HERE S WHERE YOU ARE overview purchase orders product samples quality assurance product information brand packaging & labeling shipping compliance What We Do in Product Information PI Processes -56-
TABLE OF CONTENTS Product Information (PI) 56 Table of Contents 57 Purpose and Objectives 58 What We Do in Product Information 59 PI Process: Toplines 60 PI Process: Technical Details 61 PI Process: Hsntv Host Cards 62 PI Process: HSN.Com Product Descriptions 63-57-
PURPOSE & OBJECTIVES Our Purpose Nobody makes a buying decision without the right information...especially in the world of electronic retailing. It s imperative that every aspect of every item we sell is communicated in an accurate, dynamic and inspiring manner. Whether the customer is engaged by HSNtv, by HSN.com or by our Sales and Service Representatives, information is key to informing our customers and enticing her to buy our products. To make this happen, we enlist a talented Team of Product Information (PI) Writers. Each day they conduct extensive research and craft the most accurate, compelling and creative product descriptions possible so our customer can be inspired to make a confident, informed and exciting purchase. How This Section is Set Up This section is designed to guide you through the full process of Product Information and give you an understanding as to how you and your product fit into that process. There are five sections, each detailing how we work with you to give our customers the information she needs to make an informed buying decision: What We Do: A brief overview of where PI gets the information, what they do with it and how it s delivered to our customer. PI Process: Toplines: It s frequently the first thing the customer sees on HSNtv or HSN.com about your product. Here s how to make sure your product makes the best possible first impression. PI Process: Technical Details: How our customers know that a product will fit her life, even without having it directly in front of her. PI Process: HSNtv Host Cards: Every product has a story. Here s how we tell it. PI Process: HSN.com Descriptions: HSN has a slightly different approach when it comes to presenting product online. Key Contacts in Product Information Brooke Cole Director 727.872.7532 brooke.cole@hsn.net Jim DeLosh Managing Editor 727.872.5422 james.delosh@hsn.net Meaghan Forbes-Ross Manager 727.872.7206 meaghan.forbes-ross@hsn.net -58-
WHAT WE DO IN PRODUCT INFORMATION What We Do Our Product Information Team goes to great lengths to prove itself as the trusted source of knowledge for HSN and our customers. PI works closely with our Partners, our Quality Assurance (QA) Evaluators and our Buying Teams to verify facts and ensure that every aspect of a product is highlighted in the most accurate way. That information is then compiled, transformed into creative, compelling product descriptions and delivered to the customer through HSNtv, HSN.com and our Sales and Service Representatives. It All Starts With A Specification Sheet Just as our QA Team uses the information from your specification sheets (or, as we call them, spec sheets ) to evaluate your product, PI will use the same information to position and sell your product. Everything our customer will read and hear about your product comes directly from you, via the information you provide in your spec sheets within HSN s Partner Portal. That information is used to create: 1. Toplines - product titles for HSNtv, HSN.com and our Sales and Service systems 2. Technical details - for our Sales and Service systems 3. Product descriptions - for HSN.com 4. Host Card descriptions - for HSNtv product specification sheets toplines HSN.com product descriptions our customer technical details for Sales and Service HSNtv Host Cards -59-
PI PROCESS: TOPLINES The Topline is The product name is seen by our customers on HSNtv and HSN.com and used by the Sales and Service Center to identify products and take customer orders. A topline is often the very first impression our customer encounters about your product, and is very important in articulating exactly what is being offered, who is offering it (your brand) and why she should be excited by it. Even if our customer has her television muted, we still want her to glean the entire concept of the product and what makes it special, simply by reading the graphics topline. HSNtv Toplines Because of space constraints, we are limited to four lines of 16 characters each. However, every graphics topline should include the following information (in this order, from top to bottom): Brand Name (ex: Lancôme) Pertinent Information (ex: La Vie Est Belle) Pertinent Information (ex: Holiday) Noun/s (ex: Collection) HSN.com Toplines To keep things consistent for our customers that crossover from HSNtv to HSN.com, we like to use the identical wording for the HSN.com topline that we do for broadcast graphics. This helps ensure that if our customer searches HSN.com for an item she may have previously seen on HSNtv or one she was referred to by a friend, the item will immediately pop up in her search results. How You Can Help The best way to ensure your preferred graphic topline ends up on HSNtv and HSN.com is for you to enter that topline in the product spec sheet in HSN s Partner Portal. PI will review what you entered and, based on HSN guidelines, will place that information in our system so that the information appears in the on-air graphic. If there are major changes to what you originally submitted, the PI Writer will reach out to you and the Buyer to seek the best possible alternative before the air date. -60-
PI PROCESS: TECHNICAL DETAILS Getting Technical About Electronic Retailing Imagine going into your favorite brick and mortar retail store and asking the sales associate a very basic question. Now imagine they don t know the answer. Would you feel confident in continuing your buying process or even continuing your relationship with that particular retailer? This is especially true in electronic retailing. Our customer must be confident that a product will fit in her home, exceed her expectations and enhance her life - all without having a physical sample of the product in front of her. This means that our Sales and Service Teams need to provide the full product details for our customer. They need enough information to immediately address any questions or concerns the customer might have and they must be able to communicate the entire story of your product to our customer as if they were both standing next to the product in a showroom. It s Product Information s Job to Get The Answers Our PI Writers work closely with the Sales and Service Teams to identify and anticipate any questions or concerns our customer might have about each product category. They then answer those questions and concerns through the Product Descriptions they write and provide to Sales and Service. Though much of the information is specific to each category, there are certain technical details that are common for almost every type of product: 1. Component lists (if product is a set, kit or assortment) 2. Dimensions and/or net contents of individual components 3. Material composition/list of ingredients 4. Country of origin 5. Warranty information How You Can Help Our goal is to eliminate any impediments or apprehensions our customer might have about buying your product. We can t do that without you. Here are a couple of ways to help ensure that the customer has all of the information she needs to make an informed buying decision: 1. Complete all of the technical information about your product in the appropriate fields of the spec sheet in HSN s Partner Portal 2. Edit the information on your spec sheet to ensure all details are accurate and up-to-date 3. If your product has a manual, attach an electronic copy to the spec sheet This is the quickest way to pass technical information on to our customer. -61-
PI PROCESS: HSNTV HOST CARDS In Any Retail Environment Features and benefits are central to selling. A retailer wouldn t put a product on their shelf without listing features and benefits on the packaging. HSNtv is no exception. Just as brick and mortar stores rely on packaging and displays to communicate the product s story, HSN s Hosts rely on features and benefits to help them inspire our customer to buy your product. To do this, Hosts use a detailed, prioritized list of product features and benefits compiled for them in the form of Host Cards. Creating The Cards PI is responsible for gathering, organizing and entering Host Card information for every product sold on HSNtv. This information is a major component of HSNtv s on-air presentation and can be a determining factor on whether or not a product is successful. Along with the technical details automatically entered into the same system for Sales and Service, the Host Cards include a detailed list of features and benefits needed to present and position the product during a show. To produce this information, PI Writers rely heavily on the physical sample, and the spec sheets for each product to identify: How the product provides value to the customer Key aspects of a product that will ignite our customer s impulse How each of those key aspects are relevant to her lifestyle How You Can Help Entering a solid list of features and benefits into HSN s Partner Portal is your opportunity to tell the customer exactly what she needs to know to entice her to buy your product. Here are a couple of tips on how you can help ensure that we spotlight exactly what you see as the most important features of your product: 1. Prioritize your features and benefits - number each point and ensure the most important information is at the top of the list on the spec sheet 2. Organize your features and benefits - each feature is immediately followed by its benefit(s) 3. List as many features and benefits as you can possibly identify about your product 4. If available, attach marketing materials (such as romance cards, brochures and statements of work) to your product submission in HSN s Partner Portal 5. Attach substantiation for any claims you make about your product to your submission in HSN s Partner Portal Running Out of Room? You may find that you don t have enough room to type everything you want to say about your product in some of the fields in HSN s Partner Portal. If this happens, don t worry. Our system allows you to attach nearly any type of document to the item spec sheet. This is handy if you would like to create a document that lists your item s features and benefits, or if you have ready-made marketing documents that already express everything there is to say about the item. Please Remember All claims made on the spec sheet must be properly substantiated by attaching the appropriate certifications and other documents. We cannot include any claims or other information unless it is first confirmed and approved by our QA and/or Legal Department. Attaching the appropriate substantiation documents will allow the process to move along much faster and will help prevent unnecessary delays. -62-
PI PROCESS: HSN.COM PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS A Word About Online Shopping Though many of our HSNtv customers and HSN.com customers are often one and the same, their buying process is altered when they trade the remote for the mouse. An HSN.com shopper typically seeks short, concise information and avoids wordy pitches and oversaturated sites. She relies on search engines and easy navigation to find the perfect purchase. This, in turn, alters the way HSN communicates product information on HSN.com versus how the Host conveys it to our customer on HSNtv. HSN.Com Format and Structure You may have noticed that HSN.com descriptions typically include a short marketing paragraph that introduces the product, followed by a components list, and is accompanied by other product description tabs. This is the standard format PI Writers employ for the majority of our products. Having a standardized format allows the customer to become accustomed to HSN.com and allows her to immediately find the information she is looking for. In a nutshell, here s how the descriptions are formatted: Overview tab (marketing statement with components list) Other tabs per product type: Features, Specifications, Details, Software Marketing Statements: Keeping it Simple Given the short window of opportunity we have to capture the HSN.com shopper s attention, our PI Writers keep our marketing statements as short and sweet as possible. This typically means limiting it to 3 or 4 sentences. It also means that PI has less room to entice the customer from the beginning so our language must be concise, yet very concentrated, highlighting the main features that speak to the value of the item. -63-
PI PROCESS: HSN.COM PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS (CONT D) Keeping it Even Shorter While PI strives to include as much information as we can in the marketing statement, including key features and benefits, we often don t have room for everything we would like to say. For that reason, remaining key product information is always included in accompanying tabs. This also allows our HSN.com customers to get a quick look at the product features, without having to scan a paragraph. How You Can Help Every must have factor of all the other descriptions produced by PI are combined in HSN.com s Product Descriptions. The same features and benefits that go on the Host Cards, the same technical details that are conveyed to our Sales and Service Representatives and the same toplines that we use for HSNtv are all included in our HSN.com description. This makes the information in your spec sheets especially critical to HSN.com Product Descriptions. It s also important to review your Product Descriptions on HSN.com. Here are a few things to check: Positioning: Does the marketing statement position the product the same way you had articulated to your Buyer or communicated in the Partner Portal? Features and benefits: Are the most important key features you included high on your list in the Partner Portal properly spotlighted in the marketing statement? Components list: Does the list match exactly with what is included with the item and what was articulated in the Partner Portal? Technical details: Are all of the facts and figures mentioned in the Product Description accurate and match what you entered in the Partner Portal? If the answer to any of these questions is no, please contact your Buyer or PI Writer. We want to make certain that the key selling points are properly highlighted, the product is properly positioned and all of the details accurately reflect what the customer receives. Please Remember While HSN s PI Writers work hard to market products the way our Partners envision, they are required to work within the parameters of HSN policies, QA standards and legal boundaries at every step in the process. Any information added after the Product Description has been written must be approved by all of the applicable departments and fall within our brand strategy, our stylebook and our policy standards. The most effective way to help ensure that Product Descriptions properly reflect the product and its intended positioning is to make certain that all of the applicable information is entered in the HSN s Partner Portal spec sheet from the very beginning. -64-