Web Strategy Case Studies

Loading...

Flash Player 9 (or above) is needed to view presentations.
We have detected that you do not have it on your computer. To install it, go here.

0 comments

Post a comment

    Post a comment
    Embed Video
    Edit your comment Cancel

    15 Favorites

    Web Strategy Case Studies - Presentation Transcript

    1. Web Strategy Case Studies: Amazon.com & RealNetworks
    2. Preparing Content for the Web
      • There are consumption pattern differences among readers of print and Web media
      • Print readers tend to read in a linear fashion
      • Web surfers may interact with an article and read elements out of order
        • Non-linear
        • “Branching”
    3. Design Issues
      • Some content specialists argue that vital information should remain “above the scroll” on all pages
      • Thus, some suggest that you write in “chunks” delivered one page at a time
    4. “Chunks” Strategy
      • Repurpose print materials into “chunks” that each have a unique page
      • Add graphics and interactivity
      • Each “chunk” is usually fewer than 150 words
      • Text can be viewed on the screen without having to scroll
      • This is only one strategy – many sites do not use it!
    5. Examples of “Chunk” Style
      • McDonalds
      • Nike
      • Keebler
    6. Web Writing Tips
      • More casual than print
      • Use bullet-point lists
      • Minimize use of hypertext links
      • All links should be relevant
      • Provide feedback option for readers
    7. Building the Site
      • Ideally, the Web site team consists of:
        • Copywriter/editor
        • Graphic artist
        • Web programmer
      • A public relations professional who can do all three increases their odds of getting hired
    8. Usability Tests
      • Before publicly launching your site, it is not uncommon to conduct “usability tests” with a test audience to determine if the site is easy to navigate
    9. Overview of Web Strategies
      • Success Story at Amazon.com
        • Evolution of a Design
        • Personalization and Automation
      • Failure at RealNetworks
        • Communication is Content Development
        • Rolling Stone Radio project
    10. Success Story
      • Amazon.com is the world’s largest e-commerce site
      • During the dot-com “boom,” they hired aggressively as investor cash came in
      • “ Bloated” and inefficient site infrastructure
      • The site needed to streamline its content development strategy
        • This included a shift from an editor-created to a user-generated content model
      • Has over 35 e-commerce main product categories and hundreds of sub-categories
        • Each category has at least one full-time editor
          • Some have several editors
        • Each editor is responsible for maintaining front page of each “store” and sub-pages, including product detail pages
    11. Amazon.com Content Management
      • With millions of products, Amazon.com needs help from the public to keep the pages up-to-date and filled with useful information
      • “ User-generated Content”
    12. Amazon.com Content Features
      • Reviews
      • Listmania
      • “ How-to” and Buying Guides
      • Product manuals
      • Customer Images
      • Ref-tags
      • Discussion Forums
      • Wikis
    13. Listmania! Examples
      • Customers create their own lists to share with others
        • Each item in the list is linkable to a product
      • Examples:
        • Top 15 Movies of 2005 by fattyjoe37
        • The Best Albums of 2006 by volantsolo
        • “Awesome Books” by fantasyrules
    14. Guide Examples
      • Customers create their own guides to share their expertise with others
      • Examples:
        • How to set up a wireless home network
        • Taking a better picture with your digital camera
    15. Visitor Experience
      • Customers indicate that they enjoy the “community” aspect of shopping
      • They trust the collective opinions of other shoppers more than the manufacturers
      • The “Amazon Review” has become a very powerful force in the industry
        • Buying decisions are made for purchases both off- and on-line
    16. Customer Reviews
      • Amazon.com has thousands of unpaid writers voluntarily submit their reviews
        • Top reviewer Harriet Klausner has written over 12,000 reviews without pay for the site
    17. Personalization at Amazon.com
      • Amazon.com developed an infrastructure where each visitor page is personalized
      • The homepage displays items that Amazon.com thinks you are likely to buy
      • Visitors indicate that they like the personalization
    18. Amazon.com Personalization
      • Personalization technologies are also easy to manage and popular with visitors
        • Previous purchase data collected
        • Cross-referenced with other sales data
        • A “personalized” store homepage suggests products based on like-minded customers
          • Includes “recommendations” embedded into page
    19. Automation at Amazon.com
      • Data is king at Amazon
      • Many examples of data driven automation
        • Channel management
          • Web site real estate management system
          • Automated e-mail measurement and optimization
        • Merchandising
          • Customers who bought X also bought…
          • Recommendations
          • New releases, top sellers
          • Purchase Circles
        • Advertising
          • Automatic ad generation and bidding
    20. Example: The Amazon.com Homepage
      • Amazon’s home page is prime real-estate
        • The past:
          • Every category VP wanted top-center
          • Friday meetings about placements for next week were getting too long, too loud, and lacked performance data
          • Today: automation replaces intuitions
      • Home page is made up of slots
        • Anyone can submit content for a slot
        • Content is chosen based on real-time experimentation
    21. E-Commerce Staff Structure
      • Organized for execution
        • How it used to be
        • This works rather better
          • Small, cross-functional teams
          • Able to execute end-to-end
          • Self directed
          • Established group goals and measure progress
      Technology People Business People “Dumb idea!” “Do this!”
    22. Electronic Media and E-Commerce
      • What makes the site attractive to consumers?
        • Strong reputation for good customer service
        • Secure from “hackers”
        • Large selection of products
        • Easy navigation
          • Clean Web design that maximizes click-throughs and/or sales
    23. Amazon.com Design Evolution
      • Started with a few “tabs” representing each store
      • But Amazon.com was expanding…
      • More products = More “tabs”
      • Should the “tabs” go?
    24. Amazon.com Design Evolution
      • A new design was needed
      • Lack of action could mean a mountain of “tabs”
        • NOT A GOOD
        • DESIGN
    25. Design Evolution
      • Initial redesigns focused on an index directory in the style of Yahoo!
      • This resulted in reduced sales
    26. Design Evolution
      • More redesigns in the index style
      • Sales still declined
      • Customers wanted the “tabs” back
    27. Return of the “Tabs”
      • Now only three tabs
        • “ See all 35 Product Categories”
          • Roll-over with mouse brings up the index of all stores
        • “ Your Store”
          • Personalized store with recommendations
        • Logo tab
          • Default to front page
    28. Lessons Learned
      • Use focus groups and user surveys to test out a design before it launches widely
      • Design can play a key role in how a site is perceived by its public
      • “Above the scroll” real estate is valuable so don’t waste it!
        • A user should be able to navigate successfully through the site without having the scroll the screen
    29. Lessons Learned
      • Be aware of the bandwidth of your average user
        • U.S. has shifted from a dial-up to broadband environment
          • Multimedia-intensive designs and sites are only now gaining traction
          • Your design strategy will depend on who your typical visitor is
          • Consider how minimal Google.com is
          • Compare this to YouTube.com
    30. Cost Efficiency
      • Advertise your site using viral and cheap techniques
        • Amazon.com has stopped buying ads on mainstream TV, radio and print in favor on online referral programs
        • Media advertising did not bring in enough revenue to justify the cost
        • The site uses promotions with other sites and “street” advertising to get word on in the influential communities
    31. Communication is Critical
      • If there is a dependency on technology developers, then the content experts must communicate early…and often
      • A good project can fail due to poor communication
    32. Anatomy of a Failed Project
      • Example: RealNetworks’ Rolling Stone Radio
      • Goal was to promote new “G2” technology
        • A new version of RealPlayer with optimized streaming media playback
    33. RealNetworks
      • RealNetworks asked me to create a G2-exclusive Internet radio service
      • A business deal with Rolling Stone magazine was created
      • Rolling Stone Radio was born
    34. Content Development
      • My background is in editorial development and the music industry
      • I led the creative team
        • Design of the player
        • Partnerships with music industry
      • Another team was responsible for the technical infrastructure and development of the software code
    35. Rolling Stone Radio
      • Rolling Stone Radio was the first “mainstream” Internet music service
      • Introduced in 1999
      • Co-owned by RealNetworks and Rolling Stone
      • Multiple channels of music
      • Interactive voting
    36. Rolling Stone Radio
      • Featured celebrity deejays
        • David Bowie had his own 24-hour channel
      • Lots of “hype” from the media
    37. So Why Failure?
      • Rolling Stone Radio had all the ingredients for success…yet it failed.
      • Why?
    38. Communication Crunch
      • There was too little communication in the production team
      • The decision-making process was too decentralized
        • Internal disagreements and chaos
        • Technology team and content team clashed
        • New technology changes were implemented without informing the content team
      • Media blitz preceded the actual launch
        • Several delays in the launch
        • Release was late, product was ‘buggy’
    39. Business Model, Anyone?
      • “Too much, too soon”
        • Broadband wasn’t widely available yet
        • Bandwidth was expensive
          • Customers enjoyed the site, but the cost of hosting the streaming media increased as more people “tuned in”
      • The project did not make money
        • Streaming media is bandwidth-intensive
        • Who is paying for the media servers?
      • Advertising revenue was not large enough to support the costs
    40. Lessons Learned
      • Solid business model is necessary
      • “Cutting edge” = “Bleeding edge”
        • Being first may not translate to success
      • Key stakeholders in the content development teams must meet and agree to “milestones”
        • Each “milestone” is a mutually-agreed “deliverable” in the product development cycle
        • Deviation from the agreed-upon development is discouraged

    + Brett AtwoodBrett Atwood, 3 years ago

    custom

    5331 views, 15 favs, 5 embeds more stats

    This slide examines success and failure in Web stra more

    More info about this document

    © All Rights Reserved

    Go to text version

    • Total Views 5331
      • 5266 on SlideShare
      • 65 from embeds
    • Comments 0
    • Favorites 15
    • Downloads 548
    Most viewed embeds
    • 42 views on http://www.martinkloos.nl
    • 14 views on http://www.slideshare.net
    • 7 views on http://wsu-journ417.blogspot.com
    • 1 views on http://www.openassignment.com
    • 1 views on http://static.slideshare.net

    more

    All embeds
    • 42 views on http://www.martinkloos.nl
    • 14 views on http://www.slideshare.net
    • 7 views on http://wsu-journ417.blogspot.com
    • 1 views on http://www.openassignment.com
    • 1 views on http://static.slideshare.net

    less

    Flagged as inappropriate Flag as inappropriate
    Flag as inappropriate

    Select your reason for flagging this presentation as inappropriate. If needed, use the feedback form to let us know more details.

    Cancel
    File a copyright complaint
    Having problems? Go to our helpdesk?

    Categories