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MRKG 1311 |
Great Student Answers
Internet Guide for Marketing - Topic 18
Student Dewey Holland’s answer (used by permission) - Fall 1997
Question 4. You are marketing director for a national sales chain. Write a memo to your boss citing specific examples as to how retailers are using the net. Describe how the addition of a website has added value to each of these retailers. Outline what factors need to be considered when deciding whether or not to have a presence on the net.
Dear Mr. Dithers,
Strong Heritage Stores has always been renowned for clinging to what worked well for our forefathers. That principle has carried us past decades of mutation (I know how much you hate the "c" word). I know our board of directors is still grieving the loss of the soda fountain, but we may have to deal with yet another alteration.
This young grad we hired last week wants to transfigure everything. He is concerned about the marketing activities being undertaken by "the leaders in our industry" (his words, not mine). They are using the internet to communicate with the general public*.
*My Director of Demographic Research has informed me that our customers are a complete sub-set of that population.
I had to find out for myself. Here is a summary of my findings:
 | J.C. Penny’s website is very comprehensive. Customers are virtually in the store. They can look at and buy everything at that site. I went to the bargain basement page and bought a new pair of rollerblades and a portable stereo with a built in TV (strictly for research). |
| Wal-Mart’s website is as comprehensive as Penny’s. They will sell anything that can be shipped. They also display a list of every single item they would stock in a store. They carry many of the same items that we do, but with those prices they will never make a profit. I bought a "Tickle Me Elmo", a "Big Bertha Driver" and a "Holiday Barbie" (more research). |
| Neiman Marcus: I am proud to report that nothing is on sale at NM. They are using the website to promote in store appearances by Szilvia Balta, Jean Mahie, Thomas Bastide, Michael di Cesare and Giorgio Armini. We are querying the Director of Public Information to ascertain the significance of these people. If they are not Mafioso, we may consider having them appear at our stores. |
| Target: They are not trying to sell anything here. They are bragging about their philanthropic endeavors: education, local communities, St. Jude Hospital and the Washington Monument Restoration Project. |
I have taken the liberty of questioning the new boy about the details of this web page thing. The cost of a large web site is about one thousand five hundred dollars a year. That includes the page design and periodic maintenance. That price seems low when compared to the potential benefits.
The undecided details are as follows:
| Artistic aspects. |
| Architecture of the site. |
| Do we want use the website to sell products or tout some good will? |
| What else do we want to promote? |
I will have the new boy present this one to the board. If they don’t agree with the concept, Target is taking applications for employment on their web page. I think he will have a fine future there.
Internet Guide for Marketing - Topic 18
Student Peggy Meador’s answer (used by permission) Spring 1998
Question 4. You are marketing director for a national sales chain. Write a memo to your boss citing specific examples as to how retailers are using the net. Describe how the addition of a website has added value to each of these retailers. Outline what factors need to be considered when deciding whether or not to have a presence on the net.
MEMO
TO: Jane Doe
Vice President, Marketing
FROM: Peggy Meador
Marketing Director
DATE: March 11, 1998
SUBJECT: Examples of Retail Internet Usage
The following are examples of four retailers’ Web sites that use the Internet for marketing:
| JCPenney |
JCPenney’s Web site has multiple links which include online store shopping, an Electronic Order Blank for catalog shopping from their print catalog, immediate store sales information, gift registry and more. In short, JCPenney’s Web site offers the same types of service consumers would expect if they visited an actual JCPenney location. The Web site also stresses online shopping security through secure credit transactions. The site is well designed and easy to follow.
| Target Stores |
The Target Stores’ Web site is clean and uncluttered. The consumer will get lost in a maze of links, though. They post a "game" (Ms. Spider) which I believe a consumer might find tedious and question the relevancy of. The site does not make it easy for a consumer to find out about purchasing from Target, although they do offer an online credit card application. Informational links are too well hidden.
| Wal-Mart |
The Wal-Mart Web site is clean and simple. The consumer does not have to work through a maze of links to be able to "go shopping" immediately. Consumers may have to access links to shop, but they will feel they are getting somewhere. One will eventually see a picture of the chosen item. They offer secure credit purchases also, and they utilize what they call a "Shopping Cart" which you fill as you shop. Cute idea!
| Neiman Marcus |
The Neiman Marcus Web site is … well, it is the ultimate. Glamorous. Sophisticated. High Fashion. The consumer definitely gets the idea of money at this site. But will the consumer spend it? It isn’t easy to find out how to spend it. It seems the focuses is on appearance and not retail. The consumer can go through the "N. Emily" cartoon (?) link where a few "spring" items are listed along with their glamorous prices, but still no incentive to rush to the store to buy anything or even order online.
(Is that 1-800 number at the bottom in tiny print an ordering line? How can I get that $860 purse???)
Retailers such as those listed above are using or attempting to use the Internet to position them online for consumers’ shopping convenience. Two of the above, Target and Neiman Marcus, fail to some extent in reaching that goal. In studying the Web sites, each one definitely mirrors the company for which it was designed -- Neiman’s high fashion; JCPenney’s, Target’s and Wal-Mart’s direct-to-the-consumer approaches – and, thus, their Web sites add recognition value to these retailers. Of course, having an online Internet presence establishes these companies as recognizing the importance of Internet visibility. Even if their Web sites need improvement, at least they are on the Internet.
Factors I believe should be taken into consideration as we decide whether or not to establish a presence on the Internet are:
| What types of channel structures will the company engage in? |
| Will online purchases be offered? |
| What types of products will be offered online? |
| Should products offered for sale online be more expensive than if they were offered in our stores to help cover online costs? |
| Will the company offer a security credit card link? |
| Will a 1-800-telephone number and/or fax number be established? |
| What costs will be incurred in establishing an Internet presence for the company? |
| What should the cost ceiling be? |
| Should we use an outside marketing agency to help us build our Internet presence? |
| Do we have the inventory to support increased orders if we establish an Internet presence? |
| Will we need to establish more distribution centers for shipping products to consumers? |
| How will we charge consumers for shipping? |
| Can we afford not to establish an Internet presence for our company? |
I would like to meet with you to discuss this topic further. Please call me.