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Explore the significance of small customers in online success, the impact of vertical and Web 2.0 search, and why embracing the long tail model is essential for businesses. Discover how companies like Google and Cheapflights have leveraged the long tail concept for growth and customer reach in the digital era.
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David Soskin CEOCheapflights.co.uk 1st May 2007 Understanding the long tail - why small customers are vital to web success
Agenda: • What is the long tail? • Why vertical and “Web 2.0” search extend the long tail • Outlook for “long tail” – orientated companies
Typical Blockbuster: 3,000 DVDs Typical Borders Bookstore: 100,000 books The new growth market: Products you can’t find anywhere but online Source: Chris Anderson
Britannica vs.Wikipedia 64,900 7,000,000 * Source: www.amazon.com & en.wikipedia.org
Aggregators Communities/ user generated content Advertising services Information Transactional Digital goods
The long tail: The root calculus “the lower the costs of selling, the more you can sell. As such, aggregators are a manifestation of the second force, democratizing distribution. They all lower the barrier to market entry, allowing more and more things to cross that bar and get out there to find their audience.” Chris Anderson Source: The Long Tail
Crap vs. choice Old economy: crap matters New economy: choice matters
Book Sales (USA), 2004 Source: Book Industry Study Group
Google:Ultimate long tail company? “By going to the bottom with self-service, we were able to reach advertisers who fell below the threshold of traditional advertising. And by going all the way to the top, we were able to capture very large and historically underserved businesses as well as a whole new area that never had access to these kinds of online services.” Eric Schmidt, CEO Google Source: The Long Tail
But how good is Google search? “The ultimate search engine would basically understand everything in the world, and it would always give you the right thing. And we're a long, long ways from that.” - Larry Page, Google Co-Founder “Search as a problem is only about 5% solved” - Udi Manber, CEO of Amazon’s A9.com search engine “It's clear there's a lot of room for improvement, there's no inherent ceiling we're hitting up on.” - Sergey Brin, Google Co-Founder
Search can get a lot better… Horizontal Search Vertical Search
Cheapflights Before …
UK Cheapflights users seeking deals to Kazakhstan April 2006 – March 20077,117 clicks
The Cheapflights long tail … • Founded 1967 • Employees100 • Specialize in Greece & Cyprus
The Cheapflights long tail … • Founded 2004 • Employees18 • Specialize in Florida; flights, holidays & cruise
The Cheapflights long tail … • Founded 1966 • Employees 39 • Specialize in Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia and Romania
Travel is a natural subject for the long tail – highly fragmented
Long tail and Web 2.0 Social Networking User Reviews Search
User reviews Then Now
Frommers vs. WAYN • HB slide
The long tail:Social networking Now • World Then • club • local pub • street • school • charity • hobby • sport Your -
Hours Year Source: Ofcom research, April 2006 Time spent online • More and more people are using the internet • People now spend an extra 1 hour 16 minutes each month online compared with 2001 • 16-24 year olds spend even more time online: 11 hours 20 minutes per month on the internet
How to create a thriving long tail business “ 1) Make everything available. 2) Help me find it.” Chris Anderson Source: The Long Tail
Long tail of the internet 2002 2007 Web 2.0 Reviews Social networking Blogging Vertical search
Conclusion: • “Long tail” is suited to the internet • Vertical search is an ideal “long tail” application • Web 2.0 has accelerated the “long tail” • Understanding and using the “long tail” represents a significant and growing business opportunity
Thank youQuestions,suggestions, feedback or complaints welcome…david.soskin@cheapflights.com