Consumer Digital Journey: JB HI-FI - Case Study Example

ACCOUNTING THEORY ASSESSMENT: SHORT ANSWERS & CASE STUDY Student’s Name Course (Due Date) Consumer Digital Journey: JB HI-FI Introduction The focus of this assignment would be on JB HI-FI Company, which bases its core operations in distributing music CDs across the Australian and New Zealand markets. JB Hi-FI is a company based in Australia; Melbourne, that deals in the selling of electronics products like radios and television sets. However; in its initial operation years, the company was known mostly for the distribution of vinyl records and later transformed into sale of music CDS from such imported markets like the United States of America and the United Kingdom (JB HI-FI 2014). Imported music CDs from Asia and other sections of Asia are distributed under a special order process. The company operates within a retailing industry. The retailing industry in Australia is considered to be growing extensively so is the company (JB HI-FI 2014). Given that the firm offers the products at a cheaper price it can be assumed that the target consumers for their products are a middle-income population, which are willing and able to purchase these products at a relatively fair price. The middle-income group has enough disposable income to buy such electronics products like hi-fi based equipment, music CDs and television sets (JB HI-FI 2014). Purchase Process For this case, the purchase process would involve the buying of a Samsung LED TV on JB Hi-Fi digital platform. First, I would one would perceive the item on the company’s website being sold at an offer price. Old and new prices are both included within the details of the product in order to attract the potential consumer into wanting to buy the product. For instance, in this case, the Samsung LED TV is displayed in terms of its details and picture (JB HI-FI 2014). A potential customer is able to analyze this item that they like in regards to such specifications as a web browser, Wi-Fi enabled as well as a content streaming and screen monitoring features. The old price for this product was $1,498 but now its $ 1,398, postulating a 100 per cent, which is a marketing aspect that is meant to attract the potential capability of consumers into purchasing a product that were not planned for in the beginning (JB HI-FI 2014). Significantly, there is a cash bonus that a consumer is entitled to after purchasing the product. Second, on seeing the product, one is forced to tap the product in order to perceive more details about the product that had not been placed in the initial page. In fact, it is safe to postulate that the initial page is meant specifically for advertising the numerous products but the current page is meant to put more light into the features of the product. At this stage, one is provided with an option to add the product into a purchasing cart. Subsequently, the terms and conditions for shipping are also set out for the consumers to familiarize themselves with (JB HI-FI 2014). Third, one would then be set to seek the opinions of friends in regards to the product before commencing with the process further. The importance of this stage is to find out whether or not the purchasing of the product the company is considered safe and sound. In fact, it is set to seek any positive or negative experiences close friends might have encountered while purchasing any item from the site. Fourth, one is set to decide whether they can go ahead to purchase the product online or offline. It is important to comprehend that JB HI-FI has physical stores across the country hence at this stage, in case the aspect of trust is missing, it might force one to visit the stores in person to ascertain the authenticity of the product (JB HI-FI 2014). In the event that one embarks to visit the stores physically, then it is important to locate the nearest one in order to cut costs attributed to transportation and time resource. However, in the event that one embarks on a digital platform, then one is allowed an option to click on the “add to chart” tab under which one is taken to yet another page where one is allowed the option of continuing with the process of shopping for other items or continue to purchase. Fifth, in the event that one is certain about the product and thus, is certain about purchasing the product within the online platform, then the firm allows a myriad of payments options that include; JB H-FI gift card, PayPal, MasterCard or visa. The purpose of allowing a significant number of payment options is focused on accommodating all types of consumers irrespective of their payment mode. This is a positive tactic that ensures that consumers are able to purchase the product without any form of challenge in regards to payment system. At this stage, the payment process is finalized when one embarks on “checking out” where details of their payment cards are filled before the product is set for shipping. It should be noted that shipping of purchased products are conducted after an extra shipping cost is paid. For this case, shipping cost is charged at a certain percentage. Shipping is done within 5 to 9 working days. Sixth, after purchasing the product, a consumer is directed towards a page that allows them to post their opinions in relation to the purchase services offered on a digital platform by the company. Notably, in the event that a consumer purchased the product under offline platform, then they are entitled to freely post their opinions on such social media platform like Twitter and Facebook. Seventh, a customer is also entitled to post –invitation to continue with the purchasing of other items presently or in the future. Mapping the Digital Journey Analyze Consider Consumer Loyalty Experience Diagram Analysis; At the consider stage, a potential consumer would set to distinguish the brands of the LED TV that are being sold by the firm: JB HI-FI. It is at this stage the consumer is able to perceive different items within the web page of the company. At the analysis stage; the customer is set to decide the manner of purchasing the product, which is whether to embark on online or offline purchase. The stage allows the consumers to gather reliable and relevant information pertaining to the purchasing of product from the company at hand. At consumer loyalty stage; the potential consumer is embarked on selecting a similar brand or retailer without the aspect of reconsidering the purchase of the product or either-revaluating it. At this stage, the customer has gained lots of trust with the company hence there would be no need to reconsider or revaluate the product. At the experience phase; the customer is expected to provide feedback on their purchasing experiences with the company. At purchase phase; the consumer is able to select what product to purchase, by which payment model that is availed by the company and also, the manner for which the product would be delivered; this involves shipping costs. Critical Analyses of Customer Experiences JB HI-FI has a significant online market presence. This can be perceived by the manner for which its web page has been designed to accommodate most of not all of the products sold at its stores. There are areas within the company’s online platform that is liked and others I disliked. For instance, I liked the manner for which the company integrates discount pricing for its products in order to attract attention of potential consumers. Most of the products sold on online platform are sold at offer prices where cash bonuses are also offered for redemption in future. The firm also provides detailed information pertaining to the products a customer is interested to purchase. These informational data is meant to enlighten the potential customer about the features at hand hence make it inexpensive to compare costs with other retailers within the industry. For instance, the Samsung LED TV has been analyzed in relation to such features as the Wi-Fi and USB enabled ports. The company also offers a significant number of payment options for purposes of ensuring that not a single customer is left of purchasing a product because of possessing a different model of payment card. The graphic design of the company’s webpage has also been improved significantly to allow easier navigation with a search engine that functions to reduce the time wastage that comes with looking up for products. E-mail marketing is also another aspect that has been effectively used by the company to maintain a loyal customer base (Carmen and Pop Al 2010). It has been used efficiently to trigger repurchasing behaviors. However; there are things that I did not like. For instance, checking out process is tedious and time wasting given that a lot of information is sought before one can actually complete the process. Another thing that I disliked rests with the fact that the company’s feedback provision is limited to certain already formulated questions. One is not allowed to expound on issues that were really failure. This means that the social media management and analysis structure of the firm has not been effectively exploited to the benefit of sustaining customer’s tastes and preferences (Luigi Stanciu, Tichindelean and Vinerean 2011). Recommendation JB HI-FI Company should effectively use affiliate marketing tools to lure customers into referring other potential customers into purchasing products from the company. This is involves paying up commission to affiliates; an element that might trigger sales revenues to higher heights (Khan 2010, 23-28). The company should also employ the content creation tool, which involves developing substantial level of content on the company’s site in order to enlighten the potential customers about the model of purchasing hence allow them to conduct extensive research into the company’s operations. Some examples of content creation tools include infogr.am, Storify and Feedly (Nour 2000). References List Carmen, Pantea, and Pop Al. Nicolae. 2010. "Email Marketing Campaigns: The Easiest Path from Organizations to Consumers -- An Exploratory Assessment." Annals of the University Of Oradea, Economic Science Series 19, no. 1: 737-742 JB HI-FI. 2014. Samsung UA60H6300 60" Full HD Smart LED-LCD TV. Accessed October 12, 2014 https://www.jbhifi.com.au/tv-home-entertainment/hd-televisions/samsung/samsung-ua60h6300-60-full-hd-smart-led-lcd-tv/552560/ Khan, Omar J. 2010. "Understanding Consumer Transaction Behavior in Web Retailing." International Journal of E-Business Management 4, no. 2: 17-36. Luigi, Dumirescu, Stanciu Oana, Tichindelean Mihai, and Vinerean Simona. 2011. "Disclosing the Promising Power of Social Media - An Important Digital Marketing Tool." Studies in Business & Economics 6, no. 1: 37-45. Nour, Mohamed A. 2000. "A Framework for Web Marketing Strategies." Information Systems Management 17, no. 2: 41. Read More