California Polytechnic State University, SLO
Orfalea College of Business
Dr. Lynn Metcalf
Global Electronic Marketing (BUS 458)
MW 10:10-12:00
Room 03-204A
Office: 03-415, 756-2010
Office Hours: Thurs: 9:00-12:00
e-mail: lmetcalf@calpoly.edu
Welcome to Global Electronic Marketing: The World Wide Web has fundamentally changed the way
people around the world consume, produce, communicate and play. In this class, we’ll focus on how the
Web can be used to connect with and to serve customers.
In this class, you’ll have the opportunity to:
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Become familiar with the language and practices of e-business
Explore key marketing tactics and capabilities enabled by the Web
Develop an understanding of Web-based business models
Complete online explorations and exercises to get beyond the readings and into the companies and
people who are leading innovation and establishing best practice on the Web
Discuss and review what you learn with others in the class
Course Materials:
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To access HBS Readings: You will need to register with Harvard Business Online at
http://www.hbsp.com/relay.jhtml?name=cp&c=c37821 I will send further instructions via e-mail today.
You will need1
o Internet Explorer 5.x or 6.x
o Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or higher
o SealedMedia unsealer
To access course materials through Blackboard: http://my.calpoly.edu/
If you’d like to learn more:
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The Leap: A Memoir of Love and Madness in the Internet Gold Rush, Tom Ashbrook, Houghton
Mifflin, 2000
Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers, Seth Godin,
Simon & Schuster, 1999
Survival Is Not Enough: Zooming, Evolution, and the Future of Your Company, Seth Godin, Simon &
Schuster, 2002
Enterprise One To One: Tools for Competing in the Interactive Age, Don Peppers and Martha
Rogers, Currency Doubleday, 1997
The Customer Revolution: How to Thrive When Customers are in Control, Patricia Seybold, Crown
Business, 2001
Customers.com: How to Create a Profitable Business Strategy for the Internet and Beyond, Patricia
Seybold, Times Business, 1998
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To access materials from home: all downloads are available through the Harvard Business Online site.
To access materials from the OCOB: the machines in the labs have all required software installed.
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Grading
The assignments for this class are experiential and project-oriented. There are four graded components.
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Class Participation and Attendance
Case Memos
Lab Exercises
Personal Learning Journal
20%
15%
40%
25%
Attendance and Participation
My goal is to work with you to create an active and participative learning environment. What’s important:
the quality (not the frequency) of your participation, which I’ll assess after every class meeting. What I
expect: you should demonstrate the habits and skills that are important in the work place. This means you
should
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Attend each and every class. Let me know ahead of time if you need to miss class. Please
understand that letting me know is a professional courtesy and does not excuse your absence.
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Show up on time and stay through the end of class. When you arrive late or leave early, you’ll
always interrupt the discussion. Let me know ahead of time if you know you’ll be delayed or if you
must leave early. Again, this is a professional courtesy and doesn’t excuse your absence.
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Prepare assignments in advance.
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Contribute to the day's discussion. Prepare to discuss all readings and cases in class on the date
they are listed. Contribute discussion of newsworthy developments in e-commerce, pertaining to the
topics covered in this class. You can follow current developments via online, broadcast, or print media
sources.
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Treat your peers and your professor with courtesy and respect.
You earn your participation score on a daily basis.
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Excellent Contribution (1 point): Has read the readings and/or has completed the exercises for the
day. Contributes consistently and significantly to class discussions. Backs up contributions with
substantial analysis and/or research. Builds on the thinking of others. Actively listens to presentations
made in class; asks informed questions.
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Good Contribution (.85 point): Has read the readings and/or has completed the exercises for the
day. Contributes consistently to class discussions. Backs up contributions with analysis and/or
research. Occasionally builds on the thinking of others.
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No Contribution (.50 point): Is not prepared for class and/or does not contribute. Repeats what has
already been said. Does not build on the thinking of others.
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Missed Class, with Notice (.50 point): Sends assigned work to class with a classmate or via e-mail
ahead of class time.
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Negative Contribution (-.5 point): Interrupts or delays class discussion by arriving late or leaving
early. Reads or does other work in class.
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Missed Class, without Notice (-1.0 points)
2
Preparing Cases
Prior to class: Read the case and any supplementary readings. Preparing cases with a study team will
enhance your understanding of the issues in the case and boost your ability to participate in class.
Study questions for the cases have been posted to BlackBoard under the Assignments tab. Use
the frameworks, tools, and ideas from prior readings in your analysis. Refer to the material in the case
exhibits. Make realistic and actionable recommendations that are supported by analysis (including
numerical where possible). Turn in a two-page memo that includes your study team’s analysis of the case
study questions. List team members alphabetically by last name. Please use 1-inch margins, Arial or
Tahoma typeface, 10pt font, and 1.5 (or double) spacing.
During class: Be prepared to lead off the discussion of any question in a significant way. Be able to
discuss salient issues that are not addressed per se in the assigned questions. Listen attentively and
consider the timing of your comments. Building on the contributions of others in order to move the
discussion ahead is as important (sometimes more so) as leading off the discussion. Remember that it is
the quality (not the quantity) of comments that is more relevant.
Lab Exercises
Lab exercises are online explorations and learning activities designed to get you beyond the readings and
lecture and into the companies and people that are leading innovation and establishing best practice on
the Web.
Lab exercises are posted to BlackBoard under the Assignments tab. Print them out and bring
them to class. On the days indicated in the syllabus, you’ll work with two of your classmates to
accomplish these exercises. Turn in a one- or two-page memo that summarizes your lab team’s findings
and analysis. List team members alphabetically by last name. Please use 1-inch margins, Arial or
Tahoma typeface, 10pt font, and 1.5 (or double) spacing. Include observations and key take-aways in
your personal learning journal.
Evaluation Criteria for Written Work:
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Exemplary: Exceptionally thoughtful work. Demonstrates unusual mastery of course content.
Analysis integrates course readings, frameworks from class lecture, and elements from other learning
experiences. Strength in organization, development & expression. Follows format instructions.
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Proficient: Good work. Demonstrates a good understanding of course content. Well developed
analysis that refers to course readings, frameworks from class lecture, and elements from other
learning experiences. Effective paragraph & sentence structure. Follows format instructions.
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Acceptable: Passing work. Demonstrates a basic understanding of course content. Analysis refers to
course readings, frameworks from class lecture, and elements from other learning experiences in a
general way. Problems with grammar & expression. Follows format instructions.
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Failing: Exhibits one or more of the following characteristics. Points out the obvious. Does not refer
to course readings or frameworks from class lecture. Analysis based on personal opinion. Inadequate
organization, development & expression. Obvious inconsistencies in writing style and quality of
analysis. Does not follow format instructions.
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Personal Learning Journal
There are eleven major topics covered in this course:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Bricks & clicks / channel bundling
Traffic and brand building
Site navigation and visitor tracking
Online support
Technology-based customer interfaces
Personalization and customization
Privacy
Business models and sustainable advantage
Community and trust
From bits to atoms: digital products & services
Marketing through access devices other than the PC
In lieu of a final exam, demonstrate your understanding of the topics covered in this course by creating a
personal learning journal that consists of five sections. This is an individual assignment and you will need
to assemble your own materials, analyze them, and comment on them.
1. The first section of your journal consists of a list of personal learning objectives for the course.
2. The second section includes entries from each class session. After each class session, reflect on
the day’s readings, lecture, class discussion, cases, simulations, and/or other learning activities.
Interpret each in terms of your own personal learning objectives. For example, after the second
class session, you should make at least five entries: one for the lecture and class discussion, one
for each of the HBS articles, one or more for the articles posted to BlackBoard, and one for the
Lab Exercise. At the close of the quarter, you’ll have made 55-60 entries.
3. At the end of the quarter, review all of your journal entries. Prepare an essay that integrates and
interprets all that you’ve learned in light of your personal learning objectives and your future
career.
4. Identify two current (June-December) articles that highlight one or more of the topics we’ve been
discussing in class. Print out or copy the articles. For each article, summarize the key points and
identify how the article relates to the topics listed above. You should discuss all topics (listed
above) that a given article highlights. For instance, you may find an article that covers technologybased interfaces, personalization, and privacy. In this example, your article analysis should refer
to all three topics. In your analysis, refer to and illustrate the frameworks and ideas contained in
the course readings, lecture, cases, and other learning experiences.
5. Interview someone in industry, who has Web marketing responsibility in the firm s/he works for,
and write up a case study that illustrates one or more of the topics above. To gain multiple
perspectives, you might decide you’d like to talk with several people in the company that your
primary contact works for. Your journal entry should include names, titles, company name, and
the dates of interview, as well as your interview questions and your interviewees’ responses,
followed by your observations and analysis. Your analysis must refer to and illustrate the
frameworks and ideas contained in course readings, cases, and lecture. About finding people to
talk with: your network is bigger than you think! It includes friends and family members, people
that you’ve worked with (internships, coops) or people in the company you’ll work for after you
graduate.
Please use 1-inch margins, Arial or Tahoma typeface, 10pt font, and 1.5 (or double) spacing. Use a clip
or a staple to bind your journal; you don’t need to purchase a binder or pay for special binding. Your
personal learning journal is due in my office (03-415) by Thursday, 17 March at 10:00 a.m.
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Course Calendar2
Mon.
1/3
Course Overview
Homework:
1. List your personal learning objectives for this course. Turn in a copy to me
on Wednesday. Keep a copy as part of your personal learning journal.
2. Read the HBS and BlackBoard readings.
Wed.
1/5
Module 1: Bricks and Clicks / Channel Bundling
HBS Reading:
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Getting the Right Mix of Bricks and Clicks
BlackBoard Readings:
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Inn Fighting, WSJ
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E-Biz Strikes Again, WSJ
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Jewelry Heist, WSJ
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When Worlds Collide, WSJ
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The Big Cheese of Online Grocers, Business 2.0
Lab Exercise: Bricks & Clicks
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Read Amazon.com and prepare a case memo with several of your peers.
Case study questions are posted to BlackBoard.
Mon.
1/10
HBS Case Discussion: Amazon.com – 2002
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Read the HBS case & BlackBoard readings
Wed.
1/12
Module 2: Traffic and Brand Building
HBS Readings:
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How to Acquire Customers on the Web
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e-Loyalty: Your Secret Weapon on the Web
BlackBoard Readings:
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Way Beyond the Banner, Business 2.0
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Pesky Pop-Up Internet Ads Go Mainstream, WSJ
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New Sleuths for Searching, WSJ
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Amazon Plans a Search Service to Drive Sales, WSJ
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Yahoo Hopes New Service Turns Searchers Into Shoppers
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Yahoo Search Results To Include Paid Links, WSJ
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class
Mon.
2
1/17
Holiday: Martin Luther King
Subject to change. This represents my best estimate of how the quarter will unfold.
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Wed.
1/19
Lab Exercise: Traffic and Brand Building
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Read the BlackBoard readings
3. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class
Mon.
1/24
Module 3: Navigation and Support
What Marketers Need to Know about Visitor Tracking & Web Site Analysis
BlackBoard Reading:
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In Search of a Better Search, WSJ
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Tracking Visitor’s Steps. This is somewhat technical. Here are the important
things to understand: why the questions in the introduction are important to
marketers; what a path is; what a content group is; & what scenario analysis is.
Lab Exercise: Tracking and Analysis
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Read the HBS and BlackBoard readings
3. Print out and review the ASP Online Scoring Criteria:
http://www.asponline.com/scoring04.pdf
4. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class
Wed.
1/26
Online Support
HBS Reading:
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Exploding the Self-Service Myth
BlackBoard Reading:
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Customer Service Counts, Business 2.0
Lab Exercise: Applying Lessons from the Ten Best Web Support Sites 2004
Homework:
1. Work with your “lab mates” to complete and write-up the Applying Lessons
from the Ten Best Web Support Sites 2004 lab exercise
2. Personal learning journal entries
3. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class.
Mon.
1/31
Technology-Based Customer Service Interfaces
Lab Exercise: Live Online Service and vReps
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Read the HBS Reading
3. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class
Wed.
2/2
Module 4: Personalization and Customization
HBS Reading:
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Price Smarter on the Net
Lab Exercise: Personalization & Customization
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Check out the Web site for Cambria Bicycle Outfitters
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Mon.
2/7
Guest Speaker: Steve Fleury, Cambria Bicycle Outfitters: www.cambriabike.com
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Read the HBS Readings
3. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class
Wed.
2/9
Privacy
HBS Readings:
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Chief Privacy Officer
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Creating the Brand Called Self
Lab Exercise: Internet Privacy and Security
Homework:
1. Work with your “lab mates” to complete and write-up the Internet Privacy
and Security lab exercise
2. Personal learning journal entries
3. Read the BlackBoard readings
4. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class
Mon.
2/14
Module 4: Business Models & Sustainable Advantage
BlackBoard Readings:
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The Razor’s Edge, The Industry Standard
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New Chapter, WSJ
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Amazon’s eBay Challenge, WSJ
Lab Exercise: Business Models
Homework:
1. Work with your “lab mates” to complete and write-up the Business Models
lab exercise
2. Personal learning journal entries
3. Read the HBS and BlackBoard readings
4. Print out the lab exercise for the next class session and bring it to class
Wed.
2/16
Leveraging Community and Trust
HBS Reading:
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eBay, Inc. (B)
BlackBoard Reading:
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What e-Bay Isn’t Telling You, Business 2.0
Lab Exercise: Leveraging Community & Trust
Homework:
1. Work with your “lab mates” to complete and write-up the Leveraging
Community & Trust lab exercise
2. Personal learning journal entries
Mon.
2/21
Holiday: President’s Day
Wed.
2/23
Guest Speaker: Ed Stevens, President & CEO, FirePoppy: www.firepoppy.com
Homework:
1. Read the BlackBoard Readings. All of you should be fully familiar with all of
the readings
2. Work with a study group to write up the case discussion questions
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Mon.
2/28
Module 5: From Bits to Atoms
HBS Case Discussion: Online Music Distribution in a Post-Napster World
BlackBoard Readings:
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Technophobia Over the Years, Business 2.0
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P2P Services in the Clear, Wired News
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The Civil War Inside Sony, Wired Magazine
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Crowded House, WSJ
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Online Music’s Latest Tune, WSJ
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Price War in Online Music, WSJ
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Free Samples at the Record Store, WSJ
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Coming Soon: Movies You Rent on the Web – and Then Download, WSJ
Homework:
1. Personal learning journal entries
2. Read the Blockbuster case and prepare a case memo with several of your
peers. Case study questions are posted to BlackBoard.
3. Read the HBS reading
4. Find at least one example of a company that has a program in place to
deliver advertising, coupons, and/or other promotional offers to consumers
in real time, using devices other than the PC.
Wed.
3/2
Module 7: Beyond the Web Site
HBS Reading:
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Contextual Marketing: The Real Business of the Internet
Homework: Personal learning journal entries
Mon.
3/7
Guest Speaker: Pete Kreiser, Director of Business Development, Integres:
www.integres.com
Wed.
3/9
Work on your Personal Learning Journals
Thurs.
3/17
Due at 10:00 in my office (03-415): Personal Learning Journal
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