FOCUS STORE BUSINESS PAPER URBAN OUTFITTERS - Essay Example

Xiaojing Jiang MKT 315 101 May/22 !! Urban Outfitters Focus Store Urban Outfitters Location: 119 E Grand River Ave, East Lansing, MI 48823Dates and times visited:May 21 3:00pm-5:00pmMay 224:30pm-6:00pmTotal times spend: 3.5 hoursCompetitorForever 21Location: 3017 Preyde Blvd, Lansing Charter Township, MI 48912Date and time visited:May 21 5:30p.m.-7:00p.m.Total times spend: 1.5 hoursPart One:I made a survey on urban outfitters. 18 people took the survey. Of the people I interviewed, 3 were employees in the store while 15 were customers.

Out of those,16 were female, 2 were male. The ratio of the customers was 11:7 students to non students respectively. This therefore indicates that store targets customers who are female students.There are five ways that Urban Outfitters provides value added to customers.1. Communication- ask customersDuring the survey, a total of 15 customers were interviewed, 10 of whom had been asked whether they need any help of finding the goods by the employees. One of the questions that were used in the survey was to ask the customers if they had offered any assistance by any of the store employees.

Of those interviewed, 5 customers had not been offered any assistance by the store employees. However, since 10 of them had been asked if they needed help, it is clear that more than half of the customers had communications with the store. There are 2 employees and 1 manager who took the survey. Of them, 2 said they often ask the customers about what they want to buy. The manager however said that she never asks the customers what they need to buy. The main reason for asking this question during the survey was to find out how often the store communicates with its customers in order to make the customer’s experience at the store a better one.

When I walked in to the store, several employees were informing the customers coming in that there was a sales promotion offer going on. Customers were happy to hear that and seemed eager to take advantage of the sale. Overall, this store is doing fine in communication.2. Place Utility-near schoolSeveral customers mentioned the location of the store is ideal and convenient, great or excellent in the survey. The particular Urban Outfitters I choose is located at centre Grand River Avenue. It is very near the school, and near to many clothes shops, bookstores and restaurants.

The Urban Outfitters store is so well located that the customers find it convenient to arrive at the store. There is a bus stop in just near the store. The location is a good choice to set the shop at this area.3. Time Utility - have merchandise when customer wants itThere is a large choice of goods in the store. Most of them have plenty inventories. The clothing there are based on seasons in order to make sure that the customers can always get what they need and wish when they want it. This ability to meet the customer’s needs as they shift is an important one, especially for a focus store such as Urban Outfitters.

Therefore, this is summer now. They changed all clothes to fit the season like dresses, t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops, etc.I have shopped at the Urban Outfitters before around Halloween. The store sells Halloween costumes in addition to the other products such as clothes. They have common goods year around which makes a great place to do general shopping. These other products include books, earphones, cameras, makeups and a few other common products. 4. Provide many servicesThe store has a back door, which is connected to a parking lot.

This store offers parking validation to customers. When a customer checks out, the staff will ask him if he would prefer an email receipt or a printed one. The store also sells gift cards for people having trouble picking a gift. These additional service are very important to the store because thy add value to the customers. In addition, during the survey, I heard the staff telling one of the customers that if she wanted anything in other colors or sizes, she can order for her. This is also a very good part of listening to the customer’s needs which is rule number of one for retailing.

By asking the customers personal preferences and then offering to give the customer a personalized product, the store crates more loyalty from the customer as the person will be happy with the service and will feel that the value of his or her money is not lost.5. Cell phone app- urban on Urban on is the new UO app. with an account set up. Customers can shop the entire site. In addition, by using it, customers can earn some small gifts and claim these gifts when they shops at the real store. Customers can scan the goods tag by app, and get small gifts.

They can earn rewards and listen to music. Therefore, the customers can shop a large Varity of goods and get some exclusive offers, can shop 24/7.Part TwoUnder the first rule of retailing, which is, ask the customer. The survey result picks Forever 21 as the competitor to my focus store, urban outfitters. During the survey, I asked the customers about what the other stores they shop. Then I listed and counted them to find the competitor. Of those interviewed, 7 listed Forever 21 which is the most frequent one.

Pitaya took the second place with 4 customers affirming that they also shop there. Other stores mentioned like American eagle, Macys, American Appeal just have a few votes.The Forever 21 store that is located at Eastwood town center seems to be the main competitor to Urban Outfitters. The location is a bit far from school but there are also some other good shops around there. This store offers a huge variety in clothing and accessories. By contrast, the prices in Forever 21 are lower. The weakness of the store is that there is limited staff there when I visited.

They have a more likely self-shopping mode. During my visits in both places, I consider Forever 21 as more crowded than Urban Outfitters. Those people who choose Forever 21 in the survey consider they have a lower prices and a larger variety of style choices.Part Three5 recommendations for urban outfittersRecommendation no 1. Employees should make more communication with customersUrban out fitters staff should communicate with their customers more often. They are already doing ok on communication.

However, there could be improvements. They should consider the following points with regard to how they communicate with their customers;1) Ask every customer if they need any help as soon as they see a customer or when they see a customer who seems stranded. 2) Remember frequent customers preference, in order to make recommendations and build customer loyalty. Customers feel more valued of the employees can remember them by their personal attributes such as what they like, what they ship for and if possible, their name.

Urban Outfitters should make this effort to make sure that their customers feel valued. This is the best way to increase customer loyalty and increase customer satisfaction (Peppers & Rogers, 89). 3) Frequently tell customers about the promotion going on. 4) Introducing new or good goods to customers. The employees should be ready to mention to the customers about any arrivals in the store. This not only exposes the new merchandise but also increases the customer shopping experience. Customers may not be always aware of all the good things that the store has introduced but when the employees make the effort to introduce these products, it becomes easier for the customer to know about them and enjoy them if f they so with. 5) Offer to find sizes and colors for customersRecommendation no.

2; tell customers about the place advantages they have1） make flyers to hand out near schools to tell people the address of this store in order to increase exposure of the store and its products2.） post online at Facebook and Twitter, social networking cites. In a nutshell, use social media as a marketing tool. This is extremely important because social media has become highly important as a marketing tool especially when the target market is the young people in school. 3）advertise on local newspapersRecommendation no 3; the store should be more prepared for special occasions1) Prepare umbrellas to sell at rainy days2) Provide more gift package for holidays3) Sell drinks at the store.

Recommendation no 4; the store should inform customers that there are these services providedDue to the fact that a lot of people do not know about the parking validation, they can’t get. Many customers do not know the store can order more sizes and colors1) The store should make a small bulletin board to inform these services.2) Employees should tell the customers in person by asking.Recommendation no. 5 stores should encourage customers to use the appWorks CitedPeppers, Don and Rogers, Martha.

Managing Customer Relationships: A Strategic Framework. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2010."UrbanOn - Urban Outfitters." Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters, n.d. Web. 23 May 2014. <http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/on/urbanon.jsp?cm_sp=SITE_HEADER-_-URBANON-_-URBANON>.