Boğaziçi University
Management Information Systems
Branding and User Experience
in Turkish Websites
Deniz Utku
Master’s Thesis Proposal
Thesis advisor: PhD. Aslıhan Nasır

Agenda
• Introduction
• Turkish users, e-commerce in Turkey, Internet in
Turkey, “Brand”, online branding
• Literature Review
• Porter’s view, 5 Forces for online landscape, branding,
new marketing models, design, online brand landscape,
• Research Question
• Methodology
• Contribution
• Expectations
• Limitations
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 2

Introduction - Landscape
• Most of the top traffic
sites are social networks,
search and news sites.
• Half of the top websites
are not Turkey based
• Some of them are not
even in Turkish
Source: Alexa.com, Popular Sites in Turkey, 2008
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 3

Introduction – Turkish users
• 66% of Internet users are male, 34% female
• Average age is 26 for both sexes
• 53% in A/B/C1 SES
• 22% graduated from university
• 68% single
• 45% employed, 37% student
• 39% speaks English
• 52% has PC in the house
• 91% has cell phone
• 84% is watching TV daily (avg. time
spend is 3 hours)
• Avg Internet connection 2.5 hours/day
• Average Internet connections per month 22
Source of user data: Nokta Internet Technologies 2008
Source of demographic data: GfK Turkey Report 2006 Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 4

Introduction - eCommerce
• E-commerce in
Turkey is growing
faster than
developed markets
• Huge potential for
foreign and domestic
commerce sites
• The ratio of online
shopping is 3%
among Turkish
Internet users.2
Source of data: BKM; Internet Card Centre Reports, and estimates
Source 2: Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive, 2002 Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 5

Introduction - Turkey
The growth rate of the number of internet users has continued to rise –
achieving a growth rate of 183% between 2000 and 2005. 3
Source of user data: CIA World Factbook, 2007 Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 6
Source of penetration data: World Internet Stats
Source 3: Internet World Stats, 2006

Introduction - Turkey
• Broadband in Turkey
started late, in 2003 with
55,000 subscriptions, but
with tremendous growth
• In May 2008, the number
hit 10M.5
• Avg. Connection speed
is 1 Mbps
• Monthly fees dropping,
competition among
providers increasing
Source of table: OECD Broadband Portal,November 2007
Source 4: Turkish Telecom 2007 Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 7
Source 5: TTNet Newsletter 2008

Introduction – “Brand”
• Brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or
combination of these, intended to identify the goods or
services of one seller or group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competitors. (Kotler,
2004; Aaker, 1992)
• A strong brand can accelerate the market awareness
and acceptance of a product while reducing the risk of
product failure (Rooney, 1995)
• The development of a powerful brand requires money,
analysis, planning, execution, and time (Sharpe, 2000)
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 8

Introduction – Online Branding
• Companies are currently very interested in attracting people to their websites,
and to their products (Lacy, 2004)
• The Internet inspired marketers to use it as new branding and advertising tool
(Reuters, 1999)
• The Internet is a unique channel that has its own separate attributes that do
not fit the offline branding activities, but also isn’t something that is completely
separate from traditional branding (Haig 2003, Ind 2001)
• While traditionally pricing, market share, and price heavily influence brand
image, the brand image online is heavily influenced by community, site design,
and user experience (Christodoalides, 2004)
• When buyers need goods or services, they often seek a trusted brand. Brands are
important with online purchasing and a company’s integrated marketing communication
(Murphy, Raffa, &Mizerski, 2003)
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 9

Literature review – Porter
• Does the Internet render established rules about strategy obsolete?
To the contrary, it makes them more vital than ever (Porter, 2001)
• Despite the recent failures of many e-businesses, the consensus
remains that firms will need to develop e-commerce strategies if
they are to compete in the future (Porter, 2001)
• We need to move away from the rhetoric about “Internet industries,”
“e-business strategies,” and a “new economy” and see the Internet
for what it is: an enabling technology— a powerful set of tools that
can be used, wisely or unwisely, in almost any industry and as part
of almost any strategy (Porter, 2001)
• Gaining a competitive advantage does not require a radically new
approach to business. It requires building on the proven principles of
effective strategy (Porter, 2001)
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 10

Literature review – 5 Forces
Michael E. Porter, 2001, Strategy and the Internet, HBR
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 11

Literature review - Branding
• Users with increased Internet experience ‘tend to rely
less on brand names’ (Ward and Lee, 2000)
• Consumers rely on the strength of brands which possess
a meaningful, clear and trusted set of values and
attributes, facilitating their online purchase choices
(Reynolds 2000, Ward and Lee 2000)
• There is a paradigm shift in branding. Important aspects
that need to be considered by marketers responsible for
online branding are:
1) the customer’s experience level
2) the amount of information search by the customer
3) the customer’s involvement.
(Hanson, 2000)
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 12

Literature review - Branding
• De Chernatony and Dall’Olmo Riley (1998)
found twelve main themes in their definition of
branding drawn from a content analysis of over
100 articles from trade and academic journals
and in interviews with leading practitioners in the
area. These were the brand as legal instrument,
as logo, as company, as shorthand, as risk
reducer, as identity system, as image in
consumers’ minds, as value system, as
personality, as relationship, as adding value,
and as evolving entity.
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 13

Literature review – New Models
The main issue over online branding is the validity of traditional
branding models:
• The idea that the Internet is a medium just like TV supports the old way of
thinking about marketing, but it just doesn’t work the same way. (Seth
Godin, 1999)
• While the technology and the economy may be new, the economic and
psychological forces inducing consumers to buy specific products have not
changed. (Lewis, David & Bridger, Darren, 2000)
• Only those firms ‘which practice tried and true marketing and branding
practices will prosper’ (Goldsmith, 2001)
• Advertisers should not forget about the basics of marketing, since they
retain much of its value, ‘even if how and where we apply it has radically
changed’. ( Sharpe, 2000)
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 14

Literature review - Design
• Improving customer experiences of website use could lift
sales by at least 33%. (Gianforte, 2003)
• Good website design must fulfill customers’ needs for
information or transaction capabilities (Heldal, Sjovold, &
Heldal, 2004)
• Effective websites require continuous assessment,
careful management, frequent updates (Albert, Goes, &
Gupta, 2004) and ongoing innovation (Reichheld,
Markey Jr, & Hopton, 2000)
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 15

Literature review - Landscape
Internet landscape and literature changed after 2001
• In 2001 Porter says: “Internet brands have also proven
difficult to build, perhaps because the lack of physical
presence and direct human contact makes virtual
businesses less tangible to customers than traditional
businesses. Dot-com brands have not approached the
power of established brands.”
• But now, in Interbrand, Business Week, FutureLab “top
brands” lists we see pure-play Internet companies like
Google, eBay, Amazon.com and Yahoo.
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 16

Research question
This thesis will focus on:
• Brand building
• Brand management
• E-branding
• Customer experience
• Design
• Trust
• Credibility
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 17

Research question
I will compare the credibility, trustworthiness, and
usability of Turkish transactional websites with customer
reactions and attitudes.
• H1: More trustable sites have better chance of being
evaluated for a transaction.
• H2: Credibility of a site increases its odds of being used
for a transaction.
• H3: Websites with high usability have bigger potential
customer base.
• H4: Branded websites are more trustable and credible.
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 18

Methodology
• Online Questionnaire
– Self-report method
– 5 point scale (agree-don’t agree)
– Target: 300 people
• Checklist
– selected websites will be evaluated
– 3 judges will assign points to sites
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 19

Methodology
Checklist will test ten rules for good
online customer experience:
(Source: Reuters, 2000)
1) quick downloads
2) keep it simple
3) keep it calm
4) limit the use of frames
5) make it easy to find you
6) stay up to date
7) limit the need to scroll
8) provide a map
9) standardize link colors
10) brand the pages
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 20

Contribution
• Turkish web sites will see a huge increase in their e-
commerce volumes in the coming years and they need
scientific evidence on how to realize their potential.
• Turkish market is underserved in the means of exploring
the potential of websites.
• Turkish online customer population is growing and this
research will try to understand their priorities in selecting
venues for their transactions.
• Benefits of brand usage and self-branding among
websites will be clearly identified.
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 21

Expectations
• A mindmap of Turkish online customers
will be shaped with the help of this study.
• Websites will have a roadmap and
scientific data to improve their standing.
• A healthy understanding of some web
design practices will increase the quality of
serious online transaction sites.
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 22

Future Study and Limitations
• No trusted source of “top sites” in Turkey.
• Questionnaire and checklist not ready,
measures are not clear yet.
• Brand image, offline impact of established
brands will not be identified.
• No manipulation will be made. Just observation
and information collection.
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 23

Thank You
for your attention!
Questions? Comments?
Deniz Utku - Master's Proposal 24