Download Government Website Experiential Marketing Based on City Brand

Government Website Experiential Marketing Based on City Brand
QIAN Minghui1, LI Guangming2, LI Zinan3
1. Information Resources Management School, Renmin University of China, Beijing, P.R.China, 100872
2. School of Business Administration, Huaqiao University of China, P.R.China, 362021
3. Business School, Renmin University of China, Beijing, P.R.China, 100872
[email protected]
Abstract: Existing marketing literatures have shown that consumer experience has positive impact on
their satisfaction, purchase intention and loyalty. However, how to provide a wonderful experience for
city publics is a problem to be studied. Many factors such as the city's architecture, local residents and
government website will affect the experience and attitudes of publics. We focus on how the government
websites create wonderful experience for publics in China based on the city brand perspective. This
paper analyzes the development trends of website experience and the status of the Chinese government
website experience at present, then, provides some suggestions for Chinese government website
managers to improve the experience of the users.
Key words: Website Experience, Experience Management, Government Website
1. Introduction
Toffler (1970) suggested that the next step of service economy is moving towards experience economy.
People will create more and more economic activities which are relevant to the experience, companies
will rely on experience to win. Pine and Gilmore considered that "experience" is what the enterprise use
product as a prop, serve as a stage and the public for the center to create an enabling full participation of
consumers and make the activities memorable. Experience is to enable everyone to take part in the
consumption individually, and in the process of consumption customers can get satisfaction in all
aspects such as emotion, psychology, intelligence, spirit and so on. What’s more, the experience can
bring expected or much better feeling. To meet the consumers expectation, make them surprised,
shocked, excited, give them ultimate pleasure and unforgettable pleasant experience.
Existing marketing literatures have shown that consumer experience has positive impact on their
satisfaction and loyalty. However, how to provide customers a wonderful experience? Schmitt carried
out in detail in his books "experience marketing" and "customer experience management". According to
Schmitt, any point where we contact with customers will affect their experience. Therefore, the city's
website will affect the experience of customers. China has always attached great importance to the
government website’s practicability, to provide the public valuable information and online work services.
In 2005, our performance evaluation of Chinese government websites proposed three functions:
Government information disclosure, online work, public participation. As a result, we emphasis on the
site search function, search function, video playback, subscription systems, navigation systems,
interactive systems and so on in government websites design. From another perspective, the Chinese
Government website can’t meet the needs of the public's experience, and the government website is a
major media to provide consumers with the brand experience of the city. Therefore, we will explore how
the city government website to provide users with an unforgettable experience in this paper.
2. Website Experience Management
2.1 Website Experience
Schmitt (2003) proposed that the electronic media and the website are key tools to the experience media
in the book "customer experience management" . In the Network Economy era experience marketing is
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using the network tools, expanding the public experience marketing groups, and to increase interaction.
Network experience marketing become a new way of the business experience marketing strategy, and it
is an extension of the experience marketing. In addition, the virtual of the Internet makes the Network
Experience Marketing to break through time and space constraints, it becomes a new way to enhance the
competitiveness for the company. With the popularity of the network, the network experience becomes
an integral part of experience marketing.
Network Experience Marketing refers to use the network features to provide customers with perfect
Internet experience, then it can increase customer satisfaction, what’s more it can help the company
build a close and sustaining customer relationship. Compared traditional experience marketing with
Network Experience Marketing the experience of the media is most difference from each other. The
network and the electronic media is the experience medium of internet experience marketing, and other
experience media is through the website and electronic media to achieve. While the signs of the visual
language and products are presented in the form of virtual.
Site experience mainly in the following categories: (1) Sensory experience: audio-visual presentation to
the public on the experience, emphasizing comfort. (2) Interactive experience: presented to the public
operational experience, emphasizing ease of use/availability. (3) Emotional experience: the
psychological experience presented to the public, emphasizing friendly. (4) Browsing experience:
presented to the public view on the experience, emphasizing attractive. (5) Trust experience: presented
to the public's trust in experience, emphasizing the reliability.
2.2 Experience Management
Schmitt build an integral public experience management framework in the book of "customer
experience management", and the framework including five basic steps (Schmitt, 2003). (1) Analyzing
the public's experience influencing factors. For consumer markets, to analyze the social and cultural
factors, consumer’s experiencing demand, thinking and way of life; for the industry market, to analyze
the mode of operation which may impact the public experience. (2) Establishing the customer
experience platform. Experience Platform, including positing, the experiential value promise and some
other factors, the platform's highest point is the comprehensive implementation of the theme. (3)
Designing the brand experience. Including the characteristic, aesthetics, label design, packaging and
shelf "attractions" of the experience, the experience information and advertising, web images, and other
marketing activities.(4) To contact with the public. Contact with the public is dynamic and interactive,
including the store face-to-face interaction, sales representatives’ visiting, bank ATM machine, the hotel
check-in counter and online transactions. (5) Innovation. Innovation includes the ways of receiving the
public and the action to improve public’ experience, it can be an important invention and a small
innovation such as change the form of product.
The experience management matrix proposed by Schmitt (1999) provided a good theoretical guidance
for the perpetrators of experience marketing. Experience Matrix mainly explain how to use
communication, vision and speech recognition, products, websites, electronic media and website and
other experience media to provide the public with the senses, emotions, thinking, action and association
experience.
3 The Rise and Development Trends of Website Experience Based on City Brand
3.1 The Rise of Website Experience Based on City Brand
The 21st century, mankind has entered a "new economy" era; in their daily lives people can feel the
existence of the internet and its influence on human life all the time. As the network influence people's
lives deeply and the network technology constantly changing the content, methods and institutional
mechanisms of traditional economy rapidly, then a new economic form formed gradually - the Internet
economy. In the network economic conditions, people’s demand in individuation and personalization of
the product become higher and higher, and their participation sense is growing. People’s products and
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services "experience" value is realized by the company, and it is paid more attention. Therefore network
experience arises at the historic moment, such as Microsoft Windows XP operating system at first,
which XP means "experience", but HP is proposed the "total customer experience" concept. Now
internet experience is widely used in the game, community sites, shopping sites and other fields.
3.2 The Development Trends of Website Experience Based on City Brand
(1) Web2.0 "trial-off" experience will be popular. The so-called "trial-off" is someone who make the
re-evaluation of the product, the free samples provided by the website, after the trial experience is
completed. According to iResearch Consulting figures, the scale of the public online shopping grows
very fast, the growth rate reached 73.1% from 2008 to 2009. With the changing of the consumer
behaviors, the "trial-off" emerged. China's current "trial-off" group has reached 4 million to 5 million, of
which the 20 to 40-year-old white-collar in the majority. Someone consider that "trial-off" represents a
new concept of rational consumption and avoids blindly consume. What’s more, it’s a new trend of
future consumption. I f the personalized service concept of Web2.0 is applied to the government portal
website construction, it will definitely inject the Government Information Resources with fresh blood,
then it will make the government portal more dynamic. Web2.0 will be widely used in the reconstruction
of government websites to achieve what’s the public’s thinking.
(2)3D virtual experience will be blowing whirlwind. 3D is the acronym for three-dimensional. That is
three-dimensional graphics, in computer graphics and display 3D graphics in the plane. That is unlike
the real world, with real three-dimensional space and the real distance space. The graphics in the
computer just look like in the real world, and let eye look like a real one. Now 3D is widely used in film,
printing, gaming and other fields. In the future it can be used in government's website, then further
increasing the content of public internet experience.
(3)The importance of Web sites experience will be recognized. Network service experience
communication is a service-oriented government image transmission. If the government wants to win
public approval, it should add additional experience in the network experience actively, delivery
experience by service. In the process of network services, the government can consciously
communication their values with the public, besides basic services. In order to build public experience
based on the value chain.
4 The Status of the Chinese Government Website Experience Based on City
Brand
At present, the strategy of experience on the government websites is still in the initial stage in china.
Some local governments also have a preliminary sites involvement, mainly by increasing the
personalization of public services. For example, Shanghai city’s government simplifies administrative
procedures by the establishment of "the public - business - tourists - investors" web management
window. Through the special sections such as the window of the mayor, community, mayor mailbox,
reception, public supervision, online appraisal, online collection, online publicity and other ways online,
to increase the public participation efforts. In addition, the web site map is set up to create personal
experience for peoples.
Zhejiang provincial government established indicative website for stakeholders including individuals,
companies, investors and tourists. The procedure is “enchiridion, table download, online consultation,
online acceptance, state inquire, supervision and complains”. Additionally, they established an
interactive exchange, governor-mail, online consultation, supervision and complaints, online surveys,
public assembly, government and other interactive forums, conduct online office, personalized custom
columns (layout, content customization, e-mail and SMS subscription) to increase the public's
experience.
In addition Guangdong Province classified according to the object of service and the work department.
First, the service object can fall into inhabitant, company and investor, its work processes are from
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enchiridion, online consultation, table download, processing sector to online work window(enchiridion Online processing - Status check - Online Consultation - form downloads), and the additional column is
public interaction, Governor, mayor and director’s mail, live interviews, E-government BBS, Opinions
hotline, online surveys, public message in order to enhance the efficiency of the Internet. And the
personalized custom columns have a website guide, Help, site maps and so on.
Despite the personal content can improve the public's web experience, but this is not the whole web
experience, it reflects the experience of our government websites in the network management is not very
mature. First, the government website design is apparently lacking of analysis in public experience
demand, also not clear that public viewing of the website can generate experience value. Therefore,
more attention was paid to the functional in design process, and neglect public’s emotional and hedonic
needs. For example, some government websites public is to handle affairs or of collecting information,
but some of the public is to search the local folk-custom etc. to determine whether go travel and tourism
or not. Second, lack of innovation on government websites construction, there are many similar cases, it
is difficult to differentiate the public’s experience, and many local government websites can’t experience
the local flavor, resulting in lack of efforts to attract tourists and investors. Finally, due to lack of
theoretical guidance, systematic planning the government website on experience management process
contingency over necessity. For example, how to run the public experience? And what is the scientific
process? It is difficult to find in the existing government site construction. Therefore, it is necessary to
use the latest contemporary experience of marketing and public experience management theory as a
guide to improve the consumer experience, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction, building blocks for
the construction of harmonious society.
5 Suggestions on Experience Strategy of the Chinese Government Website Based
on City Brand
5.1 Build up Scientific Procedure for Experience Management
The user-centered government website has to follow scientific experiential design and managing
processes during the public experiential management. This paper puts forward a basic process for
government website’s experience management based on the study of customer experience management
process (Schmitt, 2003): Firstly, the managers of website have to examine the needs of the user's website
experience. Secondly, they should design their website under the guidance of users’ needs. They must
break the traditional government-oriented model which focused only on information dissemination and
authority. After that, marketing research on users’ actual web experience should be conducted on a
regular basis. Only keep improving and innovating, users’ satisfaction and loyalty would be achieved
through received differential experience, in turn, raising the public’s satisfaction towards government
and city. Therefore, the web experience management is a sustainable work which require professional
management under specialize agencies.
5.2 Analyze Users’ Experience Need
The very first thing for government website design is to precisely understand the experiential demand of
public, only in this way, could government website meets the satisfaction of public correspondingly. The
category for web experiencing is as follow: sensory experience (SENSE), affective experience (FEEL),
cognitive experience (THINK), physical experience, behaviors and lifestyles (ACT), and social-identity
experiences. However, what experiential value could these experiences create for the public and what
are the factors that drive public to experience? The most common motivation that drive public to go
through government website are out of following considerations, or we could say that the purpose that
public visit government website is to acquire following experiential value:
Utilitarian value means public could achieve higher efficiency when visiting the website or earn certain
payoff. From this point of view, public access is to obtain certain kind of information or getting business
done. Hence government website must improve content quality and its site functionality as well. In the
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first place, collecting information is very important, which means the web design have to make sure the
convenience and accuracy public getting information. Excellent web design usually could realize the
search function, in this way can greatly improve the efficiency of public’s access to information. Apart
from that, since all the information cannot be included at government website, so a website with better
functional link is usually favored by the public. Speaking from the content of information, government
information must be promptly updated and relate to the local people’s life.
Hedonic value means that public enjoy site visiting itself, the public could acquire aesthetic,
entertainment, knowledge, or even escape from reality by visiting the website. so the website design is a
work not only should we pay attention to its functions but also must we coordinate the color, layout,
sound etc, in order to strengthen the aesthetic demands of form and beauty. Through unified planning
and design, visual effects enable the site to be consistent with the image of the government, while using
the images, additional content, and multimedia visual elements properly, since detail can affect the
public's aesthetic experience, entertaining experience, educational experience and escape from reality
experience.
The further experiencing demand of public is social value, which refers to people go through
government website is out of the motive to impress other or win respect from others or to show egos and
to gain certain social recognition. This value is only achieved through the interaction, and interaction
across the network embodies in two aspects: Firstly, the interaction between the public and the machine,
that is human-computer interaction mechanism; Secondly, people interact with each other through the
network. To improve human-computer interaction, government web sites must consider the site speed,
the public perception of control on the site and friendly interface when making the web design.
Government should provide opportunities for interaction if it wants to improve the public interactions
through its website, which means government could set the forum on the website and instant
communication tools to provide two-way communication platform for public. What’s more, Government
departments can also interact with the public through the web site, especially for handling emergency
and crisis, when interaction with the public through the website, government would be capable of
delivering real information and helping establish a government authority to reduce public fear and other
negative impacts.
5.3 Establish Government Website Experience
The traditional government website tends to be more function-oriented, which usually provides
information and online working, in contrast, experiential government website focus more on public
experience. Schmitt (1999) pointed out that, experiential marketing is a theory that stands on the
customer side by redefining the consumer's senses, feeling, thinking, actions and relates and redesigning
the marketing methods. Therefore, it’s necessary to take these five aspects when considering the
effective ways of operating web experience.
Sensory experience. Government websites should focus on the external image of the site and give visual,
auditory and other sensory experiences. Enable public to gain website experience By providing them
sight, sound, touch, taste and smell and other effective sensory stimulations, the main purpose is to
impress the public with a good image of government and the city by using appropriate sensory
stimulation as media. Provide a site which is beautifully designed and rich in content, consumers can
learn the customs of a place, attractions and image of the government, thus indirectly develop their
sensory experience through government websites. Therefore, in the design of government websites need
to make full use of advanced modern multimedia and technology to enhance customer's sensory
experience, for example, 3D technology, background music, videos, etc. are all vivid image display tool
for the government and the city.
Affective experience. Government websites should be able to inspire the public inner feelings and create
resonation. American scholar, Professor Barry • fee lattice the first introduced "feel”, the psychological
term into the marketing theory and insisted that “image and emotion are the source of strength for
marketing world". Affective experiences targets inner emotions of public and commits to fulfill the
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public needs, it’s more humanized since it cares more about public’s inner feelings. Government should
pass positive, happy feeling to the public through the web site in order to establish, consolidate public
satisfaction for government and the city. Moreover government can also develop some games which are
similar to family members getting along model aims to creates the public resonation for the construction
of harmonious society. Via personalized site and initiatively interacts with the public, narrow the
distance between government and the public, promote public’s affective experiences will help to
establish a people-oriented government.
Cognitive experience. To this aspect, government website could create acknowledge and intelligence
solutions for the public through unexpected actions, by stimulating interest or provoking the public of
divergent thinking and convergent thinking. Hence, the content design should be capable to provoke
public to take part into discussions with the help of creative way of display which could finally succeed
to arouse the surprise and interest or even public’s integrated or separate discussions for the problems.
Internet has the attributes of high efficiency, virtualized, so our government could use new network
technologies to provide personalized services and undertake panel discussion, such as using RSS
technology to promote the subscription of government information; use podcasts to broadcast; use
wiki for relevant policy guidelines, laws and regulations interpretation; use blog to discuss the people's
livelihood and so on, all this will stimulate public thinking on related issues, then to promote the
government’s problem-solving efficiency.
Physical experience. Government websites should be displayed to the public through different ways of
dealing with things, its lifestyle and interactive way in order to strengthen the public physical experience.
Rational analysis is just one way to change behavior, but changes in public’s lifestyle are usually more
of being excited or changing spontaneous, a well-designed government website therefore can stimulate
public to change behaviors. Public physical action is an important channel for public participating in the
government’s public management and decision making process, but also an important mean to improve
democratic governance capability. Public participation partly enable government to better understand the
society and public views, and more important facilitate the communicating mechanism between
government and public. Therefore, the public action aims to test the content and effect of Web
experience. When it comes to the hot issues in which people can participate and express their views,
government website has to strengthen the implementation and effects of its responding function, or else
the government site can not reflect the services function for public. The actual effect of Web experience
could only be measured by realizing public participation and putting it into practice.
Relate experience. Government website should targets at individual's self-improvement (eg, the desired
future "ideal self"), others recognized (such as relatives, friends and colleagues, lover or spouse) and
social identity (such as a subculture, a country) and other psychological needs to create public relation
experience. Relate experience emerges from mutual influence of social and cultural significance and the
public demand for social status. Therefore, the key of government website providing relate experience
lies on the proper selected reference group, so as to enable the public to create a distinctive social status
and felt happy to be part of the group or culture. Consequently, the power of government Web site's own
brand-building and urban brand-building cannot be neglected. Only to establish strong brand equity, can
make the public to be proud to become the one part of the brand construction, in turns can naturally
attracts a large number of senior talents. For example, cities like Shanghai, Beijing formed the city's
powerful attraction, cohesion and radiation precisely because of its strong brand construction.
5.4 Establish Mechanism for Website Experience Assessment
Except for the effective managing strategies for government sites, the government departments should
also establish the assessment mechanism in which add public satisfaction indicators into the framework
of evaluation system. What’s more establishing a set of "experience" approach for the assessment of
government web sites and put it on a regular basis which can finally form mechanism is of great
necessity.
Firstly, Site administrators can invite foreign experts in the field, making a professional evaluation of
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government web sites. These experts not only refers to the network experts, but also should include
experts specialized in urban management, urban marketing and city managers, who view the site from
their own experience to assess and make recommendations for strategic improvement.
Apart from that, Site managers can also hire third-party research organization to conduct an objective
assessment of the "experience" assessment, through interviews and survey could obtain a better
understand of the public attitude towards government websites experience and public satisfaction level.
In terms of the way of investigation, we can combined online research with practical public interviewing
to give more objective assessment for government web sites on its actual experience and recognition,
then giving out "public satisfaction" index score according to the survey data (Cao, 2009).
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to acknowledge the financial support from the 2009 Fellowship of Huaqiao
University of China (NO. 09HSK08).
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