Chatbots: What do we need to know about these online virtual assistants?

| Leah Jervis

A Chatbot is an online virtual assistant which is motorised by artificial intelligence, which intends to stimulate a discussion with a customer (Poggi, 2016). These chatbots appear as an interactive chat engine which can answer customer queries and give customers advice, in a bid to provide customers with a quicker response speed than they would receive through online channels such as social media and email. This blog post is going to evaluate the risks and benefits of using chat-bots on websites, as well as tips and tricks for anyone reading who is thinking about using chatbots themselves.

 

What benefits are associated with Chatbots?

Firstly, Poggi (2016) discussed how in fact Chatbots allow for a personalized conversation between the consumer and the brand, whilst providing an ease of access mode of communication for the customer to talk to the brand within the timeframe of a few seconds. Secondly, she mentioned views from Jeff Malmad, the managing director at Mindshare in North America and how he views chatbots as a means of communication which is quicker than other forms of social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, Malmad also indicates that Chatbots can benefit brands by providing them with data from online conversations between the bot’s and the customers, in order for the brand to get an idea of what their customers want and expect from their services.

Furthermore, Han (2017) stated that Chatbots also have the potential to train new employees for companies. Han (2017) also argued that chatbots have the ability to send humans regular reminders, whilst providing them with resources and encouragement when people are making progress.  This is interesting an interesting concept to think about, as it sounds like Chatbots could potentially even manage employees in the future if human managers cannot devote their time to each individual employee they are accountable for. So, chatbots aren’t just beneficial for the external stakeholders such as the customer, but also for internal stakeholders like employees.

 

In Contrast, what are the risks associated with Chatbots?

Even though chatbots show a great potential and a futuristic scope on how the future of customer/brand communication could mainly consist of, there are a few things to consider when choosing to use chatbots. Firstly, as previously mentioned, Malmad (2016) discussed the advantage of gathering consumer data through the chatbots, if consumers are made aware of this, this could deter them from visiting a site if they don’t like the thought of being observed.

With all of the latest scandals in 2018, including Facebook stating that 87 million users could have been victim recently of a huge data leak. This along with uncertainties about the forced use of Cookies on websites can additionally make customers feel anxious and worried to even communicate with a chatbot, especially if they are made aware that anything they say could be stored and used as data for the company.

Temkin (2018) also pointed out that another risk associated with the implementation of chatbots is that even though the concept of chatbots are that they are convenient and could be a huge asset to an online site, they however pose a major security risk for consumers, if they are not properly secured.  Additionally, Jacobs (2018) has strongly urged that chatbots cannot under any circumstances turn into a bad customer experience, which he labels as ‘IVR hell’. Jacobs suggests that if chatbots get over programmed with options and responses, it could mean that a customer could easily get frustrated in a conversation with the chatbot if it asks too many questions or repeats itself throughout different points of the conversation. Jacobs suggests to avoid this from happening, it is essential that companies design their chatbots to value their customer’s time, whilst removing frictions that are associated with robot technology. Additionally, it is also essential to make the chatbots as realistic as possible to avoid customers feeling distant from human to human interaction.

 

 

 

 

 

Important Tips when implementing Chatbots:

Rosenthal (2017) has created a 6 tips based on how to improve engagement levels through chatbots companies.

The first tip is to make a great first impression to the customers, this is important as it can deter people from talking to chatbots if they send a paragraph with wrong punctuation. The key is for the Chatbot to introduce itself simply and how it can help the user in less than 160 characters.

The second tip is to know your audience and stay true to your brand. Rosenthal stated that it is hugely important to reflect your brand personality when conversing with a customer, as it makes it feel like a genuine conversation between two humans instead of a robot.

Thirdly, Rosenthal reiterated that good grammar is key to keeping a conversation going as it makes the customer feel like they are engaging in an intelligent conversation.

The fourth tip emphasises the importance of not over-promising the capabilities of what the chatbot can do. If a chatbot gives false or difficult to follow instructions or advice, the customers will more than likely leave the chat and may even block the bot in the future.

The fifth tip consisted of keeping all conversations short and sweet, as the chatbots are only there for brief guidance and advice, so it is important not to bore the customers.

Lastly, Rosenthal stated that the flow of the conversation is like an art form and should be thoughtful towards the customer. By implementing this correctly, this will make the customer feel satisfied and like they have had a pleasant customer service experience by the end of it.

 

I hope that this article has helped highlight many important factors to consider when implementing and using chatbots, as well as any associated risks. Below this article lists some different links to different sources online which are great with explaining the concept of chatbots further.

Thanks for reading!

 

Links to additional information:

Tips for Creating a Great Chatbot: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293320

What Chatbots Can and Cannot Do for Retailers: https://retail.emarketer.com/article/what-chatbots-and-cannot-do-retailers/59725114ebd40005284d5cda

6 Tips for Building A Compelling Chatbot (Even if you are not a programmer): https://www.clickz.com/6-tips-for-building-compelling-chatbots-even-if-youre-not-a-programmer/113134/

 

 

References:

Han, V. (2017) Are Chatbots the Future of Training?, Talent Development, Vol. 71, No. 9. Available from: <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=40c2f3f2-af66-4243-a3cd-f5b420c1d47a%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=124943602&db=buh> [Accessed 01/04/2018].

Jacobs, I. (2018) ‘Chatbot Hell’ Can’t Become a Thing’, CRM Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 2. Available from: <http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=c8b36629-4732-4727-9a0f-1917f4f9ce44%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=128230061&db=buh> [Accessed 31/03/2018].

Poggi, J. (2016) CMO’S GUIDE TO CHATBOTS, Advertising Age, Vol. 87, No. 24. Available from: <http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=f4580dfa-2aa8-48e3-a950-a73327295093%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=120362725&db=ufh> [Accessed 04/04/2018].

Rosenthal, V. (2017) Chatbot Engagement: 6 tips and tricks for growth, Forbes, Available from: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/vivianrosenthal/2017/07/07/chatbot-engagement-six-tips-and-tricks-for-growth/#400491437673> [Accessed 31/03/2018].

Sky News (2018) Potentially all Facebook users hit by data scandal, The United Kingdom, Sky News. Available from:  <https://news.sky.com/story/potentially-every-facebook-user-had-data-scraped-11317542> [Accessed 05/04/2018].

Temkin, A. (2018) Take care what you share with your financial chatbot, London, The Times. Available from: <https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/docview/2019995947?pq-origsite=summon&https://ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/login?url=accountid=9727> [Accessed 02/04/2018].

The Importance of Chatbots: The Online Virtual Assistant

| Leah Jervis

Chatbots:

The one of the main initiatives that stood out from the strategy proposal that can help a business build their website, whilst improving their online engagement are chatbots. The concept behind chatbots are that they are online intellectual virtual assistants, which can achieve a conversation with customer’s online, using natural language whilst in a written form (Dale, 2016).

The forefront of chatbots derived from companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and Amazon; who all have their own forms of chatbots, including ‘Siri’ from Apple and ‘Alexa’ by Amazon. Many huge businesses can see huge potential in this digital technology, as it supports companies trying to interact with huge volumes of customer queries and complaints.   Shriftman (2017) mentioned how chatbots help customer experiences and goes beyond the simple shopping process of peruse and purchase. In many ways, it becomes a digital expert for the items customers are looking for, each specific to their websites.

 

This blog will now further look into how chatbots can be implemented successfully, alongside the risks associated with them.

 

How can a Chatbot system be executed well? How can we make one?

Wilcox & Wilcox (2013) have described how the best chatbots made have been ones that have fooled actual judges in competitions that they are a real human. They also went onto detail that the best chatbots on a global scale are able to tell a life story, whilst maintaining an unfailing personality and providing emotional responses.

 

According to Wilcox and Wilcox (2013) there are 8 main factors to consider when creating a chatbot:

  1. ChatScript: The first main factor is a ChatScript, which is the foundation process for a chatbot. It is noted as an expert system which matches inputs of patterned meanings towards specific outputs. Within a chatscript, there are many factors to be taken into consideration. These include rules, pattern matching, standardization, macros, concepts, topics and parsing and introspection. By this point, a basis for the chatbot has been created.

 

  1. Personality Design: The second stage to form a chatbot is personality design; this stage involves writing a biography to give the chatbot a character to make it more realistic to the customer.

 

  1. Designing a Topic: The third factor is designing a topic; this stage converts the biography and from third person to first in order to create a human effect.

 

  1. Writing Script: The fourth stage involves writing the full script. This process involves programming all the potential questions the chatbot could get asked along with the suggested answers for them. Additionally the chatbot could also get programmed to ask questions and its potential responses from the user. This is very complex and time consuming, but the more in-depth the programming is, the more personal the chatbot will be with the customer.

 

  1. Testing: The three testing methods that are suggested by Wilcox and Wilcox (2013) are verify keywords, verify patterns and verify blocking. These all make sure that there are no anomalies in the chat script and confirm whether it’s ready to be implemented on the website.

 

  1. Integration: This stage is when the chatbot is installed on the website and ready for use to the public.

 

  1. Evolution of the process: Following integration, the chatbot needs to be regularly checked to see if it is satisfying the customer and working to its best potential. This can be analysed through statistics which show the number of chatbot responses and how successful they were, along with exactly how the customer wrote to the chatbot as well, giving the programmer areas for potential improvement.

 

  1. Valley of Chat: After observation of the chatbot over time, Wilcox and Wilcox (2013) mentioned how people can abuse the chatbot with the random questions they ask for fun. They indicate that at this stage, it is up to the creator whether they want to cater to this nature of chat or not.

 

 

What are the risks and important information associated with Chatbot systems?

Although chatbots are a great tool to improve relationships between companies and their customers, they do have their challenges. The system behind making a chatbot is very complex, needing great care and attention in order to give the customer the correct information.  Thorne (2017) provided alternative, broken down methodology for creating a chatbot and indicated that there are three key components involved in making a chatbot; they include:

 

Thorne (2017) mentioned how creating a chatbot is time-consuming and could even cause further frustration for the customer and that even this three stage process can take up a lot of time and resources, even potentially from other areas of a business, especially if they are small. Thorne also indicated that chatbots can also only go so far with conversation,

meaning that they can only engage in very uncomplicated and short conversations. From this, in general businesses would need to take into consideration if they really need a chatbot and why so. It is only recommended that huge companies with huge lines of products/services acquire a chatbot, as they have the time and money in comparison to small businesses and it would serve more beneficial to them.

Furthermore, Dhanashetti (2017) discussed how chatbots have a high error rate and are limited in regards to their capabilities. As much as we would like to make them into a human like system, it will never be sophisticated enough to discuss everything in-depth. Dhanashetti (2017) even went as far to state that business should still stick to a human-led engagement strategy with consumers and to not over-rely on chatbots.

 

Feel free to check out these links below to further information on Chatbots:

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGIFN9HHl04

Article (Beginners Guide): https://chatbotsmagazine.com/the-complete-beginner-s-guide-to-chatbots-8280b7b906ca

 

References:

Dale, R. (2016) “Industry Watch: The Return of the chatbots”, Natural Language Engineering,Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 811-817.

 

Shriftman, J. (2017) “5 Examples of Luxury Fashion Retailers Using Chatbots” Snaps [online] Available at: https://makesnaps.com/2017/12/11/5-examples-luxury-fashion-retailers-using-chatbots/  [Accessed 20/02/2018].

 

Thorne, C. (2017) “Chatbots for Troubleshooting: A survey”, Language & Linguistics Compass, Vol. 11, No. 10, pp. 1-14.

 

Wilox, B. & Wilcox, S. (2013) “Making it Real: Loebner-Winning Chatbot Design”, Arbor, Vol. 189, No. 764, pp. 86.

 

Dhanashetti, N. (2017) “What’s good and bad about chatbots?” Quora [online] Available at: https://www.quora.com/Whats-good-and-bad-about-chatbots [Accessed 19/02/2018].

How fashion and makeup brands use beauty gurus and vloggers on YouTube to increase brand awareness

| Leah Jervis

 

YouTube over the past fifteen years has become a huge digital platform which allows ordinary people to document their lives and create unique and creative content. People who regularly create content on their YouTube channel, for the viewing of thousands, if not millions of online subscribers are referred to as “YouTubers” (Freeman & Chapman, 2007).

The growth in popularity of many YouTubers has allowed them to now be classified as an “internet celebrity” (Lee & Watkins, 2016). YouTubers who have a large subscriber count on their channels are now likely to get approached by top fashion and makeup companies, as they have a huge influence on their followers through the digital platform. These brands have noticed the surge in popularity from online social media sites and many have now adapted their marketing strategies to reach out to potential customers through these YouTube stars.

 

In which ways can fashion and makeup brands use YouTube effectively?

 

Product Offering

Verklin (2007) stated that YouTube has changed the way that fashion brands become “hot”. There are various methods which brands can undertake to increase brand awareness through YouTube. Fashion and makeup companies can send YouTubers and vloggers products for them to keep and try out, this method is one the cheapest, as they don’t pay them a fee. However the YouTuber doesn’t have any obligation to make a video about the product or promote it unless they want to. Though some companies may not want the risk of not getting any feedback from the YouTuber, so they may even pay theme a fee to review it and post it on YouTube.

 

 

Competitions

Companies can also reach out to Youtubers to work together to create a contest for online viewers. Usually the brand will provide the YouTuber with a selection of items or even provide a free service to serve as a prize for the competition. The YouTuber will then create a video with all the terms and conditions for the competition and highlight the brand that co-created it. Brands hope to gain awareness as their name will be displayed on the video title and by having viewers enter the competition; it shows that it has gained the attention of viewers and that they like the products offered.

 

Paid Advertisements

Advertisements can be displayed before, during or even after a video, or even beside the video are known as paid advertisements. YouTube can sometimes allow viewers to watch a section of the ad or the whole advert, making it impossible for the viewer to avoid when clicking on a video. This advertisement method is a guaranteed to create brand awareness as it is compulsory for viewers to watch, so even if they don’t fully pay attention to it, the viewer is still likely going to remember parts of the advert or even just the brand name. Additionally, this YouTube method steers traffic and increases search results, as well as giving these brands a chance to build relationships with their customers and display their brands image and personality (Bordelon, 2014) The downside to this method for fashion and makeup brands is that it can be quite expensive.

Partnership/Sponsorship

Partnerships and sponsorships can also be another strategy fashion and makeup brands can do to increase brand awareness. In 2016, research found that YouTube for marketers was the “preferred platform for influencer-lead initiatives” (Stewart, 2016). Marketers find creating partnerships or sponsorships with YouTubers are more worthwhile to invest into compared to other celebrity’s types such as models etc. Brands have admitted to spending as much as £42,000 on deals and collaborations with YouTubers to build brand awareness (The Drum, 2016). By working with the YouTubers, in some cases will result in the YouTuber actually representing the brand and this is a great way for fashion and make up brands to use YouTube effectively. However, brands need to be sure that the YouTuber is a suitable fit for their brand because this method is very expensive.

 

What are the risks for these brands not using YouTube effectively?

 

Bad Repuatation? Bad Partnerships?

 

The risks associated with brands not using YouTube effectively is that if they don’t do their correct market research, or not fully research whether the YouTuber is the right fit for their brand, it could result in them gaining a bad brand perception, or even losing money as a result. Recently, there has been controversy relating to one of the biggest UK YouTubers ‘Zoella’ and her dealings with a huge UK pharmacy chain Boots.

 

 

Zoella created an advent calendar which was sold £50 RRP in Boots. However, due to its lack of quality, Zoella and Boots received huge backlash from fans, resulting in the calendar being reduced to £20 within its first few weeks. What made matters worse was that Zoella didn’t take any responsibility for her mistake, but then publically blamed Boots for the price. Boots fired back on social media claiming that Zoella actually recommended that to be the price, so that’s what they sold it for. The aftermath of this scandal left people mad at both Zoella and Boots and this has been damaging for both of their reputations.

 

 

In Summary…

YouTube is a great platform for fashion and makeup brands to make themselves aware to online viewers. If brands correctly advertise themselves through YouTube,the brands can gain a new audience and more awareness. However, if brands miscalculate their advertising strategies, it could have a huge impact on the brands finances and even their reputation.

 

 

References:

Bordelon, Z. (2014) “Youtube and Its Role In Fashion Brands’ Sales”, Fashionbi [online] available at: https://fashionbi.com/insights/marketing-analysis/youtube-and-its-role-in-fashion-brands-sales [accessed 31/12/2017]

 

Cocker, H. L., Cronin, J. (2017) Charismatic Authority and the YouTuber: Unpacking the new cults of personality, Marketing Theory. vol. 17, issue 17(4). pp. 455-472.

 

Freeman, B., Chapman, S. (2007) Is “YouTube” telling or selling you something? Tobacco content on the YouTube video-sharing website. Tobacco Control. vol. 16, issue, 3. pp. 207-210.

 

Lee, J. E., Watkins, B. (2016) YouTube vloggers’ influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions, Journal of Business Research. vol. 69, issue, 12. pp. 5753-5760.

 

Lockwood, L. (2007) Talking to a Generation: Brands Turn to YouTube To Spread the Message, WWD: Women’s Wear Daily, vol. 193, no. 114. pp. 1-9.

 

PR Couture (2017) “5 Ways Fashion Brands Can Optimize YouTube”, [online] available at: http://www.prcouture.com/2011/05/fashion-pr-5-ways-to-make-youtube-work-for-you/ [accessed 01/01/2018]

 

Stewart, R. (2016) “Brands would rather work with YouTubers over traditional celebrity ambassadors, says study”, The Drum [online] available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/06/13/brands-would-rather-work-youtubers-over-traditional-celebrity-ambassadors-says-study [accessed 31/12/2017]

 

Vlog Nation (2017) “4 Influencer Marketing Tips for Brands Working with YouTubers”, [online] available at: http://www.vlognation.com/youtubers-partnerships-marketing-brands/ [accessed 01/01/2018]

 

 

 

 

 

 

How can you tell if companies in the fashion industry are becoming visible online through Search Engine Optimisation?

| Leah Jervis

 

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is one of the most effective ways in which fashion brands can make themselves known on the web. SEO is a marketing strategy which attempts to improve a company’s search engine rankings on sites such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.

 

Here’s a useful, yet quick video on what SEO is: https://youtu.be/-3xGkMKWjJQ

 

Why is it important for companies to use SEO?

Ethinos Marketing (2015) stated that websites on the first page of Google receive 95% of all traffic on their websites compared to those on page two and three of the Google search results. Therefore, SEO is a huge step in the right direction for companies is to see whether they are using SEO effectively. In order to achieve this, we will need to undertake an audit.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&biw=1745&bih=817&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=ZOAfWsf-KMjdgAbMp6h4&q=audit&oq=audit&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i67k1l2j0l8.348132.348821.0.348964.5.5.0.0.0.0.207.409.2-2.2.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..3.2.405....0.Wepk3JXMaVY#imgrc=aIXSbzkhKieo7M:&spf=1512038860154

What is an Audit?

An audit is the broad assessment of all angles of a marketing operation in a company. Loya (2011) stated that an audit is an “orderly evaluation of plans, objectives, strategies, activities and organizational structure as well as marketing staff”. In this case, we will be specifically looking into how we can tell if fashion brands are making the most of the search engines and making themselves visible.

 

How do we conduct a SEO Audit?

There are various methods in which you can do a SEO audit. Some are very in-depth and time consuming and tend to be for the companies themselves, or there are some less complicated methods which we can take on which are still effective. We are going to look at a method based from Danny Dover’s Approach (2010), as it is useful and fairly straightforward to follow.

 

Here is a step by step starter guide as to how to do a SEO Audit

 

  1. Set up your Browser:
  • Disable all of your current cookies: This will allow you to look at the website again as if it’s your first time.
  • Changing user-agent: A user-agent is a software agent which allows you to look at the website from a specific search engines point of view. So to look at it from Google’s angle, you would need to change your web user-agent to googlebot.

 

  1.  The Homepage:

This now requires you to use the main URL of the site under observation. You need to analyse the web-page as if you are a consumer looking at the site for the first time. While doing this, it is important to consider the following:

– Would you trust this page?

– How could search tags be broadened and improved?

– Does the URL changed when looking through the site?

– Is the URL displayed as safe and secure; e.g. Http:// vs. Https:/ – the s in the latter means the website is secure.

 

  1. Worldwide Navigation:

Next up, we can look at the worldwide navigation. To do this, we need to disable our JavaScript and refresh the page. Then we can navigate around the page and check that all the sites links are HTML. Afterwards we should then note down all the sections which are linked together and then re-enable JavaScript.

Worldwide navigation is important because it refers to the sites architecture, which has relevance to whether or not a website is considered friendly by a search engine.

 

  1. Category Pages:

All websites contain categories of content e.g. a clothing retailer’s website would have a section for men, women and children etc… Although variety is generally pleasing for the consumer, it is important not have too many links as they could end up as inefficient or irrelevant. In addition to this, all aspects of the website such as font and other small design choices have a consequence with regards to how the consumer perceives the website.

 

  1. Content Pages:

Moving on from categories, another key element of the website to take into consideration for the audit is the content pages. Title Tags, Meta Description and the URL need to be checked. These are important to have correct as it will give the website a better chance to get recognised in search engine results.

  1. Links:

Links are very important for a website as they can be put into search engine algorithms. It is imperative to examine the anchor text distribution of any inbound links, whilst also inspecting the total amount of links and root domains.

  1. Final Stage! Search Engine Inclusion:

Search engine inclusion refers to where and how your website is accessible. There are four steps you should do in order to test the level of search engine inclusion:

  • Search for tags or key words that relate to your website
  • Search for your domain
  • Check how many of your pages are indexed
  • Search for duplicates of your content pages

Search engine inclusion is important because it is one of the factors that dictate the frequency of visits a website may receive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope this method has helped understand how to undertake a SEO audit for the fashion industry in order to determine their visibility on search engines!

 

Additional links to more useful methods are linked below:

https://searchengineland.com/5-minute-seo-audit-196513

https://moz.com/blog/how-to-perform-the-worlds-greatest-seo-audit

https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/09/12/seo-audit-a-complete-guide-to-the-basics/

 

 

References:

Denisa, L., Jaroslaw, D. (2013) Marketing Audit and Factors Influencing Its Use in Practice of Companies (From an Expert Point of View), Journal of Competitiveness, vol. 5, issue 4, pp. 26-42. DOI: 10.7441/joc.2013.04.02.

Dover, D. (2010) A Step by Step 15 Minute SEO Audit (A Sample from SEO Secrets), Moz.com, Available from: https://moz.com/blog/a-step-by-step-15-minute-seo-audit-a-sample-from-seo-secrets [Accessed 26/11/2017]

Ethinos Digital Marketing (2015) What is SEO? How Search Works? – Ethinos Digital Marketing, YouTube. Available from: https://youtu.be/-3xGkMKWjJQ [Accessed 25/11/2017]

Keller, K. L., Aperia, T., Georgson, M. (2008) Strategic Brand Management: A European Perspective. Essex, Pearson Education Limited.

Loiz, D. (2012) Simple SEO Audit Checklist for Beginners, Advanced Blog Web Ranking, Available from: https://www.advancedwebranking.com/blog/seo-audit-checklist/ [Accessed 26/11/2017]

Patterson, D. (2009) 3 Common URL Problems and How to Fix Them, SEO.com, Available from: https://www.seo.com/blog/seo-tips/3-common-url-problems-and-how-to-fix-them/ Accessed [26/11/2017]

Red Evolution (2017) What is SEO? It’s Simpler Than You Think!, Red Evolution. Available from: https://www.redevolution.com/what-is-seo [Accessed 25/11/2017]

Schmitz, T. (2014) How to Do Your Own 5-Minute SEO Audit, Search Engine Land, Available from: https://searchengineland.com/5-minute-seo-audit-196513 [Accessed 27/11/2017]

Stoyanov, N. (2016) SEO audit: a complete guide to the basics, Search Engine Watch, Available from: https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/09/12/seo-audit-a-complete-guide-to-the-basics/ [Accessed 27/11/2017]

Webb, S. (2012) How to Perform the World’s Greatest SEO Audit, Available from: https://moz.com/blog/how-to-perform-the-worlds-greatest-seo-audit [Accessed 27/11/2017]

 

Missguided and their relationship with their online consumers

Image | | Leah Jervis

“Peace, Love and Fashion”

Missguided have proven themselves to be one of the top competitors in the online fashion industry. Just last year, owner Nitin Passi stated that they are “enjoying growth of more than 60%”. In addition to this, they have increased their sales by a 3rd to £117 million!

So how have they got to this?

Well, according to Nitin himself, he explained “A lot of retailers were playing it quite safe so we decided to be a bit more real in the way we spoke to our customers”. Interactivity seems key to gaining a loyal customer base. Missguided find relationship building important as it keeps people from straying to rival brands. Missguided also made sure to have a very clear demographic for their brand, this comes in the form of young females from 16-24 years old. By having this target market clear in their minds, they can tailor their products to attract their consumer group.

They are very social media based, whilst collaborating with celebrities to encourage consumer buying. Their recent collections include collabs with Carli Bybel, Jourdan Dunn, Amber Rose, as well as a collaborating with Barbie to create veratile, stylish and unique pieces.

Where exactly does Missguided stand with their online consumer on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Looking at this diagram, I would argue that Missguided would fall under RD (Representational Delight) over FC (Functional Convenience) and SF (Structural Firmness), just ever so slightly. This is because Missguided have designed their website to aesthetically appeal to their target market, alongside with the celebrity endorsements and collaborations. They have a distintive brand image and good advertisements, which can be hard for loyal customers to avoid. Loyal customers are offered Unicorn delivery (Next Day Free Delivery) as well as discount codes. If Missguided are aware people are also looking on their website, they personally advertise to people on various other social media platforms. This definitely builds a relationship with the customer without a doubt.

However, I would also like to ensure that Missguided relate to all of the three interfaces. Functional convenience is also something which Missguided achieve as a brand. They always provide so many options and lines, that they always have items in stock which will suit any customers’ needs. Their website is also really easy to navigate and they also have their own app for customers to shop from their small electronics. Regarding Sructural Firmness, they have a very safe and secure website.  They have a range of options regarding making payments and their return process for clothes is ridiculously simple as well. Ideal for consumers!

Missguided have really done well in making their customer their main priority. They keep in good touch with their customers without being overbearing and making them feel special, with constant discounts and sales. There’s nothing about their online shopping experience which is different, which I find is essential for all online sites, not just fashion. Even if the clothes aren’t a great fit or suitable for the consumer who purchased them, one because they are so cheap, it doesn’t affect the customer as much. Secondly, the returns process is so simple and easy, it puts customers at ease and encourages them to primarily use the site above rivals.

Missguided are a brand which shouldn’t ever be undermined by it’s competitors, as it is arguable that they are one of the easiest sites to navigate and providing good and cheap fashion at the same time! The future for them is looking prosperous if their last few years are anything to go by.

 

Links:

http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=e0c85cfe-d99f-43fa-a4c7-c83dcdb7d4bb%40sessionmgr104

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/17/missguided-pretty-little-thing-hit-big-time-fast-fashion-generation-z

 

Game of Thrones – how did winter arrive?

Image | | Leah Jervis

How has Winter arrived?

It’s nearly impossible to avoid Game of Thrones. It’s a worldwide phenomenon which has gripped watchers from the outset. Their use of incredible CGI making dragons, giants and amazing fight scenes makes them stand out from the other TV shows currently out at the moment.

It’s so huge now, it’s easy to find someone in a crowded place either discussing the show or wearing the merchandise…it’s everywhere (whether you like it or not).

However, it wasn’t as popular a few years ag0. Sky gave DDB the instruction to create a campaign with minimum cost to increase their fan base. As they were having trouble gaining interest with the New Zealand population, they came up with a creative way to create wide spread attention, with a minimal cost.

DDB used one of the show’s most hated characters, King Joffery as a social media ploy to ensure that people were interactivelly made involved in killing the evil king. In order for Joffery to get his commupence, all fans needed to work together on social media using the hashtag #bringdowntheking to make his rope tighter. The quicker the social media inreaction between fans and the show, the quicker we could feel the satisfaction of having evil King Joffery dead finally.

What was clever about this campaign was that people online with a high follower volume, would get contacted by BrandWatch (who were also working alongside with DDB on the campaign) and given a special status, in the form of a visual badge, to show which House they pledge allegience too.

From this campaign, DDB managed to successfully record 875,000 individual online interactions from fans. This is an incredible success in building their fan base, not only in New Zealand, but worldwide as a result.

To have managed to have also reached 43 million people in over 168 countries is an incredible achievement. It also shows how great social media is to create awareness, especially if you are trying to reach a high amount of people with a small cost.