|
By David Waxman
Case Study I
iSold It is a franchise company that takes the work out of selling online. Simply drop off your goods at the counter and, for a small commission, this company takes care of everything else, including payment and shipping. One of the iSold It franchise owners, Jeff, knows that marketing for the brand is marketing for his franchise. His challenge is to brand the iSold It brand after minimal results from advertising through newspapers, radio, shopping carts, and coupon packs. Jeff has teamed up with two other iSold It owners in his city to pool their advertising resources and get more bang for their collective buck. They can more effectively market their brand by blending elements of his initial marketing tactics with the Internet tools available to local businesses like iSold It.
Here is Jeff’s marketing plan without Internet tools:
• Newspapers
• Radio
• Shopping carts
• Coupon packs
Here is what Jeff could do with tools available through the Internet:
• Local television advertising
• Internet Yellow Pages (IYP)
The marketing mix that Jeff used in the first scenario could be improved upon. iSold It’s target audience is primarily women who don’t have the time or know-how to deal with an auction site like eBay, specifically soccer moms, baby boomers and empty nesters. In this second scenario the company is targeting these groups with local television advertising in the marketing mix.
For iSold It, advertising via television is quite effective as its visual nature allows the company to explain the concept of the business much easier than through other media. In addition, television advertising is much more affordable than people think and can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of traditional radio or print advertisements by using a service like Spot Runner - a Web-based advertising agency that enables local businesses to customize ads they choose from a library of thousands of pre-produced spots. The results seem to speak for themselves, as Jeff demonstrated when doubled his revenue by running a local market television campaign.
Similarly, while newspaper and Yellow Page ads can reach customers looking for auction drop locations, another effective tactic for iSold It is to use an Internet Yellow Pages (IYP) site, such as Citysearch, which provides visual and interactive content to help inform and attract new customers. Instead of purchasing a static ad in a book, iSold It also can offer updated information, photos and weekly offers in its online listing with a few clicks of the mouse.
Case Study II
Mitch is an entrepreneur with a rapidly growing flower and gift business in Southern California, The business was originally comprised of two stores that were once under separate ownership but Mitch renamed them Devynn’s. His challenges was to create brand awareness for the new name but also to raise awareness local patrons, especially his primary demographic – women, ages 35-65 – in a seasonal business.
|
