like Lynn Holdsworth, who rely on
screen-readers. Legal requirements in many
countries, such as the UK's Disability
Discrimination Act, mandate accessible
websites since 2002. Accessibility not only
meets moral obligations but also benefits
business by reaching broader audiences,
improving SEO, and complying with legal
standards. Guidelines from organizations like
W3C outline priorities (Level A, AA, AAA)
for accessible web design, emphasizing
elements like ALT tags, multimedia
alternatives, and structured page organization.
Focus on Security Design for Digital
Business
Security in digital business focuses on
protecting customer and internal data,
mandated by data protection laws globally.
Larger companies face heightened risks from
targeted attacks. The National Cyber Security
Centre outlines nine steps for enhancing
security:
1. Protect your network with firewalls.
2. Educate users on security practices.
3. Manage IT access with strong
passwords and limited privileges.
4. Keep IT systems updated and secure.
5. Control removable media usage and
ensure encryption.
6. Secure mobile devices used for
business.
7. Use anti-malware software
effectively.
8. Monitor networks for unusual activity.
9. Establish incident management and
business continuity plans.
Current approaches to e-commerce
security
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is widely used in
B2C e-commerce for secure transactions
without needing additional software. It
encrypts data during transmission, denoted
by a change in URL from 'http://' to 'https://'
and a padlock icon. SSL ensures security and
confidentiality by creating a private link
between customer and merchant, though
decryption is theoretically possible with
sufficient resources.
Certificate Authorities (CAs) manage public
keys for SSL, involving key lifecycle
management and trust-building. Commercial
CAs like Symantec (formerly Verisign) and
entities such as banks and post offices issue
certificates for merchant verification.
SUMMARY
1 Analysis of business and user requirements
for digital business systems is important in
delivering usable and relevant systems.
2 Process modelling is used to assess existing
business processes and suggest revised
processes. Techniques such as task analysis
and flow process charts from workflow
design are useful in understanding tasks that
must be supported by the system and any
weaknesses in the current process.
3 Data modelling for digital business systems
mainly involves traditional entity
relationship approaches.
4 Architectural designs involve assessing
appropriate integration between legacy
systems and new e-commerce systems. Such
designs are based on the client-server
approach. 926 5 The customer experience
(CX) is important for helping to drive sales.
It should be a core part of the overall business,
rather than sitting in one department or
developed channel-by-channel. The six
pillars of CX are: personalisation,
integrity, expectations, resolution, time
and effort, and empathy.
6 User interface design can be improved
through using structured approaches such as
use-case and following evolving standards
for site structure, page structure and content.
7 Security design is important to maintain
trust among a customer base. Security
solutions target protecting servers from
attack and preventing interception of
messages when they are in transit.
Chap 10 - Managing Digital Business
Transformation and Growth Hacking
Introduction
Businesses need to make significant efforts in
the way they respond to change in the
environment by operating in different ways
to the past. Digital transformation and growth
hacking are two approaches on how to handle
the change.
Definitions of Digital Transformation
There are several different definitions of
digital transformation. However, more
modern and accepted interpretations of
digital transformation are effectively
summarized by work coming from MIT’s
Center for Digital Business (Westerman et al.,
2011), starting from a study where they broke
down the notion into 2 separate strands of
thinking:
1. Digital transformation is marked by
the level of intensity of application
and implementation of digitally
driven projects, and by the way an
organization manages change within
itself to take advantage of digital.
2. True digital transformation is about
transforming whole organization
rather than working on isolated,
individual digital projects (Kane et al.,
2015).
Definitions of Digital Business
Transformation
➢ Adapting vs Adopting
o Adopt: When a business
adopts a digital technology,
the implication is that the
organization isn’t changing in
any way – it is merely
incorporating the technology
into the organization without
any particular change to the
business.
 ➢ Example: buying new hardware such evolutionary depends on the specific
as laptops organization and its context.
➢ Adaptation: implies that the
The costs associated with digital
organization is changing to take
transformation are not always
advantage of the opportunities that
straightforward. While it can be expensive,
digital can provide.
it doesn't necessarily entail a massive,
The Global Center for Digital
immediate expenditure. There are many
Business Transformation defines
hidden costs, some of which cannot be
digital business transformation as “a
quantified financially.
journey where businesses ‘adopt
digital technologies and business The primary focus of digital
models to improve performance’” transformation is on achieving high-level
(Wade, 2015). strategic goals and purposeful outcomes.
By placing digital transformation at the core
of strategic planning, organizations can
The Emergence of Digital Transformation as
ensure that all transformative efforts are
a Discipline
aligned with their overarching objectives.
• Many change management writers imply
The rise of roles such as Chief
that the two big current drivers of
Digital Officer (CDO) highlights the
change in organizations are
importance of digital at the highest levels
globalization and technology
of leadership. There is, however, debate over
innovation. Both of these are external
whether digital responsibility should rest
motivators of change, and as a result it
with a single executive or be shared across
implies that change doesn’t come from an
the entire leadership team. Historically,
internal motivation source such as an
technology-related roles evolved from
organization’s staff (Strebel, 1996) and
finance-related positions to more specialized
that many aspects of an organization,
IT and digital roles, often focusing on
such as culture, structure and business
technology application rather than the
routine, are set up in such a way that
holistic impact of digital transformation.
change is very difficult to create
Digital transformation enables
The need for digital transformation
organizations to reassess and improve
Digital transformation is a their operations, making it closely linked to
multifaceted process that extends beyond change management. It involves exploring
merely acquiring and implementing new new opportunities provided by digital
technology. It integrates contemporary technologies, cultural shifts, emerging
change management principles with the practices, and new processes. Although these
complexities of digital innovation. Whether changes might appear small, their impact can
this transformation is revolutionary or be significant, necessitating careful
management.
Understanding the Reasons for Digital
Transformation
According to a number of writers
(Westerman et al., 2011), there are 3
significant themes that highlight where the
main impacts and opportunities exist:
1. Customer service and service design
2. Business and organizational
processes
3. Business models
Where does digital transformation occur?
• Customer Insight
To effectively use customer insight
through digital transformation,
organizations must address the
following:
o Adapting to new technology
▪ Implementing advanced tools and
platforms to collect, analyze, and
utilize customer data.
o Adapting to New Processes:
▪ Developing streamlined processes
for integrating customer insight into
decision-making and operations.
o Adapting to New Practices:
▪ Establishing practices that prioritize
the use of customer data in
enhancing customer experiences
and offerings.
o Altering Culture:
▪ Fostering a culture that values and
utilizes customer insight,
encouraging data-driven decision-
making across the organization.
Challenges and risks:
o Historical Issues: Many organizations
have had customer insight but lacked
the setup to effectively use it, leading
to wasted potential.
o Current Risks: Without proper
adaptation, businesses risk not
understanding customer needs,
resulting in mistakes or missed
opportunities to meet customer
demands.
• Adding Value
To add value through digital
transformation, organizations must ask:
"How can we adapt to digital technology,
processes, practices, and culture to
provide value?"
Key Steps:
o Access Customer Insight: Prioritize
understanding customer data to
identify what customers value.
o Adopt New Technology: Implement
advanced tools to leverage customer
insights.
o Streamline Processes: Develop
processes that integrate customer
feedback into business decisions.
o Establish New Practices: Focus on
improving customer experiences
based on data-driven insights.
o Cultivate Culture: Foster a culture
that values customer feedback and
data-driven decision-making.
Challenges:
o Underutilized Insight: Organizations
may fail to use customer data
effectively, leading to unmet needs.
o Adaptation Hurdles: Struggles in
adapting technology, processes,
practices, or culture to leverage
insights fully.
• Interfaces with Customers and Digital them to eliminate unnecessary steps or
Transformation: touchpoints.
To improve interfaces with o Adapt, Don’t Just Adopt: Ensure the
customers through digital organization adapts to new technology
transformation, organizations must rather than simply adopting it without
ask: "How can we adapt to digital changes.
technology, processes, practices, o Efficiency Gains: Automation aims to
and culture to enhance the customer reduce the time taken for information-
interface?" intensive processes, such as in banking
Key Considerations: and insurance, where approvals can
o Adopting Digital Technology: now take minutes instead of days.
Implement technologies that facilitate o Data Integration: Modern processes
better interactions with customers. allow data to be entered once and
o Updating Processes: Modify shared across different parts of the
processes to ensure seamless and process, enhancing efficiency and
efficient customer interactions. reducing redundancy.
o Evolving Practices: Develop Example:
practices that prioritize and enhance o Banking and Insurance: Automation
the customer interface. has significantly reduced the time
o Cultivating Digital Culture: Foster a required to approve loans or insurance
culture that embraces digital tools and applications by using integrated data
values customer-centric approaches. systems.
Challenges:
The Framework of Digital Transformation
o Utilizing Customer Insight:
Organizations often fail to use A. The process of Review
customer data effectively to improve
The process of review phase is used to
customer interfaces, missing
establish the current situation of the
opportunities to meet customer needs.
organisation - but this strategic review has
• Automation of Business Processes in
some specific components.
Digital Transformation
Key Concept: The process of digital transformation can be
o Digital transformation involves initiated because there is
rethinking and redesigning
an opportunity to place a digital innovation at
processes, not just digitizing existing
the heart of the organisation -remembering
ones. The goal is to leverage digital
that innovation can be around digital
opportunities by adapting processes to
technology, digital culture, digital practice or
the technology.
digital processes.
Key Points:
o Redesign Processes: Instead of So, at this review stage, the organisation
automating existing processes, rethink probably needs to look at four issues:
 • What the digital opportunity is.
• How sure the organization is of the
opportunity.
• What level of digital the leadership of
the organization possesses.
• How mature as a digital business the
organization sees itself.
These issues are reviewed in tandem
rather than in series - they are part of an
integrated process.
Explanation:
• What the digital opportunity is
Identifying the digital opportunity
should come as a consequence of
regular environmental scanning.
This digital scanning activity
should involve not only the collection
of information about new
technologies, devices and channels,
but also intelligence about new skills
and capabilities that contribute to
digital practice. Digital scanning
activity also needs to collect
information about digital cultural
changes, as well as innovations in
digital processes
• How sure the organization is of the
opportunity.
Opportunity analysis will look at
questions that are quite traditional in
thinking, such as (but not an
exhaustive list):
o Is there an opportunity to grow
the business with existing
customers or new customers?
o What are the kinds of revenue
we can forecast or expect?
o What value can this create for
customers?
Success assurance looks at more
internal issues and, again these are
quite traditional in their thinking,
such as:
o How stable, permanent and
reliable is the new technology,
culture, process or practice?
o Can the opportunity be scaled
up?
o How safe is it for the business to
adapt to this digital
opportunity?
• What level of digital the leadership of
the organization possesses.
2 considerations that make the issue
of digital leadership problematic:
o Existing digital leaders tend to be very
focused within their digital technology
field.
o Possibly lack broader understanding of
the wider organization.
An existing organisation is likely to
have more broad-based leaders and
fewer digital leaders. A tech start-up
is more likely to have the opposite.
The reality is that organisations are
going to need both kinds of leader,
and both kinds of leader are going to
have to evolve, so businesses do
really need to look at a leadership
profile that encompasses both.
• How mature as a digital business the
organisation sees itself
o There are many consulting
organisations that offer evaluations
of the digital maturity of a business
(often referred to as a digital
maturity index) and these are often
used to benchmark against similar
 organisations within an industry
vertical.
o Differing stakeholders in the
businesses are surveyed on attitudes
and understanding of their
capability, as well as their
understanding of customers and
digital activities.
B. The process of strategy
Successful digital strategies
prioritize agility, innovation, and
alignment with business objectives,
adapting to dynamic market
conditions while leveraging digital
opportunities effectively.
A focus on the objective for the future
rather than solving an existing problem.
o Digital transformation should
prioritize future opportunities over
fixing existing problems. While
addressing current issues is crucial,
the strategy should focus on setting
achievable goals aligned with
organizational priorities and
emerging trends.
o Unlike traditional long-term plans,
digital transformation objectives
are set over shorter intervals, often
adapting within months or weeks to
leverage rapid technological
advancements. Alignment with
broader business objectives is
essential, requiring careful
consideration and potential revision
of organizational goals to maximize
digital opportunities.
C. The Process of Resourcing and
Planning
2 things that the digital
transformation project has to give
thought to, after the roadmap for
digital transformation is completed.
➢ The design of the transformation
Implementing digital transformation
projects requires concise, streamlined
master plans due to their accelerated
timelines compared to traditional
business objectives. These projects,
often smaller in scale, benefit from
modern planning methods that
incorporate digital innovations.
Emphasizing efficient planning
processes can place digital
opportunities at the forefront of
transformation initiatives, aligning
with principles of growth hacking.
➢ A programme for change.
Creating a program for organizational
change is crucial for seizing digital
opportunities and achieving true
transformation. This involves
enhancing digital literacy and
competence among stakeholders
through training existing staff and
recruiting new personnel with
necessary skills.
D. The process of deployment
Deploying digital transformation
projects can benefit from agile
methodologies, focusing on
collaboration, small self-organizing
teams, and adaptability (Beck, 2001).
Hackathons are also effective for
rapid deployment, emphasizing
agility and timely adaptation in
achieving transformation goals.
E. The process of living with, and
evaluating, digital transformation.
 Digital transformation is an
iterative process where implementation
and evaluation are intertwined. Many
projects fail, with only a small fraction
achieving complete success, according to
Michael Gale (2016). Evaluating digital
transformation involves ongoing reviews
during implementation phases, assessing
progress, and making necessary
adjustments.
Evaluation criteria include
business growth with existing and new
customers, revenue generation, customer
value creation, and scalability.
Assessments also focus on the stability,
permanence, and reliability of new
technologies, cultures, processes, or
practices, alongside risk management
effectiveness.
Organizations should gauge their
digital maturity index and leadership's
digital awareness to measure
transformation success. Strategic
evaluations determine alignment with
broader business objectives, crucial for
overall success. Growth hacking in
digital marketing further complements
these transformation efforts, as discussed
in subsequent sections.
What is growth hacking
An approach to improving the commercial
results from online services through
structured testing and optimisation of
marketing approaches. Also referred to as
‘agile marketing’ and ‘growth marketing’is
used to boost awareness and lead generation
and conversion.
The concept is not just relevant to technology
start-ups and this movement has wider
implications. It’s a form of marketing digital
disruption because technology is an enabler
for marketers to understand and respond to
user behaviour more rapidly.
Scrum
An agile framework for effective team
collaboration on complex and adaptive
problems, mainly used for software
development.
Defining goals and KPIs
Setting a key performance indicator (KPI)
helps a business focus on its end goal. In e-
commerce, growth targets can be divided
into:
1. Volume: Audience size, measured
through unique visitors or visits.
Important for brand growth, so
include brand mentions and searches
as KPIs.
2. Quality: Interaction and conversion
rates, such as 'add-to-basket' and
'checkout to sale' rates.
3. Value: Overall profit, considering
short-term and long-term value. Set
goals for average order value and
repeat customer order value. Revenue
per visit is also useful.
The RACE planning framework creates a
performance dashboard:
Stage 1: Reach
Goals: Publish quality content and use
marketing techniques to build brand
awareness. KPIs include:
 − Analogue marketing: Advertising
response rate, direct mail delivery,
trade show satisfaction, media
relations metrics.
− Digital marketing: SEO effectiveness,
PPC efficiency, user sessions,
webinar engagement, social media
connections.
Stage 2: Act
Goals: Engage prospects to interact with the
brand. KPIs include:
− Analogue marketing: Inbound phone
calls.
− Digital marketing: Subscribers,
backlinks, time on site, downloads,
social media engagement and
sentiment, lead quality.
Stage 3: Convert
Goals: Generate purchases and drive repeat
sales. KPIs include:
− Digital marketing: Return visitors, e-
commerce transactions, cost per lead,
orders, revenue from purchases,
average order value.
Stage 4: Engage
Goals: Create repeat customers and measure
customer lifetime value. KPIs include:
− Digital marketing: Email metrics,
social media advocacy, revenue from
repeat purchases.
− ROI: Marketing campaign results,
customer lifetime value.
Effective marketing dashboards should
incorporate elements from all four RACE
stages to measure results and align goals with
the marketing team's compensation program.
⁠How to use a single metric to run a start up
Start-up businesses face extreme resource
constraints, making it challenging to analyze
large amounts of data and identify the key
metric that matters. Start-ups should focus on
a single metric for four main reasons:
1. It answers the most important business
question.
2. It forces the team to set a clear goal.
3. It aligns the entire company.
4. It inspires a culture of experimentation.
There are six broadly defined business
models, each with a different focus and key
goal:
1. Transactional: Someone buys
something.
2. Collaborative: Someone votes,
comments, or creates content.
3. SaaS: Someone uses your system and
doesn't cancel their subscription.
4. Media: Someone clicks on a banner,
PPC ad, or affiliate link.
5. Game (and many free mobile apps):
Players pay for additional content or
in-game benefits.
6. App (and many paid mobile apps):
Players pay for additional content or
in-game benefits.
Growth hacking combines shifting important
business metrics (like customer numbers,
revenue, and user engagement) with
innovative, fast-paced strategies.
Creating a growth hacking mindset
Growth hacking is an approach characterized
by a winning mindset rather than a set of tools.
A prime example is the transformation of
Britain’s cycling team, which went from 17th
in the world in 1996 to 1st by 2012, under the
coaching of Sir David Brailsford. His method
involved making 1% improvements in all
aspects of cycling, leading to British Team
Sky winning 70% of the gold medals in
cycling at the 2012 Olympics. This success
was achieved through numerous micro, cost-
effective, and human-centered optimizations.
To be an effective growth hacker:
− Mindset: Focus on accelerated
growth with a minimal budget,
emphasizing user growth or other key
performance indicators (KPIs).
− Curiosity and Creativity: Prioritize
understanding human behavior and
avoid fixating on budgets.
− Internal Culture: Encourage
experimentation and accept that some
ideas will fail.
− Team Composition: Assemble a
diverse team (Pi-shaped) with broad
knowledge and specialized skills in
both analytical/data-driven and
creative/brand storytelling areas.
The team aspect is crucial, as growth-
focused marketing requires a range of skills
unlikely to be found in a single individual.
Ideal skill set of a growth hacking team
− Coder/Developer: Needed to implement
technical solutions and push boundaries
using programming skills
− Psychologist: Understanding human
behavior and leveraging social dynamics
and networking effects enhances growth
marketing campaigns
− Marketer/Branding: Essential for
understanding various traction/marketing
channels and the importance of branding
in generating sales.
− Data Analyst: Vital for interpreting large
amounts of data to determine what
strategies work, making success
repeatable.
⁠Use of Scrum, an agile methodology in
digital marketing
Marketing today faces tensions between
intuition and data, and between art and
science. With the growth of marketing
technology, marketers can quickly test ideas
and refine campaigns through ‘test, learn, and
commit’ loops. Forrester (2013) noted that
traditional annual planning is outdated, as
69% of B2B marketing leaders believe
conditions change too quickly to maintain
current plans.

An example of innovative marketing is

Airbnb’s early growth hack using Craigslist.
By allowing users to post on Craigslist
through Airbnb, they quickly expanded their
user base. This hack was short-lived but very
effective, showcasing the power of
combining marketing with coding skills.

Traditional marketing involved long, costly

planning cycles. Digital marketing, however,
allows for rapid iteration and lower costs,
enabling marketers to adjust campaigns
based on real-time feedback. Agile marketing,
like the Scrum method, focuses on quick,
iterative experiments to meet evolving
customer needs.
Agile marketing is especially useful for start-
ups but also benefits larger organizations.
Examples include Scottish Enterprise
Agency and Transport for London, both
using agile methods in their marketing efforts.

Scrum Meeting

Key benefits of agile marketing include:
- Understanding and adapting to customer
needs continuously
- Testing small parts of campaigns to find the
most effective strategies
- Collaborating closely across departments
- Delivering and adjusting campaigns rapidly
Scrum can also be used for managing
operational projects and marketing teams.
Organizations that use it for marketing find it
effective for running iterative campaigns.
Best practice suggests planning campaigns in
90-day cycles, and Smart Insights offers a 90-
day planning template. Online project
management tools like Basecamp.com are
useful for tracking activities.

A Scrum meeting involves three core roles:

1. Product Owner (voice of the customer)

2. Development Team (delivers activities in

increments)
3. Scrum Master (team leader, buffers the
team from distractions)
The Scrum process is divided into specific
events, which guide the workflow and project
management
Sprint Planning
To select what work needs to be done,
prepare the sprint backlog with the team (and
how much time it will take to do the work)
and work to a four-hour time limit for a two-
week planning sprint. During the first half of
the sprint, the team agree what product
backlog items need to be considered and
during the second half the development team
establish the tasks required to deliver the
backlog items (called a sprint backlog).
Daily Scrum
During a sprint, the team holds a daily stand-
up meeting lasting no more than 15 minutes.
This meeting occurs at the same time and
location each day. Team members come
prepared and answer three questions:
1. What did I do yesterday to help the
development team meet the sprint goal?
2. What will I do today to help the
development team meet the sprint goal?
3. Do I see any impediment that prevents me
or the development team from meeting the
sprint goal?
Any impediments identified in the Daily
Scrum are recorded by the Scrum Master and
displayed on the team’s Scrum board, with
someone designated for working toward a
resolution (outside of the Daily Scrum).
Detailed discussions should not happen
during the Daily Scrum.
Sprint review and retrospective
During the sprint review, the team reviews
the work that was completed and the planned
work that wasn’t completed.
At the sprint retrospective, the team answers
two questions:
1. What went well during the sprint?
2. What could be improved in the next
sprint?
They then identify and agree continuous
process improvement actions (see Box 10.7).
Developing agile marketing campaigns
Growth Hacking Process
1 Product/market fit (create an MVP -
minimum viable product)
• Trigger
o External triggers are embedded
within information and tell the user
what to do next (e.g. click a link in
an email)
o Internal triggers are when a product
becomes aligned with a thought,
emotion or pre-existing routine
• Action
o There are two pulleys of human
behavior -motivation and ability
o Motivation - motivation is a widely
contested topic in psychology, this
model is based on the fact there are
three core motivators driving our
desire to act: seek pleasure and avoid
pain; seek hope and avoid fear; and
seek social acceptance and avoid
rejection
o Ability -
• Rewards
o The variable reward phase is when
users are rewarded by solving a
problem, thus reinforcing their
motivation for taking the action in
the first place.
o There are three ways a product can
heighten a user’s search for variable
rewards: •
▪ rewards of the tribe - gratification
from others;
▪ rewards of the hunt - material
goods, money, or information
 ▪ rewards of the self - mastery, 3 Process - planning and creating new ads
completion, competency, or and content, optimizing old ads and content.
consistency.
• Investment Heuristic Analysis
o This links to a psychological
1. Determining conversion rate for
phenomenon called the escalation of
different device types
commitment - the more users invest
2. Segmenting critical conversion rates
time and effort into a product or
by key dimensions to understand
service, the more they value it
differences, such as by marketing
2 User data analysis channel
3. Identifying the bounce rate on your
Main areas of user testing the five main areas landing pages
of user testing are:
Identifying the exit rate on important pages
1. Technology analysis, such as
conversion rate per browser 4 Viral growth
2. Heuristic analysis, such as relevancy,
Some digital businesses have grown
distraction and online value
exponentially because of viral growth, also
proposition
known as ‘word-of mouth’ marketing. This is
3. Web analytics, such as flow reports
because user data analysis is difficult with a
4. Qualitative surveys, such as exit
low customer base, so gaining more
surveys
customers after launching an MVP is an
5. Usability testing, such as user session
extremely important part of growth hacking.
videos.
There are three main types of products
3 Conversion rate optimization
virality:
User data analysis is not an isolated approach
• inherent virality, which is built into the
to growth hacking - it links to every stage in
product and happens as a function of its use;
the cycle, from product/market fit to retention
• artificial virality, which is forced and often
Key CRO elements There are three main
built into a reward system;
conversion rate optimization elements:
• word-of-mouth virality, which is when
1 Tools - insights, creating pages,
conversations are generated by satisfied users
personalization, campaign, and automation
(independent of a product or service).
2 People - insight, management, creative
Growth hackers measure virality by
execution, test set-up, implementation,
calculating the viral coefficient (also called
outsource
the K-Factor, see Box 10.9). Your company
or campaign is truly viral when its K-Factor
is 1 or more. However, having a viral happen on a particular date are defined
coefficient greater than one is very rare and for which performance against
even 0.2 to 0.3 is a sustainable level. objectives can be measured.

Creating the Right Environment for

5 Retention and scalable growth. Growth Hacking

Planning change

For effective project management the

following elements need to be incorporated
as part of the project management process as
described, for example, by Chaffey and
Wood (2005)

• Estimation – identifying the activities

involved in the project, sometimes
referred to as a ‘work breakdown
structure’ (WBS).
• Resource allocation – after the initial
WBS, appropriate resources can be
allocated to the tasks.
• Schedule/plan – after resource
allocation, the amount of time for each
task can be deter‑ mined according to
the availability and skills of the people
assigned to the tasks. Effort time is the
total amount of work that needs to
occur to complete a task. Elapsed time
indicates how long in time (such as
calendar days) the task will take, and is
dependent on the number of people
working on the task, and their skills.
• Monitoring and control – monitoring
involves ensuring the project is
working to plan once it has started.
Control is taking corrective action if the
project deviates from the plan. In
particular the project manager will want
to hit milestones – events that need to

Growth hacking framework
Measuring Implementation Success
There is a range of tools to help companies
gather information for user data analysis
(these are also used for CRO and testing and
analysing):
• Google Analytics Google’s free web
analytics platform
• Mixpanel A paid-for advanced mobile and
web analytics
• Kissmetrics Paid-for group and segment
analysis
• Optimizely Website and mobile app testing
platform
• Gekoboard KPI dashboard software
Focus Web analytics: measuring and
improving performance of digital business
services
Web analytics : Techniques used to assess
and improve the contribution of digital
marketing to a business including reviewing
traffic volume, referrals, clickstreams, online
reach data, customer satisfaction surveys,
leads and sales.
To improve results for any aspect of any
business, performance management is
vital.
engagement systems’ and are based on the
study of performance measurement systems
Performance Management System : A
process used to evaluate and improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of an
organisation and its processes.
Performance measurement system : The
process by which metrics are defined,
collected, disseminated and actioned.
Design for analysis (DFA) The required
measures from a site are considered during
design to better understand the audience of a
site and their decision points.
Examples :
• Breaking up a long page or form into
different parts, so you can see which
parts people are interested in.
• A URL policy used to recommend
entry pages for printed material.
• Group content by audience type or
buying decision and setting up
content groups of related content
within web analytics systems.
• Measure attrition at different points in
a customer journey, e.g. exit points on
a five-page buying cycle
Focus on Social Media Marketing
Three Levels of KPI
• Business-level KPIs to measure
contribution from social media. These
KPIs include contribution to revenue
through direct sales attributed to
social media. Softer measures include
reputation and customer satisfaction
(CSAT).
• Reach and influence KPIs to review
reach, share of voice and sentiment.
These show the relative comparison
of a brand’s reach.
• Engagement KPIs to manage social
media.
Site-visitor - activity data Information on
content and services accessed by e-commerce
site visitors.
Log-file analyser - A separate program, such
as Webtrends, that is used to summarise the
information on customer activity in a log file.
Page impression - A more reliable measure
than a hit, denoting one person viewing one
page.
Unique visitors - Individual visitors to a site
measured through cookies or IP addresses on
an individual computer
Selecting a web analytics tool
Given this, it is difficult for the digital
marketer to select the best tool or tools to
meet their needs. One of the first issues to
consider is the different types of measures
that need to be integrated within the
performance management system
1 Operational data. Data would be ideally
collected and reported within a single tool at
this level
• Referrer data from acquisition
campaigns such as search marketing
or digital advertising.
2 Tactical data. These data are typically
models of required response, such as:
• Reach models with online audience
share data for different demographic
 groupings from sources such as
Hitwise and Nielsen NetRatings.
• Lifetime-value models, which are
created to assess profitability of
visitors to the site from different
sources and so need to integrate with
operational data
4. Strategic data. Performance
management systems for senior
managers will give the big picture,
presented as scorecards or dashboards
showing the contribution of digital
channels to the organisation in terms
of sales, revenue and profitability for
different products.

Online Metric gathering method