Justin Marshall

I found Kollick and Braziel’s article both an insightful look into what makes a successful (and unsuccessful) online market and relatively five pages too long. Although the key points the authors make are valid and well supported, it seemed they crammed a thoughtful 5-page publication into a exhausting 20-page paper.

Nonetheless, as an online professional, I took to heart the author’s main premise, which essential is as follows: If you want to make a successful online market, know thy user. (“Know thy user” is a throwback to the first key principle of user-centered design: “Know thy user and know that you are not thy user.)

Altra Online Exchange was a key example of an online market that didn’t do the proper user/market research. Modeling the site’s software features around the Texas market pigeonholed it within a certain spectrum of use. If, instead, the site’s creators would have done a diverse analysis of the wide range of customers to potential customers, and built their product to the needs of both (or scalable to accommodate both), then the product would succeed.

The article reminded me of a project a friend of mine undertook and had the heart to share his woes with me recently:

A large online retail company (let’s call it “Congo, Inc.”) decided to expand its product offerings by providing a Netflix-esque video rental store in the UK. In awe of the success of Netflix, Congo Inc. decided to emulate (almost exactly) the Netflix mail-based rental system.

Unfortunately, it was a complete and utter failure because unlike its US counterpart, the UK’s postal service was completely unreliable and movies weren’t arriving at the promised date—or not arriving at all.

If Congo Inc. had only done the proper contextual research to understand their audience and the context in which they lived, worked and consumed, their site would be a successful endeavor and Brits all around the UK would be able to watch Dr. Who reruns to their heart’s content.