Blog 3

Since I am very interested in statistics, I thought it would be interesting to research how companies use statistics to help them create customer profiles.  I was reading the consumerist the other day and they had posted a New York Times article about Target and how they get to know their customers through statistics.  They talk specifically about how when people go through major life changes, for instance having a baby, their brand loyalties are up for grabs.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

“…Timing is everything. Because birth records are usually public, the moment a couple have a new baby, they are almost instantaneously barraged with offers and incentives and advertisements from all sorts of companies. Which means that the key is to reach them earlier, before any other retailers know a baby is on the way. Specifically, the marketers said they wanted to send specially designed ads to women in their second trimester, which is when most expectant mothers begin buying all sorts of new things, like prenatal vitamins and maternity clothing.”

Apparently we all have consumer habits that cause us to buy the same products, brands, and so on when we are in a normal state of mind.  This all changes when a major life event occurs, and our usual routine is forever changed.  If a company like Target can understand how these habits is created, it can make them easier to manipulate. 

It seems to me that Target is creating individual personas for each customer in their database.  They are able to track a person’s buying habits and notice any sudden changes.  Then they could go further and use the coupon generator at the check out to test these theories.

I know for a fact that when you buy any kind of baby product at HEB you get a coupon for Enfamil formula.  I assume this is automated and it spits out every single time someone purchases anything.  If they had been able to create a persona on me they would notice, that I have never purchased formula before at the store.  Whereas when I buy something at Target the coupon is related to the purchase.  For instance, the other day I bought a box of breast milk storage bags and when they checked me out I was given a coupon for Avent bottles.  Now this could have just been a coincidence, but that is the brand of bottle we use and I have bought them at Target before.

I would like to research more on why this works.  Either they need to store and immense amount of data on each individual and are in turn creating individual personas, or they are creating multiple personas then fitting customers into them using their past purchasing data.

Would it even be possible for them to create individual personas for customers?  Think of how it would work for these large companies:

-       Home Depot (New Homebuyer (New or Pre-owned), remodeling, re-landscaping, etc.)

-       HEB or Kroger

-       Macy’s

-       Best Buy

-       Office Depot? (Entrepreneur)

-       Apple App Store?

Would it work for smaller companies?

-       J. Crew

-       Coach

-       GAP

I am interested in exploring all of these possibilities and making recommendations on how a couple of different companies could use this to better understand their customers and what they want out of each unique experience with the store.

Blog 2

In order to accurately gather information through social media, you first need to make sure you are looking at the right source.  If you were looking for general information about what I like, where I am located, or even my family life, Facebook would be the best route to take.  If you are more interested in my work and how that affects my life and sways my purchasing habits, it may be better to look toward LinkedIn.  Beyond that, Pinterest, is a great place to understand what is important to me.

So say you need to know about my dreams and hobbies.  The best place to find this information would be on Pinterest.  This is the newest source of consumer data that hasn’t really been tapped into yet.  You can gather information about different hobbies, interests, and aspirations that I have.  Then from there you can see how many people like certain ideas.  It would be a great place to test out the buzz marketing concept.

If a designer baby clothes company would like to get a feel for what people like they just need to look at people who have created boards that have to do with baby stuff.  You can normally tell by the name of the pin board, whether a person really has kids or not.  Take mine for instance, it is call sweet baby, buy my friends is called baby someday.  You could normally tell from mine that I already have kids, and you could see what kinds of things I have pin to that board and get an idea of my style when it comes to my child and my parenting style. 

You could use this information to design clothing that people would actually want to buy.  The only drawback would be understanding how much someone is willing to pay.  This is where Pinterest data would be severely lacking..  Since it is a site filled with dreams and aspirations, it is hard to tell what a person could actually afford.  Since people are constantly pinning outfits that they may either want to buy, or they just want to model an ensemble after what they have seen on the site.   

So back to the baby clothing company, even though it is hard to understand the consumer aspect, they can gather data on the newest trends.  They can get a general understanding of the fashion styles that are making their way around the pinterest boards, then model their clothing to match the most popular styles.  From there they can start blogging about their new lines and get a feel for how people are going to react. 

This is where Pinterest is limited, but if you consider the use of both Pinterest and Tumblr, you could gather even more valuable information.  Tumblr is a blog site where people can subscribe to different topics, such as fashion, food, do it yourself, and technology.  This is actually where a lot of the content for Pinterest comes from. If you can start a blog about inspiration for the baby clothes design, and have a link to the store site as well as getting the blog on Pinterest.  This would be a way to reach a parent like me, someone who wants their child to look great, but also want a couple of outfits that are unique.

From these two sites you would be able to tell that I like to sew, bake, and travel.  That I am not interested in hiring people and would prefer to figure out how to do things for myself.  That I like the idea of fashion, but it is not that important to me.  From this a company could gather that I am not a big spender, but will spend on good quality things.  I don’t buy anything that looks like it would be easy to make on my own.  They would then be able to take this and have a good idea of the different kinds of baby clothes I would like to buy.

The best way to get to this kind of information about me is to follow me on pinterest.  This is much easier that following someone on Facebook since you do not have to know the person to follow his or her pins.  If you follow enough people who seem to be in your target demographic, you will be able to understand what they are interested in by their pins.  Granted you would need to be checking the site quite often, and it would take a long time to follow enough people to really get a good idea of who your target customer is.

This method of customer research does have its drawbacks, but t would be great if someone could tap into the data that is provided by Pinterest!

Hello my name is Blake!

       Hello my name is Blake Garcia!  I am 35 years old and live in San Antonio, Texas.  My family is very important to me.  My wife works for one of the big homebuilders and we have a 4 year old daughter who is the center of our lives.  Everything we do is to give her a better life.  I own my own used car dealership and I work very hard to make sure that it runs smoothly.  I went to college, but school has never really been my strong point.  I want my daughter to excel in school and I am very concerned with her education.

     I really like the idea of technology, but I don't know much about it.  Each time I am told about a new gadget, I want it, but I really don't use the full functionality.  I don't do a lot of research, but listen mostly to what my friends and advisors tell me. If a new purchase requires installation, I prefer to have someone else do it for me.  I am too busy with my business and family to worry about doing it on my own.  I also feel that I don't know enough to understand how to put some things together.

     I eat out a lot, since my wife and I both work. We eat at a lot of the nicer restaurants in San Antonio and when we go out with friends it is normally to the nicer clubs and bars downtown.  I consider myself well off and don't really view money as an issue in my life.

    When it comes to friends, I keep mine very close.  I am always trying to help them out, by recommending their businesses to others, and using their services myself.  My friends tend to also be business acquaintances.  We are not the type to have profiles on Facebook, or any other social media sites.    We like to have fun and go out, but are also family men.  We like to watch sporting events together and really enjoy talking shop when we are around each other.

    I feel that people view me as very energetic and passionate.  I am the kind of guy who will buy a stranger a drink at a bar and strike up conversations with people I have never met.  I like fashion, and enjoy shopping for new clothes, but also leave it up to my wife to buy most of them.  I normally dress in athletic apparel, but like to dress up when I go out with friends.  I take pride in my body and work out a couple time a week, whether it is at home or at our local gym.

    My biggest fear is losing my family, followed by my business failing.  I get frustrated with the fact that I don't know much about setting up the new gadgets I buy.  I wish I didn't have to hire people to do some things for me.

   I would like to start a second dealership, or even expand my online capabilities, but cannot do it on my own.  I know I am successful when I can provide for my family and by daughter is doing well in school.