In response to Michelle's Response..

"Is there anything you found interesting in this article?"

I found it interesting when the article, From Print to Phone to Web. And a Sale, talked about a product named CueCat that had been introduced to the market in 2000. The company, Digital:Convergence, established this product with the anticipation that people would use it to print pages using bar codes. This would allow people to access web pages and products they were interested in through the scan of a bar code. The idea made the process of web browsing look effortless. CueCat was used by companies such as Forbes and Wired, however many of their employees considered the newly designed product to be too "clunky." In order for the bar code scanner to be utilized, the customer would have to be mailed a hand-held scanner, along with a CD-Rom. After receiving both those items, the user would then have to install the CD-Rom program, and attach the device to their computer. The scanner was designed in a particular manner, where the user would "wave" the hand-held over the bar code. However, companies exercising CueCat found that it was not "portable or easy," and actually in some cases they believed it was more trouble than just doing a search through a Web address.

It was interesting to read about the introduction to the CueCat and what limitations it brought about. It is simple to see how much technology has improved since 2000. Within ten years we have grown from a product such as the CueCat, to having a software programed into your cell phone allowing you to scan bar codes on the spot. Although these programs do not exist yet for all cell phones, it is amazing to see how much potential our economy has for technology advancement.

What do you think the future is for bar code scanners? Do you think they will become advanced enough for people to use in their everyday routines, or do you think they will fade out again like they did in 2000?

E-marketing vs Direct Mail & Bar Codes

Direct mail tends to have many benefits over electronic mail. As one of the articles stated, an individual is more likely to delete an electronic copy of mail without taking a second look, compared to having a hard copy to refer back to. Many electronic messages also come off as "junk" mail to individuals, therefore many people will delete them before even opening them. Direct mail tends to be more "personal," when a customer receives an e-mail about sales, they probably tend to think "this got sent out to all individuals" where as if a customer was to receive a 20% off coupon in the mail, they are more likely to feel like a valuable customer. Many customers use direct mail as a "reminder" of what is going on with that company each week. In fact, when the company in the article cut off their direct mail, they had customers calling, saying, "did you take me off your list?"

Bar codes, although marketers have been getting closer and closer to making them easily accessible, there are still potential concerns with using them. Compared to the year 2000 when bar codes were first introduced, technology has grown tremendously which has boosted the success of bar codes. No longer is an individual required to own a hand-held scanner that once needed to be installed on their computer, but now people are able to scan bar codes from certain cell phones. However, not all cell phones have the application to scan bar codes, leading to a potential problem. As of right now, there are bar code applications (ScanLife) for Blackberry, iPhone, Android based handsets, and some Sprint phones. If ScanLife wants to be as successful as it is trying to be, this application needs to be made for every cell phone or people will not use it daily.

As far as e-marketing goes I do not think that is will completely replace traditional forms of marketing. Although internet has replaced many aspects of communications, I believe that companies have great success using the traditional forms of marketing such as direct mail, phone calls, and newspaper promotion. Technology has grown immensely over the years, however many people still enjoy reading the newspaper and opening their mail. If all companies were to use e-marketing as their only marketing technique, I believe that many customers would no longer be aware of promotions or sales going on, causing them to slowly break away from those companies. Flyers are easy to flip through while on a break from work or sitting on the couch watching television, where as e-mails can be deleted with the click of a finger, never to appear again.

A company such as Panera Bread could benefit from direct mail by sending out coupons to committed customers. As of right now Panera has no form of marketing, therefore to boost their success they may want to try and reward their dedicated customers with a little break from spending now and then. Direct mailing could potentially bring in more business, and have their customers continually checking their mailboxes for coupons.