Google Zeitgeist – I searched Victoria’s Secret on their website search and it showed a line graph of the visitor traffic per month. The data suggested that more people get onto the website during the Christmas seasons because there was a peak in traffic during that time and it slowly and gradually tapered off as the months went past ending with October/November as the slowest traffic, then it peaks up again during December. I also looked up lingerie searches for the Zeitgeist and it reported a high search for lingerie especially during January/February. The interesting thing I found was that the online search for lingerie was much higher in Utah and considerably lower in New York. My assumption before this was that more people in New York would be into shopping and living a liberal lifestyle, therefore they would look up products online, especially provocative lingerie. One factor not accounted for is the in-store traffic. They could be people that prefer to go in and see them rather than shop online for it. The recession also had a negative impact in our nation, especially in New York, and people may not think it is necessary to invest in more lingerie than what they already had.

Google blog search – I typed in Victoria’s Secret and the brilliant thing about this is that through the “related searches” they found Victoria’s Secret personal blog. I never knew they had a blog, Twitter, and Facebook until today. It also brought up blogs where Victoria’s Secret was mentioned. The first few were blog posts regarding the most recent news Victoria’s Secret put out about finding a model for their runway show this December 2009. This is a great tool that I had never known about. Companies can use these tools to help track the postings from (dis)satisfied customers and provide feedback to help alleviate the problem.

I find that blogs have one of the most effective abilities to create experiences. Twitter is a social media tool to quickly promote an event or get a quick update out there for followers, where as blogs can engage customers through postings, videos, and pictures. It specifically works so well for Victoria’s Secret partly because this company’s advertising strategy is through using visual aids like beautiful women, sexy lingerie, and bright colors. The flexibility in adding all these visual aids create a holistic and engaging experience for the consumer. Blogs can also gain insight from people through asking their followers about their questions and asking for feedback to know what they want and how the company can create this experience or product. On the Victoria’s Secret blog page, they have a section up top that asks you what you hope for. You’re allowed to type in about 50 characters of what you hope for and they post it on their page. It’s brilliant because what they did was include a mini-twitter on their blog, bringing the two social media sites together to create a better experience as well as gain insights. As long as companies are involved with sites such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter actively communicating with their consumers, they are capable of creating a wide range of experiences for their consumers. Companies just need to know when to use each site to fully maximize on each one. Twitter gives brief updates, but if consumers want more detail they can go to the blog to read detail information regarding the Twitter update. If they want to reach college students then they need to create a Facebook group. By connecting these three sites and using it to benefit and backup one another, companies can create holistic experiences on the web for consumers.

What Wal-Mart Knows About Customers' Habits - BLOG 4

I do believe Walmart has been able to utilize their data to create a highly competitive advantage for their company and for their customers. Two ways they have done this is by having an efficient supply chain and doing in-depth marketing research with their technology. They have been able to utilize the knowledge about their customers to create a better shopping experience. Their supply chain is one of the strongest in the market. They’ve created impressive turnaround times, allowing their customers to get their products on time. Less waiting makes a happy customer. The quick turnaround times also ensure customers that the item won’t be out of stock. Available products also make a happy customer. It also helps to retain customers. If it’s out of stock, the customer will just look for it in a competing store like Target. The more often this happens, the more customers will slowly start switching over to a competing store, assuming Walmart never has what they want. Contrary to this, Walmart has done a great job in keeping items available in store or sent to the closest location at a very fast rate. Finally, if they can continue to be efficient in supply chain then they’ll have fewer inventories, which saves money for the company. If they utilize that strategy then they won’t be forced to increase prices in order to earn a profit. Ultimately, this keeps their customers happy by keeping prices low.
On the Walmart privacy issue, I do trust them with my information because until now they have not invaded my privacy. Maybe I’m just a very trusting person, but if the public found out that Walmart was using our information for other purposes, there would be a huge lawsuit against them and they would lose a significant amount of money. I’m sure the reason why they keep their information so secure is to steer away from that. In the article, they clearly state that the information they receive is used to figure out what items are being bought. They are less concerned in making the connection between item and consumer. What is more important is the connection between certain items being bought simultaneously and how they can price each item to increase profit, yet keep the overall amount low. Since Walmart’s focus is not on the customer but rather the things they are buying then they have no reason to utilize my personal information for anything else. Unless my information can be accessed by strangers, then will I be more nervous. As for now, I trust that their security measures are strong enough to keep my information away from uncertified people. If the security starts becoming unsafe or not up-to-date, then I’ll definitely be more worried.
In regards to the question about supplier’s business relationship with Walmart, I believe they are increasing profitability for their manufacturers. If the technology being used is strictly to increase efficiency and allow better communication between suppliers and Walmart, then I believe the suppliers are profiting from this efficient supply chain. If it becomes an issue where they are forcing their suppliers to do more than they can handle then it would become a negative impact for the suppliers. Also, if the situation was not about supply chain efficiency but rather about the prices of products suppliers are selling, then suppliers would be in a difficult position. Unable to deny the requests of one of the largest players in the market, suppliers would have to comply or lose more money by losing Walmart as an ally. The article says that with the new technology they’ve built, they have been able to increase efficiency and ultimately increase turnaround time. This should benefit the manufacturers, not hurt them.