Kids go online to satisfy product curiosities
Children ages 6-11 are increasingly using the Internet to look into products they see in advertisements, and the older the child the more likely he or she is to take such action after viewing an ad, according to the 2008 American Kids Study, conducted by Mediamark Research & Intelligence, New York. In total, 46.3 percent of kids visited a Web site they saw or heard about in a commercial or advertisement.
Of the almost 10.7 million young consumers who report visiting a company’s Web site after viewing its ad, 26.5 percent are 6-7 years old, 33.3 percent are 8-9 years old and 40.2 percent are 10-11 years old. These children are also more likely to hail from households where there are no rules placed on which sites they can or cannot visit. The gender split is almost equal, with 49.4 percent of girls and 50.6 percent of boys saying that viewing an ad resulted in a Web site visit.
Ad-promoted Web-site visits are not the only Internet activity in which these kids partake. In fact, children who report they visited a Web site after they saw or heard about it in a commercial are 48 percent more likely than the average U.S. child to access the Internet every day; 41 percent more likely to have their own e-mail address; 40 percent more likely to use an instant-messenger service; and 34 percent more likely to download music. For more information visit www.mediamark.com.
Study ranks banks in customer service
BB&T and M&I are ranked one and two, respectively, in branch-employee customer acquisition and sales and service skills, according to the 2008 National Mystery Shopping Survey, conducted by Informa Research Services Inc., Calabasas, Calif. The study examined 20 leading banks and showed that, while the industry performs well in the areas of customer courtesy and establishing good customer relations, it lags in the areas of identifying the customer’s needs, product presentation and closing the sale. The survey also found that Fifth Third and HSBC are also succeeding in serving potential new customers.
The banks surveyed performed well in the areas of customer courtesy and cultivating good customer relationships by greeting, offering to assist, listening and using a pleasant tone of voice. However, it was documented that there was little display of advanced business development skills, such as exploring the potential customer’s needs, developing a complete financial profile or even asking for business at the time of the visit.
“One key area that continues to suffer under testing is that of identifying customer needs,” says Paul Lubin, senior vice president, Informa Research Services. “While banks are asking basic questions to understand the immediate banking needs of potential customers, they are not probing to understand the entire financial situation of potential customers, nor are they determining what product features are important to them.”
According to the survey’s findings, despite the industry’s heavy focus on developing cross-selling skills, a majority of personal bankers do not go beyond the immediate need. Very few representatives question, explore or qualify the potential customers in order to discuss appropriate products and features. When presenting products, personal bankers are, for the most part, simply recommending a specific product but do not adequately link product features and benefits to the customer’s needs. For more information visit www.informars.com.
Big Three struggles compel consumers to drive American
As American automakers attempt to stay afloat in a sinking economy, they might be relieved to know that, perhaps out of pure patriotism, one-third of new-vehicle shoppers say they would only consider cars from U.S.-based manufacturers, such as General Motors, Ford or Chrysler, and would not consider any vehicles from other countries, according to research from Kelley Blue Book, an Irvine, Calif., automotive information company.
At 33 percent, exclusive interest - shoppers saying they would only buy cars from a particular country - was far higher for vehicles from the U.S. than for any other country. Exclusive interest in Japanese vehicles, in comparison, was only 12 percent and 5 percent for vehicles manufactured in Germany.
Furthermore, vehicles from the U.S. are on the vast majority of shoppers’ consideration lists, with more than 90 percent saying they would consider buying a vehicle from a domestic manufacturer, compared to 74 percent for Japanese vehicles, 57 percent for German vehicles and 38 percent for Korean vehicles.
In addition, an overwhelming majority (97 percent) of vehicle shoppers plan to buy rather than lease their next vehicle, and nearly 70 percent say they will purchase new cars rather than used.
“Seeing the domestic automakers’ recent struggle has ignited a heightened sense of patriotism among some American car shoppers, and the latest Kelley Blue Book marketing research indicates that people are pulling for the Big Three to survive and thrive,” says Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. “The overwhelming inclination to buy versus lease is a sign of the current economic climate. People feel that leases are both less available and not as financially advantageous as they previously were. In addition, consumers are being more fiscally conservative in the midst of the recession, opting to buy a car they can afford versus leasing a car that may realistically be out of their budget.”
More than half of the survey respondents plan to purchase their next vehicle in the next three months and say they could be motivated to purchase even sooner if good auto-financing offers are available, citing cash rebates and incentive offers as most popular, followed by financing offers and then overall improved economic and personal financial stability. For more information visit www.kbb.com.
For some, a phone is just a phone
Forty-five percent of U.S. mobile-phone users prefer to use their mobile phones to make calls and not for other available multimedia features. Only 20 percent of mobile-phone users prefer to use their phones as an all-in-one multimedia device for music, videos, Web surfing and other activities beyond making phone calls, according to The Mobile Phone Usage Report, conducted by The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y., research company. Among top wireless carriers, Verizon Wireless customers are the least likely to embrace their phone as an all-in-one multimedia device.
While most U.S. consumers are aware of text messaging and the ability to change ringtones, results revealed that 34 percent of mobile-phone users did not know whether their current phone’s memory could be expanded; 28 percent did not know if they could watch videos; and 12 percent did not know if they could access the Internet via Wi-Fi. Nearly a quarter were not sure if their phone included GPS, while a similar percentage (21 percent) did not know if their handsets would play music.
The adoption of advanced handset features shows a gap between the usage of these features and the increasing sell-through of devices supporting these features. According to NPD’s monthly Mobile Phone Track service for December 2008, 71 percent of all handsets purchased by consumers in the U.S. were capable of playing video, 60 percent had expandable memory and 55 percent had GPS technology. For more information visit www.npd.com.
Women willing to pay more to go green
Thirty-six percent of Americans say cost is the biggest impediment to being more environmentally friendly, but women are more likely to spend more on and use more green products than men, according to a study conducted by LeadDog Marketing, New York, on behalf of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
Despite the premium they must pay for green products, half of respondents say they have paid more for an energy-efficient product in the past 12 months, and many others report engaging in eco-friendly or green acts in the past six months, including recycling (73 percent), replacing incandescent lights with CFLs (69 percent), conserving water (57 percent), adjusting the thermostat (51 percent) and purchasing energy-efficient appliances (30 percent).
Women are significantly more likely to spend more and use more environmentally-friendly products. In the past six months, 72 percent of female survey respondents changed their light bulbs to CFLs, 59 percent claim to have used less water for their daily activities (showering, washing dishes, etc.) and 75 percent recycled. Among men, the numbers were lower, at 65 percent, 53 percent and 70 percent, respectively.
When it comes to their homes, 30 percent of homeowners are willing to spend $5,000 or more on green improvements to increase their home’s resale value and appeal to potential buyers. Women and men are prepared to spend similar amounts. Some 18 percent of men said that they are prepared to invest $1,000 to $2,500, while 17 percent of women agreed. More women (17 percent) say they are prepared to invest $2,500 to $5,000 to increase their chances of resale, compared with only 15 percent of men. On spending $5,000 or more, 26 percent of women and 27 percent of men consider it a good investment if spending that amount on green home improvements helped increase their chances of selling their existing home faster. For more information visit www.bhgrealestate.com.
Cross-channel expectations stay on the rise
Retailers who can deliver a seamless experience across online and brick-and-mortar channels are best positioned to gain increased customer loyalty and revenue per customer, according to research from Sterling Commerce, a Columbus, Ohio, research division of AT&T.
Increasingly, consumers want to channel-hop to complete their purchases. For example, 57 percent of consumers feel it is very important to be able to return merchandise to a store even if it was purchased via telephone or online, up from 41 percent in 2007. Thirty-five percent of consumers feel it is very important to be able to pick up merchandise at a store after ordering online, double last year’s number (17 percent in 2007). In addition to wanting to pick up at and return items to the store, most consumers also want both call- center and store personnel to have a record of what they’ve purchased from that retailer in the past, regardless of whether it was in a store, online or via a call center. Overall, 33 percent consider this to be very important.
Across the board, more consumers are channel-hopping to complete their sales. However, similar to 2007, the survey found that high-value consumer groups - higher-income consumers and college graduates - continue to place higher value in the cross-channel experience. The survey found three-fifths of in-store shoppers have gone online to do research or look at an item before purchasing it in a store (up from 57 percent). For consumers with household incomes above $75,000, the number rose to 80 percent and for college graduates it was 77 percent. Thirty percent have taken an online coupon or rebate offer to the store (up from 24 percent), and for consumers with household incomes above $75,000, the number was 46 percent and college graduates 42 percent. Research also is going mobile, with 9 percent reporting that they have accessed information about an item via cell phone. For consumers with household incomes above $75,000, the number rose to 11 percent. For more information visit www.sterlingcommerce.com.