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DMLR*Newsletter - English text since 1999
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| GOLD VI edition - July, 01
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DMLR by Numbers
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4 Grocery Strategies
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11 eShopping Tips
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Direct marketing
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Linked resources
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7 New TLDs
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Article 21 (Down by Law)
Articles
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DMLR by Numbers.
A direct marketing campaign should be aimed to measurable, realistic objectives possibly written too. The goals are simply written in order to describe the market to reach, the customer to involve, the result to get, the positioning to build. All these things are laying foundation for a Web site as a communication medium to get people to act NOW! For example www.dmlr.org is an action medium because it invites response. A direct response is an action such as an email message or a request for subscribing the newsletter. A direct response is easy measurable and useful to know exactly what happened. To count the reply as subscribers I set up a system of data processing, that is becoming a new service for DMLR readers. The statistics on DMLR subscribers are available online by following a simple path from the page http://www.dmlr.org/come/stat.htm.
a) Total number
The number of subscribers are counted by quarter. Each quarter of the years 2000 and 2001 is listed with the number of people that subscribed in the 3-month period to receive this newsletter as email service.
To see the exact trend enter the chart #1.
b) Gender
Sometimes, I'd say very often, the email address contains the whole name of the subscriber. This serves as a first tool to distinguish the female from the male audience. Two groups are a sample of targeted response. Many times the information on subscribing email is very personal, which could allow for other forms of direct contact with the reader (snail mail, work telephone). Sure the published information is limited to the first step (M/F) because the rest is for private use only and under privacy restriction.
To see the groups by sex go to chart #2.
c) Email
Each subscriber is receiving an email version of DMLR*News. And each of them supplies its personal email, maybe a primary work or home email account, maybe a secondary account. This information is gathered in determining which Internet service provider is mostly used to manage the e-mail medium. It's not an absolute statistic because I selected only the 5 most frequent domains appearing on email headers. The rest of domains is put together into a residual "Others" group.
For the yearly percentage of email domains watch the chart #3.
d) Languages
DMLR*News is reaching both an Italian and an international audience. Actually the newsletter body is provided into two tongues, Italian and English. Readers are consequently identified by means of the news version they are receiving.
For the Ita/Eng ratio visit the chart #4.
Eventually I should remember the statistics concerning the first 3-year period DMLR*News was issuing (1997-1999). These further numbers are always online at http://www.dmlr.org/open/dmlruser.html
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4 Grocery Strategies.
Who are the players on the online grocery sector? A first selection should consider a list of 4 kinds of competitors, each of them distinguished by a different global strategy. Let's see who they are and what they do to sell succesfully over the Internet.
- Virtual supermarkets.
This group consists of new competitors or e-channel specialists. New business born!
To buy in a different way:
- www.homeruns.com
- www.groceronline.it
- www.spesaincasa.it
- www.spesaonline.com
- Large distribution operators (multichannel).
The second group is made by a host of large distribution chains that entered the Internet to develop new sales channel.
To buy guaranteed by famous brands:
www.e-coop.it
www.esselunga.it
www.telémarket.fr
www.albertsons.com
- Department store (one stop shop).
While previous competitors are limited to a primary food assortment, these stores are offering all products a customer needs.
To buy all in one place:
www.webvan.com
www.tesco.com
www.ooshop.com
www.volendo.com
- Express service suppliers.
Local distributors make of prompt delivery their strength. They are delivering the right goods within one hour, elsewhere within 24 hours. This is the advantage for the shopper.
To buy quickly:
www.unora.it
www.kozmo.com
www.pdquick.com
www.zipround.co.uk
Web sites as selected on www.logisticamanagement.it, April 2001.
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11 eShopping Tips.
You are reading 11 eShopping tips from the author of this e-zine.
- Buy your favorite computer or software by watching the sales. Stores usually rotate the sales of brands.
- Make sure the purchase terms look clean and clear. If they look uncanny they probably are.
- Avoid 'hyped' e-commerce website. They are too expensive for what you get.
- When buying online, make sure the receipt/invoice is sent via email to confirm the order.
- Beware of fresh food and meat that has a short shelflife. If you can't smell it through the display, don't go near it.
- Try some american sellers without suspicion. If they deliver goods to Europe they usually make it faster than anyone.
- Try an order procedure to test if it's secure, fast and time saving. If one of them is jarred leave the online store.
- Sample a new e-commerce website every week. Include your kids in the adventure.
- Don't be afraid to make a choice. There are thousands of different items in a typical virtual shop, so there are plenty of choices.
- Check out your credit card number twice at least before confirming an order payment.
- Never buy a product that damage the environment. Use this principle whatever and wherever you buy.
I offer you these simple tips after three years of experienced online buy. And with buying into the e-commerce as additional service!
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Direct marketing.
What is a dictionary for? Who read it? How many times did you consult a glossary on direct marketing?
I didn't encounter such a document on the Italian websites related to marketing matter, so I elected to write a first dictionary on the terms, techniques and formulas for direct marketers. The Italian dictionary is set up by three parts. Many readers of DMLR*News know the first two issues through the information delivered to them by the monthly brief news on May and June. Now it's time to complete the dictionary with the third part and to resume the entire work for any reader of this e-zine.
DM Glossary part I A-C (.pdf), issued on April 28th.
DM Glossary part II D-Of (.pdf), issued on June 1st.
DM Glossary part III Op-Z (.pdf), issued on June 30th.
The glossary is derived and translated from the study material collected on seminars to learn the direct basics years ago. It's available in Italian only as PDF files readable by Acrobat Reader 4.0+. The first part covers the common terms of DM from A to the C (100 items). The part two covers further common terms from D to the Of (99 items). Third and ultimate file's covering the terms from Op to the W (103 items). The whole glossary amounts to 302 definitons. Direct to read!
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Linked resources.
1, 1, 2002. These are the numbers of the Euro as new currency running from the next year. Euro is really going to start soon but its conversion rates are not so familiar for all us. How much will an Italian lottery ticket cost? About 3 euro 10. What kind of expenditure is 0.88 euro? Probably a cup of coffee on a bar standing. And 38.09 euro? An average petrol refill... so far.
The next steps introducing the euro as the only one legal money for the European Monetary Unity (1 euro = 1936.27 ITLiras) are as follows:
 from January 1st 2002, ITL ceases to be a legal currency, therefore it will be excluded from the system of payments;
from Jan. 1st to Feb. 28th, euro banknotes and small changes become the new means of payment as cash too;
in the same period the banks will exchange liras into euro for free, with a daily maximum of one million liras if the change has not been noticed in advance;
cash exchange system (bancomat) will be guaranteed as operational in euro at 90% within the first week on 2002;
in the latest days of 2001 shopkeepers and families will be fed by banks and postal offices to have at their own disposal some packages of euro money in small denomination ('eurokits' = 20/30000 liras).
euro notes will be of the denominations: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 euro ('recto' and 'verso' equal for all the countries); while euro metal money will represent 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, 1 and 2 euro (with the 'verso' personalized for each country).
This means that the littlest money will be as worth as about 20 present liras and the largest about 4000 liras. The smallest banknote will correspond to about 10000 liras and the largest about one million liras.
To know more... use some Internet locations
- The Tresaury official site, www.tesoro.it/euro
- European Monetary Institute, maybe the most complete Web guide on the euro currency, www.ecb.int
- Euro Website is simply www.euro.eu.int
- Information for the enterprise, www.euroimpresa.org
- A daily up-to-date guide, www.ilsole24ore.it/versoleuro/webguide.htm
Press on GOLD SELECTION to enter the selected websites now!
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7 New TLDs.
The Internet news announced the entry of new seven global top-level domain names (TLD). The traditional quadrangle -- com, org, edu, net -- is now going to be overrun by the new forces and stakes the Net has given off. The domain game is becoming more complex and the process towards the domain name choice for your online business is also changing. The marketing strategy will continue to select the domain name but its registration under the main TLD, often only the dot-com, isn't taken for granted. For example, a recent TLD (dot-tv) is working fine for the TV media business --see hitchannel.tv or la7.tv-- and a simple domain registration for a TV broadcasting channel under dot-net or dot-com doesn't seem to represent properly at all the business behind. Which are the new TLDs by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)? Listen to the names, strictly in alphabetical order:
1) .aero 2) .biz 3) .co-op 4) .info 5) .museum 6) .name 7) .pro
all seven are brand new domains and they watch the industry demands as well as the general use. More in details the niche domains appear to be the dot-aero, dot-co-op, dot-museum because they are conceived to meet only specific businesses related to the respective industry. Other names are inspired mostly by general purpose to conquer both individual and business. Sure dot-biz is highly competitive with existing dot-com and dot-info could range over from a personal website to a content online business. For professional use only, the dot-pro is a favorite domain in association with accountants, lawyers and medical doctors, and for this audience the applicant has foressen three sub-domains (i.e. .med.pro, .law.pro, .cpa.pro). But the maximum of competition is predicted for the dot-name use. As a matter of fact it will be available to register a Name.Surname.name domain! A very personal Web location for the users of this domain system... To sum up the new situation I play the TLD game with you by processing my registered domain name:
dmlr.aero = if I founded an air-transport company;
dmlr.biz = if I wished to sell books online, or for any commercial purpose;
dmlr.co-op = if I set up a business co-operative to do the same activity;
dmlr.info = maybe this is the most similar choice instead of dmlr.org;
dmlr.museum = or... with living memory!;
roberto.dondi.name = in building an alternative personal website;
dmlr.pro = to highlight my professional status.
Hope this game helps you in registering the appropiate domain name for your Internet mission.
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Article 21 (Down by Law).
"I foretell disasters. I foretell catastrophes. Worse, I foretell lawyers!" (from the Woody Allen's movie 'Mighty Aphrodite', 1995).
The new Italian law on the publishing industry seems to consider an e-newsletter as activity admitted only if the author is a professional journalist. It ain't a joke! In other terms I ought to be admitted into the journalism roll before I can write the newsletter you are reading now. And that someone is reading from some years...
(The journalist order is an istitution --peculiar to Italy-- to join and defend all the writers on newspapers and magazines).
I have been publishing this newsletter since 1997 and each new issue will get inside this information to you, and all new readers of the online magazine. More, I remember here the article 21 of the Italian Constitution that recites: "Tutti hanno diritto di manifestare liberamente il proprio pensiero con la parola, lo scritto e ogni altro mezzo di diffusione. La stampa non puo' essere soggetta ad autorizzazioni o censure". Actually this article has been misrepresented and betrayed by the applicative laws where they are prescribing that a director of review has to be a member of the journalist order, and so bounding the same principle of the liberty to express oneself. Thanks for trusting the DMLR project, although now it's down by law!
Copyright 2001 - All rights reserved (except where indicated).
Roberto Dondi - marketing consultant and author.
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Home Version
Here Italian text
A City And Three Noughts
Web Content Project!
The new magazine is a review about the websites for the cities: Million Municipal Marketing!
The article trilogy is like a hoop-city you can access by entering any of the three '0' points surronding it! Following the sequence of articles there is much more, many topics as:- societal marketing
- hula hoop
- digital divide
- mass marketing
- politics of hunger
- market plaza
- global marketer
- fast architecture
Too much chaos? No. It's only the new global network of world's cities! Experience the city of the future...
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