Restoring Consumer Confidence in E-Commerce

Internet Business

Thursday, July 14, 2005

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Restoring Consumer Confidence in E-Commerce

by Ken Downie
The tagline in the Conference Board press release that crossed my desk last
week was chilling yet clear: "Growing Numbers Are Buying Less Online." A
recent Gartner survey of 5,000 U.S. consumers echoed this theme, noting that
security breaches "are exacting a steep toll on consumer confidence and will
inhibit three-year U.S. e-commerce growth rates by 1 percent to 3 percent." With
horror stories of data breaches hitting the wire on an almost weekly basis, a
growing number of people are simply too scared to shop online. Sadly, the
paranoia seems more justified than it used to be. (Read Our Top Story)

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  • INTERNET SALES TAX BATTLE HEATS UP
    I got a little static from some readers about my last column on the topic of
    Internet sales taxes and the Streamlined Sales Tax proposal. Many complained
    that as the author of a technology newsletter, I should be more of a techno-libertarian and thus trumpet these ideals. Sorry guys. I agree ... phooey on taxes,
    they'll just waste the money anyway. But I still think it's inevitable that "they" will
    start prying the dollars from our greedy little hands sooner rather than later, and
    CNET executive editor Charles Cooper seems to agree.

  • BANNER ADS: THE NEXT GENERATION
    In case you're wondering, "evolve" equals "get more annoying." Savvy marketers
    for years now have sought alternatives to the venerable top banner. Let's face it,
    we're trained to ignore them by now ... like monkeys. But a new generation of "in
    your face" banner ads is emerging (free registration required).

  • INDUSTRY HEAVYWEIGHTS INVEST IN BROADBAND OVER POWER LINES
    Both IBM and Google see promise in broadband over power lines (BPL)
    technology and are starting to put some muscle behind it. The FCC is also
    backing the technology in the hopes of creating an alternative to the competing
    cable- and phone-based services.

  • GET HIP TO PODCASTS AND VLOGGING
    Podcasts -- audio files of music, webcasts or talk shows archived for easy
    download to portable players or PCs -- and "vlogging" -- video blogging -- are the
    hottest Internet trends right now. And you likely didn't read it here first, but if you didn't know, now you're with it.

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Have identity theft concerns caused you to decrease your online spending? InternetWorld.com is conducting a poll.

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Name:

Aruba Networks

What It Does:

Aruba Networks is fast-growing enterprise infrastructure company.
Aruba's products -- including mobility controllers, access points and advanced
mobility software -- help corporations address fundamental new changes taking
place in enterprise networks caused by user mobility, security and wireless
technology. Aruba has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and
the Middle East, and employs staff around the world.

How It Uses the Internet:

Aruba uses a variety of Internet technologies to
maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of its worldwide sales team, as well as
to provide superior service, support and training to its customers. To accelerate
the sales cycle, Aruba uses an on-demand service to share current customer
references with prospective customers.

What Technology It Uses:

Customer reference services from Point-of-Reference

Gains Realized from Using this Technology:

Aruba's sales team is able to
immediately provide prospective customers with anytime access to a pool of
relevant references. Point-of-Reference conducts and records customer
interviews, posting them to the online Aruba Reference Center as both streaming
audio and written transcripts. The references are available to prospects by
invitation only. Use of this technology requires only a fraction of the time typically
spent by salespeople on reference-related activity. Equally important, it respects
and protects Aruba's customers' time by leveraging a single reference interaction
across numerous prospects and purposes.

The Upshot:

"In an increasingly competitive market, working smarter and
leveraging technology is absolutely essential to success," said Dave Butler, vice
president of sales for Aruba Networks. "Point of Reference is a prime example of
doing just that. This technology minimizes the time our sales team must spend
on prospect reference coordination, minimizes the intrusion on our current
customers and customer reference program, and provides clear tracking and
reporting of Aruba's Reference Center usage."

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  • I FEAR TO WATCH, YET I CANNOT TURN AWAY
    The Carl's Jr. hamburger chain never did apologize for its "spicy" burger ad that
    got the moral majority steaming, featuring Paris Hilton in a skimpy swimsuit
    hosing down a car. But recruiting firm Accolo better be sorry for its hilarious spoof
    of the same    . Successfully driving home the message that "hiring the right person
    is everything," the clip stars a dude who is less attractive than Paris by a
    significant margin, doing her thing, with very different results. This would be a
    great ad for a vegetarian campaign -- you'll never be able to eat a burger again.

  • LAST EXIT TO SPRINGFIELD
    This author is admittedly a big Simpsons fan. Even the last headline was a
    Simpsons quote (Milhouse). Here are a couple of sites sure to keep fellow fans
    entertained, no doubt maintained by someone with way too much time on his
    hands. Last Exit to Springfield has an outstanding quotes section, replete with MP3s of most of my
    favorites. Can you say "ring tone"? And don't ask about the results of my
    Simpsons Personality Test.

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