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The Imperfect Store.
Having been a data planner for some 15 years, it’s heartening to see it’s not just data planners who are getting excited about data; how much there is, how secure it is, but moreover, how valuable it is.
The question is often one of “commoditisation”. In other words, how
do we turn data into hard cash. And it seems eBay had the answer. It’s
simple, you repackage it, anonymise it (but just enough to avoid falling
foul of data protection legislation), and sell it to the highest bidder:
http://www.research-live.com/news/news-headlines/royal-mail-taps-
ebay-data-for-direct-marketing-targeting-tool/4002211.article
Which made me wonder, how can a brand that got it so right for so
long, now have got is so wrong? They were THE community led brand.
The world’s biggest marketplace. By the community, for the community.
So why have the champions of the new consumer democracy debased
themselves to the level of a list broker?
How they completely dominated the market remains somewhat
contentious (see Adam Cohen’s delightful “The Perfect Store” (2002),
for more on this). But one thing’s for sure, they got the model right –
a community approach underpinned by strong community values.
And data was at the heart of everything they did. Feedback ratings
(a community idea) created reputations that enabled users to transact
with trust. Data empowered the consumer. More transactions equalled
more trust. More trust equalled more transactions. They created a
virtuous cycle of trust, powered by data.
Now I’m a big fan of eBay. I’ve been a community member since 2002.
I’ve got 139 feedback ratings. I even worked there. They now have more
data than any brand could hope for. A global customer base of 233 million
(tellingly they refer to us as customers now, not community members). 14
million active users in the UK alone. At any one time, up to 10 million live
listings, across 13,000 categories. Data on the brands I’m interested in, my
purchasing (and selling) habits, how I engage with the community and how
the community engages with me. I’m one of those 14 million customers,
and feel like eBay has sold me out. And I think you should too.
The message to eBay...don’t just exploit your members for profit.
Why not repackage our data, add value, and give it back to us. For
our benefit. We could use it to discover brands we’re interested in
conversing with, it could give us social currency to engage with each
other, and with the brands we love (and will love). And in the process, I
might just fall in love with you again. We’re not sitting here waiting to be
targeted by brands. And right now, I’m looking for the privacy settings
that prevent eBay from exploiting me, but they seem to be remarkably
well hidden...
Which brings us to two important trends. Firstly, “Profile Myning”
(see http://trendwatching.com/trends/10trends2010/). The most value
enhancing thing a brand can do is to empower consumers with their
data (guess what eBay, it’s not actually yours to sell). Value to consumer
= profit to business. And what a lot of data they’ve got.
Just imagine the value they could add. And the most imaginative
thing they’ve thought of is to sell it through the Royal Mail. #Fail.
One more thing. Smart brands are helping their customers. Which
brings me to trend #2. “Brand Butlers”: http://trendwatching.com/
trends/brandbutlers/. Take the Virgin Atlantic Taxi2 service. It helps
travellers find a suitable taxi companion at their arrival point on
providing their flight number and onward destination. A lovely example
of how a brand takes customer data (in this case, commercially
available flight information) and delivers maximum value to their
customers, at minimum cost to serve. You don’t even have to be flying
Virgin Atlantic to benefit. An elegant way to demonstrate their core
proposition of enhanced customer service, and maybe win a
few new customers in the process.
Head of Innovation at eBay take note. This isn’t innovation. This is in your DNA. Neglect at your peril.
Neil Johnson Head of Data Planning
Agree/Disagree? Let Neil know: [email protected]
To find out more please call 01202 669090 or visit brightblueday.co.uk
