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Killer e-Commerce Strategy - Blaine Mathieu

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by Blaine MathieuMBA, B.Comm.

HomeAbout Me

TimeFind.com:Introduction

Background - AThe Concept - B

Marketing Plan - CThe Future - D

Amazon.com:Introduction

Strategy 1Strategy 2

A Balanced Scorecard

Other:Killer LinksAbout Me

Home by Blaine Mathieu, MBA

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."Alan Kay

Welcome to the home of Killer e-Commerce Strategy. On these pages, you will find a wealth of ideas regarding killer strategy and marketing development for the Internet Economy. Feel free to consider how these ideas could help your own organization prosper on the Web.

TimeFind.com - New Business Model, describes a new business concept for the Internet Economy. Although this business has yet to be implemented, the report included here provides some background on the Internet Economy, develops the TimeFind.com concept, and then outlines a proposed marketing plan. Those interested in the marketing of services (both on and off the Internet) should find this report quite interesting.

Amazon.com - Strategies for Success, details proposed strategies for one of the recognized world leaders in e-commerce strategy development and implementation. Even though Amazon.com is the "sample" company used in these reports, almost any company engaged in business-to-consumer e-commerce will be able to draw value from these recommendations.

Navigate KillerStrategy.com using the menu on the left (if available) or the list at the bottom of this page. To find out more about who I am, choose About Me. To get in touch with me, please click here to send me an e-mail and I will get back to you - usually within 12 hours.

Blaine Mathieu, MBA, [email protected]

What's New:04/20/99: Added TimeFind.com report.04/11/99: Complete site update including adding Killer Links section.

Options:TimeFind.com - New Business ModelAmazon.com - Strategies for SuccessKiller LinksAbout Me

Copyright (c) 1998/1999 Blaine Mathieu - all rights reserved.Last updated - June 08, 1999

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Killer e-Commerce Strategy - Blaine Mathieu

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Killer e-Commerce Strategy - Home

Home by Blaine Mathieu, MBA

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."Alan Kay

Welcome to the home of Killer e-Commerce Strategy. On these pages, you will find a wealth of ideas regarding killer strategy and marketing development for the Internet Economy. Feel free to consider how these ideas could help your own organization prosper on the Web.

TimeFind.com - New Business Model, describes a new business concept for the Internet Economy. Although this business has yet to be implemented, the report included here provides some background on the Internet Economy, develops the TimeFind.com concept, and then outlines a proposed marketing plan. Those interested in the marketing of services (both on and off the Internet) should find this report quite interesting.

Amazon.com - Strategies for Success, details proposed strategies for one of the recognized world leaders in e-commerce strategy development and implementation. Even though Amazon.com is the "sample" company used in these reports, almost any company engaged in business-to-consumer e-commerce will be able to draw value from these recommendations.

Navigate KillerStrategy.com using the menu on the left (if available) or the list at the bottom of this page. To find out more about who I am, choose About Me. To get in touch with me, please click here to send me an e-mail and I will get back to you - usually within 12 hours.


What's New:04/20/99: Added TimeFind.com report.04/11/99: Complete site update including adding Killer Links section.

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Killer e-Commerce Strategy - Home

Options:TimeFind.com - New Business ModelAmazon.com - Strategies for SuccessKiller LinksAbout Me

Copyright (c) 1998/1999 Blaine Mathieu - all rights reserved.Last updated - June 08, 1999

visits since 04/09/99

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TimeFind.com - New Business Model

TimeFind.com - New Business Model"A digital strategy is at its core a dynamic plan,

one that requires not just regular but constant rethinking."Unleashing the Killer App, 1998.

What follows is based on my MBA thesis: "New Internet Business: Concept Development and Marketing Plan." It outlines a business concept for the Internet Economy that, to my knowledge, has not yet been implemented. If you are involved in the marketing of services via the Internet - or the marketing of Internet services - you should find this report interesting.

You might be wondering why I am publishing this document on the Web where anyone can access it. Why not keep it a secret and start TimeFind.com myself? Two reasons:

1. Ideas, plans, and strategies are one thing - implementation is something entirely different. Jeff Bezos, of Amazon.com, is fond of proclaiming that nothing Amazon.com does is very original - it just executes better than anyone else. In other words, strategy is nothing without implementation.

2. I feel that publicizing this concept will maximize the chance that it will actually be implemented.

Immediately below this note is the Executive Summary of the document. Following this are links to the four major sections of the report:

A. Background Contains the preface to the report (Chapter 1) and a review of the technological and business principles of the Internet Economy (Chapter 2).

B. The Concept Includes Chapter 3 of the report, outlining the "market problem" that exists and the solution that TimeFind.com will provide.

C. Marketing Plan The TimeFind.com marketing plan (Chapter 4) is contained in this page.

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D. The Future Finally, "The Future" includes some concluding remarks on the concept (Chapter 5) and a complete list of sources (Chapter 6). Appendix A is also found in this section.

Executive Summary... to bring the revolutionary power of the Internet to the everyday lives of ordinary people by creating the de-facto, Internet-based, appointment scheduling standard. - From the TimeFind.com Vision Statement

The Internet Economy is being driven by a convergence of technological forces and factors that have never before been experienced in quite the same way. Moore's Law (the power of technology) and Metcalfe's Law (the power of the network) have enabled a new set of business principles that are driving geometric growth and market success in the Internet Economy. Any business that hopes to succeed in this new era of rapid change must pay close attention to these principles.

The burgeoning services sector of the world's economy has had difficulty finding a coherent way to create digital value - particularly when the service, itself, is not convertible to a digital format. After all, "How can you sell a meal, a haircut, a tee-time, or a dentist visit over the Internet?" Yield management is a crucial aspect of such service organizations, yet current systems of appointment scheduling are woefully inadequate for the purposes of yield or marketing management.

The solution will be called "TimeFind.com." TimeFind.com will be an Internet-based appointment scheduling system through which clients can locate and book times with a community of service organizations. These organizations will include practically any business or other enterprise (including doctors, restaurants, beauty salons, golf courses, and a host of others) that normally requires clients to phone to schedule appointments. The key to TimeFind.com's success will be its development and promotion of the de-facto standard for Internet-based appointment scheduling.

The basic business model of TimeFind.com is outlined in the figure, below:



Through a single TimeFind.com ID, or through existing Web calendaring services, a client will be able to make appointments with multiple service organizations. Organizations will access and update the TimeFind.com schedule database either though an application supplied by TimeFind.com, or through other solutions supplied by third-party software companies.

TimeFind.com will generate revenue through the following methods:

A small, "micro-fee" for scheduled appointments.An enhanced, "plus" version of the organization application.Vendor advertising to organizations and clients.Affiliate programs and other intermediary relationships.

Marketing programs for the TimeFind.com concept will address the three groups that are key to the rapid market adoption of the solution: clients, organizations, and strategic partners (such as online calendar providers, software companies, and Web portals). Paid advertising will only be a small part of the TimeFind.com marketing mix since the development of partnerships will enable TimeFind.com to capitalize upon the existing client bases and marketing programs of strategic allies.

The action plan for the implementation of TimeFind.com is divided into three phases: initial system development, beta-test period, and full implementation - with each phase lasting approximately four months. By the end of phase 3, marketing and development costs will total $1.3 million. A 24-month profit and loss projection highlights the following key figures:



Maximum negative cumulative cash position of $2.1 million (month 16).First net profit of $52,000 in month 17.First cumulative positive cash position of $1.1 million in month 22.Net positive cumulative cash position of $6.4 million by month 24.

Although it is difficult to predict future developments in the Internet Economy, this document demonstrates that there still exists untapped opportunities in digital markets that can create significant wealth. The TimeFind.com business model will address one of these opportunities - but only if it is actually implemented.

Options:TimeFind.com - IntroductionA. BackgroundB. The ConceptC. Marketing PlanD. The Future

Copyright (c) 1998/1999 Blaine Mathieu - all rights reserved.



TimeFind.com: Background

TimeFind.com Background

In this Section:1. Preface2. Understanding the Internet Economy2.1 Technological Change2.2 Business PrinciplesFootnotes

1. PrefaceThe velocity of change in Internet technology is more rapid than a human being can digest. - Walid Mougayar1

Rapid change - and the resulting value migration away from current business models towards new ones - is a constant factor in today's business world,2 but nowhere is this more evident than in the so-called "Internet Economy." The purpose of this report is to outline and develop a marketing plan for a new business concept that will take advantage of these changes, and revolutionize the way service organizations interact with clients.

It is important to note that this report is not a complete business plan, nor is it meant to be used directly for raising startup funds, in developing partnerships, or to otherwise promote the concept in any way. Having said this, such efforts would likely draw heavily from the work contained in this report.

The body of this report is divided into four main sections (the first one being this introduction). The second section, "Understanding the Internet Economy," reviews the technological basis for the Internet Economy and the resulting business and economic impacts of these technologies. Readers who are already well versed in this field may choose to merely skim this section.

"The TimeFind.com Concept," the third section, outlines a specific problem facing marketers of

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certain types of services and then describes a proposed solution. Finally, in section four, a marketing plan is developed that addresses key aspects of implementing the TimeFind.com solution.

A Note About Numbers

This report, like most studies of new business models and markets, contains many references to numbers and statistics. Unfortunately, due to the tremendous geometric growth of the Web, accurate statistics are difficult to come by since they are significantly outdated as soon as they are produced. This difficulty is further compounded by the different methodologies and definitions used by the various research companies. As the editor-in-chief of the Internet industry publication Business 2.0 recently commented, "The language of business is numbers, and right now, we have a tremendous Tower of Babel in the making at the top research houses."3

Fortunately, the tremendous growth of the Internet and the opportunities that are resulting imply that users of such data should be willing to live with such uncertainties. Does it really matter whether there were 57.1 million or 65.8 million Internet users in North America last year - especially considering that the number will be rising by 40% (or is it 60%) over the next twelve months? In such an environment, marketing planners must concern themselves with the significant trends and avoid becoming trapped in a sea of conflicting numbers. This report will endeavor to follow this advice.

Unless otherwise stated, all dollar amounts in this document are reported in U.S. dollars.

2. Understanding the Internet EconomyToday there is enough technology for electronic commerce to prosper on the Internet. What is lacking are more applications of the technology infrastructure.... - Walid Mougayar4

The Internet Economy (also variously described as the "New Economy" or the "Digital Economy") is being driven by the linking of individuals and organizations through technology. This section outlines the technical underpinnings of the "digital decade" and describes the economic impact of these links.

2.1 Technological Change



Starting with access to the Web in 1994, North America entered the Digital Decade - a 10 year period during which 50% of consumers will adopt a digital lifestyle. - Forrester Research, Inc.5

The adoption of a digital lifestyle has only recently been made possible by the advent of ubiquitous technology, along with the technical infrastructure to link this technology. As Business 2.0 magazine proclaimed in its premiere issue, "The Web is well on its way to becoming the dominant medium in our society and economy."6

Two basic principles have been working together to create the foundation for such technological change. These are:

Moore's Law: Every eighteen months, processing power (and, hence, the power of computers) doubles while cost holds constant. This observation has been continually borne out over the last two decades notwithstanding the numerous predictions by industry analysts that such a rate of increase was unsustainable.7 This trend has resulted in two different PC hardware segments: 1) high-end PCs ($2500 to $4000) that are amazingly powerful, and 2) low-end to mid-range PCs ($500 to $1000) that are more than powerful enough for all but the most intensive applications.

Metcalfe's Law: The usefulness, or utility, of any network increases with the square of the number of its users. In other words, "once a standard has achieved critical mass, its value to everyone multiplies exponentially."8 This law gives rise to what is known as the "network effect." A simple example of the network effect was seen with the rise of fax machines. When only a few fax machines existed, they were not very valuable because their usefulness was limited. But as the number of machines increased, the value of this network grew considerably to all existing members.

It is only through the combined power of these two laws that the digital decade has been enabled. As technology becomes more powerful it becomes easier for non-experts to use, as well as affordable to a wider range of society. This, in turn, enables people and businesses to join the network - increasing its value with every new member. "Finally, as consumers become increasingly wired and aware of the implied convenience of electronic interactions with sellers of products and services, they will begin to demand more and more services on-line."9 The result is a new set of business principles for the Internet Economy.

2.2 Business PrinciplesWorld Trade Organization economists estimate that there will be more than 300 million Internet users worldwide by 2000, and ecommerce will amount to roughly $300 billion a year. - Business 2.010



Many industry analysts have attempted to pin down the core characteristics and strategies that will create success in the Internet Economy. One of the best efforts at encapsulating these characteristics was developed by Business 2.0 magazine in its "10 Driving Principles of the New Economy."11 The following list is derived from these principles.

MATTER. It matters less.

Processing information is more powerful and cost-effective than moving physical products. Moving "bits" is likely to have a much higher margin than moving "atoms" since bits have no physical form and can be duplicated with ease. Intangible assets are key: including people, ideas, and information-driven assets. Mougayar supports this principle with his statement, "The cost of doing business with traditional paper-based and human-intensive processes continues to grow, whereas the electronic processing of transactions can be done at a fraction of the original cost."12

SPACE. Distance has vanished.

Businesses can connect with customers around the world. Competition that was once local is now national. National markets are now international in scope.

TIME. It's collapsing.

Constant change is a must. Instant interactivity is highly valued. The marketplace is real-time and people expect service providers to be available for basic interactions 24x7 (24 hours per day, 7 days per week).

PEOPLE. The crown jewels.

People don't appear on the balance sheet but they truly are a company's most valuable assets. Smart ideas leverage into huge value more quickly than ever before.

GROWTH. It's accelerated by the network.

Instant communication means that good ideas spread quickly. Critical mass leads to explosive growth (the network effect). First-mover advantages are more important than ever since a small initial lead can quickly bloom due to the power of geometric growth. In their book, Unleashing the Killer App, Downes and Mui assert, "Moore's Law and Metcalfe's Law are working to create a new marketplace where transaction costs are reduced not incrementally (as they are in today's firms with reengineering and similar cost-cutting activities) but exponentially."13



VALUE. It rises exponentially with market share.

The network effect indicates that the more members a network has, the more valuable the network becomes (the opposite of the general economic principle that value comes from scarcity). "New software products and standards can be released into the Internet and distributed so cheaply that developers gladly give their products away in order to reach critical mass quickly. This small investment, as Metcalfe predicts, means future users will adopt products with increased enthusiasm (and therefore potential marginal revenue),"state Downes and Mui.14

"Following the free" is a key theme of the Internet Economy and worth an extended discussion. In his 1998 book, New Rules for the New Economy, Kevin Kelly explains, "Because prices move inexorably toward the free, the best move in the network economy is to anticipate this cheapness."15 This is particularly valid when offering services or information-based products whose marginal cost is near zero because, in this case, there will always be another company willing to undercut the current price until the price equals the cost (i.e., zero).

Kelly continues, "But now, giving away a product is a tested, level-headed strategy that banks on the network's new rules." Because the network effect indicates that the value of a product or service increases with the number of users - and the more valuable it is, the more desirable it becomes - "it makes a weird kind of economic sense to give [the products or services] away at first. Once the product's worth and indispensability is established, the company sells auxiliary services or upgrades, continuing its generosity to involve more customers in a virtuous circle."16

Giving away an information-based product or service (whose marginal cost of production is near zero) allows the rapid creation of what is called a "value engine." In a recent article entitled "Ubiquity Breeds Wealth," industry analyst Patricia Seybold remarked, "Once you've created a network of interdependent players, each of whom benefits every time another player is added to the network, you've created a value engine."17 In the Internet Economy, once a value engine is started, it can produce additional revenues at a very low additional cost.

EFFICIENCY. Infomediaries replace intermediaries.

Middle steps (inefficiencies) in the value chain are being rapidly disintermediated. At the same time, the exponential growth in information requires "infomediaries" to sort through the clutter and allow individual users of the network to derive value from their interactions.

MARKETS. Buyers gain new power, sellers new opportunity.

A competitor is only a mouse-click away. Intelligent agents can find and negotiate the best price. Businesses that rely on relationships, unique services and/or lower costs will win.



Mougayar remarks, "Since the electronic channel is destined to become the primary vehicle to conduct business in the future, companies must learn how to attract and engage customers in it, take orders and payments, distribute products and services and support their customers in this new business environment."18

TRANSACTIONS. A one-to-one game.

Personalization and customization are in increasing demand. Since information is easier to customize than hard goods, service becomes a larger part of the total value of a transaction. "Customer relationship" and "one-to-one" marketing are now both feasible and necessary. The best strategies are those that lock clients in to a particular solution and then leverage this relationship to maximize its value.19 As Seybold alleges, "Once a customer has spent time entering information about her relationship with each of her payees, she's not going to want to switch her accounts to another institution. The customer's time investment is the best lock-in of all."20

IMPULSE. Reduced gap between desire and purchase.

Artificial constraints to commerce disappear. The impulse to buy and the purchase itself are much closer together than ever before, if not instantaneous. Particularly with services, the time lag between the recognition of a problem and the provision of the solution causes demand to leak from the system. The Internet Economy acts to minimize this leakage.

Generic Strategies

These core principles indicate a specific set of generic strategies that most businesses engaged in e-commerce are now following.21 The strategies include:

Focus on market share now, profitability later.If at all possible, be first into a marketspace.Build a network of customers and partners as quickly as possible.Use community and affinity programs to lock customers in to your e-commerce solution.Customize and personalize all interactions with customers.Price hard goods as a commodity. Give the core product/service away.Add value (and generate revenues) through superior service and other intangible factors.Consider all sources of potential competition, no matter how indirect they may seem.Consider all potential markets, no matter how indirect they may seem.Minimize costs - virtualize everything possible.



Attract and retain only the highest quality people.

By obeying these principles, and following the resulting strategies, companies involved with the Internet Economy are attempting to maximize future returns - although often at the expense of immediate profitability. In fact, the majority of pure-play Internet companies have yet to show any positive income and most are not predicting that this situation will change within the next year.22 Although some marketers feel that these poor short-term profit results are indicative of strategies that are basically flawed, it is difficult to argue with the tremendous market growth of such business models and their affects on pre-Internet Economy businesses.23

Footnotes:1. Walid Mougayar, Opening Digital Markets (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998), p. 229.

2. Adrian Slywotzky, Value Migration (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996), p. 3.

3. James Daly, Editor-in-Chief, Business 2.0, February 1999, p. 1.

4. Mougayar, Opening, p. 43.

5. Shelley Morrissette, Forrester Research, Inc., "The Digital Decade: Where Are Consumers Going?" online: http://www.forrester.com/ER/Press/Talking/0,1377,0,FF.html, viewed: 2/28/99.

6. Robert H. Reid, "The Impulse Economy," in Business 2.0, Premiere Issue, p. 95.

7. Don Tapscott, The Digital Economy (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995), p. 98.

8. Larry Downes and Chunka Mui, Unleashing the Killer App (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998), p. 5.


10. Business 2.0, November 1998, p. 52.

11. Business 2.0, Premiere Issue, insert.


13. Downes and Mui, p. 41.


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15. Kevin Kelly, New Rules for the New Economy (New York: Viking, 1998), p. 53.

16. Kelly, p. 58.

17. Patricia Seybold, "Ubiquity Breeds Wealth," in Business 2.0, December 1998, p. 97.


19. Carl Shapiro and Hal R. Varian, Information Rules (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999), p. 142.

20. Seybold, p. 100.

21. Such strategies are being primarily used by so-called "pure-play" Internet companies. Unlike "bricks and mortar" businesses which are attempting to slowly develop Internet strategies, pure-play companies are not hobbled by existing cost infrastructures and value chains.

22. "The Internet’s Top 50 Companies," in Internet World, September 14, 1998.

23. A more in-depth analysis of the critical success factors of Internet/e-commerce companies can be found in the article "A Balanced Scorecard" at this Website.






http://www.internetworld.com/


TimeFind.com: The Concept

TimeFind.com The Concept

In this Section:3. The TimeFind.com Concept3.1 The Problem

3.1.1 Scenarios3.1.2 Issues3.1.3 Principles of Services Marketing3.1.4 Models

3.2 The Solution3.2.1 Solution Elements - In Depth3.2.2 Features and Benefits3.2.3 Revenue Generation3.2.4 Models Revisited3.2.5 Rate of Adoption3.2.6 Vision of TimeFind.com

3. The TimeFind.com ConceptIt would be a godsend in my life, believe me.... - Anonymous concept reviewer

In consideration of the previous analysis regarding the principles and strategies of the Internet Economy, the following section outlines a market problem and then describes - in detail - the proposed solution to this problem.

3.1 The ProblemThere is no direct link between demand created in the traditional offline media and the fulfillment of that

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demand. This structural disconnect has huge ramifications. - Robert H. Reid24

The burgeoning services sector of the world's economy has had difficulty finding a coherent way to create digital value - particularly when the service, itself, is not convertible to a digital format (i.e., it is not knowledge-based). The result of this disconnect is a serious issue for many service providers. The following sample scenarios depict the difficulties that such service providers (and their clients) face.

(In all subsequent discussions, the term "organization" is used to denote the service provider - usually a company that charges to provide a service. The people who pay for the services that these organizations provide are denoted by the term "client".)

3.1.1 Scenarios

Hairdresser

It's Sunday night at 8:00pm. Cindy realizes that she needs to make a hair appointment. Of course, the salon is closed. By the time Cindy remembers (or has the time) to call during working hours, four more days have gone by and now Cindy can't get in until the following Monday.

Dentist

John phones the dentist's office during business hours to book an appointment for a regular checkup. Unfortunately, finding a time that fits both the dentist's and John's schedules is difficult since John is usually working when the dentist is. After spending five minutes on the phone with an office assistant who is becoming more and more impatient, John begins to think that he will never find a time that fits his schedule and finally agrees to an appointment that he will likely not be able to make. He ends up missing the appointment.

Golf Course

Melissa sets her alarm for 5:00am so that she is sure to be up in time to book her golf game on Friday. The course only accepts bookings three days in advance and it is very popular. After hearing the first busy signal, she sets her phone on auto-redial and waits until the line finally clears at 5:45am. By that time, the tee-times she wanted are already filled and she hangs up in disgust.

Restaurant

By 6:00pm on Friday, Matt knows that "Smokin Joe's Grill" will likely have a long lineup. Rather than wait in line, Matt and his friends choose a different establishment. Unfortunately for



Smokin' Joe's, many others obviously made the same choice and there are numerous empty tables by 8:00.

3.1.2 Issues

Customer sacrifice is the difference between what a customer settled for and what the customer would have wanted in the best of all possible worlds. - Larry Downes and Chunka Mui25

These brief scenarios should be immediately recognizable to almost anyone in Western society. In the first three cases, the normal telephone-based appointment scheduling system appears inadequate. In the final case, the service provider has chosen not to use any scheduling system at all. The issues that are apparent are detailed below.

Client Issues

Inconvenience: Either the service cannot be booked when the client is ready to book it, or there is no way to schedule the service at all.

Sub-optimal selection: Even if a client is able to access an appointment scheduling system, the nature of this system often results in an appointment selection that is less than optimal. This is only to be expected since, with a telephone-based system, it is impossible for the client to be aware of all potential choices - just as it is impossible for an organization to have full knowledge of a client's personal schedule. Given this, it is unlikely that the best solution will be reached. Rather, both parties will merely try to arrive at a minimally satisfactory solution.

Organizational Issues

Lost or delayed revenue: In a best-case scenario, where the client has a strong relationship with the service provider (i.e., the hairdresser and the dentist), the result of an inadequate scheduling system will be a delay in the utilization of the service. This will lead to deferred revenues (from that particular client) and potential lost revenues from unused capacity. In a worst-case scenario, where the client has no strong relationship with the service provider (i.e., the restaurant), the revenues from the client, on that evening, are permanently lost.

Reduced goodwill: The scenarios outlined above truly depict "customer sacrifice." In all cases, customers are not receiving the maximum level of customer service. Particularly when selling services (as opposed to products) where it is more difficult for clients to evaluate the service's qualities, starting the service transaction on a less than optimal note is not likely to produce the best outcome for the services marketer.26 If - as Levitt claimed in his Harvard Business Review article on "Marketing Intangible Products"27 - people involved in purchasing services are truly "buying promises", then service providers are seemingly not promising their clients very much.



3.1.3 Principles of Services Marketing

The previous analysis highlights some key principles of services marketing that organizations embracing the Internet Economy must face. Principles relevant to this discussion include the following:

Services are temporary in nature:

Services cannot be inventoried and must be utilized at the time they are available or revenue is forever lost.Current telephone-based scheduling systems are not efficient at optimizing services usage.Revenue will be maximized for such organizations with the most efficient appointment scheduling (yield management) systems.

The "human factor" and quality control:

"No matter how well trained or motivated they might be, people make mistakes, forget, commit indiscretions, and at times are uncongenial..." comments Levitt.28The result is an uneven level of quality control. This is particularly evident since many service providers are small businesses in which the owner is too busy to constantly deal with clients. (Or conversely, if the owner is dealing with clients at the front-end of the service process, she may be more productively spending her time elsewhere.) At the same time such owners perceive (correctly) that low-paid front-line employees are not delivering the care and attention to clients that the owner would provide.

The negative experience of appointment scheduling:

Scheduling appointments for services is time consuming, annoying, and inefficient.Clients are very busy and only have limited times available for scheduling appointments.Staff at organizations are harried and are constantly being interrupted from more productive (i.e., revenue generating) work by phone calls for scheduling appointments.The scheduling game that takes place between clients and organizations is annoying and often results in a sub-optimal selection of appointment times because both parties "just want to get off the phone."Clients are only able to book appointments when the organization is open for business and a person is available to speak on the phone. These times are often not when the client originally thinks about booking an appointment. The time lag between considering the booking and actually making the booking results in reduced booking frequency and lost bookings.



Current system usage:

Most service organizations have some kind of existing appointment scheduling system. Therefore, there will exist a certain level of resistance to adopting a new system.Generally speaking, current appointment scheduling systems are low-tech (pencil and paper) and are inexpensive to initially implement, but they require a high ongoing investment of time and staffing resources.Any alternative system must complement existing systems until full replacement is deemed attractive.

3.1.4 Models

Creating new market space requires a different pattern of strategic thinking. - W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne29

Before creating a solution to an existing market problem, it is important to understand all aspects of this problem as completely as possible. Two models are described below that will aid in understanding the marketspace of services that require or could benefit from client scheduling.

Value Curve

The value curve tool, introduced by Kim and Mauborgne, provides "a graphic description of the way a company or an industry configures its offering to customers."30 A value curve charts and compares the relative level of performance of an offering along a number of key success factors or elements. Drawing from the previous scenario analyses, the key critical success factors for the appointment scheduling systems of service providers are outlined in Table 1, below:

Table 1 - Initial Value Curve Analysis

Critical Success Factor AnalysisAvailability: How available is the system to the client? From where, and at what times/days can the system be accessed?

Current appointment scheduling systems are usually available less than half of the hours in a day. Furthermore, they are only convenient to access from the local trading area (i.e., few people will telephone long-distance in order to book an appointment). Rating 4/1031.



Optimal Results Level: How optimal are the results achieved by the system, i.e., how good is the system at finding the best possible match between a client's needs and a service provider's availability?

Human-based systems are somewhat flexible, but the poor information available to the people using such systems significantly affects the optimality of results. Rating 6/10.

Utilization Rate: How good is the system at maximizing the utilization of the service provider's capacity?

Current systems do a poor job of yield management since they do not maximize potential service utilization rates, as per the examples previously outlined. Rating 4/10.

Consistency and Quality: How consistent is the level of service received by clients while booking appointments and is this service of high quality?

While the personal touch is well utilized by some service providers, many more suffer from an inconsistent level and quality of service. Rating 6/10.

Marketing Potential: How well does the existing reservation system contribute to, or integrate with, marketing efforts of any kind?

Current appointment scheduling systems are able to contribute practically nothing to the marketing efforts of an organization. Rating 0/10.

Cost: How expensive is the current reservation system to maintain and operate?

Although normally staffed by low-paid employees, current systems consume significant manpower resources that could potentially be put to more productive use. Rating 5/10.

In consideration of this analysis, Chart 1, below, depicts the value curve for current reservation systems:

Chart 1 - Value Curve for Current Reservation System



Later in this report, this value curve will be contrasted with the value curve of the proposed solution.

One-to-One Matrix

Previously in this report, customer relationship or one-to-one marketing was listed as a major element of the Internet Economy and service providers are not an exception to this rule. In fact, service providers - such as the hairdressers, restaurants, and doctors already discussed - have always been considered leaders in one-to-one marketing as larger businesses have tried to emulate the close relationships that these service providers often (theoretically) have with their clients.

While this may be true, it has also been shown that the appointment scheduling system of service providers has not been the most effective tool for one-to-one marketing. In order to maximize revenues by creating individualized and customized relationships, organizations must understand and take the best advantage of the differences between clients. To do this, organizations require a certain level of flexibility of communication and production.



A useful tool for analyzing these differences was developed by Peppers and Rogers and has been adapted for Figure 1 below:32

Figure 1 - One-to-One Matrix: Current System

This matrix divides the generic marketspace for services requiring appointment scheduling into two dimensions: organizational capabilities and client differentiation. The term "Organizational Capabilities" considers the types of capabilities a service provider will need in order to meet the requirements of a particular client. Table 2 examines these factors for service providers utilizing the current systems of appointment scheduling.

Table 2 - Organizational Capabilities: Current System Only

Current Scheduling SystemProduction Flexibility(This is how flexible an organization must be in producing made-to-order services for individual clients.)

Organizations are quite flexible in their production capabilities but the current system of appointment scheduling is not optimizing the utilization of this capability.



Communication Flexibility(Describes the capabilities of an organization to communicate with clients on an individual basis.)

Communications, particularly before and after the service experience, are minimal. Although personal human contact is quite flexible, there are often no systems in place to adequately handle the flexibility that is available.

The term "Client differentiation" considers how diverse the needs and valuations (to a service provider) of individual clients are. Table 3 examines these factors for service providers utilizing the current system of appointment scheduling.

Table 3 - Client Differentiation: Current System Only

Current Scheduling SystemClient Needs(How different are the needs of individual clients.)

Clients of such service providers have fairly standardized needs. Haircuts, restaurant meals, and medical appointments - while containing many small, individual differences - are quite similar from transaction to transaction.33

Client Valuations(How different clients are in terms of their potential revenue value to the service provider.)

Client valuations are relatively uniform since the service provided is fairly uniform and services are required on a regular basis (i.e., monthly hairdresser visits, bi-annual physical checkups, etc.).

Client differentiation and organizational capabilities feed into each other, with one pushing the other to ever-higher levels. Increasing the capabilities of the service provider to engage in one-to-one marketing promotes client differentiation. At the same time, as clients become more differentiated, they demand more individualized services from the service provider. For this reason, one-to-one marketing solutions tend to move organizations both up and to the right of the matrix. Later in this report, this matrix analysis will be contrasted with a matrix analysis of organizations utilizing the proposed solution.

Given this analysis of the issues, a more optimal solution is obviously needed. Fortunately, the power of new networks and technologies has now enabled such a solution.

3.2 The Solution



The ultimate goal of any Web business is to afford irresistible services that are simply not available in physical markets. ... In order to achieve that lofty goal, however, you must begin by duplicating services that are already available in the physical world. - Walid Mougayar34

The proposed solution will be called "TimeFind.com." In short, TimeFind.com will be an Internet-based appointment scheduling system through which clients can locate and book times with a community of service organizations located practically anywhere in the world. These organizations will include practically any business or other enterprise (including doctors, dentists, restaurants, beauty salons, and a host of others) that normally requires clients to phone to schedule and make appointments.

The key to TimeFind.com's success will be its development of the de-facto35 standard for Internet-based appointment scheduling. Through a single TimeFind.com ID, or through existing Web calendaring services, a client will be able to make appointments with multiple service organizations. The TimeFind.com home base will be located at www.TimeFind.com.

TimeFind.com's business model is summarized in Figure 2, below.

Figure 2 - The TimeFind.com Business Model

This model depicts, in their most simple form, the interactions between the client and the organization. Only one-way interactions are shown in order to simplify the following explanation, but information flows will actually originate with, and move, both down from the client and up from the organization. First, a short explanation of this model will be presented, followed by a


http://www.timefind.com/


more in-depth consideration of each of the elements of the solution model.

In brief, clients will be able to schedule appointments with participating organizations, either directly through TimeFind.com's Website or through one of the many popular online calendaring applications. In either case, organizations will be able to interact with the TimeFind.com system by placing their own schedules online. They will do this either through TimeFind.com's organization application (OrgApp) or through an independent software company's proprietary application that contains links to the online TimeFind.com database. It is by becoming an infomediary, in either one or both of the stages presented above, that TimeFind.com will create a valuable network (for clients and organizations) and generate revenue (for itself).

3.2.1 Solution Elements - In Depth

The following discussion breaks the TimeFind.com business model into its component parts to enable a more precise understanding of their interactions.

Clients

As previously described, clients are the individuals who need to schedule appointments with various service providers. A more complete description of the characteristics of a range of these potential clients can be found later in section 4.1.1 Potential Markets.

Clients may access the TimeFind.com system directly by using the TimeFind.com Website. In this case, TimeFind.com will recognize repeat visits to various different organizations by individual clients through "cookies" that are placed on their computers. Alternatively, clients may choose to access TimeFind.com through their own personal online calendaring applications, with the added advantage that any appointments that are scheduled will be automatically added to their personal calendars.

Calendars

Online calendaring applications are becoming an increasingly important application on the World Wide Web. Personal online calendars allow users to organize activities, make appointments, and purchase event tickets, among a long list of other features. In his recent article describing a new online calendar provider, Michael Fitzgerald noted, "Calendaring, which brings standard appointment managing to individual Web users, is a hot button for many Web companies, which think it will bring users to their sites every day in order to check their calendars."36

Just as free e-mail services have attracted millions of Web users with the offer of a free service that can easily be accessed from anywhere in the world, so have online calendar applications. As an example of their growing popularity, Web calendar provider When.com recently



announced that over 100,000 people signed up for its free service in the first month it was offered.37 Although most private companies do not release client numbers, it is estimated that millions of people are now signed up with online calendars and this number appears to be growing just as quickly as many other free Net-based applications have grown.

Leading Web calendar providers include When.com (www.when.com), PlanetAll (www.planetall.com) and WebCal (www.webcal.com) - although many other companies are now entering the field. This will soon be further supplemented by calendaring outsourcers who will create, implement and operate a custom calendaring application for almost any organization with a Website. Online calendars are known as "sticky applications" since a user signing up with a calendar service is stuck with the task of returning to the hosting Website on a regular basis in order to continually check and update the calendar.

Signing up with a calendaring service will not be required to utilize the TimeFind.com system. However, by accessing TimeFind.com through a personal Web calendar, clients will be able to automatically compare and update their personal schedules with the schedules of service providers. A client schedule tracked directly by the TimeFind.com client application, itself, will be more rudimentary and limited (at least initially) only to appointments scheduled through the TimeFind.com system.

Software Companies

Service providers are being literally inundated with offerings from software companies designed to address the needs of specific, vertical markets. As an example, a quick search of the Web will produce a list of hundreds of companies vying to automate the front and back-end operations of a doctor's office. The opportunity inherent in this overabundance is that no single company has the market power or flexibility to create and implement a standard for online appointment scheduling. It is unreasonable to expect clients to learn how to interact with many different online scheduling systems in order to deal with the variety of doctors, dentists, lawyers, hairdressers and other service providers that must be dealt with on a regular basis.

At the same time, it is also unreasonable to expect that TimeFind.com will be able to replace (or disintermediate) these software companies with respect to their important link between clients and organizations. In fact, as is discussed further in section 4.3 Marketing Strategy, it would not be in the best interest of TimeFind.com to harm the prospects of these companies - at least in the short to medium-term. Such companies have devoted massive resources to creating what are sometimes complex solutions that meet the very specific needs of particular service organizations. What TimeFind.com will provide is a standardized, online link between the products of these companies and the client-base. TimeFind.com will make available the protocols, at no charge, to companies that wish to enable this link between their proprietary software and the TimeFind.com database.


http://www.when.com/

http://www.planetall.com/

http://www.webcal.com/


Many organizations, however, have still not embraced any type of computerized solution to their scheduling needs. This may be because the record keeping is less substantial for some types of service providers (i.e., doctors have a tremendous amount of client data to track relative to hairdressers). Alternatively, it may simply be because the particular service provider has not yet seen the value to themselves or their clients of a computerized system. In any case, TimeFind.com will also make available, for free, a set of Internet-based applications for organizations (OrgApps) which organizations may use to handle their scheduling needs. (The features of this system are discussed in more detail in the next section.)

Organizations

Finally, "organizations" are the many different types of service providers that could benefit from online appointment scheduling. A more complete analysis of these potential organizations can be found later in section 4.1.1 Potential Markets.

3.2.2 Features and Benefits

At its core, a Web calendar taps into the two most important topics of the Digital Age: time and communications. - P.J. Huffstutter38

This section describes the basic feature-set of the TimeFind.com system along with the resulting benefits to clients and organizations. On the Internet, where technical standards evolve so quickly, it would be fruitless to attempt a discussion of the technical infrastructure of a system the development of which might be a number of months away. For this reason, the following analysis is kept at a relatively high level and is broken down into the two process elements depicted in the business model in Figure 2.

1. TimeFind.com Client Application and Database

Cost

TimeFind.com will be totally free to clients. There will never be a charge for clients to utilize the system in any way.

Interface

TimeFind.com will interface with clients through an Internet standard application. Initially this will be limited to common Web browsers but, eventually, almost any Web-enabled device (such as future cell phones, televisions, personal digital assistants, etc.) will be able to access the system. TimeFind.com will also eventually enable voice activation through the emerging VXML standard for voice navigation and utilization of the Web.39 This would allow complete access to the system through a normal telephone (ironically, returning full-circle to combine the power of



the TimeFind.com system with the ubiquity of the telephone system).

Miscellaneous Features

Availability: Real-time, 24x7 availability. Clients will be able to schedule appointments from anywhere at anytime.

Notification: Clients will be able to enable or disable a wide array of notification features via e-mail, including:

automated appointment reminders;availability of last-minute appointment openings (due to cancellations by other clients);reminders to schedule appointments; and notice of new TimeFind.com-enabled organizations that become available near the client's location.

(Some of these features may already be available to clients who access TimeFind.com through an online calendaring system.)

Database: TimeFind.com will enable clients to view an organized list of prior interactions with service providers, thus providing clients with a compete record for their reference.

Intelligence: Over time, TimeFind.com will learn the preferences of clients and will be able to automatically scan the schedules of service providers and suggest appointment alternatives, even before being requested to do so. Another element of this service (that is easier to implement) will enable clients to specify which time and type of organization they would like to utilize (i.e., restaurant, 8:00pm). Then, the system will locate all service providers in the specified area that are able to meet this need.

TimeFind.com will also enable clients to rate the final appointment time that has been scheduled. In this way, organizations will be able to analyze the satisfaction that its clients have with the scheduling options that are available. Also, through this rating system, the TimeFind.com database will gain more knowledge about the specific preferences of the client.

The technology is quickly approaching that will allow TimeFind.com clients to simply say "make an appointment with Sally" and TimeFind.com will automatically understand who Sally is, when an appointment is likely to be most convenient for the client, and then actually make the appointment. TimeFind.com will be at the forefront of enabling and implementing such a solution.

Expansiveness: By being able to view the complete schedules of organizations (or as much of



the schedule as the organization allows) clients will have a much better chance of locating an optimal fit between the client's schedule and the organization's schedule. The result will be reduced "time-tag" with a receptionist and significantly increased satisfaction levels.

2. TimeFind.com Organization Application

Cost

The basic TimeFind.com OrgApp will be distributed free of charge as will be upgrades and enhancements. The only direct charge to organizations will be a five-cent micro-fee for each appointment that is successfully scheduled. A more complete examination of revenue generation for the TimeFind.com concept can be found in the next section: 3.2.3 Revenue Generation.

Besides the revenue generated for TimeFind.com, there will be other potential costs to the organization for implementing the system. These are primarily technology costs, which include the purchase of a computer and ongoing Internet access. Fortunately, the level of technology required to implement the solution is quite minimal as all the significant computation and data warehousing would be done on TimeFind.com's computers. Currently, a complete computer system with the necessary power for an organization to implement the solution can be purchased for as little as $500 and a full-time low-speed Internet connection now costs a business approximately $75 per month.

However, this situation is changing rapidly as the industry continues to obey the axiom: "follow the free." Recently, a number of companies have begun giving away computers in exchange for subscribing to Internet access or other services.40 This is similar to the model used successfully for some time by the cell phone industry. Internet access, itself, has become less and less expensive as technology improves and infrastructure and available bandwidth increases. It is even possible that TimeFind.com, itself, could become involved with providing free computers to organizations - in partnership with hardware companies or Internet Service Providers (ISPs). As the concept develops, TimeFind.com will give this option close consideration.

Interface

The TimeFind.com OrgApps will be simple applications that can be run on any PC connected to the Internet. Initially, two different versions of the OrgApp will be produced: one for service providers who schedule appointments (i.e., hairdressers, doctors, etc.) and one for those who take reservations (i.e., restaurants). This reflects the different operational needs of these two communities of service providers. Once a base of user organizations is established, TimeFind.com will introduce advanced or "plus" versions of these applications which will encapsulate features not found in the free version and will approach, more closely, the advanced offerings of vertical industry software companies.



Community

For marketers, the challenge is to engage the customer. The more information companies provide, the better their chances of doing this. The stronger the community marketers build around a product or service, the more likely the customer will participate in adding value. - Nicholas Negroponte41

Creating and fostering a virtual community of service organizations is particularly crucial to the long-term success of TimeFind.com. By enabling service providers to interact with and learn from each other through the TimeFind.com Website, TimeFind.com will increase the level of lock-in between these organizations and the TimeFind.com solution. The reason for this is simple: while it may be possible for a competitor to attempt to duplicate the TimeFind.com system, it is essentially impossible to duplicate a community that is generated and supported by its members. Once an organization is engaged in a community, the costs to switch to a different community (in time and effort) are very high.

This is also particularly important given how difficult it can be to "cross the chasm" between the Innovators/Early Adopters of a technological solution and the Early Majority market segment.42 As technology marketing guru Geoffrey Moore explains in his book, Crossing the Chasm, the Early Majority is made up of pragmatists who are "highly reference oriented and highly support oriented."43 By enabling communities of interest around its solution, TimeFind.com will be providing the reference source that is crucial to this important market segment.

In their book, Net Gain, Hagel and Armstrong provide a useful model of the dynamic of virtual communities. This model is reproduced in Figure 3, below:

Figure 3 - Dynamics of Virtual Communities44




In brief, this model depicts four main dynamics of virtual communities that interact to create increasing returns. These are:

Content Attractiveness: Content placed on the community system by TimeFind.com (i.e., articles on services marketing) as well as user-generated content (discussion groups) combine to increase the level of content attractiveness, drawing more members to the community and improving its referent value.

Member Loyalty: As member to member interaction increases, members become more loyal to the community since it provides something that is not duplicable by any other service.

Member Profiles: Building a system of community will allow TimeFind.com to gather valuable information regarding the efficacy of the TimeFind.com system and the desire for future enhancements. While many users of a service are reluctant to approach the service provider (in this case, TimeFind.com) with complaints or suggestions, monitoring community interaction will provide a wealth of such information. In addition, profiles of organizations will be developed and used for selling targeted advertising opportunities to external vendors. (See section 3.2.3 Revenue Generation for more on this topic.)

Transaction Offerings: Service organizations, through the power of online community, can also become a powerful force for purchasing other goods and services individually, and as a group. For example, a group of hairdressers in the TimeFind.com community could band together to create a large order from a hair-care products supplier at a significant discount to



the rates that these small businesses normally pay. As the facilitator of this community, TimeFind.com could retain a certain remuneration for this service. In addition, third-party vendors will be attracted to advertise and sell to community members. "It's all about e-commerce. If you can hit a person interested in making a purchase with an ad supporting that purchase, you could really make a strong impact," commented Larry Barber president of an e-commerce marketing company.45

As Nicholas Negroponte stated in his ground-breaking 1996 book, Being Digital, "The true value of a network is less about information and more about community."46 TimeFind.com must ensure that community creation is a central part of the service it provides to organizations - as well as an important aspect of its revenue generation model.

Miscellaneous Features

In the following list, a dollar sign ($$$) indicates that the particular feature would only be found in the advanced or "plus" version of the OrgApp.

Availability: The TimeFind.com database will be active and accepting client appointments even when the organization is closed for business and its computer is not running. Upon the start of business the following day, the organization will simply activate the application and the complete updated schedule will be displayed on the organization's computer.

This technology will also allow the organization to manage its schedule remotely. For example, a doctor on holidays could view and change her schedule from any location in the world that has Internet access.

Notification: The organization will be able to enable or disable an assortment of notification features that will alert various members of the organization to upcoming appointments or other scheduled events - either directly through the OrgApp software or via e-mail. An additional feature will enable the organization to automatically notify clients with far-off appointments if a new opening in the schedule occurs. This will allow organizations to maximize their utilization rates by filling all available appointment slots.

Database: The TimeFind.com database is the core of the system and there are many possibilities for how organizations could use this information to benefit their operations. Some ideas include:



Scope of Availability: Organizations will have the choice as to how much of their schedules to make available. For example, an organization could choose to not allow appointments more than one month ahead or within one day of when the appointment would actually be completed. Furthermore, organizations would be able to limit the number of appointments any particular client could make.ID Enabling: By default, some organizations might choose to have access to their schedules limited to qualified TimeFind.com IDs. As an example, an exclusive hairdresser or restaurant might allow access only to qualifying TimeFind.com IDs. On the other hand, the system could be set up so that access is granted to all clients using the TimeFind.com system. In either case, an organization could decide to block certain TimeFind.com clients from accessing their schedule, at any time.Classes of IDs ($$$): A further extension of the above concept involves assigning "classes" to different TimeFind.com client IDs. Using this technique, a service provider could differentiate between clients on the basis of the following characteristics: how far out they are able to book; how close-in they are able to book; the number of appointments that can be booked at one time; or access to special appointment times or limited availability times. The possible uses and benefits of this feature are almost endless. Incentive Programs ($$$): Using some type of value-based currency (i.e., TimeFind.com Dollars), organizations could provide incentives to clients for engaging in certain behaviors - for example, to promote booking appointments at non-peak times.Points System Tracking ($$$): Affinity programs (points systems) have become a very popular tool for marketers in recent years. The TimeFind.com system is the perfect tool for enabling service providers to track points earned by clients since the database will contain a complete record of all scheduled interactions.Demographic and Psychographic Analyses ($$$): TimeFind.com will be able to use its database of client/organization interactions to create reports very useful to the marketing programs of organizations. In its simplest form, this might include maps depicting the postal/area code concentrations of clients. In its more advanced forms, this could include links to psychographic database services that will provide the organization with an in-depth picture of the characteristics of its clients. These analyses would be developed in partnership with existing Web-based companies providing similar services.



Enabling of Marketing (free/$$$): The TimeFind.com database will enable organizations to implement marketing programs far more effectively than many of them have been able to do in the past. Organizations will have free access to a list of e-mail addresses of clients who have booked appointments either currently or in the past. In addition, organizations will be given the opportunity to engage in Web-based marketing programs ($$$) through the TimeFind.com Website when a client is booking an appointment with that service provider. For example, a client booking an appointment at a salon could be presented with an online coupon from that salon towards the purchase of a certain hair-care product.Reporting: Finally, the TimeFind.com OrgApp will provide a complete reporting capability on all aspects of the organization's interactions with clients. This capability will be considerably superior to the reports available from a paper-based scheduling system.

In the final analysis, the key to the TimeFind.com system is the database of client and organizational transactions that is created over time. The potential uses of such information are essentially unlimited. Therefore, it is difficult to envision precisely how the TimeFind.com concept will evolve but the foregoing list of features provides an adequate starting point for initial implementation.

Privacy and Data Usage

And last but not least, the customers' contribution must have a pay-off. Consumers are learning that if they're going to give away valuable information, they can rightly expect something in return. The transaction is a two-way street with surprising results - and the potential to completely transform marketing as we know it. - Nicholas Negroponte47

In the Internet Economy, the privacy of information that is contained in databases such as TimeFind.com's is an important issue. Fortunately, people and companies are willing to exchange information about themselves for something of greater value - i.e., the benefits of the system that TimeFind.com will provide. At the same time, it is crucial that both clients and organizations understand precisely how TimeFind.com will use the information that is provided, and agree to this use. To this end, TimeFind.com will prominently display its privacy and information policies on the TimeFind.com Website.

In general, TimeFind.com will attempt to promote one-to-one marketing opportunities without divulging information relating to specific clients or organizations. For example, TimeFind.com will enable organizations to target advertisements at clients who are interested in a specific service without making the organization aware of the specific identity of that client. However, it will be necessary for clients to agree to divulge their identities to organizations when making appointments. Few organizations would be willing to accept reservations from clients without at least knowing the name and phone number (and now, e-mail address) of the client in question.



With the permission of clients, postal/zip code information will also be tracked in order to provide organizations with generic data for their marketing efforts.

3.2.3 Revenue Generation

Scott Cook, chairman of Intuit: "We're asking people to change their habits. And we've got to convince them that it's not hard." So, it is the responsibility of organizations to lower the barriers of entry by using various approaches such as offering something for free or lowering the price of a service. - Walid Mougayar48

Electronic vendors will lose money on their core products. You read that right. This is one of the fundamental new rules of the Internet Economy, the rule of fusion. According to this rule, vendors sacrifice profitability on core products in order to stimulate web traffic and promote profitable sidelines, such as advertising impressions or accessory products. In this new environment, core products may be the main draw, but it's the collateral offerings that bring in the profits. It's the whole package that matters, not just individual products. - J. Neil Weintraut49

This report has previously hinted at some of the methods that TimeFind.com will use to generate revenues. It is particularly important to get such methods right since the basic service is free to clients and nearly free to organizations - in keeping with the new demands of the Internet Economy and in an attempt to maximize the rate of trial and adoption.

So how can TimeFind.com make money when it gives away its core product/service for free? The following list contains some initial methods of revenue generation.

Micro-fee for scheduled appointments: TimeFind.com will charge organizations a micro-fee50 of five cents for each appointment that is successfully scheduled using the TimeFind.com system. TimeFind.com will be very conservative in its approach to charging this fee: i.e., cancelled appointments will not be charged for. The purpose of this policy is to demonstrate that TimeFind.com will only charge a fee for an appointment when the organization is also able to generate revenues from that appointment.

"Plus" version of OrgApp: The model of "versioning", giving away a basic version of an application and charging for a more advanced version, is well established on the Internet.51 Successful examples of this strategy include McAfee Associates (the makers of VirusScan(r) software) and RealNetworks (the makers of RealPlayer(r) multimedia player software). Once an organization becomes locked-in to the low-cost solution that TimeFind.com provides, the challenge then is to provide outstanding features in a version of the OrgApp that organizations would be willing to pay for. Some concepts for the features of this "plus" version have previously been outlined.

Enabling vendor advertising to organizations: As previously described, the organizations that will belong to the TimeFind.com community encompass a valuable market to many vendors



of products and services. TimeFind.com will enable such vendors to access this targeted market through such methods as banner Web advertisements, sponsorships, and mailing list advertisements. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, recently made a relevant comment on his assessment of the feasibility of such a strategy: "'Some Web-based business applications could even be free, ad-supported sites,' Ellison said, using the example of an accounting service for small doctors' offices. 'Imagine what a pharmaceutical company would pay to be able to advertise to your docs,' he said."52

Enabling vendor and organization advertising to clients: As clients make use of the TimeFind.com system, TimeFind.com will be gathering a tremendous amount of information on these clients. Such information can be used to allow vendors and organizations to target advertisements to specific clients (without actually divulging a client's identity). Once again, Web banner advertisements and Web page sponsorships will be used to generate revenues in this way.

Affiliate program partnerships: Affiliate programs, in which vendors pay affiliates for referrals that lead to online purchases at e-commerce Websites, have become a burgeoning part of the Internet Economy.53 TimeFind.com will take advantage of these opportunities whenever possible. For example, TimeFind.com could link to Amazon.com's affiliate program.54 Whenever a client prepares to make an appointment with a veterinarian, TimeFind.com could display the list of top ten pet books to the client and earn a referral fee from Amazon.com from any books that were subsequently purchased. The possibilities for other relationships, that will make use of TimeFind.com's interactions with and knowledge of clients, are practically endless.

Aggregator/intermediary/introductory relationships: TimeFind.com will attempt to derive revenue from what will be its powerful position as an inter/infomediary between service organizations and the power of the Internet Economy. For many (smaller) service providers, TimeFind.com will be their first usage of the Internet for business purposes. Although organizations using the system will not require a stand-alone Internet presence, there will likely be a large number of organizations that will eventually want to expand their ventures into e-commerce. TimeFind.com will be well positioned as an intermediary between these organizations and those businesses that are attempting to provide these services. IBM, Yahoo, Amazon.com and others are now preparing extensive forays into this field.55 It is through partnering with these organizations that TimeFind.com will generate further revenues.

As the TimeFind.com concept develops further, there is no doubt that other methods of revenue generation will be developed. With U.S. business-to-business e-commerce predicted to reach $1.331 trillion by 2003 there will be many opportunities for TimeFind.com to use the relationships it will develop with thousands of service organizations to the mutual advantage of all.56 Few companies that were involved in the Internet Economy a year ago are presently generating revenues in precisely the way they originally envisioned. But by creating a technology, a database, and a community, TimeFind.com will have a wealth of opportunities to



capitalize upon, and achieve financial success.

3.2.4 Models Revisited

Earlier in this report, two models were developed in order to help understand the services scheduling marketspace. Now, these tools are revisited in light of the TimeFind.com solution.

Value Curve

Chart 2, below, contains the value curve for both current reservation systems as well as the TimeFind.com solution:

Chart 2 - Comparison Value Curve

This chart depicts a scenario much improved from the current system of appointment scheduling. To break it down into its key elements:

Availability: TimeFind.com is available 24x7 no matter if a business is opened or closed. Thus,



the solution is far superior to the current system that may be available, at best, 50% of the time. Rating 10/10.

Optimal Results Level: Because TimeFind.com enables clients to view a range of scheduling choices, it is much more likely that an optimal selection will be made. Rating 9/10.

Utilization Rate: While no system can achieve a perfect level of service utilization, TimeFind.com comes significantly closer to this ideal than the current system. Rating 7/10.

Consistency and Quality: As opposed to the current system, TimeFind.com provides perfectly consistent, high quality service every time. Rating 10/10.

Marketing Potential: Current scheduling systems, particularly those based on paper, are able to make almost no contribution to the marketing efforts of an organization. By comparison, the TimeFind.com solution is specifically designed to be an integrated part of one-to-one marketing efforts. Rating 9/10.

Cost: A cost comparison between the current system and the TimeFind.com system appears in Table 4, below. It depicts a very simple example of an organization with one attendant handling scheduling duties and four other people servicing clients. Although there are numerous variables that can be adjusted for different organizations, the basic conclusion of this analysis is that implementing the TimeFind.com solution will save service providers money - the higher the percentage of appointments handled by TimeFind.com, the greater the savings. Rating 4/10.

Table 4 - Cost Comparison



These results are even more impressive when one considers that this analysis only factored in straight cost savings to organizations and did not attempt to account for the extra revenues that could be derived from such sources as:

freeing the attendant to perform more value-added tasks, andincreased one-to-one marketing opportunities between organizations and clients.

One-to-One Matrix

The Client Differentiation and Organizational Capabilities Matrix is now revisited in light of the improvements afforded by implementing the TimeFind.com system.

Figure 4 - Comparison One-to-One Matrix



TimeFind.com will enable organizations to engage in more effective one-to-one marketing strategies. Organizations utilizing the solution will be able to take advantage of more highly differentiated client needs and respond more effectively to the varying values of clients. Specifically, Table 5 takes another look at two key aspects of organizational capabilities, and how the adoption of the TimeFind.com solution will affect these capabilities.

Table 5 - Organizational Capabilities Comparison

Current Scheduling System TimeFind.com SolutionProduction Flexibility(This is how flexible an organization must be in producing made-to-order services for individual clients.)

Organizations are quite flexible in their production capabilities but the current system of appointment scheduling is not optimizing the utilization of this capability.

TimeFind.com will increase flexibility by allowing organizations to set and change schedules in real-time, at any time and from any place. In addition, the process of moving clients to new times and filling vacant time-slots will be greatly facilitated.



Communication Flexibility(Describes the capabilities of an organization to communicate with clients on an individual basis.)

Communications, particularly before and after the service experience, are minimal. Although personal human contact is quite flexible, there are often no systems in place to adequately handle the flexibility that is available.

TimeFind.com significantly enhances communication flexibility. Organizations will be able to make contact with clients much more frequently - even before an appointment is actually booked. Many other contacts, such as appointment reminders, will be automated and will require no effort on the part of the organization.

By improving its one-to-one marketing capabilities (both production and communication), TimeFind.com will enable an organization to further differentiate its client base. Table 6 analyses this outcome:

Table 6 - Client Differentiation Comparison

Current Scheduling System TimeFind.com SolutionClient Needs(How different are the needs of clients.)

Clients of such service providers have fairly standardized needs. Haircuts, restaurant meals, and medical appointments - while containing many small individual differences - are quite similar from transaction to transaction.57

By improving the interactions with clients - particularly prior to the performance of the service - organizations will be able to assess and attend to even the smallest individual needs of clients much more fully. Examples include finding the most optimal appointment times and dealing with rescheduling.

Client Valuations(How different clients are in terms of their potential revenue value to the service provider.)

Client valuations are relatively uniform since the service provided is fairly uniform and services are required on a regular basis (i.e., monthly hairdresser visits, bi-annual physical checkups, etc.).

TimeFind.com allows organizations to maximize the value of individual clients. As an example, the ability to use different classes of TimeFind.com ID will enable organizations to reserve peak periods for the highest value clients.

Taken together, the features of TimeFind.com (as previously described) will enable



organizations to engage in one-to-one marketing much more completely than is currently possible. And as the first step down the road to full integration into the Internet Economy, TimeFind.com will be a valuable ally to organizations as they continue to move up-and-to-the-right of the one-to-one matrix.

3.2.5 Rate of Adoption

For TimeFind.com to gain maximum benefit from the first-mover advantages in its market area, it must ensure that the system and its marketing are designed to maximize its rate of adoption by organizations and clients. Kotler has identified five characteristics that are "especially important in influencing the rate of adoption of an innovation."58 The list below considers these characteristics and their potential meaning to the TimeFind.com concept:

Relative Advantage: This factor considers the degree to which an innovation appears to be superior to existing solutions. It has already been demonstrated that the TimeFind.com solution is, in fact, far superior to the current methods of appointment scheduling in general use.

Compatibility: The degree to which the solution matches the values, experiences, and current systems of the market is called its compatibility. Online calendar providers have already keyed into this fact by making their offerings as similar to paper-based calendars as possible (right down to the look and feel of the systems). Particularly in the basic version of its OrgApp, TimeFind.com must also ensure that organizations used to tracking schedules on paper will feel immediately comfortable with the new system. The strive towards compatibility is also the major focus behind allowing vertical industry software companies to access the TimeFind.com database with their own applications - thereby relieving organizations of having to abandon existing systems and learn a new one.

Complexity: The more difficult a solution is to understand or use, the more complex it is. As a design goal for TimeFind.com: if an organization needs to read a manual then, by definition, the solution is too complex. Both the TimeFind.com Website and its OrgApps should be so simple that a new user must be able to immediately utilize the system with virtually no training. (Training might involve understanding the organization's scheduling system, but not in actually using the TimeFind.com application.)

Divisibility: Divisibility is the degree to which an innovation can be tried on a trial or limited basis. TimeFind.com's divisibility is high due to the fact that the application will be free to both clients and organizations and will be available for automatic installation from the Web. However, to make full use of the system, some organizations will be required to make small investments in technology and Internet access. Marketing programs, described later in this document, will be designed to further maximize the divisibility of the solution.

Communicability: This final characteristic considers the degree to which the results of an



innovation's use are observable and describable to others. Although there is little doubt that the TimeFind.com solution is, in fact, superior to current methods of appointment scheduling, the marketing challenge is to communicate this appearance to the target markets. While the millions of Web-enabled clients in the market appear to be quite eager to embrace new Internet-based products and solutions, the greater test of marketing effectiveness will be demonstrating the advantage of the system to organizational users with entrenched methods of operating. TimeFind.com marketing programs, through the power of the Internet, will ensure that the system can be demonstrated easily and instantly.

By focusing on high levels of relative advantage, compatibility, divisibility, and communicability while reducing complexity, TimeFind.com (through its system and marketing programs) will ensure that its solution is adopted by a significant portion of the market - before any direct competition is mounted.

3.2.6 Vision of TimeFind.com

Where there is no vision, the people perish. - Proverbs 29:18

All projects need a vision in order to drive them towards success and provide a yardstick by which to measure that success. What follows is the vision of TimeFind.com.

Purpose - What do we want to achieve?

The purpose of TimeFind.com is to bring the revolutionary power of the Internet to the everyday lives of ordinary people.

Mission - How will we achieve it?

The mission of TimeFind.com is to be the de-facto, Internet-based, appointment-scheduling standard.

Vivid Description - What will it be like when we get there?

Millions of people will make appointments using the TimeFind.com system every day. People will be able to effortlessly book appointment times that are convenient for them. Service organizations around the world will use the system as the basis of their client interactions. Advertisers will be able to target marketing campaigns to meet the specific needs of buyers. Intelligent agents will use the system to anticipate and satisfy the demands of their users. When someone wants to book an appointment, they will no longer think of reaching for the phone....

Core Values & Beliefs - What is our philosophy?



People

We think, feel, and act as a team.Our people are partners in the vision - success is shared by all.Continually learning and developing new skills is crucial to achieving success.

Clients

Our clients are regular people and the everyday organizations that serve them.They allow us to thrive only because of the outstanding and innovative value we deliver.Our clients are our teachers and partners - they are co-developers of the product.

Products

The key to our innovation lies in the ease of use of our system.We will have developed the perfect system when no one knows they are using it.

Business & Management

We not only respond to clients' needs - we transform them.We are entrepreneurial at heart.

Footnotes:24. Reid, p. 96.


26. Christopher H. Lovelock, Services Marketing, 3rd ed., (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996), p. 17.

27. T. Levitt, "Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles," in Harvard Business Review, May/June 1981.

28. Levitt.

29. W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, "Creating New Market Space," in Harvard Business Review, January/February 1999, p. 83.




30. Kim and Mauborgne, "Creating", p. 84.

31. It is important to note that the x/10 rating is the subjective judgement of the author, based on his study of the different appointment scheduling solutions. No empirical study has been carried out to arrive at these ratios, therefore readers should use their own judgement in assessing the appropriateness of these ratings.

32. Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Enterprise One to One (New York: Doubleday, 1997), p. 55-78.

33. Evidence to support this assertion is described later in this report in section 4.1.1 Potential Markets.

34. Walid Mougayar, "Turning the Unthinkable into the Irresistible," in Business 2.0, November 1998, p. 116.

35. De-facto: exercising power as if formally agreed upon by a standards-setting body.

36. Michael Fitzgerald, "Deja News will add calendaring feature," on ZDNET, available online: http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2230069,000.html, viewed 3/22/99.

37. When.com Website, available online: http://www.when.com/corporate/aboutwhen/press_020899.html, viewed 3/22/99.

38. P.J. Huffstutter, "Calendar Boy," in Business 2.0, February 1999, p. 18.

39. VXML Forum, "Voice eXtensible Markup Language (VXML) – Technical Background," available online: http://www.vxmlforum.org/tech_bkgrnd.html, viewed: 3/20/99.

40. Robert Lemos, "Internet providers to give away PCs to new customers?" on ZDNN, available online: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2157431,00.html, viewed: 10/29/98.

41. Nicholas P. Negroponte, Being Digital (New York: Vintage Books, 1996), p. 69.

42. Geoffrey A. Moore, Crossing the Chasm – Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers (New York, HarperBusiness, 1991), p. 20.

43. Moore, p. 23.

44. John Hagel III and Arthur G. Armstrong, net gain – expanding markets through virtual communities (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1997), p. 49.

45. Jim Kertstetter, "More bang for (Web) ad bucks," in PC Week, March 15 1999, p. 27.

46. Negroponte, p. 183.

47. Negroponte, p. 69.



http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2230069,000.html

http://www.when.com/corporate/aboutwhen/press_020899.html

http://www.vxmlforum.org/tech_bkgrnd.html

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2157431,00.html







49. J. Neil Weintraut, "The Fusion Factor," in Business 2.0, September 1998, p. 35.

50. Micro-fee: a payment for a product or service that, until the advent of Internet technology, was too small to be collected at a profit (i.e., the cost of collecting the fee is higher than the fee, itself).

51. Shapiro and Varian, p. 91.

52. David F.Carr, "Outsourcing Revisited: Will Net Replace IT at Small Firms?" in Internet World, October 26 1998, pp. 1 & 9.

53. Bob Tedeschi, "Affiliate Referrals Generate Big Profits," in The New York Times on the Web, available online: http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/cyber/commerce/22commerce.html, viewed: 3/23/99.

54. Amazon.com, "Open Your Own Online Store Today," available online: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/partners/associates/associates.html, viewed: 04/03/99.

55. Jonathan Weber, "Mysteries of Springfield Project Revealed," in The Industry Standard, available online: http://www.thestandard.com/articles/display/0,1449,3934,00.html?02, viewed 3/23/99.

56. Forrester Research, November 1998, available online: http://www.forrester.com.

57. Evidence to support this assertion is described later in this report in section 4.1.1 Potential Markets.

58. Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 8th ed. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1994), p. 350.




http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/cyber/commerce/22commerce.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/partners/associates/associates.html

http://www.thestandard.com/articles/display/0,1449,3934,00.html?02

http://www.forrester.com/



TimeFind.com: Marketing Plan

TimeFind.com Marketing Plan

In this Section:4. TimeFind.com Marketing Plan4.1 Current Market Situation

4.1.1 Potential Markets4.1.2 Potential Competitors

4.2 Objectives4.3 Marketing Strategy

4.3.1 Product4.3.2 Price4.3.3 Distribution4.3.4 Promotion

4.4 Action Plan4.5 Projected Profit and Loss

4. TimeFind.com Marketing PlanPlans are less important than planning. - Dale McConkey

This section outlines a marketing plan for TimeFind.com. It is important to note that this is a marketing plan and not a full business plan - certain aspects of starting and operating TimeFind.com, as a company, are not addressed by this report.

The quote that begins this section is particularly relevant to the Internet Economy in general, and to TimeFind.com in particular. In this industry, events take place and situations change so quickly that it is very likely that this plan - and the TimeFind.com concept itself - will undergo many changes between the time that this document was produced and when the concept is actually implemented. Therefore, this plan should be looked upon as a starting point for initial consideration and development, rather than as a set of prescribed actions.

http://www.killerstrategy.com/timefind/tfplan.htm (1 of 21) [10/16/2001 2:53:22 PM]


4.1 Current Market SituationSince the Internet Economy, in general, has already been discussed at length, such analysis will not be repeated. Instead, this section includes specific information on potential client and organizational markets as well as on potential competitors to TimeFind.com.

4.1.1 Potential Markets

There are precious few paradigms for how to proceed when you cannot examine market share data, indeed cannot even conduct an informed interview with an existing customer of the type you are now seeking to win over. In short, you are on your own. - Geoffrey A. Moore59

When considering a market analysis for the TimeFind.com concept, the expression "lies, damned lies, and statistics" likely does not even touch the surface of the difficulty. Although the basic concept of TimeFind.com is simple, there is practically no existing market data upon which to base statistical conclusions regarding adoption rates, market size, and other factors. This is further compounded by the amazing rate of change in the Internet Economy. Who could have calculated that a free Web e-mail product (HotMail) would have 10 million users within the first fifteen months of its offering?60 For these reasons, the analysis of potential markets will be kept to a general level.

Two Main Markets

The ultimate success of TimeFind.com depends on the solution being adopted by two different market entities: clients and organizations. Obviously, TimeFind.com will not be successful if it is very well liked by clients but few organizations place their schedules online with it. Conversely, gathering a large base of organizational subscribers will not result in significant revenues for TimeFind.com if clients of those organizations are not actually using the solution to book appointments.

Having said this, it seems likely that market success with either entity will go a long way towards securing adoption of the solution by the other. For example, if many potential clients realize the usefulness of the solution they are liable to put pressure on the organizations that serve them to adopt the system. Likewise, organizations that use the system will have an important role in encouraging clients to use the system to book appointments. From that point on, the network effect will take hold and make TimeFind.com increasingly valuable to both organizations and clients.

The result is that TimeFind.com must understand and target both organizational users and



potential clients in order to build adoption of the solution as rapidly as possible. What follows are some brief analyses of both client and organizational markets for the TimeFind.com solution. (This discussion focuses on the North American setting - international issues are dealt with later in this report.)

Clients

Digital buyers who have the wherewithal, expertise, and access (consumers with digital lifestyles, small home-offices, and high-tech companies) to take advantage of Web-based relationships are already demanding that the organizations they deal with open up such pipelines, and directing their business to those who do. Digital sellers - the organizations that "get it" - are scrambling to satisfy those demands, because these buyers constitute by far the most attractive customer segments in the marketplace. They make money, move money, and spend money. They care about brands, they're willing to pay for convenience and time savings, and they relish new and different things. - Steve Mott61

Potential client-users of the TimeFind.com system include practically everyone who has ever had to make an appointment - which means almost anyone. In the near term, however, the market of TimeFind.com clients will be limited to people considered to be Internet users. Statistics on the numbers of such people are widely available (and can be quite discrepant) but a sampling of two recent surveys demonstrates the large and rapidly growing size of this market segment:

13.5 million Canadians over the age of 18 had Internet access at the end of 1998.6279.4 millions U.S. adults (accounting for 38% of the population aged 16 and over) now have Internet access.63 This figure is approximately double what it was two years previously.

Business-to-consumer electronic commerce (e-commerce) is definitely a major growth area for the Internet and people who engage in purchasing online are liable to be more receptive to scheduling appointments online as well. By 2003, business-to-consumer e-commerce in the U.S. is predicted to be a $108 billion dollar market - with the size of the market essentially doubling every year.64 A different study conducted in January 1999 found that "47 percent of online households have made online purchases in the last six months, up from 30 percent the previous January."65

A recent IntelliQuest study of the motivators and inhibitors of online shopping is very revealing as it relates to the TimeFind.com concept:66

Table 7 - Motivators and Inhibitors of Online Shopping

Motivators % ofrespondents

Inhibitors % ofrespondents



Convenience 59% Credit card worries 75%Saves time 41% Return hassle 67%More selection67 35% Want to see in it

person59%

It is interesting to reflect that the TimeFind.com concept benefits from all these motivators of online transactions but does not suffer from any of the inhibitors.

Forrester Research has completed a series of studies addressing the size and scope of the market segment adopting a digital lifestyle. Figure 5, depicts the penetration of this lifestyle (which would be conducive to the market adoption of TimeFind.com).68 [To observe the copyright of Forrester Research, the figure has not been reproduced here. To view this very enlightening study (and the figure), please click here. Be sure to choose the Back button on your browser to return to this document.]

It is apparent from this analysis that the segment of the population with the access and inclination to engage in online transactions is large and will continue to grow rapidly. A few statistics on the size of the client scheduling market also demonstrates the very significant size of this market:

61% of people visit the dentist in any given year (U.S.)69In 1995, U.S. doctors received 697 million patient visits to doctor's offices, 47.3 million of which were for a general examination.70Almost half of all adults in the U.S. (46 percent) were restaurant patrons on a typical day in 1997. They combine to eat, in a given year, almost 50 billion meals.71

Although it is difficult to even estimate the number of service transactions that could potentially involve client-scheduled appointments, there is no doubt that the number is very large. Furthermore, this number will not be limited to organizations that are currently scheduling appointments. This is because the power of the Internet, combined with the TimeFind.com solution, will promote appointment scheduling in organizations that have not previously considered the practice. For example, the ease of booking seat reservations over the Internet has encouraged a growing number of movie theatres to accept specific seat reservations - a practice that was previously unheard of. The number of people who have the ability, the inclination, and the potential need to utilize the TimeFind.com solution is, indeed, significant.

Organizations

Recently, E-valuations Research (www.e-valuations.com) surveyed 500 small businesses and found that the majority indicated a strong likelihood to build commerce-enabled Web sites. Of those already running transaction Web sites, 92 percent said they believed the Internet gave them a competitive edge.



http://www.e-valuations.com/


- John Moore72

The fact that the services sector of the economy accounts for more than 60% of North American GDP attests to the large number of potential organizational-users of the TimeFind.com solution.73 Small businesses (defined as companies with less than 100 employees) will potentially make up the largest pool of TimeFind.com solution users and they are becoming increasingly Web and PC enabled, as Table 8 attests:

Table 8 - U.S. Small Business Net Access74

1997 2001 Compound Annual Growth Rate

Small Businesses 7.2 million 7.8 million 2.0%PC Penetration 74% 84% 3.8%Internet Access 20% 54% 11.0%

There are literally hundreds of potential types of organizations that could benefit from the TimeFind.com solution. Rather than attempt a lengthy analysis of each of these, the following section focuses on four major industries which account for a significant portion of appointment or reservation bookings: the health care, restaurant, beauty, and golf industries.

Health Care

If you as a solutions provider can help physicians take advantage of modern PC and LAN technology to streamline their businesses, you have a healthy future. - Steve Baldwin75

Health care is a large industry, one which only the Internet, itself, rivals in its growth. The U.S. Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA) reports that "The nation's total spending for health care is projected to increase from $1.0 trillion in 1996 to $2.1 trillion in 2007."76 Statistics on the number of doctor visits per year have already been reported in this document.

Interestingly, the trend in health care is away from hospital care and towards more doctor supervised care outside of the hospital (ambulatory care) requiring even more appointments with doctors. In the same study previously mentioned, the HCFA reports, "Hospital growth is projected to lag increasingly behind growth in drugs and physician and other professional services, as the trend away from the inpatient setting towards ambulatory care settings are reinforced...."

A recent survey by the California Medical Association showed that 30% of physicians in the state have Internet access in their offices.77 While this number demonstrates significant of



room for growth, Steve Baldwin, in his article entitled "Automating the Doctor's Office," observed that "physicians are realizing that automating a medical office's business functions is important, but real and long-lasting productivity gains are only realized when digital intelligence is involved through the chain of interactions between practitioner and patient. First and foremost, this means abandoning paper as a primary data-recording medium."78 TimeFind.com must aim to become the first link in this chain of interactions that will enable doctors to abandon paper.

Restaurant

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in restaurant operations. Operators are investing in technology to increase efficiency and productivity as well as improve customer service. A large proportion of respondents to the 1998 Survey (45 percent) reported that they planned to allocate a larger amount of their budgets to technology in 1999 than in prior years. - National Restaurant Association79

The restaurant industry in the U.S. has over 815,000 locations and 1999 sales are estimated at $354 billion.80 This industry has also been embracing technology at a rapid pace. For example, 80% of tableservice (as opposed to fast food) operators with an average check of $15 or more have access to the Internet (although, currently, this access is most likely to be located in a restaurant's office). Overall, the National Restaurant Association reports that "computers play an important role in boosting the efficiency and productivity of restaurant operations"81 and TimeFind.com must become part of this solution.

Beauty

Unlike the restaurant or health care industries, the beauty industry (encompassing hairdressing and other types of salons) is very fragmented. No national or international organizations exist to coordinate and report on marketing efforts in this industry. Although this factor could make marketing to this industry more challenging, the results would be well worth it. In 1997, the U.S. Census Bureau reports, the taxable receipts of beauty shops totaled $18.3 billion, a 21% increase over 1993.82 Canada, alone, hosts approximately 30,000 individual salons.83

Salons (that require appointments) are predominantly small, locally-owned businesses, as few national chains have risen to prominence. Out of all the service providers, hairdressers are known for having some of the closest relationships with clients. What this indicates is that, even if salon operators are difficult to market to directly, reaching these organizations through their clients could be an important and effective strategy for marketing TimeFind.com to this industry.

Golf

Golf has enjoyed explosive growth over the last 50 years and the inherent requirement of



booking tee-times indicates that the TimeFind.com solution would be useful in this setting. In fact, the relative simplicity of golf client-scheduling systems would make the creation of the OrgApp for this industry simpler than for other potential industries. Some key industry statistics:84

There are 26.5 million golfers age 12 and over in the U.S. Approximately 5.6 million are avid golfers (play more than 25 rounds per year).The U.S. now contains approximately 16,000 golf courses.Golfers spend $17 billion annually on playing fees - an average of $30 per round.

One of the recent conclusions of a joint study by the National Golf Foundation and McKinsey & Company was that, in order to continue the growth of the golf industry, facilities must better tailor their product/service offerings to clients, as well as offer dynamic pricing.85 The TimeFind.com solution will significantly enhance the ability of such organizations to offer such services.

4.1.2 Potential Competitors

Although there is currently no indication of another company promoting a specific concept similar to TimeFind.com, there are a number of potential competitors. Many of the organizations previously described as focusing on producing a piece of the online scheduling puzzle could, theoretically, attack the market opportunity that TimeFind.com has identified. The list below includes an analysis of the major potential competitors in the area of online appointment scheduling.

Online Calendar Providers

As outlined earlier in this document, there are a number of companies now offering online calendaring applications that track a client's schedule on the Web. However, rather than create content for these calendars themselves, these companies have focused on providing the calendaring infrastructure and then allowing clients to place events in their calendars through whatever linked service may be available. This is done through links between the calendars and online travel agents, ticket agents, and a host of other service providers. The focus of these companies is to provide as wide a range of scheduling opportunities for their members as possible and it appears unlikely that they would be interested in entering a market area as specific as that of TimeFind.com.

Vertical Industry Software Companies

There are literally hundreds of companies that produce computer applications for specific vertical markets, including those industries identified as key to the TimeFind.com concept.



However, most of these companies are focused on creating complex solutions to meet very specific market needs and none of them appear to have the market power (or interest) in creating a online scheduling solution that could be used across many different industries.

Web Portals and Other Major Players

Web portals and other major Internet Economy players (such as Yahoo.com, AOL, Amazon.com, and Microsoft) must be considered as potential competitors to TimeFind.com. With their colossal market valuations, these companies have the resources to rapidly enter TimeFind.com's marketspace if they choose to do so. Therefore, it is even more crucial that TimeFind.com rapidly capitalize on the network effect through first-mover advantages and the organizational lock-in that its community-based solution can provide.

If TimeFind.com can be first in creating and building adoption of its solution, it is much more likely that these companies will cooperate with TimeFind.com, rather than compete with it. This is because the whole concept of an online appointment scheduling standard is at its most powerful and useful to all parties concerned, only when it is not fragmented into a number of competing standards and systems.

Working Together

It is essentially the coordination of all these efforts that is the TimeFind.com business model. By attracting clients to a wide range of valuable offerings, Web portals (through their calendaring applications) will be able to access the TimeFind.com database of organization schedules. In turn, this will allow their clients to book appointments through whatever scheduling software that a particular service organization uses. In this way, all partners in the business model get to share in the revenues from any transactions. Furthermore, they will become part of an important standard, rather than competing with it.

Of course, for those clients that:

do not access the Web through a "portal";do not use an online calendaring application;and who frequent organizations that have not purchased an independent software company's front-end schedule-management product;

TimeFind.com will still provide all of the pieces necessary for the successful utilization of the system.



4.2 ObjectivesStrategic management is not a box of tricks or a bundle of techniques. It is analytical thinking and commitment of resources to action. But quantification alone is not planning. Some of the most important issues in strategic management cannot be quantified at all. - Peter Drucker

Table 9 outlines the key strategic and marketing objectives of TimeFind.com as it proceeds through the phases of its development: initial system development, beta-test period, and full implementation. The objectives listed below are primarily non-financial. Section 4.5 Projected Profit and Loss contains a more in-depth analysis of financial projections/objectives for TimeFind.com.

Table 9 - Objectives for TimeFind.com

Phase 1Initial System Development

(4 months)

Phase 2Beta-Test Period

(4 months)

Phase 3Full Implementation(9th to 12th months)

Research and develop demonstration, "proof-of-concept" version of system in order to attract initial investment to enable further development.Develop fully operational version of the TimeFind.com Website and OrgApp by the end of the development period.

Be first to offer an integrated, de-facto standard for online appointment scheduling.Develop content linking agreements with two major online calendaring providers or Web portals.Develop database linking agreements with one of the major software developers in each key industry area (health, beauty, and restaurant).Develop operational "plus" version of OrgApp by the end of the beta-test period.

Retain the position of market leadership in the face of any direct competition that might emerge.Develop content linking agreements with two more major online calendaring providers or Web portals.Develop database linking agreements with a second software developer in each key industry area.Acquire 500 registered organizational users.Acquire 200,000 registered client users.Achieve brand awareness level of 30% (among Internet-enabled clients).



Acquire 10 organizational beta-testers from at least three different industry segments.86Acquire 1000 client beta-testers.

Achieve brand awareness level of 30% (among service providers that could potentially make use of the solution).Achieve minimum growth rate in the number of clients and organizations of 50% per month.

Once TimeFind.com is under development, management must begin the creation of a Balanced Scorecard system of performance management in order to track how TimeFind.com meets these - and a host of other - strategic objectives. More information on a sample Balanced Scorecard system for the Internet Economy, that could be adapted for TimeFind.com, can be found at the author's Website.87

4.3 Marketing StrategyThe greatest strategy is doomed if it's implemented badly. - Bernard Reimann

Many aspects of the marketing strategy for TimeFind.com have already been addressed in detail throughout this document. For this reason, the following "four P's" of marketing are presented in a brief form.

4.3.1 Product

The TimeFind.com whole-product will need to encompass both core elements and supplementary services.88 These will include:

Core Elements

TimeFind.com Website and Database: This is the main window through which clients, either directly or through online calendaring applications, will book appointments with organizations.

TimeFind.com Organizational Applications: A basic and a "plus" version of the OrgApp will be created to enable organizations to devise online schedules and publish them to the



TimeFind.com Website database.

Supplementary Services

Support and Exceptions: Both clients and organizations using TimeFind.com may require a certain level of support. Since scheduling will be a critical application of many organizations that use the TimeFind.com system, it is particularly crucial that support for organizations is timely and efficient. Support will be available via e-mail for clients, and via both e-mail and toll-free number for organizations.

Billing and Payment: TimeFind.com will track the bills of organizations in its database and charge the organization's credit card for any accumulated totals at the end of each month. Organizations will have the ability to view their bills in real-time through the TimeFind.com system.

Order Taking: The process of setting up most clients on the TimeFind.com system will be a simple, organizational-directed process (see 4.3.3 Distribution, below). Most clients will be able to create a customized solution for themselves using the power of the standard OrgApp. It is only with large or specialized clients that TimeFind.com may want to customize a solution. For example, if Sears wanted to use TimeFind.com as the basis of a nationwide scheduling system for its car repair system, this would likely require a different level of sales negotiation and fulfillment than a single restaurant downloading the software for use in one location.

Information and Consultation: The World Wide Web will be used to its maximum potential in demonstrating, and providing information on the TimeFind.com system for both clients and organizations. Both these groups will be able to direct questions to TimeFind.com via e-mail, and organizations will have the additional choice of toll-free telephone access. Large potential organizational clients will be assigned a specific account manager to deal with all aspects of the relationship between TimeFind.com and the organization.

4.3.2 Price

For the purposes of this initial plan, TimeFind.com will utilize the following price schedule for its basic services. It is important to note that - particularly in the area of price - market developments in the Internet Economy can change plans very rapidly.

For Clients

No charge for any services

For Organizations



Charge per scheduled client: 5 centsCost to organization of basic OrgApp: FreeCost to organization for "plus" version of OrgApp: $19.95 per month

For Outside Vendors

Charge for advertising to clients on TimeFind.com Website: $20 CPM89Charge for advertising to organizations (through the community aspects of the TimeFind.com Website): $55 CPM

4.3.3 Distribution

Methods of distributing the TimeFind.com solution will include the following:

TimeFind.com Website

The TimeFind.com solution will be distributed primarily via the TimeFind.com Website (www.TimeFind.com). From there, clients will be able to register as TimeFind.com users and organizations will be able to download free copies of the OrgApp. The TimeFind.com OrgApp, itself, will handle organizational registration and set up the billing process. Organizations accessing TimeFind.com directly through a third-party vertical software application will have to register directly on the TimeFind.com Website.

Free Software Sites

The TimeFind.com OrgApp will also be distributed through online free software sites such as Download.com90 and the ZDNet Software Library91. These libraries are extremely popular services for downloading hundreds of thousands of free and nearly free applications via the Web. Although it is unlikely that many organizations will stumble across the TimeFind.com OrgApp through these services, it is possible that a service operator who is Internet-savvy might locate it there - particularly if a software library organization chooses to rank this application as a "featured download."

Vertical Industry Software Vendors and Value-Added Resellers

These companies, which have been previously described as partners of TimeFind.com, will gain no direct monetary benefit from enabling organizations with the TimeFind.com solution (since the OrgApp is free). However, vertical software vendors will be able to use their product's link to the TimeFind.com system as an important selling point. Similarly, value-added resellers (VARs), who set up integrated computer systems for companies, will be able to include


http://www.timefind.com/


TimeFind.com as a bonus part of their solution. For example, a VAR setting up the computer systems for a new doctor's office could also install and initialize the TimeFind.com OrgApp as a service to the organization, enhancing the value-added by the VAR. For these reasons, these parties will find it beneficial for them to distribute the TimeFind.com solution.

International Issues

The Internet is a worldwide phenomenon and there will be nothing to keep the system from being distributed to, and utilized by, organizations and clients anywhere in the world. A recent ZDNet article reported that, "Sometime this year, for the first time, Americans will no longer make up the majority of the Internet population."92 One advantage of the TimeFind.com concept is that it is not actually selling a physical product, with all of the requisite trans-national difficulties that such transactions entail.

Having said this, TimeFind.com will not attempt to customize the solution to local markets (i.e., with foreign-language versions, foreign language support, etc.) until the English North American version is well established. The leading countries in the Internet Economy, outside of North America, are still one to two years behind North American in their adoption of Internet solutions. This provides TimeFind.com with the time necessary to first perfect its solution in North America before making a strong commitment to other global markets.

4.3.4 Promotion

Ideas for promoting the TimeFind.com concept to three major target groups are presented in Table 10, below. The basic focus of these programs, at least in the initial phases of operation, will be to rely on low-cost marketing methods and the network effect to create a critical mass of market adoption for the TimeFind.com solution by both clients and organizations. It is important to note that there will be a significant level of spillover from client-oriented promotional programs to others. This is because, after all, all potential organizations and partners are operated by people who are also potential client-users of the solution.

The major tool for rapidly increasing the adoption of the TimeFind.com solution will be the promotion and development of partnerships with key strategic partners. These partners could potentially include all of the following:

Vertical software vendorsValue-added resellersOnline calendar providersWeb portalsVendors who might buy advertising on the TimeFind.com Website



It will still be important to attempt to build a base of clients and organizations outside of these partnerships, since potential partners will be more likely to want to join in promoting the solution if TimeFind.com already has an established user base. At the same time, the quickest and potentially least expensive way of promoting the rapid spread of TimeFind.com will be through utilizing the pre-existing client base and marketing programs of such strategic partners.

Table 10 - Promotional Programs

Target

Program

Clients Organizations Strategic Partners

Advertising Banner advertisement buys on targeted Websites (i.e., medical advice sites93).Keyword purchases on online search engines.Free placement on all top search engines and Web portals.

None

Sales Promotion None Free computers: Partner with ISPs or others to provide free computers with Internet access contract.Free appointment program: First 10 appointments for a client have no 5c charge for the org. that referred the client to TimeFind.com.Attendance at key major industry trade shows (i.e., medical, beauty, etc.)

Attendance at key Internet industry trade shows.



Personal Selling None Personal contact with large, multi-location organizations that could benefit from solution.

Personal contact with potential strategic partners. In fields where there are a large number of potential partners (i.e., the medical software industry) an element of direct marketing may be initially used to narrow down the field for follow-up by personal contact.

Public Relations Major public relations effort in order to promote the concept to the three target groups through regular media, Internet-oriented media, and organization-oriented trade media.94

In the final analysis, implementation of the solution is the key. Promotional programs will only be successful to the extent that the solution meets and exceeds the expectations of potential users and the influencers of those users. The better the implementation of TimeFind.com, the more the power of the network will drive the popularity of the solution without the need for expensive advertising programs.

4.4 Action PlanMost of the time, strategists should not be formulating strategy at all; they should be getting on with implementing strategies they already have. - Henry Mintzberg

Combining the stated objectives of TimeFind.com with the marketing strategy that has been outlined results in the following action plan.

Table 11 - Action Plan

Phase Action Item Approximate Cost95

One(Months 1 to 4)

Create "proof-of-concept" demonstration version of TimeFind.com system.

$5,000 96



Development team will create TimeFind.com Website and OrgApp.

$500,000

Placement submissions to all top Web search engines and portals.

$1,000

Total cost of Phase 1 $506,000Two(Months 5 to 8)

Continue refinement of TimeFind.com Website and develop "plus" version of OrgApp.

$500,000

Sales team (1 person) will begin personal contact with key strategic partners and large potential organizational users.

$20,000

Management team (1 person) will enter negotiations with ISPs and other free computer providers to for partnership related to obtaining free or discounted technology for organizations.

$10,000

Attendance at two key Internet industry trade shows.

$15,000

Begin public relations effort directed towards Internet-oriented media.

$1,000

Keyword purchases with online search engines.

$4,000

Total cost of Phase 2 $550,000Three(Months 9 to 12)

Ongoing costs for development of Website, database, and applications: $50,000 per month.

$200,000

Continue personal contact with key strategic partners and large organizational users.

$20,000

Continue negotiations with ISPs and other technology providers.

$10,000

Attendance at two key Internet industry trade shows.

$10,000

Attendance at four key organizational industry trade shows.

$15,000

Continue public relations efforts towards Internet-oriented media.

$1,000



Begin public relations efforts towards regular media and organization-oriented trade media.

$2,000

Begin banner advertisements on targeted Websites. 1 million impressions at $25 CPM equals $25,000. The main purpose of this initial run is to test the effectiveness of advertising on different sites.

$25,000

Total cost of Phase 3 $283,000All Total cost of all three Phases $1,340,000

When excluding system development costs, this marketing program appears quite inexpensive, considering the large potential of the market. However, the farther out that marketing programs are projected, the more difficult it becomes to accurately estimate the types and costs of programs that might be developed. As Brown and Eisenhardt outline in their book, Competing on the Edge, the task facing TimeFind.com is to "manage the strategic challenge of change."97 TimeFind.com must ensure that it is continually improving and redefining its marketing strategies as these developments occur.

4.5 Projected Profit and LossA projected profit and loss statement for the first 24 months of TimeFind.com can be found in Appendix A. Significant figures from this statement include:

Zero revenues for the first eight months combined with total incurred expenses of approximately $1.4 million.Maximum negative cumulative cash position of $2.1 million in month 16.First net profit of $52,000 in month 17.First cumulative positive cash position of $1.1 million in month 22.Net positive cumulative cash position of $6.4 million by month 24.

The following chart shows demonstrates these points graphically:

Chart 3 - Highlights of Projected Net Profit/Loss Statement



It is important to note that:

1. The model does not take into account all potential sources of revenue. For example, due to the difficulty of forecasting such revenues, the previously identified revenue sources of affiliate program partnerships and aggregator/intermediary relationships are not included.

2. Further expenses, marketing programs, and system developments will likely arise in the future that are simply unforeseeable at this time.

The crucial point to glean from this model is that, after an initial investment period, there are potentially very significant revenues and profits to be derived from the TimeFind.com business model. This chart depicts the "hockey-stick" revenue growth curve that has often been demonstrated by pure-play Internet economy companies.98

Footnotes:59. Moore, pp. 91-92.



60. "About Hotmail," available online: http://www.hotmail.com, viewed: 3/25/99.

61. Steve Mott, "Winning One Customer at a Time," in Business 2.0, September 1998, p. 88.

62. ComQUEST Research, available online: http://www.comquest.ca.

63. IntelliQuest, available online: http://www.intelliquest.com/press/release72.asp.

64. Forrester Research, November 1998, available online: http://www.forrester.com.

65. Matthew Broersma, "Study: E-commerce hits the mainstream," on ZDNN, available online: http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2229939,00.html, viewed 3/22/99.

66. IntelliQuest, November 1998, available online: http://www.intelliquest.com.

67. The TimeFind.com concept seemingly enables a greater selection since clients will be faced with a wide range of service providers every time they schedule. With traditional methods of scheduling (telephone) a client books with the same provider, repeatedly, often out of inertia. A good example is a client who books with the same small group of restaurants because it is "easy" – TimeFind.com would make a much larger selection readily available.

68. Shelley Morrisette et al., "Consumer’s Digital Decade," January 1999, available online: http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Report/Excerpt/0,1338,5411,FF.html, viewed: 2/22/99.

69. National Center for Health Statistics, "Oral Health," available online: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/dental.htm, updated 3/10/99.

70. National Center for Health Statistics, "Office Visits to Physicians," available online: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/docvisit.htm, updated 6/3/98.

71. National Restaurant Association, "Restaurant Industry Pocket Factbook," available online: http://www.restaurant.org/research/pocket/index.htm, viewed 3/16/99.

72. John P. Moore, "Government Witness – Does Internet commerce really hurt Main Street businesses? Perhaps not." in Sm@rt Reseller, October 19 1998, p. 68.

73. Statistics Canada, "Canadian Economy – Gross Domestic Product 1996," available online: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ci00039e.html, and U.S. Department of Commerce, "U.S. Economy – Gross Domestic Product 1996," available online: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/us00030e.html, viewed: 3/16/99.

74. International Data Corp, available online: http://www.idc.com.

75. Steve Baldwin, "Automating the Doctor’s Office," in Computer Shopper, May 1 1998.


http://www.hotmail.com/

http://www.comquest.ca/

http://www.intelliquest.com/press/release72.asp



http://www.intelliquest.com/

http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Report/Excerpt/0,1338,5411,FF.html

http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/dental.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/docvisit.htm

http://www.restaurant.org/research/pocket/index.htm

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ci00039e.html

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/us00030e.html

http://www.idc.com/


76. Health Care Finance Administration, "Highlights of the National Health Expenditure Projections, 1997-2007," available online: http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/NHE-Proj/hilites.htm, viewed: 3/16/99.

77. David Batstone, "Rough Sailing Ahead," in Business 2.0, November 1998, p. 96.

78. Baldwin.

79. National Restaurant Association, "1999 Restaurant Industry Forecast: Operational Trends," available online: http://www.restaurant.org/research/forecast/fc99-07.htm, viewed: 3/16/99.

80. This, and all subsequent restaurant industry statistics are taken from the National Restaurant Association Pocket Factbook previously cited.

81. National Restaurant Association, "1999 Forecast".

82. U.S. Census Bureau, "Service Annual Survey 1997," available online: http://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/bs97.pdf, created: 12/2/98.

83. Jane Lyons, Circulation Manager, Salon Magazine, Interviewed by Blaine Mathieu on April 2, 1999.

84. National Golf Foundation, "Frequently Asked Questions," available online: http://www.ngf.org/faq/, viewed 4/14/99.

85. National Golf Foundation, "Opportunities for Golf through 2010," available online: http://www.ngf.org/opportunities/execsum.html, viewed: 4/14/99.

86. Organizational and client beta testers will be drawn from a single, specific market area in order to create a localized, critical mass of users. (Having a single client located in each of 1000 different cities and towns would not provide a very useful system test.)

87. Blaine Mathieu, "A Balanced Scorecard," on e-Commerce Strategies, available online: http://www.killerstrategy.com, viewed 3/25/99.

88. Lovelock, p. 342.

89. CPM, or cost per thousand impressions/page views is the current industry standard method of charging for placement of advertisements on Web pages, but this standard is rapidly evolving. Other options include charging by "click-throughs" (the number of people who actually click on a Web advertisement) and charging by actual sales generated from a Website’s advertisements. The CPM rates listed here are "average" rates for targeted advertising via the Internet. The rate is higher for advertising to organizations since TimeFind.com will possess a lot of information about these organizations, allowing advertisers to target very effectively. For more information on this extensive and rapidly changing field, see: Robbin Zeff and Brad Aronson, Advertising on the Internet (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997). Also see: Web CMO – a site dedicated to Web marketing research, available online: http://www.webcmo.com, viewed: 03/26/99.


http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/NHE-Proj/hilites.htm

http://www.restaurant.org/research/forecast/fc99-07.htm

http://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/bs97.pdf

http://www.ngf.org/faq/

http://www.ngf.org/opportunities/execsum.html



http://www.webcmo.com/


90. Available online: http://www.download.com, viewed 3/26/99.

91. Available online: http://www.zdnet.com/swlib, viewed 3/26/99.

92. Margaret Kane, "Web business: Have site, will travel," on ZDNet, available online: http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2228461,00.html, viewed: 3/22/99.

93. A recent study by the online research firm Cyber Dialogue (http://www.cyberdialogue.com) highlighted the rapid increase in the percentage of U.S. adults who are searching for medical information online. This number increased from 3.2% in December 1995 to 22.3% in December 1998.

94. There are numerous examples of how a single mention on a popular Website (Yahoo) or magazine (Time) has skyrocketed an Internet concept from obscurity to instant credibility. TimeFind.com will attempt to capitalize on this phenomenon.

95. Costs do not include salaries of employees involved in management or sales functions (i.e., functions that could not easily be outsourced).

96. It is assumed that the existing resources of the founding team of TimeFind.com will be used to develop the initial system, requiring little additional funding.

97. Shona L. Brown and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Competing on the Edge – Strategy as Structured Chaos (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998), p. 4.

98. Jeffrey Davis, "Big Storm Rising," in Business 2.0, September 1998, p. 64.




http://www.download.com/

http://www.zdnet.com/swlib


http://www.cyberdialogue.com/



Amazon.com - Strategies for Success

Amazon.com - Strategies for Success"The most effective survival stance is a constant but highly selective disruption we call

innovation."New Rules for the New Economy, 1998.

Amazon.com is clearly one of the most celebrated leaders in the field of e-commerce. Barely a week passes without the company making a major strategic or marketing move - most recently adding auctions to its list of services.

The two strategy reports included here (Marketing Strategy 1 / Marketing Strategy 2) mainly concern ideas relevant to Amazon.com's initial business of e-tailing knowledge-based products (books, music, and videos). Although these reports were written in November/December 1998 (a long time ago in the Internet world) they are still largely relevant to Amazon.com's core business, and also contain many ideas that would prove useful to almost any other e-tailer.

A Balanced Scorecard outlines a potential performance management system for Amazon.com. The balanced scorecard system enables companies to measure aspects of performance that are non-financial as well as financial - something particularly important for "pure-play" Internet Economy companies. Once again, although Amazon.com is used as the sample company, the concepts developed in this report will prove useful to almost any business that is concerned with continuous improvement through performance measurement (i.e., your business).

Please send me an e-mail if you would like to discuss any of these concepts or ideas further. To find out more about the author, click About Me.

Options:Amazon.com - IntroductionMarketing Strategy 1Marketing Strategy 2A Balanced Scorecard

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Amazon.com - Strategies for Success


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Amazon.com: Strategy 1

Amazon.com Marketing Strategy 1

"Advantage is temporary, reinvention the goal"Competing on the Edge, 1998

(This report was originally created by Blaine Mathieu on December 6, 1998.)

Overview As the "Early Majority" of consumers enters the e-commerce market for the first time, Amazon.com must ensure that it creates the proper structures to retain its position of market leadership. Steps must be taken to build referent community and affinity programs that will attract clients and lock them in to Amazon.com's "whole product" solution. Currently, competitors do not have strong offerings in this area, providing significant first-mover advantages to Amazon.com. The balance of this document contains specific recommendations on how Amazon.com can achieve these goals.

Review of Business and Market Situation With a significant percentage of the American population set to purchase goods over the Internet this Christmas, e-tailing is just now set to "cross the chasm" between market segments known as Innovators/Early Adopters and the Early Majority. In a marketspace growing this rapidly, opportunities abound for new players to mount significant threats to established Internet brands such as Amazon.com. New users of e-commerce, among this Early Majority, could provide the necessary critical mass for this threat to emerge.

The Early Majority have largely not witnessed the meteoric rise of Amazon.com. Therefore, they have "bricks and mortar" retailing brands planted firmly in their minds. This group is often described as being made up of pragmatists to whom good references and support systems are critical to making buying decisions. To put it simply: they shop where their friends shop.

Coincidentally with these market developments, the selling of "experience goods" (including information-based products such as books, music, etc.) is also changing. As distribution of

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these products becomes more and more digital in nature, the marginal cost of production drops to nearly nothing. This will lead to tremendous pressure on price levels as the true cost (including shipping) of selling an additional unit is reduced to zero.

Considering this, it is fortunate that Amazon.com is not in the business of selling books, music, or videos. What Amazon.com sells is information about these items. The true value that Amazon.com adds is the information and "community of interest" that surrounds these products - this is what gives worth to the Amazon.com brand and what will cause people to purchase from Amazon.com rather than from market alternatives (including, eventually, direct from content producers).

Amazon.com wants its clients to engage with the brand image, and potential clients are likely willing to consider such a relationship. After all, who would want to be associated with an Everything4Less or Buy.com brand? Becoming an "Amazonian" should stand as a mark of intelligence, sensibility, and value consciousness - among other traits. Working to establish a community of interest around this brand image will serve to reinforce Amazon.com's brand equity.

More and more, the value that Amazon.com provides (and its brand equity) will depend on the "network effect" - the number of clients and the quality of the interactions between themselves, and with Amazon.com. (The network effect reflects Metcalfe's Law in which the value of the network increases with the square of the number of the network's users.) This is particularly true with the pragmatic Early Majority to whom the Amazon.com brand holds less meaning (relative to earlier adopters). The Early Majority will be looking for references and support primarily from other system users (their most trusted source of information). Taking all of these considerations into account, further encouraging the development of the Amazon.com community is one of the key issues facing Amazon.com today.

Meeting the Challenge (Note: the following discussion uses "books" as the primary product example although each of these ideas is equally applicable to other information-based products such as music, movies, software, etc.)

So what can Amazon.com do to further promote the development of a community of interest (or multiple communities) around its business model? The answer lies not only in creating the infrastructure for community but also in creating programs to encourage the development and growth of community (affinity programs).

COMMUNITY: The town



Every community needs structures - places for people to live, meet, and shop. Currently, the Amazon.com community is a great place to shop but the other needs of its citizens to interact are met primarily through client-generated book reviews. While this is a good start at community building, there are definitely other buildings to erect. This will be particularly true for the next wave of potential clients who, as has been discussed, are very concerned with the referent value of community. To further build community infrastructure, recommendations include:

Hosting discussion groups

Discussion groups can be focused on specific books (for very popular titles) as well as on more general genres of books. Amazon.com should enable both real-time and non-real-time meetings between clients and potential clients. An example of a discussion not taking place in real-time is a threaded "newsgroup" type of interaction. Through the Amazon.com web page, users should be able to post and respond to messages relating to the topic at hand.

Even more exciting is the potential of real-time interaction between clients, potential clients, and Amazon.com itself. This would take the form of a web-based "chat" type of interaction in which short messages are inputted and displayed in real-time. Besides user-to-user interaction on various topics, this system could also be used for author interviews and meetings with subject-area experts.

Expanding client book review system

The current system is well implemented in that it allows both a "star" rating and narrative reviews from clients. However, an expansion of the "star system" would allow book purchasers to obtain a greater depth of information without expending any additional energy.

Depending on the type of book (fiction, non-fiction) and even perhaps based on the book's genre, it should be possible to create four or five rating categories. For example, a book meant to teach a skill (i.e., Visual Basic programming) could be rated on such indicators as relevance to the topic and difficulty level of the material, along with two or three other ratings and the overall rating.

This system would enable a book purchaser to quickly get a more precise and meaningful evaluation of a book's merits while avoiding "information overload". Providing this information would only marginally increase the length of time it would take for a client to create a book review. Recommendations regarding which categories should be used for each type of book is beyond the scope of this document. However, it is probable that clients should be allowed input in selecting the most optimal choices themselves, either through online surveys or in-person focus groups.



By allowing people to review materials and hold discussions in more meaningful and comprehensive ways, Amazon.com will take a tremendous step towards building the type of infrastructure that a vibrant community requires. In doing so, Amazon.com will be creating the conditions necessary for the Early Majority to embrace the system.

AFFINITY: The reward for living there

Having a community structure in place is necessary but not sufficient, on its own, to create truly effective and referent communities of interest. Amazon.com must also ensure that people "move in" to these communities and make use of all of the facilities. One of the most effective ways of accomplishing this is through the use of affinity (loyalty) programs. An effective affinity program involves two dimensions:

1. The creation of a value-based currency (i.e., Amazon Dollars).2. Instituting a membership program (i.e., the Amazon Club).

Value-based currency

A value-based currency can be very effective in rewarding and promoting desired client behaviors and in reinforcing community structures. Uses of a value-based currency could include:

Rewards for submitting book reviews

This is particularly crucial considering the importance of community references to Early Majority clients. Currently, some (very popular) books have many reviews but most books have few or none. By rewarding clients and potential clients for creating book reviews, the overall value of the program will be increased dramatically. The effectiveness of this system could be increased further by providing larger rewards for books with fewer reviews. I.e., the first review of a book would receive a larger reward than the fifth review. The scale would continue to slide until, by the tenth review, the reward would be quite small.

Reimbursement on purchases

A certain percentage of each book's purchase price could be reimbursed to clients in the form of a value-based currency. This will improve the chance of subsequent book purchases through Amazon.com because people are reluctant to "leave money on the table". It will also reduce the efficiency of price-comparison "bots" since it will be more difficult for these agents to calculate the precise comparative cost of a book from Amazon.com.

Other uses of a value-based currency



The potential uses of such a system are only limited by the imagination. Amazon.com could make use of this system in conjunction with any new program or system that it wanted to launch. Rather than waiting for the popularity of a system to build up (i.e., a new "chat" area), Amazon.com could reward the early adopters of this system with Amazon Dollars.

Membership program

In conjunction with the introduction of a value-based currency, Amazon.com could create a membership program (such as an Amazon Club). As a largely symbolic program, it would provide a greater sense of meaning and community to members (clients) and increase the perceived value of the associated value-based currency. In addition, club members could be granted access to special offers and areas of the community not available to non-members.

The purpose of the club membership should not be to exclude any portion of the market. The main goal of the club should be to enhance the perceived value of affinity and community programs. Therefore, very careful consideration should be given before taking the step of charging any fee for club membership.

ECONOMY: Locked in to a continuous cycle

The result of combining community structure with affinity programs should be a significant increase in the "lock-in" of clients to the Amazon.com economic system and further growth in brand equity. As clients become more involved with the Amazon.com community, it becomes less likely that they will sacrifice the time and effort necessary to become involved in other similar communities. In essence, switching costs for consumers increase dramatically since members become locked in to a cycle:

1. become member, interact with community2. purchase book3. receive Amazon Dollars4. write book review, interact with community5. receive more Amazon Dollars6. return to 1

Strategies for locking in clients work in three parts:

1) Invest - create an installed base

Amazon.com has done an excellent job of building up a tremendous base among Early Adopters of e-commerce. The challenge will be to extend this base to larger segments of the population that are only now considering this market. Affinity programs are a useful way to introduce clients to a system, particularly if membership bestows some initial benefits (i.e., free



shipping on the first order).

2) Entrench - establish members, not samplers

This is the phase where the preceding strategies are most relevant. Creating a referent community infrastructure and promoting its use through affinity programs will reduce one-time sampling behavior and promote repeat purchases and low client "churn" rates.

3) Leverage

A concerted program of client investment and entrenchment paves the way for successfully leveraging the locked-in client base to purchasing other products and services. Since Amazon.com has already expanded into areas beyond books, it is increasingly important that the previous two steps (particularly entrenchment) are realized in order to maximize the effectiveness of the product line expansion.

THE WHOLE PRODUCT: What pragmatists want to see

Early adopters of a new system are willing (and able) to create the desired "whole product" out of parts from various suppliers. Upon deciding to purchase a book, this might mean the following to a potential client:

monitoring a newsgroup discussion on a specific book topic to decide upon which book to purchase;reading the online book reviews at Amazon.com;purchasing the book at a different online site where the price may be marginally better or some affinity rewards are offered.

Later members of the market life cycle will not be as willing (or able) to create the whole product themselves. They will be ready and willing to pay whomever is able to provide the best whole product offering. Amazon.com must be that company.

Competitive Analysis [Author's note: The Internet Economy moves very quickly and companies engaged in e-commerce reinvent themselves almost weekly. For this reason, the following competitive analysis should be considered a "snapshot in time". Most of the companies outlined in this analysis, including Amazon.com, have made considerable changes to their Internet offerings since this documents was initially created on December 6, 1998.]

It is interesting to briefly consider how Amazon.com's competitors (in online retailing of



knowledge-based products) are faring in their attempts to create "whole product solutions". The Appendix to this document contains a summary of the programs offered by fifteen competitors (both direct and indirect) on the two important dimensions identified herein:

Affinity: What kind of affinity or loyalty program is in place.Community: The extent of user-to-user interactions that this company makes available and promotes.

Overall, no e-tailer has yet put together a complete, self-perpetuating program of community supported by affinity. Most "second-tier" e-tailers have no programs at all, while first-tier companies have focused on incomplete implementations of either community or affinity - but not both. Currently, the company that comes closest to achieving a balanced program is ChaptersGlobe (www.chaptersglobe.com), with its Chapter 1 Club and relatively well-implemented discussion groups.

The fact that the leadership position in community creation is still available is good news for Amazon.com. No company more than Amazon.com appreciates the importance of first-mover advantages in building brand equity. Although the strategies of Amazon.com have been (and will be) copied by competitors, being the first to create a true community network will give rise to a positive feedback loop in which Amazon.com remains the leading e-tailer of knowledge-based products. This will hold true despite shifts in the marketspace.

Conclusion By providing leadership in the development of communities of interest, Amazon.com will ensure that it not only survives the inevitable "shakeout" of online retailers, but also emerges in a greatly strengthened position. Attracting the Early Majority and locking them in to Amazon.com's whole product will greatly assist the leveraging of this client base towards purchasing complementary products - promoting Amazon.com's continued expansion beyond the book trade.

Blaine [email protected]

Appendix - Competitive Programs

Name Affinity Programs Community Programs


http://www.chaptersglobe.com/



Amazon.com (www.amazon.com)

none Client-generated book reviews including short text and "star" rating.

BarnesAndNoble.com (www.barnesandnoble.com)

Association with ClickRewards frequent flyer mile programs.

Client-generated book reviews including short text and "star" rating.

Beyond.com (www.beyond.com) [downloadable books / software]

none Simple client-generated "star" rating with no text (narrative) reviews.

bibliofind.com (www.bibliofind.com)

none Sponsorship of various topical e-mail discussion lists.

Books.com (www.books.com)

none Web-based topical discussion lists – poorly implemented and not "real-time".

Books-A-Million (www.booksamillion.com)

"Millionaire’s club" members receive an additional 10% off any books they purchase. Membership cost is $5 per year.

None

Borders (www.borders.com)

none Client-generated book reviews including short text and "star" rating. One review is selected per week to receive a $100 prize although this contest is not well promoted.

buy.com / buybooks.com (www.buy.com)

[general retailer]

none none

CDnow (www.cdnow.com) [music and movies]

Free membership in Fast Forward Rewards program earns CDnow points that can be redeemed only on specific merchandise. Quite well implemented.

none

ChaptersGlobe.com (www.chaptersglobe.com)

Chapter 1 Club: $25 for first year, $20 thereafter; 10% off all regularly priced books (online books are "regularly priced" at a significant discount); $1 = 1 Chapter 1 Club point, initially 200 points and client receives a $5 gift certificate, thereafter 100 points gains $5 certificate; currently Chapter 1 Club certificates cannot be redeemed online.

Nicely implemented web-based discussion groups on specific books or topics. No real-time (chat) capability.



http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

http://www.beyond.com/

http://www.bibliofind.com/

http://www.booksamillion.com/

http://www.borders.com/

http://www.buy.com/

http://www.cdnow.com/

http://www.chaptersglobe.com/


everything4less.com / Netmarket (www.everything4less.com / www.netmarket.com) [general retailer]

$69.95 annual fee. Offers: 5% netmarket cash rebate that can be applied to future purchases or rebated once per year; 2 year extended warranty; price protection plan; member-only specials.

none

harvard bookstore (www.harvard.com)

none none

N2K (www.n2k.com) [music]

none none

Powell’s Books (www.powells.com)

none none

Tattered Cover B-Store (www.tatteredcover.com)

none none

WordsWorth (www.wordsworth.com)

none none

Sources (Click the links to find out more about these books - courtesy of Amazon.com, of course!)Being Digital (Negroponte, 1995).Competing on the Edge (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1998).Crossing the Chasm (Moore, 1991).Information Rules (Shapiro & Varian, 1998).Marketing Management (Kotler, 1994).Opening Digital Markets (Mougayar, 1998).The Digital Economy (Tapscott, 1996).The Road Ahead (Gates, 1995).Unleashing the Killer App (Downes & Mui, 1998).Webonomics (Schwartz, 1997).

Options:


http://www.everything4less.com/

http://www.netmarket.com/

http://www.harvard.com/

http://www.n2k.com/

http://www.powells.com/

http://www.tatteredcover.com/

http://www.wordsworth.com/












Amazon.com - IntroductionMarketing Strategy 1Marketing Strategy 2A Balanced Scorecard

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Amazon.com Marketing Strategy 2

"Disintermediation is the best revenge."Enterprise One To One, 1997

(This report was originally created by Blaine Mathieu on December 15, 1998.)

Building on the Foundation The author's previous report, "Ensuring the Future" (ETF), detailed how the continued development of referent community and affinity programs is crucial to the optimization of Amazon.com's future growth and success. The report demonstrated that by providing the structure for community and the incentive for clients to "move in", Amazon.com will continue to lock clients in to its whole product solution.

This report outlines a number of additional strategies and programs that Amazon.com could use to further build its whole product. As in ETF, this report uses "books" as the primary product example, although the ideas expressed are also applicable to a wide range of product categories - particularly information-based products such as music and video.

Whole Product Strategies The ETF report described how the creation of affinity programs, including a "membership" system, could be useful in building community and retaining its members. Although the strategies outlined in this section could be adopted without the creation of a formal membership system, many of these ideas are most powerful within the context of such a (largely symbolic) system. For example, certain programs would only be advisable for clients who have previously purchased from Amazon.com. It may not be prudent to utilize the same programs for first-time users of the system. With such users, an increased level of complexity may be detrimental to the introductory user experience.






Where it is applicable below, the term "members" will be used to denote clients of Amazon.com who have made repeat purchases - whether or not a formal "membership program" exists.

BUILDING REFERENT COMMUNITY

The following strategies and programs are designed to assist in building and reinforcing communities of interest - so important as reference sources for potential clients in the Early Majority market segment that Amazon.com is now trying to address.

Online "Light Box"

A light box or light table allows the easy display and viewing of photographic slides. In a similar way, Amazon.com could allow each member to create an online light box containing the images of one or more books under consideration. The member would then be able to carry on real-time chat or delayed threaded discussions relating to the books in the light box.

This program would be particularly useful in conjunction with Amazon.com's "Reading Group Guides". Why should members, who want to carry on online reading groups, be forced to use the facilities of other online services to carry out such a discussion? By enabling private community discussions on the Amazon.com site, it is more likely that the members of this group will purchase the book from Amazon.com (and, more importantly, develop an ongoing relationship with Amazon.com.).

Gift Registries

Similar in concept to the online light box, members should be able to set up personal registries for books (and other items) that they would like to receive as gifts. A user could add items to a personal registry list in much the same way that items are currently added to a shopping cart. The user could then provide Amazon.com with a list of e-mail addresses that should be contacted with the link to this personal registry. As gifts are purchased from this list, they disappear off the page.

The core products of Amazon.com (currently books, music, and videos) are in the optimal price range for this type of gift giving. Furthermore, this program provides the perfect opportunity for early adopters of Amazon.com to refer members of the Early Majority to the Amazon.com system. Once these people have purchased gifts from Amazon.com (on the recommendation of an existing member) they are far more likely to want to utilize the system for themselves.

Recommendations: More than Products

The system that Amazon.com uses to create book recommendations for members should be extended and adapted into other areas. For example, once Amazon.com creates forums for



member interaction (as per ETF), it could use the technology to recommend which discussion groups (threaded and chat) would likely be of interest to the member. The result would be a further encouragement of the Amazon.com community.

Instant Chat

If two or more people (at least one of them a "member") are simultaneously viewing the same book description, Amazon.com should provide these people with the ability to immediately engage in an online chat. These "momentary communities" are likely to be extremely valuable for the short time that they exist - particularly to potential members (of the Early Majority) who are looking to the referent value of community. Of course, it should be simple for a user to disable this chat feature so that a person could browse in peace, if so desired.

Key-Person Networking

As Amazon.com creates the infrastructure for community, it must ensure that it pays particular attention to the community needs of its key partners. These include Associates, Advantage members, and discussion facilitators that Amazon.com may enlist to help in community building. As with regular clients, these discussion groups will help in "crossing the chasm" to the next wave of Associates and Advantage members. Furthermore, by monitoring these discussions, Amazon.com will be provided with invaluable information about how its programs are perceived by its key partners, both positively and negatively.

More Reviews

Amazon.com's system of user-generated reviews is one of its greatest assets. ETF detailed some programs that could be used to make this system even more effective. Here are two more:

Review Invitations: It is likely that many more book reviews would be generated by members if generating these reviews were a simpler process. Currently, a client has to order the book and receive it. Then, after reading it, the user must remember to log back onto the Amazon.com system, find the book again, and enter the review. Although many people like to share their opinions on books that they have read with their community, this process is usually seen as more trouble than it is worth.

One solution is the following: a certain period of time after a book is sent, a member could be sent an e-mail asking if he was interested in contributing a review. This would only be done for books that had few reviews (i.e., less than 10). The e-mail would present the member with links that would take him directly to a review page (with all the appropriate information already filled in) for each of the books that were purchased - thus minimizing the work that the reviewer would have to do. Of course, members would also be allowed to select a link that disabled this



review request feature in the future, if they so chose.

Review Links: Once Amazon.com builds up the community infrastructure, it is likely that members will want easy access to the reviews they have written in order to share them (during topical discussions, etc.). To facilitate this, members could be provided with the address to a personal page that contains all of the reviews they have written. The member could then share this address both with other Amazon.com members (during discussions) and with people who are not yet clients of Amazon.com - thus providing further referrals to the Early Majority.

Referrals Program

Referring new clients to the Amazon.com Web-site is one of the key issues facing Amazon.com. Personal referrals are far more valuable to Amazon.com than advertising since referrals are "free" to Amazon.com and are much more crucial as sources of reference to the Early Majority. This segment of the population is not nearly as willing or able to "discover value" on their own (compared to earlier adopters) - they prefer to be referred to it.

One method of promoting referrals from existing members is to provide these members with an offer or coupon that could be e-mailed to a friend. The only condition is that this friend could not already be a member of Amazon.com. This coupon (perhaps a 15% off offer) could be provided to the member either on a random basis, after submitting a review, or after a purchase reaching a certain value. The concept is likely to be more powerful if the member is presented with it "unexpectedly" and not as part of an advertised promotion.

By e-mailing the coupon to a friend or family member, the Amazon.com member will feel good about being able to give something valuable to someone else and about being able to share the Amazon.com experience (since this justifies the member's own commitment to Amazon.com). The final receiver of the coupon would appreciate the offer, but would appreciate even more the referent value of a "gift from Ted". In effect, through this program, the member is lending Amazon.com his or her credibility.

ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES

Although not directly related to community building, the following strategies and programs will help to round out the whole product offered by Amazon.com. As a result, more potential clients will be attracted to Amazon.com in the first place, strengthening and building upon the existing community infrastructure.

Knowledge Aggregation

Despite the fact that e-book technology is not immediately suitable for mass adoption, there are steps that Amazon.com could take to ensure it is ready for this coming eventuality.



Amazon.com could contract with book publishers to carry the complete text of books online. In doing this, members trying to decide on which books to purchase would have a much more complete database on which to conduct searches. Search results could be placed in context within the book text - enabling a much more accurate assessment of whether a book might meet specific needs or not.

For example, a search on the topic of "e-commerce" would produce a list of books as Amazon.com currently does. But after a specific book is chosen, the member could further search on the use of the term within the text of the book itself and be provided with a short context. Although a book could never be "read" in this way, the system would provide a great improvement in the decision-making abilities of Amazon.com's members. In addition, the adoption of this technology would take Amazon.com (as well as its members and book publishers) a step closer to the reality of actually purchasing e-books when this becomes feasible.

This program is likely to be initially most useful for non-fiction books. Currently, online booksellers are at a disadvantage relative to bricks and mortar stores (in this respect) because clients cannot "thumb through" a book online like they can in a store. The implementation of this system would actually leapfrog bricks and mortar stores because, not only could a client "flip through" a virtual book but he could actually search the text for relevant concepts as part of making the purchase decision.

Kiosks

In her book "Customers.com", Patricia Seybold briefly outlines the concept of Amazon.com "kiosks" in bookstores. By integrating into (or becoming) a bookstore's inventory system, a user could find out if a book is in stock. If not, she would be able to purchase the book directly from Amazon.com (with the bookstore receiving a percentage of the revenue). Bookstores (and their clients) would also benefit from Amazon.com's database of book information, reviews, and community that no bricks and mortar bookstore could hope to duplicate. Obviously, this concept is most likely to be used by independent bookstores that are not attempting a large online bookstore component of their own.

Another version of this concept is to place these kiosks in libraries. Since libraries do not directly compete with Amazon.com in the way that bookstores do, resistance to the concept is likely to be lower. In addition, the libraries (which are always looking for sources of additional revenue) could benefit from such a relationship with Amazon.com.

The ultimate extension of this concept would be a link to the library's catalogue system. In this way, if a book was not carried by the library (as with many of the most recently published books), the system would automatically link to Amazon.com and allow the user to purchase the book. One final advantage of this system is that it opens the Amazon.com concept up to



segments of society that may not have access to the technology, from home or work, necessary to utilize the Amazon.com system.

Client Research

Receiving feedback from members can be particularly important in deciding on the efficacy of programs and strategies. Although Web tracking software can provide an overall statistical view of which aspects of the system that members are using, the Web also provides the opportunity to obtain direct feedback from members. One idea is to present members (on a random basis) with an online survey that asks their opinions about various topics such as the awareness level of certain system features and opinions about potential system enhancements.

Web tracking tells Amazon.com which features people are using, but not whether or not a user is aware of a feature. For example, a little-used feature may have low awareness with users, or it may have high awareness but little value. Web tracking cannot accurately distinguish this. This information is likely to be invaluable in Amazon.com's decision-making processes and most members will be happy to be given the chance to contribute to their community's success.

Improved Search

Amazon.com's book search capability should tie into the review "rating" system. In this way, a user could find all books on the topic of "e-commerce" that rated four stars or higher. This concept becomes even more powerful if the rating system is enhanced as outlined in ETF. An "advanced search" capability could search for books on a certain topic that met a number of different rating criteria.

Shopping Cart

A recent article on ZDNet, "Online shopping carts need more smarts in their carts", provides some sound advice on how the online shopping experience at Amazon.com could be enhanced with an improved shopping cart. The basic point of this article is that most online shopping sites (including Amazon.com) "hide" their shopping cart on a separate page rather than displaying it as the user shops. Improvements to the Amazon.com shopping cart could include:

Making the shopping cart visible to the user on all "shopping-related" screens (i.e., not necessary when the user is reading help screens or interacting in discussion groups).Providing a running total for the shopping cart that is easily visible."Smart cart" features such as: the ability to "lay away" items and be notified via e-mail when a certain time period has elapsed; and the ability to place items on a "notification list" so that e-mail notifications can be sent if the price or other attributes of an item changes.


http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_rc_display/0,3443,2135422,00.html


Currently, ChaptersGlobe (www.chaptersglobe.com) is one of the few online book retailers to utilize a shopping cart with some of these capabilities.

Defectors

Although Amazon.com's client retention rate is quite high, the issue of customer "defections" must be given serious consideration and the power of the Internet should be harnessed to address this issue. Users who have purchased something from Amazon.com in the past, but have not returned for an extended period of time, have shown a propensity and willingness to purchase online but have made a decision to shop somewhere else. As Seybold states, "most often, customers defect not in anger but because of the perceived value of a product offering". For some reason, customers suddenly view an alternative as providing more value. It is in Amazon.com's best interest to understand these reasons in order to improve the whole product for current clients and reduce defections in the future.

Past clients that meet the criteria of "defector" could be sent a polite e-mail containing a link to a Web page. This Web page would simply ask past clients to describe their reasons for choosing vendors besides Amazon.com in survey and (perhaps) narrative format. Besides gleaning valuable information from this client, Amazon.com could then use the interactive power of the Web to tailor an offer to "return to the fold" specifically to the needs expressed by the user. For example, if a user indicated in a survey that "price" was the key reason for leaving Amazon.com, then in thanks for filling out the survey she could be provided with a certificate entitling her to 15% off her next purchase. Along with the coupon, she would be shown a message crafted to subtly undermine this objection. The hope would be that, in using the coupon, she would become reacquainted with the Amazon.com community and decide to remain as an active member (locked-in).

The results of this program would be both a greater understanding of reasons for client defection, and (hopefully) the return of a certain percentage of defectors to the Amazon.com community.

Conclusion Along with the concepts outlined in ETF, the strategies and programs described here can go a long way towards creating referent communities of interest that will lock new clients in to the Amazon.com whole product solution. Although these ideas vary in their difficulty to implement, simply giving them consideration helps to prime the "possibility factory" that is Amazon.com's network.



Blaine [email protected]

Additional Sources In addition to those listed in ETF, this report utilized the following sources:(Click the links to find out more about these books - courtesy of Amazon.com, of course!)

Customers.com (Seybold, 1998).Net Future (Martin, 1999).Net Gain (Hagel and Armstrong, 1997).New Rules for the New Economy (Kelly, 1998).

Options:Amazon.com - IntroductionMarketing Strategy 1Marketing Strategy 2A Balanced Scorecard

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Amazon.com: Balanced Scorecard

Overview of Amazon.com 28

Amazon.com, Inc. began in 1995 as an online bookstore. Since then, it has grown at a tremendous rate and is now the Internet's number one online book and music retailer, offering over 4.7 million items from its Website. Revenues in 1998 totaled $610 million resulting in a net loss of $125 million. Despite such healthy revenues, heavy expenditures on marketing and sales, and deep price discounting are the major sources of these losses. Recently, Amazon.com has expanded its e-commerce offerings into videos, various gifts, software, and other items.

Although Amazon.com has not published a formal mission statement, the basic mission and goals of the company are very apparent and are continually stated by the company's founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos. "We have one strategy at Amazon.com - provide the customer with the best shopping experience." Further, "our goal is nothing short of building the world's most customer-centric company." Finally, "our company mission is to leverage technology and expertise to provide the best buying experience on the Internet." The basic elements of Amazon.com's strategy are well-encapsulated by the "generic e-commerce strategies" previously outlined.

To these ends, Amazon.com has invested heavily in technologies that allow it to ascertain and anticipate the needs of its customers. By analysing past purchases and other information volunteered by its customers, Amazon.com is able to provide accurate recommendations to customers about which items they might like to consider purchasing. Amazon.com has also taken steps to build a community infrastructure resulting in customer "lock-in", through such tools a customer-generated product reviews.17,18

The "Associates" program at Amazon.com has also been extremely successful at expanding the company's market share. Through this program, Websites can set up a "virtual bookstore" and receive a referral fee on all sales which are processed by Amazon.com. Currently, Amazon.com has over 200,000 Websites in its Associates program.

Being one of the first online bookstores has provided Amazon.com with a significant first-mover advantage. Long-term market leadership and "an enduring

http://www.killerstrategy.com/amazon/azbsc.htm (1 of 9) [10/16/2001 2:53:38 PM]



franchise, even in established and large markets" are key goals of the company. Bezos recently commented that "optimizing for market share" was a core focus of the company.23 This is also reflected in the statement that "when forced to choose between optimizing the appearance of our GAAP accounting and maximizing the present value of future cash flows, we'll take the cash flows."

Amazon.com is considered to have one of the best senior management teams in the industry.27 Heavy reliance on stock options in employee compensation packages (and a high-flying stock attracting lots of press attention) has enabled Amazon.com to fill its ranks with very motivated and bright people looking to "make a difference" in the world of e-commerce.

On a more global scale, Amazon.com has outlined a number of key measurements that it tracks. "We first measure ourselves in terms of the metrics most indicative of our market leadership: customer and revenue growth, the degree to which our customers continue to purchase from us on a repeat basis, and the strength of our brand." It is interesting to note that only one of these four measurements is directly financial in nature, reflecting the fact that current financial performance is not a paramount consideration.

Four Perspectives - Goals & Measures

Given the preceding general analysis of e-commerce strategies, and the goals and strategies of Amazon.com in particular, it is now possible to create the essence of a proposed BSC system for Amazon.com. The four perspectives of the BSC system, along with the associated critical success factors and the strategic measures that flow from them, are outlined below. Following this table are more detailed descriptions of each of these strategic measures.

1.1 Profitability

1.1.1 / 1.1.2 Average gross margin per sale/customer: In the world of e-commerce, margins are under increasing pressure. Key to Amazon.com's success will be the ability to retain margin's high enough to support its increasing



operating costs and substantial marketing costs.9 Understanding this metric on a per-customer basis will also allow Amazon.com to compare it to its average customer acquisition cost.

1.1.3 Average customer acquisition cost: This important measure will help Amazon.com analyze the reasons for changes in market share. All things being equal, the company with the lower cost of customer acquisition is better positioned. Future profitability is likely as long as the "lifetime value" of a customer exceeds the initial acquisition cost of that customer.

1.2 Growth

1.2.1 Quarterly revenue growth: Amazon.com has experienced continually increasing rates of growth in quarterly sales/revenues. When this growth rate levels off, it will be a key sign that Amazon.com has entered a new type of market situation. On "Internet time", a quarter is like a year, therefore quarterly measures are often more meaningful than yearly measures.20

1.3 Survival

1.3.1 Cash flow: Constant cash flow will ensure Amazon.com's survival and will enable to it to judge the need for future capital injections.

Customer Perspective:

2.1 Brand strength

2.1.1 Brand awareness: Various measures of Internet brand awareness are available including the Media Metrix rankings of Website popularity and reach.

2.1.2 Brand meaning: As opposed to awareness, "brand meaning" measures the meanings that people attach to brands. Amazon.com must ensure that customers and potential customers are not only aware that Amazon.com exists but also have relevant knowledge of the desired brand image. Measurement of this metric can be costly, but it is important for Amazon.com to appreciate the difference between the company's desired image and its perceived image.



2.1.3 Customer life cycle: Crossing the chasm between the "early adopters" segment of the population (who have already bought in to Amazon.com's whole product solution) and the "early majority" (who are more accustomed to off-line brands) will be a key indicator of Amazon.com's success.19 This metric measures the distribution of customers across these segments of the population.

2.2 Customer satisfaction

2.2.1 Customer satisfaction index: Amazon.com should use its capability to easily interact with customers online in order to derive an index of customer satisfaction. It is important to note that "customer satisfaction is useful for explaining competitive business results only when it is measured relative to the competitor's scores."22 In other words, high satisfaction scores are not satisfactory if competitors have even higher scores.

2.2.2 Traffic conversion rate: Measures what percentage of customers flow from being "visitors" to "users" to "customers" to "repeat purchasers" within a certain period of time. Repeat purchasers are more likely to have "bought-in" to Amazon.com's whole product solution and are thus are the most valuable to the company.

2.2.3 Knowledgebase per customer: Measures the extent of the "learning relationship" between Amazon.com and its customers. The more Amazon.com knows about a customer, the stronger the relationship and the potential for customer lock-in.22 This could be measured as the average number of unique data records per customer.

2.2.4 Degree of lock-in: Locked-in customers are those that have invested in a relationship with Amazon.com and, therefore, are more likely to be valuable long-term customers. An "index of customer lock-in" could be developed based on a number of measures such as community participation rates, repeat purchase rates, and purchases across product areas. For further ideas on this topic, see the author's report, "Ensuring Amazon.com's Future".11

2.2.5 Share of customer: Over all product areas that Amazon.com competes, this metric considers what proportion of an average customer's needs are



satisfied through Amazon.com. As a simple example: if the average reader purchases $150 of books per year, but Amazon.com's average sales per customer are $75, then Amazon.com "owns" a 50% average share of customer for that product line. Ideally, as customers become locked-in to Amazon.com's solution, the average share of customer will increase.

2.2.6 Price comparison: An index comparing Amazon.com's average total item price relative to a basket of competitors, as well as a comparison to the lowest price major competitor. The success of Amazon.com's initial business model was based largely on price. This metric will help Amazon.com understand the success of its whole product offering as it moves away from a price leadership position.

2.2.7 Customer defection rate: A "defector" is a customer who has previously purchased from Amazon.com but has not re-purchased for a significant period of time. These past customers have shown a propensity towards online shopping but have not returned to Amazon.com for some reason.

2.3 Market share growth

2.3.1 Number of new Web visitors: The total number of unique visitors within the last quarter that have never previously been to the Amazon.com Website.

2.3.2 Visitor to new customer conversion rate: The percentage of unique new visitors who purchase something for the first time.

2.3.3 Number of unique customers: Total number of people who have purchased from Amazon.com.

2.3.4 Market share: A very important measure since "size" is such a huge advantage on the Internet where there are few diseconomies of scale. When calculating market share, Amazon.com must ensure that it includes all potential substitutes since economic value tends to migrate towards such substitutes over time (and this time passes quite quickly on the Internet).11,25 As an example, the "market" for CD sales would include not only online and offline CD retailers but also companies selling music in digital form, directly over the Internet.



Internal Perspective:

3.1 Quality and reliability

3.1.1 On-time delivery rate: When an item is purchased, Amazon.com implies a time frame for delivery. One of the key advantages that offline retailers have over e-commerce retailers is that items can often be immediately picked up. Therefore, satisfying (and exceeding) customer expectations towards delivery times is of key importance.

3.1.2 Service error rate: Because of the time and distance separating Amazon.com from its customers, service errors (such as incorrectly filled orders) are much more crucial to customer satisfaction in the online world. Returning items is expensive, in terms of both time and money, for both Amazon.com and the customer.

3.2 Efficiency

3.2.1 Level of disinter mediation: This metric measures the average number of companies/levels there are in the chain extending from the initial producer of the item to the final customer.26 As an example, for books this might include the author, the publisher, a wholesaler, Amazon.com, the shipper, and finally the customer. The more levels that Amazon.com can remove from this chain the greater the chance for improved margins. (Using the book example: the author might create a book which Amazon.com sells directly to the final customer in digital form - result: three intermediaries removed and increased margins for Amazon.com.)

3.2.2 Revenue per dollar of Web development: Measures the cost-effectiveness of efforts being put into ongoing technical infrastructure development.

Innovation and Learning Perspective:

4.1 Innovation

4.1.1 Bit/atom ratio: Measures the percentage of revenues that are derived



from the sale of high margin "bits" as opposed to lower margin "atoms" (physical goods).21 Bits have virtually no shipping or reproduction cost, therefore the movement towards the sale of bits should increase Amazon.com's margins.

4.1.2 Distribution of management attention: Measures the distribution of management attention relating to issues focussed on the past, the present, and the future. Any sudden change in this balance is cause for concern and may indicate that certain issues are dominating management's efforts.5 Such considerations are particularly important to Internet businesses undergoing extremely rapid change.

4.2 Thinking resource maximization

4.2.1 Employee retention level: Retaining a large team of star employees has always been difficult in the high-tech sector and it is even more difficult in the Internet industry. This is compounded by the fact that the reliance on stock option incentives, combined with the burgeoning stock price of Amazon.com, has created a large pool of wealth in the ranks of employees - potentially freeing them up to other pursuits.7

4.2.2 Virtual workforce percentage: The creation of a virtual workforce is like "disintermediation for the workforce", often resulting in reduced costs and improved efficiencies.16

4.2.3 Revenue per employee: Another key measure of how "virtual" an organization is.

4.2.4 Staff attitude survey: Shifts in employee attitudes can have major effects on productivity and retention. Being aware of these shifts is an important step in maximizing Amazon.com's intangible "people assets", particularly in an industry undergoing such rapid transformation.

4.3 Diversification

4.3.1 Associate growth percentage: This metric indicates the growth in Amazon.com's key "Associates" program relative to the growth in the number of



Websites on the Internet.

4.3.2 Percentage of items that equal 80% of sales: One of the key challenges of online retailers is to present a wide range of items through a medium that has very low bandwidth. In the "real world", customers can browse shelves and absorb a large amount of information (visually) very quickly. Such browsing is much more difficult on the Internet. The result is that many online retailers have focused on selling "top 50" items at the expense of a much wider range of sales and increased revenues. This measure will help Amazon.com consider how it is progressing on this method of maximizing its sales potential.

4.3.3 Percentage of sales from proprietary products: As Amazon.com develops relationships with content producers it will continue to increase the number of items that only it sells. An example would be an online book that only Amazon.com publishes digitally. Increasing the amount of proprietary items available at Amazon.com will reinforce customer lock-in and build brand equity.

4.3.4 Percentage of quarterly sales from new segments: Amazon.com continually adds new lines of products to its product mix. This measure indicates what percentage of sales are derived from product lines that did not exist in the previous quarter - a key measure of Amazon.com's expanding e-commerce presence.

By utilizing these key strategic measures, Amazon.com will ensure that its mission is fulfilled and its strategies are used to their maximum effectiveness.

Final Considerations

"The balanced scorecard is most successful when it is used to drive the process of change." Kaplan and Norton.11

The tremendous rate of change in the Internet Economy truly makes the BSC one of the most valuable tools of a strategic manager in the e-commerce industry. Having now outlined the basis of a BSC system for Amazon.com, the following section details some key considerations that will assist the company in



successfully implementing such a system thereby assisting it in managing such change.

Links and Correlations

As was already discussed, Amazon.com has a very advanced system for analyzing customer (and potential customers') interactions with its Website. Such a system fits perfectly with the real-time nature of the BSC. "In large organizations, accumulating sufficient data to document significant correlations and causation among balanced scorecard measures can take a long time - months or years."13 However, integrating the tremendous amount of data that flows through Amazon.com's systems with the BSC will enable such links and correlations to be derived much more quickly. Putting this data through modern statistical analysis tools such as neural nets should provide Amazon.com with the information necessary to begin to understand the precise relationships between a large number of leading and lagging scorecard indicators.

.

As it stands, Amazon.com is well positioned to remain the world leader in both the development of e-commerce strategy and its implementation. Utilizing a balanced scorecard will only further help to ensure that it retains this position through what will likely be a turbulent future.


About Me

About Me"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,

committed people can change the world.Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

To hear me, click the picture.

"We live in exciting times. Moore's law (the power of technology) and Metcalfe's law (the power of the network) have combined to enable effective e-commerce solutions. But technology is not enough - what we need are Killer Strategies for the Internet Economy."

Blaine Mathieu

I am pleased to announce my recent acceptance of the position of Senior Industry Analyst, Business to Consumer E-Commerce with Dataquest/Gartner Group, in San Jose. I look forward to providing clients of Dataquest with a level of analysis similar to what you have seen on the Killerstrategy.com Website.

Unfortunately it is now unlikely that I will be adding future documents - authored by myself - to this Website, since Dataquest is now employing me to create such documents for the private use of its clients. However, I would be happy to publish the e-commerce related work of others. If you would like a public forum for your thoughts on Killer Strategies for e-commerce, please let me know as I am more than willing to add them to this site.

Brief Resume

Skills and Accomplishments:

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About Me

STRATEGIC BUSINESS ANALYSIS, MARKET DEVELOPMENT and CONSULTING

Conceived of and developed business plans for four distinct businesses and then successfully implemented these projects. In partnership with executive team, created complete mission analysis, business plan, and financial analysis for expanding, integrated operation in the manufacturing industry. As part of MBA thesis, developed strategic and marketing plans for innovative e-commerce concept (see TimeFind.com, on this Website). Significant experience with the Internet and a wide array of other technology applications. Familiarity with various development systems including Visual Basic and FoxPro.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

Managed four different business enterprises over the last 13 years. Implemented product development and marketing strategies, and financial planning and analysis for these businesses. Acquired and retained base of over 2000 loyal clients in niche market. Coordinated employee teams of up to 20 people in multiple locations.

Education:

MBA Degree (strategy), Athabasca University Centre for Innovative Management (1997-99).

Received 1998 Alberta Heritage MBA Scholarship for "high standard of academic performance".

Coursework completed: Internet Business Strategy; Internet Advertising; Building an Online Community, Ziff-Davis University (1998/99). Bachelor of Commerce Degree (focus in marketing), University of Alberta (1985-89).

Work History:

General Partner, Turning Point Trading Inc. (1995-present) .Business Development and Management Consultant, Turning Point Consulting (1995-present) .General Manager/Director, Family Circuits Computer Education Ltd. - Futurekids (1994-96) .General Manager/President, The Diving Experience Ltd. (1989-94). President/Operator, Turning Point Software Inc. (1985-89).


http://www.athabascau.ca/mba

About Me

Personal:

Personal interest in and study of the Internet economy and e-commerce development strategies. Long-time user of the Internet and its precursors. Published by Raymond Kurzweil in his book The Age of Intelligent Machines.Master Scuba Diver Trainer, Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI).







Killer Links

Killer Links"The velocity of change in Internet technology is more rapid

than a human being can digest."Walid Mougayar, Opening Digital Markets, 1998

The sites listed below include some of the best resources on Killer e-Commerce Strategy that I have come across. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but, rather, an in-depth look at a small number of key information sources that I have actually found useful. Please e-mail me if you know of a Killer e-Commerce Strategy site that I haven't listed.

The most recent additions are at the top of the list. Clicking on any link will open a new browser window.

MyInternet - Next Generation Internet Services

Locating, acquiring, and retaining good domain names is an important part of killer strategy for the Internet Economy - and maximizing the value of this investment goes far beyond simply registering a name. This factor is becoming even more apparent as new top-level domains are rapidly being introduced. Much more than a domain name registry, MyInternet provides a complete set of services for managing a Website's domain and other related features. For both businesses and individuals - well worth a look.

Rob Frankel - Big Time Brandingsm

The Rob Frankel Website contains a number of interesting and timely articles on Internet marketing and branding. This Website is also where you go to sign up for the popular FrankelBiz e-mail discussion list - devoted exclusively to those doing business on the Web. Finally, find out more about Frankel's Free Clinic - a one-hour weekly chat session with Rob (and others) that provides free advice on advertising, marketing, and branding.

BruceClay.com An excellent site offering "free 'how to' information, advice, products, tools, links, and services offered for those planning to design and promote their own Web site. This information is especially for those performing Web architecture, Web design, Web marketing, and Web promotion tasks. This site offers help with everything from developing Web promotion strategies and plans to implementing effective tactical programs." Highly recommended.

eMarketer Loads of information on web-based marketing, including news, statistics and reports. Well worth a look.

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http://www.myinternet.com/

http://www.myinternet.com/

http://www.robfrankel.com/

http://www.robfrankel.com/

http://www.bruceclay.com/

http://www.emarketer.com/

Killer Links

Forrester Research One of the leading research companies for the Internet Economy, the Forrester Research site contains a broad range of reports accessible even to non-clients. Choose Products -> Research -> Internet Commerce for a look at some leading-edge research. Note that you must occasionally drill-down through numerous layers to get to the "meat" of a report - don't give up.

Patricia Seybold Group - Customers.com

This site is basically an online promotion for Patricia Seybold's consulting practice and her very popular book, Customers.com (well worth the read - particularly for businesses that don't already have ".com" at the end of their names). Be sure to choose "Free Handbook" from the homepage - once you register they will send you a good introductory reference for implementing one-to-one strategies for the Internet Economy.

Peppers and Rogers Group - Marketing One to One

1 to 1 marketing is a key theme of the Internet Economy and this site provides some great information and tools to help any business along this path. Specifically, choose Tools & Ideas -> Checkpoint Tool to find out where your company currently fits on the 1 to 1 spectrum and what it must do to change its position.

Red Herring Online This online version of the Red Herring print magazine contains a wealth of information on business developments, trends, and strategies for the Internet Economy. Continually updated, very in-depth analyses.

The Industry Standard Self-described as "the newsmagazine of the Internet Economy" - I think this description fits very well. In particular, take a look at the wide range of free e-mail newsletters that you can subscribe to from the homepage. I subscribe to most of them and they are well-written and worth a look. Reading a brief daily synopsis of Internet Economy news in your mailbox is much easier than searching numerous Websites for such an overview.

ZD Net The Ziff-Davis Network is a "vertical portal" dedicated specifically to issues relating to the Internet and technology in general. By checking this site daily (or making it your homepage) you will be up-to-date with a wide range of industry developments.


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http://www.customers.com/

http://www.customers.com/


http://www.1to1.com/

http://www.1to1.com/

http://www.redherring.com/

http://thestandard.net/

http://www.zdnet.com/


TimeFind.com: The Future

TimeFind.com The Future

In this Section:5. The Future of TimeFind.com6. SourcesAppendix A - Profit and Loss StatementFeedback

5. The Future of TimeFind.comThe best plan is only a plan, that is, good intentions. Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plan. - Peter Drucker

Trying to predict the state of the Internet Economy 24 months from now is akin to predicting the weather a year or two ahead of time. Although basic patterns are discernable and the past can be used to help understand the future, change is occurring so quickly (on both a micro and macro scale) that the comment of Drucker, above, must be taken particularly seriously. The sooner that commitment to the market comes - before significant change occurs in the marketspace - the more likely it is that the goals of TimeFind.com will be realized.

Many people predict that the future will bring a wealth of intelligent agents and other smart technologies that will eliminate the need for many of the infomediaries that are currently growing so rapidly on the Internet. While this may be the case in some circumstances, even the most intelligent agent will require access to a database of organizational schedules in order to make such decisions. Likewise, organizations need access to clients in order to carry out effective planning and marketing activities. TimeFind.com will be positioned to satisfy both these needs.

The obvious next step is implementation of this plan. It will require much time and effort - and a significant amount of money - but the potential to profit as the next key enabler of the Internet Economy will eventually be seized by some company. Will TimeFind.com be that company?

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Amazon.com. "Open Your Own Online Store Today." Available online: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/partners/associates/associates.html. Viewed: 04/03/99.

Baldwin, Steve. "Automating the Doctor's Office." In Computer Shopper, May 1 1998.

Batstone, David. "Rough Sailing Ahead." In Business 2.0, November 1998, p. 96.

Broersma, Matthew. "Study: E-commerce hits the mainstream." On ZDNN. Available online: http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2229939,00.html. Viewed 3/22/99.

Brown, Shona L. and Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. Competing on the Edge - Strategy as Structured Chaos. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998.

Business 2.0, November 1998, p. 52.

Carr, David F. "Outsourcing Revisited: Will Net Replace IT at Small Firms?" In Internet World, October 26 1998, pp. 1 & 9.

ComQUEST Research. Available online: http://www.comquest.ca.

Cyber Dialogue. Available online: http://www.cyberdialogue.com.

Daly, James, Editor-in-Chief. Business 2.0, February 1999, p. 1.

Davis, Jeffrey. "Big Storm Rising" In Business 2.0, September 1998, p. 64.

Downes, Larry, and Mui, Chunka. Unleashing the Killer App. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998.

Download.com. Available online: http://www.download.com. Viewed 3/26/99.

Fitzgerald, Michael. "Deja News will add calendaring feature." On ZDNET. Available online: http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2230069,000.html. Viewed 3/22/99.


http://www.business2.com/

http://www.hotmail.com/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/partners/associates/associates.html



http://www.comquest.ca/

http://www.cyberdialogue.com/


http://www.download.com/



Forrester Research. November 1998. Available online: http://www.forrester.com.

Hagel, John III and Armstrong, Arthur G. Net Gain - expanding markets through virtual communities. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1997.

Health Care Finance Administration. "Highlights of the National Health Expenditure Projections, 1997-2007." Available online: http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/NHE-Proj/hilites.htm. Viewed: 3/16/99.

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International Data Corp. Available online: http://www.idc.com.

Kane, Margaret. "Web business: Have site, will travel." On ZDNet. Available online: http://www5.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2228461,00.html. Viewed: 3/22/99.

Kelly, Kevin. New Rules for the New Economy. New York: Viking, 1998.

Kertstetter, Jim. "More bang for (Web) ad bucks." In PC Week, March 15 1999, p. 27.

Kim, W. Chan and Mauborgne, Renée. "Creating New Market Space." In Harvard Business Review, January/February 1999, p. 83.

Kotler, Philip. Marketing Management. 8th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1994.

Lemos, Robert. "Internet providers to give away PCs to new customers?" On ZDNN. Available online: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2157431,00.html. Viewed: 10/29/98.

Levitt, T. "Marketing Intangible Products and Product Intangibles." In Harvard Business Review, May/June 1981.

Lovelock, Christopher H. Services Marketing. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996.

Lyons, Jane, Circulation Manager, Salon Magazine. Interviewed by Blaine Mathieu on April 2, 1999.

Mathieu, Blaine. "A Balanced Scorecard." On e-Commerce Strategies. Available online: http://www.killerstrategy.com. Viewed 3/25/99.

Moore, Geoffrey A. Crossing the Chasm - Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers. New York, HarperBusiness, 1991.




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http://www.intelliquest.com/press/release72.asp

http://www.intelliquest.com/

http://www.idc.com/




http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2157431,00.html





Moore, John P. "Government Witness - Does Internet commerce really hurt Main Street businesses? Perhaps not." In Sm@rt Reseller, October 19 1998, p. 68.

Morrisette, Shelley, et al. "Consumer's Digital Decade." January 1999. Available online: http://www.forrester.com/ER/Research/Report/Excerpt/0,1338,5411,FF.html. Viewed: 2/22/99.

Morrissette, Shelley, Forrester Research, Inc. "The Digital Decade: Where Are Consumers Going?" online: http://www.forrester.com/ER/Press/Talking/0,1377,0,FF.html. viewed: 2/28/99.

Mott, Steve. "Winning One Customer at a Time" In Business 2.0, September 1998, p. 88.

Mougayar, Walid. "Turning the Unthinkable into the Irresistible." In Business 2.0, November 1998, p. 116.

Mougayar, Walid. Opening Digital Markets. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

National Center for Health Statistics. "Office Visits to Physicians." Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/docvisit.htm. Updated 6/3/98.

National Center for Health Statistics. "Oral Health." Available online: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/dental.htm. Updated 3/10/99.

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National Golf Foundation. "Opportunities for Golf through 2010." Available online: http://www.ngf.org/opportunities/execsum.html. Viewed: 4/14/99.

National Restaurant Association. "1999 Restaurant Industry Forecast: Operational Trends." Available online: http://www.restaurant.org/research/forecast/fc99-07.htm. Viewed: 3/16/99.

National Restaurant Association. "Restaurant Industry Pocket Factbook." Available online: http://www.restaurant.org/research/pocket/index.htm. Viewed 3/16/99.

Negroponte, Nicholas P. Being Digital. New York: Vintage Books, 1996.

Peppers, Don and Rogers, Martha. Enterprise One to One. New York: Doubleday, 1997.

Reid, Robert H. "The Impulse Economy." In Business 2.0. Premiere Issue, p. 95.

Seybold, Patricia. "Ubiquity Breeds Wealth." In Business 2.0. December 1998, p. 97.

Shapiro, Carl, and Varian, Hal R. Information Rules. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1999.


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http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/fastats/dental.htm

http://www.ngf.org/faq/

http://www.ngf.org/opportunities/execsum.html

http://www.restaurant.org/research/forecast/fc99-07.htm

http://www.restaurant.org/research/pocket/index.htm





Slywotzky, Adrian. Value Migration. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996.

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Zeff, Robbin and Aronson, Brad. Advertising on the Internet. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.

Appendix A24 Month Projected Profit and Loss Statement



http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/ci00039e.html


http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/cyber/commerce/22commerce.html

http://www.internetworld.com/

http://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/bs97.pdf

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/us00030e.html

http://www.vxmlforum.org/tech_bkgrnd.html

http://www.webcmo.com/

http://www.thestandard.com/articles/display/0,1449,3934,00.html?02

http://www.when.com/corporate/aboutwhen/press_020899.html

http://www.zdnet.com/swlib



The following two graphics contain the monthly projected profit and loss statements for the first two years of TimeFind.com. Please click on the thumbnail images, below, to load the full-size images. Use your Back button to return to this page.


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