Unclosed Loop - Referrals to Ad Networks

A couple of days ago I wrote about closed loop ecosystems and the new Red Flag Deals Cashback program.  They are fantastic because they allow a single platform to track consumer behaviour through to purchase.

Here is an example of what can happen to the customer experience when the loop isn't closed.

To reserve a hotel for an upcoming bike race I was looking on Expedia.ca.  Using their search tool I was able to find a number of available rooms.  Clicking on one in particular brought me out from Expedia and to the Hotel's website to make a reservation.  After completing it I even received a notification from Expedia with all of my details - very handy.

Image of Banner Ad day of making reservation

But visiting another website later in the day I was presented with a banner ad to book a hotel in the very same city, with similar offers.

I'm used to seeing activity like this from sites like Clearlycontacts.ca when I browse, but don't complete the order.  But I had completed with my transaction.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I went under the assumption that the files between Expedia and their Ad Network provider hadn't reconciled yet.

Image of Banner Ad 2 days after making reservation

Visiting another website two days later I was presented with another offer - different details but same trip parameters.

For Expedia to get into the Ad Network business would be a bit of a stretch from the service they provide.  But passing details to close the loop with their Ad Network provider should not be.

As a customer I now feel that they don't know me and are only interested in pushing me more.  I would be open to them offering me other services that I might need for my trip like flights, car rental, restaurant reservations or travel insurance (if it was international travel), but don't try to sell me something I already bought from you.

Use 4 Questions to Evaluate your Strategy

There are a wide variety of frameworks and processes to design your strategy.  Assuming they are sound and you've followed them properly it's important to assure yourself that it will be successful in meeting your objectives.

Whether it's restructuring your online presence, launching a product or putting up a banner ad (although that's a stretch to call a strategy) you need to evaluate the quality of your strategy.  Here are some simple questions to ask yourself.

1. Does your strategy take advantage of your key resources?  Think about what you have on hand and what can easily be exploited.  This can be people, content, infrastructure or any other assets.  Does your strategy make full use of these or are they largely ignored?  
2. Can you sustain your key differentiation points?  You've made some assumptions about the competition and your abilities as your competitive advantage.  Are you going to be able to maintain that position or is it relatively easy for your competition to duplicate or exceed?  Or in other terms, once you are in market make sure that you don't lose your key differentiation points.
3. Can you obtain internal alignment?  Your strategy will most likely require participation from other key groups like customer service, sales, procurement or IT for complete implementation.  Can you line up your work against their KPI's or objectives?  Have you got buy-in from the leaders of those groups?  As you build out your launch / project plan these considerations will need to be considered.  If you ignore them you may not be fulfilling the expectation that you set with your customers.
4. Can you properly implement your strategy?  Do you have the budget, people and time to implement all aspects of it?  You do not want to implement with a half-baked solution, you know it will fail and have seen other ideas get ruined in the same way.  If you don't, figure out the roadmap that will allow you to launch in phases.

And if you have more questions that answers after going through this it's time to go back to the drawing board.

Closing the Loop: Red Flag Deals new Cashback program

There are very few consumer ecosystems that are able to provide closed loop environments.  Most websites aggregate content and refer traffic without completing transactions.   Amazon led the way with having a full service and has been able to offer a whole new level of customized buying experiences and tailored offers / recommendations for consumers.

Companies like Mountain Equipment Co-op have had the opportunity, but have never capitalized on it.  Now Red Flag Deals is offering it's own rewards program that appears to have similar merits of Amazon, and it's a brilliant move.

They are historically strong as a forum for people to share deals (almost 14,000,000 posts) and a way for service providers to promote offerings traffic was referred to host sites, but now they can complete the transaction.

Users need to register, buy from partner retailers and collect cash back on a quarterly basis.  The terms and conditions are straight forward - and the learning opportunity for retailers is immense as all aspects of the transaction will happen on their site.

They have always been able to track browsing behaviour and referral path, but now they will be understand the full consumer path to purchase
What led them to purchase?
If they didn't complete, what was the last item viewed before abandoning?
What other items were viewed?

This will also provide them with new services to companies looking to test products will increase their leverage with suppliers.

Why I like Facebook Ads, but not in my Newsfeed

Browsing Facebook this morning I experienced newsfeed ads for the first time, and I was not impressed.

The success of Facebook as a social networking platform is due to it's unique ability to connect people through various associations within a central location.  It started with a single school, moved across others until we got to the age of likes and of colleagues complaining that their boyfriends mom is trying to friend them.

Advertising drives revenue for Facebook, and like all other media platforms (yes, its a media platform) that allows users access to content.

From a marketing perspective I love using Facebook ads.  Great targeting based on profiles and activities allows me to easily attract fans, likes and engagements at basically a cost of $1 per person.  I can easily test ads and manage my budget to increase or decrease activity.

As a user I expect some friends with spammy feeds from Farmville or Photo of the Day to show up in my news.  It is part of being their friend online and if I don't want to see it anymore I can simply change their settings.

If the customized ads on the right sidebar show me relevance and catch my eye I'm happy to click through.  But ads in newsfeeds are completely out of place and distract me from the core user value proposition of the platform - to maintain relationships.

I choose which brands can promote to me by being a fan, but I can't choose newsfeed ads they choose me.

They distract me from my interactions, particularly on mobile, and they make me wonder about the pressures being applied internally about driving revenue in the face of a falling stock price.

I'm going to assume that a similar algorithm used to deploy standard Facebook ads is used within newsfeed ads, but it still distracts from my user experience.  Larger brands won't like it, but what about including them as ad units when I'm engaged with a complimentary, not competitive, brand instead?  This feature exists on brand pages today and could be easily expanded to increase relevancy and conversions.

That would keep me focused on who's dog is cute and allow me to continue to engage with brands on my own terms when it is time.

Employee Tracking, Big Brother or No Big Deal?

I recently had a chance to visit a someone at another company and noticed something while waiting in the lobby.  For any employee to get in or out of the office they had to use their passcard.  Accompanied by this was a small screen beside the door that showed the name, title and picture of the person.

Initially, it freaked me out.  I stopped someone who came through and asked him what he thought about it.  He said it was great because he could find out where anyone was at any time.  I then asked him about the flip side of that coin (everyone can find you at any time) - he had to agree.

To develop customer segmentation and create meaningful campaigns I rely on activity data like this all the time.  Without knowing who viewed what page, clicked on what add, posted what tweet or opened what email I have very little ability to effectively market to people.

We have the option to hide some of our internet activity, unsubscribe from communications or make our tweets private - but do we not enjoy the customization and relevancy that is delivered to us because of it?

Consumer behaviour dictates the type of programs, offers and engagement opportunities we put into market - so why not apply the same thinking to employee behaviour?

Smarter decisions about office layout, team dynamics and interactivity can be made with something like this in place, and I think it's just the beginning.  Network monitoring could tell when my computer was overheating and in need of a replacement.  Using alerts and GPS to tell me when someone was back in their office rather than stalking or waiting would save a lot of time.

Screenshot from Gmail for an ad offering Wedding Photo services alongside an email for what else?

Every office has a passcard system and network monitoring, it would be naive to think that the information wasn't available.  Seeing it in use is definitely provocative and reminds me of the first time Gmail Ads were tailored to me based on the content of a particular email.  Troubling at first, but once I understood what it was for and how it was being used I welcomed it.