Question: You're the vice president of member services at CafeMom, reporting to CEO Michael Sanchez. In addition to developing new online services, a key part of your job responsibility is crafting messages that describe the new services and persuade members to try them. Use what you've learned in this chapter and in your own experiences as a consumer (and as a parent, if applicable) to address these challenges

1. You asked one of your staffers to write a benefit statement to communicate the advantages of the Groups section of the CafeMom website, which lets members find and join any of the thousands of existing groups or create new groups focused on just about any topic imaginable. She emails the following sentence: "We've worked hard to define and create a powerful online group capability; you can search far and wide on the Web, but you won't find anything as great as what we've created." You then write back, explaining why it's important to make marketing messages about the customer, not about the company. Which of these versions best illustrates this vital aspect of the "you" attitude? (You can learn more about the Groups feature at the CafeMom website, www.cafemom.com/groups.)

a. Group members at CafeMom support one another and share their knowledge, experience, and opinions on a wide variety of subjects, from pregnancy to schooling to religion.

b. Get support, information, and thought-provoking opinions from CafeMom groups.

c. Join a ClubMom group (or start your own) to get support, information, and thought-provoking opinions from other moms on a wide variety of subjects, from pregnancy to schooling to religion.

d. Social networking has rapidly become a popular way for web surfers to get insights, information, and thoughtprovoking opinions, and the CafeMom groups will help you, too.

2. A common challenge in marketing communication is distilling a long list of features to a single compelling message that can serve as the product's "headline." Review the follow ing list of features and benefi ts (extracted from various communications presented by CafeMom and its business partners):

• The experiences of thousands of moms are now aggregated in a single place online.

• Connect with moms like you; search for moms by personal and family challenges, interests, age of kids, or location.

• Get and give support; find support and swap advice with other moms on a wide range of topics that matter most to you.

• Post questions online and get input from mothers who've been there before.

• Joining CafeMom is absolutely freeoncerns.

• Write as much or as little as you want to share in your personal profile.

• You have complete control over the privacy of your information. Which of these statements is the best single-sentence encapsulation of the wide range of benefits that CafeMom offers? Obviously, a single sentence can't communicate every point listed; think more about an initial, high-level message that will entice people to keep reading.

a. Connecting and collecting; caring and sharing: The online community at CafeMom lets you network with other moms and find information you can use to help make motherhood successful and satisfying. b. The online community at CafeMom lets you connect with other moms and find valuable information to help make motherhood successful and satisfying.

c. CafeMom offers moms everywhere a unique online experience.

d. CafeMom offers the best moms everywhere an absolutely unique online experience, with unparalleled access to valuable knowledge and rewarding camaraderie.

3. Membership in CafeMom is free, so price isn't a potential purchase objection. However, CafeMom does collect a fair amount of information from its members, including information about members themselves, their families, and their product purchase and usage habits. Which of the following statements would you put on the website to encourage anyone who is concerned about privacy and data security to read CafeMom's privacy policy? You can read the policy by clicking on "Privacy Policy" at the bottom of the CafeMom homepage. (Assume that the statement will contain the necessary hyperlink to take visitors to the privacy policy page on the website.)

a. See why you never have to worry about data security or personal privacy on CafeMom.

b. Learn more about how we protect the information we collect in order to continue making CafeMom a great web destination.

c. We implement SSL for credit card transactions and other sensitive transactions.

d. Like most websites, we collect only the information necessary to provide the valuable services we offer on this website.

4. Which of the following is the most effective call to action to encourage interested moms to sign up for free CafeMom membership?

a. Sign up for your free Join CafeMom membership today and get knowledge and camaraderie you can't get anywhere else.

b. Visit cafemom.com today and learn about the many benefits of free membership.

c. Every mom belongs in CafeMom; won't you please join today?

d. CafeMom will change your life in ways you could never have imagined, and it's free!