Marketing Management and Strategy at Online Retailer - Case Study Example

? E-Business Operations of the of the Number E-Business Operations Company History Bodubuilding.com is an online retailer based in America. It deals with retailing of nutritional products and sports supplements based in Idaho, Meridian, United States (“Home”). It was founded in the year 1999 by Ryan R. Deluca in Boise, Idaho. The Objective of bodybuilding.com is to help its visitors reach their fitness, appearance and health goals through motivation, information and supplementation. In the year 2005, the company was on 500 fortune list as one of the fastest growing corporations worldwide. In the year 2006, a majority of its stake was acquired by Milestone Partners. Liberty Media Corporation obtained a controlling stake of the online retailer in 2008. Bodybuilding.com is a part of Liberty Interactive Unit. At present, there are about 750 workers employed between the headquarters and its four warehouses in Nevada, Idaho, Pennsylvania and Florida (“About Us”). The major functions of the online retailer are selling through online store with forums and editorial content related to fitness and body building. It is basically an e-retailer who sells branded products in categories such as, nutrition, supplementation and weight management. Apart from its namesake website, the online retailer also controls Atheletes.com. It is also an online retailer which markets its own line of nutritional and sports product categories under the brand name bodybuilding.com Platinum Series. Target customers The target customers for bodybuilding.com come from diverse platforms. The online website sells nutritional products, supplements as well as information on workout, bodybuilding and exercises. Basically, the broader target population is every health conscious customer seeking help and information on the internet. This includes men and women with interest in body building, professionals in various fields such as, boxing, wrestling, body building, trainers and modeling. Through its editorial sections, the company also target customers who are interested in healthy living and looking for online help in activities such as, diet-transformation, supplementation and nutrition products. These include regular customers like, working professionals, obese and overweight customers and elderly people. Apart from regular customers, the online retailer also serves a separate category of supplements and nutritional products for the military customers. Target customers also include teenagers who are either interested in bodybuilding or aiming for a profession in bodybuilding. Types of products offered The main product categories include: Weight and Diet Management- This category aims at supplementing the nutrition of customers for better body results. It includes products such as, fat burners and stimulant free burners, fat control products, guide for carbohydrate management, guide for healthy food and deliveries of various meal plan. It also includes energy and protein bars. Other diet management categories include thyroid support, cortisol control and appetite suppressant and includes products like, L-Cartinine, CLA and Green Tea (“Products”). Workout support and sports nutrition- It suffices various sports and athletic needs through nutritional and sports supplements. This category mainly includes workout guides, pre and post workout boosters and protein supplements along with boosters for growth hormones and testosterone support and performance multivitamins. Meal plan delivery and healthy food- It includes healthy foods and snacks and b-elite fuel. The online brand also sells healthy meals through online delivery. Health and Herbs, Vitamins- These are exercise supplements such as, fish oil, Omegas, Flax Oil, multivitamins, minerals and multi-toxicants. Other products in the online retailer’s category include sports and workout equipments and sports clothing range for men and women Website management Website management is an important strategy for connecting with customers, partners, employees as well as potential customers in order to meet their needs and demands. The website of bodybuilder.com can be considered as informative, resourceful and well-managed, providing users with a variety of options and tabs to click on. The website is a mix of well-designed information of healthy food and workout methodologies with persuasive and motivating pictures of well-trained models. The website is also dominated by a blue background with symbolizes energy. The online retailer operates in more than 150 countries across the globe providing a streamlined and smooth shopping experience. Online sales is conducted though various strategies. The website’s name has been strategically framed so that any search involving bodybuilding in the search engines will be automatically redirected to the website. The website has downloadable electronic catalogs, which can be used for future references. E-auction facilities include top daily selling items as well as top 50 products sold on everyday basis. The payment gateway includes debit card, credit card payment or cash on delivery. The website also provides shipping options where shipping charges depend on the delivery speed and date. The website also manages a 24*7 customer service, handling queries and complaints. The online retailer also provides discounts and freebies in order to increase sales (David 10). Online marketing strategies The online retailer uses various online marketing strategies for sales and promotion of its company. These strategies can be divided into three broad categories: Search engine optimization- It is used to make sites more visible and highly ranked, relevant page in any search engine. The online retailer has selected strategic keywords such as, bodybuilding and athlete so that it appears at the top spots. Also, the website software is created in a way that takes minimum time to load its contents, thereby increasing efficiency and minimizing waiting time for customers (Baker 150-170). Majority of valuable contents of the website are shares and the online site has back links from various respected websites. Content marketing- Content marketing is one of the oldest yet strongest segments in online marketing. It helps in building the brand as well as inspires confidence in the online retailer. The website of bodybuilding.com is a mixture of bold headings about the major products and services offered as well as detailed information within each new tab. The online website has many personalized options where customers can shop according to their specific brands, ingredients and goals. The contents of the website are a combination of informational articles on healthcare and bodybuilding as well as online retailer of products and services related to the information. Thus, the content creates a synergy where a need is generated out of the information provided which is simultaneously fulfilled through the available products. Social media marketing- Social media marketing is the latest as well as most fascinating addition in online marketing strategies. It includes usage of social media platforms and various other social blogs and communities to reach out to the target customers (Keller 35-75). At present, the online retailer has created a strong presence in Facebook as well as Twitter. The online retailer’s Facebook page has got more than 1,180,000 likes and consists of daily information regarding body building techniques, healthy eating and food habits as well as right choice of supplements. The Twitter page is also famous with more than 2 lakhs followers. Through Twitter and Facebook, the online retailer has also started online competitions and games. This helps in customer engagement. These websites also increase customer awareness through various community building and online discussion forums which in turn increases the number of followers and subsequent brand equity. Customer relationship management Customer relationship management is a strategy used by the company for interacting with current as well as future customers. The basic functions of customer relationship management is to understand customers, retain them through proper customer experience, attract new customers, win new contracts and clients, increase profitability as well as decrease customer management costs (Brown 10). Since Bodybuilding is an online retailer, major CRM strategy used is social CRM. The CRM software used by the online retailer is integrated with various social media sites such as, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. This helps in tracking and communicating with the customers who share their opinion as well as experiences on these social media sites. It helps the company in understanding the trend and plan strategies accordingly. The various strategies in customer relationship management include: Loyalty Program- The website offers free as well as paid membership where a large amount of information is shared and rewards are also given (“Create an account”). Data management- The data management facilities helps bodybuilding.com to track its daily traffic as well as customize according to various demographic categories. It also helps by providing information regarding inventories, suppliers as well as store availabilities. Customer analytics- This section handles duplicates segmentation and customer dashboard, profiling every customer according to demographics, trends and purchase patterns. Campaign management- It helps in managing multiple promotions on the different social media sites such as, Twitter and Facebook. It also helps the online retailer in automating promotions communication and tracking campaign performance. Website content Website content includes visual, textual or aural contents encountered as part of user experience on various websites. The website content of bodybuilding.com can be regarded as informative and exhaustive. Since it is an online retailer for health supplements and body building products, the majority of the website is dedicated to useful information regarding customers’ need for a healthy diet and healthy regime as well as products satisfying those needs, both available on the same website. However, the company has also strategically placed persuasive, influential, motivating, inspiring and arousing images of various professionals, trainers as well as models. This helps in triggering enthusiasm in the customers. The enthusiasm is further encouraged by multiple products available at attractive offers. Below are few clippings from the website which depict the websites campaigning, eating habits as well as celebrity trainer respectively (“Free Gifts”). Website layout and design Website designing as well as layout includes the structure as well as overall appearance of the website. It is important to put useful information and contents on a website. However, it is equally crucial to structure and design these contents, images and videos, so that the customer finds the required information with least effort and time (Croom 110). Basically, the design and layout should be user-friendly and simple. Below is a clipping of the website’s home page which is dominated by the color blue. This color suggests friendliness as well as an energetic vibe. Another clipping shows the sitemap of the online retailer’s website. The online site has well-placed its various products and services as well as health information, so that customers can relate with the needs and demands as well as search for subsequent products to satisfy those needs. Another image clipping shows the product placement on the online website. The products are categorized based on individual customer goals as well as product categories. Advantages and limitations of website The overall content, design and marketing of the online retailer, bodybuilding.com, possess many advantages as well as limitations. Advantages: The website is user-friendly and exhaustive providing detailed information to the customers. It saves a lot of time and effort of the customer, making him or her visit the website on a regular basis and ultimately making it their first preference. The key words are strategically placed and well-optimized helping the website with maximum visibility on the search engine. Another advantage of the website is the feedbacks and queries from the customers which not only helps in fixing customer strategies in the right directions, but also helps in following trends and ongoing customer vogues. Disadvantages The website has little information on the company itself and its origins, which might create trust issues among potential customers visiting the website. Too much of information might create disinterest among the visitors. Opinion on the Website The overall website is well-managed, user-friendly and informative, barring a few limitations. The website is dominated by a blue background. However, a combination of blue and red can be used, invoking more enthusiasm among the traffic as well as current customers. This color will also complement the young and potential customers. The brochures and pamphlets available provide detailed information about the company products which is not possible otherwise. With downloadable brochures, customers can also refer to it later without searching for the website again. However, the website can devise more attractive discounts as well as offers in order to increase traffic as well as engage the current employers. Works Cited “About Us”. Bodybuilding.com. Bodybuilding.com. 2013. Web. 17 December 2013. Baker, Micheal. Marketing Management and Strategy, 3rd edition, Hampshire: Macmillan Business, 2000. Print. Brown, Andrew. Customer Care Management. Worcester: Billing& Sons Ltd, 1991. Print “Create an account”. Bodybuilding.com. Bodybuilding.com. 2013. Web. 17 December 2013. Croom, Simon."Business Success: A Way of Thinking about Strategy, Critical Supply Chain Assets and Operational Best Practice", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 18.4(1998): 409 - 410. Print. David, Fred. Strategic management: Cases and concepts (13th ed.). Florence, South Carolina: Pearson, 2011. Print. “Free Gifts”. Bodybuilding.com. Bodybuilding.com. 2013. Web. 17 December 2013. “Home”. Bodybuilding.com. Bodybuilding.com. 2013. Web. 17 December 2013. Keller, Kevin. Strategic Brand Management, Building, measuring and managing brand equity, London: Kogan Page, 1998. Print. “Products”. Bodybuilding.com. Bodybuilding.com. 2013. Web. 17 December 2013. Read More