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The evolution of the internet and reality shows, read on..
At a recent press briefing, an
editor challenged our CEO,
Jim
Harrer, to explain how Social Networking could benefit a
corporation by enabling the corporation's customers to meet each
other. Jim took the challenge and asked the editor to pick a
corporation just so he knew it wasn't a canned presentation.
The editor was from Atlanta, GA so he blurted out "Home Depot"
which is Atlanta based. The editors attending the event
were captivated by Jim's response. We hope you enjoy our notes
from that June morning...
Jim, known as a visionary and forward thinker, didn't miss a
beat. He responded:
"Home Depot, yes I've spent a good amount of money on home
improvement and gardening supplies from them! If we were
going to build a social networking community for Home Depot, we
would build an online community for home improvement enthusiasts,
have Home Depot sponsor it, and simply add one link to the top
of each page on Home Depot's website so it had very little
impact on their web team. Keeping it simple for them to
implement is key for larger corporations or it takes forever to
get published to the web.
Next we would enable their customers to fill out a short online
profile. Our online relationship technology would
allow them to control how much information was accessible to
Internet visitors, based on trust levels assigned by the
customer filling out the profile.
Now the fun would begin. Say you wanted to remodel your kitchen.
Imagine searching for other people who have completed a kitchen
remodeling job. You might also limit your search results
based on location, size of home, budget, etc. As you click on
the search results you can read about the project and view before
and after pictures of various kitchen remodels done by the
members of this online community. The site would be able
to highlight its own Extreme Makeover - Home Edition. Now let's
make it even more interesting. How about reading daily
journal entries (weblogs) of the project which captured
things the remodelers didn't know, what they would do
differently and comments on tools or materials used. Other
members of the site could actually log in every day to read
today's kitchen remodeling project as it unfolded in the weblog.
The site could allow their customers to rate tools, appliances,
etc. and exchange ideas. It would allow Home Depot customers to
show off their handy work with digital pictures, members and
projects could become features on the site with members
providing all the content - like reality shows. All with
Home Depot as the back drop! This is what I mean about
taking the faceless nature of the internet and making it real."
Harrer said.
"That is all great", said the editor, "but I don't see how this
benefits Home Depot at all."
Jim Harrer continued "Well, if I didn't think I could actually do
a kitchen remodel myself, we can agree I wouldn't be shopping at
Home Depot. By reading the blogs and seeing
the before and after pictures I got the confidence to tackle the
project and buy the materials. I
would say they benefited financially. Also by enabling
their customers to help other customers, I think Home Depot
would be providing a social benefit. When you enable
your customers to meet each other, great things can happen!
Another benefit Home Depot receives is a better understanding of
their customers. By paying attention to the information
provided by the members of the social community, Home Depot can
customize their sales and marketing strategy to zero in on their
customer's needs and wants." Harrer explained.
Social Networking is becoming increasingly more popular today
because the technology has advanced and people are more
accepting. Reality shows like Trading Spaces and Extreme
Home Makeover capture people's attention and hold it. Weblogs (Personal Journals) can also capture people's attention
and give them reason to come back to the site
day-after-day-after-day, to see how the kitchen remodeling is
coming and what new "experiences" have been recorded.
The publishing
of a profile, adding pictures, using the built-in email and chat
features found in Specialty Match's technology removes the
"faceless" nature of the Internet. Internet users
become warm hearted people who can share experiences, encourage
people when they need it, and provide a positive social culture
to the online community.
Jim Harrer went on to explain, "Coke is reaching out to
teenage kids as the sponsor of
CokeMusic.com.
Coke understands their younger customers are not sitting in
front of the TV on Saturday mornings any more. Many are
using their digital Casio Pianos and Electric guitars plugged
into their computers to create their own generation of music.
Coke isn't selling music, they're selling a brand image, one
that is cool. CokeMusic.com, in my opinion, was created to
grab the attention of a lost generation, a generation who turned
to Pepsi. Someone at Coke is forward thinking, these are
the types of individuals we love to hang out with." Harrer
concluded.
**Home Depot is not a client of Specialty Match Network.
Home Depot has NOT endorsed Specialty Match Network. To
the best of our knowledge, Home Depot is NOT planning to build a
Social Network for home improvement enthusiasts - though we hope
they'll call us if they do!
Jim Harrer is the co-founder of Specialty Match Network.
Click
here to read more about Jim. You can reach Mr. Harrer
through our
Contact Us form.
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