I only recently discovered I've been working in the VRM
industry for a decade and I have been following this list
with great interest over the last few months.
I disagree with the value you base on 'data
freshness'. Your argument that 'snapshots are useful only to historians'
probably applies to fast moving consumer goods & many short
term services.
However my home improvement industry and ownership by extend
have much longer 'life cycles' and slow ‘fashion’ trends. Consumers replace their
kitchen, central heating or bad room every 10-15 year. In
Europe average home ownership exceeds those replacements periods
with a multiple. So for my construction
related Internet business (since 2000) it seems useful to know
when my customers last replaced/build a kitchen, bathroom,
extension,... As intermediates we also store the
satisfaction of our users with the contractors we
have recommended. We also know if they appreciated our
previous matchmaking effort.
These historic home improvement project details now put
us in a unique position to suggest follow-up improvement and maintenance
projects to our customer base. In the current 'down
market' this allows us to generate extra revenues for our contractors
as we turn these typical 'once-in-a-life-time-customers' into
repeat-purchasers. Construction professionals need new
projects more now than ever before and most are not exactly marketing
savvy. Their margins have gone down as a result of the crisis too. Home owners get extra value for their money compared to last year
and hardly any waiting time for execution of their real estate dreams. Since
there is added value for all parties involved, we've got ourselves a
market.
Which other VRM list subscribers work
in industries with similar long life cycles and delayed repeat/replacement
purchases, where historic data (could) benefit both customer, intermediate and
vendor/provider?
@frank: Keep up your VRM poetry: 'The blush is off the rose
and it smells sickly sweet'.
With long life cycles above and Gertrude Stein in mind, I would add 'A
customer is a customer is a customer is a customer' :)
@Doc: keep up the great work! Your VRM list became my regular dose of
brain oxygen to fuel operational tasks and open up our
data silos.
Toon Vanagt
Managing Partner
Casius
P.S. Below is a little more on my VRM business. The Casius
internet platform assists home owners to realize their construction and
renovation projects, by matching them with qualified local contractors, who
provide a free quote. I co-founded Casius.com in 1999
and learned a lot while burning 4.000.000 EUR of venture
capital. Through a MBO, I acquired the company from the VC in 2005 and we
are profitable ever since.
How does it work?
The Casius website helps consumers to define their project in an innovative
way. Our teams check the project details and send an anonymous project summary
to the most appropriate and qualified local contractors. Only those contractors
who are interested and available, respond to Casius and receive the consumer's
contact details (max. 3). Our service is free for home owners, whom decide
which offer suits them best. The affiliated contractors pay Casius a fee to
receive qualified "leads" from these home owners.
Empowered by valuable consumer feedback: Web 2.0 since 2000
For each project Casius has treated, feedback was requested from the home
owners on the quality of the contractor and service offer. This way a permanent
quality check is processed for each contractor (over 90.000 quotes so far).
Casius "Certified" Professionals
The contractors undergo a severe quality check on entering the Casius network.
Each Casius professional has to meet the following criteria:
- Sufficient recommendations form home owners, who previously used their
services.
- Minimum 2 year of independent professional activity.
- Legal background check
- Required national registration and certification obligations
After entering the network, the continuous consumer feedback helps Casius to
refer only the best professionals.
Some Numbers
The Benelux Casius network consists of 1.400 independent contractors,
architects, gardeners,…
Over 90.000 consumers have used and rated the Casius service to find their
professional in the BeNeLux with an average executed project value of 11.400
EUR. A team of 15 experts works full time from our offices in Brussels and
Amsterdam.
-------------------------
Oorspronkelijk bericht -------------------------
Onderwerp: Re: [projectvrm] Google and VRM
Van: "Elias Bizannes" <
" target="_blank">
>
Datum: Di, 17 februari, 2009 11:59
Aan: "Luk Vervenne" <
" target="_blank">
>
CC: "dsearls" <
" target="_blank">
>
"Adriana Lukas" <
" target="_blank">
>
"frankxr" <
" target="_blank">
>
"Naos Wilbrink" <
" target="_blank">
>
"ProjectVRM list" <
" target="_blank">
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bah! So what if a corporation 'owns' your data.
A company monetises data if
1) they can sell copies of the data (customer lists)
2) they can sell access to the data (advertising)
3) they can sell perception of perceived value (venture capitalists
thinking data = "monetisation)
But the thing about data, is that for it to be useful (and truly
valuable), it needs to be recent. No one wants a customer list that's got
the wrong address.
Try this excercise: Imagine it's the year 1995 (those long gone chasin'
waterfalls years). Reflect privately to the following on your:
- Age
- Employer
- Income
- Education level
- relationship status
- address
- city of abode
- primary e-mail account
Now re-answer those questions in the context of that J-lo 2000 period. Now
try 2005 when Shakira was shaking it.
And now compare it to today.
Are they different? For most, they should be.
A company can pretend they own you, but they literally can't. Their entire
monetisation is based on the fact they have the most up to data about you:
all we need to do is educate acquirers, advertisers, VC's that the data
isn't recent and you've just put a fire in a company's house. Access to
the most up to date data is what companies really want; snapshots are
useful only to historians. Even if people guess the future state of
someone based on past data, verified data recognised by the person in
question will always be more valuable.
Elias Bizannes
http://liako.biz
On Tue, Feb 17, 2009 at 9:33 PM, Luk Vervenne <
" target="_blank">
> wrote:
> Or: it's site-centric, not user-centric, (and for Adriana) let alone
user driven.
>
> Luk Vervenne
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dsearls [mailto:
"
target="_blank">
]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 12:28 AM
> To: Adriana Lukas; frankxr
> Cc: Naos Wilbrink; ProjectVRM list
> Subject: Re: [projectvrm] Google and VRM
>
> Facebook is one big node, and in it we are but mitochondria.
>
> It's still AOL 2.0.
>
> Feh.
>
> Doc
>
> At 5:36 PM +0000 2/16/09, Adriana Lukas wrote:
> >And in the meantime, in the real world as they say, Facebook's new
TOS:
> >
> >
> http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-any
thing-we-want-with-your-content-forever<http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-any%0Athing-we-want-with-your-content-forever>
> >
> >A
> >--
> >The network is always stronger than the node...
> >but a network starts with a node.
> >
> >http://www.mediainfluencer.net
> >http://www.vrmhub.net
> >http://www.themineproject.org
> >
> >Background:
> >http://www.mediainfluencer.net/about/
> >
> >Skype: adriana872
> >Twitter: adriana872
> >UK mobile: +44 787 6757129
> >US mobile: +1 732 447 5115
> >
> >
> >
> >2009/2/16 frankxr <
"
target="_blank">
>:
> >> This is the same marketing lingo facebook is trying with
its
Facebook Connect program which is a web version of Windows auth and
API's -
> everyone
> >> wants to be the standard bearer.
> >>
> >> The blush is off the rose and it smells sickly sweet
> >>
> >> My concern would be that short sighted greed will result in
support by
> those
> >> less seasoned that do not see the risk of investment.
> >>
> >> Frank
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Naos Wilbrink [mailto:
"
target="_blank">
]
> >> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 5:38 AM
> >> To: ProjectVRM list
> >> Subject: [projectvrm] Google and VRM
> >>
> >>
> >> Introducing Google's new Social Web Blog
> >>
> >> Google said:
> >> " Currently, you have friends locked up in one or more
social
networks, social applications that work on only a few sites, and
multiple
> usernames
> >> and passwords to remember. It can be better, and we are
developing tools
> to
> >> make "any app, any site, any friends" a reality."
> >>
> >> Will it then still be locked by Google or are they making
products to
escape's google's silo?
> >>
> >> http://googlesocialweb.blogspot.com/
> >>
> >>
> >> Naos Wilbrink
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Alan Patrick [mailto:
" target="_blank">
]
> >> Sent: maandag 16 februari 2009 12:41
> >> To: ProjectVRM list
> >> Subject: Re: [projectvrm] new rules for new economy
> >>
> >>
" target="_blank">
wrote:
> >>> Hi Doc,
> >>>
> >>> Your comments raise an interesting point about metrics.
Current
corporate metrics are narcissistic: they measure 'costs to us - the
corporation' and 'benefit to us - the corporation' without taking
account of the costs (or benefits) that might be incurred by third
parties such as customers, employees, the environment etc.
> >>>
> >>> In the sphere of customer relationships, this means that
corporations' measurement systems cannot tell the difference between
profits made by providing customers with value and profits made by
destroying customer value (i.e. by pulling the wool over customers'
eyes, 'outsourcing' costs to the customer, etc). To the accountant
looking at a
> >>> spreadsheet, they both look exactly the same - they both
appear as
'profits' or 'sales'. Worse: it's often easier to make 'bad' profits
by destroying customer value rather than good profits by improving
customer value.
> >> Another thought - if the company could see the end to end costs
to them
> and
> >> csutomers, they may decide to do things differently.
> >>
> >> Rgds
> >>
> >> Alan
> >>
> >>
>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------------------- Doc
Searls
http://doc.searls.com Senior
Editor, Linux Journal http://linuxjournal.com
Fellow,
Berkman Center, Harvard U. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu Email:
" target="_blank">
Cell: 805-705-9666
>
>
>
>
> E-mailbericht gecontroleerd door Spyware Doctor (6.0.0.386)
> Databaseversie: 5.11770
> http://www.pctools.com/nl/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
>
>
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