Week 11

Q1) A customer-centric company builds long-lasting relationships by focusing on what satisfies and retains valuable customers. Discuss how Petco follows this customer-centric philosophy.

Petco is building long lasting relationships by allowing reviews, good or bad, on their website. People can be honest about products and then through that, other customers follow. By having reviews right on the page, it lessens the chance of someone getting a bad product because they have read reviews. If people are getting good products pretty consistently, they will continue to purchase through that company. 

Q2) Go to Petco.com and read some of the customer reviews for various types of products. Do the one- and two-paw ratings tend to outnumber those with four and five paws, or the other way around? Can you find a customer review that Petco could use to market a product in a company circular or email ad?

I looked at a gray orthopedic dog bed. There were 140 five star reviews, and 12 one star reviews. the good reviews drastically outnumber the lower ones. Here’s an example of one they could put in a circular:

“I have an 80lb mix and this bed is the perfect size. He has plenty of room to stretch out, but usually curls up and leaves about 1/3 of the bed empty, so it would work for a bigger dog as well. I haven't had to wash it yet, so I'm not sure how well it will hold up, but it seems like a decent quality. The memory foam on the bottom is thick and I haven't seen the bed slip when the pup jumps out. The best part is that my dog is super picky about where he sleeps (*eye-roll*) and he loves this bed!”

Q3) Now that Petco has identified the type of customer most likely to write reviews of its products, discuss the kinds of promotions that might encourage continued loyalty and response online from them in the future. What could they do to appeal to these customers?

Since they know their main reviewers are empty nesters and younger people without children, they should focus on them. They are people who don't have children at home so they will focus more other animals. They may want to make promotions for more travel wear and accessories since they may bring their pet along with them instead of children. 

Q4) Many mainstream retailers are still hesitant to post customer reviews on their websites. If you were consulting with one of these companies, what arguments would you use to convince management to try them?

I would tell them that it really creates a community of consumers and people start to trust each other and the brand. If you have a good product, you should get more good reviews than bad anyway so what is there to lose??

Q5) Read Chapter 11 and explain what brand associations mean.

Brand association is when there is a connection between brands or activities for the customer. Someone who plays a lot of sports may automatically associate that with Nike since they sell a lot of sports wear and are big in the sports community. This may cause brand loyalty since it is so associated. 

Q6) Nielsen "BuzzMetrics" initiative measures word-of-mouth ("buzz") on nearly 100 million blogs, user groups & social networking sites about brands & products. Read “Nielsen’s Brand Association Map” and also go to www.Nielsen.com and read about BuzzMetrics. Explain how it works and why it is a valuable tool to some marketers. 

BuzzMetrics helps get opinions from its customers. Online discussions can sway new customers into either buying from or passing on the company. Word of mouth is extremely important because if your brand has a bad rep, people may not even try your product to find out for themselves.