Wedding.com Case Analysis - Essay Example

Jessica’s business ideas regarding the viability of ‘wedding’ website is excellent in its content but lacks effective promotional strategies and longterm strategic goals. Internet has become one of the most important parts of any business strategy. Jessica has used her personal experiences of the wedding to come up with the website that should have greatly eased the pressures for the organizers of the wedding event but it has failed in its objectives. Jessica needs to re-evaluate her business strategy to effectively exploit the opportunities in the area of wedding plans through innovative service and networking.

There are four major aspects that Jessica needs to re-evaluate in website design and market strategy: Effective Website layout; SWOT analysis; brand creation; and effective marketing with focus on Porter’s 4Ps. The wedding website needs to be vibrant and colourful so that it sends the message of great romance. While interactive and e-commerce features should be intrinsic part of the website, Jessica needs to incorporate more pictures of the happy couples in the honeymoon destinations to attract prospective brides and grooms.

Honeymoon packages at discounted price should become one of the important features of the website. It should also cater to various other requirements of the couple as well as for those who need to get wedding gifts. The website needs to showcase the products and services to attract the future customers and meet their individual demand through customised features of the interactive website. Jessica needs to research the details regarding the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the wedding events come across and then incorporate them into her website.

The brand creation has been another successful strategy that would bring in committed customers. ‘Brand building is needed because products are the same’ (Kotler, 2005). Market strategies try to promote their goods and services by creating brands that guarantees the customers of getting high quality goods and services at a price that a customer is willing to pay for.Today the concept of market has changed so much so that instead of customer going to the ‘product’, the product ‘comes’ to the customer.

In other words, virtual markets have facilitated the availability of the product much easier with the concept of ‘home delivery’ becoming a reality. Though the localized market still has scope but the unlimited potential of the internet market must be tapped in order to remain afloat in the fast growing customer base. The 3 of the 4Ps (product, price and promotion) of the traditional marketing techniques are still very relevant (Porter, 1980). The product and its price need to be competitive and the promotional techniques revised to include the emerging customer base of the internet.

The website should be a platform that facilitates the various services free of cost. The revenue should come from the strategic business partners. The website would coordinate networking of the various elements within the system of wedding event and must ensure smooth and efficient transaction on the net. One can therefore conclude that wedding.com must ensure it has major element of man-woman relationship. Seduction has remained a strong bonding element of gender relationship and Jessica must expertly exploit the inherent sense of romance and facilitate services that would ease pre and post wedding nerves and the hassles of organizing the event as a whole.

ReferenceKotler, Philip. (2005). Toward Stronger Marketing. unpublished presentation to the ARF, “Future of Advertising” Conference, Chicago, 10.24.05.Porter, Michael, E.(June 1, 1980). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. NY: Free Press 1998.