Social Media has become an increasingly more popular way for companies to channel advertisements. As many people now find it simple to take quick surveys online, shop, apply for jobs, etc social media is a great way to gain insight on those customers. I love the way amazon.com and e-bay are able to advertise on social media websites and after getting a click through their advertisement can monitor a customer’s interest based on how they navigate the sight.

As an avid Facebook.com user I can easily relate to the customer experience when companies are throwing advertisements at you. Based on previous click-throughs, facebook has been able to cater advertisements to what the user is interested in, very similar to what amazon.com has also implemented. Facebook has always offered banner advertisements but now they have other ways companies can gain insight into their users lifestyle. A recent option of Facebook now allows you to become a “fan” a certain Facebook pages. Companies that have Facebook users become a fan of their page can really use this to their advantage to gain customer insight but also to create an experience for the user. For example, I am a fan of BlackBerry and through this page I get notifications when BlackBerry does something new. The most recent notification I received informed me that BlackBerry has come out with a new app and then it leads me through the steps to download that application.

The Google sites are extremely helpful in researching a topic or brand. Because I am familiar with the advertising BlackBerry uses on Facebook that is what I researched on the Google websites. I found that on the blogsearch.google.com site there are several websites whose tagline mentions some form of deal when purchasing a BlackBerry. Several also were tailored to the applications that BlackBerry is adding to their devices. Using this site I found a lot of user generated content, a lot more opinions from tech websites. On the zeitgeist page I used the “insights for search” option and found a lot of hard facts about the popularity of blackberry as well as the different products offered. This site would be helpful in determining the target market for BlackBerry users.

What Wal-Mart Knows About Customers' Habits

Question 1 - Given the enormous amount of data that Walmart captures, do you think they have been successful at converting into an experience that serves as a competitive advantage for them?

The enormous amount of data that Walmart is able to capture is definitely successful in serving as a competitive advantage for the company. I think the example of how Wal-Mart prepared for the second hurricane is a great way of showing their competitive advantage. In using the data that was made available to them from Hurricane Charley that hit a few weeks earlier, they were able to bring in more of the products that were the top-selling items or products they may have run out of during the last storm. Using their database to learn this buying habit about customers is not only powerful but it also creates an enormous profit for Wal-Mart. The company will soon be able to control what and when people buy as they gather data and make predictions that may eventually turn into persuading people to buy. It is interesting to me that the article mentioned that Wal-Mart lives in a world of “supply and command, instead of a world of supply and demand.” If you think about all the information Wal-Mart is able to gather based on consumers buyer behavior it is easy for them to gather information about what products to bundle, offer discounts for, etc. This leads me to the next question about privacy issues.

Question 2 - What do you think about the privacy issues associated with all of that data and the amount of personally identifiable data they are able to capture. Does it bother you? Do you trust them with it?

When I first learned of all this information being gathered by companies about their customers (not just Wal-Mart) I was a little bothered by it. I thought it was in fact an invasion of privacy for the store to know everything I have purchased in the past and to use that to their advantage. Thinking more about the data companies are able to capture about customer buyer behavior I have found that it can be extremely helpful for my personal buying decisions. Companies can offer coupons that will most likely persuade me to purchase something I need versus a wasted coupon on something I will never purchase such as men’s clothing or hygiene products. I really like how amazon.com has capitalized on this idea and offers a box entitled “you may also like” as to catch my attention based on previous purchases I have made.

Though I know companies are legally required to keep the wealth of information they obtain private it does sometimes bother me that they have access to all of my credit card numbers, driver’s license, social security, etc. If these numbers were to get in the wrong hands someone could lose a great deal of money or even fall victim to identity theft. Though this is highly unlikely, as a company that uses this information in a negative manner will be persecuted, it is still important for consumers to be cautious of the information we give out. After reading about the policies Wal-Mart has implemented to protect personal information it puts me a little more at ease to let them acquire all the information through my buying behavior. I can say that I do trust Wal-Mart with my information and I really believe that the information they gather will be of value to me versus having a negative effect.