Week 11 Discussion

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 creates this focus on customer satisfaction by providing customers with an outlet to share with each other their thoughts and experiences with each product. Customer reviews are valued and encouraged, because they show 1) that people are buying the product and 2) what the consumers' experiences are.

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?

Most of the reviews on products I looked at were positive - while no product will ever satisfy everyone, there were far more positive than negative reviews. For example, one dog crate has 376 five star reviews and 15 one star reviews. One of the 5 star reviews on the Midwest iCrate Single Dog Folding Crate has a picture of the dog in question relaxing inside, with the reviewer stating that the whole family was satisfied by the product. A review like this could be an excellent marketing tool because it refers to pets as a part of the family, something that Petco customers will likely relate to.

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?

Petco could offer loyalty programs for reviewers such as coupons or drawing entries after a certain number of reviews. 

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?

Reviews show potential customers that the product is worth purchasing. Trying to sell products without reviews sends a red flag to potential customers that the company doesn't have faith that their customers will be satisfied with the product.

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

Brand association is the way that people think about certain products and what they might connect those products with. For example, a Petco customer might purchase a new toy for their dog, find that the dog loves the toy, and then have a positive notion of Petco, associating the store with their dog's happiness and fun!

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 is a valuable tool to many marketers because it offers such a variety of insights. The dashboard will allow users to keep an up to date view of how consumers view their product as well as the development of potential threats.