{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/29700"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/29700","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Enhancing on-line customer trust : animated advisor design and prototype","abstract":"The emergence of e-commerce has significantly increased customer power and introduced many challenges to the traditional push-based marketing practices. Many businesses nowadays are considering repositioning their strategies to develop trust-based long-lasting relationships with an increasingly loyal customer base instead of bombarding passive customers with marketing campaigns. General Motors took a leading first step in this direction by launching an on-line tool, Auto-Choice-Advisor, that provides its visitors with unbiased advice on the vehicles that best fit their preferences. This document proposes trust-building enhancements to the Auto-Choice-Advisor site through the incorporation of a trusted animated advisor. It begins by reviewing the premise of trust-based marketing. It then presents simulation results that internally validate the \"listening-in\" methodology, an approach that listens to virtual dialogues between on-line customers and virtual advisors to identify viable new market opportunities. The document then builds on the findings and presents a design and a prototype for a new animated Auto-Choice-Advisor. Finally, the possibilities for future work are summarized.","abstract_html":"The emergence of e-commerce has significantly increased customer power and introduced many challenges to the traditional push-based marketing practices. 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