Target Market Analysis-Step 1

Company: Manufacturer of Welding Equipment for Body Repair Shops

Target Market: 
I feel there are two target customers for our business, an end-user (Technician) and the purchaser of the equipment (Owner). The technician is a 20-35 year old, white or hispanic male working in a body repair shop. He may have a high school diploma but has completed a Trade School for welding. He is interested in cars, new and old, likely tattooed and lives with dirt under his nails. The other target customer is the Owner of multiple body shops. He is 35-60 in age, white male, with a high school diploma, college degree and years of work experience. He is our target customer because he will purchase our product to be in all of his shops because it creates a better ROI for himself, therefore, making him more profits. Although it is the owner that is the final decision maker in the purchase of the product, it is his technicians that use the product and let him know what will work best for them in the shop. If you don't have the technicians on your side, you have nothing. 


Target Market Demographics:
Age: 20-60
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Non-specific
Occupation: Body Shop Owner, Body Shop Technician, Custom Fabricator
Religion: Non-specific
Family Size: 3-6
Income: Owner: $70,000-$200,000; Technician: $40,000-$70,000
Education Level: High School Diploma or College Degree 
Race: Caucasian, Hispanic. 

Pinbook... (Pinterest + Facebook)

PinBook

The two websites that I frequent on a desktop are Pinterest & Facebook. Most other sites that I use have mobile versions or apps, i.e., news sites, fantasy football, etc. Facebook and Pinterest both have apps and mobile versions, but I prefer to use the desktop versions because I can get through more material faster! 

www.facebook.com

www.pinterest.com

Why are they effective? 

Facebook: Though they have changed their interface multiple times, and each time the public reacts unfavorable, eventually, everyone gets used to the idea and stops complaining. Facebook has organized the site into 4 columns: a left aligned dashboard, The Wall aka The Feed of information posted by people you follow, Friend's Birthdays and events, and your Chat Window. If you are bored, you scroll through the feed, if you want to talk to someone, you look in your Chat Window. It is easy to navigate to anything you want to accomplish. 

Pinterest: Pinterest is effective because you can scroll seeing images. Once an image catches your eye, you can "pin" it to a board of your choosing for future review. Each image is a link to (hopefully) a website where you can buy it, or a blog- where you can learn more about it. Pinterest has recently changed their mobile versions to have a 3 prong option when you clock on the image, asking if you want it pinned, shared, or to 'like' it. The desktop version has the 3 same options just as buttons when you scroll over the picture. I prefer the desktop version, I feel I can pin more, FASTER!

What specific principles of good design do they include and why?

Both Facebook & Pinterest have linear designs, which are visually very easy-to-use for me. 

What makes you come back again?

I enjoy the content of both Facebook & Pinterest. They both are personally catered to myself: Facebook for my friends & family and Pinterest for my interests. 

What could be improved?

Pinterest may benefit if when you choose which board you want it pinned to that it would auto-pin. Currently you select the board you want to pin the item to, then you need to hit a "Pin" button to complete the action. Although, this could be a pain-in-the-tush if you accidentally select the wrong board, then you may have the horrific situation of pinning an Apple Pie recipe on your Health & Fitness board! 

Facebook- I'm still not the biggest fan of the current interface, but I won't be too upset because they will undoubtably change it again, confusing us all when they do. I personally don't like the "People You May Know" area, but you can design your site ALMOST to be what you want it to be. Also, I think the advertisements are annoying, but I get it... it wouldn't be free if they weren't there! 

The End. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly websites

Tec Welding Products

Website: http://techtorch.com

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Potential Problems for Visitors: 

1. The company logo is centered, not to the left as recommended due to how we read left-to-right. 
2. The website is visually cluttered, a grid pattern may help, or to  create more links to separate pages. 
3. Depth- the site is over-saturated with information. Although, they do have a call to action at the bottom of the page. 

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GForce Race Cars

Website: http://gforceracecars.com

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Potential Problems for Visitors: 

1. Although they have left aligned links, the scroll size of the page is well over 3 scrolls. I suggest that they make that homepage smaller in length and add that information to linked pages. 
2. The text is centered, aligning the text to the left would make it easier for the visitor to read. 
3. Proximity of the images and captions are confusing. It is hard to tell where the information is to each image. Using a grid pattern, or creating more space differentiating the photo & caption from the text. 

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Ford Motor Company

Website: http://www.ford.com

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Positive aspects about the website:

1. Aesthetically, it is very clean & organized.
2. The logo is in the top left corner, being the first place the eye looks to start reading. 
3. Conceptually, the website is on point. They want to grow awareness, knowledge and sell their cars- the first image you see is of their 2013 line of cars. 
4. The typography is good and easy to read. 
5. When you follow a link, for example: selecting the image on the homepage of the Ford Fusion. A new page opens where you see a photo of the Ford Fusion, immediately to the left read all pricing and specs on the car, and have a palette of colors for you to design your own version of the car. 
6. Everything from models to features and add-ons are listed in a grid pattern, making everything easy-to-use!

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Apple
Website: http://www.apple.com
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Positive aspects about the website:

1. The apple website has been a model for many to follow. With its clean space, simplicity, it makes navigation very simple. 
2. The concept is simple and clean- just like all apple products. The content is set up in a flash pattern alternating between 5 highlights. 
3. The apple icon and logo is in the upper left hand corner, letting people know what webpage they are on right away. 
4. The typography is clear and legible. 
5. What you see is what you get on the homepage. You don't have to scroll very far to find information. All product and support links are listed at the top of the page. Additional links to less used information are listed linearly at the bottom of the page. 
6. When you chose one product link, "Mac" for example, it brings you to a new page with images of all of their Mac computers with all accessories listed further down the page. 

5 Bangin' Businesses Mastering Social Media

I'm kind of a 'get-to-the-point' person, so I will make this post short and sweet!

The 5 businesses that I chose who are visibly using social media are: Southwest, Tesla Motors, _, __ and Neutrogena.

SOUTHWEST- (http://www.southwest.com/) I feel that Southwest is an exemplary company in regards to customer service & satisfactions, therefore, I was eager to look into their social media connections.

• FORUMS: A "Community" and a "Conversations" link at the bottom of the homepage leads you to a forum where you can talk to people in specific cities, about different activities, vacation themes, 
• I explored further and feel this is an amazing forum that I never knew about. People are writing asking for locals advice, best directions, etc, and others are replying with great input. 
• FACEBOOK: Also linked at the bottom of the homepage, the Facebook page looks to be updated rather often, just about daily, except weekends. 
• Likes: 3,979,020
• Engage followers- they ask questions to their followers like, "Where is your favorite airport to shop on the fly?"
• Gains- a post was made with a photo of the cockpit asking, "Want this to be your office space? We're accepting applications for First Officers! More info:". They received funny questions, in which they responded to comedically, as well as statements of followers informing Southwest that they or their husbands had applied and is hopeful to get the job. 
• TWITTER: Their twitter seems to be successful at 1,545, 226 followers. 
• YOUTUBE: Videos are posted of celebrities singing on the airplanes, behind the scenes fun with  employees etc. It shows a fun loving company. 
• FLICKR: Just a page with a lot of photos of planes. 

TESLA MOTORS- (http://www.teslamotors.com/) A new car company that recently release the first all electric car, currently geared to a wealthy consumer. 

• BLOG- Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors write a blog about whatever is on his mind. With an outspoken reputation, he gives his opinion on interesting innovations and topics. 
• TWITTER: 
• 125,386 Followers
• Post car facts and News. 
• FACEBOOK: 268,000 Likes
• GOOGLE+: 1,582,822 +1. 
• Post Videos, Photos and News Updates. Looks a lot like Facebook. 
• VINE: I was surprised to see a Vine site, but they show interesting videos on how to use certain parts of the cars, events, etc. 

NEUTROGENA- (http://www.neutrogena.com/home.do) I chose to research the skincare company, Neutrogena, because Dave Kerpen wrote that it was a company they worked with in his book Likeable Social Media. 

• FACEBOOK: I was surprised to only see two social media sites linked to their homepage, yet they have 1.3 million Likes on Facebook. 
• TWITTER: A fun addition that links to their Twitter link is that it takes you directly to your Twitter page into a 'Post a Tweet' that already says "Check out Neutrogena at http://www.neutrogena.com/" in the message box. Smart, sneaky... but smart!

GO PRO- (http://gopro.com/) I have a few friends that said they really liked Go Pro, a company that makes video cameras for extreme sports, and their social media connections. 

• FACEBOOK: 6.2 Million likes. 
• YOUTUBE: Post videos that people have made with their products. 
• TWITTER: 689,628 Followers. 
• INSTAGRAM: 1,025,443 Followers. I really like this page for them because they can post photos and videos now, which is EXACTLY what the company does. 

PRO SPOT INTERNATIONAL (http//prospot.com) Pro Spot is my company that I work for. I decided to highlight our Social Media that I have created and keep updated. I look forward to your opinions on how I can make it better. Pro Spot manufactures welders for the collision repair industry, body shops & restoration shops. 

• FACEBOOK: 183 Likes, I'd like to expand this number. Our industry is at a generational gap, where the owners are at an age that they aren't very into social media, but also their sons and younger staff are very into it. 
• TWITTER: 50 Followers. Here we post photos, fun facts, and news. 
• INSTAGRAM: Instagram is actually our largest following at 11,188. This high number is due to a connection we have who is a bit of a celebrity fabricator who is working with us, and this connection has given us much of his Instagram network. 
• YOUTUBE: Our YouTube page can be better, but we do have some videos with a very high and often amount of views. The difficult in adding new material, is having the time to get or create it. 
• GOOGLE +: This is a new page that we've added. I'm not very familiar with Google +, so it needs work. I'm not sure how much of our market is using it at this time. 

Week 2: "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?!?" (Businesses with Communication reports)

SONY/Google TV, DELL Computers and LA Fitness

“I’m so lost and confused… help!”

Finding contact information: Sony/Google TV

•  Trouble finding a customer service contact number on the official website.
•  Had to search the entire internet for a customer service number.
• Everything seemed more geared towards getting me to purchase, rather than help me with my product I had previously purchased.
• After 30-40 minutes, I found a contact number- we spent another 30 minutes on the phone attempting tech issues (my GoogleTV wasn’t playing sound on Pandora). After a long call- no luck, still not working!

Social Media’s potential influence: 

• I actually USED TWITTER to contact Sony. I posted the issue I had, tagged their official site, and never received a response.
•  I don’t think that social media could make a huge difference in this specific business issue because I needed hands on or phone-on-ear technical support. I don’t think social media could give me that.
• Only possible option could be YouTube video, but that would require the company to think of every possible scenario ever… that’s hard.

“I hear da phone it go green green green, I pink it up and I say yellow.”

Cultural Differences- Dell Computers & Harbor Freight

•  Outsource customer service. 
• Have extreme difficulty understanding the accent of the representative.   
• When I asked to speak to a manager, I still had the same issue.
• End up angry and likely spent 2X the amount of time due to constant repeating to understand.

Social Media’s potential influence:  

•  Again this comes down to technical support which requires someone live to help. 
•  Possible Social Media option could be technical support videos on YouTube, as previously mentioned.

“I know you’ve called and stopped by 100 times, but I’m still busy!”

Personnel Issues: LA Fitness

•  LA Fitness works on a commission basis. When you are having problems with your membership or interested in cancelling (especially a training membership), the sales person won’t return your calls because their commission will be affected.      
• When you call the customer service number, which is rather hidden on the website, your call transfers to a manager of a club somewhere else- not headquarters. 
• It is nearly impossible to speak to someone who can actually hold the sales people responsible.

Social Media’s potential influence:

• Researching LA Fitness on Yelp, I found many negative reviews. 
• The only potential purpose of having social media for LA Fitness, is that the negative customer reviews may actually get to upper management and get them to consider improvements in customer service.

A FREE meal for being nice! 

One day I wrote a review for Fresh Brother’s restaurant on Yelp. I just mentioned what I enjoy to order there, efficiency and parking availability. At some point later, I received a message on my Yelp account from a Fresh Brother’s representative, thanking me for my review and requesting my address to receive a free meal on them! Three days later, I had a thank you letter & a gift card for a free meal.

Twitter+ Delta= Free Voucher

Let me clarify, this isn’t my story, but I’ll retell it for a friend. One day when traveling on Delta, a friend’s flight was delayed continually due to mechanical issues. Frustrated and being a teenager, my friend made a post on Twitter explaining the issue to his friends and tagged Delta in it. Within an hour, Delta wrote to him apologizing for the issue and offered him a free mileage voucher. I think that shows great customer service, and a great example of the use of Social Media to aid customer service. 

Personal vs. Business Social Media Sites

I feel that there are multiple social media sites out that cater more or less to specific industries.

Facebook, Youtube & LinkedIn are my preferred social media sites to use for business promotion. The reason that I like Facebook is that you are able to make your post as long as you'd like, and if you attach a photo or a video, there is a thumbnail of the image immediately posted with your post. Ideally, this visual will help draw in others to benefit from the content that you post. With LinkedIn, you are able to explain your company, as well as post descriptions of all of your products with videos attached if you choose. YouTube is an incredible platform to connect socially, because in today's culture, people tend to immediately go on-line to search for images or videos of something they are interested in buying. YouTube is a great platform for my company, in that we are able to post videos free of cost and have them available to the online market individuals.

I believe the best personal social media sites are Instagram, Vine, Twitter, and Pinterest. I find that I am interested in posting more personal items on Instagram or Facebook because I feel less responsibly in that it is only personal. Twitter is a great social platform, but I find the 140 character description difficult to handle. Pinterest, is great for images and connecting them to your original website.  Great markets for Pinterest, are ones that keep inventory organized and that post images and links to websites. Unfortunately, those measures wont' cause great success in our market. I do believe that possibly sites that may not be beneficial to some could be the best resource for others.

Happy Sunday!
I just got my bearings in creating my first blog ever- this is a bittersweet moment. It's wonderful because I have officially started my training as a Social Media Trainee. It is unfortunate, because I was unaware that it was due a couple days ago... my apologies.
I look forward to learning more and more to make this an entertaining and informative blog to read. I chose the template that I did, because I personally prefer a clean view on the interfaces I read.
Hope everyone's football Sunday, Sunday Funday, or day of relaxation (hopefully) are going well. I am off to my last meeting of a long conference in Las Vegas.
-SocialMediaTrainee aka. Ashley