Care for a chat?

Has anyone ever seen/tried live chat service provided by websites of companies?
I think it would be a great idea if conducted properly. The idea is that companies can chat with its customers or potential customers LIVE - so it's like Q&A but you can ask the company directly and quickly. This could be a great communication tool for those customers who are too busy to read all the FAQs or they simply have a new question that is not posted yet. The positive side is that customers won't be hesitant to ask a question that can benefit both customer and the company quickly and with no fuss.

Telstra is doing this (maybe to have a back up for their call centre's frequent faults) and many other companies are providing live chat services on their websites.

What do you think about installing a live chat service on a website? Would love to get as many opinions as possible from you..

Thanks for reading!

CALIFORNIA GURLS!

I watched Katy Perry's show in the city last Thursday and there are some interesting things I would like to share with you. It was actually a private gig by Debit MasterCard Priceless Music program, where only Debit MasterCard holders could purchase the tickets to watch her sing live. Basically, Priceless Music is a program run by Debit MasterCard, which allows all card holders to gain access to exclusive gigs of international artists and competitions. Luckily my sister have the "mighty" card and we could go watch the gig.

It was a great marketing strategy for Debit MasterCard, in a way that:
1. there might be some Katy Perry's fans who would be willing to apply for the card only to attend the show.
2. Or if it doesn't make enough sense, let's say that the customers would feel rewarded as the card holder because they could buy exclusive gig tickets
3. they would also tell friends and families about how they could purchase the tickets (of course using ONLY Debit MasterCard!)
4. A great tool to expose their brands

I'm sure there are lots other benefits as Debit MasterCard holders that I have not listed (See, I'm doing word-of-mouth indirectly! hahaha...)

As we entered to the venue, we were informed that we could enter a photo booth competition to win  signed Katy Perry gifts. All I had to do was to fill a contact detail form and chose the "California beach"-themed-props (i.e. sunglasses, colored wigs, hat, inflatable duck swimming ring, etc). Below is my photo taken at the photo booth!

And of course they have this Facebook page link typed on the photo for those who want to know more about Priceless Music program and Debit MasterCard. Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/debitmastercardpricelessmusic

More bonus was given to all attendees! They would e-mail a free download link for Katy Perry's latest album - which won't be launched as a CD until 27th of August! So, we are the first to have her whole album..! YAYY.. CORRECTION! THE FREE DOWNLOAD LINK WILL ACTUALLY BE SENT ON THE 27th AUGUST, THE SAME DAY AS CD LAUNCH. SORRY FOR THE MISTAKE..


The whole experience was sooo rewarding! Easy payment, soft-copy ticket, unique photo booth competition, great music, lovely Katy Perry, and last but not least: FREE DOWNLOAD of her latest album!! Overall, thumbs up for them! Do you agree or disagree??

Please tell me your opinions and share your experience attending gigs with a very smart e-marketing strategy!

Thanks for reading =)

Facebook: LIKE or DISLIKE?

I extremely dislike those online shops on Facebook when they keep tagging their Friends randomly in a particular photo of the product to promote their New Arrivals or Sale Items. I mean, can’t you just perhaps post the photos without tagging us randomly?

I did not post any link to this online boutique, since it may not be the most legal thing to do. But, as you can see in this photo (the shop name was edited), many girls are tagged and most people will be annoyed. In my opinion, they could have just post the album with clear and attractive descriptions so that the friends won’t be disturbed by the tag notifications. Do you agree with me or do you have any other suggestions on how to market products through Facebook?

The great example of using social media as a way to promote their products is this small company run by a group of boys in the US, called Wong Fu Productions. I first watched one of their many videos unintentionally which was shared by my friend on Facebook, titled Good Hygiene Gets Girls. I really like that video because it was very honest and hilarious, not to mention the excellent quality of picture they have. Up to today, the video has drawn 441,409 views! And the number is growing!

Since then, I went to their Youtube site, making me wanting to know more about them and leading me to their website. It’s great how they interlinked those social media pages (Youtube, the website, Twitter and Facebook page), creating a more powerful connection. They also have been featured in some university visits to talk in a seminar about video-making and online business. You can check the Wong Fu Productions website for more detail.

Looking at those two examples, it is obvious that even people love Facebook or other social medias to connect with their favourite online stores, artists, or other public figures; third party communication is much better and proved to be more effective than trying to put your product all over your customers’ Facebook page. Not misusing digital marketing or utilizing those online promotional medias in the proper way gives you more power to communicate with your audience.

Share your experience dealing with a very annoying marketing communication on Facebook or an excellent company that successfully use Facebook as their marketing tool (and getting more sales than complaints).

Thanks for reading!

Keep reading for more new entries next week!

=)

The Creation

Hi there, I'm Natalia Ng and this is the first blog I have ever written. Honestly, I have been writing a draft for my blog from last week, but it still needs finishing touch. So, let’s just start with a quick intro.

The reason I'm writing this is as a part of my assignment in Electronic Marketing subject at my uni. A little bit of my background here. I am doing a Bachelor of Business (majoring in Marketing) at Monash University Melbourne and currently in my final semester (hopefully). Check my profile for further details..

You probably ask yourself this question: "what the heck is e-marketing street fashion?" Well, I always adore Melbourne street fashion as much as e-marketing, so why not combining both concepts together? Makes no sense, huh? To clarify my statement, I would say that real people make street fashion came alive by incorporating the current trends to create their own personalized styles. The same thing for e-marketing - without us as the internet and social media users, e-marketing won't be as mushrooming. Also, the idea of this 10-week blog is to observe what is happening around us (as students, shoppers, social media lovers) and digesting it to fashionable digital marketing topics. So, there is nothing geeky about e-marketing at all, indeed it’s everywhere around us!

Well, that's pretty much the reasons why I named my blog "E-marketing Street Fashion"!

Keep reading my next posts!

=)

RANDOM FACTS:

Australia's oldest computer weighed 7 tonnes and covered more than ten square meter of floor space. It's located in Melbourne!